PS Vita

Retro City Rampage lands on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC, and PS Vita this May with PC preorders starting today. 8-bits of action have never been so highly anticipated as you get to tear through a virtual town, wrecking havoc and reaping all the rewards. More than just a trip down memory lane, RCR takes on every retro NES game from Mario to Bionic Commando without missing a beat. Everything from stomping of people’s heads to the torturous TMNT sewer level makes an appearance in this downloadable title. If you’re not talking about RCR now, you will be once it comes out.

We asked Brian Provinciano, founder of Vblank Entertainment and lead designer on Retro City Rampage, about the insanity behind the sprites as well as what it takes to make one of the craziest games you need to get your hands on this Spring.

What inspired you to make Retro City Rampage?

Brian Provinciano: From the very beginning, the games I loved growing up are what inspired me to start making games. Before I even knew how, I was drawing imaginary levels on paper or in MS Paint.

I'd been a huge fan of GTA since the first top down ones, and at the peak of Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City, I felt this overwhelming compulsion to create an open-world crime game of my own - if only to learn first hand how all of the systems were built. I was also really fascinated by the limitations of the NES and the NES in general, so I decided to combine the ideas. Note that this was long before the retro-revival began to happen, so at the time I was incredibly excited about this “new” concept.

Read More »

The open-world crime sim you've been waiting for is lining up its sights for a May release. No, not Grand Theft Auto 5. The other one. That looks like old Grand Theft Auto (plus any number of other classic gems). It's more parody than satire though. Retro City Rampage!

The news is confirmed on Vblank Entertainment's official website for the game. Also revealed is a newly expanded set of launch platforms: Xbox Live Arcade, Windows PC/Steam, WiiWare, PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, which arrives this week.

Read More »

The PlayStation Vita is out next week, on February 22. Yes, technically it's out as of earlier this week, but that's only for people who ordered the First Edition bundle. Next week, everyone can get their piece of the pie. Sony has a new Vita FAQ up on PlayStation Blog to get you prepped, and one of the Qs addressed reveals that "PlayStation does not have plans to make PS Vita compatible with PS3 or PS2 titles at this point."

The reasoning behind this should be fairly obvious, even if Sony never admits it: if games from those platforms are made to simply work with the Vita, how will anyone ever release Vita-tweaked "remakes" for them? Duh, guys. Seriously. PSOne support is coming, though there's nothing to reveal yet on that front. Sony pledges to announce further details "when they are ready."

Stop looking at me like that. I know this is minor news. What do you want? Friday's off to a slow start.

Source: PlayStation Blog

By this time next week, you'll be able to play Uncharted: Golden Abyss for yourself on your brand new PlayStation Vita. But this time next week is like...a week away. You don't want to wait that long to get a look at how the control scheme will work, or to take a look at the gameplay mechanics. And why should you? 

Lucky for you, G4's Rob Manuel and Dana Leahy have got you covered with a preview of the latest installment in the adventures of Nathan Drake. Hopefully this will be enough to get you through the long, painful wait ahead.

If not, don't worry, we'll have plenty of PS Vita coverage leading up to the big day.

Check out the full Uncharted: Golden Abyss review.

G4's Rob Manuel and Dana Leahy are getting their preview on, and this time they're looking at Wipeout 2048 for the PlayStation Vita. Take a look at what they've got to say about the latest installment in the Wipeout series. SPOILER ALERT: They go in-depth on the controls and graphics in this VIta launch title.

For the written Wipeout 2048 review, click here.

...And don't forget to stay with us right up until the Vita's launch on Feb. 22. We've got all kinds of PS Vita coverage you won't want to miss.

