We all know Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps won a whopping eight gold medals in Beijing. What we don’t know is that Phelps is the first person on the planet to own a copy of Call of Duty: World at War for the PlayStation 3. During an interview with the CBS Early Show, the now-legendary swimmer was handed a copy of the FPS in question.

Here’s when things start getting even more interesting: According to Treyarch, the game’s developer, the game’s PS3 case contained an IOU card since the game isn’t finished yet. That’s right; Phelps didn’t get a working copy of the game. it was all bullshit PR.

The developer did promise, however, that Phelps will get the first disc off the production line later this year.

Post from: EveryJoe

Crap-Detector: Michael Phelps gets advanced copy of next Call of Duty

Update: Looks like Left 4 Dead isn’t coming to the PS3 at all. Valve’s Doug Lombardi told IGN that “There is no PS3 version of Left 4 Dead currently in production.” Ouch.

Here’s shocking news. According to the latest issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine, Left 4 Dead is coming to the PlayStation 3, despite the fact that Valve Software, the game’s developer, is not a big fan of Sony’s home console.

Valve boss Gabe Newell has criticized the PS3, saying that it’s “a waste of everybody’s time.” While Valve hasn’t officially shared Newell’s sentiments, its actions may imply the same thing.

For starters, Valve didn’t port The Orange Box to the PS3, leaving the job to EA instead. The result: some technical issues that caused parts of the games’ framerate to suffer. The PS3 port wasn’t bad overall, but it could have been better.

Secondly, Left 4 Dead was originally intended as an exclusive for the Xbox 360 because like The Orange Box, Valve doesn’t want to port the cooperative shooter for the PS3.

Left 4 Dead’s move to the PS3 implies that while the Xbox 360 is still ahead in total units sold, Sony’s console seems to be making enough sales to get companies’ attention—even if the company in question dislikes the platform.

Does this mean I can finally play Dead Rising for the PS3?

Image of Left 4 Dead is courtesy of EA.

Post from: EveryJoe

OPM: Left 4 Dead is coming to the PS3

I’m terrible at shooters when using two analog sticks. This is why I resort to using the FragFX, a special PlayStation 3 controller that lets me play console FPSes with mouse-like precision. In theory, it’s supposed to be great. Application however, is another story.

My FragFX never really gave me that PC shooter feel. Granted that it could never really replace a mouse and keyboard, but the controls have generally been iffy. When I press R1 to fire, the action for the triangle button is inexplicably activated as well–even if my thumb was nowhere close to it.

This was when I decided to look to firmware upgrades for answers.

According to the FragFX site, the latest downloadable upgrade is said to address the problem of other buttons “bleeding” into each other. The download was over in no time, but the upgrade process was quite a head scratcher.

The readme instructed that the upgrade files should be decompressed into a folder with a specific name. Fine. It also says that the original FragFX driver should be deleted, and that I should use the one included in the download. Let me tell you—it’s not as simple as it sounds.

When all the hairy stuff was done, I plugged in the controller and ran the upgrade program. Inexplicably, an error popped up and it persisted even if I’ve checked the connections several times. I unplugged the FragFX and tried again. Still no dice.

I went back to the readme for options and here’s what I gleaned: either I contact SplitFish support, or I try upgrading the firmware in another PC.

I was in no mood to email support and list down the system specifications of my PC, including the brand of each part. Luckily, my brother has a rig of his own so I tried upgrading it there. For some strange reason, the upgrade worked in another PC but not in mine. When I tried out the controller, the “bleeding” is gone. For the first time, playing console shooters feel more PC-like without the annoying button malfunction.

Watch out Call of Duty 4, here I come.

Image of FragFX is courtesy of SplitFish.

Post from: EveryJoe

FragFX firmware is a pain to update

If you know your shooter history, then you’re aware that the Unreal Engine has always been primarily for the PC. When Tim Sweeney, the creator and founder of Epic Games, suddenly says otherwise, then you just might see hell freezing over.

That’s right; the next edition of Unreal Engine (version 4 if you’re keeping count) is aimed at consoles.

“Version 4 will exclusively target the next console generation, Microsoft’s successor for the Xbox 360, Sony’s successor for the PlayStation 3 – and if Nintendo ships a machine with similar hardware specs, then that also. PCs will follow after that.”

Then again, if you’re a PC gamer for the past few years, then you may have noticed that the console love has already been happening since the beginning of the millennium.

