E3 is this week, so Thrill and Chia lay out their predictions. Chia’s finally finished MGS4, so it gets talked about. A lot.

 

 Standard Podcast [60:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Chia hosts a show, Thrill co-hosts. Bad Company is a good solid B, MGS4 is taking Chia too long to finish, MGO shenanigans, SSF2HDR isn’t quite online ready, and DRM stuff. All this and more in what we hope to call our last PSH podcast.

 

 Episode 15: Everyone Is Bad Company Online [56:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

MMOs are a time sink, Ninja Gaiden 2 is dumbed down for normals, Qore has potential but doesn’t really work, MGS4 is finally here, and cutscene arguments. The microphones still work.

Special thanks to Nasero for helping out with music. You are a game music god.

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 PSHRadio Episode Something Or Other: We're All Melvins At The Qore [56:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s bad. Really bad. It makes Transformers and Superman Returns fun.

The only redeeming quality this game has are excellent character models. Iron Man, and his many different armor iterations, look really good. That’s it.The game’s biggest problem is uncontrollable speed. Everything in the game is simply too fast. The camera and your character whirl about uncontrollably (even if you reduce sensitivity), and enemies simply blur by. Had this game run slower it might actually be playable. As is, the controls and gameplay are simply a mess.

Not to mention that combat is boring. Can you hold the right trigger and fly in circles? Then you’ve experienced all it offers. Occasionally you’ll move close to an object/enemy and obey quicktime events, but these canned animations never feel fun.

While the character model looks and animates well, enemies and environments are empty and bland. Enemies always break apart the same way, textures are muddy, explosions are boring. The game might look good in screen shots, but in motion falls apart. The sound and voice acting are exactly what you’d expect from a movie based game: flat and lifeless.

This game’s greatest accomplishment is that it makes Superman Returns look great. At least in that abomination flying and shooting enemies was controllable and fun for roughly 10 minutes. Here, not even flight is fun. The fact that this game is released the same week (or even the same month) as GTA 4, and at the same price, is an embarrassment.

Does Thrillhouse even need to be around? Our mutual acquaintance nasero (aka Mr March aka the whiny bitch Josh from Critical Strike) joins Chia for this 13th edition. They talk about FF7, their love/distaste of RPGs, how they’re anticipating GTA4 (and Saint’s Row), all while spooning.

Oh, and Chia loves Georgia.

Direct download right here

 

 Standard Podcast [47:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I hope you’ve got ten dollars.

If you’ve played COD4 (and if not for the love of God go buy it) then you fall into one of two categories: 1) You’re playing it habitually, working your way up the addictive prestige ladder 2) You’ve played it to death, find the maps stale, and are eagerly anticipating new content.

Which makes my critique of the new Variety Map Pack unnecessary. You know you want it, you probably have it, and are having a blast with it.

Ten bucks will net you four new maps, currently playable via the three newly added Variety Pack playlists, set to enter rotation next week. As incentive to play these new maps Infinity Ward has introduced the 360’s first double XP weekend, so if you’re new to COD4 you’ll blaze through ranks and unlock weapons and perks with ease.

Broadcast: If you’ve played the single player campaign (Charlie Don’t Surf) then this map should be instantly recognizable. As the name implies the combat zone is a TV broadcast station, featuring mostly close-to-mid-range indoor battles. Close quarter spray-and-pray battles occur in the winding stairwells and offices, while ranged combat takes place in the open foyer and parking lot. As opposed to Vacant this map is multi-tiered, adding an interesting dynamic to objective based games. For example: when playing Domination control point B is located at ground floor, while two balconies overlook the capture point – both usually occupied by opposite teams, creating a very frantic “tug of war” scenario. This map offers good variety, and while decent fun in Deathmatch, really feels tailored towards Headquarters or Domination.

Chinatown: Probably my favorite of the new maps, it’s a remake Carentan. Admittedly I didn’t instantly recognize it despite having played countless hours of COD2. The fact that the map is darker and at night, while the original was brightly lit, seems to have shortened the field of view, eliminating a lot of sniping that plagued the original. Of course, the fact that you’re no longer walking around (you can run now) with outdated WW2 weapons, and can shoot through walls, completely modify the original’s game play.

Chinatown, with neon signs and walls littered with Hong Kong action movie posters, is stylistically very different from every other COD4 map. If a complaint were to be made about COD4, it’s that every map has a very war torn Middle Eastern brown/dark green look. Chinatown is a very welcome change. Don’t get me wrong, Chinatown is still dark and decrepit, but the minor color pallet tweaks go a long way in differentiating it. IW gets bonus points for not reusing locals from the single player campaign – although you could argue that they’re reusing a map from COD2.

Creek: This “U” shaped medium/large map takes full advantage of a sniper’s abilities to blend in with foliage. Creek offers players a rocky tiered ridge overlooking an empty basin. The empty space is large enough where a sniper’s scope can easily cover the entire map, but not large enough to render the red dot or acog scope useless. There isn’t much cover to duck behind (a couple tree trunks and boulders are strewn about) but there is more than enough concealment, via bushes, tall grass, and trees, to successfully flank an entrenched sniper.

