Norwegian Gamer.no goes out with a bang - gave KZ2 6/10

This Thursday www.tek.no - a leading Norwegian tech/software/mobile/game site, announced that it's sister-site www.gamer.no were separating from their network after years of teamwork. This was dissapointing news to many, as this was their resource for a lot of tests and news within TECH, mobile, software and gaming.

Apparently, the site chose to go out with a bang.

In a quite negative review they rated Killzone 2 6 out of 10 possible points, with the title "The False Prophet".

I am not sure if this is to be taken seriously or if it's just to stir things up, but check it out yourself. There were of course several hundred comments within hours blaiming the reviewer of being "an Xbot, biased" and so on.

Read it and decide for yourself - does Killzone 2 deserve a 6/10?

-H

Can Gran Turismo 5 outsell Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec?

Expectations for Polyphony's Gran Turismo 5 for the PlayStation 3 are steadily increasing. Sony is still claiming that the series is THE best racing simulator (that will be) on the market. Can Gran Turismo 5 sell more copies than the best-selling Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec did?



Let me give you some quick numbers:

The first Gran Turismo, released on the PlayStation One sold 10.85 million copies.
The next game in the franchise, Gran Turismo 2, did not quite match the debut game and ended up at 9.37 million sold, also on the PlayStation One.

Now we reach the top seller: Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec has sold a whopping 14.87 million copies! The game was released on the PlayStation 2.

After this, Gran Turismo 4 Prologue sold only 1.36 million copies, while the full version of Gran Turismo 4 sold 9.62 million copies

According to VG Chartz.com, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue has sold at least 2.8 million copies (unfortunately updated last on April 2008..).
The question remains if the step into HD with amazing graphics will be enough for Gran Turismo 5 to become the best selling game in the franchise yet. Already people are more or less demanding that Polyphony includes damage and damage-models into the game, as this is one key feature that is missing from making the game the most realistic racing simulator out there. Better/more extensive online options are also on the wishlist of many Gran Turismo fans.

Forza 2 did sell reasonably well on the Xbox 360, to be more exact 4.34 million copies. This game - or rather Forza 3 - brings competition to the Gran Turismo franchise, with it's great customization, endless online options and, yes, damage models.

Another factor is that there needs to be a lot more PlayStation 3 machines out there for Gran Turismo 5 to beat Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec.
Maybe Gran Turismo 5 will be one of those games that really sell a lot of consoles?

Leave your comments and thoughts!

-H

Killzone 2 Opening Cinema HD

Click on it twice to watch it in HD on YouTube!

-H

I Am Alive - scans

Just released by AllGamesBeta(Wordpress), I wanted you all too see these scans from the upcoming Official Xbox Magazine.
The game will be about surviving after "mother nature" basiclly shakes the city to pieces, and that probably throws a lot of challenges at you in terms of finding food, water, searching for your family, etc.
Maybe we can compare it to the movie "I Am Legend"? Only you are not alone.

The game is set for release this spring on PC/PS3/Xbox360 and Wii(!)

-H

Will Gaza lead to increased sales for Killzone 2 and other shooters?

It is no surprise that some of the success of the shooters over the last few years - besides the fact that they were good games - may be related to the war in Iraq. Although HOPEFULLY people play games for fun, the amount of media attention regarding war increases buzz around war- and shootergames. I believe Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare may have benefited from this, as well as Gears of War, Resistance, Crysis, and other popular shooters. "The War Against Terror" has never been more "popular".

The Iraq war is finally coming to and end(?), but you are probably aware of the intense war going on in Israel/Gaza Strip. So will this conflict and the amount of focus on the war have any effect on game sales? Let's say Joey has 60 USD to buy a new game. There are a lot of good shooters, good racing games, good music games, good adventure games. I cannot be 100% sure, but I believe that there is a bigger chance of him choosing a shooter over other games when there is a war going on. Sad but true?

For now all we can do is hope for a truce and that the conflict does not escalate further.

-H

Facebook "facts" about PS3 and Xbox 360

Out of pure boredom I thought I'd educate you about this:
There is a "Sony Playstation 3" group on Facebook - currently it has 17320 members.
There is also an "Addicted to Xbox 360" group on Facebook, which currently has 13710 members.
Oh yeah, and then there's the superiour Nintendo Wii group - "in the lead" with 29478 members!

Want to join the "battle" on facebook? Join the group of your favourite console!

I am currently in both the PS3 and Xbox 360 group.

-H

New Killzone 2 video 720p

Some guy over at Gametrailers.com forums just posted a link to a 333MB file (WMV-HD) - a new video in 720p, which is from a more recent build than the preview-code of the game.
I can't wait to get home from work and download it!

Here is the link:

KZ2 video

-H