The Guildmasters

Yes for the last few days i’ve been watching the E3 live convention, the biggest in america for new game releases and console info.

First let me say the new Wii U looks pretty cool, and i’m not a Wii fan but this looks good. The new ‘controller’ has a screen which means you don’t even need a tv, or it just means you can use it just as a controller, but it does so much more than that, too much info to post here so i’ll give in detail more info on the forum.

New games were coming quick and some of the ones we have been really looking forward to wasn’t disappointing at all.

Elder Scrolls Skyrim was about 30 minutes worth of clips and it looked fantastic, by far the best one yet with over 150 dungeons to explore, free roaming dragons and detail beyond belief.

Assassins Creed Revelations again did not disappoint, definitely another one on my list and again to my amazement looks like a big improvement to the last one, didn’t think that was possible.

More games included the new Twisted Metal, Halo 4, yes I did say Halo 4, bet many didn’t expect that one and tons more which I will post more on in the forum.

Also Sony announced the new playstation vita (vee tah) which I believe will eventually replace the PSP although i’m a bit vague on that, I’ll confirm that later but it looks pretty good.



Tony:)

Yes the playstation store is finally back online so if you had any money in there you can finally check to see if it is still there. Mine is, not too much but it’s still money all the same, i’m glad to see it wasn’t missing.

There are a few error messages, in fact quite a few error messages, i’ve had to go back and try again probably more than a dozen times and that was just to get my free game. I chose Infamous and it was a mega download, over 7000 MB which actually took around 8hrs to download and after that I had to delete a bunch of stuff so I could install it.

Totally worth it for me as I rented the game but never got all the trophies so now I can, I was going to take Little Big Planet also but to be honest I don’t have the room on my old 80Gig so i’ll probably leave it.

Again I got errors when I tried to get the playstation plus 30 day free trial as I think that will be worth it but as yet it hasn’t let me get it.

So the store is back up but with many errors, unless of course it’s just my machine, which it could well be, let me know how you do.

Tony:)

Hi all,
Just found this article this morning, enjoy:

Sony’s PlayStation Network is finally (mostly) back up on its feet, and now that gamers have had a chance to hop on, change their passwords, and resume some much-need online gaming, the attention turns to Sony’s “Welcome Back” program — the company’s way of apologizing for the downtime. The program offers a decent selection of free games and services to get Sony back in the good graces of PlayStation 3 and PSP owners.

If you own a PlayStation 3 and were affected by the downtime, you’ll be able to choose 2 free games from a selection of five, including:

* Dead Nation
* Infamous
* LittleBigPlanet
* Super Stardust HD
* Wipeout HD

PSP owners can cherry-pick a pair of games from this list of 4:

* LittleBigPlanet PSP
* ModNation Racers
* Pursuit Force
* Killzone Liberation

In addition to the free games, PSN users will also be granted access to a selection of PlayStation Network movies over an upcoming weekend, the specific titles of which will be revealed later. Also, gamers not currently subscribed to PlayStation Plus — Sony’s premium PSN service that grants game discounts and other perks — will get a free month to try it out, while existing Plus subscribers will get 60 additional days for free. Sony’s PlayStation Home virtual world will offer users 100 free items as well, so if you’ve never given it a try this will be your best opportunity. All of these freebies will begin flowing once the PlayStation Store is back up and running, the timetable for which has not been revealed.

In addition to Sony’s program, streaming service Hulu is offering users who have their Hulu Plus premium accounts synced with a PlayStation 3 a 25-day credit for the inconvenience of not being able to stream due to the network outtage. Hulu Plus subscribers will begin getting emails shortly that contain a link to redeem the credit.

Yes the highly anticipated game that many players have been waiting for is finally on the horizon.

White Knight Chronicles 2 is available from August 30th in the U.S. and can be pre-ordered now from Amazon.

