Bastion ticks every box for me, with its beautiful soundtrack, visual style and flow in gameplay. Its a game worth checking out.

Surround sound on the PS3™ requires system software version 3.70 or later. Surround Sound does not work with Blu-ray Disc movies

The PS3 is no stranger to FW updates, the most recent v3.61 was needed to get back onto the PSN and reset your password after the security breach. In the past updates have been used for several reasons, to add security measures, to fix system issues, and also to add additional features and capabilities.

As of the moment, we have no information on what the update will include or when exactly it will be released although it will likely be before September’s headset release. But with E3 just around the corner, one can only imagine. Surround sound is already integrated in the PS3′s hardware so although the description might be misleading to some, we know it’s not that. However, because this accessory requires it, the FW update will likely be adding system capabilities and functions to the system’s software. Smaller updates usually put the version up by .01 whereas the more significant updates see a change at least to the next tenths. Are they just making the system compatible with the new headset? Could we finally be seeing the [unlikely] integration of cross-game voice chat? Or will it be something else?

Tell us what you think the FW update might include or what you would like it to include in the comments below. Only time will tell so stay tuned with GxC as we bring you the latest info!
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Details are still pretty light, but it looks like Creatures 4 is going to be free to play. It’s slated to be released later this year on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, as well as PC and Mac. It’s being developed by Fishing Cactus, a Belgian development studio with quite a few solid titles under their belts.

I’m a bit nervous about the whole “free to play” thing, but it doesn’t sound like Creatures 4 is going to be gutted and turned casual. Bruno Hurbain, studio manager at Fishing Cactus, says they “are determined to create a new great Creatures chapter, both modern and respectful of what made it the best virtual life simulator game in the first place.” Sounds like they’re fans, too. We’ll take a look later this year and see how the game shapes up.

For those of you who aren’t in the know, Creatures is a series of artificial life games from the 90s. You raise cute critters called Norns, teach them basic language and survival skills, and help them evolve and pass their genetic code down over generations. Although the series hasn’t seen a major release since 2001, it still has a dedicated core of active players, and a recent Kickstarter for a spiritual followup from one of the original creators did really well. So let’s hope this game gives players both new and old something to look forward to
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L.A. Noire is different. It’s not like most video games developed by Rockstar. You don’t play the outlaw running wild, free to kill, steal, and cause destruction. You’re a cop. A good cop at that, determined to restore order to the violent streets of 1940s Los Angeles.

L.A. Noire’s not like most games. Sure, there are car chases, gunfights, and a point-tally to judge the quality of your police justice, but it’s a slow-paced, meditative experience. The focus isn’t on how good you are at scoring headshots with a pistol but instead your ability to read a suspect’s face and determine if he or she is telling the truth, holding something back, or flat out lying.

Using a brand new technology called MotionScan, L.A. Noire delivers pure performances from a talented group of actors. Every wrinkle, twitch, downward glance, grimace, and hard swallow is from an actor playing a part, not an animator manipulating things from behind the scenes. It’s a striking, sometimes unnerving effect certain to help push video games closer to true cinematic experiences. It’s easy to fall into old video game habits like checking your phone while listening to a line of dialogue, but you’re setting yourself up for failure. The actors’ tells are in their faces, their posture, their eyes – rarely is it revealed in what they say.

This is where L.A. Noire shines. The interrogations are like lengthy dialogue scenes you’d see in an RPG — but they’re captivating. This is the core of L.A. Noire and that core is very good.

You’re a detective, so you’re going to scour crime scenes searching for clues. And when you question witnesses, you have to think less like a gamer and more like a sleuth. It’s not easy. In fact, it’s often a real challenge to judge the trustworthiness of a witness’ statement. The line between “doubt” and “lie” is very narrow. Though L.A. Noire’s hero, Cole Phelps, is regarded as one of the best case men ever, I still managed to falsely accuse dozens of suspects, doubt witnesses who were actually forthcoming, and use the wrong clues to try and catch killers in lies.

After every question, selected from Phelps’ trusty notebook, you get a response from the suspect. Then you must choose to believe, doubt, or accuse them of lying. Get it right and you can open them up and get more clues. Get it wrong, and they offer less. The better you do over the course of a case, the more you’ll understand the suspect’s motivations. The worse you do, the tougher it is to get at the truth, but there’s no possibility of failure in any conversation. L.A. Noire won’t abruptly end if you fail to catch a killer’s lie or miss an important clue. The bad guy only gets away if it’s pre-determined in the story. The only game over screen comes from dying or allowing a fleeing suspect to escape. This makes you less of a real detective and more of a page turner, destined to always reach the next chapter so long as you make a choice — any choice.

L.A. Noire isn’t all about badgering people, though. This is still an open-world game. You’re free to deviate from a case, explore faithfully recreated 1947 Los Angeles, and tackle more action-oriented missions. No, you can’t run wild like in Grand Theft Auto (you’re a cop, accept it), but there are some other things to do. Forty “unassigned cases” come in as calls on the radio. These aren’t random; they’re single-scene missions where you’ll stop a bank robbery, chase down a bat-wielding lunatic, or shadow a crook to his hideout.

