Welcome to another edition of the VSM, your official Vizzed source for all things Sony. This month we'll be covering everything from more console war coverage and upcoming titles, to trending Sony games and Vita sales compared against PSP sales, plus we have an all new article feature "PlayStation Nostalgia" where you can learn about classic PlayStation games that you should check out --or avoid--, or perhaps just relive some memories of your old favorites from back in the day. So let's get on into this thing already.



The Console War Rages On
How's the Console war going so far? Here is a quick week by week breakdown of sales for the majority of July. Unfortunately sales for the last week of July have not been shared yet. Also bear in mind that these numbers are from unofficial (but fairly accurate) sources.

Week one
In an almost surprising twist, the XBox One passed the PS4 in sales...in North America. The victory is small however, and their lead in North America by less than 1,000 consoles for the week of June 28th - July 5th, is greatly overshadowed by the PS4 doubling XBox One sales in Europe, as well as topping XBox One's global sales by more than 30,000 in that particular week.


"The gap is closing! XBox One is catching up!"

Uh...no, not really. This is the cry of XBox fans all around the web, and understandably so. However as any businessman in his right mind will tell you, being 15% behind your competitor in weekly sales is hardly gaining ground, it's merely slowing down the bleeding. Indeed, it's an impressive jump to go from 50% behind on average to 15% behind for the week, but as long as the words "behind your competitor" are included in the sentence, you are, well, still behind and still losing ground. XBox One is still losing ground, just not as quickly. Will they eventually pass Sony in worldwide weekly console sales? Possibly. Only time will tell.

Week two
While XBox fans rejoiced for the small victory of nearly 1,000 more console sales than PS4 in North America during week one of July, the victory (as it were) was extremely short lived. Week number two saw the PS4 outselling the XBox One in North America by over 9,000 units, and globally outselling XBox by well over 42,000. Adding insult to injury, the WiiU (the heretofore worst selling console in years) actually outsold the XBox that week as well, moving over 5,000 more consoles world wide. Ouch.

Week Three
PS4 absolutely dominated the console market this week, moving approximately 117,440 units worldwide, while Wii U came in second with just over 59,000, and XBox One came in last of the big three with just under 58,000. That's over 50% more PS4's sold worldwide than XBox One's, and closer to 49% more PS4's than Wii U's sold worldwide on the week.

As for North American sales (the only continent to my knowledge that actually remains a battle for dominance in console sales) the PS4 widened it's lead over XBox One even more, selling over 12.5 thousand more units on the week, and 25,000 more than the Wii U.


The Impending Chinese Market Failure

So remember how Microsoft rushed in to secure the first spot in the Chinese market when the Video Game ban was lifted? Turns out that --if Chinese gamers don't change their minds-- it was in vain. A recent survey asked Chinese gamers if they would buy an XBox One when it releases this September, the PS4 which will launch later, The PlayStation Vita/Vita TV, all consoles/systems, None of them, or continue buying the games off of the grey market (where people bought systems when they weren't supposed to be allowed in China). Of over 6,000 people that responded, only 10% said they would buy an XBox One, while 57.3% said a PS4, 19% said grey market, 6% said the Vita/Vita TV, and 6% said they would buy all. So 16% want an XBox, but only 10% want an XBox exclusively, or perhaps just some combination of systems including an XBox One.


So currently the PS4 has no threat to it's dominance in any market outside of North America, where it battles the XBox One somewhat (albeit victoriously nearly every passing week). While on the global scale XBox One now finds itself in a dead heat for second best selling console against the Wii U.


Sony sales nearly double
Between PS3, PS4, and PS Vita sales this quarter, Sony's hardware sales have increased by nearly 43% over this quarter last year. And while the PS4 is selling great, the PS3 and Vita are equaling --and some months they're actually passing-- their sales last year as well. It's looking good for Sony so far this year, now let's see how they do over the rest of the year. And while July was the worst month for the PS4 so far, July tends to be a bad month for system sales anyway. Look for sales to pick back up around September, and carry on fairly well until December when sales will inevitably spike, probably nearly doubling the previous months.

So how many PS4's will be sold by January 1st 2015? I'm updating my guess to somewhere between 15 and 16 million. What do you think? Let me know in your reply.



Upcoming PS3 Games

Plants VS. Zombies: Garden Warfare: The highly anticipated, veggie packed Zombie battling game has made it's way to the PS3 and PS4, despite that "Only for XBox One" we were originally given over a year ago. So much for exclusivity.

