QuickJump QuickPeek 19: Of Hot Manhunt Coffee, Super Uncharted Mass Creed Galaxy month, and Angelina Jolie’s birthday suit
(Editor’s Note: Gobble gobble gobble! It’s Turkey Month! No, not the country, silly. It’s Thanksgiving in a few weeks – and even this early in the month of November, there’s already quite a lot of stuff to be thankful for… and another handful of unfortunate stuff we’d rather not deal with, thank you very much. Now, we’re taking off our Halloween masks [cue violent shrieks of panic from the readers]… Ok. Ok, fine. We’re putting it back on… Besides, Daniel Lamb of Manhunt 2 has escaped onto retail, and he’s causing quite a ruckus, trick-or-treating his way around the neighborhood.)
Ahh… Sweet November! It’s time to start a new month with another QuickJump QuickPeek issue! Last week’s edition had us bowling over all the wicked things the go bump in the gaming industry. Following Halloween, you can expect news leading up to the Christmas season getting ever so bigger. From here on out, you best be getting comfy in your chairs. Loosen those belt straps, and make sure you leave enough room for dessert.
We’re bringing you the biggest bombs that have been dropped down the news line this week. What a way to start November? PS3 users would call it Uncharted month, 360 owners might call it Mass Effect month, and Wii owners could call it Galaxy month. Gobble away, folks!
Let the giving of thanks ensue! Let’s start stuffing that turkey in QuickJump QuickPeek 19
Click the Full Article link below to read this week’s meaty (and scantily clad) edition!
Article originally posted on Nov 03, 2007 at 01:30 PM.
(Editor’s Note: Gobble gobble gobble! It’s Turkey Month! No, not the country, silly. It’s Thanksgiving in a few weeks – and even this early in the month of November, there’s already quite a lot of stuff to be thankful for… and another handful of unfortunate stuff we’d rather not deal with, thank you very much. Now, we’re taking off our Halloween masks [cue violent shrieks of panic from the readers]… Ok. Ok, fine. We’re putting it back on… Besides, Daniel Lamb of Manhunt 2 has escaped onto retail, and he’s causing quite a ruckus, trick-or-treating his way around the neighborhood.)
Ahh… Sweet November! It’s time to start a new month with another QuickJump QuickPeek issue! Last week’s edition had us bowling over all the wicked things the go bump in the gaming industry. Following Halloween, you can expect news leading up to the Christmas season getting ever so bigger. From here on out, you best be getting comfy in your chairs. Loosen those belt straps, and make sure you leave enough room for dessert.
We’re bringing you the biggest bombs that have been dropped down the news line this week. What a way to start November? PS3 users would call it Uncharted month, 360 owners might call it Mass Effect month, and Wii owners could call it Galaxy month. Gobble away, folks!
Let the giving of thanks ensue! Let’s start stuffing that turkey in QuickJump QuickPeek 19!
PSP: To tweak or not to treat?
Definitely, the PSP scene has gone out for a bit of tricking and treating this week. And you know what they say about candy. Too much of it might cause you some toothache.
Headlining this week’s PSP news is the rolling out of Sony‘s latest official firmware for the PSP. There are quite a number of new additions bundled with the new 3.72 firmware, some of which include: a new “Assign Buttons” feature has been added to the Remote Play menu, being able to customize XMB themes under the Theme Setting menu, and the ability to play music simultaneously with a slideshow.
While support for PlayStation Network has also been expaneded, PSP FW 3.72 also has new features tied to the PS3’s latest firmware 2.00. On the PSP side of things, a Remote Start function has been added for Remote Play.
As of now, there doesn’t seem to be any bells ringing from the M33/DAX hotline. But then again, how are we so sure that they’d even release a new OE or CFW?
Link: Sony rolls out PSP official firmware 3.72
For the PSP homebrew community, StrmnNrmn just announced that he will be releasing Daedalus R13 tomorrow (today? – depends on when you’re reading this)! All the savestate features he’s been working on are now finished. The only thing left to be done are final testing and bits of polishing work. Keep your eyes peeled!
Link: Daedalus R13 released tomorrow (hopefully!)
As hinted at earlier, Manhunt 2 is indeed causing quite a ruckus in the gaming industry this week. Well, that doesn’t come as a surprise. It’s already been well enveloped in controversy for a couple of months now, and it’s release this week has triggered even more outcries from various sectors of society.
California state senator Leland Yee is encouraging parents to make smart decisions in whether they would purchase Manhunt 2 for their children. For him, there seems to be only on smart decision: and that is to simply avoid making a purchase altogether. His suggestion: “Ultra-violent, interactive video games such as Manhunt 2 can have negative effects on our children.”
