Mike Got Game!

Do you smell that? It’s the scent of hogwash. It’s coming from an interview with Sony’s product planning group head, Naoya Matsui at GameBusiness.jp (via Joystiq). Matsui revealed that Sony had always planned for its PlayStation Portable to go UMD-less, and that its new PSP Go is the end result of that vision.

Matsui said:

We’d planned to release a PSP model without a UMD drive since the very beginning. But if we’d simply released the hardware, there wouldn’t have been much for everyone to enjoy. We needed to prepare the right environment for it first - things like the transferral of content with the PS3 and PSN, and PC software to manage content like music and movies such as Media Go.

Matsui reasoned that Sony was just waiting for digital content to be on par with physical media, and that the “timing now is right.”

Continue reading Crap Detector: Sony originally planned PSP to go UMD-less

Part 2

So you’ve learned the basics of ghost busting and it makes you feel good. So you think you can take on anything that Ghostbusters: The Video Game can hurl at you? Let’s see how your skills measure up, slick. Time to take what you know and visit a real haunting.

Your first official mission as experimental weapons technician of the Ghostbusters is to catch Slimer, who’s back to his old haunt: the Sedgewick Hotel. Just follow your teammates—they’ll lead the way. Egon said he’ll be snooping around so stick with Peter and Ray as they make their way up the hotel. Take the elevator with them.

Follow Peter and Ray as they banter about proton pack use, a restraining order, and lawsuits. Just follow the duo through the hotel halls and pay attention to floating objects that would be hurled at your team when you reach a stairway. Blast the flying objects if you can and don’t think about the damage.

A cutscene would then be shown with Slimer eating hotel food. That’s when you know it’s show time. Once control is returned to you, blast Slimer and he will escape through the wall. Ray will then tell you to use your PKE meter to track Slimer down.

Using the PKE meter
Your para-goggles are linked directly to your PKE meter, so whenever you bring up the gadget, you automatically wear the goggles. When the center bar of the PKE meter peaks, it signifies that you’re headed in the right direction. When it’s flat, you’re following a cold trail.

Don’t forget to line the target up in the small circle for the best scan. In this situation, point the cursor at the slime on the wall then press R2.

Remember the PKE meter’s color codes:
Red means a hidden ghost
Green means the ghost is in the open
Blue means a collectible artifact

The best part about scanning: you get paid extra for everything you scan.

If you scan a collectible artifact, you get to keep it. If you scan a ghost, it is added in the Tobin’s Spirit Guide, which works like a bestiary. Tobin’s Spirit Guide provides valuable information like a ghost’s attack type, method for disposal, back story, and (more importantly) weakness.

Continue reading Ghostbusters: The Video Game Walkthrough

Graphics may have evolved from 2D sprites to incredibly-detailed textures, but Megaman, fictional super android and savior of the world, remains awfully cute no matter what form. Ever wondered how cute Megaman would be in real life? Check out how Megaman learns his PEWS in the video:

This is the cutest Megaman I’ve ever seen. Care to share another cute one?

Will the Xbox 360 will end up third in the console wars?

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has the greatest job in the world. He’s paid to guess gaming trends, and even when he’s wrong (he usually is), he still gets a monthly check. Strangely, many people seem to believe him. Take his new prediction for the Xbox 360, for example.

Pachter says the Xbox 360 will end up in third place because of the Microsoft console’s weak Japan sales. Third place means the Xbox 360 will lose this generation of console wars.

Continue reading Update: Why Pachter is wrong about his Xbox 360 prediction

The video game version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is coming out tomorrow. As always, the game is set to coincide with the release of the film of the same name. Strangely, there’s a three-week gap separating the dates so you’ll have to wait a bit until chapter six of the Harry Potter films come out. In the meantime, you can watch the Half-Blood Prince trailer after the jump to keep yourself occupied.

Continue reading Launch trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince shown

Great news: there’s a new 10-minute gameplay video for Batman: Arkham Asylum. It shows a good amount of action, particularly Batman’s familiar swinging and gliding. There are also a few stealth takedowns and plenty of fluid combat here that should please any fan looking for a decent Batman game since—forever.

Oh wait, there’s a catch: the video is in Polish.

Continue reading Watch 10 minutes of Batman: Arkham Asylum

Part 1

So you’re the Ghostbusters’ new experimental weapons technician. That’s just a fancy word for guinea pig, really. Fret not! I’ve prepared a field manual to help you handle every sticky (i.e. slimy) situation that Ghostbusters: The Video Game would throw at you.

And believe me, there are a few incredibly tough moments during Ghostbusters: The Video Game when you’d be tempted to hurl your controller and/or neutrona wand at something that you can actually hit. So start up your proton pack and get ready to clean up the town.

Like many games, the first level in Ghostbusters comes with a built-in tutorial to teach you the ropes. A lengthy cutscene introducing The Rookie would first be shown.

Once you’re given control, you should follow Ray and Egon downstairs. Go down the fire pole (you’ll get an achievement/trophy if you do), go down a flight of stairs, and into the containment unit area. If you choose to look around, you can talk to Vigo the painting or listen in on Janine’s phone conversations.

Of course, if you want to move forward, you’re going to have to follow the two Ghostbusters.

You’ll be prompted by Ray to get Slimer’s attention, so you’re going to have to blast it with your neutrona wand. Doing this would scare Slimer away and into the next room. You and Ray follow Slimer as Egon stays behind to clean up your mess. Off to the basement for you two.

