Sounds like Chime is headed for US PSN, too

Originally developed for Xbox Live Arcade as the first of OneBigGame's for-charity titles, music-based puzzler Chime is one step closer to release on PS3 via PlayStation Network. Already rated by classification boards in Australia and Germany, the game has now received an "E" rating from the ESRB.

Now this PS3 version of the game just needs to be, y'know, announced. (Hopefully with Portal's "Still Alive" included.)

Source: ESRB

THQ and Mattel enter game deal, includes Masters of the Universe rights

THQ will target kids with a new multi-year, multiplatform "alliance" with Mattel -- that's for sure. What we're not so sure about is whether those targets are intended to be kids of the 80s or their kids of today. A news announcement reads like a who's who of garage-sale name drops: Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Masters of the Universe, and even Polly Pocket (who's apparently still going strong these days).

While the deal with Mattel encompasses games that could appear on any platform imaginable, THQ did specifically note the potential in re-introducing the toy maker's brands through the uDraw GameTablet for Wii. "As we have shown with the combination of uDraw and Pictionary, there is enormous potential for the strategic relationship between THQ and Mattel," said Martin Good, executive veep of THQ's Kids, Family and Casual Games division.

The brilliant part about all this is that when you hand over THQ's Tablet and a copy of the He-Man: By the Power of Grayscale drawing game to the GameStop clerk, you simply say, "It's for my kid" -- and he sort of has to believe you.
[Image source: Madman Entertainment; credit: Mattel]
Source: THQ
Via:Joystiq

Fatshark announces Hamilton's Great Adventure

Fatshark, the studio behind class-based shooter, Lead & Gold, has announced its next project: Hamilton's Great Adventure. A pretty stark departure from shooting up the ol' west, Hamilton's Great Adventure is an action puzzle game featuring an Indiana Jones-esque protagonist. Together with his bird Sasha, he must "crack crafty conundrums and challenges." The game is scheduled to arrive this April, with versions planned for consoles (we're guessing PS3 and 360) and PC.
Source: Fatshark

Sony Will Ban Jailbroken PS3s from Network

The PlayStation 3 console has been jailbroken with George Hotz's hack on the console, but what aside from the moral repercussions of hacking your PS3 and pirating software, what will Sony enforce in this new era.  It is being rumored that Sony will begin to ban jailbroken PlayStation 3 consoles much like Microsoft did with the Xbox 360 in the Fall of 2009.

Upon booting up your PlayStation 3 console, the machine communicates with Sony's servers.  And chances are that if you try to run games from an unauthorized source like back-up manager this will be associated with your PSN account and ultimately the console you are playing on via your console identification number.  Using this information, Sony could ultimately use this with a periodic banning tool much like Microsoft does with the Xbox 360.

So despite the possibility of breaking your PS3, and the fact that it is against the Terms of Service of the console, and the opinion that it is morally wrong, you have one more reason not to jailbreak your PS3.  That reason is the banhammer.

Update: Sony has now filed a lawsuit against George Hotz for more information HERE

Via

PS3 trophies threatened by jailbreak tool

The PS3 jailbreak threatens to wreck havoc on the PlayStation ecosystem in ways beyond just piracy. The integrity of the PS3 trophy system hangs in the balance, as hackers have supposedly created an app that unlocks trophies in games automatically. CVG reports that the tool has been used to unlock trophies in BUZZ! and the notoriously challenging PAIN. Oddly, the tool apparently doesn't work in games like Resident Evil 5 and Batman: Arkham Asylum, meaning it isn't quite foolproof yet.

Obviously, a compromise like this undermines the entire point of the trophy system. Sony's Eric Lempel explained to us that the PSP couldn't support trophies due to the unsecured nature of that platform. "If people can artificially inflate their rankings ... it kills the whole [Trophy] system," he explained. Unfortunately, it appears Sony now faces the same issue on the PS3.

"We are aware of this, and are currently looking into it," a SCEE representative commented. "We will fix the issues through network updates, but because this is a security issue, we are not able to provide you with any more details."
Source: CVG

MicroBot review: Biohazardous waste

Developers love to hear that their gameplay is "fluid." Extensive amounts of time are spent polishing and tweaking in order to find that perfect motion that gives their game that oh-so-sweet liquidity. And when they pull it off, it's great ... except in the case of twin-stick shooter MicroBot, where it's somehow detrimental.