My thoughts :
I made it no secret that I wanted to play this game even when it was supposed to be an XBox One exclusive. In fact, I considered buying both a PS4 and an XBox One just so I could play this one game (that was before Microsoft made some of their infamous anti-PR statements and I vowed to never buy one of their systems). So I'm extremely pleased to see this game come to the PS3 and PS4 (supporting remote-play on the Vita! Yes!). I definitely plan on getting it, and it definitely earns a spot on my top games of the month list.


Plants VS. Zombies: Garden Warfare is set to release on August 19th.
Developer: PopCap Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rated E10+ (Animated Blood, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence)


Madden NFL 25: It can be hard to offer much innovation with a sports game, especially when that game is part of a series with twenty-five previous entries in it. Still, EA Sports decided to try raising the bar by adding some new (and somewhat innovative) features, not the least of which being the gauntlet mode. In this mode you will find yourself trying to complete various challenges, and if you're good enough you just might make it to the "boss levels". EA is quoted as saying that this mode should cause people to look at the Madden games in a new light. Breathing life into a mostly stale (though that isn't synonymous with bad) series? A daring undertaking, EA.

My thoughts :
With a much cleaner interface, updated camera work, and several new changes to the in-game features to make the game more accessible to people like me who know little about American Football, Madden NFL 25 looks about as promising as it could. What can I say? If you like the series, this looks like a must buy for you. Otherwise, it doesn't offer much more to you than any other installment in the series has.

Madden NFL 25 is set to release on August 26th.

Developer: Tiburon
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Rated E


Tales of Xillia 2: An Action-RPG with an interesting battle system, Tales of Xillia 2 looks to step things up a notch. The game takes place one year after the story of that of Tales of Xillia, and looks rather interesting so far.

Battle innovations include the weapon swap system that allows the player to actually switch between weapons mid-combo, allowing for more combo variations, among other things.

My thoughts :
Tales of Xillia 2 looks promising, and I'll personally consider checking it out. It looks like this could be a good buy for fans of the gameplay style, but then I may be a bit biased toward Action-RPG's.


Tales of Xillia 2 is scheduled for release on August 19th.
Developer: Bandai Namco Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Rated T (Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence)


Sacred 3: Another Action-RPG? The game industry must love me! Yes, Sacred 3 is here, and it's bringing some game changes with it, such as giving you AI partners to fight alongside you at all times. With several classes to choose from, new battle features, and support for up to four players simultaneously, Sacred 3 looks to take the series to new heights. Will it succeed?

My thoughts :
Sacred 3 looks pretty good judging from what little I've seen of it. It implements an underused feature of AI teammates with Active and Passive skills, and I definitely look forward to playing it sometime. I would suggest it if you're a fan of the genre, but otherwise I see little to persuade you to try it out. One thing's for sure: the trailer is hilarious.
(WARNING: the following trailer contains scenes of intense violence and gore)


Sacred 3 is set to release on August 5th.
Developer: Keen Games
Publisher: Deep Silver
Rated M (Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence)


Dark Souls II: Crown of The Old Iron King: Yet another chapter in the Dark Souls series, this one looks to bring us more of the gameplay it's fans want.

My thoughts :
Even though I wasn't a Dark Souls player, it looks like this one is deviating from what Dark Souls originally was, and that disappoints me. It may be fun for those who enjoyed Dark Souls strictly for it's gameplay, but for those who get as deep into and attached to their games as I do, you'll probably find yourself sorely disappointed in the changes.

Developer: FromSoftware
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Rating: M (Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Violence)


Risen 3: Titan Lords: The newest installment in the Risen series, Risen 3 introduces us to a new hero; one who battles the evil beings who threaten the land, and stole his soul. Quite the chip on his shoulder, wouldn't you say?

My thoughts :
While I can't say that it will be a bad game, I can say that it doesn't appeal to me in the least. However, it could prove to be the best in the series. Who am I to say?


Risen 3: Titan Lords is set to release this month.
Developer: Piranha Bytes
Publisher: Deep Silver
Rated M


Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed: Wow, what a title, huh? Set in Akihabara (in Tokyo), this title has players battling vampire-like creatures known as Synthisters. Their only weakness is direct sunlight, but here's the twist: their clothes protect them from the sun. So your job is to use whatever everyday objects you can get your hands on and beat to beat them down and strip them of their clothes so the sunlight can hit them and do it's enemy melty job. Strange game indeed.

