The demo was less than 500 MB in size; unfortunately we found out that the Playstation Store suffers a flaw that the Xbox 360 originally had with its download support; you can only download one thing at a time and until that download is finished that’s all the PS3 can do. Microsoft released an update to the Xbox 360 several months after launch that let people do other tasks on the console while also downloading a demo or content update; let’s hope Sony does the same thing down the road for the PS3. Also, you have to wait a little longer after the download ends for the demo to actually install on the hard drive. Playable demos for NBA 07, Resistance: Fall of Man, and Formula One Championship Edition are also available as are free demos for the two full downloadable games currently available; Blast Factor and Cash Guns Chaos (more on those later).
There are also a number of HD trailers for current Blu-Ray movies for download in MPEG4 format. Ultraviolet, Stealth, Underworld: Evolution, Click, Talladega Nights, Silent Hill, Black Hawk Down, and House of Flying Daggers are currently available (why Casino Royale, a Sony made movie that’s coming out on the same day as the PS3, doesn’t get any PS3 downloadable love is a mystery). However, with Microsoft now set to support full movie and TV episode downloads for the Xbox 360 later this week, the fact that Sony’s Playstation Store has only a few movie trailers available says a lot about Sony’s current commitment to having that kind of content for PS3 owners. A number of PS3 game trailers are also available for download including upcoming games like Lair and Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom.
Like the Xbox 360’s Xbox Live Arcade you can also download simple and small games for the PS3. Unlike Xbox Live Arcade, there doesn’t appear to be size limits to how large a PS3 downloadable game can be (Xbox Live Arcade games have to fit inside a Xbox 360 64 MB memory card). Blast Factor comes in at 79 MB and Cash Guns Chaos is well over 300 MB. We briefly played the free demos of both games. Blast Factor is basically a far prettier version of Bizzare Creations’ Geometry Wars and the few free levels available in the demo version suggest it will be a solid and fun game to play (currently the game has a price of $7.99 to get the full game, but apparently that price will go up to $9.99 at some point). Cash Guns Chaos is a Total Carnage clone set in a circus that was developed by Sony Online (yep, the folks that make Everquest). The game is rated “M” and its easy to see why while playing the demo version; even though the game has a cartoony art style the blood flows freely as your character shoots the various monsters that come after him. The full version of Cash Guns Chaos costs $9.99. Unlike the Xbox 360 or the Wii which make you pay for points that are then used to pay for online content for those consoles, the PS3 uses an online wallet that you put in money from a pre-set selection of amounts; from $5 all the way up to $150. Sony apparently is also planning to let people pay for Playstation Store content via a Playstation Card; presumably similar to the Xbox Live Microsoft Points card that are sold in retail stores.
Of course, the Xbox 360’s Xbox Live service had a few growing pains before getting up to where it is now but we have to say we were much more impressed with the Xbox 360’s online content selection at its launch than we currently are with Sony’s Playstation Store (only two downloadable games?) We also are not a fan of the store’s online interface; we prefer the larger typeface and selections of Xbox Live. However, the nice thing about having a console that has a built in hard drive is that perfect for updates and we suspect that Sony will be listening to feedback and putting in improvements.
Batman: Arkham City PC Review Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to 2009’s smash-hit action game Batman: Arkham Asylum. As the name suggests, you will be reprising your role as the Caped Crusader and going against an even larger 'prison' filled with Gotham's criminals and villains. A textbook example on how to do a proper sequel, Arkham City takes what worked in the original, excised or improved upon what didn’t, and elevated everything to an even greater scope. The PC version suffered from a few months of delay, but in that time, Rocksteady worked closely to NVIDIA to implement some familiar technologies from the last game, such as PhysX and 3D Vision, along with new DirectX 11 optimizations. But how well was the whole package executed? Read on to find out!
Saints Row: The Third PC Review Saints Row is one of most unique series of games to build upon the open-world action template forged by Grand Theft Auto, and has met with plenty of critical and commercial success since it began on consoles back in 2006. This latest iteration, titled Saints Row: The Third promises the most outlandish fun and freedom of customization of them all, and in a much more PC-friendly package than its predecessor. Does it live up to those expectations and, more importantly, is it worth the price of admission? Find out in Will's latest review!
