PlayStationSpot

Homebrew developer cyril92 just released a homebrew game for puzzle game lovers who own a Sony PlayStation Portable. Mind Breaker version 1.0 is a faithful video game incarnation of Mastermind, the board game that puts players' mathematical skills and luck to the test.

Being from a French developer, here's what we can get from the rough translation of Mind Breaker v1.0's version history:

• Combination of 4 colors among 6 possible
• 3 levels of difficulties
• Some sound actions

Basically, Mind Breaker v1.0 is just like the classic Mastermind. The game first determines a combination of four colored balls, then you can take up to 12 turns trying to guess the correct pattern.

It's often considered a guessing game since you have to take wild shots, but more experienced players actually employ math to find the answer in Mastermind. We're sure the same can be said about cyril92's Mind Breaker. Do note that you hold your PSP vertical for the game.

Download: Mind Breaker v1.0

Nicolo S. on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

In the next season of Madden, Electronic Arts promises surprises that will substantially improve the American football experience. The first step, announcing retired Brett Favre as cover athlete of Madden NFL 09 (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, PSP, Nintendo Wii, DS), was already taken. Now, a couple of designers talk about the most interesting features this year.

First up, the sought after Online League will finally be introduced in Madden NFL 09. Up to 32 players can choose teams then go online and endure an entire season. It may sound difficult to put together, but Ryan Ferwerda and Daniel Castorani from the Madden Design Team explained how to orchestrate these dream leagues.

Devs stated that AI won't be employed to replace actual players. Online League was intended to offer one-on-one experiences, so it's only possible to begin a league other humans. To make sure you won't be stuck staring at the online lobby when looking for matches for too long, there's the Flex system.

Here's how Ferwerda and Castorani explained Flex:

Flex scheduling is cool for a multitude of reasons. First off, flex scheduling is what we refer to as an 'open schedule' with no set order. What this means is that if you log online and ten members of your twenty member league are online, you can play any of your opponents that you have remaining games with.

The nice thing about this is that it doesn't allow for leagues to get stale or held up waiting for others to play. If the stars align, and you have all of your opponents online, you can, in theory, knock out your entire league in one day.

The next big addition is the Virtual Training Center. For newcomers, it holds drills and other training exercises. Madden NFL 09 devs did clarify, however, that the hardcore can enjoy this facet with the inclusion of Hard difficulty. "I definitely don't think anyone will be complaining about the Hard levels being too easy," said one of the devs.

Not overwhelming enough? EA also unleashed the first gameplay video of Madden NFL 09, and you can find it below. You'll find the interview by following the via link.

 

Buy: [ Madden NFL 09 (Xbox 360), (PlayStation 3), (Wii) ]
Buy: [ Madden NFL 09 (PSP), (DS) ]

Nicolo S. on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

If you're in the land of the rising sun and you want to deck your PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Portable with some very awesome classics from the last-last generation, then good news: the Japanese website of PlayStation Store has updated to reflect some new pickings in its banquet of retrogaming goodness. Armchair pugilists and vertical shoot-em-up fanatics, pay attention - this update is for you.

So, what's new, then? Five games, two of which should be very well received. One of these two is the original Bloody Roar, the fighting game that let you unleash the beast inside - literally. The other is Shienryu, the excellent vertical shmup from Warashi (also the same company that brought us Triggerheart Excelica).

So if you're in the mood for a somewhat-recent blast from the past, then these titles should be compulsory. And if you're hankering for more, Wizard's Harmony (a simulation game of being a Wizard), Pro-Mahjong Kiwame Tengensenhen (a mahjong game), and Joshikouki no Houkago... Pukunpa (a  puzzle game) should do the trick. For 600 Yen each (US 6), it's pretty much a steal. Updates as we get them, and you can check out more info in the via link below.

Ryan C. on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

It's been a while since we last heard about THQ and Relic Entertainment's Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, and now we catch wind of the game's latest update, i.e. Patch 2.301. Let's take a look at what's changed from the last patch, and see if we're going to have to rethink our strategy some when it comes to specific weapons and vehicles.

In any case, here's the full changelog for Patch 2.301:

Online
Resolved a game arbitration issue when the game resulted in a sync error.

