Revitalizing PlayStation 3

I have been a lot more appreciative of the PlayStation brand as a whole for the last ten years despite my first experience with it being in late 1997. With PS3, it was something my family got into in 2012 and had on and off spans of playing it until early October of 2016. Prior to that, the last time I really was playing it was that April and gaming also took a backseat somewhat that summer. I played some stuff like Blasto and the original Zelda, but nothing too substantial. Getting back into PS3 revitalized an interest in playing it and playing games a lot more.

The game that kicked it off for me was Ducktales Remastered. I bought it that summer and didn't get into until the start of October. I don't know what drove me to play it, but I did and blew through it within a couple of days, beating it on every difficulty, unlocking everything as well. Immediately after that, I revisited Back to the Future, the last game I really played on there that April. Went back and got the rest of the trophies I missed out on. Definitely felt good to get back into the system.

I played the original Uncharted a very tiny bit when my family got the PS3, but at this point with revisiting, played through it all. Got every treasure and every trophy. The hardest difficulty was not anything to take lightly. In between that was Madden 13, Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing, and Wolfenstein 2009, either starting with getting trophies or cleaning up a little bit on ones I missed. Not too long before completing the trophy list for Uncharted, I got back into Jetpack Joyride, a fun phone type game that can be rather addictive and played on my own profile Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12. One of the last games I played that month was Splatterhouse 2010 and got back into that during that October and November.

During this time, I would flip flop between both PS3 and Xbox 360 up until I bought my PlayStation 4 in June 2017. I also found myself getting back into doing YouTube at the very end of 2016 and doing videos on a consistent basis in 2017. Without this revitalization, I don't know how much more gaming I would have done or stuck to older hardware. PlayStation 3 may not be the best system out there of all time, but getting back into it will hold a special place for me for the rest of my life. 

No More PlayStation Movies

This is more of a take on why I think this happened. Yesterday was the last day you could buy movies, TV shows, and specials on PlayStation 4 and 5. With PS3 and Vita, I'm not sure. I can assume yes, but will have to look into it deeper. Sony announced the disbanding back in the spring. I'm not sure there is an honest answer you can find in why this occurred. Digital is a big thing now these days. This was in service for a long time. If there was a big guess, probably competition.

With PlayStation and Xbox, you have access to many services. Those services have gotten bigger and bigger within the last decade. Hulu is a great example. Small potatoes ten years ago and now are one of the biggest names for streaming with acquired content and new stuff coming in. Obviously Netflix is still one of the kings of it, though its lost some steam. The major prime time networks and conglomerates have their hand in the pie. Disney, NBC, Viacom. You're getting more meatier content and much more access compared to PlayStation.

I don't know how digital renting worked for it. If I had to assume, a couple days and that was it. I'm not sure many people liked that idea. Even with digital, you want to have a film or show and keep it and re-download whenever. And probably the selection was not a strong point despite having big name properties. Why buy Fast and Furious when I can see all of them on Peacock?  Probably back in the late 2000s, it was serviceable and there wasn't much to worry about. Now these days, Sony saw the writing on the wall.

Does that mean Sony has given up on the concept? Maybe. If nothing new materializes in a year, I would say yes. That's not to say they won't return to this, but they'd probably would choose the right time to do a video store again. The PS4, I can kind of understand, but not PS5. For now, Xbox kind of has a slight advantage despite having other streaming services on that console. This however will not dictate a console war that some people obsess about. 

GTA Online Shutdown: 7th Gen

I look at GTA V as the last really huge title for the seventh generation of gaming before the new PlayStation and Xbox systems came about. This was a showcase of the 360 and PS3's power and would get online not too long after it released in September 2013. The trend of online shutdowns has continued the last couple of years. Rockstar is intending to shut GTA Online for 360 and PS3 in mid December with currency not being allowed to be bought in September.

It's not a shocker, but I am a little surprised. I would have figured another year. Then again, Halo on 360 is shutting down at the end of the year for all of its games. I am struggling to think of games that aren't Call of Duty that still would have online. But I'm sure there still is a decent amount. It brings together a large discussion on what happens with games once the online is gone. GTA would be fine given its single player content. Offline modes for other games. Then you have something like Destiny or Titanfall. I'll be curious about backlash if it gets really high on criticism.

