Here’s a little something for all of the Final Fantasy Fanboys out there. If you head over Gametrailers, they have started their 13 part series, The Final Fantasy Retrospective. This one gives a nice overview of the start of the series and all the info you ever wanted about the first game.
You can check out the first installment here. The next part will be available this Sunday.
As always with a new E3 comes many many videos for us all to drool over. Here are some of the juicier ones. For more tasty bits check out E3 Expo.
So they buckled and dropped the price of the PS3 by $100. Now all it needs are some games.
Now only slightly more than the Xbox 360 Elite we should see a decent climb in sales for the once thought dead weight console. It still may not be in my price range but hey it surely helps. This makes me wonder if Microsoft will reconsider actually putting an HD player into the system.
One quick update to this story. Sony has also announced it will be discontinuing the 60gb versions of the PS3, so get them while you can at the current price. Now they have introduced the new 80gb versions that also come with a copy of Motorstorm. And how much will these babies run you? Well $599 of course, the original price of the currently dropped 60gb models.
I wish I knew what the hell goes on in the minds of the guys over at Sony.
Like Max Payne only with stereotypes. Mastertronic brings us Made Man, a game of climbing the ranks of a New York City mafia family.
You play Joey Verola, son of an Italian immigrant, who happened his way into the mob life. As Joey you save the life of Johnny ‘Eggs’ Biondo, nephew to Phil Lombardi. Phil is a high level man in the Frazone crime family. It’s all very Brady Bunch meets The Soprano’s.
Even though the game tells you the story of how Joey moves up through the ranks of the Frazone family it can get a little hard to follow because the levels/story act
ually jump around in chronological order. You start the game with the very first job Joey ever had in the mob, then the next mission has you jump back to when you first meet Eggs in Vietnam, then back to finish the original mission. The narration between missions is done nicely, via Joey telling basically his life story to the other hood in the car.
The game has some well implemented, innovative, game play elements. The cover system is done fairly well, diving into cover is a bit buggy at times though. But for the most part it works well, it feels good to be propped up behind an object then to jump up and blast your foe’s head off with a sawed-
off. And with destructible barricades it adds a slight challenge because you can’t always hang out at the same one for a long period of time. As I found out while trying to hide behind a pallet of cigarette cartons.
The game also uses some picture-in-picture help you out along the way. It will show you the location of weapons, conversations being had elsewhere, and on occasion your enemies perspective to help you during those difficult fights, particularly with snipers.
As for the combat, what the game is all about, it’s pretty straight forward. You’ve got guns, they’ve got guns, whomever runs out of ammo first loses. Luckily, ammo is plentiful. Head shots are very satisfying what with the blood splatter that follows. And if you happen just to injure your foes enough to drop them you can do a retaliation shot. Your enemy spats something unpleasant at you, you give a brief retort, then blow their brains out onto the floor.
Oh and going Rambo on everyone with dual AK-47’s is a just as much fun as it sounds. Although pray to God if you run out off bullets first
Made Man is another game with a good premise, young guy rising through a strong mafia family, but was implemented in a mediocre fashion. It took the best things from games such as Max Payne and The Godfather and dulled them up. I’d say play either of those instead, but to each his own. I’ll give it a 6 out of 10.
So last night at about 1 am cable television and gaming met at a horrible crossroad. For twenty-five minutes the channel FX played the Grand Theft Auto 4 countdown. Why? I don’t know but it was best (worst) marketing idea ever.
Update: FX seems to be doing this every night at 1 am for half an hour. I hope they’re getting paid well.
Rumor has it that this fall all of the next gen systems will have their own version of Beautiful Katamari.
The 360 and PS3 versions will hit on October 17th for $39.99, while the Wii owners will have to wait for November 14th and pony up $29.99. One looming question is will the game still be the same since, creator, Keita Takahashi has stepped down? This will be by far the best use of the SIXAXIS controllers.
At the moment this is but hearsay but Orange Lounge Radio, the ones that broke the story, insist that their news is legit. Also Xboxic helps the argument by showing a Blockbuster release schedule with Beautiful Katamari listed in mid October.
If this isn’t just some early April fools shenanigans then you’ll all have something to play while wearing your new shirts.
Love Microsoft and hate money? Well here is a gift for you then. Microsoft will be releasing, Halo 3 Legendary Edition. For a mere $130, you can purchase this super special edition of the biggest game of ‘07.
What do I get for all of my hard earned cash?
Well this thing comes full loaded. Aside from the game, you’ll receive two supplemental discs. One contains a “Making of Halo 3″, featurettes, and an AV calibration tool on the first and remastered “cinematic material” from Halo 1 and Halo 2 (a look back at everything from the last two games). On the other disc is an exclusive Red vs Blue episode and and This Spartan Life. Then to top it off you get collection of Halo 3 storyboard art. Oh not to mention a spartan helmet to stuff it all in.
Now if you don’t feel like dropping the cash for the Legendary Edition there will still be plenty of the standard and limited editions. As for the limited, along with the game you’ll also receive the first disc from the legendary edition and the Halo “fiction and art book”. This one will only cost you $70.
In 1993 Lucas Arts released a little adventure game by the name of Sam & Max Hit the Road. Then, sadly, over a decade passed before we heard another peep from the dog and lagamorph. Telltale games, the developers of Sam & Max, released small Sam & Max episodes that are being distributed by Game Tap and Telltale Games website. The first four episodes can be acquire now while the fifth, 
Reality 2.0 will be out next month.
Well in August they will be releasing the entire first “season” out to retailers. This means you can either pay $8.95 for each individual episode or hang out until it hits shelves.
…shirts. Show your love for the Prince by donning one of these classy Tees. Panic is the only place you can pick up one of these fine additions to your closet. A little pricey at $24.95, but come on, you’ll be the coolest kid on the block. And if anyone mocks you, just roll them into the nearest lake.
New Spore footage released at GDC. This is going to be the greatest game ever.
