Over the past year, Qore has certainly delivered on the promise of providing video content in HD. There have been a number of good interviews and behind the scenes features on new games. Qore has provided early access to a number of betas, including PlayStation Home and Resistance 2. Overall, each episode has been reasonably entertaining and has provided interesting behind the scenes information.

Unfortunately, Qore still has a few kinks to work out. The most notable criticism of the service is the advertisements that exist in the program, with many claiming that since Qore is a paid for, premium service, it shouldn’t contain so many advertisements. Additionally, Qore seems to be a little light on content. Each issue usually contains 2-3 features, with each feature usually consisting of a single video or developer interview and an image gallery. The depth of content is even more troubling in light of in-program advertisements.

Overall, Qore seems to be a fair value for the money. Qore has certainly delivered on the promise of providing early access to many different betas over the last year. However, the depth and breadth of content does currently seem a little limited. While Qore generally focuses on games that haven’t been released yet, I find I enjoy watching Pulse (which focuses on released games) just as much—and it’s free. While the per-price issue of Qore isn’t all that expensive, Sony needs to continue to show the value that subscribing to this service provides to the gaming community.

What are your thoughts?  Are you looking forward to DJ Hero, and if so, do you want interoperability between these franchises?

General

• Grenade explosions now apply damage properly

Matchmaking

• Players should no longer get hung up in matchmaking for long periods of time

Bug Fixes

• Ranks should no longer reset randomly
• Quitting the game will no longer reset the PS3
• Player collision – players should no longer get hung up on each other when moving through the environment
• Player will now be killed if stuck in falling animation for too long
• In Plunder mode, treasures will no longer disappear during matches

Additionally, you’ll have two more chances to play online with the developers. When the developers play as villains, look for pirates, while the good guys will play as Nathan Drake wearing a Naughty Dog t-shirt.

They’ll be online at the following times:

Tuesday, June 16 – 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM PT
Thursday, June 18 – 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PT

Microsoft’s answer to motion controllers is Project Natal. Project Natal is very interesting in that you don’t actually use a controller. The new sensor captures both visible and infrared light spectrums and passes this information off to software, which is able to very accurately construct a model of the person and environment in front of it. What this means is that you can interact with virtual items without using any controller at all. This is a very interesting concept, and I’m curious to see how more full-fledged games utilize the technology — and not just tech demos.

Sony’s answer, however, is a little more traditional. In Sony’s technical demos, they have a controller that looks very much like a Wii controller, albeit with a light on one end. The PlayStation Eye then tracks the motion of this controller. Like Project Natal and Wii Motion Plus, the tracking appeared very accurate. In the tech demo at E3, Sony demonstrated using the controller to create a virtual sword, bow and arrows, and even a gun for use within a first person shooter.

On the one hand, Sony’s solution doesn’t appear as elegant as Microsoft’s, in that it had to use a controller. On the other hand, I think the Wii has been so popular in part because it had a very easy controller to use. It will be interesting to see how Project Natal can win consumers over with a large variety of games and experiences without the use of a traditional controller. Sony on the other hand seems to be targeting the same crowd which has flocked to the Wii, simply upgrading the user’s experience with the power of the PlayStation 3.

While Microsoft has yet to announce a public release date for Project Natal, Sony has stated that the first games will appear in Spring of 2010. In any case, the emergence of these controllers will usher in a whole new gaming experience on both the Xbox and PlayStation platforms.

Part of what makes games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero so popular is the fact that the player feels like they are actually part of Journey, The Rolling Stones, and Pearl Jam. Sure, playing a plastic guitar or drum kit may look stupid, but you really do feel like you’re playing guitar right along with Keith Richards. This is exactly what makes Rock Band Unplugged for the PSP so un-fun.

Rock Band Unplugged takes all the music you enjoy from these different music franchises, strips away all of the musical instruments, and shoe horns you into jumping between each band track in what more closely resembles keeping a bunch of plates spinning than an actual music game.

When you start out with a new song, you begin playing on the guitar track. The PSP’s top and left D-pad buttons and the triangle and circle buttons are used to play the track. After playing what Rock Band Unplugged calls a “phrase” (a short musical segment), the track you are on begins to play itself and you must switch to another track. This process continues until you either complete the song or decide that spinning plates is actually a lot more fun.

It’s too bad really, as this game had a lot of potential to really re-invent this genre. Instead, this game offers no incentive to become good at any one instrument—as they’re all exactly the same. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this stinker.

