Siren: New Translation demo on PSN

Do you have a ps3 ? If so turn it on, log into a Japanese/Hong Kong account and you will be able to download a demo for Siren: New Translation. Spawned from the mind of Keiichiro Toyama (the father of the silent hill series), New translation is the third game in the series of pant wetting Survival Horror games.

As Siren 3 is currently still a Japanese exclusive and as its only on the Japanese/Hong Kong PSN store expect the demo to be in Japanese, however as its only a demo it shouldn't be too hard to get the game going.

Siren: New Translation is set to hit stores in Japan this summer, a release date in Europe and the USA has yet to be confirmed or announced, so show that lot at sony what for a download this demo.

Source: DGN

Siren, ps3 screens

Hot off the internet presses, 37 new screenshots from Siren:New Translation have appeared. Graphically they look superb, and if the gameplay clips available and past reputation are anything to go by, this game will scary your pants off.

Siren: New Translation is stated for a July 2008 release in Japan, an English language version hasn't been announced yet, so gets those fingers crossed.

Source: CVG

Monster Hunter 2...million

Monster Hunter 2 on the PSP has hit the epic 2 million sales mark...in Japan alone. For any game that is quite a feat, but for a PSP game its remarkable, in fact its a new record. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (as its called) is the first game in the series and on the PSP to unlock the coveted Double Platinum status.

"Capcom announced today that Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G has crossed the two million mark in Japanese shipments. This is the first time the Monster Hunter series has reached this mark, and is also a first for a Japanese PSP title".

Source: IGN

Ace Combat 6 DLC

Microsoft has confirmed that the latest edition of its Air Combat simulator franchise Ace Combat: Fires of Liberation will receive downloadable content today.

"The content comes in the form of six new planes. Prices will vary, with the cheapest plane being for nothing and the more costly of the bunch costing 400 Microsoft Points.

Aircraft fans can look forward to using the Typhoon, SU-47 Berkut, F-16C Fighting Falcon, Tornada GR.4 and the Rafale M Idolmaster".

Source:CVG

GTA4 vids........again

Yet another video has appeared on the internet with new Grand Theft Auto 4 footage, a whole 3 minutes and 36 seconds of it over at GameTrailers. Some footage of the intro and some in-game footage appeared on YouTube earlier today, servers will no doubt be in meltdown.

Source: CVG

Gears of war 2 - 9th may

Mark down May 9th on your calendars boys and girls as Microsoft have announced that they will be releasing the first in game footage from Gears of War 2. This is the news that plenty of curb stomping fans have been waiting for, following Epic's Unreal engine preview from GDC 08 that exhibited some lovely water effect and mass draw demonstrations, there will clearly be high expectations.

"Microsoft has confirmed to CVG that gameplay footage from Epic's big sequel will be unleashed on May 9, 11pm Pacific time - that's May 10, 7am here in the UK.

Microsoft has told us: "It will be approximately 90-120 seconds in length", and will "have an intro by Cliff and then show gameplay footage from the campaign". Multiplayer won't be shown".

Source: CVG

Dan Houser: GTA4 rocks

Unless youve been living in a cave for the last year you will know that the imminent release of Grand Theft Auto 4 has gamers literally foaming at the mouth in anticipation, just to wet their appetite a little more, Dan Houser (Rockstar co-founder and creative VP) has said that the Jump from GTA 3 to GTA4 is huge:

"What we wanted was the feeling when you saw GTA III after GTA II", he said in an interview with Variety. "The feeling when [you] see IV compared to III, hopefully it's not difficult to see differences."

Houser also touched upon the need to protect the Grand Theft Auto license from exploitation, debunking any remaining rumours for a movie adaptation.

"The intellectual property is the main asset in the company. That's why 'GTA' is still relevant ten years later. We haven't put one out every year. We haven't fleeced it. And we haven't put it on 50 different formats.

"We're not per se against moving properties between different media but for GTA it just seems so perfect as a game. You lose a lot of what makes it what it is if you move it into being, say, a movie. It just never seemed interesting creatively".

Its safe to assume that GTA 4 will sell well, frankly Rockstar could have got a copy of GTA3, stuck a "4" sticker on the box and it still would have sold by the bucket load. Grand Theft Auto 4 is set for a worldwide launch this in just over a weeks time on 29th April...like you didn't already know.

