thirdworldgamer

I was informed recently that the Philippines is now an Xbox Live supported region. The odd thing is, it's based on a posting by Major Nelson all the way back in October 2013: http://majornelson.com/2013/10/01/xbox-live-free-gold-weekend-this-weekend/ Starting this  Friday (4, October)  through Sunday (6, October) we’ll be unlocking Xbox Live Gold  for the below regions. If you are not a Gold Member yet, it’s a great opportunity to try Multiplayer on your favorite games. Regions include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines , Portugal, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam Your region not listed above? We’ve got your covered with the following dates: Oct. ...

I will concede...maybe IGN was right about the game's difficulty. I've got a really bad win-loss record in this game right now. After a few days I suppose the ones who live in the arcades have finally picked this one up, and they're now proceeding to decimate all the newbies in their path. Including myself. I'll admit, this game got me infuriated at times. It was about Marvel vs. Capcom 3 level infuriation. I do admire a lot of things that Namco has done with this game. Great number of characters, great number of features, the online is perfect....a lot of what they did is great, heck I'm even glad they were nice enough to put proper CG endings on most of the very large cast. And not charging for costumes is one of the best things they've ever done. But in terms of learning curve, it soon became apparent to me that this game is not for regular people like me. Well, okay, I'm still going to play this actually. I do like it. But I think I've come t...

Just picked up Tekken Tag Tournament 2 from Data Blitz the other day on launch. There has been a lot of good feedback from many gamers the world over about its netcode. Well, those gamers are in first-world countries so their connections are much better than ours over here in the Philippines, where our major telecommunications providers won't even interconnect with each other because of their business interests. Fighting game network code has not been so great for many games now, but the most recent releases like VF5FS and Persona 4 Arena have proven that it really is possible to have good online matches with fighting games. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 represents the next big evolution in online network play for fighting games. It comes with a ton of extra features just for online mode, include a detailed statistics-collecting website that connects with your game to let you know more about your own personal progress. It's a step in the right direction for the genre. While it is t...

Picked up Persona 4 Arena for the PS3 a few days ago. I've spent a little time with it and it's a great game. Atlus's Persona universe coupled with Arc System Works' grasp of fighting gameplay is a great combination. I only worry that this game will fall through the cracks, with TTT2 already due in a few weeks. Quick run through of my thoughts on it: The actual fighting game engine seems smoother than Blazblue, and the user interface is incredibly flashy. At times I find myself just admiring how good the UI is for this game. Really simple for starters. All characters get a 'Mash weak punch' combo....basically you can just press one button, and get your character to do cool things that end with a super combo. Really nice, at least for me....I've never played the arcade version so this makes it feel worthwhile even if you just play it casually. Story mode is done in Japanese 'Visual Novel' style. Will probably turn a lot of people off; it works f...

Long time no post...been busy with work but still gaming on the side when I have the time. One thing I have been trying to fix for practically months now is getting NAT TYPE 3 on my Playstation 3 when connected wirelessly via a Linksys WRT120N Router connected to Globe Telecom's PROLINK Modem/Router. NAT TYPE 2 is the ideal set up to find games online easily and to connect to more players. I'll probably update this post some time later today to clarify some things...in a rush because I'm also working... Here was my setup before: Linksys WRT120N - Has DHCP Server On - Getting an IP address from the Globe modem of 192.168.254.x Prolink Modem from Globe - Apparently also a router of some kind - The public/dynamic(?) IP address from Globe was in this device and not in the WRT120N device, as evidenced by an address that was not 192.168.x.x - Username and password was in the Prolink device. After reading a LOT of information online, including this one: http://co...

So out of curiosity I made a Japanese PSN account. In sfxtk matchmaking I noticed that, most of the time, players in Japan appear with yellow or green bars. Every other game had 0 to 1 bar. I was getting annoyed sitting there waiting for games on the Ranked Match screen half the time...so I guess this was worth a try.... Making a Japanese PSN account was easy...the form fields are almost the same as the others, and the postal code had no validation so I just put in a lot of 1's. When I looked for games in Endless Battle, all the games that appeared had yellow bars! I was able to play a lot of practically lag free games thanks to this! Some other positives: - spectator mode works! - ranked match fight request occurs very often -fewer rollbacks This is on a 2mbps Globe connection. So if you're on Globe Telecom DSL and are loathing the fact that you always get laggy games from the USA, try making a JP account. The net code really shines on good connections! I'm on PSN as takes...