Game Description

From Japan’s top developer Level 5 come an epic high production RPG with stunning visuals and over 30 hours of original gameplay. This follow up to the original White Knight Chronicles includes new features fans demanded and the return of its signature combination of single and multiplayer role playing. Experience the thrilling finale to the epic battle between light and darkness and awaken to your true calling as you unlock the true powers of the Incorruptus, a giant powerful knight from the ancient Dogma wars.

Features:

* Signature combination of single player and multiplayer returns allowing players to share characters from your single player game in multiplayer
* 2 games in 1! This game includes all the content from the first game with improved and enhanced features of the sequel adding up to over 100 hours of combined gameplay
* Improved gameplay mechanics that fans demanded makes battles more fast paced and dynamic
* Character can now select new skills and spells such as dual wielding weapons to make characters more customizable
* For the first time ever, create and customize your very own Incorruptus that you can use in both single and multiplayer modes

Hi all,
I’ve just been notified of the latest update from Sony, although they are not online as yet it doesn’t look like it will be too long now.

They have been testing all week and you can now sign in to install the latest update which is required for when they do go live again, you can download and install this latest update now via the PS 3

As well as this latest news I also read that the attackers/hackers used Amazon ‘cloud’ to launch their attack from, this was not from Amazon themselves I must say, the hackers just used Amazon.

Hopefully we will be able to play again very soon. Also in the news was that many PS3 owners are trading in their systems for Xbox 360’s, 200% more trade-ins than normal in fact, it’s a shame.

Tony:)

Hi all,
Here is a unique RPG which hits the shops in a couple of days. Rather than me give you the details it’s better to give you the official game description but without giving anything away this does sound like a great RPG.

Certainly if you enjoyed playing Heavy Rain then you will want to play this one.

Game Description:

Solving the mystery is more about mind than muscle in this detective saga where you don’t just uncover the evidence, you have to decide how to use it.

Enter the hard-boiled world of 1940s Los Angeles, a world where Hollywood was golden, hats were fedoras, and chin music was played by fist meeting jaw. Track a serial killer in an investigation where finding the next clue hinges on your ability to decide if people are lying or telling the truth.
While the story may be more about your smarts than your shot, you will still carry some iron. But thinking about bullets won’t save your skin when the heat is on.

Sony says 25 million more accounts hacked in security breach ahead of PlayStation attack.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sony Corp. said Monday that hackers may have taken personal information from an additional 24.6 million user accounts after a review of the recent PlayStation Network breach found an intrusion at a division that makes multiplayer online games.

The data breach comes on top of the 77 million PlayStation accounts it has already said were jeopardized by a malicious intrusion.

The latest incident occurred April 16 and 17 — earlier than the PlayStation break-in, which occurred from April 17 to 19, Sony said.

25 million more potential accounts? About 23,400 financial records from an outdated 2007 database involving people outside the U.S. may have been stolen in the newly discovered breach, including 10,700 direct debit records of customers in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, it said.

The outdated information contained credit card numbers, debit card numbers and expiration dates, but not the 3-digit security code on the back of credit cards. The direct debit records included bank account numbers, customer names, account names and customer addresses.

Company spokeswoman Taina Rodriguez said Sony had no evidence the information taken from Sony Online Entertainment, or SOE, was used illicitly for financial gain.

“We had previously believed that SOE customer data had not been obtained in the cyber-attacks on the company, but on May 1 we concluded that SOE account information may have been stolen and we are notifying you as soon as possible,” Sony said in a message to customers.

Sony said that it shut service Monday morning to Sony Online Entertainment games, which are available on personal computers, Facebook and the PlayStation 3 console. Its most popular games include “EverQuest,” “Free Realms” and “DC Universe Online.”

The company said it will grant players 30 days of additional time on their subscriptions, along with one day for each day the system is down. It is also creating a “make good” plan for its multiplayer online games.

On Sunday, Sony executives bowed in apology and said they would beef up security measures after an earlier breach caused it to shut down its PlayStation network on April 20. The company is working with the FBI and other authorities to investigate what it called “a criminal cyber attack” on Sony’s data center in San Diego, Calif.

