Mediatonic make funny little games. I do not mean that disparagingly. They make good games, but they tend to be PlayStation Mini titles that are small in size and are supported with a heavy helping of humour.

Having already produced the well received – and excellently titled – Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess and the mini game collection WTF!, which stands for Work Time Fun! and not what you were thinking (WTF is wrong with you?), Mediatonic return with an epic tiny tale of a motley crew of Sky Pirates and the swarm of bugs that bug them.

I’ll let Captain Bluebell take it from here…

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PlayStation’s new ad campaign, “Long Live Play,” started off very strong with the return of Kevin Butler and his no-look flaming crossbow shot. Then gamers were shown a teaser for something called “Michael.” The minds of dualshock warriors everywhere were left spinning. Who or what is “Michael?”

And what’s the deal with the weary looking soldiers, strange hotel/bar and assortment of video game-inspired weaponry?

Now we know… (more…)

The budget PlayStation Portable system announced by Sony at Gamescom last month provoked a bit of healthy discussion amongst a couple of people on Sarcastic Gamer, most notably handheld superfan PacManPolarBear. PMPB and I sparred over Twitter a few days ago about the omission (one which he eventually caved in on, as you’ll note if you read on).

I acknowledge PSP multiplayer. I know that it exists, but I also know that nobody uses it. The loss of Wi-Fi, the budget price and the last minute burst of support from publishers means that the PSP’s last gasp might just be one of its finest moments.

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So maybe this will never happen on a live action reality show... pity. It would be pretty damn cool to see some tough nerds brawl it out while the room burns.

In case you have not been conscious the last few months, this game called “Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception” is coming out for the Playstation 3. On top of being included in just about every TV or print ad released by Sony, now Naughty Dog, SCEA and Spike TV are going all out with an Uncharted 3 reality TV adventures special.

I already love to hate to love this idea. Find out why after the jump! … And yeah I still do the whole “after the jump” bit. Sue me. (more…)

Kevin Butler is back to kick off the new PlayStation ad campaign, Long Live Play, and he does it the way only he can: epically. (more…)

This past week saw the PlayStation 3 receive — quelle surprise — a system software update in the form of version 3.70. The new firmware introduces a number of brand new features exclusive to PlayStation Plus users alongside improvements to the Video column of the XMB and a Recommend button for the Store, guaranteed to irritate your friends.

Those last two aren’t so important compared to the new stuff exclusive to Plus, which is sure to raise the hackles of some gamers by dividing Plus and non-paying PSN users further. But really? These new changes are a great thing which turn a service from a privilege or a treat into something a little more worth the price.

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How often do you find yourself genuinely vulnerable in zombie games these days? Armed to the teeth with machine guns, shotguns and grenades, it doesn’t take long to explode the crowds of the undead and escape safely from the post-apocalyptic city of your choice. But what if you only had a few bullets to save yourself with at a time?

OMG-Z is the PlayStation Mini that dares to ask this question, and answers it with a greyscale colour scheme and gushing blood.

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The Playstation Portable was born flawed. I know it, you know it and Sony sure as hell knows it. Despite firmware update after firmware update, new model after new model, the PSP is still a flawed system. A flawed system I still love mind you. Sorta like that girl with the mole on her face that is just a little too big to call a beauty mark. Sometimes you over look the flaws to enjoy the rest of the package. No offense to mole people. After six years and five PSPs, I’m faced with the prospect of saying goodbye to my Portable Harem.

The Playstation Vita sounds like it has almost everything I ever wanted, and a few things I don’t know if I want. All I know is it can play Angry Birds. Because that’s what portable gaming is now right? Angry Birds Let me break down why a gamer would want to own a PSV. You know, besides playing games like Angry Birds. (more…)

On June 8th, after the three major console developers concluded their press conferences for E3 2011, I made the colossally stupid decision to write an article suggesting that Microsoft came out ahead from a short-term business perspective.  My article wasn’t colossally stupid because it was ill-informed, missing facts or poorly written, but because I dared to suggest that Microsoft, the most hated console developer that has ever developed a console, might have gotten something right.

The funny thing is that throughout the article I explained over and over that I was not stating that Microsoft had won in the eyes of gamers, but rather ONLY in the minds of the business people who were looking at these companies from the perspective of investments.  Yet this couldn’t stem the tide of fanboys who came screaming for my head on a stick.

That brings us to today, a mere 51 days later, and the business world has already made their decision.  Was I right?  Or were the fanboys who screamed and screamed and screamed the ones who were vindicated? (more…)

Somebody is trying to get your attention...

First attempts never look as good or as polished as their possible sequels, and new ideas don’t always pan out (Dark Void), but sometimes a low key new IP can come out of “nowhere” and blow people away. Vanquish being a great recent example.

So here are 20 new IPs to keep an eye on. Some you’ve heard of, some you haven’t. Some could change the industry and a few may just be good for a few laughs, but they’ve all got a lil somethin-somethin. Ba-dunk-a-dunk. (more…)

With all of the features packed into the quad-core portable, Sony Computer Entertainment could have muffed the PlayStation Vita price – but they didn’t.  Sure, $250 (for the non-3G model) isn’t pocket change, but it’s sure better than $350 or $400.  SCE had to set a price point comparable to Nintendo’s $250 3DS, lest they risk another silver medal in the portable hardware market.

Would gamers buy a $400 handheld?  Well, aside from die-hard PlayStation fans and Rich Uncle Pennybags, probably not.  After the well-documented struggles of the PlayStation Portable, SCE had to get the Vita launch price right … and they did.

It’s too bad, though, that it won’t matter.

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