When playing objective based games teamwork and communication are vital, especially in bomb planting/defusing game types. If you enjoy playing as a lone solider, Ramboing in to plant the bomb and then heroically defending it, you’ll find your attempts futile. I played a couple matches were everyone was too shy to talk, leading to 20 wasted minutes as both teams sent one lone solider to their deaths. The map is too open and exposed for one-man teams.

Killhouse: An expanded and modified version of the campaign’s training course, Killhouse is currently a Free For All mode exclusive map. This close quarters map has little dead space, and instead focuses on keeping the action intense. Virtually the entire map is composed of wood planks, offering no cover against heavy weapon fire. The facility is open aired, giving air strikes and helicopters free reign to destroy and demoralize.

Unfortunately this map is currently only available in Free For All play, a mode I rarely touch. I understand that 12 players in such a tight confined space would be utter mayhem, but Killhouse is larger and offers more concealment than Shipment (a map I abhor), and would be welcome in regular ranked team-based matches. Hopefully this map will be patched into regular rotation. Still, if all you play are FFA matches, then you’ll find this map a great addition.

While $2.50 a map might seem pricey (considering that COD4 shipped with 16 maps), the competition is charging more. Halo 3 charges ten for three maps, Warhawk eight for one map and content, Turok should pay you to play it, so the price point falls in line with current standards. If you plan on playing more COD4 online, there is no reason not to get the maps. Highly recommended.

Images taken from http://www.geekpulp.co.nz/2008/04/05/cod4-variety-map-pack-impressions/

The PSN Store, while functional, doesn’t exactly match the PS3’s overall sleek and easy to use interface.

By mid-April, Sony plans to rectify the general lack of intuitiveness, and has released an official statement. Parts of it read as follows:

“This April, PLAYSTATION®Store, the online content store on PLAYSTATION®Network, is getting a whole new look and feel – and it’s in response to feedback from the millions of PSN registrants in the PAL region.”

Nice to see the PAL region get some love and notice. FYI, PAL isn’t you North Americans. You’re NTSC. PAL citizens actually have currency worth spending.

“The revamp comes in response to a survey last year which showed that many PLAYSTATION Store users wanted a better interface and easier navigation. The new design will deliver a hugely improved navigation system, much greater scope for categorisation and a dynamic new user interface.”

Nice to see Sony acknowledge that the PSN Store interface isn’t user friendly. Currently it’s great for accessing new content, but anything more than a week old seems to scatter about at random. PS3 owners know that navigating through the menus, submenus, and backtracking is a test of patience. Hopefully this will all be fixed.

“Content will be suspended for two weeks while the improvements are carried out but users can look forward to a special update in mid-April.

There will be no weekly content updates between now and the re-launch, although users can still download content from the back catalogue, such as Warhawk™ and Gran Turismo™ 5 Prologue.”

Some bad news gets slipped in. Looks like the Thursday updates will be put on hold until the Store relaunches. The content released via PSN is minimal at best. Hopefully a new, easy to use and attractive Store will inspire Sony, and devs, to step up and release more great titles. At least something that can compete with XBLA’s offerings.

Minus the horrific DRM.

Quick Edit:

Looks like there is a pic of the new interface, and some details on functionality already in the forums.

Looks snazzy, but we’ll have to wait and see how it actually performs before passing judgment. Initial impressions are favorable.

Chia and Thrill come back, talk about how great the Wii is, list off some PSP games that new owners should check out, and try to get back into the swing of things. Oh, and we love NPD numbers.

• The Wii we play
• PSP games to look out for
• News: Victory! We win February (groan)
• PC game of the week : Bonesaw

Music is from the Jet Set/Grind Radio franchise.

The Zack and Wiki demo Chia played.

www.freerice.com

Direct download by right clicking

What’s interesting about this generation’s consoles is how polar opposite they are. One will get something perfectly right while the other makes an outrageous blunder. Everyone can whole heartedly agree that the Xbox 360’s “elite” hard drive, offering 120GB of space for $180, is a text book example of screwing the consumer.

By comparison, in Playstation 3 world $180 bucks can get you 320GB of space to fill.

Just a little something to think about if you feel the need to upgrade. Or if you haven’t picked up a PS3 yet and don’t care about backwards compatibility, 400 + 180 = $580 will get you your own custom built 320GB SKU, which will surely make your neighbors envious.

And if you don’t know how to swap hard drives, here’s a little vid showing you how stupid easy it is:

Not bad for a console that cares less about security than its competitors.

Bonus: Enter promo code EMCACCCBB for a quick $20 saving, making final price $159. The code *should* still work.

Recorded mid GDC week, right after Microsoft’s big keynote address, Chiahippo and Thrillhouse discuss GDC, what they’ve seen/heard, and what they’d like to see from the big three.

• Assassin’s Creed complaints
• Microsoft GDC over discussed
• Sony/Nintendo thrown together
• Indi Game of the Week: N

Direct download here

 

 PSHRadio Episode 11: Microsoft Is At GDC, Where Are You? [49:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download