Rockstar is also shutting down online for Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire. For Max, that did have online multiplayer. Tried it in 2015 with no success in finding a game. L.A. Noire's stuff is related to Social Club, which all three games will lose. Keeping track of stats in accomplishing cases and finding collectibles. The numbers could still be decent on other games and apps. I just question if stuff will be done by 2022 or 2023. It's not like PS3 or 360 were abandoned that quickly. 

What do you think? How much longer until online ceases on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3? The inevitable will happen. Like I said, GTA V online is not a huge shock. Enjoy what you can before it is gone in December for those two systems.

PS3 Returns... Sort Of

This was a 180 today. A few weeks ago, Sony announced the shutdown of the PlayStation 3 store along with the Vita and PSP. If I'm judging it, I wasn't surprised. My thought was around this period of time where it would be shutting down. In a blog from CEO Jim Ryan, they have reversed course. For now, PS3 and Vita stores will still be open. However, the PSP one will be shut in July.

Just because they will stick around for longer, doesn't mean others' worry and a couple of my blogs will be wrong.  It will happen one day. Same with the 360, 3DS, Wii U, what have you. I'm still a little confused about the PSP storefront shutting down. I thought it closed in 2016. Unless I read something wrong, maybe there was something that allowed you to still buy games on its store. Whatever the case, it's a 16 year old system and wouldn't get hurt too much. A very good chunk of its library can by found physically and a number of the digital stuff are games that most will not care much about. Not all, but a decent amount.

The Vita not getting the shaft is a win. Out of the three, this one was what was going to suffer the most due to a huge part of its library being digital only. To go along with the system being a failure, it isn't easy to amass games for it. Of course, that and PS3 have games that garner attention a lot more than PSP from a digital only standpoint. Still, I'd save up a bit to get titles, but not in a panic type of mind now. Look for the ones that are digital only first and keep an eye on prices of physical copies versus the digital ones. Makes a difference in spending six to ten dollars and spending 50 or more.

Enjoy while it lasts.

Tips for PS3, PSP and Vita Digital

This should go without saying, but this topic will have meaning until July 2nd for PlayStation 3 and PSP. Vita on August 27th. If you still like this blog piece after that, feel free to keep clicking as this will apply to other competitors as well. Let's begin.

People are going to want games digitally for PS3, PSP, and Vita. I got a few tips on what to do. 

1. Look for digital only first. I'm not saying you should ignore the physical stuff that were also digital first, but the ones that were digital only should be looked into. These are what you lose for good when a store shuts down. Getting stuff like a Life is Strange and House of the Dead 4 should be a priority. Find what you may like and get it while you can. 

2. Go digital if a physical copy is impossible or expensive. This will apply to PS1 and PS2 games digitally as well. It would be easier to get Silent Hill on PSN because it's not a 70 dollar game. For six dollars, hell yeah. You can easily get into some Turbografx stuff due to it flopping back in the 90s and games not being easy to find for both availability and price. Even some of the Sega stuff can be easily gotten like Sonic CD and Nights into Dreams. For PS3, PSP, and Vita, keep eye on where the prices are for physical releases. It's up to you to determine whether or not you go the physical or digital route for a specific game.

3. Is DLC and online relevant to a game? If it's stuff like costumes and microtransactions, I would hold on to your cash. If you think it's a priority to get additional content such as extra levels, side games, that's what I would focus on. Be weary of online as both PS3 and Xbox 360 have been shutting down servers of games and will continue to do so. Buy at your own risk, especially for stuff like this.

4. Use the Search feature. There is a misconception that games are deleted off of PS1 Classics and other sections. While true in some cases, people do not want to search. When using that feature, you can look for the game that was supposedly deleted. Don't assume quickly a game was taken off.

If you think there's other tips that should be said about shopping digitally for PS3, PSP, and Vita, leave a comment. Making the experience easier and smoother should be something we should aim for. 

Supposed PS Store Shutdown

I've never heard of this website called TheGamer. Looking at responses of people who asked about their credibility, it seems like they don't. A lot of clickbait from the sounds of it, and this one might be like that, but I'm not sure. An unnamed source talked to the site and said Sony is looking to shut down their PlayStation Stores on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation Vita. PS3 and PSP supposedly in July and Vita in August. It's not the first to be like that. Nintendo shut down their DS store in 2017 and the Wii Shop Channel two years later.

