PS3's New Exclusive 'PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale' Revealed!

After months of rumours circulating the web, Sony's new exclusive is at last revealed. As expected, it's PlayStation All-Stars Royale, a similar concept to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Currently in development by SuperBot Entertainment, the game consists of PS3's best and most famous characters, battling it out to the death! Don't just think it's some kind of outright copy though, SuperBot's president Chan Park made it clear his development team have been "purpose-built" for the project, with guys from series such as UFC Undisputed and Mortal Kombat. Sony aren't just looking for a PS3 equivalent, they want an evolutionary style of game, in an attempt to take the formula to a whole new next level.

So what is PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale?

Originally Posted by SuperBot

First and foremost, it’s a celebration of a storied history of great characters and rich worlds brought together in one game. And for us, there’s no better way to celebrate than by creating an experience that players can sit around one screen and enjoy together. There are probably a few types of games that can be enjoyed by four players simultaneously, but for us at SuperBot, a brawler was the obvious choice for one really good reason: the developers here at SuperBot really like fighting games. We love playing them and we love making them. With PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, we set out to make an experience accessible enough for all PlayStation fans to enjoy while also creating something deep enough for the serious fighting game aficionado. We think this “accessible yet deep” strategy is the perfect way to bring PlayStation fans of all stripes together.

Learn more in the video interview:

Sony decided to let SuperBot Entertainment give IGN a sneak preview of what's instal for us playstation users, allowing them to show-off six of the game's characters from various different PlayStation exclusives. Confirmed first party Sony characters include: Kratos (God Of War), Radec (Killzone) Sly Cooper (Sly Racoon), PaRappa the Rapper, Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal), and Fat Princess. Third party characters from other games have been confirmed to be part of the game, but none of them have been announced as yet, although Sony has hinted they could go all the way back to the PS one era. Not sure whether that's a good or bad thing.

Below Colin Moriarty, IGN PlayStation editor, explains some of the unique moves and abilities attached to each character revealed.

Originally Posted by Colin Moriarty

Each character has his or her own combat style, which immediately becomes evident when you begin playing for yourself. Parappa the Rapper has strength at close range, where he can use his Chop Chop Master Onion-learned kung-fu stylings on his opponents. Colonel Radec, on the other hand, is almost entirely ineffective unless at a distance, relying on a plethora of Helghan firearms and pieces of technology from afar.

Sweet Tooth's considerable strength complements his brutal fighting style while Kratos' skill with his arsenal of weapons is obvious. But the two most interesting characters in this preliminary roster were undoubtedly Sly Cooper and Fat Princess. Sly Cooper's agility shines through almost immediately, and he has a special skill that no other character has. He forfeits his ability to block -- something every other character can do -- instead going invisible when the L1 button is held down. This allows him to sneakily slink around and get the jump on other characters. Fat Princess, on the other hand, relies on her deceptive, innocent look to get in close and cause the brunt of her damage. She can even summon forth minions such as the sword-wielding warrior or the fire-throwing wizard from her self-titled game to briefly supplement her attacks.

In a game like this, it should come as no surprise that SuperBot Entertainment wants it to feel accessible. And it most certainly does. Attacks are mapped to the Square, Triangle and Circle buttons coinciding with the direction you're pressing on the d-pad or left analog stick, giving each character an exceptional amount of moves. The right stick can be used to throw opponents, while the R1 button lets players pick up items (such as the Hedgehog Grenade from Resistance) in the environment to use on enemies.

And then there's the most powerful button in the game: R2. By building a special meter for each character -- a la Street Fighter or Marvel vs. Capcom -- players can unleash a torrent of special attacks that grow in power the higher the meter gets. For instance, Sly Cooper's standard first level attack might be fairly unimpressive, but his second level attack allows him to bomb enemies from above and can easily kill everyone on the screen. And if you get to a third level attack, watch out: Colonel Radec will get into a body-encompassing machinegun from Killzone 3, while Sweet Tooth turns into a gigantic truck to rain down destruction on his foes. These attacks spell almost certain death for everyone else on-screen.

