After much rumour and speculation, Sony has unveiled the new PSP, It’s actually codenamed NGP and will revolve around five key concepts: Revolutionary User Interface, Social Connectivity, Location-based Entertainment, Converging Real and Virtual (augmented) Reality. It will be compatible with the PlayStation Suite and is backwards-compatible with downloadable PSP games and content from Sony’s PlayStation Store.

The PSP’s replacement has a five-inch, 16 million colour 960×544 OLED touchscreen, twin cameras, twin speakers and a microphone. There are also twin analogue sticks and a ridiculously powerful quad-core processor based on the ARM Cortex A9. Expect four to five hours from the battery.

Games will come on “new media,” not UMD anymore, but we’re unclear on what sort of flash memory is being used. Sony’s rather proud of the fact it’s offering the world’s first dual analog stick combo on a portable device, though we’re more geeked about the quadrupling of pixel count from the original PSP.

Sony’s live event has been graced by demos of some pretty popular games, including Killzone, Resistance, Little Big Planet, and Uncharted — with the latter serving as a demo platform to show off how the NGP’s rear touchpad can be used to more intuitively climb up some vines. That touch panel on the back is the same size and positioned directly under the front OLED touchscreen, which allows for some pretty sophisticated controls when using the two simultaneously. The combination of a touchy front and back is fascinating – Sony talks about it enabling “touch, grab, trace, push and pull hand movements.”

The NGP doesn’t just have that nifty quad-core processor: it’s got a quad-core Imagination Technologies PowerVR graphics processor too. We can summarise its spec in one word: mighty.

Sony promises that the PSP2′s built-in GPS will mean some interesting location-aware games via the PlayStation Network, and an application called Near will let you know if your friends are, you’ve guessed it, near you. The PSP2 also includes a three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer and three-axis electronic compass for handheld-waggling motion-controlled tomfoolery.

The new console’s UI will be called LiveArea, which has a bunch of vertically navigable home screens and built-in social networking through PlayStation Network. You can jump between games and the LiveArea without losing your progress and comment on your buddies’ great feats of mobile gaming.

In closing its presentation, Sony trotted out Hideo Kojima to show off a cutscene from MGS 4 rendered in real time on the NGP. It was pulled directly from the PS3 version of the game and ran at 20fps, which looked very smooth indeed to our liveblogging eyes. Videos and Sony’s full PR are now available below.

Developer Silicon Knights
Publisher Activision
Release date Q3/Q4 2011
Genre Action

X-Men: Destiny is an upcoming video game based on the X-Men comic book series. It is currently being developed by Silicon Knights and is planned to be published by Activision. It is currently scheduled to be released in Q3/Q4 2011. The story is being written by Mike Carey, writer of the X-Men: Legacy comic book series. The game was announced at the 2010 New York Comic Con on October 9, 2010, and it has not yet been announced on which consoles it will be released.

Gameplay

In X-Men: Destiny, players will be put in the role of a new mutant who joins the X-Men; they will have to make choices to decide the ultimate destiny of their character. According to early sources, X-Men: Destiny is placing an emphasis on “choice” as its main focus, as opposed to a more traditional linear type of gameplay. According to the official press release, “the all-new original video game casts players as new mutant recruits in a rich, branching storyline that features a deep element of choice and gives players ultimate control of their destiny”.

BLACK AND WHITE
Your currency comes in the form of X-Genes, which can be used to boost yourself or as gifts to other X-Men to form alliances. You’ll have the chance to choose which characters become friends or foe, which is a nice touch if a little blunt for a series that has always been about moral grey-areas.

Speaking of which, every significant decision you make in the game will be not-so-subtly signposted as the action freezes and you’re forced to go one way or the other, drastically altering the path of the story. It’s as subtle as a brick to the face, but it’s stylishly done.

The rest of the game is action, and you bring your chosen skills into the third-person fight. Chaining regular attacks will fill your Mutant Power meter with juice, allowing you to unleash ever more devastating abilities on your enemies – again depending on the core skills you choose to select from the start.

While Destiny already seems unlikely to claw back much of X-Men’s lost popularity, it’s wealth of licensed characters (Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Gambit and many others) are already confirmed.

And the storyline fits snugly into those explored in the comics should ensure decent fan service with just enough super-hero fare to tide us over until Batman: Arkham City finally arrives.

