As recently announced, “Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection” will be a retail package that includes the following DLC packs: “Dark Corners“, “Snowblind“, “Combustible“, and “Flashback“. “Dark Corners” is the new DLC pack that will include seven new maps and a deleted campaign mission titled “Road To Ruin“, which will give you the option of either taking a stealthy approach or going in guns blazing. The package will be available in stores on the 28th of July 2009. At the time of the announcement, I did not notice anything out of the ordinary.

Despite being curious about the reason Epic decided to delete this mission from Gears of War 2, I assumed that the mission did not fit the story or any cutscenes at the time, and that they would’ve required more time to insert it into the game and make it fit into the story that they were telling. However, as I was thinking about this new mission and how interesting it would be to dress up as a Theron guard, I had a moment of clarity that revealed something that I had previously noticed. When I played Gears of War 2, there was a moment in the game that did not make sense to me; there was a missing link between two cutscenes. Suddenly, I remembered that there was a cutscene created to introduce a stealth chapter that I had forgotten about. The cutscene gave me the impression that the following chapter will include stealth, but that chapter never came. If you do not recall, allow me to refresh your memory.

Right after Dom finds Maria, there is a scene where Marcus picks up an armor piece from a dead Theron guard and then says the following: “I found a way to sneak into Nexus, but if you wanna go in guns blazin‘, I don’t blame you”. Thus, it is quite clear that the stealth chapter should have been playable right after this cutscene, but it wasn’t. My question is why? If it didn’t fit the story, or if it wasn’t even planned for the game, I would understand. However, this last quote clearly confirms that not only was this chapter planned, but it was in fact part of the original story!!!

I could let Epic off the hook by simply assuming that they delayed it because the stealth element was a new gameplay that was never before introduced into the Gears of War universe, and they needed more time to polish it, but I won’t. It seems too convenient to delay it and then release it seven months later with a price tag next to it. My frustration is due to the idea that we have already paid for this chapter, and Epic wants us, after two months, to pay for it again.

Lastly, I would like you to answer a few questions before letting you go in order for us to figure out what the best possible action, regarding this matter, would be. My questions to you are the following: What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you believe that Epic deliberately deleted the mission in order to cash in on it later? If that is your belief, do you think it’s fair? More importantly, will you do something about it?

God Bless You All

Master Samo

Method Man & Redman Blackout 2 Buy It Today www.hiphopgamershow.com

This is a title that is destined to do great things for Microsoft. It will give you a clear idea of what to expect from future FPS titles. With this game, not only are the developers exploring uncharted waters and untapped potential in this genre, but they are also stretching the boundaries of what is possible in an FPS game. Make no mistake, by the end of this article, you will have a clear understanding of what it would take to revolutionize the FPS genre, and take it to new heights.

This title is an open-ended First-Person Shooter, that is set in modern times and is currently being developed by Techland for both the Xbox 360 and PC. In the game, you will play as an ex-Delta Force operative, currently working for the world’s largest military contractor, and complete a variety of challenging missions in battlefields around the world.

According to Gameinfowire, you will need to stay on top of your training, finances, and position in the highly-competitive mercenary market to ensure that you receive only the most profitable missions. More successful missions equal more money, which can be used to buy new equipment, and weapons for future jobs. Its innovative First Person Perspective cover system will allow you to bring the battle to your enemies in ways you’ve never dreamed of before.

Not only would its current features take the FPS genre beyond anything that has ever been done before, but it would enable this title to easily surpass the highly-anticipated Section 8 as well.  The reasons for my last statement are as follow:

First, due to the fact that this title will focus on complete freedom of choice, it will be a highly immersive and realistic experience. To clarify, you will have unprecedented opportunities to pick your missions, weapons, battlefield tactics and vehicles. You will be able to create your own path through each mission, and for each objective. You will also be able to select mission start times; meaning, missions can be launched at different times of the day, enabling players to catch guards napping in the early morning for example, or use their night vision goggles for a stealthy, but deadly, night ambush. You will also be able to select insertion/extraction points, as well as the types of insertions including land, air, and sea; for example, a truck will get you there, but an airdrop or a journey down a canal via a raft can be much more direct.

Interestingly enough, you will need to buy satellite photos, recon data, and other intelligence about the battlefield situation. You will be required to pick a deployment time and location, then pay for the means of getting in and getting out. You will earn money for each successful mission, and by selling materials picked up on the battlefield. Furthermore, you can use your earned wealth to buy weapons, ammo and new gadgets, as well as invest in learning new skills.

Second, it has extremely deep character development elements. To clarify, you can train your character in several skills, including climbing, repair, and weapons proficiency. More importantly, skills will be earned and developed as in the real world; for example, shooting ranges will improve accuracy, running tracks and climbing walls will boost cover and movement skills. Moreover, you will need to develop and use skill specializations to gain advantages in combat; in other words, new skills will offer fresh opportunities to advance through the mercenary ranks, and new ways to complete missions.

