This is a dark time for PS3 owners. With PSN down for a week now and the chance that some hackers know your credit card info, I think trophies should be the least of your concerns.
Hopefully this LOL moment can lighten up the mood a bit even if its just a bit.
Source: Destructoid
Well Mortal Kombat was released on time for us, but everybody in asia that bought the Playstation 3 region 3 copy of the new the game was welcomed with no online pass. It was a complete fail on who supplies region 3 copies. Well i finally got my online pass from where i got the game and i suggest whoever is still waiting for their code to bother the hell out of where you bought the game.
The new Mortal Kombat implemented an Online Pass which is needed to play the game online. One copy of the game has one online pass included. It is used to discourage selling the game to other gamers so if you buy Mortal Kombat from a friend you'll need to cough up some money to be able to play online.
I posted about this the day I noticed I wasn't the only one having no online pass. The supplier simply 'forgot' to add the online codes when they shipped the copies and stores in the Philippines are getting their online pass codes now. I don't know about other countries but over here stores like i-tech and Datablitz are fixing this issue by getting the online codes from the supplier and giving it to all who bought the R3 version of the game.
Just remember to have your receipt ready if they have any questions. I gave them a call when i heard from a friend that he received his code, they simply told my code via phone. They were about to email me but i beat them to it.
If your store's won't help you, i suggest you email Warner Bros directly. You can use the customer service or also email them here: wbgames.intsupport@warnerbros.com
I emailed them too and they answered asking me to give a clear photograph of the front of the game case, the back of the caser for the bar code below and the game disc itself. This i think is the first step if you decide to go this route, I didn't continue with this since the store i got the game from already informed me that they will provide the code when it's available.
We also heard that online codes for Region 3 will be activated next week, can't confirm if this is true since i have the game on Playstation 3 and PSN is down right now.
Killzone was never an interesting game for me. Even back in the PlayStation 2 I just thought the enemies looked cool. Then Killzone 2 came ,and it was one of those games that showed people the PS3 power. It was a good game for some but the shooting mechanics especially the cover system felt odd to me. Now Killzone 3 is here with a better gameplay, amazing graphics, addicting online, but with a single player that can disappoint any gamer.
Killzone 3 Developer: Guerrilla Games Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platform: Playstation 3
Story
This has always been Killzone’s problem. It never had a good story, well for me at least. It’s pretty much a war between the ISA and the Helghast. ISA being the good guys from earth and the Helghast( their human, messed up from something but now with cool outfits) from another planet called Helgan and have been at war for the longest time. Among the three Killzone games, the first might have the most interesting. When I say most interesting, doesn’t mean it was great, just better than the rest. Comparing Killzone 2 and Killzone 3’s story, Killzone 3 was more exciting. But I think that was the problem since the story felt like it was lined up for these intense fire fights and chases.
Killzone 3 starts off minutes after the end of the Killzone 2. You control Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko, the Helghast leader Visari was killed by your partner Rico Velasquez and now the whole planet wants the ISA invasion force found and killed. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. Shit happens as they evacuate and a lot of battles break out.
Character’s in Killzone 3 is just as forgettable as the previous games. They have those lame lines that make you cringe to death. Stick to the game play and the action given to you in the single player and you should be fine when you play Killzone 3.
Gameplay
The shooting mechanics is much better now in Killzone 3. Aiming down your iron sights feels great. The cover system now is more fluid and it’s not in your way during a fight. For me, that was my biggest complaint in Killzone 2 , the cover system, but thankfully they tweaked it to be more useful and feeling more like an option compared to before.
Killzone 3 keeps changing the game play by dumping you into different scenarios. One part you’re manning a gatling gun in a transport ship the next you’re controlling a mech, walking around shooting rockets and machine guns then you’re placed on a tank shooting its mounted gun. They tried to keep the game from being repetitive but if you think about it, it’s all the same and for me I’d rather fight a handful of helghast on foot and take cover. The Shooting gameplay is satisfying enough that it felt like they didn’t need mechs and such to be added. Good attempt but I’d prefer it was lessened a bit.
The jetpacks, which was talked about a lot before the game’s release was a good addition. It’s easy to control and great tool to flank enemies. It was only used in one part of the game which was sad and disappointing with it's hype. I wish it was used more in the single player campaign but you will see more of it in multiplayer.
Everybody was requesting a co-op feature for Killzone 3 since it wasn’t added in Killzone 2. They added it but I don’t think Guerilla quite understood what the gamers want. Split screen co-op was added, but a lot (including myself) preferred online co-op, or at least the option. It felt like an afterthought, a feature placed to please some gamers.The two player split screen was nothing great and the second player seemed to be just added into the Single Player campaign with no purpose of being there. The second player isn’t even added into the cut scenes. When I was playing the single player, Rico follows you and helps you out, I thought during co-op the other player would be him but I was proved wrong when i finally tried it.
Brutal melee is great. Goodbye to those instant melee kills that don’t make any sense in other FPS games. This is how melee should be. Breaking people’s neck, puncturing Helghast eye’s with your thumbs or knifing someone’s throat when they’re not looking. No more, swing the knife at an enemy a couple of times…..dead. Adding this makes the feel of the game a bit more real. Killzone’s style of camera movement feeling real with every jump, every slide, how you reload, giving you a more realistic feeling was one of it's unique features. Adding these brutal melee kills makes it even better.
AI in this game is actually pretty impressive. This is one of the main reasons why the FPS gameplay works well. The Helghast respond properly to any situation. Killing them with grenades is a huge challenge, they run when they see a grenade close by which is a good trick since their always covered well from gunfire. They also have the tendancy to flank the player if they get the chance and they engage you in melee if you are too close for comfort.