Plot

Destiny is based in San Francisco, after the dead of Profesor X, the city is divided into human and mutant areas due to conflict between the two groups. The game begins at a peace rally being held in memory of the deceased Professor X, where the player chooses from one of three mutant characters to play as, who have been originally created for the game. The game allows for the player to decide which mutants become their allies and enemies through choices made in the course of the story.

The fifth entry in Sega’s advanced, realistic fighting game series. Once again, the realtime level of visual detail and character animation has been upped to the most advanced levels, with next-generation lighting and detail on the fighters and environments.

Virtua Fighter 5 is the latest game in Sega’s Virtua Fighter series. It was released on July 12, 2006 into Japanese arcades. Virtua Fighter 5 is due for release on PlayStation 3 on February 20, 2007, and will be a launch title for the European release in March. The Xbox 360 version is due in the summer of 2007 (sooner than August), as confirmed by Sega on December 21, 2006. It’s mean that PS3 fans will stil be able to thumb their noses at the 360-only crowd for a good six months.

Virtua Fighter 5 features beautifully detailed stages from around the world where players face off in fast-moving martial arts battles against one of 17 characters. Two lively new characters join the elite group of fighters, adding two new unique fighting styles for players to try and master. With more skill and strategy than ever before, players are also given the opportunity to learn and employ the new “Offensive Move” technique to take down their opponents from different angles, adding a new dimension to the game and something for both new and old fans to master. Virtua Fighter 5 also includes the ability to customise characters by selecting from four base costumes and a wide range of unlockable accessories and earnable items. As players win more tournaments they will not only earn costumes and accessories, but also prizes and in-game money that will allow them to buy items from the in-game shop.

Playable characters

Akira Yuki : Akira strives for perfection and will drive himself relentlessly to master his techniques. He seeks worthy opponents to fight in order to find flaws in his skills to further attain mastery. Akira is the Assistant teacher of his father’s dojo. This dojo is his stage in Virtua Fighter 4.

Pai Chan : She is a martial arts action movie star in her hometown, and her fighting style is Ensei-Ken.

Lau Chan : In Virtua Fighter 4, Lau entered the tournament looking for a successor. He didn’t consider his daughter Pai, because he didn’t think she was strong enough to continue his legacy.

Jacky Bryant : Jacky fights using the incredibly versatile Jeet Kune Do style, allowing him a wide range of kicks and punches. The most important aspect of Jacky’s game is his combos, which can be utilized to repeatedly strike and inflict massive damage. He also seems to have a brash and confident attitude.

Sarah Bryant : Sarah is the sister of Jacky Bryant, and an avid practitioner of Jeet Kune Do. Sometime in her dealings with J6 corporation, she lost her memory. She enters the 3rd tournament to find and defeat her brother.

Jeffry McWild : Jeffry is an Australian that practices Pancratium, as well as having an intense liking for the sport of fishing. His bigest ambition is to catch the infamous “Satan Shark”.

Shun Di : Drinking during a fight will increase Shun Di’s fighting ability by making new and more powerful combos available.

Lion Rafale : The Rafale family is a very prominent family in France, who were known first for their lucrative success in the aircraft industry.

Kage-Maru : Kage took part in the 3rd tournament to defeat Dural and obtain new parts to help save his mother. Sadly, his mother’s condition worsened and she became Dural completely. On infiltrating the organization he found a new Dural which contained the secret to saving his mother.

Wolf Hawkfield : His VF5 story is currently unknown. However, it has been revealed that lucha libre wrestler El Blaze has some sort of connection with him.

Aoi Umenokouji : Aoi’s mastery of countering and defensive holds is clearly shown in Virtua Fighter 4, being the character with the most available in the entire game.

Lei-Fei : Lei is a monk who practices Shaolin kung-fu. He is part of an elite group of monks meant to get rid of martial art styles deemed too dangerous. Secretly he wishes to be trained by Lau Chan, the man he was sent to kill in the fourth tournament, in his unique style, Koen-Ken.

Vanessa Lewis : As an orphan, Vanessa was adopted by a special forces officer named Lewis, but Lewis died during a terrorist attack.

Brad Burns : In the kickboxing world, a new style is being created. Because of his good looks,Brad Burns has many female fans. What’s more, he likes to go out with such girls at night after his battles and present a charming personality.

Goh Hinogami : His father was a judo expert chosen to go to the Olympics, but, a jealous friend whose career aspirations were unsuccessful murdered him, and Goh became an orphan. Soon after, the Organization found him, and trained him in assassination arts.