A few other distractions can be had — finding all of the famous L.A. locations and discovering more than a dozen hidden cars — which earn you points towards leveling up your rank. New ranks mean new clothes, hidden car locations, and intuition points (which can be spent to reveal clues and narrow choices when interrogating a suspect). This is the “game” portion of L.A. Noire, the part built for those who aren’t ready to release their old needs as gamers. And maybe Rockstar is struggling to release that same hold. I like going about town, but L.A. Noire would have been stronger with greater focus on the experience and less concern for including traditional game elements.

Each time I start getting immersed in the world, I’m reminded “you’re playing a game” with unnecessary text popping up on the screen or a score tallying my lie-detecting ability.

There are moments when L.A. Noire comes together brilliantly, when the threads from multiple cases lead to a darker ringleader. But more often, things are perhaps too true to real police work – repetitive, redundant, and unsurprising. Despite having 21 cases, some of which can take more than an hour to complete, L.A. Noire drags at times because it recycles the same drama.

Ten cases in, I knew what to expect. I come to a crime scene and search for some clues that then open one or two new locations in L.A. to investigate. From there, I know I’ll end up chasing someone on foot through the back-alleys of the city or through the streets in my car. All this leads to a final interview with a suspect in the police station interview room, where even screwing up completely still leads to an arrest. I might think the guy’s innocent, but except on rare occasions, I’m just going through the motions and have no control over the end result.

When L.A. Noire breaks free from the formula, it can be stunning. A great example comes at the end of Phelps’ time on the Homicide desk, when you are freed from the usual case work and instead have to solve riddles that lead you to landmarks across Los Angeles. The end of the homicide desk is refreshing, startling, different, and necessary to hold interest in what is generally a series of the same song and dance.

Even with its redundancies, L.A. Noire is still entertaining. Normally, I’d say a game like this has “great voice acting,” but with its amazing new technology, L.A. Noire has great performances. It’s more than just the voice – it’s the mannerisms, the way someone’s mouth thins after telling a lie, the unease of a wrongdoer being grilled in the box. There have been games with graphics far superior to L.A. Noire’s, with a level of fidelity that makes the world seem more real than what’s outside your door. But I’ve never seen an Adam’s apples move when people talk or throat muscles tense when someone almost says too much. It’s fascinating to watch a sort of hybrid between an action game and an episode of Law & Order.

With that gift of having detailed, human faces, Rockstar and developer Team Bondi have the vehicle to deliver an incredibly emotional and engaging story. L.A. Noire falls short, though. Despite great performances, some killer dialogue, and one of my favorite game soundtracks in years, L.A. Noire left me cold. Cole Phelps begins as a paragon of the LAPD, but his true past is eventually revealed. Whether hero or pariah, I just never liked him that much because his story is told at times haphazardly.

There’s an omniscient narrator in the early missions of L.A. Noire who disappears halfway through and never returns. Cole has a wife he almost never talks about until the plot needs a complication to Phelps’ pristine image. There’s a confounding “twist” with three cases left that changes the focus of the story and left me scratching my head.

L.A. Noire has issues, but it’s also a bold and unique take on games as entertainment. The core gameplay mechanics work — no issues with driving, chasing perps across town, taking cover, shooting people, figuring out what to do next, or understanding how to interrogate a suspect. The various elements never come together at the same time to create something spectacular, but there are a lot of good things going on. Some will love L.A. Noire for being different and others are going to find the slower pace a deal-breaker.

The Xbox 360 version has a few performance issues. While both versions have occasional framerate issues, L.A. Noire on X360 has more notable problems. It’s not enough to take away from the game, but if choosing between the two, PS3 has fewer technical issues.

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These have come and gone, but this year’s E3 should be the last one for Rage: the final product is supposed to hit on September 13, 2011. Some may be skeptical, but sometimes these games are worth the wait. Not only does Rage have the id name going for it but it’s now under the Bethesda umbrella as well; this could just be a match made in heaven. Even more exciting is the fact that id Software is running Rage on a new engine: id Tech 5, which is just a dream for visuals. The id Tech 5 engine provides a smooth 60 frames-per-second on the Xbox 360. John Carmack has always been known for his amazing game engines, and we should hope that the mastermind behind id won’t misstep here. The campaign in Rage creates a sense of urgency from the get-go: a massive asteroid is approaching Earth, and many are trying to prepare for the destruction. Humanity has fled into self-sustaining, underground pods, though, you’ll be happy to know that Pauly Shore is nowhere to be seen. You are a member of one of these survivalist sects, but you are pushed to the surface unexpectedly and must fight simply to stay alive.

