PS3 Game News, Previews and Reviews from 1UP

PlayStation 3 Facebook Integration May Also Be On The Way

Kat Bailey — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:11:00 PST

The PlayStation 3 recently picked up Netflix support -- could it be getting Facebook integration as well? If these image is anything to go by, it'll indeed be happening sooner than later.

ScrawlFX is reporting that an "anonymous tipster" sent the picture above and others along. They depict Facebook support, a revamped gamer card, and a new way to organize photos.

Obviously, this "anonymous tipster" could be an ordinary person who knows how to use Photoshop, so treat these pictures as pure rumor for now. However, it's certainly not far-fetched to assume that Sony will follow Microsoft's lead and integrate social networking tools into their platform.

Japan Review Check: Ratchet, Jak, Wizardry

Kevin Gifford — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:00 PST

Ratchet (the Japan Groucho Marx-eyebrow version) is back, and it's clear that gamers over there love 'im, too.

Famitsu magazine gave Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time straight 9's in this week's issue, earning it 36 points and the best score of the week's offerings. Reviewers could hardly find anything to complain about with the game -- the "characters and story are charming," the time-based action is "deep and thoughtful," and the "stressless" gameplay easy to get to grips with even for amateurs. "It's like watching a CG animated film, and if you like the best action has to offer, you've got to play this," as one writer put it.

Other interesting games reviewed this week in Japan:

Gearbox Dev Calls Borderlands 2 "a No-Brainer"

Steve Watts — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:56:00 PST

Borderlands has been a critical success, and analysts have been projecting it as a moderate hit in sales too. It would come as no surprise for Gearbox to work on a sequel, and though no plans have been made yet, creative director Mike Neumann calls it a "no-brainer." In an interview with VG247, Neumann definitely hints that a sequel is possible. "Borderlands is really exciting," he said. "Everyone here loves the franchise, and it seems like the public is really coming back with praise and love. So yeah, if everything makes sense, Borderlands 2 seems like a no-brainer to me."

That doesn't mean that a sequel is already in the works, however. "With anything, especially new IP, if people want more and you can make more, and everybody can make money and do good business there, it obviously makes really good sense to do that," he said. "Obviously nothing so far is planned. We're working on DLC. We haven't really had any talks about a sequel, other than water cooler talk." It sounds like a sequel will ultimately be based on sales. Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) is predicting about 300,000 copies of the game sold for the Xbox 360 in October, so if the NPD numbers match up, we're likely to see more sequel buzz coming.

Bully Composer Mentions Bully 2

Steve Watts — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:26:00 PST

Rockstar may have a sequel to Bully in the works. The Gaming Liberty reports that a recent interview with composer Shawn Lee hints at the title. Asked if he would work on future games, Lee responded, "Yes. It looks like I will be doing the soundtrack for Bully 2 in the not so distant future." He doesn't leave much room for interpretation there, but this news is still in rumor territory. Rockstar told Kotaku, "We do not comment on rumor and speculation."

The original Bully came out late in the last generation and was overlooked by some due to its timing. Rockstar ported it to the Wii and 360 with "Scholarship Editions" that featured extra classes, but the studio that handled the port was recently hit with layoffs. If this game is coming, we'll keep our ears to the ground for which Rockstar team will be developing it.

EA Culling Development Slate, Refocusing on Established IPs

Kris Pigna — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:18:00 PST

In addition to their announcement that they'll be cutting a staggering 1,500 jobs as part of a cost-restructuring plan, Electronic Arts has also announced that they'll be releasing almost 50% fewer games in the next fiscal year compared to the last, with a reemphasis on established, "high profit" contributing titles.

EA CEO John Riccitiello explained the new strategy during an investors conference call (MCV, via Joystiq), in which he stated EA plans to release around 30 boxed titles in the next fiscal year spanning April 2010 to March 2011, nearly half the amount the released in the 2009 fiscal year (April 08 to March 09). "In rough numbers, mid-60s would have been the way to think about last year [FY2009]. [We'll release] approximately 50 this year and something in the high 30s next year. So when you consolidate this thing, it's about a 50 percent cut over two years."

