This week is packed! After several weeks of a “slow-drip” of releases, SEGA has decided it was time to open the gates in order to allow a LOT of old-school digital releases for some of their Master System and Genesis releases from back in the day. The highlight from that pack is Wonder Boy In Monster World (also known as Monster World IV), a game that remained Japan only until the Wii Virtual Console release on May 10, and now PSN is also getting in on the “pixel and awesome” action! But that’s not all! Vita gets a PSN release as well for an AR game, there’s several mystical releases at retail, and we even get a PSOne and a PS2 Classic to come along for the ride! Want to check the whole list? Then click on! PS3 Releases You Can Buy Sorcery Right Here! You Can Buy Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Right Here! You Can Buy Dragon’s Dogma Right Here! PSN Releases You Can Buy Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Right Here! PSOne Classics releases PS2 Classics releases

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Releases for the Week (May 21st-27th)

The Payne is back! Max Payne 3 is FINALLY going to retail this week after doing the “release date” shuffle for a while. But this week also has the first Game of Thrones Videogame! Did you pre-order your copy to secure the free HC artbook that will be made available on ebay for $100 later this week? The Playstation Network will play host to Pixeljunk 4am, a game so trippy it made almost all other Pixeljunk games drop to the floor with their prices! Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II is also coming down for the party, and Sonic and Tails are ready to run with the flow for as long as possible. We also get Rock of Ages, a game so crazy that it must be fun as well! Jam Live Music Arcade also seems like an interesting take on the rhythm/music genre since you can actually mix all available songs on the go, creating a unique experience every single time. Want to check the whole list? Then click on! PS3 Releases You Can Buy Max Payne 3 Right Here! You Can Buy Game of Thrones Right here! PSN Releases You Can Buy Prototype 2 Right Here! minis releases PSOne Classics releases PS2 Classics releases

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Releases for the Week (May 14th-20th)

I had a chance to do a small Q&A with the folks over at Gaijinworks/Monkey Paw Games in regards to the Kickstarter for a Collector’s Edition for Class of Heroes 2 , as well as other various topics. I took some questions from the backers over at the Kickstarter page, so click the link to read the answers: 1.- After working on the Sega CD, you’ve been working on releases for Sony consoles and Portables. Any change in that strategy thanks to the sales of the 3DS, and the Wii U being just around the corner? We certainly will consider those platforms, and can’t wait to see some of the new titles and hardware that’s bound to be the talk of the show yet again. 2.- vinsfeld123 ponders: What do you plan to do next?. Will you make changes to the overall plan what changes, and gives this a second go? We’re working on getting BurgerTime World Tour for PC out [ check our review of the PSN release right here ], the Class of Heroes 2 digital version, and we’ll be making a cool game announcement prior to E3 2012. As for another potential Kickstarter, we’re still weighing all of our options at this point. However, plenty of our fans have supported us to try again. 3.- Brash Smith asks: Is a localization and release ofMother 3 a possibility or has Nintendo already shot down that one? Lots of fans ask us for status on lots of games. We can certainly say that anything is possible, and we have a long list of these same types of games we’d like to see. As for Mother 3, you’ll have to ask Nintendo on that one. I would like to thank Gaijinworks/Monkey Paw Games for their time. I’ll have another Q&A in a few weeks, and a review for Vanguard Bandits which will go live next week, so be sure to stick around at PS3blog.net!

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Q&A with Gaijinworks/Monkey Paw Games

