PS3 news and tidbits thread

[Harrison]

That's bad regarding the Norwegian customs. At least in the UK we can normally get away with anything under £40 and normally they only really take notice of things coming from the US. I've had many parcels over the years from places such as Canada and Kong Kong and never had to pay customs anything. Also when buying things from the US privately the sellers put gift on the paperwork and it always goes through fine.

[Teho]

Yeah, I know of the 'gift'-trick and have gotten many small retailers - Vesalia for example - to do that. But the bigger more established places like amazon won't do it, at least not anymore.

Actually, increasing the value a shipment can be while being tax-free was one of the promises the current government made during the last election campaign. They promised it'd be increased from kr200,- (about £17) to kr1000,- (about £90). Unfortunately it is also one of the many promises they haven't kept.

One thing though, I don't know if this is just Norway or if it's some international deal, but importing literature is always tax-free. Or the limit is way higher at least. So I order just about all english literature - be it graphic novels, comics or books - from amazon.co.uk. Far cheaper than having a local retailer aquire it for me, as amazon still deducts the EU tax before charging the credit card. So that's the main bulk of my orders from there, as most books easily end up under a third of the local cost.

And most year-old PC games and some older console games will be under that £17 limit so alot of my purchases of those are made there too. So it's not all bad.

[Harrison]

I'm not sure about literature. Will have to check that.

[Sharingan]

Call of Duty 4 = highly recommended.

Reviews for the game on all three platforms have been highly positive, and my own opinion mirrors that of the critics. The campaign mode is one heck of a rollercoaster ride - a bit short, but sweet! Haven't even tried Online yet, but from what I've heard, it should be a blast.

Anyone else got it yet? Wouldn't mind going Online for some team fragging!


Oh, I bought a HDTV finally. It's a 40 inch Sony Full HD. I thought my Samsung 22 inch monitor offered a sharp image, but this one blows it out of the water.

[Demon Cleaner]

I read some CoD4 reviews, and it really seems that the game is amazing.

[Sharingan]

Yeah, it definitely is. Screenshots don't do it justice ... seeing it moving on the big screen is something else. The lighting, animation, texture work and effects are amazingly well done. And it's all in 60 fps, with only some stuttering every once in a while when the action gets too hectic.

While Resistance is brilliant in its own right, I think CoD4 edges it out in sheer intensity. Some of the set pieces in CoD will leave your jaw hanging open, and the shootouts are chaotic and thrilling.

One minor complaint in the single player campaign is that the A.I. of your fellow squad members is, perhaps, a bit TOO smart. There are parts of the game where you're basically just following them around while they clean up rooms left and right. In other words, they're a bit overpowered. I don't even think they CAN die ... and I've tried blowing them up with grenades more than once! Still, I prefer that to teammates who are useless and die like flies.

[Demon Cleaner]

Still, I prefer that to teammates who are useless and die like flies.

That's absolutely correct, such unbalanced AI drives me mad.

[Harrison]

The AI in CoD2 on the PC was pretty much the same. Some parts of that I was trying to work out where the next objective was and then thought, Oh, I will just follow everyone else.

Good team AI really adds a lot to a game. When the AI is basically coded as "follow the leader" and you are that leader it ends up with you having to reach trigger points to activate the team members to continue following you. I hate that method as it feels completely unrealistic. Much better the CoD way where the other AI controlled members just move forward on their own taking cover and aiding each other to reach an objective. It feels so much more like you are part of something. And not that different to playing alongside real people as they would also just move forward and work as a team and leave you behind if you were not keeping up.

BTW, does anyone know if the online multiplayer in CoD4 is linked between the PC and PS3 versions? or are they separate?

[Sharingan]

I have absolutely no idea if they are in any way linked. My guess is that they aren't ... in the one game I've tried, none of the opposing players appeared to be pulling off any moves that would require a mouse + keyboard combo (jumpshooting etc.). Then again, that doesn't have to mean anything.

I sure am hoping we, as CA members, can set up some private games some time. That'd be hilarious.

By the way, I got totally smoked. Still, I think a 13 kills/17 deaths ratio isn't TOO bad for the first online FPS I've joined in over 5 years time!

[Harrison]

Definitely better than when I accidentally joined a pro Quake 3 server recently and ended with 1 kill/46 deaths!!! And the one kill was a complete fluke! I grabbed a rail gun just as someone respawned in front of me, so I blew them away. And I didn't do much better when I joined a German TrackMania Nations server. I never even found the end goal of the tracks they were running, they were that madly designed. Still, all great fun.