The buzz is all over the internet, PlayStation comrades. Firmware 2.40 is on the way and it looks like it’s going to be an update worth being proactive about. I usually shrug at my firmware downloads and update whenever I so happen to play a game that connects to the internet, but this is the one that we’ve been waiting for.
The new XMB (Cross Media Bar) will be fully accessible in-game which was a huge advantage for the 360 making the X-Box more user-friendly. But with this download, you’ll be able to toggle between your game and the XMB at the press of a button.
Other features that have been buzzed about are download management, friends, messaging, and a Trophy System. (Read X-Box Achievements.) Granted, the PlayStation Network is taking a lot of cues from X-Box Live, but doing so will make the PSN all the better in conjunction with PS Home that is on the horizon.
With all this, one can’t seem to help but create parallels to X-Box Live, but the most notable aspect of all this is that if the PlayStation Network service continues to be free as well as delivering a competitive product in terms of quality, I think we’ve got a surefire winner on our hands.
As promised, we’ve got some more Soul Calibur goodness here. It’s been Vader this and Yoda that. As much as I love those guys they could really be stripped out of the game completely and it would not diminish my excitement for the title. A feature in SC3 that people seemed to gloss over was the custom create-a-fighter. Sure there were some limitations but I thought it delivered in terms of variety compared to other custom character systems in the past seen in game genres like basketball, wrestling etc.
I myself had a great time with it and could only see the possibilities in future installments of the franchise. Check out the end product of these custom characters in Soul Calibur IV! As random as this pirate girl is duking it out with some barbarian guy, I can’t imagine how deep the unlockable content will go. I anticipate hours of playtime unlocking the goodies that Namco has developed in create-a-fighter. Not to mention mastering the classic fighters’ upgrades, new official roster characters, Yoda, Vader and his apprentice.
I mean, how can you not love the ability to make a fighting cat girl with a feather duster? That has win all over it.
I’ve never quite excelled in the Metal Gear franchise as I even remember constantly dying in the first 8-bit Nintendo version over and over again. Even back then the premise seemed super cool and original. I watched with an ex-armyman a more skilled video gamer go through the first Metal Gear Solid. We were both enthralled with the level of detail and the immersion the MGS world provided. Since then, I knew that Kojima had a high standard of quality to deliver with these games.
I didn’t follow the hype this week but apparently the talk is good with the return of Solid Snake in MGS4: Guns of the Patriots. With quotes like these from reviewers, its hard to keep a blind eye to what awesomeness this title must be.
“There’s just moments of absolute genius that make this game probably the best video game I’ve ever played”
~ consolemonster.com
“All in all, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is easily the best game in the long-running Metal Gear franchise, the best game on the PS3 and, one could argue, the best game of this decade.”
~ bingegamer.net
