PSGroove, the free open source PSJailbreak alternative, is now available. Days before the offical PSJailbreak has been shipped to the distributors.

This is based off of a dump of an offical PS Jailbreak sample with a couple modifications made. The major modification to the PSJailbreak code was the removal of Blu-Ray emulation which effectively kills Backup Manager, the other modification however is a nice upgrade that allows you to disconnect the USB key from the PS3 after its done booting. You can also edit the code to enable BR emulation however I will not get into that here. Google is your friend.

The work was done by well known hacker/developer Mathieulh and the team of anonymous devs he collaborates with. He had mentioned on Twitter a few days ago that he had successfully cloned the PSJailbreak and that a release would be coming within the next week. It requires the use of a Teensy++ or Atmel AT90USBKEY. These are development boards that most people are not going to use for anything outside of this but they are cheap so its not a big loss and its not a bad piece of hardware to have laying around either. Never know when one will come in handy.

For most end users however I’d recommend holding off. As I type this @brandonwilson is working on a version of PSGroove for the TI-84 series calculator which I’d imagine a few of you may still have laying around. Musclenerd of iPhone jailbreak fame also mentioned on Twitter that a PSGroove app is possible on the iPhone but that it would take some time to develop.

Now that the general public and more important the talented developers around the world have access to run unsigned code on the PS3 things should start heating up quickly. I have an x3Jailbreak coming within the next week so hopefully there is some homebrew other than Backup Manager to test with it. If another solution comes up sooner (iPhone, PSP) I’ll post an update ASAP.

Looks like removing OtherOS didn’t do jack shit…other then piss off a bunch of people.

For those who don’t know yet, a group of hackers have managed to release an exploit for Sony’s Playstation 3 console that allows the system to run unsigned code. The exploit makes use of a hardware USB adapter that you plug into the system, kind of like a plug and play mod chip. When you boot the PS3 you press the eject button immediately after pressing the power button. This tells the PS3 to read the code from the jailbreak adapter before reading the internal boot code.

Once its all done loading you’ll come up to the XMB like normal.

For most people now this means backups of games that you own can now be saved to the internal hard drive of the PS3 and played directly from there, saving wear and tear on your Blu-Ray drive and game discs. This is a great feature that I’m sure any parent can appreciate. The thing that excites me the most though is being able to install unsigned .pkg files.

Time for the Homebrew.

These .pkg files are programs that boot from within GameOS. Most of the time they’re games but now with homebrew being wide open we can start to expect a lot more. For example, PSP Rhythm is a great little digital audio workstation for the PSP. A similar program for the PS3 would be great as I’d love to produce some tracks using the PS3’s sound chip. Another homebrew possibility could be a dedicated Hulu player or an advanced web browser that identifies itself as IE or Firefox to get around the Hulu PS3 block. This is all speculation and just scraping the tip of the iceberg but the potential here is huge with the type of power the PS3 is packing.

Very exciting indeed.

Now with all this goodness there is one big problem…you need to kiss PSN goodbye…for now at least. If you really want this but can’t give up PSN I recommend getting yourself a second PS3 that way you have one for online use and one for homebrew use. If you can’t afford another PS3 right now you need to accept that you’ll be without PSN for a while and take your current system offline immediately. Your PS3 needs to be on firmware 3.41 to work properly. I can assure you that Sony is going to do everything in its power to minimalize the effectiveness of this hack by patching it out via firmware updates and also revising the hardware in the system. There is no guarantee that you’ll be able to get a system capable of using this exploit in 6 months.

In my opinion its a no brainer. I’ll gladly give up PSN for all of the advantages the exploit provides. I rarely play multiplayer but if I get the bug I’m sure xLinkKai will be setup for PS3 soon which will more then suffice for me.

The only real question is which jailbreak device to buy. There is the original, the PS Jailbreak, which costs $130 last I checked. Pretty expensive although not really out of line. Some supposed clones have popped up over the last few days however and they’re talking much more reasonable pricing. I am currently working on acquiring one of these myself to test. Expect a full video review and demonstration on one of these tools in the near future.

Okay so there’s like…a bajillion games that I took an active interest in, so I’m going to eschew my typical jibber jabber and bring my impressions by bullet points. Or at least I’m going to try to make it look like bullet points, anyways.