But with accessibility comes inevitable depth, and it quickly becomes apparent that the more you play, the more nuance you'll be able to derive from the experience. You'll develop a play style and preferences for certain characters; as an example, Colonel Radec will be a complete turnoff if you're not into ranged attacks, while Sly Cooper may just be too damn fast for you to keep track of. But there is balance, too, and no one character seems to have an edge over anyone else… at least not in this small group of six.

Unlike Nintendo's Smash Bros. which only offered levels related to single franchise, All-Star's stages will feature multiple elements from different games. For example one set includes Hades from God Of War but also features the little guys from PSP series Patapon in the background. A Ratchet & Clank stage features the Hydra from the first God Of War.There's also a stage from LittleBigPlanet that starts off empty and fills up as you play, a Buzz! level that asks you questions as you fight, and Sandover Village from Jak And Daxter.

PlayStation All-Stars is full of options, allowing players to use the game to its full potential. It can be played locally or online with up to four players. Of course there's also a single-player campaign, which has been promised to satisfy solo gamers while supplementing everyone else's experience. However, the guys over at SuperBot don't believe it's only about online or only about single-player, but a combo of the two. They want to achieve a "best of both worlds" experience for PS3 gamers. Although that being said, a slight focus is in fact being put on the online play which will feature a robust tournament mode. Players will be able to compete against each other as well as play cooperatively.

According to SuperBot there are plenty more features, characters, and levels they want to show us. We can expect a lot to be revealed at E3.

Black Ops 2 Release Date Revealed And Multiplayer Information Leaked

After the initial leak of a retail poster sent to Kotaku (see here), a second poster has appeared. Except this time it's showing more than just the reveal date. Spotted by PSPKING.de, it appears to show the release date for Black Ops 2.



The picture appears blurry, even after being enhanced in Photoshop. However, the date is still clear... November 13th 2012 - as proposed by my fellow reporter Storm (see here). The 13th is a Tuesday, which is historically the global release day for Call of Duty titles. The character image appears to be exactly the same as the one in the retail poster sent to Kotaku. Considering the similarities between the two posters, it's pretty safe to assume they're legitimate - although, not certain. Therefore the official reveal by Activision could quite possibly be on the 2nd of May 2012.

Also leaked by the same source is an entire list of brand new multiplayer information. Ranging from game modes to perks, weapons to equipment. As originally presented:

"-Game Modes-

Escort ~ A game mode in which you escort a player across three flags to achieve victory. The enemy team killing the player will result in a win for their side.

Split Spawn ~ A game mode in which you spawn from a helicopter, and climb down to get to the ground. The player starts with 3 lives. One player can control the chopper to let you climb down in different areas, as well as shoot from the chopper. If the chopper is destroyed, players can no longer spawn. Players compete for a central flag that takes 2x as long to capture than a regular domination flag. Either the death of all opposing players or the capturing of the flag will grant you a win. This game has 2 rounds.

Equalizer ~ A game mode in which players are switched to the enemy team upon death. Players will compete for a flag, which when owned, open up a power plant to allow the player to customise their class in game, get new weapons, and put on a juggernaut suit for their team only.When there are 2 players left on a team, they are granted with the power plant automatically, and pointstreaks up to a 5 point requirement can also be obtained. If either of the two players die, they will remain on their own team. The team with the most converts (kills) at the end will win. If tied, whoever is currently owning the power plant will win.

-Perks-

To clarify what elite is, it is a side-pro perk you can choose when levelling up the base perk. These elite perks ONLY work if paired with another BASE perk.

1. Spy – Appear as a friend on the map. (Disadvantage is, you’re always spotted even without a UAV, and when shooting, you turn red on the map)
b. Pro – Detect enemy spies. They will still always be spotted on the radar.
c. Elite – If Pilot is active, your airship will be marked as an ally.

2. Escape Artist – When going prone, you feign death (You cannot shoot during)
b. Pro – When approaching death, the enemies crosshairs will turn to white, and your name will dissapear.
c. Elite – if Diver is active – You realistically fall into your feign death instead of diving.

3. Audiophile – Players with silenced weapons will show on your radar if they are shooting at you or close around you.
b. Pro – Footsteps are louder
c. Elite – If bladesman is active – knifing will show up on the radar

4. Defuser – Throw all equipment but cookable grenades up to 2x farther – a hollow circle will show up around your crosshairs, and the circle will fill in 3 seconds. When the circle is full, it will throw 2x farther, when it is empty, it will throw 1x as far.
b. Pro – Be able to take semtex off of players and throw them elsewhere, and be able to pick up any enemy equipment and use it as your own.
c. Elite – if quickdraw is active – the circle will fill in 1.5 seconds.