Fixes

• Fixed World Builder to export correctly. All custom maps should now save correctly. Be sure to re-save your custom maps to carry over these properties.
• Updated save game version. Save games previous to 2.300 will not be compatible with the current version of Company of Heroes.
• Fixed a bug that allowed the player to teleport garrisoned troops.
• -dev mode has been re-enabled.

Gameplay

• British Bren carriers and Bren gunners will no longer be able to button Flakvierlings, 88s, AT guns, Howitzers.
• Strafing run has been tuned.
• US M8 Greyhound and Wehrmacht SdKfz 234 Armoured cars have had their target accuracy modifiers reduced from 0.73 and 0.82 respectively to .9.
• US M8 Greyhound and SdKfz 234 Armoured Cars moving accuracy modifiers changed from 0.6 to 0.8.
• Light vehicle received accuracy modifier on light engine damage critical changed from 1.25 to 1.35.
• Sniper detection radius reduced from 3m to 1m.
• Panzer Elite Defensive Veterancy Vehicle modifiers tuned at vet levels 2 and 3. Received accuracy and damage modifiers reduced, health maximum modifiers reduced.
• Panzer Elite 222 Armoured cars have their health bonus at Vet 1 reduced from 30 to 15.

Maps Changes

• Several map weather settings have been tuned.
• The Scheldt - Two bridges to centre island replaced with land bridges.
• Hochwald Gap - Tweaked territory near bridge crossings, widened bridge crossings from each base, removed a large number of fx markers.
• St. Mere Dumont - several buildings replaced so window facings are more equitable between north and south facing.
• St. Mere Dumont - moved some fuel points to prevent them from being captured on the wrong side of a wall.
• Wrecked Train - cleared some debris from the center of the map
• Wrecked Train - removed some tank traps blocking access to one of the fuel points
• Langres - Moved one of the strategic points slightly. Rebalanced VP locations slightly so that both have equal coverage from defensive buildings.
• Beaux Lowlands - Updated to 3 VPs
• Beaux Lowlands - replaced high munition point with strategic point.
• Sturzdorf - bottom player has one extra ramp up to the high fuel area.
• Minor pathing changes to Linden to enable Kettens to capture a point.
• Verriers Ridge - added version of map with no repairable bunkers (playable with Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts).

Certainly a very long one indeed, and it seems that players will have to change up their game plan some in order to accommodate. We can certainly see some online skirmishes having their obvious turnout be changed by the gameplay changes above. In any case, updates as we get them, and good luck with the patching!

Ryan C. on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

Good news if you're from Canada! Now that the Canadian dollar is slowly gaining steam against the weakening U.S. currency, Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) has announced that Canada will receive price changes for its downloadable content this May 1.

As early as mid-April, SCEA Senior Vice President Peter Dille said over at the PlayStation Blog that they are already "looking to correct this discrepancy." Action has been taken indeed and here is the official confirmation from PlayStation Store Senior Manager Grace Chen:

I am excited to let all of our Canadian gamers know that we will be adjusting prices for downloadable content available through the PLAYSTATION Store for the Canadian market as a result of the strengthening Canadian currency vs. the US dollar. We ll be executing the adjustments in a phased approach prior to the regular PLAYSTATION Store update on Thursday. On May 1, prices on all downloadable content should be updated.

Now, Canadians are in a better position to enjoy the perks of the new PlayStation Store, which recently had a revamp this April. Stay tuned here at QJ.NET for more of the latest news.

Abraham A. on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

Featuring an elegant black and white art design inspired by the works of M.C. Escher, echochrome™ is a puzzle game unlike any other. With gameplay based on optical illusions, players must utilize five simple laws of perspective to join walkways, hide dangers, and create new paths to reach the “echos,” or shadow guides. Once you’ve mastered the five laws, use them to create your own mind-bending levels to play and share with friends using the custom level editor.

Key Features:

• Elegant Graphics – Simple black-and-white art style rendered in crisp 1080p HD
• Unique Gameplay – Master perspective puzzles based on optical illusions across 56 challenging levels that are exclusive to the PLAYSTATION®3 system version
• Canvas Mode – Create your own custom levels to play and share with friends over PLAYSTATION®Network. Users can even submit their best levels from within the game right to the game’s developers, who then pick the best levels to distribute to all echochrome PLAYSTATION®3 users worldwide

PlayStation.com - New Game Releases on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

After doing work on the Custom Firmware Extender application, homebrew developer Cpasjuste is now catering to all music-loving PlayStation Portable gamers. If your Sony PSP is currently running on the 3.90 M33 custom firmware, you can now play music while playing a game thanks to coder Cpasjuste's port of the Music prx plugin.

