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RUMOR: New LocoRoco Christmas Demo Coming to PSP?

Rumors note that on December 13th, a new LocoRoco Christmas Demo will be arriving. Last year, the demo was some swashbuckling fun, decked out with Santas, large Christmas trees, a snow filled environment, and, as usual, LocoRocos flying everywhere. There’s new word out that it will arrive first on the PS Store before gracing direct downloads. We’ll keep you up to tabs on exactly what happens.

[Via PSPFanboy]

…And Back to Regularly Scheduled News…

In case you didn’t notice, we’ve been gone for a quite awhile, but for a good reason! BGL is launching something exciting and new December 16th (hint, hint), and I’ve been working on it a lot! We still have a few editions of the Holiday Guide to wrap up, so I’ll be back with some holiday goodies

HOLIDAYS07: The PSP Must Haves

The PSP Must-Haves

The holiday season is here and there’s nothing to do (besides listen to Grandpa’s fishing stories) and the console is at home.  So you naturally boot up a PSP game, sit back with some eggnog, and jump in to a world previously unseen on a handheld. Of course, it all depends on which game you’re talking about…(Jump!)

LocoRoco Podcast #19

Ahh, the beautiful smell of the holidays: Before Thanksgiving, I planned an enhanced version of the podcast featuring simple moving slides using a nice program I found called Soundslides. Unfortunately, Soundslides (I came to find out) is not free and outputs its files to a nasty Shockwave Flash Object (aka SWF) file that is pretty much unable to convert. I’m going to work with a few media creators to get an enhanced edition out by the holiday season in order to improve the podcast further (the majority of suggestions given to me revolved around getting a video podcast), so please bare with me for the time being. For now, here’s podcast #19! (It will be uploaded in the directory ASAP…)

This is the description of the podcast found at Odeo: Just for you this Black Friday: LocoRoco rumors..bad PSP ads..whether to accept decent ratings as good..IGN’s not-so-pretty review of Sonic Rivals 2..talk of an enhanced version of the podcast..and more! Enjoy and happy holidays.

*CHECK OUT OUR OFFICIAL DIRECTORY HERE AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST! You can download the podcast/get the RSS feed in various places, just check our handy sidebar or About page. The best place to go is Odeo because it’s where we host our podcast. Click here to head to the PSP-friendly PodLounge, where we’ve recently hit #9 in the top 10. Also, you can now check us out on PodZinger thanks to requests from fans. You can additionally subscribe on iTunes; just search “LocoRoco” under the podcasts category and you should find it. Finally, if you have any questions/concerns/suggestions, please contact me at contactlocoroco[AT]gmail.com and check our podcast tag for updates. Thanks!

Playstation Store Launches Worldwide!

We’re extremely late on this news story, and I apologize (especially since we’ve only been covering the store for a gabillion months now, including in our Holiday Guide), but in case you haven’t heard, SONY has released its Playstation Store worldwide on PC, without any real release date. Though we appreciate it, we’re just a bit ticked off that SONY didn’t announce any release date–I’m sure more people will use it as we get further into the PSP’s life cycle, but right now, considering that only online junkies (like you and myself) know about it, there’s little chance the non-internet PSP owner will use it. There is no PSP-direct store yet, FYI, so you’re still forced to connect your computer, but you now have access to PS1-games, demos, and more: all in one place. Of course, this is not it. It’s a late-night here at BGL as I will soon be uploading some photos of my first experiences in downloading a freebie followed by an actual PSOne game. (First, I have to delete half of everything on my Memory Stick ) Check the store out here.

HOLIDAYS07: 2008 and Beyond

2008 and Beyond

The PSP naysayers have had a lot of ’splaining to do recently: the PSP’s sales in Japan and America fueled by hot releases skyrocketed and stayed steady after weeks and weeks; the PSP beat the DS in software sales for the first time in months; and a new PSP had naysayers rethinking their “myths” about loading times and battery life. For those PSP owners who are listening to those naysayers saying that the PSP won’t do well in 2008, ignore them and listen up as the future only holds exciting news…(Jump!)