5. Juggernaut – Regenerate health faster while moving
b. Pro – Regenerate health faster while crouched
c. Elite – If scavenger is active – you are able to drop ammo packs for your team.

6. Diver – You can dive into cover (A.K.A. Dolphin Dive) – and while diving you can still shoot, however when you land it takes awhile to regain focus.
b. Pro – You crawl 2x faster
c. Elite – With Extreme conditioning active – You can sprint while crawling to crawl faster (3x) instead of getting up.

7. Pilot – Your flying killstreak’s kills will count towards your next killstreak.
b. Pro – Your controllable flying killstreaks will last until they are shot down.
c. Elite – With blind eye active – Your uncontrollable flying killstreaks will not show on the map.

8. Technician – Any land killstreak’s kills will count towards your next killstreak.
b. Pro – Your Advanced UAVS will disable the enemies UAV
c. Elite – If defuser is active, your sentries cannot be taken down instantly.

9. Bladesman – You have 2 knives in each hand instead of just one in one hand. (This essentially makes knives kill twice as fast.)
b. Pro – You have a chance of dodging the incoming players knife.
c. Elite – If assassin is active – knifing will be completely silent and not show on the killfeed, unless countered by audiophile elite.

10. Consciousness – While standing, you are just as accurate as when you are prone
b. Pro – Your bullets cause more flinching.
c. Elite – If marksman is active – shooting your enemy will mark him on the mini map.

11. Focus – Be able to shoot while sprinting, even at the deduction of accuracy.
b. Pro – Be able to shoot while jumping, even at the deduction of accuracy.
c. Elite – If stalker is active – when jumping, equipment does less damage to you.

12. Deep Impact – Your bullets shoot through hard surfaces.
b. Pro – Your bullets gain 50% damage with each person they go through.
c. Elite – if steady aim is active – when hip-firing, your bullets have 10% more damage with each person they go through.

–Knife Melee Slot–

1. Default Knife – Takes 2 swipes to kill, you need to put it away, and take it back out like usual.
2. Tactical knife – Takes 4 swipes to kill, as long as you are pushing the melee button however, it will keep knifing
3. Tactical hammer – Takes longer to get out, takes 4 swipes to kill, you need to put it away and take it back out like usual, but against riot shields and machines it takes only 1 swipe to destroy.
4. Throwing knifes – Start with 4, fast to get out, fairly accurate, but takes 2 to kill and is ranged
5. Tomahawks – Start with 2, slow to get out, fairly innacurate, and takes 1 to kill and is ranged
6. Ballistic knife – [Disallows use of equipment] – A tactical knife in one hand, while a ballistic knife is in the other. You start with 2 ballistic knives, and they kill in 1 shot. These knives take a moderate time to get out. (With Bladesman on, you start with 3 ballistic knives and one ballistic knife in each hand.)

-Guns-

Assault Rifles
AK74, Ruger Mini-14, Type 65, Valmet M76, M70, R1 Rifle, Commando, AR-18, Valmet M60, AKM-63, AMD-65

Submachine Guns
Mp5SD, PA3(DM), SW M76, Type 64, UZI, Mini-Uzi, AKS-74U, Mac 10, MPL, Ares FMG

Shotguns
Model 590, Model 1300, Model 1100, Spas-12, CAWS, Stakeout, Saiga-12, Striker, Featherlight

Sniper Rifles
Psg-1, PSL, SVD, Model 700, M76

Light Machine Guns
Type 67, Enfield L7, M240, AS70

Pistols
M973, Steyr GB, Skorpion, MEU, Python

Explosives
SA-7 Grail / 9k32 Strela-2, Stinger, FIM-43 Redeye, Arwen 37, M26Grenades, HG 84 Grenade, M67 Grenade, Sticky Grenade

-Attachments-

Attached Weapon Rack (Weapons attached to primary for quick weapon switching) (Only works when paired with pistols)
Attached Pistol (For snipers only)
Attached Shotgun (For Assault Rifles only)
Attached Bayonette (For Assault Rifles and Snipers only)
Laser
Red dot sight
Reflex scope
Thermal Scope
Acog Scope
Extended Mags
Dual Mags
Rapid Fire
Grenade Launcher (Grenades drop significantly more)
Grip
Perfected Ironsights (Ironsights that make it easier to see your bearings)"

Remember, there's every possibility this is fake. I'll be looking out for more news, and hopefully an official statement from Treyarch/Activision.

