Friday, September 24, 2004

EVERY THING TGS!!!
PSP.

TOKYO--The Tokyo Game Show marks the playable debut of Sony's PSP handheld. While the actual hardware made its first appearance at this year's E3, there was very little playable software for it, and the units themselves were firmly bolted down and flanked by security guards. Naturally, once at TGS, we headed straight for the Sony booth to check out the dozens of fully playable units on display.

Other than some minor cosmetic tweaks, the PSP hardware hasn't changed tremendously since E3. You'll find a pretty extensive array of buttons along the bottom of the unit, including volume controls, the standard PlayStation "select" and "start" buttons, as well as additional buttons such as "home," a monitor icon, and a musical note icon that toggles the hardware's various functions. The lower right side of the unit is home to the power button, while the lower left features controls for the wireless antenna. There is a very slick-looking speaker along the top of the unit and it is bookended by the clear Lucite shoulder buttons.

The face of the unit is, of course, dominated by the massive screen, which is even sexier in person. To the left of the screen is the now-standard Sony control-cross D pad. Just below the buttons is what we originally thought was an analog stick-style disc, but we couldn't get a good feel for how responsive it was. The right side of the unit's face is home to the familiar square, triangle, X, and circle buttons. The only other element of note on the unit's face is a loop for a carrying strap on the lower left side, below the analog stick. We expect a flood of PSP-themed straps, much like the scores of cell phone straps, to rain down on Japan when the unit hits. (We can only hope that the US market scores some similar accessories.) While the back of the PSP was hard to see due to the security measures in place, it was still possible to see the unit's slots for Sony memory sticks.

The first thing that struck us about the PSP is its natural feel. Frankly, we haven't had our hands on hardware that has been such a good fit since the original Game Boy Advance, and the PSP's svelte ergonomics bode well for the countless hours we expect to lose playing games on it. Our affectations were also stolen by the screen, which is easily the most impressive display we've seen on a handheld gaming system. The lighted screen is a perfect showcase for the stunning visuals being cranked out by many PSP games, and it maintains a crisp display from nearly any angle. The hordes of lights and camera flashes did little to obscure our vision while playing the game on the unit. The wide-screen configuration and the screen light are a winning combination that breaks new ground on portable hardware, and it shows that more than a few people over at Sony are forward-thinking.

Of the many PSP units on the show floor, there were two basic flavors of hardware displays. Many kiosks and private demos were running off of developer kits connected to PSPs. But there were also plenty of freestanding, playable PSP units, although it appeared that they were running games off of a Sony memory stick. As a result, it was hard to definitively judge how the unit is going to handle running a game off a disc while maintaining a solid battery life. However, we expect Sony's engineers are serving up burnt offerings to the Dark Gods of Power Consumption to ensure that the PSP has a respectable amount of battery life.

Despite the fact that the noise level at the Tokyo Game Show is comparable to a train station at rush hour, the PSP's audio sounded surprisingly rich and clear through the din. Whether it’s the subtle tunes heard in Metal Gear Acid, the retro '90s Capcom music from Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, or the slick club beats from Bandai's Lumines, the PSP's versatile sound processor handled game audio with aplomb.

For those wondering just how the PSP hardware feels in comparison to Nintendo's upcoming DS, which we had the chance to play at this year's E3, the two are totally different animals. To be fair, we have yet to get our hands on the final DS hardware, which is undergoing a final round of tweaks. But, the DS that we've seen has been workmanlike in its style, whereas the PSP has a downright sexy design. Whereas the DS is larger and heavier, the PSP is considerably lighter and feels more comfortable. Of course, the unit's design doesn't have any effect on either platform's games. But for now, the PSP is certainly the most eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing of the two.

All told, despite the veil of secrecy surrounding it, the PSP has met our expectations and then some. The slick design and varied games on display at the Tokyo Game Show was a fine showcase for the portable unit's potential. The PSP is currently slated to ship later this year in Japan and next spring in the US. Look for more on the hardware soon

Gran Turismo 4

TOKYO--At a press conference earlier today, Kazunori Yamauchi, president of Polyphony Digital, revealed a plethora of new information on Gran Turismo 4--most of it good. We'll get the bad news out of the way first, though, which is that Gran Turismo 4 will not be shipping with any online functionality. Yamauchi cited "challenges" with the European and Japanese online infrastructures as the reason behind the decision--challenges that would presumably have taken until well after the game's targeted December release date to overcome. Polyphony now plans to release an online version of the game (or at least a very similar game) sometime next year.



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The focus of today's Gran Turismo 4 press conference was the game's newly announced B-Spec mode. Compatible with both the Arcade and Gran Turismo modes of play, the B-Spec option will essentially be an all-new way of playing (or not playing) the game. If you select the B-Spec option ahead of any race, you'll basically be choosing not to drive the car yourself but, instead, to just influence the way that the CPU driver in your seat does its job. You'll view the race from the same camera angles used in replays, and you'll determine how hard your driver pushes by hitting buttons numbered one (cruising) through five (driving on the edge). In addition to those buttons, you'll have the option to hit an overtake button that will see your driver actively trying to improve his position, and a button with a large letter "P" on it, which will have your driver pull into the pits at the next opportunity. Now, you might be thinking that the B-Spec mode is going to require you to do little more than stick your car on number five with the overtaking option highlighted. You'd be wrong.

