What Is Techno Again?

Sony releases PlayStation Vita launch details

If you’ve been following news for the PlayStation Vita, then you’ve probably heard about one of the biggest obstacles to new buyers: the outrageously priced memory cards. These babies were reported to run from $30 (4 GB) to $120 (32 GB), but now Sony claims gamers will be charged in the $20 to $100 range. That’s really not any better if you ask me, especially since I’m doubting we’ll get much use out of the lower end cards. Vita games are being compared to full PlayStation titles in terms of raw power and graphics, and I’m as afraid of the sickly battery life as I am how much memory each game will require.

At least something good has come out of the latest report from Sony: a launch line-up. You can see the entire list on the PlayStation blog, but here are a few that interest me. These titles vary from $10 to $50. Of course, you can snag all first-party games and some accessories and third-party titles with the week-early purchase of the First Edition Vita bundle.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

Now that Naughty Dog has announced The Last of Us, it looks like they’re putting the lid on Uncharted. This is probably a strategic move on Sony’s behalf, considering it raises the incentive for fans to buy the Vita and play one more Nathan Drake adventure. Seeing on video how the various motion and button controls work with player preferences rather than against them is what sold me on the handheld.

Escape Plan (PSN only)

This is one of the more unique games in Sony’s Vita line-up. In Escape Plan (by Fun Bits Interactive), players guide Lil and Laarg through an environment laden with traps. The predominantly grey color scheme has indie written all over it, and the premise and humorous style promise something more refreshing than another cog in the giant first-person shooter machine companies are so fond of nowadays.

Army Corps of Hell (Square Enix)

Square Enix’s Army Corps of Hell combines Nintendo’s Pikmin with goblins and giant demons. The dethroned King of Hell commands the mini corps on a mission to reclaim his rightful place in the underworld. Annihilating enemies and looting corpses might make this game sound gruesome, but the idea is pretty charming.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories

I’m still not sure what I think of this one. At its best, Silent Hill is a single-player horror experience, and any hint of co-op (like in Homecoming) waters down the mood. Hello, hear those sirens? Better stay away! Regardless, developer WayForward intends on delivering a collaborative multiplayer game from a top-down, or isometric, perspective. I’ll be playing it because I’m a huge SH nerd, but this sounds like an attempted knock-off of Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light to me.

Touch My Katamari

If you can forgive the salacious name, which makes me want to roll my eyes while everyone else giggles unstoppably, then Namco Bandai’s newest Katamari is probably a good thing, even if it fails to impress. I can’t imagine a better game to lure in the more casual crowd. Katamari is simple but addictive fun.

What titles are you looking forward to? Do you plan to buy a Vita, or wait until the price drops (like, by a lot)?

Tags: Army Corps of Hell, Book of Memories, Escape Plan, Fun Bits Interactive, Golden Abyss, Naughty Dog, PlayStation Vita, Silent Hill, Square Enix, Touch My Katamari, Uncharted, WayForward
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Our first look at The Last of Us

The Spike 2011 Video Game Awards premiered the first real look at the PS3 exclusive The Last of Us, a post-apocalyptic survival game from Naughty Dog. Prior to the cinematic trailer (below), a bizarre teaser had generated a fair amount of hype for the game. The video borrowed footage from Planet Earth, which shows a deadly fungi infecting and killing an ant from the inside out. The use of the clip was interesting, but not enough to convince me of the game itself. After all, the teaser featured no actual in-game content.

But Naughty Dog’s name is attached to the project, and that alone is enough to get me excited. Naughty Dog happens to be my favorite developer; each series they put out ends up as some as my most enjoyed games. Now, with the VGA trailer, gamers have some idea about what to expect.

Still, I feel like Dead Island should stand as a warning. The game’s cinematic trailer built up hype for a game whose mood was dramatically different and whose gameplay suffered from glitches and other issues. The Last of Us might not be about zombies, but it’s close enough. The Last of Us is a game of survival, and so far we know little to nothing of its gameplay. I like the characters (Joel and Ellie) and the narrative tone already, but that doesn’t mean The Last of Us will do right where Dead Island did wrong.

What are your thoughts on The Last of Us? Are you holding out for it despite the similarities to Dead Island?

Tags: Naughty Dog, PlayStation 3, The Last of Us
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Spawn Kill Favorites: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

The good people at SpawnKill were awesome enough to publish my Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune review up on their website. Go check it out and support them, too!

Tags: Naughty Dog, PlayStation 3, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
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PS3 Review: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

From childhood to adulthood, Naughty Dog has remained one of my favorite games developers out there. As a PlayStation owner for the majority of my life, it brings me the faintest amount of self-indulgent pleasure that all the alternative console elitists out there (the ones who refuse to pick up a PS3 for reasons other than price or dwindling ports on their television) don’t get to experience the exclusive Uncharted series. The sequel recently took the charts by storm as it featured a multi-player option that only added to the wealth of praise Among Thieves received. As dandy as that is, I took the time to sit down with the first installment before charging toward the latest and greatest.

I like to think of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune as the illegitimate, smart-ass lovechild between Tomb Raider and a Spielberg movie—notably Indiana Jones. Say hello to the hero: Nathan “Nate” Drake, voiced by the lively Nolan North (who voiced last year’s stylish new Prince of Persia and provided some killer Deadpool voice acting in Hulk Vs.). In the hunt for his ancestor, the explorer Sir Francis Drake, joins Elena Fisher, a nosy journalist determined to shake a few vines and nail the story of her career. Even in the midst of gunfire, Elena clings to her camera like its her firstborn child. With the gambling Victor “Sully” Sullivan at his side, Nate tries his best to ditch the in-your-face Elena, but when the search for Drake’s long lost find of El Dorado turns ugly with the arrival of more than a few unwanted guests, she becomes a useful ally with a mean survival instinct buried under all that curiosity.

Cue the entertainment. You won’t always have the support of Elena and Sully to rely upon for spoon-feeding—oftentimes you collect small relics and solve puzzles solo in a way that would make Lara Croft smile at your bug-free endeavors.

The story takes the gold in Uncharted. The plot begins on a tacky, overused note, but it quickly redeems itself. Things do get a bit whacky near the end, instilling you with a Resident Evil-like sense of panic, but the superb voice acting and engaging adventure combined smooth out any rough patches. Even the graphics are perfected—from the water realistic enough to touch to eerie forests, ear-ringing bazookas, and all the highly interactive characters in between. Eyecandy isn’t everything, though; the soundtrack constantly reinvents itself to a commendable degree.

There are some pitfalls scattered about, however. Despite the decent array of weaponry Nate can pick from like candy, a lot of them endure the full length of the game without much love. Ledges can be difficult to spot now and then, but they present no real obstacle to enjoying gameplay; jet-ski trips, on the other hand, lose their appeal once you discover the brainless inability to drive and shoot. Sticky cover morphs into something troublesome in the heat of jungle-themed showdowns. And speaking of those, the initial challenge of facing off against your fellow treasure seekers deflates into monotonous point-and-shoots at several places in the game, which itself runs a bit short.

All problems aside, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune marks a smart and entertaining ride through unknown, gold-rich territory. The adventure might resort to the typical happy ending, but the journey in between comes riddled with surprises, bullet showers, and enough charm to sink a U-boat.

Thanks to commenter Matt for the mock box art tip:

Tags: Naughty Dog, PlayStation 3, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Posted in Reviews, Video Games | 5 Comments »