I think that most gamers will still argue that despite it’s $50 a year price tag, Xbox Live is still the standard for measuring a console’s online service. While they are getting set to launch the New Xbox Experience late this fall there is still plenty of room to improve the service’s capabilities and that’s in areas that Sony and Nintendo (hell, even Apple) are excelling: mobile devices. Continue Reading »

One of my biggest gripes when reviewing the sublime Buzz! Quiz TV for the PS3 was it’s utter refusal to cater to the single player crowd.  Sure you could always hop online and make a friend, but if really wanted to fly solo you were stuck with a quick round of questions without any of the bells and whistles the series has become known for.  Clearly, Quiz TV was intended to be a party game experience.

But what about Master Quiz?  Surely taking the Buzz experience on the road would force the series to take a step in the single player direction, wouldn’t it?

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Not having ever really been on the LEGO gaming train, most of what LEGO Batman has to offer has flown under my radar.  Maybe that’s why I was so surprised last night when I was unloading a shipment at work and saw “Remote Play” mentioned right on the back of the box.

For those of you unawares, remote play is a PS3-exclusive feature that allows some games to be streamed to your PSP from your PS3 from any wifi location.  To the best of my recollection, it’s a feature that’s only been available for PS1 games and the occasional PSN download thus far.  As for full retail I think this might be the first title to support it.  If I’m wrong on this, please correct me.

So what does this mean to you the consumer?  While the PS3 version may not support trophies it’s essentially shipping with a free PSP version.  Given the nature of remote play, it’s also pretty likely that the game you take on the road with you will be running from the same save that you’re playing at home.

No word yet on how it actually stacks up against the real PSP version, though we can assume it’s probably a tad choppier by comparison.  Either way, if you’re on the fence about picking it up for the 360 or the PS3, this info should prove essential to your purchasing decision.

Ok, I didn’t end up picking the game up last week (360 or PS3) but now seeing that it does indeed work with the PS3/PSP remote play that Sony seems to love to ignore I’m suddenly very very interested.

Seriously, why is this feature of the PS3 and PSP not talked about more? It’s like it’s some hidden gem that Sony doesn’t want everyone knowing about. Which boggles my mind cause it’s a fraking kick-ass feature. Just another reason to start to questing why we’re paying 50 bucks a year for Xbox Live when we get the PSN for free.

Good video game duos are hard to find (Cookies and Cream notwithstanding). And these days keeping them together seems even harder. Even in the virtual world eventually the little guy is going to want their time in the sun. The PSP is quickly becoming a haven for quirky sidekicks to get their chance to star in their own title. First we had the excellent Daxter (of Jak and Daxter fame) and now we’re seeing the release of Secret Agent Clank, who for the past four titles has been Ratchet’s helper-bot in the very successful Ratchet and Clank series.

Is Clank able to hold a game together like Daxter did? Or does he need his Lombax partner? Continue Reading »

While we’re all sitting around waiting for the mythical PS3 firmware update with in-game XMB and 2D trophies that is rumored to be hitting this month, Sony has decided to tease us by putting the words “firmware” and “XMB” in a completely unrelated press release. Later this week PSP firmware 4.0 will be releasing, and it’s going to include Google Search right in the XMB. Definitely a really good idea — it’s bound to get people not using the browser (like myself) to give it a whirl again. Here’s the official word;

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced that the next system software update for PSP®(PlayStation®Portable) will be available this week. PSP system will be upgraded to firmware 4.00, which adds the Google™ search engine directly to the XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) user interface, making Web searches easier and more convenient on PSP.

The Google search engine will be accessible under the XMB’s “Network” category through a new “Internet Search” icon. The new feature will deliver the same Google search results as when searching on www.google.com. The functionality also has an input history recall of up to 20 items for more efficient browsing. Working with Google to offer its superior search technology demonstrates SCEA’s commitment to further enhance the mobile entertainment experience on PSP system.

Fantastic — now where’s my damned PS3 update?

I’ve never really gotten in golf games much. Sure I’ve played the occasional round of Golden Tee in random bars and enjoyed some Mario Golf back in the day, but I’ve never really searched out a golf game — not even the first Hot Shots Golf on the PSP that came out back when the system first launched. After Lumines and Wipeout I was out of interesting games to play and decided to just get the game to futz around with while waiting for something else worth playing. Truth be told, in the early days of the PSP if I wasn’t playing Hot Shots Golf my PSP would never have been used. I played the HELL out of that game and got quite good at it.

So how does someone who’s averse to sports games get so sucked in to a golf game? Probably because it’s nowhere near realistic, and the fact that there’s tons of stuff to unlock — and it’s just fun.

So fast forward a few years and the sequel comes out. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to it, but does it live up to expectations? Continue Reading »