Characters

Three characters were shown in the initial teaser trailer, Ivy, Mitsurugi, and Nightmare. Director Katsutoshi Sasaki has also mentioned that Create-a-Character will be playable in multiplayer mode. Electronic Gaming Monthly confirmed the return of Siegfried, Taki and Tira in its July issue. Sophitia, her sister Cassandra and the series staple Voldo were featured next in Famitsu magazine. A recently released trailer featured the first clips of gameplay footage, along with brief glimpses of a new character named Hildegard von Krone, Hilde for short, a female in knight’s armor (with a wolf’s head motif) wielding a red lance and a short sword. At that time the appearances of Raphael and Astaroth were also confirmed. On January 25th, it was confirmed that Maxi , Seong Mi-na and Yun-seong would also return. Furthermore, on February 28th, Kilik, Xianghua and Lizardman were confirmed to appear.[10]. On March 12th, the first of several new characters designed by famous creators was revealed: Scheherazade (designed by Yutaka Izubuchi). March 26th brought us another batch of confirmed characters, specifically Amy, Cervantes and Zasalamel. A new female character, Angol Fear (designed by guest artist Mine Yoshizaki) was also featured.

Also, Darth Vader and Yoda, characters from the Star Wars universe, are confirmed to be playable guest characters but exclusive to different platforms. Vader will be on the PS3 and Yoda will be on the Xbox 360, however it was stated in issue 179 of GameInformer magazine that “Namco was nice enough to concede that the second characters may be available for download on the respective consoles at a later date.”
Scheherazade, one of the new game characters
Scheherazade, one of the new game characters

Returning characters

So far, there are 25 confirmed characters for the series.

* Amy
* Astaroth
* Cassandra
* Cervantes
* Ivy
* Kilik
* Lizardman
* Maxi
* Mitsurugi
* Nightmare
* Raphael
* Seong Mi-na
* Siegfried
* Sophitia
* Taki
* Tira
* Voldo
* Xianghua
* Yun-seong
* Zasalamel

New characters

* Angol Fear (bonus character)
* Darth Vader (guest character on the PlayStation 3 version)[13]
* Hilde
* Scheherazade (bonus character)
* Yoda (guest character on the Xbox 360 version)[13]

Gameplay

Critical Finisher

Soulcalibur IV will feature an all-new Critical Finisher system. This time there will be another gauge under the characters’ Health Meter, known as the Soul Gauge. This meter will fill up when attacking and decrease when guarding. When the meter is empty, the opponent can do a strike that breaks off a part from the character’s armor, altering their appearance and making them weaker for the remainder of the match. There are also three green boxes below the gauges, reflecting the state of the characters armor: high, mid, or low.

If the character manages to empty out the opponent’s Soul Gauge again, they will get a short chance to perform a powerful Critical Finisher, which will kill the opponent instantly. Each character has their own personal Critical Finisher. Namco says that they developed the Soul Gauge to decrease the benefits from constant guarding, thus giving the game a faster tempo. [14] It subsequently would make the matches more offensive, as well.

Limited Premium Edition

According to a recent Gamespot article, Namco/Bandai confirmed there will be a limited Premium Edition of SCIV available which will include an art/comic book, a tournament kit that will “give fans the opportunity to document the battle amongst friends.” , will include extra in-game customizations and sell in a metal packaging on the same release date as the regular game.

Source:

Your Playstation 2 isn’t working most of the time or not at all and your wondering why? More than likely, if your disks look as if there nothing wrong with them and you’re getting those nasty “Disk-Read-Errors” on more than one disk then it is probably one or two laser problems that is the culprit. Either your laser voltage needs to be adjusted or dust and dirt are obstructing your laser, or both. The way I see it, you have two options if you want to repair your PS2.

For a fraction of the cost you can download the Professional Playstation 2 Repair Guide and quickly learn to fix your PS2 game console yourself using the easy step-by-step directions. No problem is too complex. Here’s just a sampling of what the guide will teach you: Adjust Voltage, Clean the Laser, Fix Squeaking and Clicking Sounds, Repair DVD and CD Reading Errors and much more. Not only will you master repairing your own console, but as an added benefit, you can start professionally repairing other people’s Playstation 2 consoles in your spare time for money! The Playstation 2 Repair Guide was written for people who are complete novices in electronics.

Please check this link for complete tutorial
The Video: Click here/here

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue) is the latest installment in the Gran Turismo series and a PlayStation 3 exclusive title which was announced at the E3 2007.

