Daily Scoop: January 27, 2011 – Snow, snow, snow

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Nicole Kline

The snow fell all night, and now we’ve got about a foot of it outside. I already said I surrendered, winter! What gives?!?!

Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Disney’s Phineas and Ferb for the DS. Inspired by the cartoon, it actually looks kind of cute. It’s $12.99 today down from $19.99, so buy it for the child who already beat all of his Christmas gifts.

Not much else going on other than a boatload of Dead Space-related stuff, as well as a little announcement last night about Sony’s new handheld. I’m loving the game lineup so far. Handhelds for grown-ups are my kind of thing.

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Uncharted, Killzone, LBP, Call of Duty, more lead NGP game lineup

Posted on January 27, 2011 by John Scalzo

Video cameras were strictly prohibited at Sony’s PlayStation Meeting 2011 event this morning, but you can check out the wild “Next Generation Portable Conecpt” video above.

But if you’re looking for something a little more game-related, how about this list of titles Sony (and various third parties) has in development for the NGP:

  • Broken
  • Call of Duty
  • Gravity Daze
  • Hot Shots Golf
  • Hustle Kings
  • Killzone
  • Little Deviants
  • LittleBigPlanet
  • Reality Fighters
  • Resistance
  • Smart As
  • Uncharted
  • Wipeout

Wow. Hopefully video from the event will surface soon.

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Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance trailer released (Not in 3D)

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Ryan Littlefield

As of this morning, a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance has been released. The trailer displays both cinematic and gameplay segments of the upcoming Square Enix game, both of which look incredibly smooth and polished – at least by the 3DS standards.

While the trailer showcases much of Destiny Island and Traverse Town, it looks like there will be a few new worlds for the player to travel in, specifically the cutscene showing Sora running through what looks like the bell tower from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Several new types of gameplay seem to be added as well, as Sora is shown tearing up turf around Traverse Town. It appears as though lamps and obstacles may not just be for show anymore, thereby incorporating more of an interactive action feel to the game.

Despite how interesting KH3DS looks, I’m not alone in saying that it’s time for a full-fledged Kingdom Hearts 3.

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Sony reveals their Next Generation Portable, the NGP

Posted on January 27, 2011 by John Scalzo

As expected, Sony revealed the next generation of the PSP platform at an event in Tokyo late last night. The new system, which Sony has temporarily named the “Next Generation Portable” (NGP), looks very similar to the current PSP design. But now it includes two analog sticks and a multi-touch OLED screen. The gamemaker plans to release the NGP by the end of 2011.

Like they did with the PSP, Sony is touting the graphical capabilities of the NGP, saying the system’s “high-performance CPU/GPU” will create “rich, visually striking graphics never seen before on a portable entertainment system.” They also talked up the system’s unique multi-touch pad on the back of the handheld, which will allow “touch, grab, trace, push and pull” motions in games. Six-Axis motion sensing rounds out the control options for the NGP.

The system will also make use of two cameras (one on the front and one on the back) along with a new game storage medium. The UMD is dead (though PSP games downloaded from the PlayStation Store will run on the NGP) and in its place is a “small flash memory-based card” that will be able to store save data and add-on content. As games get bigger, Sony plans to release larger cards allowing the system to be “forwards compatible” in a way.

Sony also wants to make the NGP a social machine with two applications, LiveArea and Near, that can “trigger real-time communication” among gamers and offer an activity log of recent games played. A built-in GPS program will also aid in the social aspects of the NGP.

As you might have expected, no pricing information was announced.

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PS3 firmware update 3.56 is now live

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

Sony released what they call a small security patch tonight, presumably to deal with the recent hacking of the console, particularly affecting Modern Warfare 2. Unfortunately, PlayStationLifeStyle.net claims hackers have already decrypted the new security keys and are working to continue homebrew. Don’t expect the download to be a quickie; it took me a few minutes just now to get it on my PS3.

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Hydrophobia creators announce “Listening Post”

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Dark Energy Digital, creators of the XBLA game Hydrophobia, recently announced a new feature on their site called the Hydrophobia Listening Post. Intended to create an open communication between fans and developers, the questions are designed to help Dark Energy Digital understand what works and what doesn’t from the perspective of their fans.

This isn’t the first time they’ve been open to communication from fans. A few weeks ago, they launched Hydrophobia Pure, a patch for Hydrophobia that incorporated many changes and updates based on comments from both critics and fans. The plan is to move forward in their development with all of this in mind and keep that conduit open. Hydrophobia is an episodic game considered to be a full retail title with a digital price tag. Here’s hoping Dark Energy Digital releases the rest of their vision.

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5th Cell details XBLA shooter Hybrid

Posted on January 26, 2011 by John Scalzo

5th Cell, the developers of the ultracute Scribblenauts and its equally cute sequel Super Scribblenauts, will be branching out in 2011. The developer is hard at work on Hybrid, a “revolutionary” third-person shooter for the Xbox Live Arcade.

Before today, Hybrid’s storyline was a pretty closely guarded secret. But now we know just what the game’s about:

“Hybrid is set in the post-apocalyptic year 2031, after an extinction-level asteroid collided with Earth wiping out billons. A single-celled alien bacterium buried deep within the asteroid spread into the atmosphere, infecting half of the survivors and turning them into the Variant, a genetically altered race. Six years later the Variant began a new world order and waged a massive global war against the immune populace, known as the Paladin.”

Players will be able to take up arms as a Paladin or a Variant in a “persistent online world war.” As players win battles for their faction, territories and countries on the game’s world map will turn Paladin blue or Variant red.

Hybrid will also introduce a gameplay mechanic called “Combat Focused Movement.” 5th Cell didn’t explain what that means for shooter fans, but they did promise to reveal more during the 2011 Game Developers Conference, which runs from February 28th through March 4th.

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Breach out on Xbox Live Arcade today

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

At PAX East last year, there was a game so ill, so hot that the young fellow pictured to the left just had to steal it. Apparently, he just plugged his laptop into Atomic Games’ machine, and when the developers came over to ask what he was doing he replied “stealing your game.” What could possibly be in a game that is so mind-blowing to induce a young man to go to any depth to get it? You’ll get a chance to find out today as Breach, Atomic Games’ latest military shooter, arrives on XBLA and PC today. Using the engine built for the controversial Six Days in Fallujah, the game will run you 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) or a suggested retail price of $19.99 or less on PC.

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