Third, the size of the game will be beyond most FPS titles on the market. To clarify, each mission begins with a satellite map of the terrain. Most of these maps are around or over six square miles, which should give you an idea of just how big this game is shaping up to be.

Fourth, it will be different everytime you play it. Meaning, every mission will be laid out differently each time you play it, enemy units will take up new positions, post new patrols, lay traps in different locations, set up ambushes, etc.

Fifth, it will include highly interactive and destructible environments. In other words, you will have plenty of surprises for the enemies; for example, you can destroy buildings enemies are hiding in, set villages on fire to smoke them out, or cause avalanches and knock down trees to clear your line of fire, or to create obstacles for the enemies and cover for you.

Finally, it will give you the opportunity to climb up the career ladder and increase your reputation among the elite mercenaries of the world. In fact, successful players will earn prestige among their peers, which leads to better and more lucrative contracts in the actual game.

Due to the fact that this title is a highly ambitious one, in addition to the fact that Techland already has two titles set for a 2009 release, it would only be fair to assume that Warhound would be delayed until 2010. However, if we keep in mind that the title was supposed to be a 2008 release, it would not be a sin to expect it in 2009.

We already know that the developer is in discussions with Ubisoft regarding this project, as well as a number of other big publishers. With stunning graphics, destructible environments and an unprecedented level of gameplay freedom, the Xbox 360 will be having an incredible title to add to its ever-growing 2009 line-up.

God Bless You All

Master Samo

Method Man & Redman Blackout 2 Buy It Today www.hiphopgamershow.com

Wii

Wii

Wii

PSP

F1 2009 has been officially announced as well as F1 2010. F1 2009 however is for the PSP and Wii, and these are some screenshots from the PSP and Wii, and below is the trailer for F1 2009. F1 2010 is for the PS3 and 360, and it will use the GRID engine. I am expecting F1 2010 to be a really good racing game.  No release date announced yet.

Official Site
http://www.formula1-game.com/

Rock Band Unplugged, LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm are a few of the big PSP releases for 2009 recently announced, but as much of 50-60% of the handheld’s lineup for just this year still remains a secret, Sony Computer Entertainment America’s director of hardware marketing John Koller told GameSpot in an interview today.

“The many announcements we made on the software side for PSP were inclusive of that tremendous sales growth that we’ve seen on PSP,” said Koller. “But they were also representative of the fact that we went out and talked to publishers about what sells best on PSP and how to craft their business model accordingly. Many of them had taken a bit of a scattershot approach and done a lot of ports and titles that just weren’t going to sell very well on PSP.”

Koller claims PSP games in 2009 and beyond will not suffer from the same issues as they did in the past, and we’ll start to hear more about the other half of the PSP’s still unrevealed software lineup starting at E3 in June.

“There’s a lot of announcements coming up to E3 and particularly at E3,” Koller told GameSpot. “There’s probably 50-60 percent of the lineup for the year that has not been announced and there’s some big titles coming. So there’s a lot of excitement on PSP.”

SOURCE: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3173560

Time after time, gamers have been doubting Rare for years; they have been doubting its worth, and they have been doubting its value as an investment for Microsoft. Some claim that they have lost their magic touch; others claim that they have lost their creative edge. However, this false claim of lost genius is about to be shattered into a million pieces because Microsoft is about to blow you away.

All sources indicate that, in 2009, Rare’s muscles are about to be flexed more than ever before. Microsoft is about to beat out content from Rare like candy from a pinata. Rare is about to flood the market with so much content, gamers will not be able to draw a single breath; they are about to explode with content in the coming years starting with 2009.

The problem is that gamers are not really seeing the big picture. Because if they do, they will be mesmerized. Make no mistake, Rare is worth every penny, and my reasons for stating that are as follow.

First, Rare is a huge development studio that can work on several major projects at the same time. They are hard workers; they are highly innovative; they are extremely creative, and they are one of the very few developers that push the boundaries of what is possible on a specific hardware. In addition, having had the privilege of working with Nintendo in the past, they are the only developer that can create titles that have the potential to rival Nintendo’s library of games, and that is exactly what Microsoft needs.

Second, they have created some of the greatest titles in gaming history; examples include GoldenEye, Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, Killer Instinct, and Banjo-Kazooie. In addition, most of the AAA titles that were released on Nintendo consoles are owned by Rare; the only exceptions, as far as I remember, are GoldenEye and the Donkey Kong titles. Therefore, having popular franchises that were born on a Nintendo console can be quite an asset to Microsoft. As a result, playing future installments of these franchises will always be tempting to both Rare and Nintendo fans.

Third, gamers keep forgetting that Rare has managed to release two launch titles for the Xbox 360. Despite the fact that both games were supposed to come out on the GameCube, then they were delayed for the Xbox, and then they were finally ported to the Xbox 360, releasing two launch titles is no easy task and is definitely a big deal. Can you name a single development studio, in this generation, that can pull that off?

Even though Perfect Dark Zero had some issues, it was still a great game, and Kameo turned out to be one of the most polished games on the Xbox 360 so far. Thus, they both sold beyond a million copies each, and that was before a price drop ever took place.