The game was released in Japan on both the PlayStation Store and Blu-ray Disc on December 13, 2007 to celebrate the series’ 10th anniversary. The PlayStation Store version requires just over 2.2 gigabytes of available hard disk space. The Blu-ray version may cut down on this. The Blu-ray version costs ¥4,980 (inc. tax) and the PS Store version costs ¥4,500 (inc. tax). The game will be released in North America on Blu-ray disc and via download from the Playstation Store on April 17, 2008. The Blu-Ray Disc version will offer added value with an exclusive High-Definition video feature called ‘Beyond the Apex’ and various other content such as new cars and tracks. The game will be released on March 28, 2008 in Europe via the PlayStation Store and on Blu-Ray Disc. Extra content (similar to North America’s extra content) will be included in the game.

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A free playable demo version was available in the Japanese PlayStation Store from October 20 to November 30, 2007, and a North American special version was available at the 2007 SEMA Show on December 6, 2007.

Gameplay

New to the Gran Turismo series, is the ability to race with up to 16 cars at once. The AI has also improved from previous Gran Turismo games [citation needed].

Also new to the series, is the new, realistic in-car view feature. It includes functioning speedometers and odometers, reflecting rear-view mirrors, wing mirrors and real time in-car lighting effects (cast shadows). Players driving with a supported steering wheel have the ability to look left and right in the cockpit of the car by using the D-pad. Any PlayStation 3 compatible steering wheel works with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The engine also sounds different according to which view is selected among the available four. Back view is also specific with the in-car view.

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European and North American players can look forward to being able to use a Drift Mode (similar to that of Gran Turismo HD), car tuning adjustments, and head to head two-player racing offline. New race events online and offline as well as new cars have also been confirmed for North American users.

Online Play became available by Christmas 2007. On the official GT5 Prologue Website on the 25 December 2007, players were able to download network battle updates for the game’s Arcade and Time Attack modes. Also available on this day was be a Museum mode, featuring histories of various car manufacturers.

In terms of game modes, a total of four were available at launch:

Interface

The game has a totally new interface, called My Page. It acts as the player’s personalized menu for the game. The icons include; Race, Garage (where the players’ cars are viewed), TV (which will give the player access to real-life car related TV), Album (for viewing pictures taken in the photo mode), Option (various options settings for the game), Profile (the player’s online profile), Home (in conjunction with Sony’s ‘PlayStation Home’), and Calendar. The Calendar icon opens up a calendar with upcoming race events marked on it, a world map with the player’s play area marked in red, weather read-outs for major raceways, motor-sports related news, maps, and a clock. When the game starts up, the player is taken straight to the ‘My Page’ area.

The Home icon refers to Sony’s 3D virtual chat space, Home. The plan at the moment is to create a Gran Turismo universe in Home. Players will be able to jump in and out of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and back into Home as often as they wish. To coincide with this, Polyphony hope to add some sort of friends list and other social network features to the game. During online races players will have the option to enable voice chat.

Episodic content

Famitsu magazine’s latest update reveals that Prologue will include a new ‘GT.TV’ mode where real-life motoring shows like the BBC’s ‘Top Gear’ (the Top Gear test track will be a drivable track in GT5) and Japan’s ‘Car Graphic TV’ will be able to be viewed in episodic content. There will be a charge for this feature. On October 24, a press release confirmed that Top Gear will be featured in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.

Famitsu also reports that the game will employ a special rewards system similar to Achievements in Xbox 360 games. These new rewards will be added to the game episodically. Upon completing certain challenges, bonus cars, tracks, and content will be unlocked. The extra cars and tracks include vehicles and courses from Motor Toon Grand Prix and the mech from Omega Boost. The additional bonus content includes making-of videos, television commercials, and “ghost” races against development team members’ best times. Full versions of Omega Boost, Motor Toon Grand Prix, and Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 will eventually become available as downloadable rewards for special online racing events.

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Confirmed car and track lists

37 cars from 21 worldwide manufacturers (including Nissan, Ferrari, Ford, Dodge and Audi) have been confirmed to be available in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Some are included in the demo, though most of them are not playable. The vehicle list is available on the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue official website. North American users will get the chance to race new cars such as the Mini Cooper S and various other region specific models.

