PlayStation Network – News and Events

On April 20th 2011 the PlayStation network was compromised. Gamers all over the world are outraged, but they’re not the only ones. Sony’s stock has dropped over $2.08 billion in the past month, and investors are none too happy, see here. This is the largest recorded loss in Sony history.

Instead of Sony giving its gamers a clear date of when the network will be back on, they decide to continually move it back. It started out with a couple of days, then weeks, now it’s almost a month. The current date is set for May 31st 2011. Considering their low success rate with release dates, it’s hard telling if they’re telling the truth this time. Only time will tell, but I for one hope it’s all fixed by then.

A group that goes by the name Anonymous was originally believed to be behind the attack, later that was found to be untrue. Members associated with Anonymous are believed to have some sort of involvement. Currently Sony is continuing their investigation. A man named George “GeoHot” Hotz was apprehended after posting a YouTube video on how to hack the PS3. His YouTube, Google, Twitter account, and personal computer were all taken from him in order to help catch other hackers involved. The kicker here is Sony knew there were vulnerabilities with the network, but never bothered to fix it.

Sony, and its investors aren’t the only ones seeing a loss of profit. Games like Call of Duty, Portal 2, and Mortal Kombat were all relying on PS3 online play. Anymore, people don’t care as much about story modes. They want to play against their friends online. With the PlayStation network being down, video game sales are dropping too. Even movie sales are seeing a slight hit. PlayStation offered consumers the option to rent, or purchase movies via PlayStation Network. With this option temporarily out of use, sales drop to zero.

Overall, it’s like a trickle-down effect when people rely on something like the PlayStation network and it goes out. Video games, movies, even home theater installation take a hit. It’s not like Sony enjoys having their network down for an extended period of time any more than we do. They’re losing money; we’re losing the luxury of being able to play online. It’s a bad situation for everyone. On the bright side, this should encourage people to spend more time with their friends and family, or go outside and get some exercise instead of sitting in front of the television until it’s time to go to bed. As negative as it is having the network down, there are always some positive aspects that come from it.

Written By – Leah of eatbreatheblog.com

Homefront – March 17 2011

Greetings all,

I have just seen the trailer for what will be my next PS3 purchase!

If you are looking to play a first person shooter with a story that could be potentially modelled on real life then have a look at the below!

If you want a little bit more back story…

I think that some of the strongest parts of Modern Warfare were the battles set in the US because it’s a recognisable battlefield and something that we hadn’t seen before which made playing it all the more fun…well that and the fact that I broke into a sweat trying to complete the objectives!

I think that the strongest part of Call of Duty: Black Ops was definitely the storyline. It put this game into a class of its own and gave us something that we hadn’t seen before.

It looks like Homefront has combined both of these elements to create a game that is set in a recognisable country and with a strong story that could be ripped from today’s headlines.

I am very keen to see more of this game and will definitely be putting in a pre-order for it!

As soon as I get to play it, a review will definitely be forthcoming!

Written by: Stoic Taco

“I’ll have mine with ketchup and sour cream”

BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA – NBA Jam for iPhone & iPod Touch

NBA Jam, for me, sparked a love affair with the NBA itself and found me buying countless basketball cards, following the sport and even installing a basketball ring in my back yard.

When I first heard that the franchise was getting a reboot I was filled with both excitement and fond memories of pumping countless dollars into the arcade machine.  Soon after its release into the console world it had received a number of negative reviews based around there not being enough content to justify a full price game and should have been released as a downloadable title.

Enter NBA Jam for iPhone…

For those of you that have been hiding under a rock, NBA Jam is a 2 on 2 basketball game with little to no rules.  The high flying stunt like jams will have you feeling like you are a basketball god!

NBA Jam for iPhone is currently $5.99 and worth every cent.

Upon starting the game you are greeted with an easy to navigate Menu.  This is made up of 2 play modes, Challenges and the Jam store. The play modes are “Play Now” and “Classic Campaign”. Play now will quickly launch you in to the game, select one of 30 available teams, select the players you would like to use and away you go.  In Classic Campaign you will play as one team for a season and save your progress as you go.
Something that is missing in this game is multiplayer, but with the number of challenges and unlockable content there is enough to keep you coming back time and time again.  Challenges will show you what challenges you have completed and what you are yet to achieve.  Completing a challenge will grant rewards such as Big Head Mode, One Shot Fire and many unlockable classic players such as Patrick Ewing, Shaq, Scottie Pippen and even the Beastie Boys.
The Jam store is where you can purchase DLC for the game such as Unlockable player packs.  Each pack has around 7 players and a mascot.  These packs are currently $1.19 each

The game play is outstanding. The control scheme in NBA Jam is comprised of a virtual joystick and 3 buttons. Unlike many games on iPhone these controls work and are very responsive. The game runs very smoothly on the iPhone 4 (although I have heard rumours of it heating up the 3Gs) and has a steady frame rate. The graphics are some of the best I have seen on the platform and are comparable to its console counterparts.
My one gripe with the graphics is that the players heads look like they are photos stuck on top of the character model, like something you would see in an episode of South Park. This is only a small complaint and does not take away from the experience at all. Another thing I should mention is the sound. The game has a great sound track and commentary reminiscent of the original game.

Whether you’re a nostalgic gamer missing the titles of old or simply looking for an awesome game to pass the time on your iPhone, NBA Jam is not to be missed.

Score:  9.5 / 10 Freaking awesome

Written by: empire69

Images sourced from: http://www.theiloop.com