It's 2010!

Well, January it's almost over but the year has actually just started and as far as games are concerned it's started with a bang!

Next week I'm putting my hands on Mass Effect 2 which is only the first of many amazing games I'm eagerly awaiting.

Actually I started the year with 2 2009 games: Ratchet & Clank: a Crack in Time and Assassin's Creed II.
I'm actually done already with Ratchet & Clank, I only have to do the second walk-through to get my last gold and then my first 2010 platinum!
Assassin's Creed I've just started and totally loving it.
I liked the first one too but this is heaps and bounds better. Many more things to do and much more variety overall, not to mention the setting which is really awesome!
Oh, from 2009 I'm also playing Braid, finally also on PSN and and the final chapters of Tales of Monkey Island on the pc.


As for my "gonna-play" list of 2010 (in no particular order):
- Darksiders: my b-friend is playing it and it's pretty cool!
- Mass Effect 2 (!!!) - can't wait!
- Heavy Rain (!!!) - can't wait again!
- God of War III
- Splinter Cell conviction
- Dante's Inferno
- Fable 3
- Alan Wake (I can finally plug my 360 again :P, yeah ME2 it's a PC one for me!)
- Bioshock 2 (I actually didn't play the first but I'm curious about this one)
- King's Bounty Armored Princess (the first chapter was addictive but also quite difficult, I hope I won't spend too many hours on this one)
- APB: customization looks great, I'm very curious about this one!
- The Last Guardian: wow!
- Starcraft 2: if it actually gets released! Lol, as they promised
- Mod Nation racer: looks great from the Beta but they must improve framerate, if they do it will certainly be a lot of fun!
- The Agent: looks intriguing, I'm not sold yet but will definitely keep an eye on it!
- ... and certainly many other that will be released, certainly some great PSN/XBLA and some awesome PC games (as was last year).

And so... we have some amazing PS3 exclusives this year: Heavy Rain (actually my most anticipated game together with Mass Effect), GOW 3, the Last Guardian and Mod Nation racers (among the others), Gran Turismo 5 will see the light too!
But also some Xbox360 exclusives that will make me plug my Elite again :P: Alan Wake, Fable 3 and Splinter Cell conviction.
And the PC will be quite a playing platform too with: Mass Effect 2 (Oh yeah!), APB, Amored Princess and Starcraft 2!

2009 was an incredible year for gamers but 2010 will probably surpass it: whatever you've got, a PS3, a PC and/or a Xbox360 there's plenty of fun ahead!

Enjoy!
Ivy

Dear Santa... this Christmas I want some girlie game for my PS3

Dear VG-Santa,
this year I was a very good chick gamer.
I have played many games both on my PS3 and on the PC (I will also give a go at Shadow Complex on my Elite, I promise).
I have almost platinum-ed Red Faction: Guerrilla (and you do know it took a lot of devotion) and I also helped other fellow players get some nasty sub-trophies.

I also wrote some nice articles on this blog, you know, and have got any nice special edition for all games I bought this year!

Since I've been so good I would like to ask you a nice present for this Christmas and it is not just for me but for all the chick gamers out there (and maybe some boy too).
Please, remind Sony and MS how the Wii built its great success (i.e.: Wii Fit) and bring us some sport/training/dance game on the PS3 and XBOX as well.

I've got a playstation eye already, now please bring me a crazy coloured mat (wireless, please) and a personal trainer stuffed into a BluRay (only the trainer, the mat must be physical) :).
After all, the PS3 "only does everything" so it can also do only one more thing too (becoming a sort of gym that is), right?

Oh, pretty please, for the dance game I want custom tracks to be the main option. I
'm not much a fan of disco or pop music but I can certainly Dance if off with Jamiroquai or Fat Boy Slim, you know (I've lost past my teenage years ;)).

Oh, and while you're there reminding Sony (especially) and MS they have a girlie fan base, just thrown in there the idea of some lovely pink pads (not asking for a whole PS3 slim yet) and keyboard/accessories etc..


ps.: I'd also really like to know when project Natal will be released since it seems the perfect tool for what I want :). I already know it's not going to be this Christmas though so I'll keep the request for the next occasion (you also do some Easter overtime?)

Thank-you
Ivy

Little Big Planet gadgets coming to UK/Europe(?!) in October!

We read a big deal about Little Big Planet sackboy based gadget at the beginning of the year and actually there was huge demand for anything sackboy based since Little big Planet is one of Playstation greatest exclusive (and a must-play for any gamer) and an innovative and awesome title featuring awesome graphic and very cute character. And honestly some LBP gadgets are long overdue.
While I understand MM (we make games it's their motto) and Sony are more into making games and hardware the LBP brand could probably be a huge success in the toy market and definitely not just appeal gamers (it's also a great chance for successful cross-promotion).

The first Little big Planet gadgets were previewed back in February:
playstation blog announcement

Then they hinted that there would be some cool merchandise VERY soon just after San Diego's Comic-Con (July 2009)
playstation blog post

... and then, while I was checking some stuff on Play.com today I found out that the first official Little Big Planet sackboy gadgets will be available in UK (and presumably the rest of Europe!?) no later than by the end of October.

Play.com in fact is already listing them for purchase and will ship them starting from the 26th Oct.: LBP gadgets on Play.com. Beware though, Play.com will only ship gadgets to UK addresses :(.