In Jurassic Park: The Game – Episode 3, the group looks for escape through the dark maintenance tunnels that connect the park, while being hunted by relentless pursuers. Uneasy partnerships teeter on the brink until simmering tensions explode and the survivors turn on each other. Be sure to read the review for Jurassic Park: The Game Episode 1 to learn about the basics on how to control the game, as well as how the grading system works! You should also check the review for Episode 2 to make sure you remember what has happened so far. I always wonder why people continue to use helicopters in movies and games when we all know they will eventually end up crashing down, probably killing, maiming or hurting someone in the process. Weird, right? After the chopper crashes, Nima, Yoder and Oscar must find a new way to transport all survivors back to safety before the dinosaurs can get the best of them. We come to realize that Oscar is a badass mercenary, instead of your vanilla, plain mercenary. How so? Oscar decides he should STALK SOME VELOCIRAPTORS, waiting for the right time to get the jump on the fast, little buggers. Yes, you read that right. He is using stealth to beat the Velociraptors at their own game, savoring the tension of the hunt. Crazy, right? Well, just wait until you see what happens when he catches up to them! The tension rises as Jurassic Park: The Game – The Depths brings us closer to the final conclusion of our journey. Will everyone make it out alive? Will someone fall prey to the Velociraptors, the T-Rex or another one of the predators that call Isla Nublar home? The characters have grown on us. The story draws to an end, and the dinosaurs are only getting hungrier! Review Pros Cons More action, less interaction Slowdown here and there Rating 81% Published by Telltale Games Cost – $29.99 (Full Season) Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 2 hours This review is based on a copy of Jurassic Park: The Game provided by Telltale Game

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[PSN Review] Jurassic Park: The Game Episode 3

Following the events of the game’s first episode, park veterinarian Gerry Harding, his daughter Jess, and a mysterious visitor to the park must fight to survive the deadly beasts that inhabit Jurassic Park. Episode 2 introduces some new characters and puts you face to face with dinosaurs never before seen in the Jurassic Park films! Be sure to read the review for Jurassic Park: The Game Episode 1 to learn about the basics on how to control the game, as well as how the grading system works! After what happened during the last episode, Jess, Gerry and Nima are stranded at Isla Nublar with hungry dinosaurs all around them. InGen decides to send a group of mercenaries to rescue them, and Dr. Sorkin and her assistant, before it is too late. As one can imagine, some of the mercenaries had no idea what they would be up against, and one of the rescue teams needs to be rescued after they confidently walked into a dinosaur filled Visitor’s center! And speaking of the dinosaurs, I have to say that Telltale Games did a great job when creating them for this digital release. The texture work on the T-Rex and on the Velociraptors really shines, and it shows us how they’ve gotten better and better with each new release (which is great news considering they will soon launch their take on The Walking Dead). For some reason, I had a bit of a problem with the icons this time around, and I had to play closer to the screen to tell which button I had to press. Maybe it’s an age thing, but bigger prompt buttons would have been welcomed. The new characters that are introduced during this episode (and that actually make it to the end), bring a new perspective to the series, since we had only seen things from Gerry and Jess’s perspective (dinosaurs are awesome and I’m so happy to be here!), as well as from Nima (another “hired-gun” with a more human agenda, but someone that despises what InGen has done to the island). Can’t really refer to the mercenaries that will live (as to not spoil things), but I especially liked having one of them around during this episode. Episode 2 picks up the pace and provides us with a tense and exciting adventure. It is more action packed than Episode 1, and gives us a glimpse of what to expect from the next two installments. The darker environments, new characters, and the constant peril at hand make for a very entertaining game. Review Pros Cons Great sound design Interesting cast of characters Some icons meld into the background, making it harder to quickly react Rating 82% Published by Telltale Games Cost – $29.99 (Full Season) Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 2.5 hours This review is based on a copy of Jurassic Park: The Game provided by Telltale Games.

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[PSN Review] Jurassic Park: The Game Episode 2