Fourth, gamers also keep forgetting the fact that Rare has managed to release eight titles in three years; they include Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo: Elements Of Power, Viva Pinata, Diddy Kong Racing DS, Jetpac Refuelled, Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise, Viva Pinata DS, and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts. Moreover, it is important to note that three of them were released in a single year; in addition to the fact that Rare was in charge of creating the Avatar system for the New Xbox Experience in that same year; that year was obviously 2008. Lastly, Rare has managed to release five exclusive titles so far for the Xbox 360 in only three years.

Fifth, they have a large library of classic titles that they can release as Xbox Live Arcade titles. All they need to do is slightly enhance them graphically and upgrade them to HD, and they will sell like hot cakes. They also have the option of creating a next generation 2D remake, utilizing the power of the Xbox 360, and releasing it as an arcade game as well. In addition, they have the option of creating a next generation 3D remake of any of the titles in their library, and then releasing it as a full blown game on the Xbox 360. All the options that I mentioned are possible paths, and I think Rare will navigate though all of them, by the end of this generation.

However, I must touch upon the expected titles for 2009. According to an article on Joystiq posted a year ago, The Fast And The Furriest is an original next generation game that will feature classic Rare characters; it will be a party game with Xbox Live Vision support, for the Xbox Live Arcade, and will feature all kinds of sports based mini-games that include a 100 meter dash, bungee run, hurdles and tip-tup curling. Rare also has plans to release DLC in order to expand the number of mini-games to include croquet, bowling, volleyball, fishing and various target games.

Additionally, in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts, Rare teased gamers by mentioning that several titles are in development. The titles mentioned were a new Killer Insinct, Grabbed By The Ghoulies 2, Battletoads, and Jet Force Gemini. Mentioning a new Killer Instinct can mean both a next generation title and an HD port of the original to be released as an Xbox Live Arcade game. Battletoads and Jet Force Gemini will probably be HD ports of the originals as well. Grabbed By The Ghoulies 2 will probably see the light of day sometime beyond 2010 as a full blown next generation game; the first installment had untapped potential that a sequel would definitely be capable of exploring.

Furthermore, it is known that a Banjo-Tooie HD port is in the works for a 2009 release. Equally important, according to a Videogamer interview, conducted eight months ago, with Nick Burton, a Rare Senior Software Engineer, Rare already has its sights set on a Lunar Jetman remake for Xbox Live Arcade; for those of you that are unfamiliar with the title, it was developed by Chris and Tim Stamper, the founders of Rare, for the ZX Spectrum console, and it was the sequel to the original Jetpac, which was remade and released, two years ago, as an Xbox Live Arcade game titled “Jetpac Refuelled“.

To make things even more interesting, in the same interview conducted with Nick Burton, he expressed his desire to create a remake of Dinosaur planet; for those of you that know nothing about this title, it was a Nintendo 64 title that never saw the light of day. The reason for that was that Shigeru miyamoto saw that the main character in the game, Sabre, looked a lot like Fox McCloud, and that they needed a strong title for their console. Due to the fact that the title was a new IP, Miyamoto decided it would be best to utilize some of the ideas present in the title, and combine it with the addition of Fox McCloud to turn it into a Star Fox game, in order to guarantee sales for the title; the idea was a success and the game, that was later titled Star Fox Adventures, was eventually released on the GameCube instead of the Nintendo 64. However, Dinosaur Planet never did get the chance to shine.

In truth, the reason I am excited for the possibility of this title coming out is that it was Rare’s most ambitious title, till this day; they were pushing the Nintendo 64 hardware with it even more than they did with Conker’ Bad Fur Day; it was supposed to be done using a modified Ocarina Of Time engine, and its gameplay was similar to The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time! Imagine the effects of having such a title on the Xbox 360.

Although we are sure that GlodenEye will never see the light of day on Xbox Live Arcade, the next best thing, that is considered by many to be even better than GoldenEye, should see it. I am obviously referring to the original Perfect Dark; an HD port is no stretch, and the game will definitely sell extremely well on Xbox Live; adding online functionality to such an incredible multiplayer experience will make gamers go crazy on Xbox Live. According to several sources, it might actually happen this year. In addition, gamers will be introduced to one of the best First Person Shooter experiences in gaming history.

Sixth, according to several sources, they are currently working on three titles targeting the casual gamers in order to broaden the appeal of the Xbox 360 and expand its audience. They have also mentioned in several interviews that they want to challenge the current mindset of gaming in 2009, and push the boundaries of what is possible on consoles in terms of interactive entertainment. Lastly, they expressed their excitement towards the future possibilities surrounding the Avatars and the growing interest that third party publishers have for them.

Over a month ago, Rare told VG247 that the Xbox community may receive features allowing them to create their own Avatar kit. “User-generated content is a huge area that would not have been done any justice if we had tried to cram it into the launch release of this project,” said Avatars Designer, Dale Murchie. He also went on to say: “There may be features coming that open up the expressive potential of the Xbox community, but we’re keeping quiet on that for now”. Head of Art Lee Musgrave added: “Creativity is going to play a big part in the development of the Avatars”. Apparently, the Avatar system is just a mere example of what Rare is capable of providing for the Xbox Live Community.

