E3 2011: Wipeout 2048 titled; AR game Reality Fighters revealed; Little Deviants, Super Stardust Delta, and Sound Shapes previewed.
Though it has neither confirmed nor denied the NGP will be called the PS Vita, Sony did reveal some new details about its Next Generation Portable--namely, the first official wave of games for the handheld.
Previously teased at the NGP's coming out party in January, the first Uncharted NGP game has an official subtitle, Golden Abyss. The game will feature an all-new story and won't be a sequel or a "direct prequel" to the PlayStation 3 Uncharted series. According to John Garvin, developer Bend Studio's creative director, the studio spent six months incubating various story premises for the game and then pitched them to franchise creator Naughty Dog. The winning plotline is set before Drake's Fortune and will provide some background color to series hero Nathan Drake. Like other Uncharted titles, Golden Abyss will center on an as-yet undisclosed "historical mystery"; this time set in Central America.
As far as gameplay goes, Garvin said Golden Abyss will have a heavier emphasis on puzzle-solving than prior Uncharted titles, but will still retain the series' signature combat. And while it will retain a "familiar" control scheme, the game will also take advantage of the NGP's various other features, including the front- and rear-touch panels, tilt control, and cameras. GameSpot's brand-new preview has more details.
Also officially titled and detailed today was Wipeout 2048, the series' first offering on the NGP. Set during the early days of the antigravity racing that is the crux of the franchise, the game is being developed by Sony's Liverpool Studio. Wipeout 2048 will offer cross-play with Wipeout HD Fury on the PlayStation 3 via the NGP's cross-play feature, which allows it to take on PS3 gamers via ad hoc mode. The game will sport courses in fictionalized future versions of New York City, which will consist of three levels, each with wider tracks to allow for more dogfighting during races. Traditional control schemes will be supplemented with NGP features, such as using the pressure-sensitive rear touchpad for acceleration and the front touchpad to control weapons. For further information, check out GameSpot's preview.
Sony also officially detailed and GameSpot previewed several other NGP games, including Little Deviants, Super Stardust Delta, and Jonathan Mak's Sound Shapes that were also previewed by GameSpot. In addition, the company announced a brand-new title, Reality Fighters. The game will take advantage of the NGP's augmented-reality functionality, allowing players to capture their likenesses and then watch themselves fight opponents in real-world settings via the handheld's cameras.
Other NGP games officially titled today include the pool sim Hustle Kings and developer ClapHanz's Hot Shots Golf (aka Everybody's Golf). GameSpot will have more details on these--and many more NGP titles--next Monday evening from Sony's press event at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
I don't care that Vita stands for life. But the whole "Vita" is a bit difficult to get used to. After the whole PS (sequential number thing) I was hoping for the same on the PSP. I guess they tried to do the same as Nintendo with the Game Cube, then Wii ... and XB then XB360 and not XB 2. Whatever the marketing reasons... I think it will be cool because of the hardware and software in the VITA... but the name... will take some time to get used to.
More first party titles for the PSP Vita will surely lead to a HUGE, successful launch. If the price of the PSP Vita hits the sweet spot, then Nintendo will face the stiffest competition ever. That's great because when companies are under pressure, they do their best to churn out the best games as possible :)
@xpapaburgundyx I think you've just casualised the past 5 years with that statement. Bare in mind Metal Gear Solid 4 came out within the last 5 years which had better dialogue, plot, boss fights, weapons, extra's, multiplayer and everything else pretty much. Uncharted is a fun little shooter for people who like run and gun (yes it pretty much is just run and gun with the odd brainless puzzle to make it slightly less all out gun fare but overall too much action). Uncharted can be fun but overall I don't see why it's the best game ever. Was the stealth better than metal gear? No, was the action more intense than gears? No, was the cinematics and scale better than God of War? Nope. It doesn't win on anything and yes it has a bit of everything but mostly to it's detriment as I find myself doing brainless puzzles just to keep the pace going and overly cinematic points that have been made so linear for them to work. I like Uncharted but I hate the praise it gets undeservedly for being a little cinematic.
@MGS_fan_2015 As far as the team behind the new Uncharted goes, Sony Bend has a great track record on the psp and specializes in 3rd person/cover style shooters. There's also some videos on youtube that show some newer in-game footage and it looks like it's looking pretty awsome imo.
I'm sure everyone is expecting greatness from uncharted. We'll see, i suppose. I wonder if multiplayer is included?
I usually like to wait a few months (after launch) before picking up a new console, but Sony's making it kind of hard for me this time.
I love Uncharted, but I can't help but be a little skeptical. First of all, Naughty Dog isn't directly developing it -- that alone warrants a bit of concern. Second, I'm not sure how well this will translate to a handheld system. I mean, yeah, they'll be able to incorporate several features of the NGP into the gameplay, but how playable will the game actually be? Look at Splinter Cell on the 3DS, for example; it was absolute crap. I'm not saying the game will be crap, but I think there's definitely something to be concerned about here.
Wow I'm impressed, if I can get one for $250 I'm going to reserve it. I've been around for a long time, since atari Gemini, and this may be the first system I ever get a launch.
As amazing and wonderful the uncharted game looks, has the NGP been down scaled RAM and VRAM wise?
Looks cool, but the controls kind of looked a bit awkward, particular the touch stuff on the back of the controller. Will be interesting to see how it pans out.
@monson21502 your comments always bring a smile to my face. >:) I will be getting this system since owning ALL systems gives us ALL the experience.
Uncharted, WipEout and Super Stardust sure look mighty impressive on a handheld that got its specs "cut in half".
i want it but money yah know. i'll stick with my PS3 and if prices go down then i'll go for it.
You can totally tell they downgraded the specs, looks like absolute garbage now! /sarcasm
looks like the psp2 is gonna get the same treatment the psp1 got... a bunch of ps3 rehashes.. if its 199 ill buy it for the rpgs though
Super Stardust Delta is a solid dual-stick shooter with vibrant visuals that make it a great showcase for the PlayStation Vita's display.
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