Welcome to a brand new era of rhythm! Let Vibes take you on a heart-pounding, button-bashing journey through a huge variety of music tracks. Your accuracy, timing and finger speed will be taken to the limit in this unique test of rhythm. Follow the pattern of music and chase the big combos and high scores! Amaze yourself by beating all the difficulty levels which push your fingers to breaking point! Do you have what it takes to become number one? From the trailer, you can tell that icons appear at the edge of the screen, making their way towards the center of the screen. You must use the analog stick to aim the center arrow in the direction of the incoming icons, so you can press the corresponding button to hit said icon. In case yo run into an icon with a tail, you must press and hold the button until the trail is over. Pressing the button to early or two late will not give you the best score possible, nor will it help you regain some of your lost health. There are 13 songs available in total which is very impressive considering this is a minis release. 5 songs are available from start, and as you complete them you will unlock the rest. How varied are the music selections? You have Pop, Hip Hop, House, Emo, Classical, J-Pop, Psychobilly, Rock, Trip Hop, Latin, Punk, Electro and Indie songs for this game (one song per genre), which is sure to please all music game fans. At first, you can only pick the first difficulty option for each song, but you will eventually also unlock the next two difficulty settings to increase replay value. Just be warned that the higher you go, the more focused you need to be. This is the reason why Headphones are must when playing on PSP/PSP Go/Vita. Being able to clearly listen to the music while playing makes a huge difference. If you play on the PS3, just crank up the volume and dive into this trippy journey! As other music/rhythm games have taught us, we can’t miss too many icons or it’s game over. The upper right has your lifebar, and it lets you know how good/bad you are doing depending on color (Green, Orange, Red, Doomed). Vibes is a fun release that brings something new to the music/rhythm game genre. 13 tracks with 3 difficulty settings add to the overall replay value of the game, and the great music selection will keep you coming back for more. Review Pros Cons Great music Easy to understand controls Can get very hectic at higher difficulties Rating 81% Cost – $5.99 Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 4 hours. This review is based on a PS3/PSP copy of Vibes provided by Laughing Jackal.

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[minis Review] Vibes

It all started on Christmas day of 2010. While most families were enjoying the holiday(s), I decided I would go and play a game on my PS3. Sure, I didn’t get anything new that day, but Gran Turismo 5 was calling my name, and I had to get ready for a tournament we were going to hold the following day. Well, upon hitting the power button, the worst case scenario had happened. I received the tone of death, followed by that dreaded flashing yellow light. Keep in mind, I was way out of warranty by this point, as I own an original 60GB model (but I had upgraded to a 500GB hard drive by the time this happened) and had it for a few years already. This was most disheartening. I researched potential causes of the issue, and soon drew the conclusion that it had to deal with some of the solder joints on the RSX (the graphics processor) essentially melting away, because Sony had used a lower quality solder to mate the RSX to the circuit board. I looked around for any services that would deal with this. There were a few on eBay that would do it for, I believe, $90, but people were complaining that they had the money taken out, but never received their console back. I wouldn’t trust that kind of service posting anyway. It sounded way too shady. That’s when I discovered Gophermods . After having read a number of their reviews (and how Tosh had gotten some success by having service done to his console, albeit it was just reflowing the solder joints with the old solder). At the time, among other services, this was the most popular, though, and you get a free 6 month warranty. Looking at the services they were providing, upon suggestions from some forum posts I read online, a reballing with higher grade solder was the solution. Unfortunately, at the time, the reballing service from Gophermods had been announced in August of that year, but it was still unavailable (some people even question whether it ever would be). Still, I had faith in them, and decided to wait, especially with the promise that they would have a 1 year warranty on the service. Instead of a simple resoldering (which was cheaper at $70 and is often called just a temporary fix), I opted to wait for the reballing service to become available (which was $140). And wait I did. The service wasn’t available until, I believe, February of 2011. Keep in mind, the $140 is a little pricier than the “fix” Sony provided, but you get to keep your system (they will also send you your game back if you had one stuck inside; they’ll also replace it if it does, for some reason, get lost), hard drive, everything. The only bad part about the service becoming available was the fact that so many other people were wanting it, they had a waiting list. I was still one of the first to receive the service, though, so it wasn’t long after they had the service go live that they contacted me and I sent the system out for repairs (usually, the turnaround for their services is 24 hours; reballing the RSX had an up to 72 hour turnaround if I recall correctly). Between shipping my console out and getting it back, it was relatively quick. Quite similar to the turnaround you get when you ship out your 360 for a replacement after receiving the Red Ring of Death (I had dealt with a couple of those so I know). It might have been even quicker. Anyway, after getting the console back, I plugged everything back in, started it up, and it ran like new again Here it is, April 2012. More than a year after I had my PS3 service performed. How did it hold up? Well, the system still runs perfectly. Sure, it often gets dust buildup on the vents (since there’s a lot of dust out here), but that’s besides the point (heck, Gophermods will even clean the system when they receive it). I would get an occasional game freeze, but that’s totally unrelated. I haven’t had any hardware failures or anything of that sort at all since the repair. Was it worth the investment? Definitely. Was it worth holding out until the service was available? I think so. Now I get to sit here and enjoy my 60GB the same way I did when I got the system. Yes, I sometimes get the urge to play old PS2 and PS1 games. That is what makes this repair worth the cost. That, and I don’t particularly trust myself enough to be able to do it myself. If you ever need your PS3 serviced, I would definitely recommend checking these guys out.

