Cigol

I've not completed the game yet, but I think the difficulty is exaggerated. It can definitely be frustrating but I wouldn't say that it's difficult. You learn from your mistakes and then it's actually rather straightforward, if not easy, and there's usually always someone you can call upon to help you through using the co-op feature. I do miss the feeling I had when I first started the game up and the world seemed vast, alien and ultra-hard though. I remember falling off a ledge into a place I'd not yet explored and began shitting myself with fear, tip-toeing around trying to avoid my inevitable death. Good times! ...but the world seems a little too familiar now so it's lost a bit of its mystique, if not atmosphere.

You can see a little video of one of them working; http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/03/philips-dimenco-3d-tv-of-the-glasses-free-future-hopefully-our/ ...it actually looks kind of cool.

I have no intention or means of buying a 3DTV in the near future, but I also had no intention or means of buying a HDTV, PS3, flat panel LCD/TV (etc) when they were originally announced... at a stretch I guess I'll eventually own a 3DTV, hopefully without the glasses but if not so what? I found it interesting Ueda says the original ICO and Shadow of the Colossus were made with 3D in mind () but that the Last Guardian he is still unsure about. That's just... odd. But apart from the games already mentioned GT5 will have 3D and is apparently a really good showcase for 3D use in games. There already are, but I doubt they'll work with the PS3. They might work differently for people sitting off-centre as well - or at least I've read that, don't know if it's true. *They do look like those glasses you see old ladies wear.

Unless you've got a bunch of other stuff to play through I'd get an import copy from video gamesplus.ca rather than wait. Delivery to the UK took exactly a week and they are reliable - I've used them for the MLB The Show games. What I've heard of the original Persona sounds quite interesting, stuff like apparently being able to talk your way out of any battle - but as far as the SMT series is concerned I have no idea. I've only ever played Persona 3, 4 and P3P (which is a little different to its PS2 version in how streamlined it is, not to mention the additional content). They have another game coming out called Catherine which I think is a trial run for their next big Persona title. Looks a little odd, you should check it out as those graphics (if they are real time) look like they'd do a new Persona game justice.

I hadn't experienced any of those bugs either so that was a surprise to read - but glad to see you've overcome the glitches and the mission The beginning is more difficult than the missions that immediately follow for some reason, but there is a sort of puzzle element to some of the later missions that will typically require you to retry a couple of times - so prepare yourself mentally. Once you've got used to its quirks such as engagement distances and stuff like that I found it a lot of fun to just replay missions going through the motions. This is actually part of the games strategy though. Placing your units into good positions to fire upon the enemy in the same way they defensively fire at you can make all the difference. Setting ambushes with shocktroopers can be devastating for example, whilst scouts are good for stopping enemy advances if you have them overlooking wide expanses. Again it's the sort of thing you get a feel for once you've played it for a bit longer. Of course most of the time you'll be on the defensive, trying to make the best of the command points you have to balance attack without leaving your units open to easy enemy counter-attacks.

Now that I've completed the singleplayer campaign and given up any hope of winning ladder matches online I'd be more than willing to serve as cannon fodder for your amusement. Count me in. *I don't think I'm that bad actually, just lowering expectations because skill differential in this game is so painfully obvious. Not me, no. That guy seems to be good!

The only problem I've had on PS3 is the really slow menus. Sometimes you press start and you are waiting and waiting but nothing happens, and with no indication it just pops up all of a sudden.

Directed by Edgar Wright, therefore you should!

Oh yeah, it probably helps to steal the mech first... forgot about that. I thought that was pretty straightforward as well myself, it was the second mission (I described) which although wasn't difficult, it felt like it was going to be difficult since it's a big map with different stages and you might be confused (as I was) as to how to approach it. Looking back though, it's really the same deal... except you prioritise cordoning off the rightmost chokepoint instead - with supply depots, a bunker, and a couple of missile silos to take out the vikings (which tend to land right next them, so you'll want something to take them out). Attacking with 2 or 3 SCV's, air support, and using spectres/ghosts with nuke ability make it easy enough - but again the order you tackle the mission probably dictates that. I wish. I'm a wuss so I play on normal. Starcraft is the only game capable of reducing me to tears.

Perhaps skip that mission until you've maxed out your tech-trees? Having auto-refineries, drop down supply depots, bunkers with turrets (which are good at soaking up pressure), orbital command with MULES... and stuff like that will help a lot. Also remember that the enemy attacks you in the same way with the same unit composition every single time. So after the initial attack if you prepare for it you shouldn't have any problems defending against it again. Cordoning off your base to the left is a must - since they will attack there continually. A single thor and some ground units with medics and/or a medivac will kill the attack dead, but you should wall it in with supply depots to be safe. The enemy will also send vikings from directly above your command centre. Two missile silos, and a thor will deal with them. Try not to build too near the ledge, otherwise they can just land on it and then you'll need an air unit (hidden off to the right) to spot them for your units. Remember to have an scv go around repairing after each attack, and that your units can be repaired too. Make a new base on the mineral field Tychus and the two thors take (and secure the immediate area around) then set up a couple of bunkers with auto-turrets further up the road near the T-junction. Stick one or two SCVs with auto repair on just behind and they should be able to kill and survive any attacks. Then you just build up minerals, make masses of air units, and some siege tanks (4 is more than enough), set up defences around each transmitter, make the transmission, move on... repeat... I'm sure there are better ways of doing it (especially ones that are quicker) but this worked for me.

