PlayStation 4 Officially Revealed!

There's been many rumors about Sony's nextgen video game console. They invited us to "See the Future" on February 20th and everything pointed to that PlayStation 4 would make its first appearance. And I was very excited and a little nervous for the PlayStation Meeting 2013. It's always a special feeling when a new video game console is announced. I remember the last times it happened, and it's a wonderful feeling.

Today was the day everyone's been looking forward to. It was an exciting day for gamers everywhere. And it didn't take long before Sony revealed PlayStation 4 live to millions of gamers across the world. This next-generation console will deliver breakthrough gaming experiences for fans starting this holiday season.

PlayStation 4 is centered on all the gamers. It redefines rich and immersive gameplay with powerful graphics and speed, intelligent personalization, deeply integrated social capabilities, and innovative second-screen features. When Sony designed PlayStation 4, they focused on building an architecture that will allow the greatest game developers in the industry to push boundaries and dig deep within their imaginations to create the most immersive and unique games for gamers to enjoy.

The PS4 Games

The future of PlayStation is all about great games and entertainment, and at PlayStation Meeting 2013, Sony brought some of the brightest and most creative minds from the development community on stage to unveil the games that will define PS4. A partial initial lineup for PlayStation 4 includes first-party games from Guerilla Games (Killzone: Shadow Fall), Sucker Punch (inFAMOUS: Second Son), Evolution Studios (DriveClub), and Japan Studio (Knack), as well as titles from partners such as Activision/Bungie (Destiny), Blizzard Entertainment (Diablo III), Capcom (Deep Down), and Ubisoft (Watch_Dogs). PlayStation also reinforced its commitment to self-publishing and the independent development community by having Jonathan Blow onstage who gave a sneak peek of his upcoming title The Witness. Finally, the incredible minds at Media Molecule and Quantic Dream gave glimpses of their conceptualization process and the future of gameplay with some remarkable footage. Sony only scratched the surface at the event, and will have many more exciting titles to come.

With so much amazing content in development for PlayStation 4, the fans will get every opportunity to check out virtually any PS4 game when it becomes available. In the future, when a gamer sees a title of interest in PlayStation Store, they can immediately start playing a portion of the actual game.

DualShock 4

The new DualShock controller to PS4 has been redesigned and now features a more rounded form factor as well as what appears to be a slightly rubberized grip. The new, built-in sensor provides a highly sensitive motion controller. You can interact with games like never before thanks to the touchpad on the controllers' front panel. Sound effects are played back through a built-in speaker, and headset jack. You can both hear the game sound and chat with friends. The dual analog sticks on the controller have improved and got better precision. With the new, curved L2 and R2 buttons, you get even more control.

You will instantly be able to share images and videos of your favorite gameplay moments on Facebook with a single press on the DualShock 4 controller’s new SHARE-button. You can also broadcast while you play in real-time through Ustream, allowing friends to comment or jump into your game in new ways. This new feature will change the way you interact with friends while you play.

An LED Light Bar on the controller's top matches the color of the characters in the game so that players can keep track of each other. You can, for example, also see when a character has been damaged. The new Light Bar isn't just a way to identify your player number. It also works like a PS Move. Another reason that the Move functionality was incorporated into the DualShock 4 is to enable the console to know where you're sitting in relation to the TV, and your on-screen character. 

PlayStation 4 Eye

A new camera has been developed in conjunction with the controller, and it tracks the position of the DualShock 4 via the LED Light Bar. The PlayStation 4 Eye comes with a pair of 1280x800 cameras, four microphones and an 85-degree field of view. The two lenses are designed to be used in a variety of ways, including triangulating the 3D space, gesture recognition, Kinect-style body tracking, and in conjunction with accessories like the Wonderbook or DualShock 4 controller. The original PlayStation Eye camera only has one lens, and it had to do everything. With the new unit, one camera will concentrate on capturing the action and ensuring good picture quality, while the other is dedicated to motion tracking. Sony is also aiming to enable users to take 3D pictures and video and store it on the console. As for the microphones in the new PS Eye and how that'll impact interaction with the PlayStation 4 on a system level isn't known at this time. Though it'll be incorporated into games using voice commands.

The PlayStation Move controller will also work on PlayStation 4. Media Molecule, the creators of LittleBigPlanet, introduce on-stage what the company's been creating for the nextgen game system. They showed a video where they sculpted a digital clay and created their own characters and environments using the Move controller. You could then control the characters with the Move controller and act as puppeteers. Media Molecule didn't announce an actual game title, but is certainly working on a new game for the PS4.

With PlayStation 4 you will be able to access your games quicker than ever before. PS4’s “suspend mode” eliminates the load time on your saved game and allows you to immediately return to where you left off by pressing the power button. PlayStation 4’s background downloading and updating capability also allows you to immediately play digital titles as they download, or update the system when the hardware is powered off.

PS4 will make it easier for you to play your favorite games and access content wherever you are by leveraging PlayStation Network with Gaikai technology. Sony sees the PS Vita as the ultimate companion device for PS4 and it’s their long-term vision to make most PS4 games playable on PS Vita, so you can bring your favorite games from the big-screen TV to your PS Vita over Wi-Fi. They're also introducing a “PlayStation App” for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices that acts as a second screen, allowing for unique gameplay possibilities such as viewing maps during an adventure game or remotely watching friends play during an epic battle—right from a smartphone or tablet.

Family Guy Online announced!

Fox has announced that Family Guy Online, a Family Guy MMO, is in the works. The free-to-play browser game will feature fully 3D graphics, a quest-based gameplay style and tons of crazy humor that has made Family Guy one of the most popular cartoons in the history of television. The open beta launches later this year, but you can build your character right here, on the Family Guy Online official site.

"We're going to deliver the essence of the show," said Gary Rosenfeld of Fox, "The development team includes two writers from the show, because we know that Family Guy has to be funny... I think we'll definitely attract core gamers, and we'll also attract a more casual gamer who's a fan of the show." 

The game features class-based gameplay, with different classes patterned after well-known characters from the TV-show. You won't be able to play as Peter Griffin, but you will be able to play as an oblivious slob who's like Peter Griffin. According to the game's creators, the Peter-type class will function like a tank in a traditional MMO, and the rest of the family's characteristics will be represented as well. "Stewie, for instance, is small and really good with gadgets, so he probably takes a lot of damage and likes to dish it out from afar with his smart weapons," said Ian Verchere of developer Roadhouse.

The game is built on the Unity engine, and aims to hit the sweetspot between a core game like Halo and casual games like Farmville. "It's a difficult balance," Verchere said. "We're really happy with how the Unity Engine makes the game accessible to basically anyone with an online connection but also delivers a good quality graphical experience."

As for the most important question about a Family Guy MMO, "Will players fight a giant chicken?", the people behind the game are tight-lipped, but said, "Players will have to check in to find out."

vParticle+ (iPhone) review

vParticle+ is a modern day version of the classic game Labyrinth. This game is about controlling a bunch of particles through a maze of different kinds of traps. You have to get every single particle to safety into a box, marked with an E, before you can finish the level.

You control the particles with the accelerometer on your iPhone. The particles behave very realistic and precise thanks to the custom-built physics engine. You can also change the sensitivity and calibrate the control so that the particles behave more the way you want.

There are 220 different levels and 5 level types. Some levels are easy and some are really hard. It can become frustrating sometimes but overall the games difficulty has a great variety. And most levels have checkpoints, depending on the difficulty, so you don't have to start from the beginning. If your particles get smashed by moving blocks or other kinds of traps, that specific particle will either start from the beginning or from the nearest checkpoint.

The neon graphics are really nice and very sharp thanks to the full Retina display support. You can also change the theme anytime during gameplay, which is nice. And at every restart a new random theme will be generated. vParticle+ runs at 60 frames per second, and it really shows because the game runs very smoothly.

This game feels very futuristic and so does the music. The soundtrack is electronica based and matches the feel of the game. But if you don't like it, you can always use the iPod feature to play your own music.

Overall: vParticle+ is a fun and challenging labyrinth puzzle game that will keep you busy for hours. With awesome graphics, fantastic particle physics and many different kinds of levels makes this game a must have on your iPhone 4.

Review: vParticle+ (iPhone) XXXX [4/5].

Rage HD (iPhone) review

What, has Id Software's new video game been leaked a year before the release!? No, but you will get a great preview on your iPhone.

John Carmack is a genius. What he does with his programming is nothing you can teach or even force out. He has a very rare talent whom few have. We have seen the results of it ever since Id Software became famous with Doom, revolutionized multiplayer with Quake and won every German game award for "Most Polygons" with the third game about the horrors of hell. Now, he intends to change the mobile market.

I read an interview with Carmack a few years ago where he described the happiness of finding his way back to his code roots, siting alone with a project and let your fingers do the magic with very limited basis. He also said that it would be very difficult to do a good shooter for mobile phones but with Rage HD he surprises everyone, probably also himself.

Rage HD is a full blown gaming experience and with classic Id-style, they push the technology without mercy. The nameless and always silent main character moves by himself, leaving you to control the sight which is done at the absolute best way I've ever experienced on the platform. To tilt the phone and let the gyro do the work sounds like a bad solution in advance, but once you get started, it feels very natural. It's also possible to control the sight by dragging your finger, which works great as well. In the corners of the screen, you will find buttons to shoot, reload and switch weapons. Simple but very effective.

With that information, you're ready to participate in the show Mutant Bash TV. The game is based on that show, and each track is a new episode. At launch, there're three levels: an apartment complex, a madhouse and a bunker. I wouldn't be surprised if more is released in a future update. On paper, the content may seem slim but since you are looking for high scores and reviews rather than to clear the tracks, although that in itself can be a challenge at first, it will last for a very long time.

Points can be scored, not surprisingly, by shooting the mutants that will crawl and jump out of all possible places. There're bags to pick, ammunition to collect and stationary targets to hit so you can count on that you will be busy from the start. During my first play-through I didn't do much more than shoot mutants. The entire process is on time so if you want to end up at the top charts you need to hit everything at a very fast rate. It simply smells Id and it's a taste I'll never get tired of.

The Texas company also shows tremendous confidence when they release Rage first on mobile phones, we're after all one year away from seeing their first major game in 14 years.

Overall: Rage HD is a must have for all that wants to play an awesome FPS on their iDevices. With great controls and impressive graphics make this one of the best games on the iPhone.

Review: Rage HD (iPhone) XXXX [4/5].