Introducing the PS3 Slim
In a much anticipated move, Sony unveiled the PS3 Slim at Gamescom this year. The new PS3, priced at $300, will be available in the first week of September. Compared to the original PS3, the new one is smaller and weighs less. It also sports a 120GB HDD, and consumes 34 percent less power.
In other good news, original PS3s have their prices dropped to $300. In India, the prices have been dropped from INR 24,990 to INR 19,990. IMHO, it would have been great if Sony India dropped another 3k INR to bring it closer to XBox 360 Arcade’s price. Apart from countries where the new one will be available at a later date, it really doesn’t make sense to pay $300 for an 80GB PS3 when you can get the new one with 120 GB HDD at the same price in a few weeks.
Your favorite indie games at upto 75% discount!
There is an amazing deal running on Steam this weekend. You can get 10 of the best indie games at upto 75% discount. And the indie games collection is pretty awesome too.
Project Natal from Microsoft
Microsoft has wowed everyone by showcasing what might be the next milestone in the gaming & entertainment industry. Project Natal is a new way of gaming where your whole body is the controller. You do not need anything to control the characters in the game.
A step above the wii, Project Natal works using a 3D motion sensing camera hooked up to your Xbox 360. The following video says it all:
Lionhead, a UK based gaming studio (acquired by Microsoft in 2006) has used Natal to develop this awesome prototype, Milo:
Cool eh? We will be eagerly waiting for this technology to come in the market. Project Natal was showcased at Microsoft’s stall at E3 2009. Here is a video of the live demonstration (with some LOL comments in the video):
Myst now on iPhone
Remember the good old days when point-and-click adventure games used to be awesome. If you do, you sure remember Myst. At that time, I was awestruck by it’s gorgeous artwork and amazing soundtrack. Now, you can experience all that on your iPhone.
It does come at a cost though. It’s a huge 727 MB download! Obviously, it’ll take up all that space on your iPhone as well. And yes it costs $5.99. I’m actually surprised since I was expecting the price to be around $10.
I personally don’t even mind removing all my songs and videos from the iPhone if the game is worth it 
Drool on the images ahead.
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Review: Aqua Jigsaw [iPhone Games]
I was introduced to the concept of jigsaw puzzles when my aunt gifted a “kitten-in-a-basket” puzzle to me long back. It was a great new experience for me. A game that was fun, mentally challenging and above all helped me prove to my friends, how stupid they were. So, when I downloaded my review copy of Aqua Jigsaw I was expecting a similar experience.
Aqua Jigsaw, being true to its name, is a jigsaw puzzle game based on aquatic life. It allows you to create puzzles from pictures in categories like fishes, aquatic life and aquatic plants. If you get bored of all the aquatic life you can use one of the wallpapers in your iPhone or just take a picture and use it. The game allows you to choose the shape of puzzle pieces from rectangle or the standard jigsaw puzzle shape and modify the size of each piece.
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What I liked
- Lots of aquatic pictures to choose from. Also the option to choose your own pictures makes the puzzle images practically unlimited.
- Excellent implementation. The blocks have a slight pull from a distance so that you don’t need to align till the last pixel.
- Load/resume works perfectly. Great for quick puzzle solving sessions on the way.
- Soothing background sea soundtrack. It needs improvements though (See the ‘did not like list’)
What I didn’t like
- The UI lags a bit while dragging the pieces.
- Soundtrack should have more tracks. And, PLEASE eliminate the glass shattering sound (noise?) when an image is broken into puzzle pieces.
Verdict
If you like solving Jigsaw puzzles, this is a great game for quick on-the-go time pass. It needs improvements but they can be addressed via software updates. The $1.99 price tag may seem a tad high but if you consider it’s excellent implementation, compared to other app store jigsaw puzzle apps, it’s actually quite decent.
Aqua Jigsaw is brought to you by 99games and can be purchased here for $1.99.
Thanks to 99games for the review copy!
Max Payne 1 and 2 on Xbox Live
I have a confession to make. I never played Max Payne. I saw the trailers, read the reviews, I even saw my friends playing it. But, I never played it myself. To add to the shame, I don’t seem to remember any reason for not playing it!
Anyway, when I logged into Xbox Live today, I was pleasantly surprised by 2 new Xbox Originals. Yes, Max Payne 1 & 2 are now available on Xbox 360 for 1200 points!
It actually is a good strategy by Rockstar and Microsoft. Just before the release of Max Payne 3, tempt people with Max Payne 1 & 2. Get publicity for your game and earn money selling your 8 year old games!
Anyway, I’m not complaining. At least I won’t be the “one who hasn’t played Max Payne” any more.
Xbox Live free this weekend!
Microsoft UK has announced that during Xtival’09 from May 1-4 all Xbox users will have access to free Xbox Live Gold. So you can play with your friends on Live for free!
Here’s what the official website says:
We don’t think anyone should miss out on the treats we’ve got lined-up this year, which is why we’re giving EVERYONE Xbox LIVE Gold membership FREE for the entire weekend.
Let’s hope this is applicable in India too. And while we’re hoping, let’s also hope that Microsoft learns something from Sony and makes Xbox Live free for all 
Braid is now available on PC! [Video Games]
Great news for all you PC gamers. Braid, earlier an Xbox Live exclusive, is now available on PC (Windows only).
If you are a gamer and have been living in a cave, Braid is last year’s super hit indie game that won everyone’s heart with it’s ingenious puzzles, art style and music. As described by the creator, Jonathan Blow, “Braid is a platform game in a paintery style where you manipulate the flow of time to solve puzzles”.
Take our word for it, the game is an amazing, mind-bending experience. Gamer or not, you must own and play it. The game is a $15 download away from Steam or various other websites mentioned in the official announcement.
If you’re still in doubt, download the demo from Impulse and prepare to be amazed.
[via - Official Braid blog]
Another reason to be a game developer [Xbox 360]
After finishing a game when you sit back enjoying the credits, don’t you fancy seeing your name scroll through there? If the answer is yes, here is a nightmare for you.
Microsoft has launched new Xbox 360 development kits that’ll make you drool like you never did. These models come in metallic blue and matte black colors and look as hot as a piece of electronic equipment can (and should). And, if you care, they also have 1 gig of RAM to support the hefty debugger I believe.
Xbox 360 Metallic Blue
Xbox 360 Matte Black
Xbox 360 Controller
Now’s the time to quit your boring job.
[via - Kotaku]
GTA IV The Lost and Damned TV Glitch
There seems to be a glitch in the proximity sensing algorithm in the latest episode of GTA IV. The Lost and Damned was released on the Xbox Live marketplace on 17th Feb 2009 just as promised by Rockstar. The DLC is doing good all over the world and has received pretty good reviews from almost all the gaming sites.
This is more of a LOL situation rather than a glitch. When you are in the Lost’s clubhouse, go to the roof and go near the TV antenna. There is a spot near the antenna which is just above the TV room on the floor below. Now the proximity algorithm senses that you are within TV’s range and hence gives you an option to watch the TV:
This is what you get on screen when you opt to watch the TV. Clearly, the game shows you a weird screen which it calculated based on your current position and angle from the TV:
When you stop watching TV, you find yourself magically appear n the TV room in front on the TV:
PS: We mean no offense to the creators of this game. We believe that a lot of hard work has gone down in building what can be called as the best game on the planet right now and we thank Rockstar and all the people in the GTA IV and TLOD team for creating it.
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