SCEA Pre-E3 Judges Day thread

[SolidSnakex]

Unlike Europe’s PlayStation Day, E3 Judges’ Day is a much more intimate affair. Therefore, we’ll do our best to pull back the curtain on the event. Throughout the day we’ll be posting Twitter updates and pointing you to coverage you’re sure to find compelling.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/...ea-judges-day/

Previews:

Resistance 2

As the game supports 60 players, letting everyone run around with no real goal other than to kill each other would quickly devolve the game into chaos. To counter this, Insomniac has instituted squads and a series of goals for each of them. You're automatically placed into a squad at the start of a game, and you'll quickly be given an objective. It might be to defend a certain point, for instance. The cool thing is that your squad will have a rival squad throughout the game, and said rival will always get the opposite goal as you. So, if you're defending a point, it'll be the other squad that's attacking it. While that's cool, the system works well because of how objectives change mid-game to keep things fresh. So while you might need to attack or defend a point for a bit, you'll eventually be moved somewhere else, perhaps to help a troubled squad. Should your team have a hard time completing a goal or you find yourself being slaughtered by the other team, the game will assign another squad as back-up to your objective. That team will of course bring its rival squad with it, but the skirmish should be evened out a little more.

Another cool aspect to Resistance 2 that we were able to check out is its new rewards system. For every bullet that you land, or for every objective that your team completes, you're awarded some battle points. Once you have enough of these, you'll be rewarded with a small boost to your stats. This might be more health, quicker movement or perhaps even accuracy. It's a small boost, but it's enough to make a difference and keep you on a roll. While this sounds like it'll reward the best players and punish the worst, these bonuses only last until you die, and then you have to start over. Not only that, but once you've gotten an upgrade, a giant multiplier will appear above your head to let your opponents know that you're worth more points as a kill now. So while you may have slightly more health, everyone will be gunning for you.

Besides slight stat boosts, one cool thing that you'll earn is some sort of Berserker bonus (the name on that is pending). Right now your only available bonus is a shield that'll wrap around you as a half-bubble and make you pretty much invulnerable from enemy fire for a good 30 seconds or so. It's similar to the energy shield in Halo 3, except that this shield sticks with you and follows you wherever you go. Insomniac promises that this won't be the only bonus in the game, but it was all that we had to play within the demo build.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/874/874704p1.html





Killzone 2

The first thing that struck us about this -- our second time actually playing the Guerrilla Games beast -- was how great this thing looked. When we took our first step as Sev, our assault rifle bobbed into view and reflected the sunlight filtering through the smoke-filled sky; when we turned the first corner, a trio of enemies eviscerated our scouts and blood leapt into the air. As we slid behind a concrete barricade during a gigantic firefight, we looked to the heavens and saw a solitary rocket streaking toward one of our airborne units. Even that makes it sound like we're just talking about how good the big moments look, but there are little touches that make this world look lived in. There's rust on the containers littering the battlefield; when we sprayed some machine gun fire at a Helghast in hiding, the impact zones on the wall glowed orange before cooling to black; and there's the satisfaction of placing the small green dot of your assault rifle's scope on top of a foe and dropping him with one shot.

The level continued with us taking cover, popping Helghast, and using our bullets to ignite explosives -- oh, we tagged this propane tank and the escaping gas propelled it toward some enemies before it exploded -- and finally found the floodgate controls. On-screen prompts had us hold R1 and L1, Sev's hands grabbed the wheel controlling the gate, and then we used Sixaxis to crank the device open. Again from the first-person perspective, Sev's hands mimicked ours perfectly.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/874/874730p1.html

