BitSnark

Earlier today, Capcom announced Super Street Fighter IV; a standalone release which builds upon the existing title by offering up to eight new fighters and a boat load of gameplay and balancing tweaks.

At present only SSF2 Native American alumni T-Hawk and newcomer Juri are confirmed to be in the title, but Capcom has promised ‘several more’ characters in addition. T-Hawk appears to be a very faithful 3D reproduction of his 2D persona, complete with devastating throws and Tomahawk dives. Newcomer Juri on the other hand, appears to be a tae-kwondo user; not at all that dissimilar to Kim Kaphwan from SNK’s King Of Fighters series or Hwoarang from the Tekken titles.

Much speculation has been cast on not just the additional characters but the new gameplay features too such as classic Street Fighter II bonus stages and the ability for every character to have an aerial ultra move to complement their existing one. There will be more on these features as and when the details come out, but what we do know is that the title is slated to arrive in Spring 2010 on PS3 & 360 not as a massive DLC package, but instead as a budget priced re-release.

Oh, and those of us who have the original SFIV (and that should be anybody with a pulse), Capcom have promised some secret goodies for us if we hang onto our copies.

First, a little background folks.

Released way back in May 2003, Planetside was a trailblazer; an online MMOFPS, the title allowed players to choose opposing factions with different vehicles, weaponry and abilities with the aim of taking over the opposing factions territories in a set of on-going persistent worlds. The experience was further bolstered by the fact that players were able to level their characters to unlock new skill trees, which in turn allowed access to bigger and better vehicles and equipment or specialised skills such as sabotage or demolitions. On top of all this, players could gain command levels (a feature most recently seen in Sony’s forthcoming online FPS MAG) which allowed them to specify objectives for all to see, organise supply drops and co-ordinate devastating satellite strikes on the enemy.

A recent email sent out to current Planetside subscribers (yes, they still exist) strongly suggests that a sequel to the MMOFPS shooter is on the cards. Entitled ‘Help Us Design The Next PlanetSide Game’. the e-mail invited readers to partake in a survey to highlight what aspects of the current Planetside they liked or disliked and also what new stuff they would like to see in a sequel. In addition to this, SOE chief John Smedley said recently ‘Planetside fans will be happy. We have big things planned in the next 12 months. We’re working on something new that’s really cool’.

Current users of the original Planetside have little to fear in the near-term however, as Smedley reassured them that the original will still be supported for some time to come with additional content and a new patch which gives full Vista compliance.

Bring on the future.

In what can only be seen as a major kick in the balls for people looking to upgrade from their old PSP to the new PSP Go, Sony have announced that due to ‘legal’ and ‘technical’ reasons, there is no programme in place to allow the trading in of a UMD copy of a game for it’s digitally distributed equivalent.

In a statement to gaming website Kotaku, a spokesperson for Sony said “We were evaluating a UMD conversion programme, but due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the programme at this time,”.

I’m sorry Sony, offering three free games from an (old) selection of sixteen titles is *no* substitution whatsover for people being able to bring across their existing library of games to their new PSP Go console.

What a way to dump on your loyal PSP auidence.

As a sweetener of sorts to entice those existing PSP owners to upgrade to the new shiny UMD-less PSP Go, Sony have announced an incentive scheme whereby gamers can redeem a special voucher to claim three free downloadables from the following selection of games:

Buzz!: Brain Bender
Buzz!: Master Quiz
Daxter
Echochrome
Everybody’s Golf PSP
Killzone: Liberation
Lemmings PSP
LocoRoco
MediEvil
Patapon
Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
Resistance: Retribution
SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow
WipEout Pure

Not a bad offer, but I think we would all much rather prefer some kind of concrete UMD conversion tool for our existing game libraries.

The offer is intended to run between the dates of October 1st 2009 and March 31st 2010.

Tim Schafer’s face melting, metal-to-the-f’n-nine’s latest is now officially demofied on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Shred that download folks 🙂

With the previously promised 2009 date for Splinter Cell: Conviction now a distant memory, Ubisoft have confirmed that Splinter Cell: Conviction is now slated to arrive for 360 and PC folk in the EU on February 26th 2010.

US gamers however get to reacquiant themselves with Sam Fisher and his quest to be a digital Jack Bauer three days earlier on February 23rd.

Becoming yet another title to shift into the now-packed-to-the-brim Q1 2010 release window of next year, Polyphony Digital confirmed at the show that thei fifth installment in their long-running and critically acclaimed ‘car porn’ series Gran Turismo, would be in Japanese hands sometime in March 2010.

No western dates were given but conservatively speaking, I would probably stick another six months or so on that date before we see it.

Weighing in at a hefty 1.25GB, the Forza 3 demo has finally arrived!

Forza 3 demo GET!!

Yep, your eyes do not deceive you.

IGN-PSP have very kindly put up the hotly anticipated MGS: Peace Walker demo for the PSP; giving folks who aren’t attending the Tokyo Game Show, their first real taste of the forthcoming PSP exclusive MGS title.

The demo is in Japanese but still, you get the play the ruddy thing long before anybody else does.

The link and instructions can be found below:

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/102/1027904p1.html

Let me know how you guys get on with it.

Those folks in the east always get the coolest stuff and TGS 09′ is just yet another showcase of how much MORE of that stuff they get compared to the rest of us.

Case in point; Sony and JRPG Giant Square-Enix today have announced that lucky Japanese gamers will be able to purchase a Final Fantasy XIII themed PS3 hardware bundle when the game itself releases in December.

According to details released during the Sony Press Conference, Final Fantasy XIII will be included with a somewhat swanky white PS3 system that has a red painting of stoic heroine Lightning on the case.

The “Lightning Bundle Edition” as it is known, will additionally also include a 250 GB hard drive and the whole shebang will retail at 41,600 Yen (£283).

Take a look at it at the link below:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ffxiii-ps3-slim-bundle-shown-at-tgs

Gits.