The Four-eyed Journal » Gaming

Sony PlayStation Vita US Launch Titles

jhay — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 06:34:40 +0000

It’s on the Christmas wishlist of most gamers, Sony is revving up for the US launch of its newest handheld gaming console, the PlayStation Vita. It has been recently launched in Japan while it is scheduled to hit the US shelves in February 22, 2012.

Accompanying the handheld’s release a list of new titles that has something for every gamer out there. Check out the list of the Vita’s launch titles below:

First-party titles (Available 2/15/2012):

Escape Plan (PSN Only)
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
Hustle Kings (PSN Only)
Little Deviants
ModNation Racers: Road Trip
Super StarDust Delta (PSN only)
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Wipeout 2048

Third-party launch titles (Available 2/22/2012):

Army Corps of Hell (Square Enix, Inc.)
Asphalt Injection (Ubisoft, Inc.)
Ben10 Galactic Racing (D3 Publisher of America)
Blazblue: Continuum Shift Extend (Aksys Games Localization, Inc.)
Dungeon Hunter Alliance (Ubisoft, Inc.)
Dynasty Warriors Next (Tecmo Koei America Corporation)
F1 2011 (Codemasters)
EA Sports FIFA Soccer (Electronic Arts, Inc.)
Lumines Electronic Symphony (Ubisoft, Inc.)
Michael Jackson The Experience (Ubisoft, Inc.)
Plants vs. Zombies (PSN Only, Sony Online Entertainment LLC)
Rayman Origins (Ubisoft, Inc.)
Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen (Namco Bandai Games America Inc.)
Tales of Space: Mutant Blobs (PSN Only, Drinkbox Studios)
Touch My Katamari (Namco Bandai Games America Inc.)
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (Capcom Entertainment, Inc.)
Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition (Sega of America)

Third-party launch window* titles:

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. Inc.)
Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention (NIS America, Inc.)
Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus (Tecmo Koei America Corporation)
Ridge Racer (Namco Bandai Games America Inc.)
Silent Hill Book of Memories (Konami Digital Ent. America, Inc.)
Supremacy MMA: Unrestricted (505 Games)

Accessories:

4GB memory card (February 15, 2012, $19.99)
8GB memory card (February 15, 2012, $29.99)
16GB memory card (February 15, 2012, $59.99
32GB memory card (February 15, 2012, $99.99)
Starter kit with memory card (February 15, 2012, $39.99)
In-ear headset (February 15, 2012, $19.99)
Carrying case (February 15, 2012, $19.99)
Travel pouch (February 15, 2012, $19.99)
Protective film (two-pack) (February 15, 2012, $9.99)
Card case (February 15, 2012, $5.99)
Cradle (February 15, 2012, $19.99)
Portable charger (Spring 2012, $49.99)
AC adapter (February 15, 2012, $14.99)
Car adapter (Spring 2012, $14.99)
USB cable (February 15, 2012, $14.99)

*Means the game will be available within months of the Vita’s release.

Is the game you’re looking forward to included in the launch list? What games do want to see on the Vita?

Image from Sony PlayStation Vita Blog

Official Final Fantasy XIII US/EU release date

jhay — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:47 +0000

My high school buddies, hard core fans of the Final Fantasy games have been long waiting for this one. Official announcement from Square Enix says that the newest installment in the long-running franchise, Final Fantasy XIII will be released in the US and EU this coming March 9, 2010 and it will be available everywhere else soon after.

Check out the latest trailer for the game:

The delay was caused by developing an XBOX 360 version of the game, but I’m sure the wait would be worth it.

Hat tip to Atma Xplorer

Register to vote via Friendster, Multiply, DOTA, ROK etc at your local internet shop

jhay — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:03:37 +0000

Okay, okay don’t get too excited. The title of the post is just an idea I got from this story from PC Magazine on how XBOX 360′s are being used in the United States to get first-time voters, especially the youth to register as voters. All this in preparation for the upcoming November Presidential elections this year.

the youth-centric political advocacy group will enable Xbox 360 owners to have their voices heard on an exclusive forum, participate in election-predicting polls, and, yes, register to vote through their 360. Rock the Vote’s public service announcement videos will also be made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Could the same idea also work here in the Philippines? Like tapping Friendster, Multiply.com and popular MMORPG or even LAN games to get the Pinoy youth the register as voters.

With the next Presidential elections less than two years away, this is a very attractive idea because one, the Philippine population is quite young, second, the youth make up a significant portion of the population, third, the youth are stigmatized as apathetic to such issues like elections, politics and being active in community and national life, fourth, as a consequence, they are spending much more of their time on other endeavors like social networking, online gaming, going to malls and basically living a care-free life.

Plus, from my own personal experience, getting the youth to register as voters is no easy feat. They’d rather do something else than to drag their arses to the local COMELEC, queue in line for almost the whole day just to get registered. So if ever this idea would become reality, the local COMELEC could select a well-known internet shop as an accredited voter registration center. I’m sure the tech-savvy and DOTA-addicted Pinoy youths wouldn’t mind spending a few minutes to register as voters before getting their game on or stalking their crushes via social-networking sites.