And the reduced lineup, Riccitiello made clear, will focus extensively on "iterating" in established and dependable franchises. "Electronic Arts has a core slate of games label and sports franchises that we will iterate on an either annual or bi-annual basis," Riccitiello said (via Develop). "And I think you know what those major titles are -- all of them are selling or have sold in their most recent edition 2 million units or more. After that, we've got The Sims and Hasbro, and frankly anything that doesn't measure up to looking like it can pencil out to be [a] very high profit contributor and high unit seller got cut from our title slate from this point going forward."

Naughty Dog Polling on Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Modes

Steve Watts — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:03:00 PST

If you're not too distracted with other multiplayer games, Naughty Dog is looking for your opinion on what should come next for Uncharted 2. The company site is hosting a poll asking what Multiplayer playlist the fans would like to see next. Naughty Dog's Arne Meyer describes each choice on the PlayStation.Blog for those who want to make an informed decision.

Plunder Only would restrict the games to plunder game types. The two Crushing modes (All Game Types and Deathmatch Only) would set rules to the harder difficulty for those two playlists. Skilled Objectives would reset skill levels specific to each objective-based playlist. Finally, Deathmatch Varients Only would restrict games to include sniper/pistole, pistole/grenades, RPGs, and Crushing difficulty.

"We can't guarantee that we'll be releasing the most popular playlist," the post by Meyer states, "but we really want to know what you'd like to see, so let us know what you want." So far Plunder Only is running away with the vote at almost 42%, far surpassing Crushing: All Competitive at 21%. If you want to ensure Plunder's victory, or try to change the outcome, head over and cast your own vote in the digital ballot box.

Modern Warfare 2 Launch Day Live Stream

Sam Kennedy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:00:00 PST

UPDATE: And we're done playing for now -- we have to get ready for Game Night with New Super Mario Bros! Thanks all of you who played with us and thanks to all 50,000 people who tuned in this afternoon. We'll see on you online.

1UP editors are playing Modern Warfare 2 all day today...come join us for a game or two!

Live Broadcasting by Ustream

Eidos Interactive Rebranded As Square Enix Europe

Kat Bailey — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:38:00 PST

Looks like the assimilation is now complete. Square Enix announced today that Eidos Interactive has been rebranded as Square Enix Europe, rounding out the transition that began with Eidos' acquisition back in March.

"Today marks a major achievement towards the goals we announced in July and represents the creation of an efficient and powerful structure for game development and publishing," said Square Enix Europe president and CEO Phil Rogers.

"We have a formidable product-line up which truly showcases the diversity of our exceptional gaming brands."

Dante's Inferno Demo Arriving in December

Dustin Quillen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:29:00 PST

Questionable marketing tactics aside, EA's videogame adaptation of Dante's Inferno looks like it has potential. Players will be able to find out for themselves sometime next month, as the publisher announced this morning that a demo for Dante's Inferno will hit both the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store in December.

The "Gates of Hell" demo for Dante's Inferno will include the opening level of the game in its entirety, which leads up to a climactic showdown against Death himself. Anyone who gets hooked at that point will have to wait until February 9 of next year to play the finished game.

Medal of Honor and Other EA "Core IPs" to be Revitalized

Chris Pereira — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:11:00 PST

Long before there was Call of Duty, Medal of Honor was the preeminent World War II first-person shooter series. Over the years, it's fallen by the wayside, and it's been over two years since the last game in the series was released. During an EA investor call today, Frank Gibeau, president of the EA Games label, mentioned a "revitalization" of the Medal of Honor series that would soon be shown, reports G4tv.com. He didn't go into any details of exactly what that revitalization would include or when we'll hear more (though G4 infers that we'll hear about it in 2010), except that it's similar to what the Need for Speed series went through.

Medal of Honor might not be the only EA series to undergo such a process. Other "core IPs" from EA will also likely be given a similar treatment to NFS.

Any guesses as to what other series EA may have in mind? Other than an iPhone iteration, it's been a while since we heard from SSX.