Playstation Button support found in new Android SDK

Here is some more and rather interestingh information regarding the Playstation Android Phone. The Gingerbread (Android 2.3) SDK has been released today and with that everyone is tearing it apart to see what is inside. One of the major focuses of Android 2.3 is gaming, so does it come as a surprise that Playstation button support was found inside?

Over at Android Community, a post regarding Playstation button support being found in the SDK just went up. According to the article, android.view.KeyEvent can be used to input the following keys/buttons: A, B, C, L1, L2, Mode, R1, R2, Select, Start, ThumbL, ThumbR, X, Y, and Z.

This means that game developers can now develop games for the upcoming Playstation Android phone or port over a version of their games to be played on it using the buttons found on the Playstation phone. This is going to open up a whole new world for game developers and we should see some really interesting games hitting the Playstation phone when it is released.

Also the inclusion of ThumbL and ThumbR highlights the awesome possibility of the twin stick-esque pad in the middle of the phone. I really can't wait to see what this device will be capable of. Hopefully it'll make more developers sit up and notice Android devices as a viable gaming platform. 

Playstation Phone seen again!!

The Android Playstation Sony Ericsson phone has been caught on camera again, but this time much clearer. This video shows the phone in all the glory it should be shown in and does include the slide out gaming controls in the video. Dubbed the Zues Z1, it has Sony Ericsson branding on the back. You can clearly see the Playstation icon as well which should make a lot of people happy because that just shows it will play Playstation games. 

Still unsure what OS version it will be running when released or how the games will work on the device yet, my assumption is a cross between Android Market for most games/apps and a PSN mobile marketplace for the Playstation specific games, that is just MY speculation though. There is also no word on what games will be playable on the device yet. 

Angry Birds Seasons on Android Marketplace

Finally Angry Birds Seasons is available on the Android Marketplace.
The Christmas section acts as an Advent calender giving players a new level everyday all the way up to Christmas Day.
It also includes all the Halloween levels that iOS users got in October!

Angry Birds is great and with constant content updates just keeps getting better and better! Word on the grapevine is that the next seasonal update will be for Valentines Day.

QR code for ya!

Developer Site:

Rovio

Also just in case you haven't seen it yet:

World of Warcraft on your Android device!!!

Oh Dear! or ZOMGWTFBBQ!  Depending on your view of World of Warcraft. I used to be quite addicted to WoW when it first came out but financial and Real Life put pay to my addiction in recent years. Although I am VERY tempted to re activate my account with the impending release of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (I had access to the Beta but not enough time to actually see what it was like)!
If you are a WoW addict and have an Android device your social life and work productivity could be in some serious danger with this news.

A company called Gamestring are working on a piece of software to allow you to use applications installed on your PC remotely via your Android device.
The Application is called Gamestring Adrenaline and along with allowing you to play 3D games streamed straight from your PC but can also broadcast live game play from your PC to streaming services like Justin.tv.
Obviously one of the first things they tried was WoW but theoretically almost any game can be played this way.

Working alpha demonstration of World of Warcraft playing on HTC Desire Android mobile phone, made possible by the GameString Platform's remote play technology. You can stream your games from the cloud to any desktop, notebook, tablet or mobile device. With our Dual-Mode Delivery technology, each device can have its own custom user interfaces while playing the same core game from the host computer.

Hardware/environment setup for this shoot (in video):
* GameString Adrenalin Host Server with Dual-Mode Delivery running a standard WoW game install
* Client Device: HTC Desire
* Server network: Home Internet Service Provider at 2 Mbps up
* Client network: Home Internet Service Provider at 2 Mbps down, WiFi IEEE 802.11g
* Server-to-client network: 2 Peer hops, 5 node hops, Geographical separation - 80km






It looks pretty impressive even in Alpha! It'll work even better on newer Android phones and those great Tegra 2 chips coming soon.
I'm glad to see it running on the Desire as that is the same phone as I have.   =] 
I will definitely be keeping an eye on this, not so much to play WoW on but to see what else it can do really. I do have an Aion and City of Heroes account to try with it. The games that this really interests me in playing are games like the original Fallout games and Planescape. These would be great to play on my daily commute to work. 
I have signed up for the Beta so shall let you know my findings as soon as it becomes available.
What games would you most like to be able to play on the move?


Here is the official site of the program:
Gamestring

Monster Hunter 3rd Portable!