Also condemning the Rockstar Games title is the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). They’re currently calling for Rockstar to either recall or further modify Manhunt 2 and have even encouraged retailers to refrain from selling the game. NAMI’s stand is that the game is an “irresponsible, stereotyped portrayal of mental illness [and that it] unfortunately perpetuates and reinforces cruel, inaccurate perceptions that people who live with mental illnesses are violent.”
Still no response from Rockstar about Yee and NAMI’s statements. They’ve been busy with… other matters. What matters? Just scroll down a wee bit more…
Link: California Senator warns parents against Manhunt 2
Link: NAMI condemns Manhunt 2, asks for recall, more modifications
With the release of Manhunt 2, hackers were able to find a way to play the game in its pure and uncensored form. The hack, which involves deleting blocks of text, gives you the gruesome action of how your character executes people in the game. There’s even a video to prove it.
Meanwhile, Take-Two Interactive has released a statement about this hack, saying that they know full well about it. Their chairman, Strauss Zelnick, reiterates that this hack is illegal. As his press statement reads:
We hope that consumers will not engage in hacking or download illegally modified copies of our games. We encourage them to enjoy our games as they are meant to be played. We would also like to emphasize that Manhunt 2 is intended for an audience aged 17 and above.
The ESRB even responds to the slight hitch in the whole hacking scandal. Their stand: it was hacked. Plain and simple. The unfiltered mode was a downright manipulation of code and was not an unlockable feature. With that, they still stand by their M rating despite clamors for its re-reversal, saying that they “do not believe these modifications fully restore the product to the version that originally received an AO rating.”
Link: Video of uncensored Manhunt 2 play on the PSP
Link: They know: Take-Two warns of Manhunt 2 PSP hacks
Link: ESRB responds to Manhunt 2 hack: it was hacked, not unlocked
See ya guys next week! Easy on the gunpowder treason and plot, OK? We’ve got StrmnNrmn’s Daedalus R13 tomorrow (hopefully!), so better sit tight for that!
– QJ.NET’s PSP Team
PlayStation 3: Charting a course to 2008
Big changes are afoot! Well, the PSP has a new FW on the loose, but on the PS3’s side of things, no new updates are available as of writing. There are a couple of substantial changes to report about nonetheless.
Firsty, it seems as if Sony is upping the ante with their advertising department. They’ve launched a new ad campaign in light of the release of the US$ 388 40GB PS3 unit. The videos pack quite a lot. From showing clips of PS3 exclusive games, highlighting Blu-ray features, and ooh, a cameo of the new PlayStation Network logo (ah, it turns out to be real and official now).
Link: Sony launches largest ever ad campaign for PlayStation 3
Speaking of PS3-exclusives, we’re sure a lot of you are looking forward to Drake’s Fortune. The game has gone gold and is already making its was to retail shelves right before Thanksgiving. Question is… have you ever wondered why it’s an exclusive? Naughty Dog Co-President Evan Wells explains that the game is huge. We’re talking 24GB huge.
In fact, it would have been larger if they utilized both layers of the Blu-ray disc. The game will play from 10 to 12 hours on the first run. Right now, the team is working with only one layer, but given that Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was written to make way for sequels, future games could be using the second layer as well.
As a note at the end, Evan Wells explained that “As far as the Cell processor and the SPU’s are concerned we were only using about 1/3 to 1/2 of the SPU’s at one time and so there is still quite a bit more we can do.”
Link: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune: why it’s only possible on the PlayStation 3
More changes up next. But ohnoes, it looks like Konami pulled a Rockstar on the waiting fans. Just as GTA IV was delayed, so now is Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of the Patriots. In order to make further improvements to the quality of the game, Konami has moved the release of MGS4 from the early next year to the second quarter (well, it still does fit the “early next year” schedule, right?).
What’s disappointing here is that, after the announcement, Konami’s shares actually dropped in Japan by 6.8%. Since the year of 2003, this is the largest drop they’ve suffered.
Link: Konami moves Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots release to Q2 2008
Link: Konami stock shares suffer after MGS 4 delay announcement
What’s on the PlayStation Network this week though? Quite a bulk load of love. There are two free demos online: TimeShift and Need for Speed ProStreet. There are a couple of game videos too, but what some of you might also be going online for is patch v1.1 for WarHawk.
Link: PSN US Store Update: Need for Speed ProStreet and TimeShift demos, Twisted Metal 2
Link: Warhawk v1.1 patch update available for download
And that’s all for this week! Uncharted month is in full sway now! Not to mention Assassin’s Creed too!