A lot of people are upset. Unfortunately, a lot are taking it as if it is fact without knowing there isn't any source or the clickbait nature of TheGamer. There is reason for concern, though. Along with the Xbox 360, there were many games on PS3 that you weren't getting on disc. Whatever legion of games that are still there are lost for good if it were be shut down. Same with DLC's. With PS3, if this is to be true, this was to be expected. I'm not sure what the deal is with PSP since its storefront was shut in 2016. You can get games for it via PS3 and Vita, but you have to dig deep and do a search, something I don't think most will use. Vita I can't really discuss, but it's been dead for a long time. That would probably be the worst thing to happen since you can't find many titles physically and a ton over the last five years or so have been digital.

The unnamed source said the announcement would be made at the end of the month. Take it with a grain of salt since it is a clickbait situation. If it were to be true, get what you can, but wait to hear what a legitimate group has to say. How you play games for systems DS and up will definitely be different as the online capabilities get closer to death. Preservation is a much bigger deal in recent memory since 2016, 17. Emulation is not great for these systems and won't for a good while. If to what is alleged is true, I'll definitely target some stuff you should get. But let's see what occurs and if Sony says if they have plans for it or not. Xbox could be in this situation in the next year or two as well.

Beyond: Two Souls Review

Although they have been around since 1997, Quantic Dream has only made a handful of titles, the latest being this year's Detroit: Become Human. They have been around in Sony's corner the last eight years with the first being Heavy Rain. The second of the group, Beyond: Two Souls, came around in the fall of 2013 as a late release on PlayStation 3 and a few years later on PlayStation 4, which is what I am playing it on. As far as this release was, it stayed in that David Cage style of being a cinematic movie while having it still be a video game.

You are Jodie Holmes and you experience a lot of her life from when she was a kid up to her 20s. She's no ordinary person as she has an entity beside her. This entity, Aiden, causes a lot of stuff for her that sets off a lot of events and a lot of analysis. Without getting too much into explaining the story, it's an interesting sci-fi plot and you make the choice of doing right and wrong. It's up to you how things go and they also pull in some good surprises and twists.

Two Souls has you playing as both Jodie and Aiden. This is a single player game, but can be a two player one, which was not tried at the time of this review. As Jodie, you can perform various actions when prompted. There is some freedom with her, but a lot of what you do comes from pressing certain buttons, quick time events, and a few other knick knacks. Switching to Aiden is simple. This entity can do a few things to people and even Jodie herself. They vary a little bit and they do a good job of not going overboard with what can be done during the game.

Graphically, it's surprisingly excellent. Whatever Quantic Dream did, they did a great job capturing the characters and areas. It seems very real and authentic. One of the selling points was in its audio, mainly voice acting. I'm not huge on Ellen Page and think she's overrated, but she held her own as Jodie. Add in Willem Dafoe as Professor Nathan Dawkins and a few others portraying other characters, and the voicing is not half bad. Given what the developers intentions are, it's a Hollywood type production, but in video game form.

There's not much else really to say. It's a little over 20 chapters. You can replay them any way you want it and there are options to play either chronologically or what they intended through specific parts of Jodie's life first. As I said, you make the choice of doing right and wrong. A lot of the trophies are earned in a specific way and then you can come back for the other option. There are a lot of endings. Overall, it's a decent balance between being a video game and being an interactive film. My only complaint is some of the quick time events. Some of the moments come off a little rushed and almost require you to have your decision half a second before you press what you think should work. It's trial and error, but still.

With that aside, Beyond: Two Souls is pretty good. An interesting story with above average audio and stunning graphics, it plays fine without any huge bugs or glitches. Out of the two at the time, I would play this over Heavy Rain, though that one isn't that bad.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Medal of Honor Frontline (PS3) Review

One series I grew to love when it debuted was the Medal of Honor games. A favorite and one of my first PlayStation 2 titles was Frontline. It did everything right and expanded on what a World War II and first person shooter game should be. This was a surprise to see it remastered for just the PlayStation 3 as a bonus for the 2010 Medal of Honor release. Nothing changed with the gameplay, but it was more of a cosmetic change with the graphics. It's still a fun game.

