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Killzone: Mercenary – An Exclusive FPS For PS Vita

If you’re one of those who were skeptical to get a Vita because it lacked killer titles, then we’ve got some good news for you.

This year at Gamescom 2012, home turf of one of the subsidiaries of Sony, Guerrilla Games, Killzone: Mercenary, an FPS title exclusive to Vita, and a spin-off to the original Killzone series, was announced.

Killzone: Mercenary, like most spin-offs, will be quite different from the core Killzone series. This time you’ll be put in the shoes of a mercenary who works with both Helghast and ISA. This is big news as this is the first time in Killzone’s history that you will get to work with the Helghast. DEATH TO THE ISA!

And what more is that this handheld spin-off is being made by Guerrilla Games themselves and not out-sourcing the title to some other development studio to make a sub-par Killzone game. Moreover, Mercenary is being developed using the Killzone 3 engine, which no wonder makes the game look fabulous for a handheld.

Check out the amazing announcement trailer below, featuring half live-action and half-screenswiping gameplay action.

Details at the moment are pretty scarce, but Sony promised to reveal more soon.

Killzone: Mercenary is scheduled to be released at some point next year.

October 5, 2013
Sony Xperia Z Charging Dock Review
I’ve been using the Sony Xperia Z for a few weeks now and I’m pretty much in love with it. The Sony Xperia Z has a very beautiful design and comes pack with top of line specs making it one of the best Android phones available in the market right now. As with any expensive smartphone, I decided to get accessories with it, the first thing that came to my mind was a charging dock of course.

So I decided to not take any risks and go with the official Sony Xperia Z Charging Dock model DK26 which I’ll be reviewing today.

The dock has a nice design and is painted black to match the Xperia Z, the dock is also available in White and Purple. In the dock the phone will be in Landscape mode so it’s not like Samsung docks which are mostly Portrait. The dock also holds the Xperia Z in a comfortable viewing angle so you can use it while charging or while watching a movie with the dock on your desk. The charger also won’t require your to connect your Xperia Z with it’s MicroUSB slot, instead it charges via the conductors on the phone’s left side making, so all you have to do is just slider your phone into the dock and it’ll start charging.

Unfortunately the DK26 dock can’t charge directly from your PC so users will have to connect the USB input at the back of the dock to AC power. The dock will also not work with a case of any kind and is intended to be used with a naked Xperia Z.

Overall I’m very happy with the dock, it could’ve been a bit cheaper considering it’s just a piece of plastic but it is quality stuff. TechDeville gives the Sony Xperia Z Charging Dock DK26 3.5/5 stars and if you’re interested you can grab one from here.
July 21, 2013
Playstation 4 confirmed to support Playstation 3 headsets

Sony confirmed to Polygon recently at San Diego Comic-Con that the Playstation 4 will indeed support Playstation 3 headsets unlike the Xbox One which will require propriety ones.

Sony also detailed that although the Playstation 4 will ship with a mono earbud inside the box you will be able to quickly setup your older Playstation 3 headsets with a breeze. The Xbox One on the other hand does not include a headset inside the box even though it’s priced $100 higher.

The Sony Playstation 4 is expected to hit stores in November priced at $399 going head to head with Microsoft’s Xbox One priced at $500. Who will win this upcoming console war? Only time will tell.

July 21, 2013
Sony Xperia Z PACman Android 4.2.2 Custom ROM Installation Guide

The Sony Xperia Z is great smartphone, maybe even the best from Sony. Along with great hardware the Xperia Z has great software and ROM support with ROMs like PACman Android 4.2.2 being available for it.

The PACman Android 4.2.2 custom ROM combines the best features from Cyanogenmod, Paranoid Android and AOKP making it one of the best ROMs available for the Sony Xperia Z.

Although the PACman Android 4.2.2 custom ROM is stable and ready for daily use, the developer has noted that some devices have faced a “Baseband Unknown” error which can be fixed easy by going this link.