Previously for the 3.71 M33 firmware, the Music prx plug-in lets you play atrac3 and mp3 music files while you are accessing the VSH menu, playing a UMD game, or running homebrews (except if the homebrew uses ME).

Coder Cpasjuste wants us to take note that this Music prx plugin port "has been tested on a 3.90 M33-3 PSP Slim - without the fatmsmod patch applied." So keep that in mind while using this homebrew plugin. For step-by-step instructions on how to install the Music prx plugin, refer to the readme which is included inside the homebrew file. Safety first!

Download: Music_prx plugin for 3.90 M33 CFW
Visit: QJ.Net PSP Development Forums

Abraham A. on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

Plan on getting R-Type Command for the Playstation Portable? Then you might want to pre-order it because those who do will be getting an awesome looking R-9, the definitive ship in the R-Type universe, made by IREM.

For those who aren't too familiar with this game from Atlus, it is a turn-based tactical game which has players going up against the Bydo Empire. Interestingly enough, the game somehow retains its side-scroller feel as seen in the gameplay videos we posted before.

The free figurine is available at GameStop, Amazon.com, GameCrazy, EB Games Canada, and other select retailers. Here's a look at what you'll be getting as a gift from Atlus.

  

Enrico S. on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

Those of you who enjoyed playing the homebrew version of Counter-Strike on your PlayStation Portables had better savor this last bit of glory from developer Stealth_Kill. The developer of the highly popular CSPortable homebrew game explained that he will no longer be working on this particular project any longer.

However, as a parting gift, Stealth_Kill has rolled out the Dust Demo build of CSPortable as well as the source code behind the game. Included in this version are the highly popular De_Dust and De_Dust2 maps as well as several new weapons and UI changes.

Anyway, here's the list of all the new changes implemented since our previous coverage of CSPortable:

• De_Dust
• De_Dust2
• Bomb explode
• Weapon Damage fixed
• New HUD Gfx by X3nophon
• New Menu GFX by Dr Gallo
• Steyr Aug Added
• Dual Elite Added
• Desert Eagle Added
• Famas Added
• FiveSeven Added
• MAC-10 Added
• IMI Galil Added
• SG-1 (G3) Added
• P228 Added
• you can only carry a Pistol and a bigger weapon.
• 2 Weapon Buy Menus (1 for CT and 1 for T)
• Smaller Conback
• Removed some unused Gfx
• Fixed Memory Problems
• Fixed Galil

The developer mentioned that while Dust Demo is still unfinished, it is already playable for all intents and purposes of this amazing homebrew adaptation. There were still several features left out like the death count, bomb diffusion and the respawning feature, but that will have to taken up by another developer who wishes to continue the CSPortable project.

In any case, you can download the homebrew game file and the source code through the links we've provided below. You can also discuss CSPortable Dust Demo with the author at the QJ.NET forums, accessible through the link below.

Download: CSPortable Dust Demo
Download: CSPortable Dust Demo (source code)
Visit: QJ.NET PSP Development forum

Charles D. on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

The subject of video game violence and the proper classification of such games has always been a rather hot topic in Europe. There's even been contention which video game rating system would be best suited for the region.

It even came to the point that psychologist Dr. Tanya Byron released an extensive report regarding the current standards for rating violent video games. While groups such as the BBFC, ELSPA, ISFE, and Tiga all had positive remarks regarding the report, there were no solid conclusions which system would stand out as the basic standard for the industry to follow.

However, a recent press release made by ELSPA gave evidence to the Department for Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS) Select Committee that the PEGI Age Ratings System should be adopted as the sole classification system for video games in Europe.

ELSPA Director General Paul Jackson was delighted to have the DCMS Select Committee recognize PEGI's efforts in providing an appropriate rating system for video games. He was also quoted having said this:

[...] It is important that during this period of consultation post-Byron we work with everyone to ensure the revised ratings platform is robust and future proof. As games move increasingly on line, we call on all parties to embrace the PEGI Age Ratings system. As an instrument of the Video Recordings Act it would have teeth and deliver the right system to help the public make informed choices about the games they play.

Charles D. on April 30th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -