There’s a bit of slowdown, but I’m not sure if that’s the video or the game itself. Chains of Olympus ran fine, so I’m not worried. I am intrigued by this PSP title though.
My PSP handhelds (I have two) sit on my desk untouched. I didn’t buy Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for it and I doubt I’ll be picking up Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep either.
However, I may pick up God of War: Ghost of Sparta. The prequel to God of War looks stunning for a PSP game and it may be one of the last PlayStation Portable titles if the rumors of a PSP2 turn out to be true.
I caught most of Sony’s conference. It was alright. The Gabe Newell on-stage appearance was easily the most surprising moment. Most of the PSP and PS2 info was reiteration, so I left those out.
Sony’s E3 2010 website is decent. It’s a bit too Flash heavy for my tastes, but it gets the job done.
However, as always, I’ve broken down the vital info for easy digestion:
PlayStation Move
Releasing Sept 19, 2010
Standalone Move controller – $49.99
Bundle w/ PS Eye, standalone Move controller & Sports Champions game – $99.99
PlayStation 3 with the Bundle – $399.99
Navigation controller (nunchuk) – $29.99
First party PlayStation Move titles will be $39.99
Remember that PlayStation Portable of yours? Haven’t played with it for awhile, huh? Well, perhaps a new God of War game will convince you to find it and charge it up.
Today, Sony announced that God of War: Ghost of Sparta will be heading to PSP later this year. It’s being developed by Chains of Olympus developer, Ready At Dawn and according to them it’ll have “over 25% more gameplay, an improved weapon system, and new magical powers.” That’s not the greatest sales pitch, but I’ve heard worse. I enjoyed Chains of Olympus a lot, so I’m looking forward to this prequel.
According to the blog post, Ghost of Sparta will take place after God of War and will tell “the story of Kratos’ ascension to power”. I didn’t think that part of the story needed any fleshing out, but I guess Ready at Dawn and Santa Monica Studios must have something worthwhile if they’re delving into that.
Along with those key details, Sony provided a handful of screenshots.
Both come from Japanese companies.
Both are destined for the PSP.
Both are slotted for the summer time frame.
Both are prequels.
Both are reasons for me to pick up my PSP again.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was pushed back to June 8th, 2010 and will serve as the fifth installment of the Metal Gear Solid franchise despite the subtitle. There’s also a green PSP bundle with it, but I don’t think anyone cares about that. Those of you who are interested in the title should check out the latest walkthrough though.
As for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, its release window was narrowed down to simply “summer“. I don’t know much about it, just that it is the fifth installment for its own franchise as well.
As far as Japanese role playing games goes, Atlus’ Persona series sits among the top three franchises for me at the moment — especially Persona 4. I absolutely adored Persona 4 and would recommend it to fans of the genre in a heartbeat. But what about Persona 3? It’s not a slouch and it may seem obsolete from a gameplay and design standpoint, but it’s still worth trying. If only there was a way to play Persona 3 with some of Persona 4‘s enhancements.
Enter Persona 3: Portable for the PlayStation Portable.
This may be the third release of Persona 3, but it seems to be the definitive version. You may not get the extra content found in Persona 3: FES (The Answer epilogue), but having played it, I think you can safely skip over it. The most notable additions and alterations in P3P include:
direct control of the party
faster pacing and (vanilla P3 was a bit slow)
additional characters to mingle with
They’re significant improvements and with them, I’d easily recommend it. The $39.99 USD price tag seems a bit much, but for a new comer, I’d say it’s fair.
Persona 3: Portable debuts July 6, 2010 for the PlayStation Portable. For more information, visit the official website.
Why have a journalist bother your game director when you can set up your own questions and answers session on his terms.
Kojima Productions did just that with this Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Q&A session with Hideo Kojima. It’s worth a read and I encourage those who’re interested in the 2010 PlayStation Portable title to do so.
They’ve also posted this collection of 1920×1088 screenshots which I scaled back down to reality.
I caught most of Sony’s conference. It was alright. The Gabe Newell on-stage appearance was easily the most surprising moment. Most of the PSP and PS2 info was reiteration, so I left those out.
Both come from Japanese companies.