For one thing, the CPU driver in your seat is capable of making mistakes, and is more likely to do so when he's driving aggressively. Yamauchi also pointed out that, in lengthy races, you'll need to look after your tires if you don't want to have to make lots of pit stops. Speaking of lengthy races, incidentally, Yamauchi--while demonstrating the B-Spec mode's Race Monitor screen--mentioned that it'll be possible to speed up races by up to four times, so you could theoretically run the Le Mans 24 Hour race in just six hours. The Race Monitor screen, which updates on the fly, will allow you to check out the current race standings as well as the distances between each of the cars so that you might make more informed decisions as to how to have your driver proceed.

In addition to announcing the B-Spec mode, Yamauchi took a few minutes to go into greater detail about the game's photo mode--which was unveiled at E3 earlier this year. The photo mode will actually comprise two distinct methods for composing pictures: "photo travel" and "photo drive." The photo travel mode, which we got hands-on with at E3, will allow you to choose any car, place it in one of 15 different locations, and then shoot it from almost any angle imaginable. The photo drive mode, on the other hand, will allow you to take more action-oriented shots using race replays from any of the game's 50-plus tracks. The camera positions available to you in this mode will be more limited, but you'll still have over 300 to choose from at any time.

Amongst the 50-plus tracks in Gran Turismo 4 (not including the reverse versions) will be four that were unveiled for the first time today, namely El Capitan in Yosemite, California's Infineon Raceway, and Japan's Suzuka and Twin Ring Motegi circuits. Popular courses from previous Gran Turismo titles will also be in the game, and each has benefited from a GT4 makeover that not only makes them even more pleasing to the eye but also, in the case of those based on real-life tracks, more realistic. The only newly announced course available to race in the Tokyo Game Show demo version of the game was El Capitan, so as soon as the press conference was over we took the opportunity to test-drive a few different cars there. The scenery was arguably the most beautiful we've ever seen in a racing game, with mountains and trees stretching far into the horizon. Yamauchi believes that Gran Turismo 4 players should be able to enjoy travelling the world as much as they enjoy driving, and with that in mind it's not difficult to see why the game would feature a track in the Yosemite National Park.



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Amongst the cars we toured Yosemite in was the wedge-shaped Dome Zero concept car that dates back to the '70s--one of several cars that were revealed in Gran Turismo 4 for the first time today. Other models worthy of note that we got to see today (although not all of them were playable in the demo) included: the Mazda 6 MPS that was only unveiled in Paris two days ago; the upcoming BMW M5; Toyota's Motor Triathlon Race Car, which looks like the 4x4 offspring of a Formula 1 car and an SUV; Jay Leno's one-of-a-kind Tank Car, which is roughly twice the size of any other car in the game; and Chrysler's 1886 Tri-Wheel. During his presentation, Yamauchi confirmed that the final number of cars in Gran Turismo will be in excess of 650 from 80 different manufacturers, he had apparently hoped to include twice as many as that at one point, but given that each car in the game takes a designer approximately a month to model it simply wasn't possible.

Before wrapping up his presentation with the no online play bombshell, Yamauchi shared a few more new details about Gran Turismo 4: the game will feature Dolby Pro-Logic II support, you'll be able to fit no less than 1,000 cars in your garage this time around (as opposed to just 200 in GT3); and an in-game calendar will keep track of all of your significant achievements. Finally, the Japanese release for the game was confirmed for December 3, while North American and European releases were "targeted" for December 14.

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.

TOKYO--At the Tokyo Game Show today, Square Enix unveiled the first footage of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, the third leg of a new movement the company has dubbed "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII." Made up by the upcoming CG film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and the currently Japan-only mobile game Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII, the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII will be completed with the addition of Dirge of Cerberus, which stars everyone's favorite undead dreamboat, Vincent. But with a genre that's thus far been listed as "TBA," just what kind of game is this?

Well, from the very brief video clip we saw at Square's press conference this morning at TGS, it's definitely an action game of some sort. There were certainly lots of guns, at least. Vincent was running and jumping and (from a third-person perspective) laying waste with a heavy machinegun, so it's not hard to imagine this is going to be a shooting-focused action game. The guy's got those wicked claws, too, so there could certainly be a melee component included as well. Just about the only hard fact we could glean from the trailer was that the game is set three years after the end of Final Fantasy VII, which would also place it sometime after Advent Children. Square Enix is being awfully mum with the details about the game, so we'll have to keep biting our nails for the time being.

Interestingly, Dirge of Cerberus looked to be somewhat divorced from the Final Fantasy VII milieu. Whereas a recent trailer for Advent Children revealed that damn near everybody from FFVII will make at least a cameo appearance in the film, we only noticed Cait Sith in the brief Dirge of Cerberus footage--and come to think of it, Cait Sith is just about the only character we didn't see in the Advent Children trailer. Something's fishy here… In any case, several new characters and what appeared to be a new sort of enemy soldier were featured in the footage, so it seems that Vincent's first starring role will take him away from his former companions and subject him to new places and faces that we haven't seen before, either. But then, we only glimpsed a few seconds' worth of disjointed clips from the game, which is itself still early in development, so who knows what familiar scenery or personae will pop up in the final product.

While the footage we saw today helped to demystify what kind of game Dirge of Cerberus will be (it's definitely not an RPG, or a puzzle game, or a dating sim…), many questions remain. What of Vincent's cohorts, such as Cloud and Tifa? How exactly is Cerberus, the mythical three-headed dog, involved in the storyline? Why does Cait Sith have that goofy grin, anyway? Vincent may cry (ahem) if we don't learn the answers soon, but it seems that Square Enix is content to make us wait, for now.


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