It’s tough to be a PC gamer in this day and age, unless you have an unlimited source of funds for your l33t gaming rig. You have only to thank Halo and its offspring’s commercial success for Epic to worship console gaming’s feet.

Image for Unreal Engine 3 is courtesy of Midway Games.

Post from: EveryJoe

Next Unreal Engine is aimed at consoles first, PCs last

It’s been over a year now since “next gen” has become current gen. While the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3 have been ranked in terms of sales, the debate on which is “best” continues to rage among its…enthusiasts. I’m not going to fall into that trap and set you up for a word war. Instead, what I’d like to know your preferred console for shooters.

I see several possible reasons for your answers:

• Y console has the most number of great shooters;
• X platform has the best controller for shooters;
• Z system has so and so exclusives.

Obviously, there would be more reasons so I’d love to hear them. I’m not going to put in my two cents this time, so please do tell my why you think so and so console is fantastic for your genre of choice.

Post from: EveryJoe

What’s your preferred console for shooters?

Fast forward to present day.

The NPD Group recently revealed that Crysis sold just 86,633 units last November, following its release on the 13^th of that month. Sure, the game may have scored big on reviews, but nobody wanted to buy it because the game was simply too punishing to run.

Strangely, Unreal Tournament 3 for the PC was also languishing in the bottom of sales, garnering a mere 33,995 units. However, Epic is still fortunate because their multiplayer-only shooter is also released for the 360 and PS3, meaning sales would get better.

Better than Crysis, at least.

UT3 runs much better than Crysis, so this could be attributed to the FPS market being overcrowded. Yes, 2007 is the year of the FPS, thanks to hits like Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Bioshock, and The Orange Box (which is five games in one), among others.

What’s the lesson here? If your game is a pain to run, don’t brag. If you’re reading this, Crytek, you should remember that the most common factor among best-selling PC games is that more people can run them upon release.

Read

Post from: EveryJoe

Crysis is languishing in sales

We all know that PC gamers are getting Unreal Tournament 3 this very month, but the release date for the Playstation 3 version remains tentative. Mark Rein, vice president at Epic Games, told Eurogamer that the chances of getting the PS3 version this year is still pretty good.

“Right now we’re very close to a release candidate, and we should have it finished by the end of this week. Then we send it off and it’s just a matter of what happens from there.”

While Rein never said it explicitly, I think it’s very doable. Why? This Eurogamer quote was given roughly around November 8, Thursday, at an event in Birmingham. The end of that week would be the 10^th or 11^th. Production would take from two to three weeks (around the end of November), and delivery would probably be another two weeks (this would roughly fall in the first week of December).

There’s a catch.

UT3 won’t make it to Europe until 2008 because according to Rein, the region’s certification process takes longer. They’ll still be testing the game in different languages, so that will eat up some more time.

Post from: EveryJoe

UT3 for the PS3 might launch this year, but Europe gets no love

Yes, he does own an Xbox 360 too, but it’s busted.

I finally got a chance to play his spanking new Playstation 3, and boy, was it an experience. Unfortunately, we had to make do with a standard definition TV, but it never made the romp less fun.

To warm up, my buddy put in Resistance: Fall of Man. I told him I didn’t want to play the game online. Just the thought of wrestling with a controller just to get off a shot and let a complete stranger walk all over me in the process brings a cold shudder down my spine.

We had only three controllers available for play—two Sixaxis pads and another one for the PS2. We had to use an adapter to get the older pad working, so a two-on-two capture the flag was out of the question. Not bad for a first-timer who knew nothing of the Manchester map. I ranked second against two experienced bozos.

I noticed that the machineguns I used in Resistance didn’t give me any recoil. I was trying to aim low and shoot short bursts, but I ended up with body shots. What’s a maniacal n00b to do? Run for the rocket launchers, that’s what. I may only fire off one rocket, but one is usually good enough to kill.

Next, we had a session of NBA ‘07, but it was too arcadey for my tastes. I can’t call for a pick, each pass causes a player to stop, and switching defenders were too stupid to find their man. I may have dominated by playing Golden State, but using the Spurs was a nightmare. Wasn’t that supposed to be the other way around?

My mood changed when we started playing Warhawk. The game’s textures alone made me drool. I was blown away by the fact that we were using a standard definition set, but the textures looked as good as those new games I’ve been playing in my PC.