Source: CVG

UT3 XBOX 360

If youve been waiting on tender hooks for some news of the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3, Epics latest behemoth on the gaming scene then you're in luck. Epic have finally opened up about the seemingly illusive Xbox 360 version, however the wait seems worthwhile as it will ship with exclusive maps, characters and local split screen multiplayer.

"Although it still doesn't have a firm release date, Epic confirmed at Midway's Gamers Day that the 360 version will contain five exclusive maps, two new characters and it will also include a two player split-screen mode.

It looks like the PS3's user-generated content didn't make it over to 360 then (presumably due to Microsoft's strict closed network approach on Xbox Live), but IGN says all of the downloadable content made for PC and PS3 will also appear on Xbox Live Marketplace".

The game still doesn't have a release date set but at least fans can sleep easy knowing that the 360 version does still exist.

Source: CVG

1,000,000 sims

Ea is today celebrating quite a milestone, its hit IP "The Sims" has hit over 1 Million sales. Even when you consider that there is one Sims expansion pack to every 9 people on earth (probably) this is still quite a feat, especially when you think that the series only appeared on the scene in 2000.

"At this milestone, we want to thank players of The Sims everywhere for making The Sims such a worldwide phenomenon," said Rod Humble, Head of Studio for The Sims Label.

"The Sims has been an interactive experience for people around the globe to explore their passion for creativity and we're thrilled to be a part of that. From building houses and relationships, from the first kiss to a toddler's first step, from kitchen fires - and even visits from ghosts, players have told more than 100 million unique and fun stories!"

No doubt we can expect the Sims 3 soon, as well as the compulsory 5,000 expansion packs it will no doubt receive.

Source: CVG

PS store unveiled...again.

Turn your ps3 on today and you will be greeted with an update, download it, install it and you will have the new and improved Playstation store.

The PS store has been on hold for a few weeks now whilst Sony have been giving it a facelift. The new store features easy to navigate menus, lots of image tiles but seemingly no new content (apart from pain), oh well cant have it all I guess.

BBC I-player

If at first a company doesn't succeed...well apparently the gaming community will take matters into their own hands.

You may have heard recently that BBC's I-player both will be exclusively on the Nintendo Wii, after talks with Microsoft and Sony broke down due to both companies wanting to control the design and nature of the player too much for the Beeb's liking. Well this clearly didn't go down with one fan, however, instead of writing an angry letter to the BBC he simply wrote a new code for the player making it fully usable by the PS3's web-browser.

"It's mainly a demonstration of how easily the BBC could support the PS3 with their Wii version," the creator says.

"This does nothing more than mask your PS3's user-agent string and makes half a dozen changes to make the JavaScript and CSS function correctly on the PS3".

Now the only downside of this user created mod so to speak is that you need to use the Web browser instead of a dedicated application, however this is a very small compromise for anyone wanting to use the program on their ps3.

Any ps3 owners may want to save the following link in their Bookmarks folder now, I know I will - http://www.ps3iplayer.com.

Source: CVG

Psp hacking

Sony has launched a poll and questionnaire to a select group of gamers asking why they hack their PSP consoles. The poll is aimed to help sony understand why the hacking community is so prevalent on the PSP and exactly what they want from it as part of Sony's "ongoing PSP consumer research".

"Sony has been embroiled in a heated battle with hackers since they cracked open the portable's software protection months after its release. Installing custom firmware is passed off as a way of opening up the console to seemingly innocent homebrew programs and home-made games, but it also allows the running of illegal game "back-ups". As well as seeking to find out how and why gamers seek to hack their PSP and how they view the risks involved, Sony also asks if hacking a PSP makes you "feel like a rebel".

Maybe Sony haven't twigged onto the fact that most people do it for one of two reasons:

1. Free games and unrestricted applications
2. Its incredibly easy

Source: CVG

Ikaruga Reviewed

Yes, the game that everyone has been waiting for will touch down on Xbox live Arcade tomorrow. In case you didn't know, Ikaruga is hailed as one of the greatest (and hardest) games ever made. Originally appearing on the Sega Dreamcast it was met with a wave of rave reviews if not the high sales it deserved.

