Sony sent over a demo of Hot Shots Tennis for the PS2. Thank God for the Emotion Engine inside my 60GB PS3 (which in fact has a 160GB hard drive).

The demo consists of a short match you can play, 1 set of 3 games, against one opponent. The game plays similar to most tennis games out there now, with a Hot Shots flare. You have options for standard topspin shots with the X button, backspin shots with the Circle button, and lob shots with the Triangle button. The controls are better than you’d think, given the kooky nature of the game. Serving is more difficult than games like Topspin and Virtua Tennis, since it involves a lot of timing to make sure you don’t fault.

While the demo is only single player, the retail game will allow up to 4 players on one PS2 (or PS3) to go at it in a Doubles match. There won’t be any online play, so you won’t be able to school your friends from miles away.

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Could this be the first decent Simpsons game in about 20 years? It seems like the wait could be finally over.

HD Lovin as always

We all know the current US version of the PS3 has the built in PS2 hardware for backwards compatibility, where the European version does not. Well, the rest of the world looks to be getting the shaft with the 80GB version of the PS3.

Check out the zoomed and rotated image from the 80GB PS3 pack-shot sent to us by Sony. If you can’t read it, here’s what it says:

This product has limited backward compatibility with PlayStation and PlayStation 2 format software.

Yeah, the box for the 60GB PS3 doesn’t say that. Reading further (text is hard to read here) shows that system software updates will enable more titles for the 80GB PS3.

Really makes me happy I have my v1 PS3 with the built in PS2 hardware. Let us know what you think of the change in the comments.

EA Sports has confirmed that Rugby 2008 will be released at the end of July 2007 and will be on both the PC and PS2. They have also retained the rights to the Webb Ellis cup, which is the equivalent to Lord Stanley’s, except awarded to the winner of the Rugby World Cup, held this year in France. For someone who has played rugby for 12 years, i. e. me, I am excited to see the franchise move in new directions but am very upset that it will not be on any next gen system and not even for the Xbox(which is all but dead, but w, BC it could have maybe worked).

Here’s a new trailer for Jackass: The Game coming for the PSP and PS2 in September and the Nintendo DS in October.

Everyone gets a good laugh out of watching Jackass, but I’m not sure how much depth the gameplay will have here. I can see it getting pretty boring after a short while.

Here is the trailer for the latest MOH installment for the mulitplatform release coming August 28. Although the WWII FPS genre is all but finished, this could be the last great WWII shooter we see for a very long time with COD moving to the modern era.

Here is your HD lovin’

Stick a fork in her, cause she’s done. The game we’ve all been waiting for is finished and off to production. Get set to play Guitar Hero 80’s Edition for the PS2 in late July.

The track list has been finalized, with all 30 tracks set to rock your socks off. My personal favorites are Nothing But a Good Time as made famous by Poison, I Wanna Rock by Twisted Sister, 18 and Life as made famous by Skid Row, and Lonely is the Night as made famous by Billy Squier.

I still wish there was a fully working guitar for the PS3 so I could pick this one up. I guess I’ll have to wait for Rock Band or Guitar Hero 3 later this year.

Keep reading for the full track list.

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The Hitman trilogy has been released for slae in Europe, this includes all three classic games, Hitman 2:Silent Assassins, Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money. Not a bad deal if priced correctly, this will be available for PC and PS2 starting June 22nd. Lets see if it comes stateside some time soon.

From the press release:

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Lured back into a global ring of deception by a twisted Russian crime boss, Agent 47 must kill not only to make a living, but to continue living. This time it’s not just business… it’s personal.

Hitman: Contracts
Encounter Agent 47’s greatest adversaries, completing the work that made him so ruthlessly efficient, these are the ones that shaped him as an assassin.

Hitman: Blood Money
Lucrative contracts on the rich and powerful in high profile locations make killing for money a good business. But when a rival agency enters the scene, it’s war and only the best man will be left standing.

The Hitman Triple Pack will be available on PS2 and PC throughout Europe on June 22nd

It doesn’t matter if you played the first installment or not, you need to check this game out. A true sandbox classic, now in HD.

Here is your HD lovin.

It’s Poison. Enough said.

I’m gonna have to go get another PS2 since I sold mine when I got my PS3. Damn all the developers who haven’t made the a working guitar on the PS3!