Add in the fact that Warhawk was hilarious to play. Yes, it was tough, but if your teammates are capable of cooperating, things turn out even more fun. I enjoyed playing gunner when riding jeeps, but those jets were a bit challenging to pilot. It gets even more challenging when your enemy is good in flying those things.

One particular event that came to mind was when several of us in the team were hiding in a stone structure (I forgot which map), and a VTOL jet swooped in and circled the building—shooting everyone inside. The enemy did this a couple of times, but it felt like forever when you’re on the receiving end of an attack.

Several of us were taken out, but fortunately, I survived. Beginner’s luck, I’m sure.

Am I sold to the idea of getting this console? Sure! Why would I want to shell out money just to let some foul-mouthed kid frag me and describe my lack of skill using gamepads in shooters through their colorful language? If I’m going to get insulted, might as well not pay for it.

Post from: EveryJoe

My first foray into the PS3 and its shooters

Nvidia’s GeForce 8800 GT video card is hitting store shelves today. If you’re desperate to run Crysis, all you have to do is shell out from $199 to $249. With all the upcoming games for the PC (i.e. Hellgate: London and Gears of War), you’ll likely need the upgrade.

What’s under the proverbial hood, you ask? According to the hype people, their new money trap product comes with 112 stream processors, a 256-bit memory interface, and HD technology. The 8800 GT was created using the 65nm process.

Cevat Yerli, the big cheese at Crytek, believes that the 8800 GT is the “perfect card” for Crysis. With the card, you’ll be able to max out the resolution, Yerli says. Would you really appreciate the teensy details when your enemies are pumping you full of lead and you’re running for your virtual life? Perhaps not, but at least you can put in all that eye candy.

Here are more nerdcore details: The card’s 112 stream processors are individually clocked at 1. 5GHz, the 256-bit memory interface runs at 900MHz, and more importantly, this piece of hardware is designed for the new PCI Express 2.0.

But wait! I’m using the first PCIe! Fear not, the card is backward-compatible with 1.0. However, there’s a catch: I believe you’ll have to get a motherboard that supports PCIe 2.0 before you can enjoy the complete benefits of the 8800 GT.

If your board uses the ancient AGP, don’t bother. Get a new PC.

The new card also lets you run HD DVD and Blu-ray movies on your computer. You just have to pair it with a drive that runs one or both standards. More expenses down that alley.

My take? Nvidia’s new card may be able to let you run those spiffy shooters that I’ve been drooling for, but you’ve got to be ready with the dough. Even if you think you can afford the card, there are other factors to consider: Sony is releasing the 40GB Playstation 3 at $399 and the Xbox 360 now has a $279.99 arcade version.

These consoles may be worth more than the card, but that’s just it–they’re consoles. The 8800 GT is just a video card, so that means you’ll need the rest of the PC.

I would rather buy any of those consoles. Just think: freedom from those pesky system requirements! However, if you hate playing shooters on controllers, it’s another matter altogether. In any case, you’ll be able to play Crysis and Gears with all the purdy details turned on.

Post from: EveryJoe

New GeForce card can make new shooters look really sweet

If you haven’t heard of Turok, then I suggest you shave your flowing beard, trim all your excess body hair, and take a hot bath because you’ve been out of touch from civilization for quite a while.

Turok is a comic book character-turned video game hero, and the latest installment will make its way to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The latest Turok news? The voice actors for the game are revealed. Timothy Olyphant, Powers Boothe, Ron Perlman, William Fichtner and Donnie Wahlberg are among the talents who recorded voices of characters in the game, which will be released on February 5 next year.

Gregory Norman Cruz provides the voice of Joseph Turok. The other members of Whiskey Company, Turok’s companions are as follows: Timothy Olyphant (as Cowboy), Ron Perlman (Slade), Donnie Wahlberg (Shepard), William Fichtner (Logan), Mark Rolston (Cole), Chris Judge (Jericho), Lombardo Boyar (Gonzales), Gideon Emery (Reese), Josh Gomez (Parker), Jon Curry (Foster), Jason Harris (Carter) and Steve Van Wormer (Henderson).

Powers Boothe is the voice of the villain, Roland Kane. Sean Donnellan voices Grimes, Kane’s lackey.

Let’s just hope that this cast would do a fine job in bringing life to the characters. Getting Hollywood actors aren’t always a guarantee of a good performance *cough* Toby Maguire *cough*.

Post from: EveryJoe

Voice actors for Turok are revealed