Via CVG

Sony has announced Eye of Judgement, a card game affair for PS3 which the company promises will allow new ways of interacting with the Playstation 3 console. Because, ya see, it makes use of "the ground-breaking technology" of Sony's EyeToy-style "next generation camera".

In fact, Sony showed the title at its E3 press conference yesterday, with our team in attendence describing it thus: "It's a bit like Pokemon but using the EyeToy. You use your hands to move cards around, and then little animals fight."

Anyway, the idea is that it's a kind of 3D version of trading card games, where the characters and monsters normally moping around in 2D are brought to life in the third dimension.

Advertisement:Players use a 3' by 3' board and trading cards that are encrypted with a 'cybercode', and waving this cybercode in front of the camera unleashes your 3D monster or character for battle. As you'd expect, each character and/or monster boasts a variety of skill sets, Sony explaining that "Players take turns to place cards as they jostle for control of the board; the winner is the first player to capture five of the nine squares. The Eye of Judgment presents the player with more than 30 cards, as well as unique online and offline gameplay."

Feast your eye of judgement on the screenshots. ...

Via CVG

While Ratchet & Clank was all a wee bit cutey (you know what we mean), its developer's PS3 newie - Resistance: Fall Of Man - promises to blend "epic military action and unnerving horror" in a thoroughly believable world. Apparently. It almost sounds like a Friday night out in Romford.

A first-person shooter set for PS3, it pits joint Britain and U.S. forces against an unknown race of monsters, simply known as Chimera. The downside is that the buggers have been infecting us humans, and all of Europe has already fallen foul of its hideous curse.

It all smacks of a modern-day Doom-y in concept we think, with single-player, co-op and "one of the most complete multiplayer" online campaigns ever (2-32 players) for players to sink their gnashers into. There are also the promises of horrifying creatures, physics-based weaponry and playable vehicles. No release date as yet, mind.

Screenshots Here ...

News Via CVG

Metal Gear Solid man Hideo Kojima has revealed details of a new Metal Gear Solid game on PSP via an audio blog, which will leap six years on from Metal Gear Solid 3 into 1970.

However, those expecting Snake to bring out the flares and Bee Gees CDs can think again - the game is reportedly much more of an action-based title than its card-based PSP bro' Metal Gear Acid, with main character The Big Boss (not from the Bruce Lee film) charged with bringing down the renegade unit Fox. Where plotline finishes, Metal Gear Solid 4 is then due to kick off.

Despite the promise of 'action', the gameplay still hints at something considerably different to the familiar stealth-y adventures. You'll get to control a squad of troops, leading them into skirmishes, where victories will enable you to collect further troops - bizarrely described by Kojima-san as like "collecting marbles".

Word is that each troop will boast their own individual attributes and style. The gameplay is tailored to ensure that you engage enemies with caution and care, as unlike other squad-style games, 'dead' men don't come back. It's realistic, this one.

There is no release date for the unnamed title as yet, but we're tightly keeping our fingers crossed for a glutton of screens and info in the very near future. Call us optimistic, young people. ...

Via CVG

The PS3 and Xbox 360 thought they had it all, but they don't. Fresh from yesterday's Sonic footage on both those consoles, Sega has announced that the Sex Pistols haircut-sporting hedgehog will be haring onto the Nintendo Wii in Sonic Wild Fire (working title).

It's the first solo adventure for the character since 1991's original Sonic The Hedgehog, challenging the fellow to recreate the last chapters of the classic Arabian Nights tale. We're promised a "refreshing new look" filled with "brightly colored mosaic tiles, glistening oases, swaying palm trees, and crumbling stone columns."

Advertisement:The key onus, however, will be on how this Wii exclusive will adapt to the console's controller. According to Sega of America, the game breathes "untapped freedom in gameplay and control", with gamers tilting the horizontal controller to steer Sonic left and right. You'll also be able to fling it forward (while still holding it, we hope), which will activate a dash attack for falling enemies and smashing barriers.

There is also the promise of "unique controller-focused mini-games" with multiplayer options. Super. Sonic Wild Fire will be available next year, we imagine, quite close to the console's launch. ...

Via CVG

If you winced in disbelief at the 289 GBP price of an Xbox 360, you'll be shocked beyond all reason when you visit your local GAME in November...

410 GBP for a games console? Then there's the broadband fees to get online, the additional pads and the HD TV to make your games look nice. Your girlfriend certainly won't understand why you cancelled the holiday and spent a small fortune on a shiny black box instead of that week in Venice...

It's clear from the outset that PS3 is set to be the Rolls Royce of games consoles, offering better performance (and a higher price) than any other console to be launched in the UK. But have Sony gone a step too far? Nintendo Wii is due to launch this year at a price which is expected to be around the 150 GBP mark, which makes it less than half the price of a PlayStation 3. Then there's the Xbox 360 to consider. A core system costs just 209 GBP and that's before the inevitable price drop to combat the PlayStation 3 launch in November.

What do you think? Are you saving already? Let us know your thoughts and you could see them appearing here over the next few days... ...