Seventh, a month ago, Microsoft confirmed to Develop that Rare was undergoing an organizational refocus. Therefore, due to the restructuring, Rare will be focusing on three new areas:

1) Expand the Xbox 360 customer base by delivering experiences that allow Microsoft’s customers to interact with their content in new and innovative ways.
2) Better support efforts to extend the appeal of Xbox LIVE as a social entertainment network to drive greater adoption across the Xbox 360 customer base.
3) Continue delivering AAA gaming experiences that excite both Their current and future customers.

By doing this, Microsoft is simplifying the burden of development for Rare by organizing it into separate divisions that focus on specific tasks in a certain direction. This would help speed up the development process and shorten the duration of the development cycles. In other words, projects will finish faster, which will make Rare the most efficient internal studio owned by Microsoft.

Lastly, it is no secret that Rare is still working on several titles for the Xbox 360. In fact, according to several sources, Rare is working on five titles, to be exact, that are scheduled to be released on the Xbox 360 in the next few years; in addition, they have all been in development for quite some time, and two of them are being geared up for a 2009 release!

Furthermore, in an article posted on Gamesindustry, a month ago, it is mentioned that Rare is working on four different projects. In fact, in several interviews, they have confirmed that they are working on multiple projects simultaneously, and they have also confirmed that none of them are for handhelds. If Rare is halting all development for handhelds and redirecting all their handheld teams to help out with those mysterious projects that they mentioned, then those projects must be something very special.

Surprisingly, in an interview with Nick Burton, conducted by Videogamer six months ago, he revealed that the currently announced Rare titles only account for half the development studio. “Look at the size and how big the Banjo team currently needs to be, how big our shared technology group and asset group are. Look at the number of games and how they’re staggered and how many teams we have. There’s about half the studio missing from the release schedule at the moment (laughs),” said Burton. He went on to suggest that there is plenty going on behind closed doors at Rare that should have gamers getting very excited. When asked about the possible date for revealing the titles, he said: “You’ll be hearing soon enough, which is what I can’t say really. It’s not going to be too long”.

Moreover, about a month ago, a V4vg article mentioned that a spokesperson from Microsoft had said: “We’ve always focused our attention in the year of operation concerned, I would safely say that our community will see at least two new games being announced exclusive to the Xbox 360 console by the end of Q1 2009″. A bit of probing also revealed that one might actually be an online fighter based on a very popular franchise, and the other might be an action adventure game from one of their internal studios.

In conclusion, according to several articles, the five Rare titles that are currently in development are as follow:

1) Perfect Dark Zero 2:

It would make sense for the Perfect Dark sequel to come out in 2009. After all, Halo 3: ODST has a lot of obstacles standing in its path to success; it is going to be an expansion pack rather than a full blown sequel; it is going to to be a new game, which is quite risky; it is going to be a stealth game, which will slow the game down in a way that might repel gamers; it will not have Halo’s run and gun gameplay; it will not have Master Chief, and it will be a short game, which means that it will be a short experience. Those obstacles raise a huge concern and pose a major threat to the title. Despite the fact that Halo 3: ODST will definitely be a smash hit, in the Fall of 2009, that still does not change the fact that it carries a great risk with it.

Therefore, it is only fair to assume that Microsoft would be clever enough to release an FPS title in order to help lift the burden that Halo 3: ODST is, seemingly, destined to carry alone. It is also fair to conclude that there is a potential gap in the Fall line-up, and I believe that the Perfect Dark sequel would be the perfect title to fill that gap.

On the other hand, Perfect Dark Zero had a few issues and it definitely was not perfect; the character models were weird, the animation was not properly done, the cutscenes were mediocre, the story was weak, and the voice acting was below average. However, gameplay wise, it was great, and that is what actually counts. Most importantly, it still has a large and strong following, till this day, that play it diligently; it has a single player campaign, a two player cooperative mode, and a multiplayer mode that is one of the smoothest experiences on Xbox Live, till this day. Therefore, all they need to do is enhance the gameplay, and correct the previous mistakes that deprived Perfect Dark Zero from being one of the best First Person Shooters ever created. After all, the original Perfect Dark was considered by many, till this day, to be the best First Person Shooters of all time.

2) Kameo 2:

Despite it being a launch title, Kameo still stands the test of time for being one of the best looking games of this generation. In fact, it is a title that showcases the power of the next genaeration better than most games released so far. From a technical standpoint, it is visually, one of the most stunning titles of this generation, but a lot of gamers just gave it the cold shoulder for its Disney-like presentation. Because of the critical acclaim and commercial success of Kameo, having hit the one million mark before a price drop ever took place, they will definitely be releasing a sequel, and there is a good chance for that sequel to be released in 2009.