Otherwise you can go the DIY way if you can knit or crochet (or have some beloved one that can) and, honestly, one can really get some awesome results!
Check what people have come up with:
Article on Media Molecule's site
Maggie Wang's sackboys
and find a pattern here (but it isn't the best result I've seen) for free:
free sackboy pattern.

or just buy some handmade ones through etsy (lots of talented artisans/artists there:
sackboys on Etsy
(this is a great looking pattern!): Best sackboy pattern.

PS3: your HD is linked to ONE PS3 so remember to make full back-ups!

Truth be told I never thought about doing PS3 back-ups for a couple of reasons:
1st: I think the PS3 is a brilliant and solid piece of hardware
2nd and most important: I've got my 250GB hard disk installed so in case I'll just mount it on a new machine...

I discovered just too late that no other PS3 will read my hard disk unless I format it (that means all my data will be erased).
As for some data the PS3 hard disk is linked to only 1 PS3 and will not work on any other PS3.

So, basically, if your PS3 breaks for any reason even though you have all your precious saves and data on your hard disk it will be useless because you cannot read/transfer them on any other machine.
At least... that's what I've experienced.

What I'm basically suggesting is: do your bi-weekly or monthly full back-ups (using the PS3 back up utility) to make sure you won't loose your stuff!
The full back-up will take quite a while (1 - 2 hours so plan it for when you won't be using your PS3 for gaming :)).
Check here for instructions: http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/backuputility.html

You will not lose trophies information in any case since they are linked to your account outside your PS3 (but remember to syncro them every once in a while, if you care).

Happy gaming!
Ivy

Why a serious gamer MUST own a PS3

Well, the very reason is simple: because many PS3 exclusives, true PS3 exclusives, are never going to show up on any other systems, be them an XBOX360 or a PC.

And are these exclusives worth the purchase of a system? Sure thing for someone that is serious about gaming (and let's face it, a PS3 is not expensive for what is offers, how much did you pay your last PC video card or you cell phone? But that's another article...).

So let's put speculation apart and check out the list (newest first). I'm no listing ALL exclusives but "only" the ones that make it worth buying a PS3 and are most impressive:

Wipeout HD (+ Fury)
InFamous
Killzone 2
Resistance 2
Metal Gear Solid 4
Valkyria Chronicles
Little Big Planet
Flower (PSN a unique poetry made game)
Grand Turismo Prologue (GT5)
the PixelJunk series (PSN)
Warhawk
Ratchet and Clank
Uncharted

and not to forget the forthcoming:
Fat Princess (sooon!)
Heavy Rain
Uncharted 2
The Last Guardian
Ratchet and Clank
God of War III
EyePet

Worth it?
I definitely think so and for a complete list (I, for one, also loved the atmospheres of Folklore) check this complete list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS3_exclusives
A serious gamer really cannot miss this goodies!!!

Let's GAME!
Ivy

What trophies are missing: progression bar

I'm playing a few games at the moment and, although I could live without trophies, the truth is they are a nice feature and they certainly are stimulating.

I mean, when you are enjoying a game you DO want to not only beat it but beat it as best as possible by doing all the cool things that could be done, by achieving records and so on, that is being great at it. Therefore when you beat a game and then check the trophies section to find out you did not even reach 50% that means you'll have to try harder!

The PS3 is my console of choice but I also have an X360 so I do know how achievements work and although I'm not much into them because I only got my 360 or GOW2 and Fable 2 there is something I like of achievements more than Trophies: the progression bar.
By and large I prefer trophies over achievement for how they are implemented, their features etc. but the achievements' progression bar is really a MUST have for this feature.

I mean, I'm playing Flower... how long till I get the 10000 flowers: I do want to get them and get all Flowers trophies but at this point, after beating the game and playing it again I coould have reached any number of bloomed flowers... and the same is for the Helgast kills in KillZone 2 and so on and so fort.

Introducing any sort of progression bar that would hint the players how long till they reach the trophy objective would really be cool and enhance the trophies experience :)!

Greets,
Ivy

The perfect valentine game-gift: Flower

Valentine is coming and as a gamer this year it's your chance to be traditional and original at the same time as far as the gift for your beloved one is concerned.
Rather than buying your girlfriend or wife the usual bunch of flowers buy her Flower, the just released PSN game by That Game Company.
Flower would obviously be the perfect Valentine gift for a chick gamer but not only, even though your sweetheart is not a game fanatic (yet) you can still purchase Flower for her.

Just create her a personal account on your PS3 and buy Flower, then buy a pad and some lovely gift wrap to make for a nice, tangible, present (unfortunately there are no pink nor red pads yet!). Turn your PS3 on and make her play your gift. It may be a lovely way to incline her to be interested in video-gaming if she's not and a sweet way to say "I love you" to a chick gamer.

Flower does not require much experience with the pad since it makes use of the Six-Axis movement feature and it's very intuitive and easy to play.
It does not require any button pressing either (just hold any button to go on, at least in the first levels) and it can really appeal a girl: beautiful graphic, lovely environments, lots of flowers and a gentle background music (the flowers you catch also emit notes).

A really romantic way to make for a non-traditional present to your girlfriend, wife or someone you'd like to be more intimate with ;) whether she's already interested in gaming or not!

Happy *play-full* Valentine!
Ivy