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[Service Review] Gophermods RSX Reballing – 1 Year Later

This morning was just like every other morning. Then, it happened. No one knows where they came from, or what they are. But we all know that nothing will ever be the same. Now, your only chance for survival is to outrun the destruction of your city… with just one button. Run for your life! Canabalt PlayStation minis trailer from Beatshapers on Vimeo . When you wake up to a robot invation, you can only do two things: run, and run faster! Canabalt hails from the year 2009 (yes, that does sound like a long time ago), and it was the start of the auto runner craze. What is an auto runner? It is a game on which your character runs automatically (get it?) without any outside input. You usually only have control over him with a single button that allows him/her to jump. Other games have added a double jump, or even another button to allow you to fire ( heeeellooo One Epic Game! ), but the basic concept is still there. Canabalt is all about running until you die, always hoping to escape the madness that is brought by GiantKillerRobotsTm, when they decide to invade somewhere. You will need to jump from building top to building top while avoiding any obstacles that might make you sit down for a cup of coffee with the Grim Reaper. The more time that your character spends running, the faster he will continue to run. This is great when you want to outrun an off-screen menace, but it is not that great when you’re trying to make a precise jump over then void that is imminent dead. By hitting small obstacles, you can slow down a bit, but you must be careful to not slow down too much, or else you won’t be able to make the next jump. A bit of a Catch-22 since you can’t see how big the next jump is if you’re going to slow, but going too fast means you could jump OVER the whole building, falling down to the far, far away land of concrete floor. You must also avoid “death from above” objects, that are either missiles or discarded arms from the GiantKillerRobotsTm. Hitting those will bring you to a halt, and your game will be over in a flash. Why? Because you’re crashing into a very hot piece of metal that is bigger than you, and when you combine human flesh with hot, smoldering metal… Some buildings are just waiting for you to set foot on top of them to start crumbling down. Guess all the pigeons on the rooftop were not heavy enough to destroy the whole thing. But the pigeons sure look nice when they fly away, trying to avoid you at all cost. Canabalt is a small and minimalistic game that you should definitely add to your collection. The Auto runner extraordinaire is still fun after all these years, and you can now enjoy it on your PS3, your PSP or your Vita. How far can you run before you just can’t run anymore? Review Pros Cons Great art and music One button controls Random levels are not for everyone Rating 80% Cost – $2.99 Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 3 hours. This review is based on a PS3/PSP copy of Canabalt obtained from Beatshapers.

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[minis review] Canabalt

If you’ve been waiting for a specific amount of content to be made available before you decided to join Playstation Plus, April presents a great argument. You will get a free copy of Shank 2, Shift 2 Unleashed, Frogger Returns, media darling Canabalt, and even PSOne Classic Silent HIll! You can find the full of PS+ content for April, right after the break. Exclusives: The House of the Dead 4 Demo – 4/10 Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier Closed Beta – Date TBA Free Downloads: Shift 2 Unleashed – 4/3 Shank 2 – 4/3 Frogger Returns – 4/17 Minis: Canabalt – 4/10 Farm Frenzy 2 – 4/3 Mystic Garden – 4/10 PS one Classics: Silent Hill – 4/3 Full Game Trials: Grand Theft Auto IV Episodes From Liberty City – 4/10 Dead Rising 2: Off the Record – 4/17 NHL 12 – 4/17 SAINTS ROW THE THIRD – 4/17 Disney Universe – 4/24 The Cursed Crusade – 4/24 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – 4/24 SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV ARCADE EDITION – 424 Media: Qore Episode 47 – April – 4/10 Free Avatars and Themes: Escape Plan Lil Avatar – 4/3 Escape Plan Bakuki Avatar – 4/3 Escape Plan Logo Avatar – 4/3 Escape Plan Triangle Avatar – 4/3 Escape Plan Laarg Avatar – 4/3 THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 4 GOLDMAN AVATAR – 4/17 THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 4 JAMES AVATAR – 4/17 THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 4 KATE AVATAR – 4/17 THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 4 DYNAMIC THEME – 4/17 Discounts: GRAND THEFT AUTO IV EPISODES FROM LIBERTY CITY – 4/10 (PS Plus Price: $11.99) THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 4 – 4/17 (PS Plus Price: $6.99) Disney Universe – 4/24 – (PS Plus Price: TBD – 50% off Store Price) Exclusive Discounted Avatar Bundles: Devil May Cry Avatar Bundle- 4/3 (PS Plus Price: $0.99) Devil May Cry 2 Avatar Bundle – 4/3 (PS Plus Price: $0.99) Devil May Cry 3 Avatar Bundle – 4/3 (PS Plus Price: $0.99)