Back in August 2006, Rare’s Kameo team was interviewed on the official Rareware website by the fans. The following is a quote that hints at the Kameo sequel: “we believe Kameo is a franchise with much potential that can’t be ignored”. In fact, when asked about a Kameo sequel being on the Xbox 720, Kameo Lead Artist Mark Stevenson says: “if we make a sequel it would be for Xbox 360″.

In addition, when Nick Burton, Rare’s Senior Software Engineer, was interviewed by Videogamer, eight months ago, he mentioned that he wanted to start on Kameo 2 right after Kameo’s November 2005 release; but that did not happen. Therfore, she was put on a hiatus for the time being. When asked how long would we have to wait for a sequel, Burton said: “18 months at least”.

However, in another interview with Nick Burton, conducted by Videogamer six months ago, he was asked again if Rare would be making a Kameo sequel. Burton replied: “This is where I have to be enigmatically vague. Never say never. I’ll say that I’m not working on one at the moment. I’m not working on one at the moment. Doesn’t mean nobody else is, but that doesn’t mean they are either. Sorry. For the obvious PR reasons we can’t talk about what we’re doing now.” Isn’t that interesting?

3) Conker 2:

When Conker’s Bad Fur Day was released on the Nintendo 64, unlike the previous Conker games, it was geared towards a mature audience and featured sexual content, foul language, drug and alcohol usage, and excessive violence. It was extremely interesting to see a game that is mature despite being childish in every way. It received a cult following with its unique brand of humor. It was one of greatest games on the Nintendo 64. After all, its creative gameplay, and unique boss fights were unmatched by any other title at the time. One of the most unique elements in the game was the element of surprise. Meaning, you really didn’t know where the game was going to take you next; another unique element was the multi-genre experience. Meaning, the game had Platforming, Flying, Racing, Fetch Quests, and Third Person Shooting!

With that in mind, if you are one of the fortunate gamers that have had the pleasure of playing this game, then you will be salivating at the mere possibility of a sequel. The reason is that there was one element in the Nintendo 64 Conker game that captivated everyone that played the game; gamers that played Conker’s Bad Fur Day know exactly what I am talking about. However, gamers that played the game have kept this element a secret, throughout the years, probably to prevent spoiling it for gamers that did not play the game yet; that element has never been implemented before in any game in history and has never been replicated ever again; I have no idea why, but maybe it is due to the fact that there are no developers out there that are brave enough to do it. And that element is also why the last Conker title released will remain as one of the most unique experiences in gaming history.

In fact, Nick Burton told VideoGamer, in the interview conducted eight months ago, that the developer will return to Conker at some point. “We’d be stupid if we didn’t have Conker back at some point,” said Burton. He also went on to say: “But to continually do sequel after sequel after sequel for something is hard on the team because they get locked into a sequel mentality, so they don’t do new things necessarily. And that can be bad for your staff in general. it’s better to let things have a hiatus for a while”. Therefore, since Rare has left the Conker franchise for quite a long time in order to focus on so many other projects, it would be fair to say that now is the perfect time to give Conker his turn to shine once again.

4) Killer Instinct 3:

In December of 2007, Rare sent out a christmas card; it had Viva Pinata characters, Banjo and Kazooie. they were sitting in front of the fire place and one of the socks, hanging over the fire place, had “KI3″ written on it. Moreover, in Banjo Kazooie: Nuts And Bolts, they teased gamers with the existence of a “new Killer Instinct”. Then, an image mysteriously appeared on the web; it was from a scene in Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and bolts where a merchant tries to sell Banjo a copy of “Killer Instinct 3″ for the Xbox 360. Surprisingly, they actually show you the box art for the game.

To add to the excitement, a recent article by V4vg suggests that one of the exclusive titles to be announced in Q1 2009 might be an online fighter based on a very popular franchise. Do I really need to explain where I am going with this? The hype has been snowballing for a while. However, let us not lose sight of the fact that the hype started to snowball after a slight shove from Rare. They started teasing over a year ago. Why would they do that if the game was not coming out soon? After all, Microsoft needs that kind of star power in 2009.

5) Unannounced New IP:

According to 1up, in The Nordic Game conference, held in the city of Malmö in Sweden, 10 months ago, Rare’s Senior Concept Artist Ryan Firchau showed off artwork to demonstrate the differences in design approaches and style between East and West Concept Art. But the work Firchau showed looked like it had the potential to be far more interesting than anything Rare has released in the last few years. He showed art from a seemingly dark fairytale with werewolves and a sci-fi tale that looks a bit Halo-ish, only with more dirt and grime. Then a month ago, an article by V4vg suggests that one of the exclusive titles to be announced in Q1 2009 might be an action adventure from one of Microsoft’s internal studios. Therefore, it would be fair to assume that this new IP might actually be a reality, and it might actually be coming out sooner than you ever thought possible.

To conclude, I will end this case with a quote from Shane Kim, describing the importance of Rare to Microsoft, in an interview with Shacknews, posted on Kombo, two years ago: “I think that the story on Rare is really going to be told in the next three to five years. The kind of titles we’re really asking them to focus on now are the Banjos, the Viva Pinatas, the Kameos, and so forth. Rare is going to be our internal studio–really, our primary studio for the most part–that’s going to be focused on creating those big, triple-A-level, broad appeal titles. We’re entering into the life cycle stage of the console where those kinds of titles can and should do well”.