It's pretty easy to review SFxTK if you play fighting games already. I wouldn't call myself a competition level player; I really just play for fun, but I wouldn't say that I don't hold my own when playing online. SFxTK is really a fun game and if you already enjoy fighting games and obssess over how to play them right, you'll surely enjoy this. If you don't enjoy fighting games, this game can try to convert you but if you don't handle losing very well, it will be the same story as other fighting games. Honestly I didn't handle losing in Marvel Vs Capcom 3 very well, which is why I didn't invest in the next game, UMvC3. Marvel can be pretty infuriating, even with all the practice you put in, it all seems to boil down to character tiers (which characters are really the 'best' in the game). Unlike with SF4 where, while tiers do matter, you'll still have a fighting chance if your opponent is not very skilled. Early on, SFxTK does not seem inf...

Just got my copy of Super Street Fighter IV from Data Blitz! Here are my impressions so far: 1. Lots of ONLINE features - after playing with my friend I was surprised to see how nearly all of our online match replays were saved automatically in the Player Data -> Battle Log channel! That was a really nice feature, that it automatically saves like that. And you can pick the ones you can save permanently 2. It will feel like Street Fighter IV 'Plus' - Essentially, it still is Street Fighter IV, which explains the lower price tag....but all the new characters and extra features make it worth it. It was nice of Capcom to charge a bit less for it. The game is really not just DLC + SFIV because of all the stuff they crammed in. 3. Netcode - I was on Globe (2 Mbps) and my friend was on Smart bro. Got 3 bars in our match. Lag was occasionally noticeable but mostly manageable. I've yet to try more than just one other player for online play, so I can't tell yet how much of an ...

More craziness abounds regarding official support for console gaming in the Philippines: http://asia.playstation.com now lists the Philippines as an officially supported country for the Playstation brand!

I was in Glorietta this evening; lo and behold...! It begins tomorrow! From the Facebook group page , here's the schedule of events for the PLAYSTATION 3 PHILIPPINE LAUNCH this weekend, March 27 to 28 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati! DAY 1: March 27, 2010 2:00pm: Official Opening of PlayStation Exhibit plus Onsite Registration for competitions (COSPLAY Fashion, COSPLAY Battlefield Competition and PlayStation Race) 3:30pm - 4:00pm: Band Performance by EEVEE 4:00 pm- 5:30 pm: COSPLAY Fashion followed by COSPLAY Battlefield 5:30pm - 6:00pm: PlayStation Race 6:00pm - 6:25: Awarding of Winners 6:00pm - 7:00pm: Band Performance by PUPIL DAY 2: March 28, 2010 10:00am – Exhibit Opens 12:00pm – Physical Registration of contestants for PSP and PS3 Games (PS3 Ridge Racer 7 / PSP Tekken : Dark Resurrection) 2:00pm – Simultaneous Elimination Games 4:30pm – Band Performance by LETTER DAY STORY 5:00pm – Celebrity Showdown 5:30pm - Finals game for PSP 6:00pm – Finals game for PS3 6:30pm...

A few weeks ago I played Infamous on the PS3. The game's premise was that there's this character who wants to figure out why he has certain superhuman abilities. At the same time, supposedly his actions in the world determine how his powers develop, and also steer the course of the storyline. Within nearly the same release period as Infamous, Activision's Prototype gets released for multiple platforms. This sparked a lot of debate on the Internet because both Infamous and Prototype have practically the same premise. Much like Infamous, Prototype has you starting out as a superhuman character who is hell-bent on finding out how exactly he became the way he is. In both games, both characters start out losing their memory [a staple theme in most video games to give the storyline something to talk about....], and completing missions in the game lets you find out more about your past and how you obtained your powers. I suppose one major difference between Infamous and Prototype ...

I got around to finishing Infamous this afternoon. I only completed it once, focused as a 'good' character. I suppose there's a lot of replay value to be had in this game considering it can be played as an 'evil' character, too. When I first fired up the game, honestly I was not very impressed by the graphics. On my setup which is running at 1080p with HDMI, I could see a whole lot of jaggies, and the framerate is incredibly inconsistent. Many times throughout the game, far-away objects are obscured by this horrible layer of grey smog, perhaps to hide a layer of pop-in with the textures and polygons. On my first five minutes in, I almost gave up on even trying to like this game. A day later, I decided to give it ago and try to finish the game, despite my dislike for the graphics. Upon finishing it today, I realized I made a good decision there. While Infamous's graphics leave a whole lot to be desired, particularly lacking in good anti-aliasing and draw distance...

(*Pictures included below. I also have a picture of the BUTTON CONFIGURATION Screen for Street Fighter IV for the Playstation 3, configured for use with the CDR-King USB Arcade Stick. This will surely be useful for anyone considering to buy the CD-R King USB Arcade Stick. Mapping the buttons on the CD-R King stick can be quite tedious, with the way SFIV is set up for button mapping.) I spent a (relatively) small amount of money on one of those generic USB Arcade Sticks that they're selling over in CD-R King (the stick cost PHP 550). The thing is, arcade sticks for the Playstation 3 have become extremely rare now that Street Fighter IV is out. Playing on the PS3 controller is workable, but gives me a sore left thumb. It's one of the hassles of living in an 'unsupported' country that I haven't got any easy access to peripherals for game consoles. Even before SFIV came out, arcade sticks for any console here in the Philippines is extremely rare, and even if they do com...