Killzone 3 – Looks as badass as ever, if not moreso. The Arctic/Oceanic environments look intense and the jetpack action looks fucking sweet…especially right after you ice a Hig in one. The WASP looks absolutely overpowered, shooting 9 missles at one target…I can’t wait to unleash THAT bitch online, either. With Arctic and Jungle environments, Killzone 3 looks to stuff its cock into the mouths of the whiney little fags who complained about Killzone 2’s color palette…lmao.

Seriously…when people are whining about the fucking color palette of a First Person Shooter named “KILLZONE”, you know they’re fucking gay.  KZ3 looks to shut those stupid hos up with a robust presentation of the visible color spectrum…just for you whiney fags who didn’t get enough fucking sunbeams and rainbows in the last one. First day buy…potential GotY.

Metal Gear Solid Rising – this game is going to cause some debate.  MGS fans are going to HATE the game’s apparent lack of stealth, and then there’s the fact that the game appears to center around Raiden.  Now, if you’ve played MGS4, then you know Raiden as a sword slingin, gravity defying, cyborg ninja badass extraordinaire who can cut bitches in half WHETHER OR NOT HE HAS ANY FUCKING ARMS…

…but if you’ve played MGS2, then you know Raiden is also a whiney little bitch with emotional baggage akin to that of Lindsey Lohan.

We’re all hoping that MGS2 Raiden is gone and never coming back.  And please God, do NOT include Rosemary or any fucking references to Raiden’s empty fucking bedroom.  Do Not…please…I’m begging you…just don’t.  Thank you very much.

Haterade for Raiden aside, MGSR is going to be walking a tightrope.  First of all, MGS has always been a stealth game, and while this game is sure to incorporate “some” sneaking, it’s clearly NOT a stealth game.  Secondly…Hack N Slash isn’t quite Konami or Kojima Productions’ bag, so we are treading virgin waters here.

Also…I’ve got all the Hack N Slash I need with God Of War III.  That along with the fact that Raiden is largely viewed as a second tier character in the MGS canon (and a fairly reviled one at that), this game is going to have to be damn near perfect to have relevance appropriate to the genre and the MGS franchise itself.

I’m not doubting that Kojima’s team can make it work…but I’m not quite drinking the Kool-Aid yet, either.

Little Big Planet 2 – Single player looks to get actual cutscenes as well as many different variables with regard to levels and modes of transport.  Likewise, Play Create Share gets the same bonuses, ensuring that users will be creating racers, shooters, and even horizontal scrolling shooters that hearken back to games like Space Invaders.

Oh and all the content out there for Little Big Planet works on LBP2, as well.  LBP and LBP2 will be Move compatible, so that should make the creation aspect of the game/working the Popit much smoother.  Not quite an urgent buy for me, but it’ll take some kind of catastrophe to prevent me from buying it eventually.

MotorStorm Apocalypse – I’m hoping that this game is more like the original and less like Pacific Rift.  Despite Monument Valley being an absolutely fucking EPIC setting for the original, the varied environments and Tropical Island theme of Pacific Rift were a nice change of pace.  Inclusion of split screen multiplayer was also quite the welcome addition.

Unfortunately, the game screwed up on two things that made the original so fucking awesome.  Bullet time, high detail, HD crash sequences and intuitive track design.  The crashes in PR looked like garbage in comparison, there wasn’t any of the flash involved in it and I found myself lost on tracks several times because of how obtuse their design was.  Got high hopes for this one…but again I’m not pre ordering yet.

inFAMOUS 2 – Never played through the first…didn’t really fall in love with the demo…I may or may not rent it before this drops, but this game will not in any way be a priority for me.  Of course, I’m on record with my opinion that the whole Sandbox Open World thing has been tired and beaten down for a few years now…perhaps inFAMOUS or inFAMOUS 2 is/will be the Tetanus Shot that the genre needs…

…fucking Christ knows that GTA IV wasn’t.

Crysis 2 – Ummmm…FAIL??  Seriously…I d/l’d the trailer on PSN expecting to see the most amazing graphics since Uncharted 2.  What I got was a game that looks like a cross between Gears Of War 3 and Battlefield Bad Company 2.  Don’t get me wrong, those games look great, but for all the shit I’ve heard talked about the CRYTEK engine – I was left wanting more.

The game itself looks badass as hell…but the problem lies in the fact that so does Killzone, Bulletstorm, Spec Ops The Line, SOCOM, Gears and Halo.  As a family man on a budget during a Global Recession, Crysis 2 is looking like something I’m going to have to pass on.