The reason I am writing such a long article is that readers deserve to read an article that is highly informative and extremely thorough at the same time; they deserve reading an article that is worth their time. I hope that has been accomplished through this article because that was my main objective.

Finally, as you have seen throughout this article, there is so much evidence that supports Rare being extremely valuable to Microsoft. Rare has already offered so much. However, what remains for Rare to offer is so much more than gamers could ever imagine. Therefore, it is my belief that this will be the year in which the Rare hating mindset will shift in the proper direction once and for all, and Rare will finally get to taste what Redemption feels like for one last time.

God Bless You Rare; this one’s for you

Master Samo

God of war 3 is one of the most highly anticipated games of 2009, or is it? It is a simple question with a very simple answer, and to be clear from the start, this article is for all the God of War fans that have been eagerly awaiting the mighty Kratos. If you have a burning desire to silence, once and for all, any argument related to the release date of God of War 3, then keep reading. Because this article has the definitive answer to the question presented in the title, and that answer is supported by an arsenal of evidence that will help you put this argument to rest, permanently.

Based on the information that I have gathered so far, I have come to discover a horrifying truth. I have discovered that Kratos is chained to the Walls of Damnation, hidden far beyond the Nymph Valleys of Tartarus. Unable to break the mighty chains of Erebus, the God of Darkness, Kratos continues to struggle ferociously in a desperate attempt to free himself from his inevitable damnation, unaware that the time for the chains of Erebus to relinquish him is near. And when that time is at hand, only at that day will Kratos finally unleashes his wrath, through his blades of Chaos, upon Olympus, one last time, for one final battle with none other than Zeus himself. Only then will Chaos, the God of Nothingness from where everthing comes, prevail. And that day will be……in March 2010!

I hope the narrative answered the question presented in this title. As we go beyond the ridiculous narrative, I will thoroughly explain all the reasons why God of War 3 will not be coming in 2009. And the reasons are as follow.

First, God of War was released on the 22nd of March 2005. God of War 2 was released on the 13th of March 2007. God of War: Chains of Olympus was released on the 4th of March 2008. So apparently, it is a tradition for God of War to be released in March. Therefore, since we know for a fact that it is impossible for the title to be ready for March 2009, then the next logical release date for God of War 3, based on the obvious pattern, will be March 2010.

Second, the game is not ready to be released. I am sure that Sony Santa Monica did not have a sequel in mind after the first God of war, but i do know that they had the third installment in mind while making the second. In early 2008, 1UP did an interview with Cory Barlog, the Creative Director of God of War 2. In that interview, he said: ” after I finished God of War 2 I was already working on the story and design for the third game. So when Sony and I finally did part ways the foundation of the game, along with story that complete the arc we began in God of War, was complete”. This means that the title has only been in development for two years. That is not enough time for a regular PS3 game to be developed, let alone an important IP such as this.

Both Naughty Dog and Insomniac are helping Santa Monica in the development of God of War 3 just to give you an idea of how important this title is to Sony. I know that some of you will mention that both studios are involved because Sony wants to release it as soon as possible, but their involvement is simply because of their experience i.e. they are more familiar with the hardware because they had already worked on several titles for the PS3. I think that their involvement is not as extensive as many might presume; they are simply sharing the tricks of the trade. On the other hand, both studios have projects of their own to attend to. Insomniac is working on Ratchet 2 and Resistance 3, and Naughty Dog is working on Uncharted 2 and the next Jak and Daxter. Therefore, they cannot afford to waste both time and resources on projects other than their own.

Moreover, I believe that Sony has three aces: Killzone 2, Gran Turismo 5, and God of War 3. I know that some of you might mention examples of other AAA titles such as Uncharted 2, but I think that these titles are the most important to Sony; simply because they are important to the future of the PS3 more than all the other titles, and that is why Sony is taking very good care of them. Because how they sell makes a big difference to Sony. Therefore, the studios that are developing these games have to take their time to polish them to the max. Why do you think it took Guerrilla Games four years to develop Killzone 2? Why do you think Polyphony Digital is still developing Gran Turismo 5 after four years of working on the title? Gran Turismo is Sony’s flagship franchise; it is Sony’s best selling franchise; it is to Sony what Halo is to Microsoft; it is to Sony what Grand Theft Auto is to Take Two. That is why they are taking their time with it, and that is why they will take their time with God of War 3 as well.

Third, back in 2007, when the new in-game trailer for Killzone 2 was first revealed, and then shortly after, Resistance 2 was announced as a 2008 release, everyone expected both titles to be released in 2008. However, I predicted that Killzone 2 would not be coming out in 2008, because logically, it would make no sense for Sony to release two exclusive AAA FPS games around the same time. Because by doing that, their titles would compete with one another and eventually affect the sales of both.