Throughout the campaign you’ll be treated to various quests and encounter a diverse set of characters that make the journey all the more worthwhile. As with most FPS, the story is never the draw; the excitement of it all comes from its run and gun gameplay. In Rage, you’ll gun down big bad bandit clans and monsters disfigured by the post-apocalyptic world. You’ll annihilate these enemies with various firearms such as, pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, and even machine-guns. Also in your arsenal are personal turrets, sentry bots, wingsticks (a weapon resembling a boomerang), and, like Call of Duty, remote-controlled exploding cars. Similarly to Borderlands, each weapon comes with a certain proficiently requirement before you can get your business done. Rage also will feature a variety of challenges for the player to unlock as they play, whether it is for a certain amount of kills or collecting certain items. Basically, you’re rewarded for the exploring you do.

As you explore the desolate, sad world filled with worn-down buildings and complete wreckage that screams hopelessness, you’ll collect ammo, tools, weapons, different resources – some hold valuable as barter, others will play a role in crafting, particularly upgrading your weapons for stronger and newer features. Spread throughout the barren lands are locked doors, your only solace is building lock-grinders that bust through the locks. Some doors are imperative to your progress as they open new areas, while others are just purely a loot lover’s dream. While all of these concepts are sure to give the FPS fan plenty to attend to, where Rage is most trying to set itself apart is in its vehicular gameplay. Throughout the game, vehicles can be greatly customized, since not only will your vehicle get your around faster, but it also become part of your strategy around enemies. Not to mention, Rage is extremely realistic, enemies will catch you by surprise and attack, and the consequences are always real. For instance, your vehicle may go spiraling out of control because of an enemy’s sneak attack. Your car also comes with a turbo boost that you can use as part of your strategy – a means for easy escape. If you let your car absorb too much damage, a tow truck will come to take it for repairs. Another moment of realism: these repairs will cost you.

Id has provided a campaign that’s playable either as a single-player story or with 2-player co-op. The game also features two distinctive main multiplayer modes, one that focuses more on racing your car, the other on exploring missions from the campaign with others. In Rage Combat Rally, it’s all about being the fast car on the lot; it’s a six-player race full of checkpoints and turbo boosts. If racing isn’t your forte, then the mode for you is Legends of Wasteland. In this mode, eight players work together to complete special missions that are a spin-off from the campaign. Don’t worry, it’s not repeating what you did in the campaign, the missions are actually tailored to explore different characters and objectives from the campaign – giving you deeper insight into the game’s narrative. Rage also has special little fun co-op games like being a part of Mutant Bash TV where you star in the pilot episode with others. Rage’s developers appear to be working their hardest to make the game worth the wait and not fizzle out on its post-apocalyptic setting. Their attempts to go beyond just being a FPS, but also allowing cars to play a strong role in the game, along with crafting just about any upgrade or item you need are definitely noteworthy. Furthermore, having a multiplayer that attempts to explore the characters and their stories in a new way is a unique concept. For now, we have to hope September 13 is worth the wait. Keep reading PlanetXbox360 for updates about Rage!

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Priced at $299.99 USD, the pack includes a 160GB console, a copy of Black Ops plus the post-launch supplement Strike Content Pack, which throws in four new multiplayer maps and the zombie Ascension mode.

SCEA’s vice president of product marketing, Scott A. Steinberg, commented, “PlayStation 3 delivers the ultimate high-definition entertainment experience, offering a built-in Blu-ray player, free online gaming through PlayStation Network and the première destination for stereoscopic 3D content.”

“Combining these features with the massive blockbuster that is Call of Duty: Black Ops, a title credited for having the biggest entertainment launch of all time, PlayStation and Activision, have put together an unrivaled entertainment offering for gamers.”

“The choice to bundle Call of Duty: Black Ops and the First Strike Content Pack with the PlayStation 3 is perfect for anyone looking to bring home an incredible entertainment experience, that delivers endless hours of excitement through the games epic single player campaign, hugely popular multiplayer on PlayStation Network, or our fan favorite co-op Zombies mode,” added Treyarch boss Mark Lamia.

“And for those with 3D enabled televisions, the game’s Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies experiences are seamlessly set up for stereoscopic 3D on the PS3 right out of the box.”
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You can add BigRonny254(PSN) to play with Ron, just send him a message for a friend request with the title GB Add so he will know where you are adding him from. At a later time we may add a Posse Group so those on the PS3 and Xbox 360 can contact each other and ride through the wild west guns-a-blazing.

Due to us playing MANY games we have to set up times to play each game with others. If you would like to set up a play session just contact us through PSN or E-Mail(e-mails of players will be posted at a later time).

If you would like to get into the project please contact ronbrown@psigamesinc.com, or ben@hollowminds.com and we will catch you up to speed with what we have planned. As an alternative you can also keep an eye on this post since we will continuously update it as we move ahead in the project.

If you would like to learn more about how Terraria works you can check out the wiki pages http://wiki.terrariaonline.com/Terraria_Wiki, and http://terraria.wikia.com/wiki/Terraria_Wiki

Also all our activity will be through Steam which you can download from http://store.steampowered.com/ and add theviktan(myself) to get in touch with me, and other members who will have to give the “ok” for the friend add.

We will also be connecting to the server through https://www.tunngle.net/ to allow multiplayer connections to join, We will place the IP to connect to our server at a later time.