Before start making you’ve completed the following pre-requisites:

1. Installed USB drivers for your Sony Xperia Z.

2. Enabled USB debugging mode.

3. Made sure that the bootloader of the Sony Xperia Z is unlocked.

4. The Sony Xperia Z has a custom recovery installed, we recommend CWM.

5. Your phone is at least 80% charged.

6. You’ve created a Nandroid backup through the installed recovery.

7. Your phone is rooted.

Now that we’re done with those, let’s start with the installation process itself, follow the steps below:

Step 1- Download the PACman Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean ROM and Google Apps.

Step 2- Connect your Sony Xperia Z to a computer using mass storage mode and copy over the ROM to the phone.

Step 3- Download this Fastboot package and unzip the Fastboot.zip file into the C drive of your PC. It’ll then create the fastboot folder with four folders.

Step 4- Turn off your Sony Xperia Z and boot into Fastboot mode by holding the Volume Down + Power buttons.

Step 6. Now connect your phone to your computer again in Fastboot mode.

Step 7. Open CMD.exe (command prompt) on your PC. It can be found in the Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories.

Step 8. Enter the following command to go to the fastboot folder: cd c:Fastboot

Step 9. Enter the following command: fastboot flash boot boot.img followed by fastboot -i 0x0fce flash boot boot.img

Step 10. After the installation is complete and it gives you an OK prompt unplug your phone and boot into Recovery mode by holding Volume Up + Volume Down and Power buttons.

Step 11. Use volume rocker to navigate and power button to click. Perform a data wipe + cache wipe

Step 13. Navigate to flash ZIP from SD card and choose ZIP from SD card

Step 14. Select the PACman Android 4.2.2 custom ROM’s zip downloaded in step 1 first. Select it using the power button and confirm installation.

Step 15. Now do the same things with the Google Apps zip file.

Step 16. When installation is done, go back to the main menu of CWM and perform a reboot.

Now if you face any problems and questions feel free to ask us in the comments below.

June 3, 2013
Sony’s new VAIO Fit lineup refines its entry-level laptops

Sony has introduced new VAIO Fit line of entry-level notebooks which follows their low end laptops series. The FIT E laptop would cost around $550 and would incorporate Intel Core processor, Nvidia graphics card, advanced hybrid hard drives, and a spacious keypad along with trackpad.

The notebooks specifics are much more cost effective then the other Sony VAIO products. The Fit models can easily fit an optical drive and are much slimmer than other notebooks; however they do not fall into the category of ultrabooks as they do not get the best features in term of its weight. Fit E would be available in 14 and 15 inch models in different vibrant colors including pink, silver and traditional black. VAIO product manager Travis Furst mentioned that “We’re really focusing on the power of Sony”.

The Fit series offers significant improvements in webcam and exceptional quality of sound which is rare in any available laptop series. The Fit has also been designed to offer enhanced video, photo and audio editing features for new users with ease of use and simplicity in its interface. Sony once again tries to make itself a leader in high end products and the Fit series gives the company another competitive edge among its competitors.

May 10, 2013
List Of All PS3 Exclusives Of 2013

This list contains all of the PS3 exclusives coming out in 2013 for the PS3.

Although Sony revealed the Playstation 4 just a few weeks ago they promised to continue supporting the Playstation 3. They’re right though, just look at this list of all PS3 exclusives coming out in 2013.

Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk

Publisher: Tecmo KOEI
Developer: Gust
Release Date: March 5 2013 (NA), March 8 2013 (EU), June 28 2012 (JP)

Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk is a JRPG developed by Gust and the 14th game in the popular Atelier series. The game is about a herbalist called Ayesha whose younger sister Nio disappears while collecting herbs. The one day, Ayesha sees Nio in a dungeon and starts her journey to find her.

Beyond: Two Souls

Developer: Quantic Dreams
Publisher: SCE
Release Date: October 8 2013 (Worldwide)

Beyond: Two Souls is centered about finding what happens after death and stars Ellen Page and William Dafoe. Players will step into the shoes of Jodie Homes (played by Page) through 15 years of her life (from ages 8 to 23).

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut

Developer: Access Games
Publisher: Rising Star Games
Release Date: April 30 2013 (NA), April 26 2013 (EU)

Director’s cut of one of this generation’s best cult classics – Deadly Premonition will be exclusive to the Playstation 3. Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut will include better controls, 3D functionality, updated HD graphics, PS Move support, DLC and more than 100 other improvements.