Source

New Xbox 720 Rumors

New Xbox 720 (Rumored) Details!

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2012/04/02/xbox-720-detailed-blu-ray-inside-always-on-netcon-required/

It is said that the rumored Xbox 720 has been fully detailed to some third-parties of Microsoft, and it is also rumored that it will be released around Christmas time of 2013. And yes, to all of you angry about the 360 not having one, it will include a Blu-ray drive!

To simply put it, due to a recent report, the Xbox 720 WILL have a Blu-ray player/drive.

As for today, multiple sources have confirmed that the 720 will have two GPUs, one of the multiple sources state "It's like two PCs taped together."

Results on a list of the final specs are still TBC (to be confirmed), but the graphics cards are rumored to be equal to AMD's 7000 series GPUs, but"not CrossFire or SLI". However, the GPUs aren't structured normally (like a normal dual PC set-up), but the two chips take turns drawing lines for the same object: Xbox 720′s graphics units will be able to work independently, drawing separate items simultaneously. (Put in mind that the Orbis/PS3 will also be supported by AMD software).

Here are a few more bullet/quick details:

• There will be “four or six” cores to the Xbox 720 CPU, one of which will be reserved for Kinect and one for the OS.

• Xbox 720 will require an always-on internet connection as an anti-piracy measure.

• It's also been said that the next generation of Kinect will be built into the device as standard.[/list]

Also, according to a Tweet by the designer of Crytek, that the codename for the Xbox 720 is "Durango".

Adding onto all of this, no there will not be an announcement for the Xbox 720/Durango within the next year, it will be awhile.

New PS4 Information

Officially informed, Sony's next console, the PS4, should be released in the next couple of months.  To be a little more precise though, the console should be releasing in the winter-holiday era of 2013.

However, in working progress, the console has been given the name "Orbis." Not too sure about this, but the name Orbis could be giving a way a clue to Sony's intentions on the PS4. Here's a quote from an article I read pertaining this information:

"It's also a name loaded with meaning. The word "Orbis" itself, from Latin, means circle, or ring, or even orbit. Not terribly helpful. Combine it with the name of Sony's new handheld system, though, and you have the common term Orbis Vita (or, in strict Latin, Orbis Vitae). Which means "The circle of life". Could the Vita be playing a very important role in the development and use of the next PlayStation home console? Maybe!"                                                                                                        -Luke Plunkett

Now taking presented information into perspective, you can see how that would work. Taking it into consideration, like past events, work in progress have been given code names. This could be the could name for it, or it could be the final name. Who knows.

Onto the specs. From what's said to be the upcoming PS4, runs on an AMD processor (specifically the AMD Southern Islands GPU). Not to mention, the upcoming system is said to have an insane resolution of 4096x2160. This would result in an extremely, wide, and HD video sensation. As known Youtuber WoodysGamertag suggested, an EyeFinity setup (or multiple monitors) would be quite advantageous seeing as how wide the resolution is said to be set.

For those of you who are curious, this is an EyeFinity setup:

In other news of the "Orbis", backwards compatibility (like the early PS3) is said to be a no-no. Rumors say Sony isn't going to even bother trying with backwards compatibility. On the topic of games, rattling news and rumors say that Sony has no intentions on renewing the previous idea of used games. Not sure exactly how this will work, but Sony is said to be including some type of anti-used game mechanism in the console.

That's all I have for now. If I come across any new information about the upcoming Orbis, I will keep you all informed.

So what do you think about the information presented? Any pros; cons? How about specs? Do you like them?

http://kotaku.com/5896996/the-next-playstation-is-called-orbis-sources-say-here-are-the-details

Grand Theft Auto V Info Released!