My thoughts :
I'll pull my punches here. Suffice to say this looks like an attempt to turn "Adult" cartoons into a publicly acceptable video game. And to avoid offending anyone, I'll let that conclude this section of this game's summary.

Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed is scheduled for release on August 12th.
Developer: Acquire
Publisher: Xseed Games
Rated M (Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence)


The Swapper: An intriguing little puzzle platformer, The Swapper has the player assuming the role of a character who has a device that allows them to clone themselves and swap control between the two.

My thoughts :
Well this one is certainly outside the box to say the least. I've seen little of the game so my opinion is very limited. However it's certainly intriguing enough to merit some attention.


The Swapper is scheduled for release on August 5th.
Developers: Curve Studios, Facepalm
Publisher: Curve Studios
Rated E


Hohokum: So what can one really say about a game like Hohokum? It's an odd little game with a strong emphasis on art in an odd little way. The player controls a flying thing that does stuff. Vague enough for you? Well that's about how the developers summed it up at E3, only maybe even a little more detailed than they were.

My thoughts :
I couldn't be less interested in a game than I am in Hohokum to be perfectly honest. When asked what the name Hohokum meant (sounds strangely drug related to me, and when you see it in action, it looks like a drug induced dream/hallucination) the spokesperson simply said "Eeeeehhhhh....That's something the developers gets pretty cagey about when you ask them" and basically summed it up as not meaning anything (why get cagey over it if it means nothing?). When asked what it was about, they replied "Well....it's not really about anything". Furthermore they went on record as saying that the game had no real purpose and you couldn't lose. A game with a name that the devs don't even understand the purpose of, I can't die, and is completely devoid of any sense of direction? Sounds...fun.


Hohokum is set to release on August 12th.
Developers: Honeyslug, Santa Monica Studios
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment


Counterspy: In Dynamighty's debut game Counterspy you are a spy (surprising, no?) whose job is to complete various missions in an attempt to prevent the US and USSR from going to war. Comic graphics, humorous gameplay elements, and stealh are the order of the day here.

My thoughts :
I can't say how hyped I am about this game. Not only is it the debut game from a new developer, it's also lighthearted in many ways while not going so heavy on the light stuff (like that made sense on any planet) to ruin the spirit of the game. The graphics and gameplay style look incredible to me personally, and it's a game I'll be sure to try out. Another great feature is that it's cross-buy and cross-save compatible between PS3 PS4 and PS Vita.


Counterspy is set to release on August 19th.
Developer: Dynamighty
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment



Upcoming PS4 games

Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition: Taking place twenty years after the events of Diablo II, Diablo III:Ultimate Evil Edition has players fighting the forces that have been unleashed upon the world after the Worldstone that shielded the world from the forces of heaven and hell is destroyed. Six classes are available to you: Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Witch Doctor, Wizard, and Crusader. Choose your class, and go save the world...again.

My thoughts :
Mama always said "Life is like a box of chocolates" "Never judge a book by it's cover", but isn't that why they put all of the cool pictures on the cover, so we'll judge it? At any rate, this isn't a game I'll play personally (something about a game called "devil 3: Ultimate Evil Edition" just doesn't appeal to me). But it looks like it has a simple back-to-basics Action-RPG battle system, and promises plenty of action. But remakes are remakes. It remains to be seen what this one has to offer that it's predecessor did not.

Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition is set to release on August 19th.
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Rated M (Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence)


Madden NFL 15: See Madden NFL 15 under Upcoming PS3 releases.


Plants VS Zombies: Garden Warfare: See Plants VS Zombies: Garden Warfare under upcoming PS3 releases.


Metro: Redux: Not much is known about this title which is surprising this close to the release date. And...that's all I can tell you. Sorry.

Metro: Redux is scheduled for release on August 26th.
Developer: 4A Games
Rated M (Blood, Drug Reference. Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use Of Alcohol)


Minecraft: What is there to say? It's Minecraft. The hit Computer game has already released on a few systems, and now it's the PS4's turn. No new features have been announced that I can see.

My thoughts :
Minecraft on PS4. It's a simple concept but apparently it's pretty addictive since it seems to be growing like crazy constantly. Should you get it? If you like Minecraft or just want to try it to see what the fuss is about, then sure, go for it. Not much else can be said about a game that's been around this long anyway. I do think it looks better than the PC version, but that's just me.


Minecraft looks to release on PS4 this month.
Developers: Mojang, 4J Studios
Rated E10+ (Fantasy Violence)


Hohokum: See Hohokum under upcoming PS3 releases.


