Audiosurfing Your iPhone

Those of you who like me occasionally dip into that frightening and obscure realm known as 'casual gaming' (I feel dirty just typing those words) will probably be clued up on the awesome music game Audiosurf. For those of you who aren't familiar, get yourself a Steam account and go and download it. Right now. I'll wait. What do you mean you need to know more! Okay, well, Audiosurf is more of an overblown visualiser than a video game, but it's a visualiser that does play like a game. Basically, the game/visualiser accesses your music library, that can make use of the iTunes decoder if you want it to, and uses those tracks to design a race track. The way the track turns and bumps, including the speed of the course depends on the song you choose. For certain sounds in the song, coloured blocks will appear on the track, and it's your job to pilot your ship of choice into the coloured blocks, slowly building up a high score depending on how well you play. Your score can then be uploaded to a leader board to see how well you did on your particular song in comparison to the world. It's simple yet very addictive fun and a great way to enjoy your music library.

So there's your history lesson, now onto more exciting up to date news. AppGamer have been talking with Dylan Fitterer, the creator of Audiosurf about the possibility of the game appearing on iPhones, taking advantage of the new OS 3.0. It turns out that he's pretty interested, and short of an official announcement said that the game was on its way. This would be an excellent application to have on the iPhone, it almost feels like this is what Audiosurf was made to do, it was just that the technology wasn't quite available when it came out.

I really hope that this sees the light of day, with the new Metal Gear Solid 4 Touch game on the way, the iPhone is really starting to shape up as a contender in the handheld gaming market. I may actually have to get one now!

Return Of The Re-Release

Reports over on N4G have pointed towards the very real possibility that we'll be seeing a re-release of Ninja Gaiden II on PS3, which in keeping with the previous Ninja Gaiden release on Sony's console, will be titled Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Apparently as with the previous Sigma game released on PS3, this title will not be a direct port and will include technical and graphical updates.

Whilst at this point I would hesitate to call this anything more than a rumour, especially as I'm taking N4G's word for it that the translation of the Japanese magazine article is correct. However, I do like the idea of a another re-release of a Ninja Gaiden game (please bear with me on this one, I haven't gone completely insane), the previous Sigma re-release fixed one of the main issues from the original Ninja Gaiden (itself more an update of the old 8 bit series than a re-release), the poor camera. Whilst I know that player camera control was added in Ninja Gaiden Black (the first re-release of Ninja Gaiden), Sigma did this and added better loading times and touched up the graphics. I doubt that a graphical update will be applied this time, as Ninja Gaiden II is still a pretty gem, but perhaps improving the awful camera will polish the games only obvious blemish.

Honestly I would pay for this, I think it's a great idea and if it gets me another play through of Ninja Gaiden II then I'm game. We'll just have to see how much this re-release adds to the existing game, and if it'll actually see the light of day. Can't wait to see what Tomonobo Itagaki has to say about this one.

UPDATE

Seeing as since I started writing this article the rumour concerning Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 has been confirmed pretty much everywhere, I think we're safe in assuming that this is a genuine announcement. Just got to see what updates will be coming to the game now.

Delusions Of Grandeur

So the developers over at Namco have been making some pretty big claims recently. They suggest that their upcoming multi-platform beat-em-up, Tekken 6, will be influencing the specifications of the next Xbox. Apparently the game is pushing the 360 to the limit and the fighting maestros are struggling to keep the game running at a respectable 60 fps. Apparently the disc format is to blame. It runs out that the speeds at which DVDs can be read at are a bit too slow for the graphic intensive game to run at its intended speed.

Whilst we here at We Live In Games are willing to view this as mere hyperbole on Namco's part, I can't help but feel that this does raise the issue that the 360s reliance on outdated DVD technology may be holding it back. Whether this means that the next Xbox will finally cave into consumer pressure and pay Sony for use of its Blu-Ray discs in conjunction with Xbox games, or that we will see a move into true solid state gaming, making the games run straight from the hard drive or flash drive is something for speculation. But it does raise the question of how much longer the 360 can keep outdoing Sony's PS3, with its limited storage space and read speeds of DVD. We already know that Hideo Kojima's masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid 4, wouldn't work on 360, due to its need to arrive on multiple DVDs, how long will it be before multi-format games become unsuitable for a 360 release?

I doubt that many companies would risk losing out on Microsoft's massive installed user base compared to Sony's still lagging one, but we might start seeing a quality jump between multi-platform releases, as more and more developers come to grips with the system. It will be interesting to see if what Namco are saying is true when the game finally hits the street.

Hey! You Got PSP 2 In My PSP-4000

It's been reported over on VideoGames247, that whilst the rumours that Sony regularly shot down about the PSP 2 being well into development are indeed false, the electronics giant has another card to play. Apparently the PSP is due another visit to the surgery for a cosmetic overhaul, but unlike the minor changes that occur ed in the 2000 and 3000 models of lighter, smaller and prettier, this one looks set to be a major aesthetic overhaul.

How major you ask, well if you remember the old mock ups that surfaced on the Internet quite some time ago (see image on top right), it turns out that you wouldn't be too far away from what Sony have planned. Apparently we're going to see a front sliding screen (just like the mock ups) and I would assume another jump in screen quality, hopefully sorting out the problems that were had with the PSP-3000's screen.

According to rumours that originated on Eurogamer, we will also be seeing an end of 2009 release.

Whilst I'm cautiously optimistic about this news, especially seeing as nothing has been announced over at Sony yet, this seems like a great move for the company. The PSP still has a handful of good titles on the way, and an awesome back catalogue of games of available, many of which are dirt cheap nowadays. A re-release could encourage those who aren't on board yet to buy, and the cheap games are a great incentive when you consider how bad the economy is at the moment.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for an official announcement and post as soon as solid details surface.