– QJ.NET’s PlayStation 3 Team
Xbox 360: Ooh, the carnage!
Finally it’s November! Nice! Y’know what that means! It’s Mass Effect month! Also known to some as Assassin’s Creed month! Or maybe some of you readers know it as CoD 4 month! Well, whatever you call it, all of these great games are headed toward retail shelves in just a matter of weeks! But before then, there are still a couple of other stuff to be excited about.
Bungie Studios pulled out all the stops for a couple of Halo 3 Halloween festivities for the fans. They rolled out a new gametype called “Infection” (sounds like a Resident Evil movie, ya?). Unsurprisingly, it does involve zombies. It’s one big gorefest as players find themselves in either a Human or Zombie team. When a Human player gets killed by a Zombie member, they join the Zombie team. Mmm, meat!
Link: Bungie releases Halo 3 Infection game type for Halloween run
Now if you’re tired of Halo 3 – wait, what?! – and want to try out something else, an event for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is scheduled to take place a week after it hits shelves. CoD 4‘s Live Fire Weekend invites all of you gamers up for a 72-hour Play & Win fragfest. You can shoot your way to the grand prize of an Xbox 360 Elite console, with matching CoD 4 faceplate on the side.
Link: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Live Fire Weekend details
Harmonix’s community director just reminded everyone of keeping their wits about them if they plan to buy a Rock Band kit too early. Turns out that those bundles up for grabs in online auction sites aren’t the real deal. They’re actually just the demo versions that have been “accidentally” sold. Being a demo, there are a couple of missing features and paraphernalia. For one, the demo doesn’t even have the drum kick pedals. Some don’t even have the microphones.
Learn your lesson, kid. Be a smart shopper. Better yet, just wait for November 20 for the official release of Rock Band (simultaneous for 360, PS3, and PS2 versions).
Link: Harmonix warns against buying early Rock Band kits
Another title to look forward to this month is Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. Eidos has good news for the waiting fans too. The game’s just gone gold and is now running down the production line in time for an early release! November 13, here we come!
Link: Kane and Lynch: Dead Men goes gold, release moved up to November 13
Is your scalp still intact? Yeah we imagine the lot of you trying to pull your hair off. “So many games! So little time money!”
– QJ.NET’s Xbox 360 Team
Nintendo Wii: Move along now; no Smash Brawl updates here *coughcough*
Ah yes, Super Mario Galaxy month. And to make things different, we’re going to try – yes, we believe it’s possible – to have this whole QuickPeek section on the Nintendo Wii scott free of anything Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Yeah, there’ve been quite a handful of Brawl updates, but to keep things fun, we’ll torture you guys by not mentioning anything *coughMetaKnightFinalSmashcough* about it here.
Let’s kick off this QuickPeek for the Wii with some galactic leaks. A scan from a Super Mario Galaxy instruction guide tells of an unlockable character once you’ve completed the game with all of the stars. We won’t say who the character is, but yep, that’s right, someone familiar will be *coughSmashBrawlGetsClassicModecough* popping up as a playable character. What’s more is that if you finish the game again (with all of the stars of course) using that unlocked character, then you’re supposed to be getting a secret ending. Man, talk about replay value!
Link: Secret playable character of Super Mario Galaxy revealed
Link: Super Mario Galaxy lands in Japan with helpful instruction booklet
A recent press conference in London had David Yarnton reassuring everyone of their support to the hardcore gamer. The recently released and upcoming lineup of games for the Nintendo Wii and DS are catering to the hardcore. Specifically, he pointed out Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, and Phantom Hourglass.
This raised a couple of hackles though. Some people believed that *coughSmashBrosEntranceCutscenescough* part of Yarnton’s speech was directly referring to Halo 3, under the guise of “record-breaking entertainment launches.”
Nintendo clarified that Yarnton did not refer to any specific game in his speech, especially not Bungie Studios’ opus. “We were merely putting Wii Sports into a wider cultural context alongside cinema, books and TV,” said a Nintendo spokesperson, adding that they consider the Halo games as indispensable to the gaming industry.
Link: Nintendo: Wii and DS still cater to hardcore
Link: Nintendo clears up Yarnton’s speech, not referring to Halo 3
Satoru Iwata’s also explained the full deal about the Nintendo Wii gift-giving function and TV Program Guide Channel. He tells of how they the gift-giving system works. You can send other Wii users on your Friends list a game from the Virtual Console, and they, in turn, can send back a thank you letter for the download. This feature is to be released by Winter, right in time for Christmas!
The TV Program Guide Channel, on the other hand, does what the name suggests: surf TV program schedules right on your Wii console. It’s currently scheduled to roll out early next year, but Iwata stresses that they are still developing this new Wii Channel and are taking measures in order for it to be as user-friendly as possible.