Ten circuits are included in the game with reverse versions. Some of the tracks will have different versions instead of a reverse mode. For instance, the Fuji Speedway circuit has an “F” circuit and a “GT” circuit. The tracks (including their variations) are, Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka Circuit East Course, Fuji Speedway F, Fuji Speedway GT, Super Speedway Daytona, Road Course Daytona, Eiger Nordwand Course, Eiger Nordwand Course (reverse), London City Course, London City Course (reverse). Also, for European and North American users the Gran Turismo famous ‘High Speed Ring’ circuit will be available to race on. The track has featured in every GT game to date (bar special version such as GTHD).

Free playable demo

A free demo has been released on the Japanese PS Store on October 20, 2007 with the Suzuka Circuit and 7 new cars playable. The demo unlocked cars as they were unveiled at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show because the demo coincided with the large scale event. The free demo will come off the Store on November 30, 2007. Then the actual game will be released on Blu-ray Disc and PlayStation Store as a download on December 13. This demo replaces Gran Turismo HD Concept that was removed from the Japanese PS Store on September 30, no international release has been announced for the Prologue demo.

Input device support

The Gran Turismo 5 Prologue demo is the first PlayStation 3 release supporting both Dual Shock 3 controller vibration and racing wheels force feedback feature. Logicool, the Japanese branch of Logitech which is releasing official racing wheels for the Gran Turismo series has launched the G25 Racing Wheel for PS3 on October 25, 2007. This wheel is a rebranded version of the Logitech G25 Racing Wheel. It features a gated shifter with 6 forward ratios plus reverse, a clutch pedal and dual motor force feedback. The G25 is supported along with the previous GT designed models (Driving Force Pro, GT Force, Driving Force and Driving Force EX).

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GT-TV

The new Gran Turismo TV feature was introduced in the demo version. This VOD service was activated on October 22 with three free SD trailers for motorsport TV programs (being Super GT, D1 Grand Prix or Best Motoring). Since October 24 “Gran Turismo TV Special” exclusive full-length HD videos are released for free, these include Tokyo Motor Show video reports and Kazunori Yamauchi interviews. DRM activated GT-TV videos are downloaded within the HDD, nevertheless GT-TV download service will end up on November 30, only HDD stored videos will remain available. Full-length videos of the free trailers will be available for purchase from the full version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologues GT-TV. On October 24, 2007 Top Gear have confirmed that select classic episodes will be available for viewing on Gran Turismo 5’s GT-TV mode. Starting on launch day (13/12 in Japan), distribution will begin on free video content with two programmes, “Tokyo Motor Show 2007″ and “First Impression Lancer Evolution X“. Before the end of this year (2007) more GT-TV content will be available to download. “The GT-R Legend Inside Story II” on 14/12 and “The GT-R Legend Inside Story III” later in December 2007.

Online service has ended on December 6th for the demo, as a result the GT-TV mode is now disabled as well as other online related contents like the “News” feature and the motorsports news related live RSS feed. Videos downloaded from the “>GT-TV mode’s servers are still saved within the demo’s HDD slot but are not available anymore. The demo’s original filesize was extended from 736MB with an empty GT-TV mode to 2.576GB including all six downloadable VOD files.

Photo mode

Among the real time “Autodemo” unplayable content are two courses (Fuji Speedway and the newly added Daytona Speedway), two dozens of old and new cars ranging from the 1990s to the 2000s and two Photo Mode stages set in the Nürburg town and castle. In this latter mode the selected car is set in a Full HD advanced 3D environment with a 360° camera work and the GUI’s real time zoom-in function is enabled.

Audio visual

The game outputs a 1080p Full HD resolution while it remains compatible with NTSC SDTV (480i). Although GUI display (MyGarage, Album, etc.) is widescreen full pixel 1080 60-frame progressive, in-game racing is anamorphic full screen. Replays are rendered at a reduced 30-frame progressive (anamorphic full screen) due to added music video-like visual effects.

Audio quality varies according to the selected output, from AV Multi’s analog 2ch to HDMI’s 7.1ch LPCM. S/PDIF optical output allows Dolby Digital 5.1ch.

The cars featured in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue are roughly made from over 200,000 polygons per car.

The demo’s main theme is “Check” taken from the Bring It On LP performed by Belgian band Goose.

SEMA Show 2007 demo

An alternative version of the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue downloadable demo was presented at Sony’s booth during the Las Vegas Convention Center|2007 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the first time the North American version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was unveiled.

Compared with the Japanese demo this North American version adds previously locked contents such as the rolling demo’s tracks (Daytona International Speedway and Fuji Speedway F) and American cars (Dodge Viper GTS ‘02 and Ford Mustang V8 Coupe Premium ‘07). The online Manual was removed from the Japanese version though.

