Three titles are available from the PlayStation Store with the PixelJunk moniker: Racers, Monsters, and Eden. I wasn’t that impressed with the first title. The second was interesting and had some strategic elements that gave it depth. However, the third title in this series is a sight (and sound) to behold.
PixelJunk Eden is a 2D platformer with visually engaging graphics and immersive sound that bely it’s simple premise. The visual experience is a less comical (but every bit as “trippy”) as LocoRoco. This E-rated title is conceptually abstract and involves freeing pollen to grow plants that allow you to access more of the garden and collect “spectra.” Yea, I’ve played the game and that description doesn’t make much sense to me either, but trust me, this is truly worth playing.
Eden also has a number of really unique features too. For example, if you own a PSP, you can play the game on it using the Remote Play feature. It also has multiplayer capability (for up to three people) so that you can share the experience with your friends. And to top it off, the title has a built-in video capture capability that allows you to record sessions to the harddrive and upload them directly to YouTube.
I could go on for a while on this one, but I put it right up there with flOw and Everyday Shooter. It is a simple title that is fun to play with others. Because of the potential for frustration, I wouldn’t recommend it for children under five. But it’s a great title to play cooperatively with up to two others in the household.
Many point to certain titles currently available and identify them as fine examples of gaming as art. This certainly qualifies and does so while still maintaining the emphasis on gaming. Enjoy!
Sackboy (or Sackgirl, depending on gender) is the hero(ine) of an upcoming PS3 game entitled Little Big Planet. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, this promises to be far more than just a videogame.
“Play Create Share” is the tagline for Little Big Planet. The premise is that this title is much more than a game. It is a world building environment. What is particularly impressive about this experience is that the interface with which individuals can create their own levels is not only user-friendly, it’s fun!
Before I get carried away, please understand that Little Big Planet is not the first game to offer this the ability to design levels. I had the opportunity to jump on the game-mod bandwagon for the original Quake a number of years ago. I found great satisfaction in designing my own virtual worlds to share with others. In fact, this isn’t even the first console-based title to offer this option. I enjoyed creating levels in the original PlayStation version of Lode Runner and the PS2 title TimeSplitters. However, the robust toolset and mind-boggling flexibility of the design architecture makes Little Big Planet a true evolutionary step. When one considers the ability to share levels through the PlayStation Network, it offers a venue through which we all can share our creations.
In addition to the tools and textures that are part of the system, one can use the PS3 Eye camera to capture images and map them onto surfaces as well!
Little Big Planet is scheduled for release on October 21st (just over one month away). I know that I have been looking forward to this title for a long time. I hope to create some levels customized for my children that will inspire and motivate them and, eventually, I look forward to helping them discover the wonder of creation for themselves!
What can I say? Is this Sony’s attempt to merge HDTV and the AIBO and hope that it catches on like Nintendogs? We’ll see, but the interactive nature is interesting. The real question is whether or not they have incorporated the AI from the AIBO in the software. If it could develop and learn, this concept could have some merit. Nothing like giving your kids a chance to have a pet that can’t make a mess to see if they will get bored or not.
But no matter how cute or intelligently programmed such a virtual pet is, it can’t curl up on your lap on a cold winter’s night. Though I love my LCD TV, it’s not the same. And though pets aren’t inexpensive, the cost of a PS3, HD display, an EYE camera, and this software can go pretty far to adopting and taking care of a little critter from your local animal shelter.
Still, if you aren’t sure that your kids are quite ready for the responsibility of a pet and you already have the hardware, this might be an opportunity to test the waters. (My daughter really thinks that the reason cats have tails if for her to be able to grab them. I hope that she doesn’t have to learn that lesson the hard way.) Also, if you’re child has pet alergies, (my son appears to be allergic to dog and cat dander), This could give everybody a little pet fix without the Benadryl.
Yet again, this could just be a “gateway pet.” You be the judge!
Nintendo of America set a new record last week according to this article at gameindustry.biz. During the Thanksgiving week (including Black Friday) over 653,000 Nintendo DS systems were sold and 350,000 Wiis flew off the shelves as well. This is over one million game systems by one company in a single week! In this related article on their site, gameindustry.biz noted that more than 310,000 Xbox 360s and roughly 150,000 PlayStation 3s were sold during this same time period.
What makes this information valuable to us as parents is that getting a new game system for the family this holiday season is now difficult and it’s only going to get worse. This is usually the case during a launch year, but the 360 launched two years ago, the DS lite came out in June of 2006, and the Wii and PS3 came out for last year’s holiday season. The release of the Xbox 360 Elite and the new price slashes on the PS3 have kept interest high on these systems. However, Nintendo has really regained their dominant position in the gaming world with the DS and the Wii.
Since the introduction of the original GameBoy, Nintendo has always had the most successful handheld platform on the planet. The introduction of the GameBoy Color and GameBoy Advance continued that trend. But the DS has tapped into a market similar to the Wii where people are interested in alternative ways of interfacing with the technology. Further proof of their success with this approach is confirmed by the fact that retailers have found it difficult to keep the Wii in stock ever since its launch.
I’m personally delighted to see such interest in these systems, but I can only hope that parents are approaching these purchases reflectively and plan to use these as gifts for the family that can inspire opportunities to bond and relate on yet another level.
Keep an eye here for our upcoming vodcast and our follow-up articles offering our gaming recommendations for this year!
Sony’s original console camera for the PlayStation 2 was called the EyeToy. It was a USB camera that enabled the player to view him/herself on the screen during gameplay. Many titles took advantage of this and were created around the technology including the Play series as well as Antigrav, Groove, Kinetic, and Sega Super Stars. Though the specs state that it has a resolution of 640×480, this is the maximum capability of its pixel array and can only be used for stills. It normally runs at 320×240.
In comparison, the Eye functions at a resolution of 640×380 @ 60fps. (Though this isn’t quite DVD quality, it’s much better than VHS.) The camera will also be able to run at twice the speed at a lower resolution in order to capture motion more fluidly for game interaction. The camera is also designed to function well in low light situations (an issue that limited the usability of the original EyeToy). It also boasts a 4-microphone array to help better isolate sound from background noise. This will allow players to communicate with others without resorting to headsets (This same technology is used in dedicated video conferencing hardware that costs $5000 and up!)
This device will enable users to capture their own video and edit it with a free downloadable application from the PlayStation Network called EyeCreate. It can also be used as a video conferencing device which can communicate with up to 6 people at once. And for those who own a PS3 to play games, there will be titles for the Eye as well including The Eye of Judgment and the Trials of Topoq.
If for no other reason, I find the Internet-based videophone aspect of this enticing. If Wil Wheaton was pleased to keep in touch with his kid at college through Xbox Live and a headset, I wonder what he would say about some facetime (without long distance charges). I plan to be getting one of these. Who knows, maybe I’ll be seeing you soon?