Tune in tonight 6:30PM as X-Play delivers first reviews of PlayStation Vita games, and weighs in on the latest addition to the Twisted Metal series. Full show details below:

• Uncharted: Golden Abyss for PlayStation Vita Review
  We'll weigh in on what is probably the most standout launch title for the PlayStation Vita, Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
• Twisted Metal Review
  Designer David Jaffe returns to his roots, rolling out the most ambitious entry yet to the Twisted Metal series, complete with full blown online combat. We'll weigh in on the results with our review.
• Face Time: Jordan Mechner
  Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner's next project leaves behind the sands of time for some good old fasioned face kicking, and we'll get some face time of our own for details.
• Wipeout 2048 for PlayStation Vita Review
  The old Sony series Wipeout is put to work as a PlayStation Vita launch title, and we'll weigh in on this latest incarnation with our review.
• X-List: Top 5 PSP Games
  With the PlayStation Vita due for arrival, we'll wish the best of luck to the PSP with our list of its 5 best games.
• X-Play Recommends: Indie Games
  We'll check out three great indie games - Brand, The Fourth Wall, and Dustforce.
• Classic Games We Want to See Return
  We'll make a public plea to developers to bring back some of our favorite classic video games.
• The MMO Report
  We'll stop by MMO Report studios for all the week's biggest MMO news from Casey Schreiner.

Watch X-Play weekdays at 6:30PM ET, only on G4!

The Wipeout franchise is back and ready to rock the PS Vita with Wipeout 2048. The launch title has plenty of reasons you should take it for a spin but it has a few reasons it's not a 5/5 either. Check out our Wipeout 2048 review before you make up your mind.

"The touch controls are only really useful at the lowest difficulty with all the assists on. You're much better off using the traditional analog controls, and it seems strange that they only give the player this all or nothing choice. They may have had better luck incorporating some tilt steering, while still using the buttons and triggers for item management and acceleration, respectively."

Read our entire Wipeout 2048 review for more information.

Sony is reportedly spending $50 Million to create “the largest platform launch in terms of marketing investment we’ve ever had,” according to Sony senior director John Koller, and to kick things off, they've released a hell of a launch commercial.

The commercials for the campaign were shot in Buenos Aires and are meant to show the socail side of the Vita, sort of like: Gaming isn't just something you do alone in your mom's basement. Check it out, below:

Expect more ads in the coming weeks along the same theme.

... but speaking of the launch of the PlayStation Vtia, both X-Play and G4tv.com have posted review-style videos about the device. Watch them, if you'd like.

Source: The New York Times

It seems that Minecraft's continued forward march onto gaming platforms of all shapes and sizes will stop short with the coming Xbox Live Arcade release that should be arriving later this year. Mojang's Daniel Kaplan confirmed in a webchat interview (via Eurogamer) that the publisher has "no plans" to bring Minecraft to the PlayStation Vita, which arrives this week for First Edition bundle buyers and next week on February 22 for anyone else who wants to buy it in North America.

Kaplan offered no indication as to why a Vita port isn't in the cards, though it's worth mentioning that "no plans" doesn't necessarily equate with "never." Don't get your hopes up though. For now, Mojang is still working to finish off Scrolls, which Kaplan admits is "definitely coming for touch screens." Whether or not that includes the touch screen-equipped Vita remains to be seen.

Source: Eurogamer

With First Edition bundles for the PlayStation Vita already winging their way to gamers across North America, attention is shifting toward the upcoming releases that will follow what is largely considered to be a solid lineup of launch titles. One of the most highly anticipated future Vita games is Resistance: Burning Skies, Nihilistic Software's portable take on the series from Insomniac Games.

Sony confirms in a new PlayStation Blog post that the first portable Resistance FPS now has an official release date of May 29. The story is set during the Chimeran invasion of the East Coast in 1951, with players in control of New Jersey firefighter Tom Riley. I played a little bit of this game at a Sony preview event late last year, and it definitely seems like the real deal.

It won't make the wait any short, but you can now take a peek at the newly revealed box art up top.

Source: PlayStation Blog

It's time to get way in-depth about the PlayStation Vita, people. G4's feature editor Rob Manuel and reviews editor Dana Leahy take a long, hard look at the Vita in the video below, showing off the portable's interesting new features, including its dual-cameras, dual touch-screens, dual thumb-sticks and more. That's a lot of "duals" eh?

Along the way, Rob and Dana discuss the machine's price and launch catalog, then answer the big question: Is it worth the price? Check out the video below:

Tune in tonight 6:30PM ET on X-Play as we get ready for the PlayStation Vita. We've got one here, and we'll run down everything we like, and anything that's got us worried. Full show details below:

• PlayStation Vita
  We're inside of two weeks of the PlayStation Vita's official launch, but we have our hands on one now, and we'll take you on a thorough tour of what Sony's new portable gamer is set to deliver.
• Tsquared's Battlefield 3 Pro Tips
  Battlefield 3 is all about understanding your strengths and limitations, and pro gamer Tsquared will have pro tips for finding your role, and carrying it out effectively.
• The Darkness 2 Review
  Sequel The Darkness 2 has new developers, new gameplay mechanics, and a reworked art style. We'll weigh in on the results with our review.
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Review
  The wait is over, and the first game from baseball great turned videogame magnate Curt Schilling and his 38 Studios is here. It's action RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and we'll have our review.
• X-Play Inbox
  We'll open up more viewer mail in another edition of X-Play Inbox.
• X-Play Recommends - iPad Game Jazz: Trump's Journey
  We'll check out Jazz: Trump's Journey, a jazzy platforming romp through 1920s New Orleans.

Watch X-Play weekdays at 6:30PM ET, only on G4!

You might have read yesterday that the PlayStation Vita's PS Store is now officially online and ready to accept your money. The current offering of actual Vita games is relatively light, but there are hundreds of PSP and Minis titles available for purchase and/or download. The exact number is 275, Sony reveals in a new PlayStation Blog post.

The update explains the various options users have for getting a PSP onto your Vita's memory card. It's pretty simple, really: either download them straight to the Vita via the built-in PS Store app or download them to your PS3 and then transfer them over using the Content Manager. You can find the full list of games at the source link below, though I can also confirm that LittleBigPlanet PSP, Killzone: Liberation and Echochrome can all be transferred from your PS3 to the Vita as well, and that they all seem to run just fine.

Sony promises to add more PSP titles to the store "in the coming weeks."

Source: PlayStation Blog

You all knew this was going to be coming at some point, so hopefully you've properly steeled yourselves: LittleBigPlanet Karting is officially a thing. We first heard about it earlier this week when Canadian retailer FutureShop tweeted about the game's reveal at a Destination PlayStation event. A Move-compatible racing wheel and 3D support were both mentioned. A subsequent tweet from PSN Stores included an image of a promo poster for the unannounced game.

Well it's unannounced no more. Sony's issued an official tweet on its @PlayStation feed that reads: "Update: We can confirm that LittleBigPlanet Karting is in fact in development and we look forward to sharing more on the game soon!"

Yay? Your mileage may vary (pun definitely intended). Is the world ready for a LittleBigPlanet kart racer?

Source: @PlayStation

Listen up, PlayStation Vita importers and thieves in North America: the PS Store is now officially up and running on the PlayStation Vita. It's pretty bare on the Vita games front, with the same five Sony-published titles that could be searched for and purchased in the PS3's online store being the only ones listed for now, all with their 10 percent digital discount.

There's plenty more though, a hefty offering of PlayStation Portable and Minis titles. It doesn't seem to be at 100 percent yet, however. For example, the Killzone: Liberation and LittleBigPlanet PSP titles that some might have gotten from Sony's post-Anonymous hacking "make good" campaign can be downloaded from your PS3 to your Vita's memory card, but they're both not up for sale in the store yet. That said, the Vita technically isn't even out in the U.S. yet. We'll certainly be seeing more come online over the next two weeks.