Reality check though, this idea will, probably remain an idea because at present, Philippine elections are still in a state of chaos, there is persistent talk that Filipinos are starting to loose faith in the ballot as a means of achieving some good for the country.

We can’t even properly modernize our election systems like computerized elections or automated polls, how could we expect to conduct online voter’s registration?

However, I remain hopefull that someday this would become reality.

Asus Eee Box or Dell Studio Hybrid?

jhay — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:15:17 +0000

Since late last year, I’ve been mulling over the idea of getting a new desktop PC. Specifically, I’m looking for a new gaming rig, not something that at the top of the line as it will break my budget and force me to drop from school for a semester but something in the middle-range of what a good gaming PC should be.

However, upon doing a lifestyle check, I figured that a gaming rig might disrupt my current workflow and be the end of me as I was once a true-blooded gaming addict who’d spend a minimum of 14 hours a day playing games on the PC. (Curse Diablo II, Sim City 4, the Sims and Ragnarok) So it’s not hard to see myself completely abandoning my workflow and spend hours upon hours playing Call of Duty 4, Civilization IV, the Prince of Persia, RF online while waiting for Diablo III to come out.

So for now, I’ve been keen on just getting a new desktop PC to replace the 6-year-old system now used by my younger sisters. Not a day goes on without them hinting or complaining to me that the old box is now a living relic of the computer world and as slow as a land tortoise.

With a tight budget, the new mini PCs like the Asus Eee Box and the recently released Studio Hybrid from Dell has become attractive choices for me. Still raving for a Mac Mini but that tight budget just kills it.

Anyways, what would I be getting from the Asus Eee Box?

Asus Eee Box PC

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home
CPU: Intel Atom N270 (1.6 GHz)
Chipset: Intel Chipset
DIMM: DDR2 SO-DIMM 1 GB
HDD: 80 GB
Card Reader: SD/SDHC/MS/MS Pro/MMC
WiFi: 802.11n
LAN: 10/100/1000

It sells for Php17, 500 and it comes bundled with a small 16? LCD monitor. However, Yuga drives home a good point that for that same price, one could get a better spec’d PC because the Asus Eee Box has become quite expensive.

As for Dell’s Studio Hybrid, one would be getting the following specs:

Dell Studio Hybrid

Intel Dual Core 1.86GHz to Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6GHz
1GB – 4GB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
160GB – 320 GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (5400 rpm)
6x – 8X CD/DVD Writer
Intel GMA X3100
Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Wi-Fi 802.11n (built-in, optional)
5 x USB 2.0
IEEE 1394a port
HDMI/DVI video connector

This one sells for roughly Php19, 000.00 and comes with Windows Vista Home Basic. I’ll have to purchase a separate display which would push up the total cost to somewhere near Php25,000.00 but just like with the Asus Eee Box, I could get the same specs but for a lower price tag and the video card of my choice if I were to build a custom system myself. I’m sure the good folks over at PC-Gilmore could do wonders for me.

So what would it be? The Asus Eee Box is now officially off my list, and it looks like it’s the Dell Studio Hybrid against a custom-built clone PC. Then again I might just spend my money on a Nikon D40. LOL

Anti-drunk driving ads coming to XBOX 360 games

jhay — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 08:05:11 +0000

Now here’s a more responsible and tech-savvy government, Yahoo! News reports that the Scottish government will be targeting gamers with ads against drinking and driving via games on the XBOX 360.

The 10,000 pound ($20,000) trial project will see the ads appear on virtual billboards within several games for Microsoft Xbox consoles, including “Need for Speed: Carbon,” “Project Gotham Racing 4” and “NBA Live.”

Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson said the number of road accidents was rising, and innovative approaches were needed to reach young people. The government estimates that 73 percent of Britain’s 15- to 24-year-olds have access to a gaming console at home.

“The technology is non-intrusive, subtle, but the message can be seen in the background, loud and clear,” Stevenson said.

Officials said that if the trial was successful it could be expanded to include other road-safety messages.

I have seen few in-game advertisements before, probably because I was too focused on getting the perfect gear-shift, *heh* nonetheless I’d say that this is tax payers’ money being put to good use. Much like those anti-smoking graphics being printed on cigarette packaging, the drive for safer roads is of equal importance.

An interesting bit to notice though, is that why is the Scottish government targeting XBOX 360 games? What about the other consoles like the Nintendo Wii and Sony’s PlayStation 3? Ah but the “[Scottish] government estimates that 73 percent of Britain’s 15- to 24-year-olds have access to a gaming console at home” and since it targeted the XBOX 360 games, the majority of that 73% are XBOX consoles. LOL

Will this government campaign negatively affect the XBOX sales in the UK? Would this ads also appear in the other consoles? Would this campaign itself be effective? Much remains to be seen.

Now why can’t the Philippine government do something hi-tech and useful for a change? *sighs*