Via CVG

You know how you get air conditioning in cars, and it comes as a standard? If the car's all new and shiny at least? Well Kaz Hirai, chief of Sony activities in the US, has used this poetic metaphor to explain the relationship between PS3 and online functionality - it's hardly Keats, but I guess we can forgive him.

Gamers expect online stuff like they expect rain and the man himself states that networking "is as essential as the air we breathe". Playstation 3 will therefore come with all the friends lists, player profiles and messaging that a gamer could need - a self proclaimed "virtual society". What does it have over Xbox?

Well the video chat certainly sounds pretty sexy, although Microsoft's EyeToy-style camera should be revealed properly tomorrow. Apart from that it sounds very similar to Xbox Live's Gold/Silver split, since the promise that basic services will be "free of charge".

The online microtransactions system also sounds very similar to Xbox Live's Microsoft Points system, but on PS3 you'll be able to get games, music and movies. The PSP will also feed into this system, with downloadable PS1 games available to play on the go.

Where does payment start? Well, they haven't announced that just yet... ...

Via CVG

Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi comes clean and spills the beans on PS3 Gran Turismo.

After Gran Turismo 4, Polyphony Digital went straight to work making PS3 Gran Turismo. Or so we thought. It appears that the development team aren't quite ready to show us what they've been up to and will be working on a proper next-gen sequel for quite some time. GT HD will be released "soon after the PS3 launch", according to Yamauchi, but it's not quite the real deal.

Taking the cars and tracks from Gran Tursimo 4, GT HD will be super charged in visual terms and will take full advantage of the hard drive and online play. But,essentially, it's a better looking take on Gran Turismo 4 with some much anticipated online play modes. Kazunori Yamauchi has also included the bikes from the recent PS2 racer Tourist Trophy, meaning you'll be able to race super bikes against muscle cars.

There's no doubt that GT HD looks great and will no doubt be THE game to play online on PS3 but it means the next instalment could be a long time coming. After all, the first PS2 Gran Turismo took over a year to appear after the launch of PS2. We'll be covering future Gran Turismo developments from the E3 show floor and give you a hands-on GT HD report just as soon as Kazunori lets us challenge him to an online game...

Screenshots Here ...

Via GIBiz

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Incog Inc.'s Dylan Jobe has emphasised the importance of utilising the PS3 controller's motion-sensing capabilities only where appropriate, stating: "We're not going to force it."

Jobe joined Phil Harrison on stage at Sony's pre-E3 press conference to present WarHawk, a military combat game which sees players battling it out over land, sea and air. The pair demonstrated how players can fly a plane by maneouvering the controller, tilting it to arc and roll through the air.

In an interview conducted after the event, Jobe said he was unable to explain how the controller works, stating: "It's crazy Sony magic."

"I don't know - it's a special little black box inside there. For us it's very seamless. Sony provided API, and we get signals back from the orientation, so that's it. So the magic inner workings of it? I've no idea."

Jobe went on to observe that the controller boasts an impressive battery life, though he was unable to clarify exactly how long it will run for on a single charge: "The guys from Sony Japan told us that's a ten-plus-hour battery life. We've had the controllers for... I've seen it run for at least six hours and it can probably keep running. We haven't tested it fully."

Incog will be sure to make use of the controller's motion-sensing technology only where appropriate, according to Jobe: "We're not going to try and force controller functionality somewhere where it doesn't belong."

"It just happens to be that it's great to fly the WarHawk around this way, but in another game mode - let's say on the ground or something else - if it doesn't feel right we won't use it, we'll just use the stick. We're going to make sure the controller feels good in the player's hands, and we're not going to force it."

Of course, the new DualShock won't be the only motion-sensing controller on show this week - Nintendo is expected to reveal exactly what players can do with the Wii's unique "freestyle" remote controller at its own pre-E3 press conference later today. When asked how the two controllers compared, Jobe said: "I've never held the Wii controller, so I'm not sure."

However, he did go on to echo Phil Harrison's observation that the PS3 controller requires no external sensors - unlike the Wii remote. "I think that one of the most exciting things about this controller is that it is completely contained. There are no additional reference points, you don't have to put up any registration marks. It's a completely contained Sony kinetic sensor. That's the whole unit - battery, rumble, kinetic sensor. Everything is in that unit."

A release date for WarHawk has yet to be announced, so it's not known whether the game will appear as a launch title when the PS3 goes on sale in November. ...

Via GIBiz

Consumers who purchase the 20GB version of the PlayStation 3 will find themselves with less options than those who buy the 60GB model when it comes to data storage and Wi-Fi functionality.

According to Sony's latest spec sheet, the 20GB PS3 will not feature inputs for memory sticks, SD or compact flash cards. Nor will it offer any Wi-Fi options or any HDMI output.

The 60GB PS3 will come with a single HDMI port - and not two, as the prototype shown at last year's E3 suggested. The prototype also featured three Ethernet ports and six USB ports, but the console unveiled yesterday has just one Ethernet and four USB ports.

The 20GB model will retail for EURO 100 less than the 60GB version, at EURO 499. The PlayStation 3 is set to go on sale in Japan on November 11th, with US and European launches to follow on November 17th. ...