Which brings me to some very interesting questions. What games are expected to come out exclusively on the PS3 in 2010? Resistance 3? Motorstorm 3? the next Jak and Daxter? the next Twisted Metal? the next Syphon Filter? Those are great titles. However, are they enough to carry the PS3 through 2010? I hardly doubt that. On the other hand, what games are expected to come out exclusively on the PS3 in 2009? Well, we have Killzone 2(already came out), Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain, Ratchet 2, Yakuza 3, White Night Chronicles, Quantum Theory, Demon Soul, MAG, The Agency, DC Universe Online(even though MMO titles are usually delayed),Free Realms, Infamous, MLB ‘09: The Show, and WarDevil. That is quite an impressive list of titles for the PS3 in 2009.

Which brings me to my next question. Why would Sony release God of War 3, one of its biggest exclusive titles, in a year packed with PS3 exclusives? If the PS3’s game library is oversaturated with exclusives in 2009 but is deficient in 2010, why would Sony release it in 2009? It makes more sense to release it in 2010, because that is when the title is desperately needed. If they actually release it in 2009, it would compete with all the other exclusives released around the same time, and that would affect the sales of all the titles involved in this first party battle. Imagine if a gamer walked into a store, in November 2009, to buy games. However, he can only afford to buy one. He then finds Uncharted 2 and God of War 3. At that moment, he will be forced to make a painful decision, and no matter what his decision is, he will be walking out of that store with only one of the titles mentioned. That means that he will be walking out feeling both excited and disappointed at the same time. So why would Sony put PS3 gamers in such a painful situation? The answer is simple, they wouldn’t.

Fourth, it is a well known fact that the first and last quarters of every year have the highest game sales in the whole year. Specifically, February-March and November-December. That is why the big titles are always released around these months. Why else would they release Killzone 2 in February?Why else would they release Gears of War 2 in November? This is why I predict that God of War 3 will be coming in March of 2010. Sony needs a strong title for next March, and I think God of War 3 is it. Imagine this 2010 scenario, God of War 3 in March, Team ICO title in the Summer, Gran Turismo 5 in November along with Resistance 3 and Motorstorm 3. I think that would be a well covered year for the PS3; in addition to it being a better way for Sony to utilize their remaining big titles.

Fifth, over a month ago, Gamestop sources had revealed that they had received an e-mail from Sony informing them that the estimated release date for God of War 3 is March 2010. According to history, if a game’s release date is to be changed, it will most likely be delayed. Rarely has a title been released earlier than the previously announced release date. Meaning, it will either be released in March or beyond, but not before.

Sixth, on the 19th of Februaury 2009, SCEA sent out a press release to confirm the 2009 line-up. The interesting element in this press release is that they mentioned God of War 3 as one of the titles. After that press release, gamers across the world were excited due to this announcement, which confirmed what gamers had hoped for. However, on the 24th of February 2009, Sony sent out a new press release with the exact same information except for one slight, but significant difference, they added the word “Fiscal”. To clarify, a 2009 fiscal year is from April 2009 to March 2010. Meaning, the titles announced in the press release can be coming out at anytime from April 2009 to March 2010.

Finally, on the 4th of March 2009, a Dutch website posted that they had discovered that several game stores including the British giant Play had dated God of War 3 for late September. Two hours later, Sony responded to Spong regarding this matter. Their response was the following statement: “We haven’t confirmed a release date for God of War 3 yet, we should have more details on this at E3. We’re asking Play to remove that now as well.”

Sony’s response does not confirm nor deny the title’s release in 2009. In a way, that adds more confusion to an already hazy topic and gives gamers false hope. Sony had the chance to clarify the release date, but they didn’t. All they did was confirm that God of War 3 will be released at a specified time of their choosing. This stunt might actually lead gamers to believe that the title has a very good chance of being released this year, which it doesn’t. So to make things crystal clear, I will ask you a simple question. Why would Sony announce the release date for God of War 3? On the other hand, let me ask the question in a different way. What would Sony benefit from NOT announcing the release date for God of War 3? Take a deep breath, exhale, and now think about it for a second. That’s right. The answer is…..Hype.

What would happen if Sony announces next week that God of War 3 will be released on the 24th of March 2010? The answer is your reaction. Meaning, you are the reason why Sony is keeping the release date a secret. Because if you found out the exact release date for God of War 3, you will no longer have the need nor the desire to keep thinking about this title. That is because your primary need, which is knowing a specific fact, has already been satiated. So for now, you can just relax and let this title go, especially that the release date is a year from now. What will happen next is that you will unconsciously decide to put the God of War 3 subject on a mental shelf or in a mental drawer, in your mind, until the title comes out. In this case, you will no longer think about God of War 3 for the next year. In addition, you will focus on the great games that are available now, and that is exactly what Sony fears the most.

To put it bluntly, as long as you don’t know when the title will be coming out, you will continue to guess, to wonder, to speculate, to argue, and THINK about it. Because as long as you are thinking about it, your mind is focused on it. When the level of focus is high enough, the title or product will be so strongly attached to you that ,in a way, you will unconsciously feel that it is part of your identity. So you feel the need to get it when it does come out. And when that happens, you become a guaranteed buyer, and that is exactly what Sony wants.