Disgaea D2 – A Brighter Darkness

Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software
Release Date: 20 March 2013 (JP), Fall 2013 (NA and Fall)

Sequel to the original Disgaea released on the Playstation 2, Disgaea D2 starts with Laharl now the King of the Netherworld after taking his father place. Unfortunately the demons under him don’t respect him and to make things worse a group called the King Krichevskoy faction are trying to dethrone him.

Dragon’s Crown

Developer: Vanillaware/Atlus
Publisher: Atlus/SCE
Release Date: TBA 2013

Well this one is not exactly a Playstation 3 exclusive, but a Sony exclusive instead since it’s coming out on both the Playstation 3 and PS Vita. Dragon Crown is an action RPG based Norse mythology and a spiritual successor to Princess Crown released back on the Sega Saturn. The game plays like side scrolling beat em’ up where players can choose between Fighter, Amazon, Elf, Sorceress, Wizard, and Dwarf characters and use standard and as well as magic attacks.

Dust 514

Developer: CCP Games
Publisher: CCP Games
Release Date: TBA 2013

Dust 514 is a free to play first person shooter exclusive to the PS3. The game is directed connected to CCP Games’ other game Eve Online, decisions taken in one game will affect the situation of the other.

Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: TBA 2013

Although fans have wanted a proper remake of Final Fantasy VII for years, Square Enix doesn’t feel it’s time yet so they’ll give us as many HD remasters as they can. This year along with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX we’ll also be getting HD versions of both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 along with trophies!

God of War: Ascension

Developer: Sony Santa Monica
Publisher: SCE
Release Date: March 12 2013 (NA), March 13 2013 (EU)

Kratos is back and this time he’s even more pissed off. Ascension is a prequel and takes place before Chains of Olympia which itself was a prequel to the original God of War.

Guacamelee!

Developer: Drinkbox Studio
Publisher: Drinkbox Studio
Release Date: April 9 2013 (Worldwide)

Not to be confused with Guacamoles, Guacamelee! is a beautiful Mexican inspired action platformer developed by Drinkbox Studio. Guacamelee will be available on both the Playstation 3 and PS Vita.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory

Developer: Compile Hearts/Idea Factory
Publisher: Compile Hearts/NIS America
Release Date: March 21 2013 (NA), March 15 2013 (EU), August 30 2012 (JP)

The third installment in the Hypderdimension Neptunia series, Hypderdimension Neptunia Victory is turn based JRPG released in Japan last year. This year it’ll be out in western regions for all of us to enjoy.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: Q3, Q4 2013

Already released in Japan, the long awaited Kingdom Hearts HD collection is here in the form of Kingodm Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX. The HD collection will include HD remastered versions of Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories along with cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days.

MLB 13 – The Show

Developer: SCE San Diego
Publisher: SCE
Release Date: March 5 2013 (NA), March 6 2013 (EU)

MBL 13 is this year’s installment in the Playstation exclusive baseball game series.

Ni No Kuni – Wrath of the White Witch

Developer: Level 5
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Release Date: Jan 22 2013 (NA), February 1 2013 (EU), November 17 2012 (JP)

Ni No Kuni is a collaboration between RPG makers Level 5 and Anime company Studio Ghibli. Many tout it to be one of the best JPRGs this generation.

Puppeteer

Developer: SCE Japan
Publisher: SCE
Release Date: TBA 2013

Puppeteer is a platformer by the people behind The Getaway, Forbidden Siren 2 and Siren: Blood Curse. The game is about a boy name Kutaro who has his head cut off by the Moon Bear King after being turned into a Puppet. Kutaro then steal’s Moon Bear King’s magical scissors and stars his journey to regain his head.

Sly 4: Thieves in Time

Developer: Sanzaru Games
Publisher: SCE
Release Date: February 5 2013 (NA), March 27 2013 (EU)

The fourth installment in popular Sly series of platforming games. Available on both PS3 and PS Vita and is one of the first games to support the Playstation cross-buy feature. The game takes place right after the events of Sly 3, as the owner of the Thievius Raccoonus notices that the book’s pages are suddenly changing, Penelope has gone missing (probably kidnapped), so it’s up the Sly Cooper to save the world again.

