I have known for sometime about the Official Playstation Blog which is run by SCEA, and I feel that this is one of the best things Sony have ever done. The blog manages to link Sony with their fans by providing informative articles as well as up to date news on all things Playstation. One of the other benefits of this blog is that Sony use it to respond directly to fans comments, something which before the blogs existence was not possible, so my question is, with all the criticism Sony receive in Europe for not keeping fans in the loop, why hasn’t it’s European division also created a blog for those across the water?

Now before you say what about ThreeSpeech, the semi official blog which is informative and I must say very useful, let me point out that unlike the Official US blog, ThreeSpeech is not run by Sony Europe and most of the time, someone from Sony isn’t communicating directly with the public.

I feel that by having an Official Sony Europe blog and communicating with the fans directly Sony would really show that they care about Europe, and help get rid of any of the ridiculous suggestions that they don’t care. 

So please vote in our poll and show your opinion on this matter.

With all the controversy surrounding gaming recently, such as ELSPA agreeing with the Tories that kids need to get out more, it occurred to me that gaming doesn’t really feel as sociable as it used to. When I was young I would look forward to every Saturday evening as this was the time when me and all my friends would gather to play the latest game on our Sega Megadrives and later on our Sony PlayStation’s thanks to a wonderful in-game setting called cooperative play, how times have changed.

It seems to me that developers no longer care for such an addition to their games, rather than include the ability to play on the same console as your friends developers seem to be going down the path of only including co-op play via services such as Xbox Live and the Playstation Network, there are obviously some exceptions to this rule such as FIFA, PES and Singstar etc but the majority of games these days, Call of Duty 4 being a big example, seem to be forgetting to include the ability to play alongside your friends while being in the same room.

 
uncharted, great game, no co-op

Developers will argue that by excluding co-op mode they are then able to put more time into the main game and this may be a valid point, however I for one would rather have the choice. Playing games over the internet against friends and strangers is the norm these days and don’t get me wrong, I think it is great fun, however there is nothing quite like playing against a friend when they are in the same room to bring out that competitive streak.

So I say to developers, when making a game please don’t forget to add co-op play for people like me who like to have friends around to play the latest games and have a few beers, gaming should be about being sociable, that’s the way it has always been and to take that away now would be a great shame.

If there is one game that was built for Sony’s Sixaxis controller then it has to be Loco Roco.

Loco Roco, which was originally released on Sony PSP, always had a knack of making you tilt your hands due to the way the game plays, so tilting with the Sixaxis on the PS3 should be like second nature.

For those of you who have never played the original, the aim of the game is to collect the highest number of LocoRoco and lead them to the goal of the level. The player controls and moves screen features such as branches or platforms by simply tilting the controller, making in this way the little creatures roll and bounce around. The LocoRoco are woken up, attracted and lead in the right direction by a butterfly that the player can call and move around to show them the way. Mini games show up along the route and by playing them it’s possible to multiply the number of LocoRoco. The player will also encounter some threats as they progress in the game, such as the nasty Moja which love to eat LocoRoco. If the player loses too many LocoRoco, the big boss BonMucha wakes up and the game is over!

Here are the Key Features of the latest version.

• High resolution at 1080p HD
• Sixaxis tilt functionality
• 3 Mini-games

Ranking modes:

Total score ranking: The player competes using the total number of LocoRoco collected plus the score of the mini-game.

Time Attack ranking:
The player competes using the total time taken to get to the goal. So all depends on the route chosen to reach the end of the game, the shortest it is, the better.

Characters:

LocoRoco: The mysterious creatures who love to bounce and roll around.
Moa: Loves to gobble up LocoRoco! Don’t let the LocoRoco get eaten!
Muumuu: LocoRocos friends.
BonMucha: The big bad Moja boss!

Online features:

Online ranking board

So will you be downloading this from the PS3 Store? we know we will.

Sony have been selling Heavenly Sword as a stunning next gen game since day one, so now that it is upon us we thought it only right to take a closer look. 

Heavenly Sword is a epic action game in which the invading King (played by Andy Serkis) destroys the warrior clan that guards the Heavenly Sword, the clan leader’s daughter, Nariko, takes up the sword in a desperate fight for survival, as she embarks on one last mission of vengeance against the King and his army before her life is finally and irreparably overtaken by the omnipotent Heavenly Sword.

It has been claimed that this game take up 10gb of space just for sound on a Blu Ray disc, impressive yes, but so far the review scores have been pretty disappointing, this is mainly due to lack of depth in the story and the fact that the game is only about 6 hours long, however despite the criticisms, having seen the gameplay first hand there are some big selling points such as the hundreds of enemies on screen at any one time and the amazing level of detail in the cut scenes, there is also good depth to the combat and it does take a while to learn all the moves available. 