As most of you already know, the release of GTA V has been hyped for months with very little information announced. However, recently, a Rockstar worker got fired for misconduct and might have let out some company secrets. The ex-worker had told his friend about said secrets and then it spread like a wildfire. The ex-workers friend had registered on the Gamespot forum and had posted a list of features that are to be included in GTA V under the user name of "Gloggle." The post was later deleted by a forum moderator, however, it was saved. Feel free to read it below:

" Hello!

I am a friend of someone who recently got sacked from RockStar North for general misconduct. Because one contract to RockStar covered everything, including secrecy, and his contractual obligaton was now removed, he was legally allowed to spill the beans on Rockstar's upcoming GTA V. And he is making damn sure everyone knows about it.

Here is the info you really want:

1. The protagonist will be one character, and one character alone. His name is (as some rumours said) Albert De Silva. He's a half hispanic man who was once part of a crime family in Vice City. He decided to settle down and have kids in Los Santos. He has one son called Kevin De Silva who is your stereotypical CoD player. He's lazy, useless and shouts racial abuse online and is really into FPS games. Kevin does admire his Dad though.

2. Multiplayer will hold 32 people on the Xbox and PS3. I wasn't told how many were able to be on the PC. Just like in RDR, players will be able to form Gangs. These gangs are not ranked through XP anymore, but via Reputation. Instead of gang hideouts, you can do jobs that range from robbing a launderette to breaking into a military base and stealing state-of-the-art weaponary. The Gang leader has much more control over his or her gang by being able to rank members of their gang and setting more specific objectives to specific members of their gang. Gangs can have their own terratory but this only applies to areas inside the city of Los Santos.

3. The map is about 5x as large as the GTA IV map and the City of Los Santos takes up just under half of this area (so it's a bit bigger than 2 GTA IV Liberty Cities).

The map is (like most GTAs) seperated into three different sections. 4. Planes are flyable, they range from World War 2 fighter planes to Private Jets.

5. Cars and guns are customisable to an extent, for example, you can cusomise a gun to have a supressor on it and you can install nitrous into cars.

Here's some stuff you might like:

1. The protagonist is the "rich guy" from the GTA V debut trailer. You get to learn more about this man in the second when he talks about his troubles. You only see the protagonist twice in the trailer. First time is the side of his face and second time is when he is driving a Deceptor (Audi R8). The people robbing the jewellery store are just with the protagonist. He is driving the van ready to get away.

2. Gunfights are more realistic. When you are shooting a gun out of a window of a car, depending on how fast it's going you will have troubles aiming due to shaking cameras.

3. The game is due in May 2013. A more specific date has not been decided because the game is still needing 6 months to be fully developed. They will have a playable demo at E3.

4. Police chases are now way more than either running or driving. Depending on how wanted you are, police may bring out riot shields and flash bangs. 5. When someone reaches 4 star wanted level, there will be a radio warning on some stations.

6. Radio stations now do traffic reports that are actually correct. So if you don't know what route to take, you can check the traffic reports on your phone or the radio. 7. The in-game TV now has many more channels

8. The protagonist DOES NOT die unlike in the last two Rockstar games.

9. The underworld actually has a working economy that you can contribute too by buying and selling drugs, weapons and illegal cars in single player.

10. The protagonist can take drugs which will have some effects. But smoking weed on the streetwalk will lead to getting a one star wanted level.

11. Police cars will go after you if you're obviousely breaking the speed limit. Having high speed crashes will also damage your health.

Wanted levels:

1 star - police follow you on foot and try to make an arrest. No sirens, no car chases (unless you are speeding).

2 star - police will still attempt to make an arrest. If a weapon is drawn then the police will begin opening fire. Police will use stun guns if a weapon is not drawn.

3 star - Chases begin and the police don't care how they stop you, they just want to do it.

4 star - road traps, radio stations and much more hostile police.Even when you have evaded them, they will still search for 24 in-game hours for someone matching your description.

5 star - shoot to kill, arrest only if it's made very possible. Even when you have evaded them, they will still search for 48 in-game hours for someone matching your description. Few missions become unavailable if you are wanted.

6 star - military vehicles come after you. Even when you have evaded them, they will still search for 72 in-game hours for someone matching your description. Some missions become unavailable if you are wanted."