When you are constantly thinking about the release date of a title, you are constantly thinking about the actual title, and what that does is imprint that title in your mind so vividly, that not only will you feel compelled to buy it, but that the thought of buying it will seem natural to you, just because it makes so much sense on an emotional level, and that is marketing at its best. So apparently, Sony is a lot smarter than we thought. After all, they are using the cheapest possible way to market their product, and by cheap, I mean price wise. Because this marketing tool is free!.

What is the cheapest way to market a product? A combination of Hype and Uncertainty. If they know that you are excited about the product, the only thing they have left to keep you hooked is the release date, so all they have to do is keep you uncertain about it. Since you are uncertain about the release date, you will stay hooked; that is the bottom line.

In summary, Sony’s main objective is to create, in you, a strong desire to buy their product, and maintain that desire until the product is released. However, is it possible for Sony to tell you what you want to know about a product and still keep you thinking about it? Absolutely; all they need to do is give you a vague answer. By doing so, you will not be satisfied by the answer; therefore, you will continue to wonder about the product, and I think that will be their next move.

I believe that Sony will not make any announcements regarding God of War 3’s release date at GDC. On the other hand, as long as Sony has confirmed that they will be making an announcement at E3 regarding the release date of this title, my prediction is that their announcement will be vague. An example of their announcement would be something like “Spring 2010” or “Early 2010“. However, I think it is essential to emphasize, at this point, that Sony will not be the first company to do this.

For example, when the first Halo 3 trailer was shown at E3 2006, everyone expected it to be released in early 2007; simply because the words “finish the fight 2007” were present at the end of the trailer; in addition to the fact that Microsoft is known to release games soon after showing footage of them. But that did not happen; they kept gamers thinking, and the hype train kept gaining momentum with ads and video documentaries, until the day came when the release date was finally announced.

I am not claiming that what Sony is doing regarding the God of War 3 release date is wrong, I am only explaining why they are choosing to do it, and I think it is both legitimate and justified. If Microsoft used this exact strategy with Halo 3, their flagship franchise and one of the best selling games of all time, even though they backed it up with a monster marketing campaign, what makes you think that Sony, with its weak advertisement skills, won’t.

If God of War 3 was coming out this year, Sony would have , at least, made an initial announcement by now. For example, something like “Fall 2009” would have been fine. The fact that they did not make such an announcement yet regarding the release date confirms that the title will not be released anytime soon, which confirms that it will not be released this year.

On a personal note, I believe that God of War 3 is a big title. I also believe that even if Sony announces a March 2010 release date for this title tomorrow, it will still sell extremely well when it comes out next year.

I know that you did not expect this article to be as long as it turned out to be, but I think it is important for this article to be very informative, and to deliver an extremely thorough analysis of the evidence provided. I hope that has been accomplished because that was my initial objective. On the other hand, it wouldn’t surprise me to read in the next few days an article criticizing this one, titled, “The Article That Became A Novel!”.

As disappointing as it is, to me and the millions of God of War fans out there, to not have God of War 3 in 2009, I think that would be a good thing. Because the longer they keep it from coming out, the better it will look and play when it does come out. On the other hand, 2009 is already packed with tons of exclusives on both consoles. So my advice to you is to embrace and enjoy all the great games that are coming out this year as much as possible. And while we are enjoying the great games of this year, Kratos will be watching from a distance, waiting to be released from his chains, from his
torment, from Sony. But make no mistake, once this year is over, the end will begin; you will hear the sound of chains breaking from a distance, you will remember my words, and you will realize that sound can only mean one thing,……….the release……….of the mighty……….Kratos.

God Bless You Kratos; this one’s for you

Master Samo

Is this the future for gaming? Could this be next gen material or just another pile of junk that doesn’t work. Its called Emotiv EPOC and it breaks the boundaries for controllers. First Wii came out with motion sensor controllers but this is way past hand held objects. You are now able to control things with your brain.
This new toy for us gamers lets us control what happens in the game threw out thoughts. It has a set amount of sensors to tune into electric signals naturally produced by the brain.
the headset features are:

*14 Electrodes offer optimal sensor positioning for accurate spatial resolution
* Gyroscope generates positional information for cursors and camera controls
* Hi-performance wireless gives players total range of motion
* Dongle is PC compatible and requires no cutom drives
* and Lithium batteries provides 12 hours of continuous use

“The Emotiv EPOC is currently in beta and is working well. We’ve seen great success from our demonstrations at both Game Developers Conference 2008 and at the Intel Developers Forum in August. Feedback has been great and everyone who has tried it has been amazed at the experience of gaming with the EPOC headset. We will be soliciting beta testers in the San Francisco Bay Area over the next few months to help us with the final testing of the headset. We expect to be able to deliver the product to you in 2009 once the final beta testing is complete. ” From the Emotiv.com

The Emotiv (below) Looks like this