Sorcery – So SCEA revealed Sorcery…a game developed exclusively for the Playstation Move…and yeah – this thing totally looks like a gimmick game.  It drew hoots and hollers from the Shrine Audience but frankly the graphics didn’t look great, the animations themselves were far too cartoony for this Tolkien fanboy’s tastes and the game itself looked like a Harry Potter rip off.

In the end, this game may turn out to be the coolest thing since sliced bread, but from what I saw at E3 it looks like Shovelware.  Oh and the use of the words “Fairy World” was cringe inducing.  Please fix that…thanks.

The Sly Collection – Fanboys rejoice to celebrate Sucker Punch’s previous generation darling platformer upscaled and remastered in HD for the PS3…but honestly I’d have rather seen the ICO Collection.

The ICO Collection – wasn’t there.  Baby Jesus wants to cry.

The Last Guardian – WASN’T.  FUCKING.  THERE.  WHAT.  THE.  FUCK?  Yeah, yeah…I heard…Tokyo Game Show for The Last Guardian.  Look…the only acceptable reason why The Last Guardian wasn’t at E3 would be because Fumito Ueda and his team are too busy helping Bluepoint port Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus over to PS3 for The ICO Collection.

Everything else is just useless jibber jabber.  Sony REALLY dropped the ball by not even having a trailer of The Last Guardian at E3.

SOCOM 4 - Uhhh…SOCOM 4’s only mention was as part of a list of games that will be Move compatible upon launch.  Yeah…uhh…I found that out a while back at GDC.  No new trailer?  No news on single player, co-op, leaning, UCRRs, tiebreakers and clan ladders?  How about the game…will it actually work??

Will there be single player??  Will SOCOM go for that blockbuster Hollywood bullshit that MW and BFBC have been churning out, or will Zipper keep it Hardcore and come with the low key yet ultra realistic Black Ops nature of the first two games?

Yeah…given how integral SOCOM has been and continues to be for the Sony Playstation brand, despite how badly fucking botched SOCOM: Confrontation was, I would’ve liked a little bit more than “SOCOM 4 will be Move compatible.”  Something along the lines of: “SOCOM will be fucking awesome again, we promise” would’ve been nice.

And I’m out of time again…more to come tomorrow or Friday about the two suprises at the end of Sony’s conference and any of the other shit that’s popped up since then.  Chuuuuch.

Late last year, an “executive” with Vivid Video mentioned in an interview that he would be looking into the possibility of streaming the studio’s porn films via the Playstation Network.  Quite frankly…I thought that was an absolute stroke of genius.

Clearly, this gutterball did his homework.  The Sony PS3 User demographic is dominated by 18 to 34 year old geeks and fat guys.  Oddly enough, that also happens to be the target demographic of the porn industry.

Some might call that coincidence…but I think it’s fate.  Surely this would be the most natural pairing since Peanut Butter and Jelly…and everyone involved would stand to make a boatload of cash.

Vivid gets a whole new outlet to reach their audience, Playstation Network would see higher traffic and more paid transactions, and lonely gamers everywhere would be able to jerk off while watching Jenna Jameson get pummeled by 18 inches of angry cock in 1080p.

Let’s not forget that Sony’s also going to be bringing 3D capability to the PS3…and fake titties bouncing in 3D on a 60 inch LCD is probably something that the Playstation community would jump at like they were Michael Jordan.

Literally, everybody involved in that equation wins.

CVG is reporting that Sony, however decided against engaging in any business venture of the sort, in a move that was both obvious and unfortunate.  Yes, I know…there’s a joke there…but I’m actually…well…I’m halfway serious about this.

Sony’s been playing catch up since before the PS3 launched, having lost a year to Nintendo and Microsoft in the next gen console game.  Now, Sony’s been on a roll this past 2 years and while it’s clear that SCEA and the Playstation brand are doing quite well for themselves, there’s always room for more revenue streams.

Think about all those guys playing Modern Warfare 2 who have Prestiged four or more times.  Think about the zit ridden teenagers who have earned more than four Platinum Trophies.  Think about the kids on the PS forums who registered in 2006 and have a post count over 10,000.  Exactly how many of those Aqua Velvas do you think actually knows the scent of a woman?

I say and I say it again my PSN brothers, you’ve been had.  You’ve been HAD.  You’ve been run amok.  Led astray.  Hoodwinked.  Baaaaaaaamboozled.  You could’ve had it all, but it was taken from you by the…wait…sorry.  Got carried away.