An extra car, Art Morrison’s Chevrolet Corvette ‘60 SEMA version 2006 was also included. New SEMA show cars have been selected by Kazunori Yamauchi to be featured in the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 like it was done earlier with tuner cars in Gran Turismo 4 (e.g. the HPA Motorsports Golf R32). These 2007 Gran Turismo SEMA awarded cars are the Factory Five GTM ‘07, Bully Dog Ram ‘07, GReddy 350Z ‘07, HPA Motorsports TT ‘07 and the Ringbrothers Mustang Fastback ‘67.

Developer: Polyphony Digital
Publisher : Sony Computer Entertainment
Distributor: Polyphony Digital
Designer: Kazunori Yamauchi
Platform: PlayStation 3
Release date: JP December 13, 2007,
AUS March 27, 2008
EU March 28, 2008
NA April 17,2008
Genre: Racing
Mode: Single player
16-player online multiplayer
ESRB: Rating Pending (RP)
Media: PlayStation Store, Blu-ray Disc
Input methods: SIXAXIS, DualShock 3, GT Force, Driving Force, Logitech Driving Force GT, Driving Force Pro, Driving Force EX, G25 Racing Wheel

In previous version of Gran Turismo, GT1, GT2 and GT3, hybrid can be done relatively easy by editing the gamesave with available gamesave editor. The other thing needed is an application to transfer from console to PC and vice versa. After the emulator for Play Station 1 and cheat device become mature, people can also make hybrid through cheat device like gameshark or PEC (for the emulator) as well for GT1 and GT2.

In GT4, it’s a different story. Even when GT4 gamesave can be transferred to computer, there is no application available to edit the gamesave. The effort to make an application for this purpose got stopped because unlike the previous versions, the gamesave in GT4 is encrypted. Because of this, GT4’s fans can only dream about hybrid in GT4.

Thankfully, there is some progress that can help achieve hybrid in GT4. The first one, PS2 emulator. PS2 emulator, PCSX2, now get mature enough to be able to play GT4 to actually enter the race. Even though the frame rate of the emulation make it unplayable (can be as slow as 1 frame per second!), this is enough to use it to do some experiments on GT4 hybrid.

Second, the success on decrypting GT4 file encryption. This is mostly done by the people who try to make a backup of their precious GT4. Even though the gamesave encryption is not decrypted yet, the information from GT4 disc proof to be very valuable to aid the process of creating GT4 hybrid.

Two things above made it possible to create hybrid in GT4. The process of creating GT4 hybrid can be done in two ways:

1. Using PCSX2.

This require you to play GT4 in PC with PCSX2 PS2 emulator. We then create the hybrid in here by modifying the game with special PCSX2 cheater, Phaste, or many available PC game cheater. Currently, it is possible to transfer your console game save from or to PCSX2 internal memory card. If you are able to do this method, you can make GT4 hybrid faster.

2. Using cheat device, like Action Replay Max, Code Breaker, Game Shark, etc.

This method still untested yet, but should be possible. Its proccess takes more time and passion since it takes a lot of time to just enter single line of code.

Both method need a lot of work, but the best thing is, it works. In the future when GT4 gamesave encryption successfully decoded, we can hope that the application to make hybrid in GT4 easier will be available.

I would like to thanks anyone who helps me either directly or indirectly making GT4 hybrid. And I hope Polyphony Digital would welcome this change since this will make an already loved GT4 would be more loved by it’s fan.

You can find the example of GT4 hybrid gamesave here and here. Currently only available for PAL version of GT4.

About the author:

Sucahyo is a Grand Turismo enthusiasts who spend much time tuning and testing GT2 and GT4 cars. He is an active member of gtplanet’s GT2 and GT4 forum. You can check out his experiments in his Gran Turismo site.

Carroll McMahon didn’t think she was buying her son a dangerous toy when she paid twice the list price on eBay for a Nintendo Wii so it would be under the tree on Christmas morning.

But on Friday, the key part to Nintendo’s hot new video game system was put under a voluntary recall. The strap that attaches the wandlike controller to a player’s wrist can break easily, sending the device flying, in some cases right through television screens.

Nintendo also warned its customers to throttle back on the enthusiastic play.

Since the Wii’s introduction in mid-November, Wii users have reported cracked TV screens, bruised foreheads and other misadventures caused by controllers flying out of the hands of overly aggressive users.