Off screen movies

http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/748/748475/vids_1.html

LittleBIGPlanet

Folks representing the title started us journalists off at a simple selection screen where three planets float in front of a cardboard box that has a viewing hole cut out of the middle. It looks like a TV or a spaceship window. One planet is the cloth-like material the game is synonymous with and is called CraftEarth. This is where you'll jump into actual levels you've created or downloaded. MyMoon is where you'll be given the keys to the kingdom and allowed to create your own contraptions and worlds. InfoFridge was blank for our demo, but is made up of push pins and corkboard -- when the title goes live, this is where messages will be displayed as kind of a community gathering place. Thing about this screen is that Sackboy -- or boys depending on how many players you have ready to go -- are just chilling in the box while you browse. When you're ready to move, they'll grab the massive representation of the PS3 controller and wiggle the joysticks for you. Ours eventually wiggled to a level named Elephant Expedition. With a distinct India flavor, the core structure of the level was constructed out of a shaped, sand-colored facade that's reminiscent of ancient architecture. This is intermixed with tan sofa cushion-looking rectangles that act as platforms and traps. One of the long logs launched our Sackboy into the air, while similar rectangles shot in from the side and tried to crush him. I played with three other folks, and the objective was to get through the level as quickly and efficiently as possible while collecting colored-orbs. Our total orb count was tracked in the center of pie chart in the left corner, while the pie part tracked how many orbs each of our team's Sackboys had collected. When we modified our characters looks -- tap square and have at it when it comes to eyes, teeth, moustaches, etc. -- the character's representation on the pie chart changed in real time. Still, what I find most impressive about this title is how simple it is to control while maintaining an incredible depth. I ran through the level tapping X to jump and holding R1 to push and pull objects into position. That's it. Two buttons. With those two buttons, I was moving blocks to make stairs on one side of the level, leaping onto ledges to activate switches so that my team could move on, and even riding a mechanized elephant over some fire spots that would surely kill my Sackboy.

From there, our demo sent us to the moon to see what we could create and how. It started with the content I'm sure you're all familiar with -- you can put him in a dragon suit, you can give him a Cyclops eye, etc. -- but quickly moved to how these individual pieces end up interacting with each other. The game busted out an oh-so-cute skull that's suspended above the ground by this wooden spine. The lower part of the skull's jaw was on a set of ropes and would fall and rise over and over again. Our demoer whipped up a switch and placed it next to the skull, he then paused the action (which brings about this sick VCR tracking art at the top of the screen to let you know something's different) and connected the switch to the ropes via chains. The action resumed without the skull's mouth moving. One Sackboy climbed onto the jaw, another threw the lever, and the character rose. Equally as awesome as all of that was endowing your creations with elements. Every platforming level needs deathtraps, and creating them in LBP is easy. Our demo-giver created some sponge rectangles and then clicked his elements option. Fire, ice, electricity and more popped up, he chose electricity, he clicked the sponge and -- ZAP -- we had a way to kill our little buddy. Seriously, I could talk all day about how amazing this game seems like it's going to be, but you won't know the joys of making your Sackboy hold his breath until he explodes, using the PlayStation Eye to make an in-game sticker, or any of the other cool stuff until the game's global launch in October. Until then, keep it on IGN for the latest news and previews.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/874/874746p1.html









http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/856/856680/imgs_1.html

Pixel Junk Eden

Pixel Junk Eden Sony Gamer's Day Trailer
HD: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/34137.html
SD: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/34138.html



http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/p...en/images.html

Linger in Shadows

There's an ongoing debate about whether or not games are art, but Linger In Shadows is a clear case of the art being a game. Based upon the concept of the demoscene and filled with bizarre, dream-like imagery, Linger In isn't a game. It's not a tech demo. It's not a 3D movie, a tech demo, or a puzzle. It's something in between all three, which our demoer called "real-time interactive art." It's also captivating. Linger In Shadows unfolds like this: when you begin "playing," you watch it, just like a cutscene. It's rendered in real time. For instance, the bit we saw began with a close-up of a nest of stone-looking tentacles surrounding a glop of glowing goop. We then see flashes of a basset hound-looking dog, a fuzzy cat, a panda bear sitting at the entrance to a tunnel that appears to be mounted in a skyscraper, a strange Grecian statue on a sky-high pedestal in the middle of a city, and a couple pulsing, floating collections of cubes and spheres.

So anyhow, we're watching all this imagery unfold, and then the demoer does something we've never done in a cutscene before. He presses X and the action freezes. Depending upon where you are in the presentation, you can now do things to the environment. You can press triangle to move the camera wherever you like, maybe tilt the controller or twiddle the analog sticks to move things around, or use the shoulder buttons to move forward or backward along the timeline. Or, you can just admire the visuals - much of this stuff, like the realtime goop, or the gorgeous animals with fur shading, and the photoshop-style paint filters that make the whole thing look like a living, moving painting, could be a tech demo. It's stunning. Why would you do this? Ah, that's the key to it all. Basically, at some point, this "movie" is going to come to an end. And in order to unlock the next bit of "film," you need to wander around its 3D landscape and locate specific triggers, called "greets." Think of them as specific details you have to prove to the game you've seen before it will let you progress. Here's a very visual example. The stony tentacles belong to a creature - think of those squid-like hunter-killer things from The Matrix, except made of stone and with a tiki mask face and glowing yellow eyes. It's flying around the city and it passes a flower on a floating chunk of earth. If you just watch it, you'll soon dead-end. But if you pause, then use the controller to rotate the flower's platform, you'll soon reveal a "greet" in the form of a sign at the flower's base. Once you've seen that, it'll show up on your "greet board" (viewable by pressing square) and you'll unlock the next bit of "film." Will it be worth it? Depends upon how much you love bizarre stuff. In the sequence we watched, the hound began swimming - through the sky, mind you - toward the statue. As the cat watched impassively, a swirling black cloud chased down the hound, and when it reached him, the hound was turned to stone. The Matrix squid-thing then climbed out of the tunnel the Panda was sitting beside, raced to the stone hound, still levitating, and shattered it, collecting the pieces. The black cloud then formed the shape of a face and apparently told the cloud to rip the top off the statue's temple. It does, but the process shatters the glass of the player's TV screen and the chapter ends.