Rain

Developer: SCE Japan
Publisher: SCE
Release Date: TBA 2013

Rain is an interesting concept, one I can’t wait to play. The game tells the story of an invisible world only revealed during rain. The main character is a boy who one day sees a girl’s silhouette in the rain and decides to follow her, after stepping in the rain he himself became invisible. Players will only see the character while rain falls on him so navigating the world could be quite interesting.

Tales of Xillia

Developer: Namco Tales Studio
Publisher: Namco Bando
Release Date: TBA 2013 (NA and EU), September 8 2012 (JP)

The 13th mothership title in the highly popular Tales franchise, Tales of Xillia stars two main characters Jude Mathis and Milla Maxwell in their journey to save the world of Liese.

The Last of Us

Developer: Naughty Dog
Publisher: SCE
Release Date: June 14 2013 (Worldwide)

After conquering the action adventure genre with the Uncharted games, Naughty Dog set out to conquer survival horror. The Last of Us is nothing like what you’ve played before as you join Joel and teenager Ellie as they journey the United States for survival.

The Guided Fate Paradox

Developer: NIS
Publisher: NIS
Release Date: Q3 2013

Guided Fate Paradox is a strategy RPG from the Disgaea team and a spiritual successor to Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger Vs. Darkdeath Evilman. The story mode has main character Renya Kagurazaka make people’s wishes come true by traveling the copy world which in-turn affects the real world.

The Witch and the Hundred Knights

Developer: NIS
Publisher: NIS
Release Date: TBA 2013

Another NIS game on the list, The Witch and the Hundred Knights is a top down action RPG. The game’s story is of the beautiful marsh witch and the ugly forest witch fighting each for several decades to prove their supremacy. One day the beautiful marsh witch comes across the “one hundred cavalry”, which she then summons into battle against her rival.

Time and Eternity

Developer: ImageePoch
Publisher: NIS
Release Date: Q3 w013

Time and Eternity is a gorgeous hand drawn RPG by Japanese developed ImageePoch. The game stars Princess who’s on a mission to find out about the assassins who crashed her wedding ceremony and wounded the Knight who was to be her husband. But she’s not a normal Princess, she has a second soul living inside her which enables her to travel through time. With this power she sets out to find out what the assassins have against her.

Until Dawn

Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: SCE
Release Date: TBA 2013

Until Dawn is PS3 exclusive adventure horror being developed by Supermassive Games. Until Dawn is about a group of teenagers who decide to spend the night at a cabin in the woods on the death anniversary of one of their friends. The gameplay is PS Move focused which is used to control the flashlight in the game. Players can select different characters by passing around the torch.

Apart from these games there are still other games which were previously announced as PS3 exclusives but we haven’t heard more about them for quite some time. Although they have little chance to come out this year, we felt they’re worth a mention anyway.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: TBA

Announced way back in 2006, Versus XIII holds the record for the longest development period for a Final Fantasy title. The game’s story focuses on Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum who rules over a Kingdom which possesses the last crystal in the world. After the crystal is stolen a global conflict begins as all nations try to get the crystal for themselves.

Agent

Developer: Rockstar
Publisher: Take Two
Release Date: TBA

Developed by Rockstar themselves, Agent is a game we’re seen very little of, we haven’t even seen a proper announced after all. All we saw of Agent was some concept art one of the developers posted on his LinkedIn.

The Last Guardian

Developer: Team ICO
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: TBA

Being developed for what like it seems forever, the next game by Team Ico is also stuck in development hell. Just a few days ago after revealing the Playstation 4 when asked about the game Shuhei Yoshida, President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios said “We are waiting for the right time to re-introduce The Last Guardian.” So is it going on the PS4 or will it come out on the PS3 after all? Only time will tell.

Yakuza 5

Developer: CS1 Team
Publisher: Sega
Release Date: December 6 2012 (JP), TBA (EU and NA)

The fifth installment in what many tout to be Japan’s answer to GTA – Yakuza 5 hit stores in Japan late last year but an international release is still in question. Publishers Sega have been really silent on the game’s localization so we doubt it’ll be out this year. Yakuza 5 receive rave reviews in Japan with even a perfect score from Famitsu so you know it’ll be a worthy part of the PS3 exclusive collection.