Counterspy: See Counterspy under upcoming PS3 releases.


Road Not Taken: Wow how did I miss this during my E3 coverage in last month's issue? This one was shown off at E3, and I must say I was truly impressed and somewhat moved by it. The game lives up to it's name, putting the player in the role of a hero (I guess it's a guy?) whose job is not to save the world, nor to save a fair damsel, but to save children. Enemies in the game will try to attack children that are nearby rather than the player, and the player is left to try outsmarting them in order to reach the children first. This simple and confusing explanation simply does not do this game justice. One must simply have seen the presentation (or play it) to understand it.

My thoughts :
This game is beautiful in that it takes such a...well a road not taken by other games. It actually plays on the idea that we should save the defenseless at our own peril, rather than the typical idea behind most games. The game itself is actually deeply moving and definitely deserves a look.


Road Not Taken is set to release on PS4 on August 5th.
Developer: SpryFox
Publisher: SpryFox


Infamous: First Light: Play as Fetch in the newest installment in the Infamous series, and see her previously untold story unfold finally. Declared to be more or less an extension of Infamous: Second Son, the game can be played as a stand alone, but you'd probably be better off playing Second Son first.

My thoughts :
Maybe it's just me, but I'm not fond of a game developer releasing a "minigame" unless it's sold at a miniprice, and I think this would have been better as DLC than a separate game entirely. That's my two cents.


Infamous: First Light is set to release on August 26th.
Developer: Sucker Punch
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

The Swapper: See The Swapper under upcoming PS3 games.


Upcoming Vita Games

Hyperdeminsion Neptunia Re:Birth 1: A remake of Hyperdeminsion Neptunia, takes place in a world known as Gamindustri (almost clever wordplay), which was once protected from outside evil forces by four goddesses until they began battling for supremacy. When this battle took place, their protection of Gamindustri was weakened, allowing monsters to enter. Now Neptune --the goddess who was cast down by the other three-- has to save the world alongside two mew found friends. Too bad she can't remember anything...

My thoughts :
What is it with dueling goddesses in games lately? They're almost as abundant as remakes of games that came out last gen...

Anyway, Hyperdeminsion Neptunia Re:Birth 1 is simply a remake of a game that most of us already had the chance to play on the PS3. Not sure why this trend is so prevalent lately, but what can ya do? My opinion? Pass on it.

Hyperdeminsion Neptunia Re:Birth 1 is set to release on the Vita on August 26th.
Developer: Compile Hearts
Publisher: Idea Factory
Rated T (Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes)


Minecraft: See Minecraft under upcoming PS4 releases.


Table Top Racing: If names mean anything to you, this one was made by the creators of WipEout. Yeah. Another one of those action packed battle racing games, and who could ever tire of those?

My thoughts :
I'm a sucker for battle racing games like this, but two things bother me about it: first it only boasts eight courses. Sounds half finished to me. Second, it's available on Google Play as well. So are we getting a game that was made for a smart phone at the price of a Vita game? While mobile games can be great, most mobile developers make minigames, so this concerns me a bit. Depending on the answers to these issues, my opinion could go either way.


Table Top Racing is set to release on August 5th.
Developer: Ripstone Games
Publisher: Playrise Digital



The Swapper: See The Swapper under upcoming PS3 releases.


Counterspy: See Counterspy under upcoming PS3 releases.


Metrico: A puzzle game about...something obscure it would seem. If you want a better idea of what it's like, all I can do is refer you to the video below.

My thoughts :
It looks alright I guess, and if ut were sold at a cheap enough price ($3 max) I might try it. From what I see here though, it's merely a puzzle minigame. I could be dead wrong though.


Metrico is set to release on August 5th.
Developer: Digital Dreams Games
Publisher: Digital Dreams Games


Hohokum: See Hohokum under upcoming PS3 games.


Vita Sales So Far
Despite offering so much more by way of features and usefulness, the Vita is actually selling worse than the PSP was at this point in it's life, trailing it's predecessor by over 15.7 million so far, and the gap continues to grow.

All is not lost for the Vita however, as it seems to be rather popular in Japan where it recently sold just under 30,000 units in a single week. The real struggle for the Vita is in North America where it moved only 2.5 thousand units the same week as Japan's near 30,000 mark. It seems the Japanese are pretty big on handheld systems as their handheld sales are approximately 3 1/2x higher than their Console sales. But even in Japan, the Vita is no match for the 3ds in sales. Who expects anyone to top Nintendo handheld sales though?


