Planet Earth.
Or, as the rest of the omniverse calls it, the orb of dreams.
The occupants of which spend so much time asleep and dreaming.
Their vast imaginations humming away, charged with creative energy.
Where does it all go?
Up through a cerebral umbilical cord
Where it collects and melds with all the other dreamer’s energy.
And something wonderful happens –
it forms a world.
An ethereal dreamscape of adventure and possibilities.
An abstract plane of beautiful wonderment
just waiting to be explored
And you can go there now.

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In it’s many years at the top of the British sales charts the SingStar franchise hasn’t really been known for re-inventing itself. With the exception of the giant leap forward taken by the PS3 edition, each successive volume has been little more than a 30 song track pack. So does the second volume of the PS3 incarnation bring with it sweeping changes? Or are we merely looking at another 30 songs to rock out with our bad selves to?

The answer lies somewhere in between. For the most part Singstar Vol. 2 looks and plays exactly like it’s predecessor. The few tweaks that have been made, while appreciated, are nothing earth shattering. Amazingly the best of these doesn’t even seem to be mentioned anywhere that might let a player know. Volume 2 introduces a feature that has been available in previous UK versions for a while now — disc swapping.

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Before I write this review, I think it’s important for me to confess about the small love affair I had with the original MotorStorm.  Not only was it my favorite racing title of the past few years (sorry Wipeout!), but it’s the game that sold me on the PlayStation 3.  Before MotorStorm hit I was really on the fence about picking a PS3 up.  Would it be a success?  Would there be enough games that I couldn’t get on my 360 to warrant a purchase?  Would Blu-Ray win out over HD-DVD?  Back in March 2007 all those questions were still up in the air.

…and then I saw MotorStorm.  It was on a playable kiosk at my local FutureShop (it’s like Best Buy, only Canadian).  Within five minutes the question went from if I should buy one to how quickly could I afford it.

While the original MotorStorm had it’s detractors, it was easy to look past it’s flaws and enjoy the creamy middle inside.  Now, only 18 months later, MotorStorm is back.  But does Pacific Rift build on the awesomeness that came before, or just retread the muddy tracks it laid down in the first game?

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In a matter of months, the original Rock Band took the world by storm. Equal parts party game, skills challenge, and a music fans wet dream, it successfully bridged the gap between casual and hardcore audiences. For the first time in as long as I can remember, a new IP debuted that everybody could enjoy. That’s why it was so surprising to hear that the sequel would be on store shelves less than a year from it’s original release.

So was it just a quick cash grab, or did the team at Harmonix have the time they needed to make big enough changes to the Rock Band formula to justify a sequel? Read on to find out;

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Remember that dateless firmware update that was announced a few days ago? I just booted up my PS3. It’s live. That is all.

Just received word in my inbox that something special is coming down the pipeline from Sony this month.  Not one but two firmware updates are on the way. and both offer some new features that I’m genuinely pretty excited about.

PS3 firmware 2.50 will feature the oft-rumored screen capture ability, support for the new PlayStation Bluetooth Headset, and enhancements to the Trophy system.  A few smaller features round things out — but the biggest draw of 2.5?  There’s going to be a power save mode for both console and controller.  Now if my system is unattended for a pre-determined length of time, it’s going to boot down.  I don’t mind so much if the console is on when I’m not there (Life With PlayStation still include Folding@Home, and I’m a sucker for curing cancer), but my damned wiener kids always turn the controllers on, and I’m left with zero battery whenever I want to fire up some PixelJunk/Wipeout/Buzz goodness.

PSP firmware 5.00 will include an on-screen QWERTY keyboard and provide fullscreen TV-out support for PSOne games.

You’ve only read the highlights.  Hit the jump for the full presser;

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Jim S Squires, esq here. Myself and Ted Ryan Newsome Hewson had a most excellent adventure yesterday. No, we didn’t get to travel back in time and help stop Hitler. Even better — we went to the future (which was conveniently located in downtown Toronto). What did we see? What did we play? Put on your safety helmets and shin guards, kids. You’re in for some lengthy exposition on this biggest PlayStation games to come out during the upcoming holiday season!

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