Dead Space Review

Gamers step into a third-person sci-fi survival horror experience that promises to deliver the ultimate in psychological thrills and gruesome action. Set in the cold blackness of deep space, the atmosphere is soaked with a feeling of tension, dread and sheer terror. In Dead Space, players step into the role of engineer Isaac Clarke – an ordinary man on a seemingly routine mission to fix the communications systems aboard a deep space mining ship. It is not long before Isaac awakes to a living nightmare when he learns that the ship's crew has been ravaged by a vicious alien infestation. He must fight through the dead silence and darkness of deep space to stay alive.

PLAYSTATION Home TGS Space Images, Confirms 18+? Home vs. Real Life

In this new screen of what looks to be PLAYSTATION Home, could be a confirmation of 18+ areas in Home. First of all, this image looks like it’s the PLAYSTATION Booth from TGS. Rumor has it this space is only available in Japan. There are PS3s and little LCD TVs set up which look like they’re showcasing some kind of trailer for a new game or something along those lines. Now that we know what the image is about, let’s draw your attention towards the little ID Check sign in the top right corner of the image. It looks as if there is an area that you can access - but it would require an ‘ID Check’. What could this possibly mean? Could it mean that people who are only over 18 can access the area? More info once we find out any more tidbits.

Analyst Urges PS3 Price Cut

Update from: Added SCEA response.

PlayStation 3 has been fighting tooth and nail with Xbox 360 month after month in the high-def console race.

But Electronic Entertainment Design and Research analyst Jesse Divnich fears that the price disparity between the $199 Xbox 360 Arcade and $399 PS3 will be a turn-off for potential mainstream Sony consumers in the U.S. this holiday.

"We still urge Sony to consider a possible hardware price cut this holiday season," he wrote in a research note. "If September hardware sales fall below our estimate (under 200,000 units), it could be an indication that the Xbox 360 price cut played a bigger role on hindering PS3 sales than what we originally expected."

Microsoft dropped the price of its entire three-model Xbox 360 line in early September, with the low-end Arcade reaching the coveted sub-$200 price point.

Due to the price cut, Divnich expects Xbox 360 sales to rise month-on-month by 31 percent to 300,000 units during September in the U.S.

PS3 sales are estimated to have dropped 7 percent to 43,000 units per week during the month.

Sony has reiterated this year that it would not be dropping the price of the PS3 for the holidays.

Patrick Seybold, director of corporate communications at SCEA told Edge in an e-mail that he expects PS3 to maintain the momentum it has gained against Xbox 360 throughout 2008.

"As previously discussed we aren't making any price moves this holiday season. In my opinion, we have the best line up of any PlayStation generation going into this holiday and consumers will be very receptive to it," Seybold stated.

"With PS3 titles for this including Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift to name but a few of our multiple exclusives, combined with PlayStation Home and increasing multimedia features for the hardware, we expect to have continued momentum going into and beyond this holiday season."

Divnich added, "We should note that if Microsoft’s first-party titles perform significantly better in quality and popularity than Sony’s this holiday season, we could begin to see a considerable amount of potential PS3 owners, who may be waiting for a PS3 price cut, to choose the Xbox 360 over the PS3.

"Currently, we expect Gears of War 2 to be the single best selling SKU this holiday season."

The analyst noted that PS3 exclusives Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet will drive sales in the core market, but said they'd do little to reach mainstream audiences due to PS3 hardware price tags.

"The $399 price point is simply too steep to entice the casual and mainstream markets, regardless of how great Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet may be," he stated.

Star Ocean IV : The Last Hope Review

Though Square-Enix isn't ready to show a live demo of Star Ocean: The Last Hope, the famed RPG publisher is ready to at least provide a few details. The latest in the beloved Star Ocean series -- and first on a Microsoft console -- is actually a prequel. The story takes place before the first Star Ocean and is an origin story for the entire series. Earth has been decimated by World War III and has become uninhabitable. Humanity's last hope is to find a new home among the stars.

For those who played the previous Star Ocean titles (remakes of I & II are coming later this year to PSP), there will be allusions to the past stories. Though this is an origin tale, it does take place in the same game universe, so there will be connections to future events.

Developer tri-Ace promises a more "authentic" sci-fi experience, even though the trailer shows plenty of (welcome) flights of fancy. The "realism" is a product of the story taking place closely to modern times. And for those who played Star Ocean III, tri-Ace recognizes the distaste some had for the big twist. While we can't say there won't be an equally big twist in The Last Hope, we were assured that the closer ties to reality will prevent any sort of virtual reality cop-out as in the past. Star Ocean IV's story will be "easier to understand" than its predecessor, according to tri-Ace.



In Star Ocean IV you'll visit multiple planets, rather than being stuck on a single world. No details on how greatly those planets will vary or the purpose for visiting each. We'd assume that one of the overarching quests is finding a hospitable planet for human relocation.

As for gameplay, Star Ocean IV will be very similar to Star Ocean III. For those who didn't play the previous Star Ocean, that means real-time combat that takes place in arenas separate from the travel field of the game world. The combat will be "flashier and speedier" with new too-be-announced features. But at its core, it will be Star Ocean III. That's a very good thing. And yes, you can expect some form of item creation as well.

Further details on Star Ocean IV will have to wait. Coming first to Xbox 360 spring 2009,Ps3 Still have wait.Square-Enix is keeping a tight wrap on the game for the time being. But if it's going to play like Star Ocean III and lack the what-the-eff plot twist, then it's going to be an RPG worth the wait.

LittleBigPlanet Preview

From the moment it was first revealed, LittleBigPlanet has been getting a great deal of buzz. The central character, Sackboy, is nothing more than a bit of stuffed burlap, but through the sheer genius of Media Molecule, this is a game that everyone will be talking about

Why? Because it is, at once, one of the most creative games in terms of creating puzzles and puzzle solving, while nailing the word "endearing" with its central character. Sackboy is unlike anything you have ever seen. It (this is a non-gender specific character despite the name) can take on a variety of costumes; you can alter its mood with the D-pad and use the thumbsticks to take individual control over the arms. You want to emulate John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever? It's entirely possible.