Continue reading Ghostbusters: The Video Game Walkthrough

I recently downloaded the Killzone 2 demo for the PlayStation 3. What can I say? I’m a late bloomer. Despite being completely stoked over the game, I had an aching wallet to worry about so I just had to say no. I did try renting Killzone 2, but I never could score a copy at GameHopper. It was always out.

Apparently, everyone is playing it.

What made me extra excited was because I owned a FragFX, which lets me play first-person shooters with a mouse. No, I’ll have none of that analog stick nonsense. I wanted to see how this much-touted “weight” behaves when you’re using PC-like controls.

Suffice to say, I didn’t like it at all. I was getting creamed by the Helghast because I couldn’t aim properly. The hardcoded weight in Killzone 2 adds a slight delay when you command your character to look around so making precision shots is a problem.

I couldn’t make headshots from a distance. If I try to get closer to an enemy, I get pumped with lead. Yes, the Helghast are smart and it’s pretty impressive, but I wasn’t enjoying myself.

Granted, I’m no Fatal1ty in terms of gaming skillz, but I think I can fend off for my own in a free for all online.

Look, as much as I love my PS3 and still drool over the prospect of owning Killzone 2 in the future, I really, I mean REALLY abhor the default weight controls. The PS3 fanboys must really love Sony if they’re still in denial.

Fortunately, I heard that Killzone 2 developer Guerilla Games added in a patch (version 1.27) that addresses this weighty issue. I think they realized that while the controls may not be so distracting for some in single player mode, it’s definitely going to be a problem with multiplayer, especially when you take real lag into consideration.

Kudos to Guerrilla Games for putting in the patch—I was almost considering Killzone 2 to be a lost cause for me. I haven’t tried the complete game with the patch in place, but can’t wait to play the whole game soon. Watch out PSN, here I come.

What about you? Have you played Killzone 2? I’d like to hear your stories.

• Hello world! Nice to be in Twitter. Be gentle, it’s my first time. #
• Played the PS3 demo of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was moderately fun, but obviously wasn’t enough. I’m to cheap to buy the game. #
• Played the PS3 demo of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was moderately fun, but obviously wasn’t enough. I’m too cheap to buy the game. #
• Gasp! Shia Labeouf hates the Wii! Read about it here!

  http://bit.ly/nPhre #

• Updating my WordPress. Pretty nasty since it’s my first time. #
• Screw this, I’m updating my blog tomorrow. Good night everyone. #
• Another Guitar Hero lands on the DS? Groan.
  http://bit.ly/v0Epz #
• @ButchSyyap Where to, Butch? in reply to ButchSyyap #
• Holy moly! Spurs get Richard Jefferson for Oberto, Bowen, and Thomas. What do you guys think of the deal? #
• was comparing costs of getting an Xbox 360 versus a PS3.

  http://bit.ly/YcSOV #

• Dang, my blog’s traffic shot up today. http://www.mikegotgame.com/ #
• Joined a blogging contest at MTV. Please vote for my entry
  http://bit.ly/vFka3 #
• Strange. Storm’s said to be coming, but it’s still dry here in the south. #
• @rainnwilson Dwight! Err, Rainn, didn’t know you were in Transformers 2. Glad to hear it! It’s now a must-see for me. in reply to rainnwilson #
• Great, no storm, no power outage, no gaming interruptions. Game on. #
• Blog update: http://bit.ly/13AzY7 #
• Whew! Finally finished my Ghostbusters DS review. Take a look: http://bit.ly/11OyO2 #
• Again, Mike is pleased. My blog is climbing the charts. #
• Hot dang, my Google PageRank just jumped to 6. Teh aw3s0m3 #
• Can’t wait for the weekend! I’ll be playing some Battlefield Heroes and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Busy busy busy but fun fun fun. #
• What games are YOU playing this weekend? #
• @GregsBlog I haven’t watched it personally, but so far, I observed that cinema snobs hate it, while average folks love it. in reply to GregsBlog #
• I’ll be watching the Transformers sequel in a couple of hours. Hope it’s good! #

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Sony has had it with the dominance of Apple’s iPhone. As you may have heard, Sony’s joint venture with Ericsson isn’t doing too well (again, thanks to the iPhone). As a result, Sony is finally developing a “cellphone-game gear hybrid” that aims to compete with the iPod and iPhone.

According to Nikkei, Sony is going to put together a project team this July to develop the gaming phone, which is going to combine features of Sony Ericsson mobile phones and a handheld gaming device.

You mean like a PSP phone?

For the longest time, rumors of a PlayStation Portable with phone capabilities have been circulating around the internet since 2006. Since the PSP already has Skype capabilities, it’s only a matter of time when Sony starts making a real PSP phone, right?

Unfortunately, no. Not even the recession compelled Sony to make a PSP phone. It took a behemoth like the iPhone to push Sony in the right direction and make this gaming phone.

We still don’t know how the Sony gaming phone is going to turn out, but I expect the PlayStation Network is going to figure heavily into the project. Remember: the iPhone and iPod has iTunes, so this PSP phone should use the PSN for its repository of games.

Of course, we’re not sure if this gaming phone is going to carry the PlayStation name, but the mere mention of “PSP” beside a Sony gaming phone should help with the brand recognition.

So the stage is set; the infrastructure is there. All we need is a working gaming phone/PSP phone. Everyone start theorizing.