In time for the long awaited release date, Computerandvideogames.com have played, tested and reviewed the game, giving it a stonking 9/10, which for an arcade title that is very impressive. You can read the entire review here.

Ikargua is set to launch tomorrow on Xbox Live Arcade for 800 ms points (about £6.50).

Source: CVG

Bourne baby

Especially if you're not on his friends list. The crotch chop is one of many special "take down" moves in the new Jason Bourne title hitting the xbox 360 and Playstation 3 later this year (hopefully).

"That's just one of a number of 'takedown' sequences in the trailer, in which Bourne uses fists, knees, elbows, head butts, guns and photo copiers to get the job done.

"Most games have a main mechanic that they stick to. Bourne mixes shooting, fighting and driving together but, more importantly, it does a great job at all three".

"The fights pack a proper combo system, with case-sensitive enemy takedowns and even special moves. The shooting feels a lot like Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and the driving sections - although a smaller part of the game - were created by staffers who have Midnight Club on their CVs."

With a list of crappy movie based games as long as your arm already out you would be forgiven for being a little pessimistic, however Sierra do seem to be taking this project very seriously. Only time will tell but this game looks to have the potential to be a big success.

You can check out the new trailer here.

Source: CVG

Especially if you're not on his friends list. The crotch chop is one of many special "take down" moves in the new Jason Bourne title hitting the xbox 360 and Playstation 3 later this year (hopefully).

"That's just one of a number of 'takedown' sequences in the trailer, in which Bourne uses fists, knees, elbows, head butts, guns and photo copiers to get the job done.

"Most games have a main mechanic that they stick to. Bourne mixes shooting, fighting and driving together but, more importantly, it does a great job at all three".

"The fights pack a proper combo system, with case-sensitive enemy takedowns and even special moves. The shooting feels a lot like Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and the driving sections - although a smaller part of the game - were created by staffers who have Midnight Club on their CVs."

With a list of crappy movie based games as long as your arm already out you would be forgiven for being a little pessimistic, however Sierra do seem to be taking this project very seriously. Only time will tell but this game looks to have the potential to be a big success.

Source: CVG

GTA 4 censored...

In Australia. Don't worry fans from Britain, the BBFC has already given the unedited version of GTA4 an 18 rating so you can play the game the way the dev team intended it to be played (as long as you're old enough).

"The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification has forced Rockstar to produce an edited version of Grand Theft Auto IV, in order for it to get an Australian release.

As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, in order to obtain an MA15+ rating down under, the GTA developers were forced to remove material that was deemed too much for release.

The MA15+ rating is the highest classification certificate available in the country.

A spokesperson for Rockstar confirmed yesterday that the company did produce a special version in order to comply with Australian law, but declined to reveal what had been cut. We're pretty sure the internet will be all over that once the game is release".

GTA4 is set to launch on 29th April.

Source: CVG

CoD 4 DLC delay ?

If the internet is to be believed then Call of Duty 4's much anticipated Downloadable content is to be delayed. The original release date for the new maps was supposed to be April 3rd (this Friday), however recent reports on the internet suggest that the date may be pushed back to April 10th.

"The shooter's first piece of downloadable content was originally drafted for release this Thursday, April 3, and the last we heard it was going through Microsoft's sometimes lengthy submission process - so maybe that's the problem. Although we played them last Friday and they were all well and good.

The 800 Microsoft Point pack (about six English pounds) supplies four new maps - Creek, Killhouse, Chinatown and Broadcast. Some, like Broadcast are based on single-player locations, where as Chinatown (unless we've missed something great) is a totally new Asian environment for getting your frag on".

Of course, taking the date into account this may just be someone's idea of a joke, new info should be available soon, we hope.

Source: CVG

Xbox live maintenance

Don't worry though this was a planned downtime. Microsoft are performing maintenance to their usually top notch on-line service between the hours of 10am and 1pm GMT.

"The maintenance is happening between 10am GMT until 1 pm GMT, when you should probably be at work earning some dosh anyway. "As a result, the 'My Xbox' section of Xbox.com will be unavailable, and the Xbox forums will be in read only mode (you won't be able to post.) The remainder of Xbox.com will be available," says Major Nelson".

This downtime is for Maintenance only states the Major, so don't go expecting a dashboard update when live is back online.

Source: CVG