http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/linger...16124426704069

It'll be out this summer.

[neojubei]

Nice Sony HDTVs.

[Dante]

party time :)

Linger in Shadows.....I am very intrigued.

[Justin Dailey]

I guess this confirms Buzz! PS3 will be released in the USA!!!

Anyone have ANY idea what the release date in the US will be?

[reminder]

I guess this confirms Buzz! PS3 will be released in the USA!!! Anyone have ANY idea what the release date in the US will be?

Fall 08 according to the latest release schedule from SCEA.

[batbeg]

Well, I'll ask it here then.

How can Linger in Shadows be a PSN title if it was just a tech demo? Does this mean they're simply watching the video or...?

[Justin Dailey]

Anyone have any idea what "Linger in Shadows" is?

[kaching]

Linger...

[neojubei]

I guess this confirms Buzz! PS3 will be released in the USA!!! Anyone have ANY idea what the release date in the US will be?

Buzz for the Ps3 with wireless controllers is a dream come true.

[SolidSnakex]

Anyone have any idea what "Linger in Shadows" is?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=262804

[itxaka]

2 things.

Motorstom hasn´t changed the hud, cool!

In the K2 screen it appears that there is a loading in the middle of the level? I hope that doesn´t translade to the game, I hate those things on HL2 :/

[Justin Dailey]

Fall 08 according to the latest release schedule from SCEA.

I want this so bad...It'll be the perfect game for when family visits.

[Wollan]

In the K2 screen it appears that there is a loading in the middle of the level?

Volume I believe.

I want this so bad...It'll be the perfect game for when family visits.

It's very fun.

[Dante]

Judges Day!

[Azzurri]

Nice Sony HDTVs.

52" XBR5. Just like mine.

[Justin Dailey]

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=262804

You have two habits that I'm starting to notice:

1. You answer a lot of my questions
2. You always have new, hot girls in your avatar

Cheers

[CrushDance]

Blargh. I gotta go to work in several hours :( Keep it updated Solid!

[Moray]

Where's Infamous? :(

[Dante]

I have that TV....That's the volume...... not loading bar

[Y2Kev]

Judges Day!

i have a widescreen version of this poster hanging on my wall



I am really surprised Sony doesn't have more download games.

[Loudninja]

Wow Motorstorm looks great

[Jim]

I am really surprised Sony doesn't have more download games.

This isn't anything close to the full lineup, just the specific games they wanted to nominate for the E3 Awards.
That's what this event is about, nothing more.

[Justin Dailey]

It's very fun.

You've played it? I've never bought a Buzz game before because they're always focused on one topic.

But the PS3 version will have infinite questions!

Do the officially supported (Sony-made) questions span multiple topics?

[Totobeni]

F*** no one told me about this thread

more R2-K2 madness plz Sony

[Justin Dailey]

F*** no one told me about this thread more R2-K2 madness plz Sony

According to the Full Moon Show thread, this event is embargoed until E3 (July 11-13).

But that seems inconsistent with Sony posting pictures of it on their own blog.

[Xater]

2 things. Motorstom hasn´t changed the hud, cool! In the K2 screen it appears that there is a loading in the middle of the level? I hope that doesn´t translade to the game, I hate those things on HL2 :/

Dude that totally looks like the start screen of the demo. We also know that they will have a streaming engine in the full game.

[Kagari]

Where's Infamous? :(

E3, believe.

[Wollan]

You've played it? I've never bought a Buzz game before because they're always focused on one topic. But the PS3 version will have infinite questions! Do the officially supported (Sony-made) questions span multiple topics?