Bottom line, in a Global recession, new revenue streams are essential for businesses to continue to grow.  Streaming porn through PSN could potentially be a new revenue ocean for Sony.  Yeah, sure…you add that extra level of sleaziness to your online offerings and it probably wouldn’t look good if, say Oprah or Ariana Huffington were to use their media clout to demonize Sony for such a move…

…but honestly…most gamers don’t give a flying mother fuck about either of those stuck up broads, or their ridiculous Book Of The Month clubs…so I don’t really see how that’s a problem, either.

All rhetoric aside, Sony has a lot of irons in the fire and the Playstation brand is only one of them, so it’s plainly obvious that allowing Vivid to stream vids of that hot ass to mouth action on PSN wasn’t going to happen.  Sure…there’s a lot of money on the table there, but Sony clearly did not want to carry the stigma of being a porn distributor.

Rumor has it that Vivid owner Steven Hirsch will now pitch their product to Microsoft executives for distribution via Xbox Live.  XBL carries pretty much the same demographic that PSN does, so it’s still a brilliant idea…but as Armando Galarraga could tell you, sometimes your best pitches just come up a little short.

So here we are. A week and 2 days after the release of what was expected to be the best video game of all time. Kratos has FINALLY made his way to “next-gen” and he does so in a big way.. both literally and figuratively. But, does the game really deliver? I’m here to say.. “No.”

Now calm down just a second. I’m not saying that the game isn’t good, it is, very good, but it’s not even close to being great. Ok, maybe it’s close, but it don’t quite reach the mark.

I’m not going to get into all the reasons why I like the game, I’m sure you’ve probably read your fair share of those, and what I can only assume is a very good one written by my counterpart (or am I his? Either way..) Glue.. check it out

I’ll admit, I was just as excited as anyone else about this game. I grabbed a copy of it, drove very quickly home, sat down and was blown away by the opening credit sequence. And then it started with the quick fight, and when the first “cutscene” started I took a huge breath as I was FINALLY playing God of War III. And that’s pretty much where my excitement ended..

I guess I kind of have a feeling that I, along with pretty much everyone else who’s played this game, was expecting this game to practically wipe our asses for us. The hype was crazy huge, and it had to be. God of War and the sequel were both incredibly great and hugely successful games. Every hack-n-slash since has tried to mimic the formula if you will, and not one has even scratched the surface of what GoW accomplished. And now God of War III is here, promising everything we know and love and then some, and to me it just feels incomplete, which I understand SCEA has admitted this much. But aside from the ending, there’s still much to be desired here.

Of course the first thing I noticed where the controls. Right away I realized that they didn’t feel like GoW. To me the two button combo thing was just irritating. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about it’s needing to hold down L2 plus a face button for some crazy new thing, and because it’s a “new thing”, you’re naturally not used to it. There were plenty of times when I had to completely relearn the controls in my head, sometimes in one play session. Now, this may have something to do with my terrible memory, but it’s not like I’m new to video games. The whole control system seemed very clunky to me to begin with. They are nowhere near as fluid and precise as the previous two games.

As far as gameplay, there were a few new things I really did like. The new spell-tied-to-the-weapon-you’re-using thing was handy enough. Instead of needing to level up two things, you’re down to one. The three gorgan eyes/phoenix feathers and now minotaur horns instead of 6? (damn it’s be a looooong time ) is an improvement, but at the same time it evens out since you’re not likely to just walk right by a chest containing these items anymore. The puzzles were certainly not on the same level as the other two games. Right now, I can’t think of one puzzle that I was honestly stuck on for more than a few minutes. With the exception of the Garden nothing really stands out in that aspect.

The combat provided plenty of “holy shit” moments (centaurs anyone?), but since the controls play such a big role here, it also felt really lacking. There was no “huge fight with a bunch of monster thingys before the last boss” scene, which was a real let down to me. I will say that the boss fights (with the exception of a BIG one) were really really well done. I think the Hades fight seems to be a big favorite right now, and to me it don’t get any better than that.

The last thing I want to touch on right quick is the blood. It may have been my tv and I know that it was supposed to be fake looking, but FFS.. make an attempt. I know I’m nitpicking here, but with so much of it you’d think they’d take the time to at least make it look good.

You may notice that I didn’t touch on graphics. To me, graphics should be an afterthought to any game. Good Graphics Do Not Make a Good Game. But, I will say that the game looks great, and you can tell they put extra overtime into Kratos himself. Which is a problem because they obviously didn’t put nearly the same amount of time into Zeus, who’s role is just as big and just as important.

