We’re well into Spring Training and this season’s baseball games are making an impact, whether good or bad, on consoles around the country. If you still haven’t made the jump to the PS3, Sony has your answer with MLB 08 The Show for the PS2. Does it hold it up to its big brother on the PS3? Here is a breakdown of some of the facets of MLB 08 The Show for the PS2:
Presentation and Graphics: The graphics in MLB 08 The Show for the PS2 are pretty good. Not as crisp as the HD graphics on the PS3, but still very respectable. Player models look good and facial mapping is nice for a PS2 title. Animations are done very well, something that translated from the consoles nicely. All of the unique batting stances and pitching mechanics from the PS3 version are present here on the PS2, which is great to see. 7.5 of 10
It’s good to see that trivia games still thriving on the PS2 – well, as much as anything can thrive on the PS2 these days. The first Buzz! game debuted on Oct. 21st, 2005 with Buzz! The Music Quiz. Several other titles such as Buzz! The BIG Quiz and Buzz! The Sport Quiz were soon to follow. Now, a year later, Buzz! comes to us with The HollyWood Quiz – a collection of movie trivia! (controllers not included). Let’s dig deeper shall we? Yes we shall!
I will say this for Sony: continuing support for old systems is something they do very well. When is the last time you’ve seen an XBOX game from Microsoft? Sony Computer Entertainment of America is releasing Buzz! Junior RoboJam for all the little children out there whose parents haven’t had a chance to get a next-gen system yet. Those sweethearts!!
RoboJam is another title in the Buzz! family that is geared towards a younger crowd. Essentially it’s a collection of minigames that incorporate the use of the standard Buzz! controllers (sold separately).
Not surprising how much better the Xbox 360 looks but what is really eye-opening is how good the Wii version looks. Granted the PS2 is last gen but the Wii looks like it really belongs in the class of the next gen consoles. Almost.
If you’ve never played SingStar on the PS2, it’s a karaoke rhythm game where you get points for singing the proper notes to your favorite songs. The first four editions, Pop, Rock, Amped and 80s, have been enormous hits throughout the world. To add to the great series, Sony recently released an expansion for the 90s, one of the greatest and cheesiest eras in music. Here is a breakdown of some of the facets of SingStar 90s for the PS2:
Presentation and Graphics: SingStar games feature the original videos of each song where available. This proves hilarious for the 90s edition. You get the parachute pants and grunge flannel. Otherwise, it’s standard fare for a SingStar game. There’s not much needed in terms of graphics for a karaoke game. The upcoming PS3 version will pretty it up, but the PS2 versions only have white backgrounds with the video playing in the middle of the screen. 6 of 10
Have you ever sat down to play Guitar Hero and thought “Gee this needs more Aerosmith”? If you have, and I know many of us surely have, your prayers are being answered. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is set to rock your Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PS2 this June.
[Joe] Perry adds, “On a larger scale, it’s cool for us to be pioneers helping to rebuild the music industry through a format like video games. It’s great for rock since the record companies are struggling to make sense of how things are changing. Fans want to get and experience music in new formats–and there are going to be some of them who will play the game, then pick up the guitar for real and start bands. It’s what’s happening now, and it’s only going to build more momentum in the future. It’s a massive change for the music business.”
As an added bonus, Guitar Hero III fans will get a free downloadable version of “Dream On” on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 from February 16th – 18th (as in this weekend only). I’m not really sure how this one will do. I think a lot of the appeal of Guitar Hero is the variety, and I think even hardcore Aerosmith fans might get a bit bored by only playing songs from one band. We’ll see how it plays out though.
Ryan Howard, star first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, will be this year’s cover athlete for MLB 08 The Show on Sony platforms. From the press release:
Known for his prolific power and ability to drive in runs, Howard is just the second player in Major League Baseball™ history to win the Rookie of the Year honors and a Most Valuable Player award in successive seasons. During his 2006 MVP season, Howard led the Major Leagues in home runs (58), which broke the record for most home runs in a sophomore season set in 1947 by Ralph Kiner (51), won the All-Star Game™ Home Run Derby® with a total of 23 blasts, and was the 2006 National League™ Hank Aaron Award recipient, the award given to the top hitter in each league.
Howard is a huge star and one of the best pure left handed power hitters in the game today. The guy flat out destroys the ball. Good for him making the cover this year! The game, from everything we’ve seen, looks absolutely phenomenal. Can’t wait until March to play.
Anyone who is unhappy with the musical instruments that comes with the beloved Rock Band game can rejoice. Sometime in the first half of this year, Mad Catz will release every peripheral for every console that Rock Band can be played on. This includes wired and wireless guitars, professional quality drum set, and top notch microphone. Here is a direct quote from Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz, courtesy of Gameargus.
This agreement with MTV Games represents a natural opportunity for Mad Catz to combine our core competencies of producing and distributing high-quality accessories with the entertaining experience of Rock Band’s interactive controllers,”
You have to love third parties throwing their hat in the mix. It always benefits the gamer because we are given a choice as opposed to settling for what is already there.
Well, it took longer than I expected. But Sony has released some words on their incredibly sad showing in last months NPD report. Its not surprising. The PS3 (shown above being used as a grill for no real reason) placed dead last in the most important shopping month of the year, was outsold again by the PS2 and the combined sales of all of their gaming hardware was outdone by the Nintendo DS. I’m not personally saying that the PS3 sucks – I like the system – but damn, those are some sorry stats.
The most difficult thing for Sony I think was to put a positive spin on such a grim development.
Buzz Hollywood is the latest in the popular Buzz quiz show series, which drunk pandas, myself, and a Sony PR rep got to play a round of at Sony Media Day. Due to my rain-man like ability to remember useless facts I easily took first place (this is not something I’m particularly proud of…). From what we saw, Buzz Hollywood should wind up being a very fun party game.
The game has over 5000 questions and over 100 clips and pictures to test your movie knowledge. Like previous Buzz games, you can customize your player a bit such as choosing your character, what they’re wearing, your buzzer sound, etc. There were 3 rounds in the game we played, the first being general trivia, where the first person who answers correctly gets the most points, the next fastest answer gets less, and so on. The second round was fastest fingers where you had to put 4 things in order (for example put the movies made by a director in chronological order). In the final round you choose a specific category to answer questions in which can range from a category as specific as “Julia Roberts” to something more general like “Disney”. If the person going before you gets a wrong answer their points will roll over to you if you answer your question correctly.
Anyone who is unhappy with the musical instruments that comes with the beloved Rock Band game can rejoice. Sometime in the first half of this year, Mad Catz will release every peripheral for every console that Rock Band can be played on. This includes wired and wireless guitars, professional quality drum set, and top notch microphone. Here is a direct quote from Darren Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mad Catz, courtesy of 
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