The company said it would offer “welcome back” freebies such as complimentary downloads and 30 days of free service to PlayStation customers around the world to show remorse and appreciation.

PlayStation spokesman Patrick Seybold, in a blog post Monday, denied a report that said a group tried to sell millions of credit card numbers back to Sony.

He also said that while user passwords had not been encrypted, they were transformed using a simpler function called a hash that did not leave them exposed as clear text.

I’ll post more as and when I get it, it seems Trey was right when saying it could be a couple more weeks.

Tony:)

Hi all,
Not good news i’m afraid, i’ve just posted this on the forum but thought I better post it here too.

It has just been announced on one of our news channels that Sony and the playstation network were in fact hacked and 77 million users ID information could have been accessed, that means names, addresses, credit card numbers and so forth.

I’m more than a little pissed off about this because Sony apparently knew about this 7 days ago, their first priority should have been to notify their customers so that at least we could have had the chance to stop any security breaches on our cards. 7 days is too late to notify that many customers of a possible ID theft. They should have been responsible and notified their customer on day 1. By not doing that they have given the thieves 7 full days to get away with…well you only have to think about the possibilities. Now we have to cancel our bank card tomorrow assuming we haven’t been cleaned out.

As far as getting back online, it could be as long as another week or more.

Tony:)

Hi all,
Yes we now have a definite release date for White Knight Chronicles 2. For those that don’t know it’s going to be out 31st August 2011.

This is America release date for sure but it’s my guess it will be about the same time in Europe, give or take a week or two, Europe usually gets the same game within a short period of time so i’m really looking forward to that.

Recently due to the fact I haven’t been able to get online, i’ve got the platinum trophy for my Bioshock 2 which now brings my total to 7 Platinums.

I will try and get some more new releases posted over the next week or so but i’m pretty busy everywhere so i’m finding myself a bit tight on play time.

For anyone who needs help on WKC still i’ll be popping on once or twice a week, probably at weekends and i’ll be in my town to help anyone out that needs it.

Tony:)

I know I usually only discuss RPG’s here but this shooter is pretty unique. I don’t particularly like shooters unless they have something different that appeals to me, and this one appeals.

I have my son to thank for this one as I got it for him but got hooked myself, your a cop with a dog for a sidekick, his name is shadow and it’s probably one of the most realistic dogs i’ve seen in any game.

It’s a great fun game, not too long so you get bored and enough to keep your interest, the dog is great fun and I don’t really understand the negative reviews i’ve read on this game, it’s great.

It’s also a fairly easy game to platinum if your into trophies (like me), the hardest two being getting gold on every level and completing the game on detective (hard).

You do have a decent arsenal of weapons to choose from including a sniper rifle, some may be disappointed if they have played previous Dead to Rights games as I believe in earlier games you could use more melee weapons like baseball bats etc..

You do have an array of melee attacks with slow motion available if you need to use it, takedowns are great to watch, gives you a mini cut scene of Jack finishing the move and there are plenty of different ones to enjoy.

Most chapters (10 in all) have a section where you take control of the dog, then you have to switch back to Jack, this is one of the things that keep it interesting, it’s great playing as Jack but it’s also great fun playing as Shadow, you can either charge on in there to rip an enemies throat out or perform stealth kills which is more fun and more score too.

Even if you don’t generally like shooters you’ll probably enjoy this one, and even though it’s not a two player it’s an easy game to take turns with, which is what me and my son did.

The only downside to this game is the fact you can’t play two player, I don’t think it would have been that hard to make it into a two player game, one playing as Jack and one playing as Shadow. Also I was disappointed there was no online play, it could have been a lot of fun.

As far as buying this game, if your into a decent shooter game then yes i’d buy it (I did), if your not a real shooter fan but like a bit of fun now and then and a break from the norm, rent it at least.

Tony:)