Just finished playing the Killzone 2 demo - first impressions: - Graphics are very well done; lots of stuff happening in the background, lots of explosions, particle effects, smoke, etc. 'Cinematic' is the best word to describe it. It's the first word in my mind the moment you step off into the world of the game. - Gameplay seems okay; perhaps it would be better if I had a Dual shock controller. I'm still using the Sixaxis controller that came with my PS3. - If I had one thing to complain about, it would have to be the cover system: Press L2 to cover, then... Press UP on the stick to look around (or left or right if you have to look on the left or right wall) Now, note that you CAN'T let go of L2 unless you want to leave cover. If you let go of L2, your character removes himself from cover and you're exposed again. L2 is also the CROUCH button so it gets slightly confusing for me. Now, to aim while in cover, you press L2, UP/LEFT/RIGHT, AND click the right thumb...

I found the trailer here: http://sdtekken.com/2008/12/06/new-tekken-6-bloodline-rebellion-trailer/ Impressions from Gamespot here: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/tekken6/news.html?sid=6201891

The Playstation 3 continues its steady decline into irrelevance in Japan, continuing its epic fail in the Land of the Rising Sun for the SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE WEEK. There's no doubting that Japanese gamers are starting to look for the games on the Playstation 3, and they just aren't there. http://kotaku.com/5071641/psp-tops-hardware-sales-again-ps3-sinks-to-new-low PSP Tops Hardware Sales Again, PS3 Sinks To New Low Sales of the PSP-3000 model in Japan have cooled considerably since it launched in the region, but Sony's portable sells far more than enough to retain the top spot on the Media Create hardware charts. The PSP's hardware peers all took a hit this week; the Nintendo DS drops to third, with the Xbox 360 holding steady with the week's lowest decline. The bad news continues for Sony's PlayStation 3, which suffers its worst week ever, selling just half of what its HD competition did, shedding nearly 17% of its sales week-to-week. Those LittleBigPlanet bund...

Good news for gamers in Malaysia: the Playstation 3 is going to get officially supported according to this news: http://multiplay.lowyat.net/2008/08/12/malaysia-to-have-local-sony-ps3/ "According to several of our trusty industry sources, Sony Malaysia is poised to launch the PS3 sometime in September/October. Details are still very sketchy right now, but we were made to understand that this is for REAL. Apparently, Sony is now hard at work putting everything together in place and they are doing all the necessary paperwork and groundwork to make the launch a reality. They have approached several local game distributors and our sources told us that they’ve even met with a senior executive from the Singapore office of an international game publisher recently. No word on pricing, warranty details, bundle options, etc though. Rest assured that we’ll keep you updated once we get any more solid info from our end."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/gta-iv-sets-uk-day-one-sales-records " GTA IV sets UK day one records Chart-Track has made available UK sales data for GTA IV's launch based upon actual EPoS data and retailer estimates. According to Chart-Track estimates, GTA IV first day sales were 609,000 units - eclipsing the record of 501,000 units set by GTA: San Andreas in 2004. GTA IV also set a record for first day sales Xbox 360 software, with 335,000 units . The prior record, set last September by Halo 3, was 266,000 units. GTA IV easily eclipsed the first day PS3 sales record previously held by Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, which had day one sales of 80,000 last month. The PS3 version of GTA IV sold 274,000 units in the UK on day one. These initial figures may change once Chart-Track has analysed the data in its entirety on May 6 following the UK Bank holiday."

Earlier I posted about how the PS3 is no less susceptible to hardware problems. The issue was dubbed the 'BDL' (Blu-Ray Disc Laser problem) over on Pinoyxbox by the multi-console users in the community. You'd find a lot more information about this by searching for error 80010514 and 80029906. That said, I saw this post on AICN from Moriarty ....apparently he also got hit by the BDL problem. He had the console repaired by Sony, and when he got his replacement, he was hit by another problem: he encountered an issue while updating his PS3, causing his system to get bricked. So now he's had two broken PS3s in a row, and the system has lost his recommendation as a blu-ray player system of choice for consumers: "Regarding Moriarty’s Awesome Non-Stop Blu-Ray Coverage... Or Lack Thereof! Dear Sony... Y’know, some days it doesn’t pay to be a movie fan. I’ve done tons of DVD coverage over the years here at AICN, and it’s funny... I’ve heard some people actually say, “But yo...