The full list is:

• Army of Two, Electronic Arts
• Battlefield: Bad Company, Electronic Arts
• Devil May Cry 4, Capcom
• Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Sony Computer Entertainment America
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Konami
• Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Starting June 16th, you’ll be able to pick up these titles for $29.99.

Shipwrecked in a new and strange land the Patapons will depend on you, the “Mighty One”, to lead them safely through this perilous new adventure. The beat of your mystical war drums will guide your brave tribe through this new land as they come face to face with a deadly new rival tribe, encounter a mysterious and powerful Patapon Hero and uncover the ruins of Patapolis, an ancient place long spoken of by the Patapons.

Like the original Patapon game, you lead your tribe of Patapons on their search for the ruins of their homeland. You guide your tribe by pounding out the marching beat on your drums. As you lead your tribe, you are required to march your Patapons forward, attack, protect, and perform a few other commands.

The Patapons are a really fun group to command. They’re sarcastic, letting you know when you’ve missed the beat, or if they don’t understand your command. Once you really get in a rhythm during battle, you’ll be amazed at what your Patapons can do. It’s a very enjoyable experience.

There are some nice game play enhancements, including drum rhythms that can be adjusted for difficulty. This helps make the game playable—unlike the first Patapon, which toward the end became incredibly frustrating if your timing was ever just a split second off. Additionally, if you really get off the beat during fever mode, a warning drum pounds giving you one last chance to get back on the beat. These two changes alone make this game much more enjoyable than the previous game.

This update to the original franchise also adds a bunch of new features, including tons of new missions (over 80 are included in this sequel), lots of new bosses, and lots of new weapons to find and collect. This release also adds a Hero Patapon character, which is a nice addition to the franchise. This character helps lead your forces into battle and can perform significant damage to enemies when you keep to the rhythm. If you’ve got a couple of friends with PSPs who also own this game, you can try out the multiplayer mode.

Having said all that, this is still really just Patapon 1. Now Patapon 1 was a great game, but if you’ve already played that game and were looking for something that really expanded the genre, you’re out of luck. Granted, Patapon 2 does add tons of new, welcome features, but this is still very much the same game. With a few exceptions, in terms of commanding your Patapons, the game never really goes much beyond the commands for forward, attack, or protect.

If you never played Patapon and enjoy music games like Loco Roco, I’d recommend beginning with Patapon 2. If you’ve already played Patapon, loved it, and are looking for more, then you’ll also enjoy this game. Unfortunately, this game is being released in a download only format, meaning you won’t be able to pick up a used copy at your local game trading store. At only $19, it’s hard to go wrong, but if you’re unsure about this game, try out the demo, available now in the PlayStation Store.

Let’s hope they don’t blow it.

There is a huge PS3 and PSP community, who are willing to spend money on games.  It goes without saying that the more value the gaming community sees from a game, the more they are willing to buy.  But they need to see value, especially in this economy.  This is where Sony really needs to step up to the plate-show the community how the money they’ve spent on the PS3 and PSP are going to pay off this year.  Sony needs to show how exclusive entertainment options are better through their systems than through any other.  Show the community the value for their money!

Although arguably at least a year too late, Sony was able to announce video service through the PlayStation Network at last year’s E3.  We’d all love to hear about new services we’ll get as part of the network.  Fingers crossed, but let’s not hold our breath.

We’ve all heard the rumors about the redesigned PSP.  These rumors are intriguing and surely Sony will have some announcements on this front during their keynote.  If the new PSP is indeed UMD-less, Sony has a lot more pressure to make sure their PSP games are worth the money.  In the world of digital downloads, a gamer can no longer take a used game to their local GameStop.  No, now they’re stuck with the game.  Sony needs to wow the community with their PSP game line up.  Oh, and let’s finally get trophies added to the PSP, shall we?

On the PS3 side of things, Sony has a bit of an easier job.  InFamous is about to come out, and there has been a lot of talk about Heavy Rain and a number of other assorted titles.  It seems like we’re finally going to have a few games worthy of this console.  Let’s see some exclusive titles!  Let’s see something that isn’t a FPS!  Let’s see some real creativity outside of those $9.99 games on the PSN.

Sony, are you listening?  We’ve got my money right here, ready to give to you.  Let’s see a couple of really innovative games and you can have it.

And let’s face it: it’s all about the games.