MicroBot takes fluidity too far. The player takes control of a tiny robot searching a human body for other (infected) robots in order to destroy them. Of course, that means you'll spend your time floating around with the more molecular parts of the human body, so be prepared for some appropriately, well, floaty controls.

Microbot

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And that doesn't help when you're battling one of the story mode's five bosses and their increasingly screen-filling weaponry. To make matters worse, there are often currents pushing your ship into various spikes and enemies that populate the edges of the levels, leading to dozens of cheap and frustrating deaths. Come to think of it, why are there spikes inside blood vessels? Sharp things and body parts rarely go well together.

Granted, MicroBot may look really good with its bodily theme and excellent fluid physics, but once you get past the initial "Ooh, pretty" you'll realize that each level, despite being randomly generated, is incredibly repetitious and boring. The plodding speed of your miniature virus-destroying vessel and its inability to make the necessary hairpin turns force you to stay in each level far past the point of boredom.

That's not to say it's a completely static experience, though. MicroBot allows the player to upgrade their ship using Atoms picked up by exploring new areas or destroying enemies and certain parts of the environment. The system allows for a lot of customization, letting you equip everything from basic machine guns to homing missiles, to new propulsion engines, to an almost entirely useless grappling hook. Even after you get all the hubs (you can attach seven pieces of equipment in total), you'll find that there isn't any real reason to use anything but the most powerful weapons, leaving the more interesting options on the sidelines.

Once another player is injected into the mix (get it? injected?) things pick up a bit, but questionable design decisions mar the co-op experience as well. On top of the control issues, tacking another player onto the game causes the camera to go a little bit nuts, leading to even more cheap deaths. Adding to the infuriation, once a player dies, he or she is dead until the other teammate drops as well. There were points where my teammate would die early on and it would simply turn into a single-player experience until I said "screw it" and steered into some spikes a few times. Why not have an immediate respawn at the cost of a few points to keep things co-op and enjoyable?

Derivative, yet lacking in what makes twin-stick shooters like Geometry Wars and Robotron: 2084 great, MicroBot's intravenous adventure makes what should be an adrenaline-fueled genre boring with lackluster controls, dull levels, and lame co-op. Honestly ... it's enough to make you sick.

The UnderGarden swims to PSN this winter

Vitamin G Studios has announced that The UnderGarden will finally make the trek to PSN "this winter." Seeing as how it currently is winter, the game should arrive fairly soon. The announcement makes no mention of price, though we imagine it will retain the $10 price of its XBLA and PC counterparts.

Curious PSN users may want to read our review which, despite the fluorescent contents of the game, wasn't exactly glowing.
Source: PlayStation Blog

Bulletstorm demo blows up Jan. 25 on Xbox Live, PSN

"It can't possibly be that stupid, can it?"

It's the thought we've had from the moment we first saw the game title (which is still Bulletstorm, by the way) to when we heard an NPC call the player a "butt chugger" and "wiener apprentice," or whatever it is they actually say. Can the game really be this meatheaded and still, by most accounts, be a joy to play? You'll be able to judge for yourself when a demo for the game drops on Xbox Live and PSN on Tuesday, January 25. (If there's a PC demo on the way, EA has made no mention of it.)

The Bulletstorm demo features the score-attack "Echo Mode," which provides a sliver of the campaign with rigid time and weapon constraints, and then compares your score against friends. Your tolerance for being profanely insulted will not, as far as we know, be tested.
Source: EA

Wesley Snipes bringing 'Julius Styles' to iOS this June

Let's role play for a second. You're Wesley Snipes, renowned action star, currently serving a sentence for tax evasion. You decide to create a new video game based on your action hero creation, Julius Styles (no relation), an amalgam of your lead characters in Murder at 1600, Passenger 57 and Art of War. This game will be accompanied by a movie following your release in 2013.

The game, entitled Julius Styles: The International, will feature a blend of action and puzzles and will debut on iOS this June, with XBLA, PSN and Android versions to follow. But who will develop this game? Who will tame this wild meerkat of an idea? And then it hits you. Lapland Studio, creators of WiiWare sensation Lead the Meerkats. Yes. It's all falling into place.