So from what we have seen, we were impressed and it left us in no doubt that no matter what the critics say, this game will sell big.

But how do you feel about Heavenly Sword? will it be a system seller? we want your opinion of this game and why you feel it will succeed or flop.

Hitting the Playstation Network store on the 30th August with the retail version following in September, Warhawk  is Sony’s multiplayer war game with a twist, but will it be as popular as some people think it will? We take a look and ask does a game need a single player mode to be successful.

For those of you who don’t know much about this game, Warhawk enables players to experience intense infantry combat in a massive, all-out war which is fought both on the ground and in the skies all in glorious High Definition. The game is played exclusively through online gaming, allowing players to battle against and alongside the Warhawk online community. Through various gameplay modes such as Team Deathmatch, Territories Mode and Capture the Flag, players engage in cooperative online play or fend for themselves against a barrage of enemies in thrilling combat.

During battle, players can take command of the most advanced war machine in the fleet, the Warhawk, capable of aerobatic dogfights at high speeds or hovering over ground troops providing tactical support. Players continue the battle on foot with an arsenal of weaponry including rifles, flame throwers, grenades and more. Furthermore, players can gain access to an array of ground vehicles and lay waste with powerful weapons mounted on jeeps, tanks and specialty transports.

So can this game be successful given that it is online only? the simple answer is yes. There are many examples of online only games, admittedly mostly on PC, however if games such as Battlefield 2 which has won numerous can be successful then there is no reason to think that Warhawk can’t, after all it has a lot going for it, whether you want to fight on foot, by air or just blow your enemy to pieces using a large tank, it’s all there and the fact the you can download a game of such high quality may just be too much for most people to resist.

One of the best things about online gaming is that it is always different, each person has tactics which are unique to themselves and this is what gives the game something new everytime you switch it on, sure sometimes you don’t feel like being sociable and switching on your mic and if you have a day like this then we say, no problems as you can still have just as much fun using the silent approach.

One of the things we will be closely watching outside of the game is the downloadable version will sell compared to the retail version, with the latter coming bundled with a headset but at roughly £20 more, it will be interesting to see which one is sells better and this will alter Sony’s approach in anyway with future games, so on that note we have set up a new poll on the main page just to ask, will you be buying the retail version or the downloadable one, mainly because we can’t wait to find out.

So what do you think of Warhawk? can it succeed as a multiplayer only game? leave your comments below. 

Are you one of the people looking forward to Singstar? we certainly are, especially with the new You Tube type community that comes with it.

One of the most fun pastimes on a PS3 could soon be sitting with your friends and watching people who think they can sing making a fool of themselves or watching videos of the talented members of the public whilst feeling envious at their singing skills and who knows if your feeling brave enough maybe it will be your videos being viewed the world over.

Of course to do all of the above you are going to need songs and plenty of them, so thankfully Singstar will have these in abundance, in fact the developers hope that they will get to the stage were if a song is released it will follow on the Singstore at the same time or soon after, they are also planning to have a range of songs which span every genre, meaning that whether you are a rocker or a raver there is a song for you.

There is no doubt that there are many people out there looking forward to singing along to their favorite songs and it is no wonder that this game is so popular. Singstar may just be like karaoke but it’s not only you friends watching you now, it’s the world. 

Sony’s vision of bringing the community to your living room with the likes of Home, Little Big Planet and of course Singstar looks like it’s about to become reality and if you are a PS3 owner then you are going to be playing a big part in it’s success.

We want to know you thoughts on this game, are you purchasing it? will you be uploading you video’s? or will you be sitting back and enjoying everyone else’s video’s, please leave a comment below or visit our forum.

This week PS3 sees the long awaited release of GRAW2.

Graw 2 builds off of the events in the first game and places gamers in control of the U.S. military’s elite fighting unit, the Ghosts. In the year 2014, the rising conflict between Mexican loyalists and insurgent rebel forces has thrown Mexico into full-scale civil war. Under the command of Captain Scott Mitchell, the Ghosts are called upon to face an imminent threat to the United States. The fate of two countries now lies in the hands of the Ghosts as they fend off an attack on U.S. soil. Equipped with the most cutting-edge weaponry and technology, the Ghosts must battle on both sides of the border to neutralize the escalating rebel threat.

So will you be buying this game or are you holding off until September when Warhawk and Heavenly Sword are expected to make an appearance? Let us know by leaving a comment below.