Dural : Dural was previously a human woman. Her name was Tsukikage and she was both Kage-Maru’s mother and a Kunoichi.

New Comers : Two new characters were shown at the end of the Virtua Fighter 5 preview, immediately after the logo. The first character was a young girl who uses Monkey Kung Fu named Eileen. The second character that was shown along with the girl has been confirmed as El Blaze. He is a lucha libre wrestler and wears a mask. Blaze is a quicker fighter who uses acrobatic and gymnastic moves to fight and throw opponents; he seems to have some sort of rivalry with the existing character Wolf Hawkfield.

Feature

Players will be able to customize their characters by selecting from four uniquely patterned costumes and a wide range of attachable items that can be placed onto each fighter’s various body parts. Players will not only achieve victory by defeating highly-skilled opponents, but will also compete for prizes and earn in-game money through the match to buy many items at an in-game shop.

One thing that’s interesting is that the PS3 is undoubtedly going to be big in Japan, but in North America and Europe the Xbox 360 has a pretty sizeable head start, not to mention an installed-base advantage. Have you considered the financial benefits to bringing the game to the system (the 360) with the bigger installed-base in North America? I’ve heard that Lindbergh is closer in design to 360 due to the PC-style architecture of the systems. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I’m interested in knowing your opinion on this.

Developher : Sega
Publisher : Sega
Genre : Fighting
Platform : Arcade, PS3, Xbox360
ESRB : Teen
Release date :

Arcade
JPN July 12, 2006

PlayStation 3
JPN February 8, 2007
NA February 20, 2007
EUR March, 2007

Xbox 360
NA August, 2007
EUR August, 2007

Silent Hill Origins tells the tale of a solitary truck driver stuck in the terrifying town while making a routine delivery. New gameplay elements, such as a barricade system that lets players block off rooms from enemies, and an enhanced camera system deliver an added sense of isolation and anxiety in this frightening adventure.

Graphic

It looks like Silent Hill Origins will make pretty good use of the PSP‘s graphics and sound. The visuals look to be much closer to the PS2 Silent Hills than the PSOne version, with lots of gray spookiness and blowing curtains in the trailer. And series composer Akira Yamaoka will be on hand to deliver the soundtrack, which should make any fan grin.

Story

Silent Hill: Origins is a prequel to the popular Silent Hill series. It dates before Silent Hill 1 (1999), hence the name and the “0″ with a line through it in the logo suggesting Zero as well as “O”. Silent hill: Origins tells a tate of a truck driver named Travis Grady on a routine delivery who stumbles across the disturbing town of Silent Hill. Not long after his arrival he realises that the locals aren’t quite normal and the town seems to introduce Travis’ memories of his depressing childhood, reminding him at every corner… He must escape Silent Hill and defeat the memories that have troubled him eversince childhood.
Silent Hill: Origins has new elements to its gameplay which previous Silent Hill games did not have. The camera angles have been re-made to fit the PSP which introduce a new level of anxiety and horror. Originally new a “barracade” system has been introduced which lets the player block doorways and such with surrounding objects to bar the enemy’s path, however William Oertel (CLIMAX Studios) has commented on the fact that it would have taken too much time to finish and would postpone the release further and further, so this element of gameplay was taken out of the game. Sources suggest that Silent Hill: Origins may well introduce some new, and previous characters such as Dallia and Alessa Gillespie and Dr. Kaufmann and others from the past games. William Oertel has offically stated that the ending to the game will directly link in to the story of Silent Hill 1. Along with this, as any Silent Hill, comes brand new monsters.

Gameplay

Horror games demand as much respect as Konami‘s Silent Hill, which focuses more on psychological horror and the terror of half-glimpsed style scares of Capcom‘s Resident Evil games. It follows that Silent Hill games have been reluctant to divulge their secrets. After all, if the unknown becomes known, it won’t be quite as frightening anymore. Fans make due with the clues and snippets they can muster, trying to piece together the horrific history of the haunted town.

You will meet a few new pieces to the puzzle, in the form of Silent Hill Origins for the PSP. As the title suggests, it takes place before the first Silent Hill game and will help to establish the backstory of the cult, reveal how Alessa came to be involved, and show how the town evolved into the hellish place we know and fear.

Developer : Konami Climax studio
Publisher: Konami
Music Score: Akira Tamaoka
Genre : Horror
Release Dates :UK: FEB 2007,US: Q1 2007, JP: Q1 2007?