Graphics and sound
Graphics is no doubt amazing in this game. Not only do they change the pace of the gameplay, you’re constantly moving to different environments as you progress. At the start of the game you’re placed on a ruined city nuked by the Helghast government, the next you’re in the snowy part of Helgan. There’s also a jungle setting during the single player and even a junkyard. You move from place to place really quick giving you something new to look at each time.
Everything is well detailed and the game looks great in 1080p. Sadly my current setup cannot test the 3D feature but I hear it can be painful since this is a FPS after all. Even in multiplayer, the graphics seem similar. Maps aren’t as well detailed in single player but is still one of the best looking games online. This is great eye candy and you can’t go wrong with Killzone’s graphics.
The sound was decent and it really feels like you’re in a middle of a war. Gunfire is also good and gets really loud if you’re not careful, neighbors complained about me watching a war movie too loud. No movie, just loud gaming.
Multiplayer
This is what makes Killzone 3 a great buy. I was not expecting this at all. I bought the game for the Campaign and not for the multiplayer. When I finished campaign and felt disappointed with what I went through overall, I went to multiplayer and got addicted in just a few games. Aside from the shooting mechanics being great and fluid even in multiplayer, the 3 game modes make it very interesting.
You have Guerrilla Warfare which is pretty much Team Deathmatch, Operations which is a series of objectives with cool cutscenes seeing you and your teammates defend or infiltrate the area and Warzone which is the best out of the three. Its many game modes jammed into one match. It cycles from mode to mode changing gameplay very quickly. It also lessens camping since when one game mode is finished, another one starts which forces the battles somewhere else. It addictiong and can last for like 30 mins or more.
Level is pretty straightforward. When you level you get unlock points which you can use to unlock certain skills and weapons for a certain class. Best thing about Killzone 3’s unlock is that you can choose what to unlock and what class to work on first. In the end, if you reach the max level you unlock all in the end but in the early levels you get to focus on one class if you want which is better compared to other games that require you to be level 36 to use a certain weapon or skill. You have full control over your growth. Each class has a unique skill and purpose that separate them from the rest of the group. It pretty neat since each class is needed to win a match.
For example, Tacticians are needed to capture spawn points while infiltrators are useful since they can disguise themselves as the enemy infiltrating their lines to take out snipers etc., Engineers rebuild ammo crates and make turrets to make a defensive position, Marksmen are snipers and medics of course give you the ability to heal and revive players. They all play out well and are well-balanced.
They have 8 multiplayer maps in total and only one can be played in Guerrilla Warfare mode. They all seem pretty balanced and well made. Each map has something that makes it unique compared to the rest. like, There’s one map were jetpacks can be used and it brings a whole different feel altogether with people flying around like idiots. There’s also a map were you may use the mechs seen in the campaign. The mechs are great in multiplayer and is actually underpowered since it can get taken down easily. It’s a good thing since it keeps things balanced.
Overall
Killzone 3 surprised me in a bad way. I was all excited for the campaign and came out disappointed when the end credits started rolling. The only saving grace for me was the multiplayer. I can honestly say it’s one of the best multiplayers I’ve played in a long time. If you want a great campaign, look elsewhere, but if you’re looking for a good multiplayer, this will do. Without the multiplayer, the game would have been easily shelved in just a few days of playing.
Score: 78/100
Pros:
- Amazing Multiplayer
- Great Graphics
- Brutal Melee!
Cons:
- Horrible story and characters
- Forgettable campaign
- Gameplay such as mech control, chase scenes and mounted gun sequences were too many
- No online co-op, only split screen
Gatling Gears is a Dual-Analogue Shooter developed by Vanguard Games. I haven't played this type of arcade game in a long time and this one looks like it's worth the buy. I remember back in the day when I used to head to the arcades with some friends and play arcade games similar to this. Loads of fun.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN4rMlpxR18]
Gatling Gears will be released on May 11th for XBLA and May 18th for PSN. Until then, i think i'll look for a game similar to this.
If your planning to do some online gaming via PSN in your Playstation 3 and get welcomed by error code 80710A06 you're not alone. The Playstation is currently having issues and could last a day or two.
UPDATE - Sony admits that their systems have been attacked by hackers which forced them to pull the plug and do some maintenance. It's been more than 48 hours and even i'm getting a little impatient at Sony's slow reaction to resolve this issue.
''An external intrusion on our system has affected our PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. In order to conduct a thorough investigation and to verify the smooth and secure operation of our network services going forward, we turned off PlayStation Network & Qriocity services on the evening of Wednesday, April 20th. Providing quality entertainment services to our customers and partners is our utmost priority. We are doing all we can to resolve this situation quickly, and we once again thank you for your patience. We will continue to update you promptly as we have additional information to share.''
Check out the Playstation Blog frequently for more updates, i sure am since i want some gaming online done.
UPDATE - The group Anonymous denies involvement with the Playstation Network's issues. [Source]
I've experienced it myself. As you try to connect the Playstation Network, you see yourself unable to connect with an error code placed on your screen.
"While we are investigating the cause of the Network outage, we wanted to alert you that it may be a full day or two before we’re able to get the service completely back up and running," said SCEA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Patrick Seybold in a recent update on the Playstation Blog. "Thank you very much for your patience while we work to resolve this matter. Please stay tuned to this space for more details, and we’ll update you again as soon as we can."
People believe it's the work of Anonymous, a group of angry hackers taking action to the recent lawsuit between Sony and George Holtz. George Holtz is the person that has broken the Playstation 3's security systems and Sony has taken action by suing the hacker. That lawsuit created Anonymous, who is now attacking Sony by infiltrating their systems.
They mentioned way back that they won't be attacking the customers but the Sony employees only. There's no actual proof yet if this is the work of Anonymous but whatever the reason to the Playstation Network's outage, let's hope it gets fixed soon.
[Source: psu.com]
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