Frontline had you returning as Jimmy Patterson in missions that took place before and in between missions in the first game. There are six missions combined for 19 levels. Each mission has about three or four. Following tradition, you are doing objectives to beat the level and stop the Nazi war machine. It takes you to a few places in Europe like D-Day in France, and some unique locale in Holland. Unlike other games in the series at the time, it followed with one huge mission broken into several.

The only thing EA changed was its graphics. As far as areas and backgrounds go, it is a bit of an improvement. That being said, the characters and enemies have a mix of both PS2 and PS3 quality. Not bad, but could be worse. Audio was not changed at all. It's still the same music, sound effects and voices. And it sill delivers on what it did in 2002 by creating a great war environment that lets you soak in that era of action and heartbreak.

Combat is really realistic but still plays like a video game. Various weaponry from the series come in the forms of M1 Garands and STG 44's just to name a few. They function quite well and provide enough firepower for Patterson. You have to be a little bit careful as ammo may not always be available for one particular weapon in a level. Health is still the same. Instant kills come from grenades and bazookas. The same ways of healing are back

Enemies are a bit more ferocious compared to the PS1 counterparts. They will put up a fight and will use various strategies to take you down. Controlling Patterson is a breeze and the game offers a decent amount of schemes for your liking. Level designs are smart and know how to convey a battle with allies and being on your own. It doesn't stray from what the original intentions were with the series at that time. Do well and you earn a star. Get a gold in every level of a mission to earn a medal.

There are a few difficulty modes with the hard one being brutal. It's pretty fair without being cheap. Options include cheats, changing audio and subtitles, and a password section. You can watch stuff in a gallery once you beat missions or view performances and medals in the records section. Saving is a breeze with autosaving, but saving manually is an option.

I only have a few complaints. With this version, the audio can skip sometimes or not load up after pausing, but that was rare. Videos after beating the last level of a mission were not synced. My only other complaint is something that I never liked on the original version and that was the dying aspect. Getting killed meant restarting the level from the beginning. A number of them take a good half hour to do and without means of saving can be frustrating sometimes.

Frontline is not something I would really recommend, but it is an alternative to other World War II games. I would give it at least a playthrough. This is still a nice game to have and it still plays well.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

Investing in Last Generation Consoles

No doubt, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are about finished. There might still be a couple titles coming out for each of those systems, but when, I don't know. Most stores will try to get whatever remaining stock they have of the older systems software, so with that in mind, let's get into the main discussion. Should you be going after the last generation consoles?

Personally, I would get into it now. There are a lot of titles that you can find for relatively low prices, especially for some of the base games. One of these examples is Grand Theft Auto IV. Not every store will be like this, but I saw it at GameStop for practically nothing. You can find a lot for PS3 and 360 for 20 dollars and under. There are exceptions like Ghostbusters from Atari and even kids games like Toy Story 3. For the most part however, the local stores and some GameStops should be fair enough with these two systems, both hardware and software.

What about Nintendo systems? To be honest, it's hard to discuss this company. The systems they have are the hardest to deal with due to expensive prices. No average person is going to waste 60 dollars on an N64 Mario Kart or a GameCube Smash Bros. Melee. For the Wii, it might be an exception for now. If you're dead set on getting that system, invest now on those games that are coveted. Odds are most of the shovelware and certain ports will stay very low, while something like a Zack and Wiki or Metroid Prime Trilogy will get higher prices. I wish I would recommend getting the system purely on the Virtual Console and its physical library, but with Nintendo shutting down the ability to add Wii Points in March, I can't put it high on the must buy list.

With handhelds, it shouldn't be too bad. The problem is finding all sorts of licensed junk. That is one of my gripes with the Game Boy Advance. It seemed like the later half of its life was littered with just about every Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network show getting a game adaptation if it weren't a 16-bit port. The DS still has that problem, but there's still a rich library that you can have. Outside of some Nintendo games, it shouldn't be cost prohibitive. Try finding them at the local used stores. Finding them in the cases is critical.

