Stick shooters are another one of those old genres that would seem to be a natural fit for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, where MicroBot has been released for $10.  More importantly the better technology that comes with today’s consoles offers ample room for old genres to improve themselves and showcase potential that might have been hampered on primitive arcade machines.  MicroBot grasps some of this potential but get past the excellent presentation and it’s just a sparse shooter with occasional memorable moments buried in repetition.

MicroBot starts off on a high note when a syringe forcefully injects you into the environment, you being a nanite tasked with destroying infectious nanites inside a human body that have gone haywire.  The layered backgrounds of human tissue teem with life and the microscopic perspective of the human body is beautifully presented.  Fleshy walls and glands intermingle and feel corrupted by the mechanical scourge of the nanites that you are tasked with destroying.   Little touches like moving bits in the foreground and background really make this feel like a living organism. Read more… »

Making a Japanese PSN account may seem daunting, but it’s actually pretty easy. The advantages of having an international PSN account are also immediately evident, as you’re able to download all sorts of demos and exclusive content.

If you want to know how to make an account, read on! Read more… »

Over this past summer I posted a little news story about TellTale Games and their acquisition of the rights to produce a Back to the Future game, as well as the rights to make a game set in the world of Jurassic Park. Well, as we all know, TellTale has recently released the first chapter of their Back to the Future game, receiving a ton of praise on it, however the developer has been pretty tight lipped as to what they are doing with Jurassic Park.

Well, TellTale has lifted the curtain releasing a few details about their dino-tastic adventure game. According to a recent article in Game Informer, Jurassic Park will be a five-part downloadable series that takes place on Isla Nublar (the island from the first movie). Acting as a direct sequel to the first (and as far as I’m concerned, only) movie, TellTale will tie up all the plot points, such as that secret shaving cream container full of dino DNA. Read more… »

It’s time for another weekly installment of PS Store updates, with this week’s standout offerings including the anticipated Angry Birds Mini, along with a playable demo for Winter Sports 2011 and some delicious DLC for ModNation Racers, The Sims 3 and a Linkin Park pack for Rock Band 3.

Check out this week’s update in full after the break.

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Until now, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has been cruelly starved of worthwhile DLC for too long. The optimistically priced online co-op Onslaught was completely lacklustre and the recurring influx of “new” VIP map packs was becoming a running joke.

Coincidentally timed with the release of a game that bears the initials of a certain breed of fish, DICE finally served up a tastier DLC dish comprising of four free maps, which did well to accentuate the aforementioned fish’s astronomically priced map packs. This, however, was only the start of DICE’s extensive DLC plans.

Announced in the most fleeting of teaser trailers during this year’s E3, Bad Company 2: Vietnam is DICE’s latest and most substantial DLC offering to date, stealthily creeping into the market after months of uncertainty surrounding the release date. But with such stiff competition in the FPS pond, is there any room left for Vietnam to engage?

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Amongst the rest of this week’s massive PlayStation Store Update, everyone’s favourite new phone game, Angry Birds, is hitting the PS3 and PSP as a PlayStation minis game. Hit the jump for the rest of this week’s offerings from Sony.

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In addition to being a bastion for indie developers and startup studios, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network are rapidly becoming destinations for actual arcade games.  Many of these tend to be straight ports and, regardless of how fun they were, their aging shows through, like a favorite tennis racket with half the strings broken off.  Crazy Taxi is venerated as one of the best arcade classics of its time but hasn’t translated well into this age.  It’s still as fun as it was in the arcade, but whether it’s enough for ten bucks is debatable.

The basic premise of Crazy Taxi is still the same, assuming you spent the past decade in isolation and missed the game as well as its sequels and numerous clones.  You start off the game by picking one of four purely aesthetic drivers – the only difference among them is their lumpy polygonal appearances – and leaping into your taxi.  You’re given an amount of time depending on the gameplay mode to drive around assumed San Francisco picking up fares and taking them to their destinations before time runs out.  If you take too long with a fare you lose it, and when you run out of your time your shift is up.

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Gamers who embrace 3D as the next evolutionary step in media and entertainment may have started to hug, cradle and coo over their PS3s when Sony announced the console will soon have more than 50 3D titles on their platform. Those who cringe at the very mention of this technology may feel like Sony, along with the movie industry, is trying to shove a toxic fad down their throats. No matter where you stand on this issue, suffice it to say that 3D technology is here and it doesn’t seem like it will go away any time soon.

Sony’s most recent 3D announcement shows they certainly do not believe in 3D reflux disease. The exact opposite, 3D to them is a miracle tonic that will quell any technological woes your slightly dated media center is suffering from. Their prescription can be found after the jump.

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It’s Wednesday, which of course means it’s time to unwrap another Store update. This week sees a new batch of downloadable games including Prince of Persia Warrior: Within and Two Thrones and the glorified tech-demo that is Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves, along with some fresh DLC for Dj Hero 2, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II.

Check out this week’s PSN update in full after the break.

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From the makers of Zombie Tycoon and Young Thor comes … A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! This PlayStation minis title is making its way to PS3 and PSP via the PlayStation Network for the low, low price of – yes, that’s right, $1.99. For PlayStation Plus subscribers the title will be absolutely free when the game launches next week.

The game is pretty much what you would expect, which is entirely fine by me. The PlayStation Network really could use some more good shmups. So if you could use a little more alien blasting in your life, be on the lookout for A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! on December 21^st.

[Via PlayStation Blog]

This week, another PS2 classic joins the list of titles hitting Sony’s Black Box O’Blu Ray in glorious high-definition visuals. The second title of the Sands of Time trilogy, Price of Persia: Warrior Within, hit the PlayStation Network today complete with HD and 3D visuals for your downloading pleasure. Now, both Price of Persia: Warrior Within HD and Price of Persia: Sands of Time HD are available via the PlayStation Store for a paltry $14.99.

[Via PlayStation Blog]

A packed PSN update is inbound this week, including the anticipated releases of Alien Breed 2: Assault and Kung-Fu Live for PS Eye.

Elsewhere, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light gets an expansion, along with some DLC for Medal of Honor and Street Fighter IV.

This week’s PSN update can be read in full after the break.

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