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By Greg, July 11, 2010 5:56 pm

Xbox 360 owners should all be aware of the awesomeness that is the Xbox Achievements system. Microsoft managed to add a passive and competitive function to video gaming and, to steal a phrase from Apple, it just works – mainly as a result of seamless integration and its simple, speedy functionality. Comparing yourself against your mates is quick and easy – the bigger number wins – and the little flash up on screen to tell you that you’ve earned a new achievement is not too annoying, particularly because you immediately know how much this will affect your score. It just adds an overall sense of satisfaction to whatever awesome thing it is that you have just performed… In some cases, you might not have even realised you did something awesome – thanks Microsoft.

Sony, of course, has their own version of achievements, released some time after Microsoft debuted them on Xbox… They refer to them as PlayStation Trophies. At its most basic, the idea is sound – trophies of varying levels (bronze, silver, gold and platinum) are awarded for certain gaming events. Each trophy is worth a certain amount of points (based on the level of trophy), and after a certain amount of these points, you “level up”. It seems simple enough, and it’s not too far removed from the idea behind Xbox achievements… But why do I care so little when I score myself a trophy? Let’s investigation!

Continue reading 'Trophies could be more fun'»

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By Greg, June 17, 2010 7:34 pm

Also at E3, Sony announced a new Playstation Network scheme – a paid program separate to (or at least integrated within) the existing network. They’re calling this Playstation Plus. Essentially, the Playstation Network as it is will remain, so they are not suddenly charging for something that has been free to date. They are charging for, well… icing on the cake, basically.

Continue reading 'Playstation… Plus? [UPDATED]'»

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By Greg, June 17, 2010 7:24 pm

They pretend it wasn’t, but this year’s E3 was all about hardware. Microsoft presented Kinect, Sony demonstrated Move, and Nintendo announced their 3DS. Each, in their own way, claimed that the hardware was secondary to the software, yet still allowed a great deal of time discussing the hardware in their presentations. This is not a bad thing – without hardware, we wouldn’t have software. And really, Nintendo said it best – regardless of the hardware, the base experience matters most, and this is entirely dependent on how well the software is designed to be used with the hardware. It’s nice to see someone wasn’t just having a go at everyone else’s tech (looking at you, Sony – but I have to admit you made me laugh). So what was presented?

Continue reading 'E3 2010 impressions: Hardware'»

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By Greg, October 8, 2009 10:14 pm

This week, Sony’s PSPgo was released upon the world. Opting for a system based on downloads alone, it could prove to be a bit of a risk for Sony. At first, I was excited by the idea – finally someone was going balls-out and diving head-first in to the deep, dark (and largely unknown) waters of digital distribution. But after some careful consideration, I’m not so sure. I think Sony might have overestimated the demand, and underestimated the needs of consumers.

Continue reading 'PSPgo away, come again another day (when you’re done cooking)'»

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By Greg, August 16, 2009 9:22 pm

If you’re an expat like me (sorry, technically I’m an EX-expat), or if you’re into importing, then it’s possible you don’t own your region’s PS3. Me — I own a Japanese PS3, and live in Oz. Generally, this doesn’t cause any issues, as PS3 games are (thankfully) region-free (although it can be a pain when purchasing BluRay movies).

However, there may come a time when you try to load up a new game, and the screen flashes with "Content cannot be displayed at the current video output settings." Now what the hell does this mean???

Continue reading 'PS3 video issues – game won’t play! Easy (but expensive) fix…'»