HOLIDAYS07: The Guide!

The Guide! The holidays are very near, and BGL has got you covered! We’re covering the best games out there on PSP and the consoles, the best accessories to pick up this season, which system is right for you, the PSP basics for newbies, and what to expect for 2008 in case you’re going to hold off on new purchases. Here’s what’s ahead:

• The Guide to Everything PSP :. New to the PSP world? We get you ready for the holiday season by breaking down everything you NEED to know about the PSP and SONY.
• The PSP Must-Haves :. The games you must own for the PSP and where to find them!
• The LocoRoco Top Five :. Are you a true LocoRoco fan? Here’s what you need for the holiday season to become the ultimate LocoRoco fanatic.
• The Accessories Top Five :. The must-own accessories for the PSP this fall and why you need them.
• The Consoles :. BGL gives you our honest opinion on which console to buy and which purchases to make in terms of software and accessories.
• 2008 and Beyond :. Want to hold off on PSP purchases? Here’s what to expect for 2008.

UPDATE: Didn’t see this coming? The Holiday Guide kicks off a few days early not to conflict with Veterans Day.
UPDATE: Added New Links! (November 17th, 2007; November 25th, 2007)

MetaReview: Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (PSP)

Even though we’ve learned to take some reviews with a grain of salt, when all of them are compiled together, gamers get a bigger picture of exactly what the hell is right (or wrong) with a game. Critics traditionally blab much more than they should and some critics unintentionally ramble on about little details that bugged them. Even so, that does not mean that everyone should try any game that looks good–it simply means to appreciate ratings that scream “Decent”, “Good”, or “Okay” much more. And Medal of Honor Heroes 2 sounds just like one of those games–IGN loved it, but the others said it was decent. Now the only question is: should you buy it or hold off?

• IGN (8.4/10)- “For on-the-go gamers Heroes is a great title though, as it autosaves every few minutes, and has almost no load time at all; extremely impressive for a system that is often plagued by a sluggish processing. Team Fusion went all out to make sure the game was optimized to its fullest, and it pays off in a big, big way.”
• GameSpot (7/10)- “Thanks to solid controls, a short, albeit enjoyable single-player campaign, and an impressive online mode, Medal of Honor Heroes 2 is a battle worth fighting.”
• GameSpy (7/10)- “[T]here’s still no headset voice support, and the diminutive map and mode counts put a significant crimp on multiplayer’s potential longevity.”

ROUNDUP: The Zune Edition

ROUNDUP 11/4-11/16

Okay, it’s not that we don’t like Microsoft. It’s just that they consistently have a “way” of doing things–abandoning their own creations (DRM WMA, maybe?), pushing products with glitches (XBOX 360), and making mistakes constantly (Windows ME, much?). Their Zune was one of those mistakes–a bulky, outdated player with a mere 30GB in a market where 80GB became the standard. The original Zune had a very old-fashioned standard d-pad with a center button and two other buttons instead of a touch feature that the other mp3 players had. It also had Wi-Fi that was used for Zune-to-Zune sharing (like anybody did that) and video support without the videos. The new Zune2 has been raved by critics alike, who enjoy its new interface, new button system (a touchpad system reminiscent of the Click Wheel), and a flash version. Sure, it’s all around improved, but it screams “iPod Competitor”. Instead of giving us more–for example, a social video community where people could share their videos straight from their Zune, a built-in digital/video camera for taking photos/videos and sharing them, an actual social network (a la Facebook) on the Zune, or an actual video store–they gave us just what the iPod offered. If Microsoft seriously aims to compete with the rest, they need to innovate the market, not crowd it with the same thing. All bets are on : The Zune2’s sales won’t improve. Weekly Roundup after the jump…