It's the only quizz game you will ever need. The Sony made questions spans multiple topics such as movies, sports, science...etc.

[krypt0nian]

It's the only quizz game you will ever need. The Sony made questions spans multiple topics such as movies, sports, science...etc..etc.

Wollan, make a Buzz PS3 topic? You know I want you to!

[Kagari]

This isn't anything close to the full lineup, just the specific games they wanted to nominate for the E3 Awards. That's what this event is about, nothing more.

Good to know. People were flipping out in the other thread.

[itxaka]

Volume I believe.

damn, thank god. My bravia doesn´t have that big fucking volume bar, it´s huge.

We also know that they will have a streaming engine in the full game.

Didn´t know, cool to know. I have no worries about it now

[Wollan]

Wollan, make a Buzz PS3 topic? You know I want you to!

9 months ahead of you.

[Jim]

Good to know. People were flipping out in the other thread.

The other thread was different... it was covering the PR that Sony sent out earlier.
That's obviously not everything either and there will be new stuff at E3 time as usual.
We go through this shit every year

[Justin Dailey]

It's the only quizz game you will ever need. The Sony made questions spans multiple topics such as movies, sports, science...etc.

Thanks for that. I hope we see official question packs in addition to user-created questions.

My only concern regarding user-created questions is whether users will have access to uploading music/video clips/pictures (which I'm guessing the official questions will use)

[Dante]

I don't think there;s an embargo, the official blog is updating today, and JS said that they ARE releasing new R2 shots today.

[Kagari]

The other thread was different... it was covering the PR that Sony sent out earlier. That's obviously not everything either and there will be new stuff at E3 time as usual. We go through this shit every year

Yep.

[krypt0nian]

9 months ahead of you.

Holy crap! I posted in it already!

[AndyD]

Thanks for that. I hope we see official question packs in addition to user-created questions. My only concern regarding user-created questions is whether users will have access to uploading music/video clips/pictures (which I'm guessing the official questions will use)

They said there will be official DLC packs that can be created by Sony or third parties (using their licensed stuff like Star Wars, Indiana Jones images/video...).

In addition there will be user made 8 question strings which can then be played as part of a playlist and strung together. So a user can make a "80's movies" playlist containing 10 strings of 8 questions each. Or you can make a 80's playlist with 8 question strings from a variety of authors.

As to using graphics by users, one of the videos shows the interface, and I dont think users will be able to upload either (for licensing issues, as well as parental issues).

[iceatcs]

So the E3 will be small again this time? Apart the confs.

[Justin Dailey]

They said there will be official DLC packs that can be created by Sony or third parties (using their licensed stuff like Star Wars, Indiana Jones images/video...). In addition there will be user made 8 question strings which can then be played as part of a playlist and strung together. So a user can make a "80's movies" playlist containing 10 strings of 8 questions each. Or you can make a 80's playlist with 8 question strings from a variety of authors. As to using graphics by users, one of the videos shows the interface, and I dont think users will be able to upload either (for licensing issues, as well as parental issues).

Sounds good/fair. Thanks for more info...I probably posted in Wollan's thread too but that was long ago and I've forgotten all that info...I'll have to go check that thread out again...

[evilone]

Nice Sony HDTVs.

XBR'5 FTW

[PistolGrip]

You have two habits that I'm starting to notice: 1. You answer a lot of my questions 2. You always have new, hot girls in your avatar Cheers

you forget the hot girls are always making cute or interesting faces.

[FabCam]

I'm in love with Motorstorm. <3

[Wax Free Vanilla]

the right hand shot of motorstorm 2 looks nice.

will we get all these demos to download at e3?

[Sage00]

the right hand shot of motorstorm 2 looks nice. will we get all these demos to download at e3?

That's the CG intro.

[DigitalSoul]

The other thread was different... it was covering the PR that Sony sent out earlier. That's obviously not everything either and there will be new stuff at E3 time as usual. We go through this shit every year

Wash, rinse, repeat?

[iceatcs]

I am looking forward what is on about the mulitplayer for Pixeljunk Eden.

[Dante]

That's the CG intro.

No It's not, that's not even in the CG released. It's prob the attract screen. As a matter of fact I think that's our first glimps of the vocanic areas.

[Justin Dailey]

I am looking forward what is on about the mulitplayer for Pixeljunk Eden.

All I've heard is that you can play with 2 or 3 player co-op.

[Laguna X]

E3 is still in July, right? I hope we get plenty of game footage from this [Judge's Day] event.