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim PC Review The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is Bethesda Softworks’ latest offering in their series of epic fantasy RPGs, as well as one of the most highly-anticipated PC titles of 2011. As the Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn, prepare to take the fight to the mythical beasts that have returned to the realm after centuries of slumber, all the while exploring a huge and highly-detailed open world.
The PC version of the game promises enhanced graphical fidelity, standard RPG trimmings such as hotkeys and quick-save, as well as unbridled mod support, something we’ll all be thankful for once they release that SDK. Skyrim has already sold millions of copies and set records for play-time on Steam... Find out why in today's review, which happens to be one of the biggest and most in-depth articles on the subject out there!
L.A. Noire Complete Edition PC Review L.A. Noire, as the name clearly states, is a video game built on the tropes of one of the greatest periods of American cinema: film noir. Developed by the now defunct Australian developer Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games, this title has been out on consoles for a full six months before finally making its way to the PC. This “Complete Edition” of the game features improved graphics, keyboard/mouse controls, and every bit of previously-released DLC for free. But was it truly worth the wait? Read on and find out!
Intel Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge-E Performance Review
Today marks the launch date for Intel’s Sandy Bridge-E line of processors, a new family of high-end Core i7 products based on the LGA 2011 platform. This new socket is poised to replace the existing LGA 1366 specification used by the more powerful Nehalem and Westmere parts from the past couple years, specifically Bloomfield and Gulftown, the Core i7-9xx+ line of CPUs.
With 6 cores, 15MB of cache, and support for quad-channel DDR3-1600 memory, the Core i7-3960X sounds like quite a catch. Want to know more about it and how it performs? Read on!
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Xbox 360 Review
The self-appointed "most anticipated game in history" launched worldwide this past Tuesday. Why, it's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, of course (of course), what else? Unsurprisingly, the military FPS debate between this and Battlefield 3 rages on, but now that both have been released, surely we can take a look and objectively evaluate them both? Luke's taken the Xbox version of MW3 for a spin this week, so to find out what he thinks of it in today's review!
Stronghold 3 Review
The latest sequel in the long-running real-time strategy franchise from FireFly Studios, Stronghold 3 is all about building your dream castle and defending it against sieging enemies. Almost exactly one decade after the first game was released, this new title promises a return to the classic and well-received gameplay that has been strayed so far from in more recent iterations. Does it live up to those expectations? Will (AKA Synchronous Failure) tells us all about it in his first official FiringSquad review, so read on!
Battlefield 3 PC Review - Single-player Impressions
One of the most highly-anticipated PC games of the year is upon us; Battlefield 3 is now available in North America! EA/DICE have finally delivered a sequel to the core Battlefield franchise, a proper follow-up to BF2. Having played through the game's single-player campaign already, ahead of the multiplayer festivities kicking off around midnight, I figured I'd share my impressions ASAP. Is it really a worthy addition to the core Battlefield series, or just another bullet point on the back of the box? Read on and find out!
Wrecked: Revenge Revisited Supersonic Software Interview
Following up on our hands-on preview from earlier this month, here's an interview with Supersonic Software, creators of Wrecked: Revenge Revisited. The game's coming out on XBLA and PSN in a matter of weeks, but for now, Luke chats with the developer about its predecessors Mashed and Micro Machines, how difficult it can be to get an indie game published, the closure of Codemasters' Guildford branch, and more!
Orcs Must Die! PC Review Orcs Must Die! is the first release from an independent developer named Robot Entertainment. Fans of classic real-time strategy games may have heard that name before, as the outfit is comprised of many veterans from Ensemble Studios, creators of the Age of Empires series.
Equal parts action and strategy, this is a tower defense game that not only puts you in command, but on the front lines of combat, as well. Slaughter thousands of orcs, ogres and other vile creatures of fantasy that invade your fortresses through 24 levels of the story-based campaign. With high levels of replayability thanks to its scoring and leaderboard functionality, multiple difficulty levels, and various styles of play, it sounds a steal at only $15. Does it deliver on all that’s promised, though? Read on and find out!
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