In regards to the PSP, it's going to be very tough. Despite 70 million in hardware sold, it's library had a tough time finding audiences. Your best bet is seeing if the local used stores have them. Even then, it could be slim pickings with some baseball titles, a Syphon Filter game, and maybe some UMD movies typically seen in a small section. I'm not sure if price will be a huge problem as much as finding any games. You can still download some games, but not on a PSP. More so with a Vita or maybe PS3 if you can find anything or if they are compatible such as PS1 Classics.

Wolfenstein 3D (PS3) Review

With Thanksgiving out of the way, it's time to get back on track with new blogs and reviews. Wolfenstein 3D made its way to the PlayStation 3 around 2009. The closest version that resembled the PC original was the Game Boy Advance version in 2001, but suffered quite a bit in a few aspects. While this isn't a perfect port, it's a great one considering how well some of the Doom ports were handled on other systems and that not many played the other versions.

As in the original, you are B.J. Blazkowicz. A spy for the Allies in World War II, he is thrown into a prison cell. Now he must find a way out of Castle Wolfenstein and finish his mission of stopping a new form of weapon capable of Germany winning the war. He also had other missions, which included stopping a general hell bent on wanting chemical warfare. Id Software has never been good with stories, but it's doable here and competent without sounding over the top.

Nothing changed with Wolfenstein 3D's graphics. Everything is the same. The textures, enemy appearances, and animations all follow the PC original. It looks a little primitive today, but still a technical achievement considering how computers were back around 1991 and 92. Audio, while the same, is a bit different. The music goes at a slower pace, and the sound effects and voices are lower pitched. That's the thing with porting over computer games from a long time ago. You don't know how well they will be on modern systems.  It's not anything to worry, but purists might not like it. Still, it's not as big as Doom, so caution is needed when encountering enemies since they can attack from behind without you knowing.

As for the gameplay itself, nothing changed. As Blazkowicz, you have to find your way out of a floor by finding an elevator exit. Typically, there is a key or multiple keys to find scattered in a level. Find those and you can get out and do the same thing again and again. There are six episodes with 60 levels altogether. Nine regular levels are in each one and a secret one as well. The end of each episode features a boss and defeating it either gets a key to finish the level or you get an interesting death cam showing the boss dying again.

The controls are simple. Analog sticks control your movement. Upper shoulder buttons allow running and using weapons. Face buttons switch weapons and do stuff like open doors, push walls, and exit a level. All four weapons are present. The guns share the same ammo, so caution is needed and strategy is important before holding down the button and going on a rampage of 10 plus bad guys. Speaking of which, the roll call includes dogs, officers, and SS. There are a few other interesting ones, but overall, you're seeing the same ones over and over. You got health and lives, so healing includes medkits, (which were altered because of the Red Cross complaining) dinner plates of chicken, and even dog food. There are a few other methods of healing, but it's usually when health is very, very low. Lose a life, you are stuck with a pistol and 8 rounds. Lose all lives and you are sent back to the title screen It plays like most other genres since you're scoring points for beating the par time, collecting treasure that is scattered around, killing enemies, and how well you did a level. Do well enough, (which you will) and you can put your name on the high score list.

Wolfenstein 3D's level designs are not altered. They are the same as they were in 92. Anybody with excellent memory will know where the enemies are and when to attack. You do feel like you are in the bowels of Germany. There are a lot of Nazi stuff on the walls, which is a big negative for the country. It has a labyrinth look at times, but it's smart with placing enemies, their movements and when they go after you if they hear shots. Finding all the secrets gives the game a little bit of replayability. Maybe the first time, you didn't get everything, but you could the second time or whenever you want to play. Options include changing volumes of music and sounds, screen size change, and loading and saving games.

As I said, it's not a perfect port. It's still easy to get lost, especially in some of the later levels of the game. There might be times where the game is unforgiving, but it's not like they deliberately made it that way. I noticed the movement being a little slower, but I'm not too bothered by it. Other than those complaints along with maybe enemies sneaking up on you, it's still a great port. You are going to get some hours out of this, whether just going through the levels, trying to beat the par times, or seeing how quick you get 100 percent on every level. Check out Wolfenstein 3D on PS3. It's very cheap for a digital download. You will not be disappointed with the content.