Played the demo. Loving the audio; both music and sound effects, but particularly enjoyed the extra layer of polish when transitioning from ground level into the tunnel and back outside. Little things like that I wasn't expecting, and surprisingly it seems to have enough flair and added detail to make it feel fresh and exciting despite being unashamedly derivative and retro. Didn't really get the 'slow' argument made earlier either, especially when you use the power ups Ramona has. I can see it getting repetitive, but then as Tanu already said; that's brawlers down to a tee. Still, based on the demo it seems to be inventive enough to keep things interesting as you progress.

Taken from GT5's photomode, obviously, but just goes to show the absolutely ridiculous levels of detail they've put into it. New to GT5 is a 'Course Creator' that allows you to generate a full course from scratch using sliders and drop down selections. You can alter various settings such as course length, weather, time of day, banking, frequency of curves, number of sectors, course type (one-way or loop), sharpness of corners (etc). You can then personalise the generated track by individually editing each sector (so one sector can have a long straight, the others twisty hairpins, etc). These tracks are then shareable online and apparently generate very quickly. When I first heard the rumour I was honestly expecting nothing more than the ability to arrange some cones around on a test track. Mind boggling when you consider the game will supposedly have something like 70+ unique tracks (on release!). They've also announced B-Spec mode which is a driver management feature carried over from GT4 and expanded upon. In it you get to be a team boss and can hire and develop up to a maximum of 6 drivers with differing personalities and abilities. Instead of driving yourself, you watch the race live and use pre-set radio commands to manage your drivers throughout (such as asking them to pit, pushing them, calling them off). You can monitor tyre wear, positions, timings (etc) from something called the command hub; Online mode also looks interesting with a new hub for each individual player that allows as many as 32 players to connect, but only 16 at any one time to race; "In My Lounge, it is possible to set race regulations and tracks of your choice, and hold racing events with your friends. Up to 16 players can participate in the race, and even if you are not in the race yourself, you can watch it through a variety of race cams. You can also participate in free runs before the start of the race." Game will also have dynamic weather, day & night cycle, full damage system with deformation and mechanical failures, skidmarks (finally?)... and lots of other stuff I forget and was announced long ago. Game sounds absolutely bloody amazing.

From reading this at kotaku it sounds more like they appropriated the license and stuck it on top of a game already in development.

From Shitaku;

They developed it sure, but are the core guys responsible still there is what I'm getting at. When I hear people comment on AI, or get excited over rumours of the X-COM license, and refer back to SWAT 4 it's a little irksome since the AI in Bioshock was comparatively very poor.

Valkyria Chronicles; v6T4Scs91Ds W5lzJtR4PYE caR0qyLtr7E *same as above without the vocals.

When people say Irrational created SWAT 4 is that strictly true? Seems a waste if those guys are still there working on stuff like Bioshock. The stuff on RPS painted her as a vulnerable but powerful assist, sort of like your companion in one of the recent (painfully dull) Prince of Persia's.

It's against their terms and conditions, not a criminal offence. I suspect you won't be the first person to resort to it either. Do you know anyone else who owns a PS3 or are you the only cool person in Jordan? Because I'm sure your fellow countrymen know the best and cheapest way to go about it. I read a lot about people using PSN cards and buying from these foreign stores all the time though, so it must be pretty common. There's also game sharing which is another (if messier) option.

I think everyone feels the same way, but there's obviously some boring reason for it all.

I've read you can buy PSN cards online and instead of waiting for it to be delivered they simply email the code to activate it*. So there's that. I'm not sure if the entropy (digital credit) card stuff still works though, as PSN was recently altered going off the amount of complaining on neogaf, so probably worth checking if that's the case. I've never used either option so I don't know how they work, or if they work. [/disclaimer] *just did a quick check on video gamesplus.ca where I occasionally import PS3/PSP games from and they do the PSN card stuff online, but its for canadian accounts only... so you just have to find a US site who does the same.

If it's the same mission I think it is, then it's best if you can get as far ahead as possible and do as much damage before he gets stuck in. I think from the moment the mission starts you can run ahead and open the door before he normally does it. I had trouble there as well, but the race-car mission was really only difficult for me the first time around simply because I had a low framerate. After I upgraded my computer it wasn't an issue, but I must have attempted it about 600 million times prior to that.

I'm getting more of a Prince of Persia vibe myself.

Mafia II: tweaking PhysX Link above might be helpful to those playing on the PC. I gained some FPS from my single GPU, 2GHZ setup and was able to run with PhysX set to medium.

That pinball game is extremely good actually. It's one of my favourite PS3 games. I spent so much time playing the demo that I eventually decided to buy it and haven't looked back - so I would definitely recommend you give it a shot. Can't say I've played any of the other stuff listed though. My understanding is that you lose the full games, but downloadable content, and other small stuff like that, you can keep even after your subscription has ended.But unless they have online checks for the games you download I wonder how they can police it. Maybe if you've already downloaded and activated it on the PS3/PSP it's yours to keep and play until such time you need to re-download it? It's not for me either way, but would be better if that's the case. It feels poorly thought out considering the amount of time and freedom they've had to launch it, and how it stacks up for people who buy everything worth buying on PSN. Obviously early days but I can only see it getting messier!