On the 1st of December Monster Hunter 3rd Portable was released in Japan.
The Monster Hunter franchise is VERY popular in Japan. It is the PSP's killer app moving PSP hardware like no other game. People in Japan will even buy a whole new PSP with the release of a new MH.
The lines outside japanese retailers for this game were ridiculous:

The line at the Shinjuku Yodobashi Camera was apparently 3,000 people long! I don't think I could wait in a line that big for anything! 

Kotaku have a great Video: http://kotaku.com/5702971/watch-hundreds-of-japanese-people-wait-patiently-in-monster-lines

MH portable 3rd is not so much sequel to MH portable 2nd or MH Freedom Unite in the west, is instead separate to the rest of the series, and most of the game has been entirely remade.
Monster Hunter Portable 3rd introduces new regions, monsters, and a revised Felyne combat system, also some other information on the new features on MH Portable 3rd;
The new base of operations is Yukumo Village. This village has a feudal Japanese feel to it, both from its design to its residents. The player can take two Felynes out with him/her on a single player quest, up from the single companion of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. When you take Felynes out on a quests, monster attacks are divided between the player and the companions, making hunts easier. Also new to Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is the ability to customize the Felyne companions' equipment. Doing so will change the creature's physical appearance and properties. The player will be able to customize the Felynes in three areas: weapon, head parts and torso parts. A new field introduced in the game is Keiryu, or Mountain Stream. All the fields in Monster Hunter Tri, along with the addition of the Mountain Stream field are expected to be included in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd. However there will be no under water levels and certain stages are edited to compensate for this. Monsters from previous Monster Hunter games and some new monsters(like the one shown on the cover) are in this game.

I really can't wait to play this game, I love MHFU (Monster hunter Freedom Unite or MH Portable 2nd) on PSP, so look forward to trying out the new features. I also hear there are new improvements to the weapon systems too, and the felyne features sound cool too. The felynes are awesome little dudes. 
Not sure when the english language version will be released but as soon as I hear anything I shall post it on here.
The japanese version is available on import from all good importers. 
But for now you can enjoy the trailer:




Also whilst hunting on youtube for the trailer I came across the anime (with eng Subs) about the Felynes in MH.

MonHan Diary: Giri-Giri Felyne Village is a Japanese animation made by DLE and produced by Geneon Universal (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo). This was the first time that such a production was made based on the Monster Hunter series. The series debuted on August 5, 2010 and ran for ten episodes, each being 3 minutes in length. The episodes broadcast on the Tokyo MX TV network every Thursday at 22:55 (Japan Time). Capcom also broadcast the episodes on their website the following Mondays with extra footage.

• MonHan is the nickname for Monster Hunter in Japan.
• Giri Giri means Just About or Just Barely and is often used as an expression to describe a close call.
  • "I almost didn't catch the bus, it was giri-giri."
• Airu is the Japanese name for Felyne.
• The animation was a promotion for the PSP game, MH Diary: Poka Poka Airu Village, which released on August 26.

Sucker Punch

This isn't exactly recent news but in case you haven't seen this yet it's the new movie from director Zack Snyder (300, The Watchmen).

Synopsis:

“Sucker Punch” is an epic action fantasy that takes us into the vivid imagination of a young girl whose dream world provides the ultimate escape from her darker reality.  Unrestrained by the boundaries of time and place, she is free to go where her mind takes her, and her incredible adventures blur the lines between what’s real and what is imaginary.

She has been locked away against her will at Lennox House for the Mentally Insane (in Brattleboro, Vermont), but Baby-Doll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive.  Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls—the outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and the reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish)—to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors, Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller (Jon Hamm).

Led by Baby-Doll, the girls engage in fantastical warfare against everything from samurais to serpents, with a virtual arsenal at their disposal.  Together, they must decide what they are willing to sacrifice in order to stay alive.  But with the help of Wiseman (Scott Glenn), their unbelievable journey—if they succeed—will set them free.

It is also being touted as Alice in Wonderland with machine guns! That sounds like the best thing in the world to me as I am a massive Alice in Wonderland fan. 

Trailers:

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in the board meeting for this movie!

I cannot wait to see this Film!!!

Check out the official site:
http://suckerpunchmovie.warnerbros.com/

First Post!!!!

Hello!!!

This is my first ever Blog post! Wooo!  So thank you for clicking on my Blog. I hope I can bring you interesting news and valuable reviews!

Right.....
It's my birthday tomorrow so I may get some new stuff to talk to you about, but at the moment I am currently playing the new Splatterhouse on Xbox360. I shall start a review on it soon. The thing with my game reviews is that they may take some time to come to a conclusion but I plan to give you my initial thoughts as soon as possible.

So please stay tuned to follow my many arrhythmic cogitations!