Overall, is this a good game? Yes. It is absolutely not the worst game I’ve ever played, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But it’s far from perfect. There is so much room for improvement that DLC is almost a gimme. I can only guess that DLC is going to fix the ending, in which case I would say go buy this game, but wait until then. For now, it’s a rental at best. There is just nothing here that screams $60 to me.

Good job Stig.

Sony Computer Enteratainment Worldwide Studios announced on it’s Sony Blog that it has acquired award winning developer of LittleBIG Planet and Rag Doll Kung-Fu, Media Molecule.

Media Molecule has released a PSP port of LittleBIG Planet, and has been pretty much buried under a heap of acclaim that’s been shot their way since the LBP Co-op trailer was shown at GDC back in 2007.

Now that Sony has brought Media Molecule however, it occurs to me that they’ve acquired a mass of now first party developers…a bevvy, if you will.  Media Molecule joins the ranks of developers like Naughty Dog, Zipper Interactive, Guerilla Games, Team ICO, Santa Monica and Japan Studio.

You may recall a few of those developers’ names from some of the “Game Of The Year” awards handed out just a month or so ago.  With releases like MAG and the heavily anticipated God of War III and Last Guardian scheduled for release this year…as well as rumors of a possible 3rd Killzone installment by Christmas…

…well, it simply boggles the mind.  Killzone 2, Uncharted 2??  Those are two of the best games this generation, and while God Of War III is expected to have a similar if not greater impact as the aforementioned, it bears mentioning that The Last Guardian will be played, fauned over, studied and played again by the legions of fans that Team ICO brings to the table.

Rumor has it that Sony is also contemplating a purchase of United Front, developers of Mod Nation Racers, a game that shares LBP’s deep replay valueby giving users the keys to the level design.

Again, I’m not a stockholder or anything…well, not yet anyways…but I find it interesting that Sony seems to be stockpiling Grade A developers.  One can only hope that it continues the trend of excellent, intuitive, boundary pushing and most of all fun games that Sony’s established for itself over the years.

With exclusivity deals running out between Bungie and Microsoft, not to mention the shakeup at the top of Infinity Ward and IW’s impending freedom from Activision, one has to wonder if the developments surrounding these developers has also drawn Sony’s interest.

Personally, all I want is for Sony to rescue Kojima-san from Konami.  I love Metal Gear Solid as much as the next guy…but you talk to a dairy farmer and they’ll tell you that eventually you’ve got to let the cow off the machine, if you feel me.

Okay…so my PS3 went YLOD on me the other day.  I went online and youtube had several informative vids illustrating home fixes…but that shit just didn’t pan out for a motherfucker.  I tried, too.  Believe me.

It was cool and all…disassembling the PS3…but disassembling stuff is always cool.  It was however less than cool, in fact it was significantly below average when I put that bitch back together only for it to give me the Yellow Light again when I tried to turn it on.

So I’m like…okay…it’s 2 years old…it’s not covered under warranty…get a Slim.  I was looking for an excuse, I happen to have the money available…so I went to make that happen.

Only thing is that there isn’t a store carrying a single PS3 in the entire county I live in.

Oh well…I went online.  Right to Sony’s PS3 page.  It redirected me to a couple of different sites…NONE OF WHICH had any PS3 Slims in stock.  Fucking Amazon.com said if I ordered and paid with my credit card yesterday that I’d have it delivered between March 15th and April 21st.

BETWEEN MARCH FIFTEENTH AND APRIL TWENTY FUCKING FIRST??!  SONY WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU??

Seriously.  It’s none of my concern, and I typically don’t bother myself with tripe like this but THERE’S A FUCKING CONSOLE WAR GOING ON.  HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU MUTTS GOING TO RISE UP OUT OF THIRD FUCKING PLACE IF YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE ANY FUCKING CONSOLES ON THE SHELVES??

Now again…I don’t give a shit.  I’m not a Sony stockholder, so it really doesn’t impact me if they “win” or “lose.”  However it seems to me fairly odd that in the midst of such a heated competition, that Sony wouldn’t have it’s product on store shelves.

I know, I know…they intentionally created a shortage to artificially inflate demand once God Of War III comes out.  Like I gives a fuck.

I’ve already bought God Of War III, Sony…all I need is A FUCKING CONSOLE TO PLAY IT ON, YOU NUMB FUCKS.

…finally.  Called Gamestop.  They’re getting more on Sunday.  I’m pre purchasing to ensure I gets mine.  Looks like I picked the wrong week to go YLOD.

Bitches.