So which of these games will you be getting? Let us know in the comments below.

April 4, 2013
Some Sony Xperia Z Smartphones Dying Without Warning, Sony Promises A Fix
Reports of Sony Xperia Z smartphones dropping like flies are popping up on various forums. According to XperiaBlog there doesn’t seem to be a specific issue that causes the phone to die but it does so suddenly with users unable to turn it back on. A hard reset turns the phone back on for some, but for others they seem to have a dead weight on their hands.

Thankfully it seems Sony Mobile has identified the issue according a post on their forums, they promised a fix in the next software update for the Sony Xperia Z.

Also check out:
- Sony Xperia Z, iPhone 5 And Oppo Find 5 Camera Comparison
- Sony Xperia Z Vs LG Nexus 4 E960 Detailed Comparison
Have you been facing such issues with your Xperia Z? Let us know in the comments below.

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March 24, 2013
Sony Replaces Kevin Butler Advertising Firm
Sony Computer Entertainment America or SCEA for short has finally signed up with New York based advertising firm Bartle, Bogle, Hegarty (BBH for short) replacing Deutsch, which is the firm responsible for the highly successful Kevin Butler and “Michael” campaigns. And after the whole Wii – Bridgestone fiasco, I doubt we’ll be seeing the VP of everything in future Sony ads.

“All of the participating agencies, 180LA, Anomaly, BBH New York and Deutsch presented outstanding ideas during the process,” said Guy Longworth , SVP, PlayStation Brand Marketing at SCEA. “But after careful consideration, BBH New York is the best partner for our business.” via GamesIndustry.biz

BBH has worked with brands like Audi, Vodafone, Levi Straus, British Airways, Johnnie Walker, Omo/Persil and Axe/Lynx so they have ample experience but only time will tell if they’ll be able to satisfy the gaming community.

Also check out:
By the timing of it, looks like BBH will be responsible for all adverts of the rumored Playstation 4 console expected to be announced at Sony’s 20th February Playstation conference.

Did you like the Kevin Butler and “Michael” ads? Let us know in the comments below.

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March 2, 2013
This Is The Alleged Playstation 4 Controller
Another day, another next gen console leak. Today we have two images of an alleged Playstation 4 controller which we personally think is the real thing.

The first image as you’ll see below is courtesy of the guys over at Destructoid. The image shows off the Playstation 4 controller which their sources claim is still a prototype. Behind the controller we have a big box with LEDs and whatnot, we think this is the Playstation dev kit probably still in beta. The controller as you can see is a radical change from the Dualshocks of the past.

The middle section of the controller now has a touch pad of sorts like the back of the PS Vita, the PS button has been moved a bit down and is that a speaker just above it? That’s not all, the D-Pad seems to have been altered a bit making the buttons slightly bigger. The Analog sticks have been greatly improved, they’re now like the Xbox 360′s which is a much welcomed change. There’s also a blue light at the top although we’re not sure of what it does.

The second image above is from a user over at NeoGAF which shows off the Playstation 4 controller from the side giving us a better view. The grips also seem to be a bit longer than the PS3′s Dualshock 3 controller. We’ll hopefully hear more on Sony’s 20th February event if they do decide to show off the Playstation 4.

Also check out:
Overall I’m a fan, what do you guys think? Let us know in the comments below.
February 24, 2013
Sony PS Vita Gets Price Cut In Japan

Sony announced in today’s Vita Heaven conference that the PS Vita will be getting a price cut, but that’s only in Japan for now. The new price is ¥19,980 or roughly US$214 for both WiFi and 3G bundles, the price will be effective in stores starting February 28th. In comparison the launch price of the PS Vita was ¥29,980 and ¥24,980 (3G and WiFi version respectively).

The price cut comes days before Sony’s supposed Playstation 4 announcement on the 20th of February. Along with the Playstation 4, rumors suggest that new Western prices for the PS Vita would also be announced at the event.

So will you be buying a PS Vita now or do you already own one? Let us know in the comments below.

February 24, 2013