Link: Iwata explains Nintendo Wii gift-giving feature, TV Program Guide channel
*cough* Right. Could anyone get us a glass of *coughSmashBringsPriceCutcough* water, please? Anyways, we win! We were able to go through a whole QuickPeek section without Super Smash Bros. Brawl updates! Wow. Would you believe that?!
– QJ.NET’s Nintendo Wii Team
General Gaming: Skeletons in their closets – just hang ’em out to dry!
We’ve got lots of pretty cool tidbits wafting around the gaming industry this week. Expect lots of spammage below, people! From sales figures to Spore, from a Beowulf antagonist in her birthday suit to pirates.
How are hardware sales fairing in Japan for October? Pretty interesting, to say the least. The Nintendo Wii’s 6-to-1 lead over the Sony PlayStation 3 has drastically changed now. Currently, the Cell powered machine is selling in a 1:2 ratio to the Wii. To rack up exact numbers though, we’re looking at 110,415 units of Wii consoles sold, as reported by Enterbrain. The PS3, meanwhile, was able to sell 47,183 units.
Link: Enterbrain: PS3 closing in on Wii sales in Japan
Beowulf: The Game for the Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Windows PC is catching the eyes of quite a lot of testosterone-oozing gamers out there. No, not because of the stunning graphi – oh wait. It is possibly because of the visually stunning graphics! Angelina Jolie’s voice may not have made it into Ubisofty’s movie tie-in game, however, the star will be reprising her movie role in the video game as pixels on the screen.
Narrative designer Gabrielle Shrager explained that there was no other way they could exclude the nudity from the game since it was an integral plot element in the story. Grendel’s Mother is an antagonist in Beowulf, and in the story, she tries “get you to sign a dirty deal with her by using her extremely tempting body.”
Link: Nude Angelina Jolie in Beowulf the game
Following last week’s Hong Kong raid which successfully raked in over 10,000 devices used for Nintendo modding, China has a thing or two to say about piracy. And for all intents and purposes, somewhat reflect the little snippet we had on piracy in the Philippines a few months back. According to Frank Yu, former Casual Games Producer for Microsoft in China, there isn’t much demand for the PS3, so there’s no modding of pirated games in China. Or at least, none that he’s aware of.
The Nintendo DS isn’t spared however, as the Supercard (R4DS) is being sold in China. Interesting though that Yu leaves out any mention of PSP piracy, which has been established to be a popular piracy victim in many other areas.
Yu states that the Japanese Wii is a more popular candidate for modding since the US Wii has more protection. As for the Xbox 360, piracy is still very much active and rampant in the country. While Xbox 360 consoles in China will still be shut out of Xbox Live when MS detects that the console is modded, Yu has heard of a rumor that talks of a mod chip you can switch on and off. One just has to turn it off to log on to Xbox Live.
Link: Piracy in China: rampant, and so efficient that it’s impressive
Will Wright caused quite an argument in gaming industry too. In the same breath of confirming the existence of a Wii version of Spore (they’re already working on it), he expressed that, to him, “The only next gen system [he’s] seen is the Wii – the PS3 and the Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement.”
He then talks about the console wars, saying of how every generation, people think that the PC is obsolete. However, he still remains steadfast that the mouse is the best input device ever.
Link: Will Wright confirms Wii Spore: Wii is the only next-gen system
Science and Technology: Battlefront: HIV
An HIV cure just might be not that far away, folks! A research team from the Arizona State University hold what could be the key in curing, if not totally eliminating, deadly viruses like hepatitis or HIV. They’ve been working on ultrashort-pulse lasers and have found that these could actually shatter protein shells of certain viruses. The end result was nothing but a “harmless mucus-like mash of molecules.”
The cherry on top of the cake is that the energy used by the USP can be withstood by human T-cells. Total amount of energy used by the laser is 40 times lower than the regular threshold of human cells. And since surpassing it would be harmful, this laser technique to destroy bacteria in our body looks very promising.
Link: Virus destroyed using ultrashort-pulse laser, HIV cure not far ahead
Comment of the Week: a next-gen definition for “next-gen”
In the same way that everyone and their mother’s dog has their own definition for “hardcore gamer,” everyone also defines “next-gen” in their own specific way. We’ve heard dozens and dozens of definitions from people – Will Wright notwithstanding – ranging from the “graphics are everything” argument to the “innovation is everything” atthe other side of the spectrum. Here’s Shatterdome’s take on it though, and something we can all probably agree on:
Article originally posted on Nov 03, 2007 at 01:30 PM.
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