The new PS3 will be available in Singapore from Oct 23.
Sony today announced the new PlayStation 3 game console, featuring a new design and a downsized form factor, will become available in Singapore on Oct 23 (Charcoal Black) and Nov 22 (Classic White) respectively.
The 500GB version will cost S$399 and the 250GB version will cost S$369.
The new PS3 is about 20 per cent slimmer and lighter than the current PS3 but maintains the iconic look of the original by adopting a sliding disk cover.
In addition to the PS3, Sony will also be releasing a vertical stand for the gaming console and a new DualShock wireless controller.
Halo fans who have ever wondered what it would be like to live in the Halo universe can ask these actors. Tom Green (“Dance Academy”), Anna Popplewell (The Chronicles of Narnia), and Daniel Cudmore (X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, The Twilight Saga) as the Master Chief are just some of the cast in the first live-action rendition of the blockbuster game.
You might have caught Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and The Hulk on the big screen, or even seen them in their various incarnations on television. Now the Avengers are set to avenge an even smaller screen – your mobile phone – with the launch of Avengers Initiative.
Launched today, Avengers Initiative is a mobile game for iOS and Android devices that’s based on the characters in the Marvel universe.
In it, you play as The Hulk in a gesture-based combat game that’s similar to the very popular Infinity Blade series for iOS. Using your fingers you help The Hulk dodge attacks, block, deflect and smash puny enemies while picking up documents and power crystals which you can use later.
While the gameplay starts off simple, unlocking new power-ups and combos allows you perform some very intricate moves. The combat is rather responsive and packs a punch, but sometimes what you plan to do doesn’t always translate on screen. Still, combat is satisfying once you get a handle on what moves work better. Randomly swiping the screen isn’t going to help either – you’ll need to know some of your moves well to get a leg up over harder enemies.
Comic fans would be pleased to note that Marvel scribe Fred van Lente is behind the story for the game, while hotshot artist Marko Djurdjevic has handled the art and character designs. Still, this isn’t exactly your favourite movie or comic-book characters, instead, these characters are an amalgamation or the “ultimate” version of each character, and the story takes place within the Marvel gaming universe. With voice acting done by some of the voice talents from The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes cartoon series, this feels like a page out of the comic-book, barring a few slight quibbles.
Gamers who’ve played the Avengers Alliance game on Facebook will also be familiar with some of the background to Avengers Initiative, which takes place right after the story in Avengers Alliance. You will be called up by Nick Fury to handle the mass-escape of villains from Marvel’s supervillain prison The Raft after an event called “The Pulse”, which leads Hulk to smash his way through familiar faces like Skrulls and the Wendigo. Gamers can also login to MarvelXP, a free live service, which connects throughout all the new games in the Marvel gaming universe, which rewards achievements helps you unlock more items, skills and costumes.
With about four hours of gameplay promised, the game’s replayability is enhanced by free expansion packs every few months where a whole new story is told with a new character. While the developers Wideload Games are unable to say exactly which characters will be having their own episode, they did mention that the above teaser image would be a strong hint as to what’s coming up for the title, and the next release will happen by the end of the year. If that’s not enough you can always buy costumes, levels skills and ISO-8 (a crystal that’s part of the storyline that also serves as currency within the game) with real money – or you can take the poor man’s way out and just keep playing the game till you get enough ISO-8 to unlock something.
So if you look at the world with a green tint, or if you’re simply raring to smash some things up, Avengers Initiative at US$6.99 (S$8.70) is worth checking out, especially if the episodic content delivers similar or better quality than the first installment. Android fans with Tegra 3 devices have even more reason to celebrate – the developers have worked with nVidia to offer a graphically enhanced version for you. Once we’ve managed to try it out on an Android phone we’ll update this story.
Avengers Initiative is now available on iTunes for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and the new iPad. The Android version on Google Play has been delayed for now.
It appears that the popular gaming service Xbox Live is currently down. Attempts to login to the service via an Internet browser turned up the following error message:
Attempts to check the official status of Xbox live via Microsoft’s official Xbox Status site also results in an error message.
While the source of the problem is unknown, popular social media news blog Mashable is reporting that Microsoft had issued a statement on the Xbox Status site before it went down.
“We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience,” said the statement. Currently the site for the statement is down too.
UPDATE: Microsoft has issued an updated statement, according to popular gaming site VG24/7.
“We’re aware that some users may be experiencing difficulty logging in to Xbox LIVE at present. This does happen from time to time while updates and fixes are made to the system and should not be symptomatic of any larger problems.”
“A service update can be found on Xbox.com, alerting Xbox LIVE users to the current state of the service. I don’t have an update on timeframe for service to resume as usual, but we are working on the problem.”
They’ve made some of the best gaming peripherals, launched the “world’s first true gaming laptop” and ran a DOTA 2 tournament at this year’s IT Show. Now Razer has more good news for gaming fans – they’ve announced the launch of an internship for pro-gamers.
The Razer Blade. Image courtesy Razer
Pro-gamers who get accepted in the internship get to work within Razer itself, working in areas such as product marketing, product development, community management, e-Sports, events and public relations, many of which are already staffed by passionate gamers, according to Razer.
And it’s not just limited to the Razer office in Singapore – the internship positions are available at any of the nine Razer offices around the world, as long as there is a position to be filled. The internship offers to open “up career possibilities for those interested in working in the (gaming) industry after completion of the internship”.
Team Razer’s very own Benedict ‘HyHy’ Lim Han Yong, who plays for Zenith Gaming, will be the next pro-gamer to take part in the programme. One of the top DOTA players in the world, his internship with Razer will begin after an international DOTA competition in Seattle, USA.
Razer isn’t just selecting pro-gamers for fun, saying that pro-gamers can be some of the most disciplined people around.
“Professional gamers have the drive and discipline to aspire to be the best in their field of competition” said Min-Liang Tan, Chief Gamer & CEO, Razer. “These character traits transfer directly to the business world and I look forward to having them partake in internships in the near future.”