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PlayStation Plus Subscribers: Your April Content is Almost Here!

Help legendary star fighter pilot Ace Armstrong defeat the Scumbag invasion of earth in this modern take on classic old-school shoot-em-ups, with an added 50s Sci-Fi twist and plenty of Scumbag-bursting humour. Fly Ace through several action-packed levels, each featuring a huge boss with unique attack patterns to defeat! Use Ace’s mighty Recycl-o-Ray to suck up the essence of defeated Scumbags and use their own weapons against them. Can you turn back the Scumbags’ tentacled tide of terror?! Controls are very simple to understand. You can move Ace’s ship either with the D-Pad or the analog stick (I used the D-pad to get the proper old school feel), and shooting your standard cannons is handled by the X button. You can use the L or R button to vacuum in the weapon energy left behind by some of the Alien Scumbags, and you can shoot these extra weapons with the Square or Circle buttons. You can still shoot your standard cannons while you’re doing this, so be sure to never stop firing or the Aliens will get you! Also, when you suck in a new weapon, your current one is immediately discarded, so make sure you really want to get rid of it before hitting either shoulder button. What weapons can you take from your enemies? You have access to a laser, to a spread shot, to a 3-way shot, and exploding shot, and a veeery powerful shot that can quickly kill all enemies in 1 or 2 shots at most. The more powerful the weapon, the lower number of shots you have available, so be sure to plan accordingly. A strong weapon in your arsenal when facing a boss can be the difference between survival and defeat. Before you start the game, you are given the option of picking one of the three difficulty settings available (Rookie, Pro and Elite). You should start on Rookie to get an idea of how the game works, as diving right into Pro or Elite can prove to be too much for most. Picking a higher difficulty cuts down the number of extra ships you start with AND aliens are stronger, thus requiring to be shot more times in order to be destroyed. You must quickly understand how to differentiate the things that can kill you from those that are there just for show, especially since all that it takes to bring down your ship is one hit. You can crush against scenery, aliens, spaceships, etc., and it is easier to know what scenery is physically there, and which one is just for show, by constantly firing with X. You can also autofire when holding down X, but you can definitely fire faster by constantly pressing X, thus allowing you to destroy more enemies. When you reach the end of the level, you’ll fight against a huuuuge boss. Learning their pattern is a must, or you’ll never defeat them. Be prepared to lose several ships during this fights if you’re not careful. Luckily, if all your lives run out, you can choose to immediately go on, as long as you have any continues left. Ace Armstrong vs the Alien Scumbags provides us with a fun game that takes us back to simpler times when 2D sidecrollers were all the rage. The art-style and gameplay mechanics allow this minis release to set itself apart from the rest of the options available in the service. Review Pros Cons Easy to control Several weapons you can use Crashing into a building before being able to realize that structures are bad Rating 81% Cost – $3.99 Disclaimer Total amount of time played: 3 hours. Game was completed before writing this review. This review is based on a PS3/PSP copy of Ace Armstrong vs the Alien Scumbags provided by Laughing Jackal.

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[minis Review] Ace Armstrong vs The Alien Scumbags!