Jaana Baker, 23, cracked her LCD screen during a particularly spirited round of Wii bowling after snapping the controller’s wrist strap and sending it into her flat-screen TV. (Chris Carlson / Associated Press)

It’s an unusual side effect of an innovative take on gaming. The Wii distinguishes itself from the other enormously anticipated new video game device, Sony’s PlayStation 3, by using a hand-held controller that senses motion and wirelessly transmits it to the TV. The controller can be used as a tennis racket or sword, and that motion gets incorporated into the on-screen action.

Unfortunately, one of two very low-tech straps that tether the wireless controller to a user’s wrist is failing. As gamers work up a sweat swatting backhand winners, they can lose their grip on the controller. The force of the swing then causes the strap to snap, sending the device flying.

The thin cord connecting the controller to the wrist strap is the problem. “People refer to it as sewing thread,” said Jim Walsh, 27, who has been chronicling the defect and its consequences on a Web site, WiiHaveAProblem.com.

The game enthusiast from Cleveland got an e-mail from a friend who “broke his TV with the controller,” he said. “So we jumped on it and put up the Web site to see where it might go.”

That site was part of the chatter that led Nintendo to issue a voluntary recall Friday for the 3.2 million connecting straps already sold. The new straps are roughly twice as thick as the original ones.

At Walsh’s Web site, there are plenty of pictures of what happens when the Wii goes airborne. He said he receives about 20 to 30 e-mails a day detailing the damage.

One player said the strap on his Wii broke and launched the controller into his 42-inch projection TV. “There are two layers of screens on my TV, and the [remote] broke through both,” he wrote.

Another gamer sent his controller into the television twice. Merely cracking the screen the first time, he kept playing. The next time the controller hit the screen it broke open a big hole. Game over.

People aren’t only hurting their TVs, either.

One woman walked into the room at the same moment her boyfriend was swinging a sword during a fantasy game. He hit her right in her face, giving her a nasty shiner.

Another woman dislocated her knee. A post on the Web site says she was “apparently wearing heels while playing” tennis.

It’s that physical motion that has video game developers so excited about the Wii, despite Friday’s voluntary recall.

Boxing on the Nintendo Wii.

“We love it,” said Reilly Brennan, a spokesman for Chicago-based Midway Games, which is developing a Wii version of Mortal Kombat, the most popular title in Midway’s catalog. “We knew Nintendo would have a hit on its hand when we first saw the Wii. We launched four games with the system and we have a lot of games in development.”

There’s no doubt that the Wii has been a big hit this holiday season.

Through the end of November, Nintendo sold 476,000 units in the U.S., according to the NPD Group. The company claims it will ship about 4 million worldwide by year’s end. Sony Corp. has sold 197,000 in the U.S., and said it will ship 2 million worldwide by the year’s end. The game consoles remain hard to find in stores.

Both were released in November, with the PS3 the more highly anticipated introduction. The Wii has been a surprise hit, with analysts pointing to its fresh approach to gaming, plus a more modest $250 retail price, compared to PS3, which goes for as much as $600.

To deal with its problem, Nintendo on Friday announced the voluntary recall and distributed a fact sheet titled “Proper Wii Remote Usage” that points out “players should keep at least 3 feet from their televisions and should dry their hands if they become moist.”

It also advised gamers not to play too forcefully.

Replacement details can be found at Wii.Nintendo.com or by calling (800) 859-4519. Buyers are asked to fill out a form and send it to Nintendo. Users should hold onto their controller as the gamemaker will send out a new strap within five to nine days, the company said.

Since early this month, Nintendo has been shipping fatter straps with the consoles. A spokesman for Best Buy said Friday that consoles bought at that retailer have the thicker straps. However, buyers of standalone remotes—a popular accessory—still have the older, thinner straps, he said.

Carroll McMahon, a north suburban mom, was involved in seven different Wii auctions on eBay before winning one for $505 for her 12-year-old son, Patrick.

“My son never asks for anything,” she said. “He mentioned he would really like the Wii. He totally deserves this.”

She still plans on putting the Wii under the tree.

It will be there for him, right next to a small package with a new strap—if it arrives in time.

This will be a blog about gaming, about PC games, arcades, consoles, and emulators. We’re going to put reviews, comments, tips, tricks and cool links on just anything about this now 3 decades old popular pasttime.

While you’re here please drop a comment or two.

Thanks,

Admin.