The PlayStation Vita will be released on Wednesday February 22nd. Should you pick one up? Now that I’ve had a few days with the system, I’d like to share my first impressions of the system itself and the game I’ve spent the most time with, Uncharted: Golden Abyss. The PlayStation Vita is a powerful machine with great graphics and the best controls a portable has ever seen, but it’s UI and launch titles are plagued by an unnecessary overuse of it’s various gimmicks such as two touch screens, cameras and gyros. At a $250 price point, getting one is a no brainer to me, but the real value of the system won’t be obvious until we see how successful it will be, and what kind of support the system gets from developers.

A PSP, PlayStation Vita and 3DS

The size of the system is larger than Sony’s previous handheld, the PSP and Nintendo’s current offering, the 3DS. It’s not so large that it’s not portable, and a lot of that size is in the screen, which is really noticeable. With an amazing resolution of 960×544, the 3DS with it’s laughable 400×240 main screen offers no competition and this is apparent by the breathtaking graphics this system is capable of pulling off.

When Nintendo reported two straight quarterly losses in early 2011, followed by a less-than-stellar initial release of its new 3DS handheld console, it didn’t take long for the naysayers to begin spelling the company’s doom.

This is a familiar dance. It started in the ’90s, when Nintendo’s veneer of dominance started cracking in the face of competition with the Sega Genesis. Or maybe it was the decision to abandon the CD format for the Nintendo 64 when Sega and Sony made the leap. Or perhaps it was because, even with the GameCube, no Nintendo console had sold better than its predecessor — that is, until the release of the Wii.

However, despite calls that Nintendo abandon its hardware ambitions — even with the new wrinkle of the ever-rising iOS platform — there are plenty of reasons why Nintendo would never, could never, and should never stop making TV or handheld consoles.

Here are the top five:

[Read the rest of this entry…]

GOW II started and ended on a pretty intense note, so naturally, stakes were high for the follow-up, which would be Kratos’s PS3 debut. When we last left Kratos, he was leading the titans in a war against the gods of Olympus, who had betrayed him in the title. As you can imagine, things get crazy from the get-go, and players will be on the edge of their seats to see how the saga ends. The gameplay doesn’t depart much from the previous titles, and that’s a good thing. You even get to keep the relics you found in GOW II: The Wings of Icarus and Apollo’s Fleece. Don’t you hate it when you play a sequel starring the previous game’s protagonist and you lose all the cool stuff they had without explanation? You’ll also gain a host of new weapons, each with a magical power attached to it. Series staples such as quick time events, orb upgrading, and even the sex minigames return. God Of War III once again cements Kratos’s status as one of gaming’s biggest action heroes.

The Wii U is set to launch by the end of 2012… but is it really? We’ve been seeing the same tech demo since E3 2011, but no actual titles running on Wii U hardware. Will Nintendo make the projected launch date, or is it all smoke and mirrors? Sean and Vinnk disagree about what this means, encourage Sony to get out of the hardware market since the PS3 has never gotten above third place in North America, the PS Vita’s launch has been a larger thud than the one for 3DS, and rumors that the Next Xbox from Microsoft will somehow ban used games. RAMPANT SPECULATION!

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Adding Cole from “Infamous” as a Playstation exclusive character was a cool idea. He could work as either an SF or Tekken character.

But Mega Man from the original NES box art? That is crazy! Pac Man in a mech suit? CRAZIER.

What a year! 2011 brought its share of good games, bad weather (including a tsunami that devastated parts of Japan), and lots of changes for Famicom Dojo. Sean and Vinnk discuss what games they’re looking forward to in 2012, if the PS Vita is already a failure before it’s even been released in the US, and if the Wii U will be making its appearance before the end of the year.

[Listen to the episode after the jump…!]

Around the time that the PS 3 was announced, a massively multiplayer online based on the DC comics universe was also announced. After several years in development, it has arrived. Although it received mixed reviews, players enjoyed being able to interact with heroes such as Superman and Batman while visiting locations such as Gotham city and the Fortress of Solitude. A few months ago, the game went free-to-play, and its subscriber base saw a huge jump. With most of the game’s features available for free, now is a great time to jump in if you’re a fan of superheroes.
[Read the rest of this entry…]