Will the Vita ever "catch on"? :
I'll step out on a limb and venture a yes. It just has too many good games and great cross-play/cross-buy/cross-save and remote-play features not to. It might take a while, and it may not outsell the PSP, but I don't think the Vita will flop by any means.

What do you think the Vita sales will look like in the coming months?
I'm personally guessing August will see the Vita selling around 150,000 units. That's an educated estimation, or at least that's what I'd say if I wanted to lie to you. Honestly it's an outright guess. What do you think? Is my guess on the mark, or do you think those numbers are too high or too low? Share your guess below.



Top-Selling Games On Sony Systems Last Month

Minecraft on the PS3 moved around 200,000 copies in July alone.

Watch Dogs on PS4 sold around 150,000.

Watch Dogs on PS3 followed it's PS4 counterpart with about 100,000 copies last month.

Fifa Soccer 14 on PS4 moved around 100,000.

And Sniper Elite moved around 90,000 copies.

This list may not be in perfect order, but it does afford the general idea of what's trending on the Sony market.


The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Also known as "Eirinn's guide on what games you should consider buying, what games you should pass over, and what games you should avoid like the plague" but that title is too long.

Alright so this is a new section where I'll be listing my picks for best and worst games of the month. Bear in mind, it can be difficult to pick what games will be good or bad before anyone has actually played them, but that's what I shall attempt to do in this portion of the VSM. So let's get started, shall we?


The Good
Plants VS. Zombies: Garden Warfare.

This one is on my list because, quite frankly, I'm a bit of a goofball and this game's sense of humor is right up my alley (plants fighting zombies. What more do you need?). And while the humor alone would be almost enough to land it a spot on my list of Good games for the month of August, it goes a step farther and offers some pretty great action gameplay.

Plants VS. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a game you can count on being in my personal collection. In fact, I imagine it'll be one of the first few games I get for the PS4.


Counterspy: This one is definitely a must buy for me. Everything from being the debut game of it's developers, to the art design, to the somewhat silly aspects of the game all make this one a top pick in my book.


Road Not Taken: An emotionally moving game with a unique approach to games and it's free? How could I not select this one as a must have?


Indeed, there are some very good games coming out this month, and it's going to be a good month to be a Sony gamer.


The Bad
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re:Birth 1: A remake of a game from last gen that few have heard of really. Strike one.
Made by Compile Hearts. Strike two.
Same old thing we've seen a few times already this year. Strike three.

Okay, so I'm a little against this game and it's not fair. Still, I honestly see nothing worthwhile here at all.


Infamous: First Light: Mark this one up to poor presentation, but regardless of how good it is, it's being portrayed as a minigame add-on sold as a stand alone game. Unless this one is marked down extremely low or is just being poorly represented, it won't be worth the money.


The Ugly
Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed: Do I even have to say anything? It looks like pornography masquerading as a game. Again, just the view of a strongly opinionated gamer. Don't take it too personally if you find it interesting.


Hohokum: Again, a game with an unidentifiable hero(?), no point, no goal, and no way to lose. What's the point? Maybe I just don't get it, and it's actually game of the year. Who knows?



PlayStation Nostalgia

So here it is, our first edition of PlayStation Nostalgia. Let me know what you guys think, so I'll know if I should continue this portion of the article or not.

This month's trip down memory lane: Dino Crises 2
I'm sure most of us that were into PlayStation gaming in late 90's remember this one. It was that horrid game that tainted the beloved name of Dino Crises, and attempted to be something it was not: a true sequel to the smash hit horror/survival game Dino Crises. But was it really that bad?

"Part of what makes the good old days the good old days is a faulty memory"
~James Dobson.

My experience with the game
I remember placing Dino Crises in my PlayStation (yes, it's called a PlayStation or PSX. NOT a PlayStation One. Those are two different systems. Kudos to David for knowing the difference), seeing the message pop up with a shattered vial and a raptor foot next to it, alongside it was some blood, and superimposed over it was the parental advisory that the game contained scenes of explicit gore and violence. I remember seeing this message displayed while I was in the room all alone with no parents in sight, and feeling like I was getting away with something. What a rush for a twelve year old gamer boy.

I pressed the button like I was totally mature and definitely old enough to decide if I should be able to handle this kind of stuff. After all, the game had no way of knowing I wasn't seventeen or older, right? Apparently not, because the naive little disc moved along to the next scene just as though I was an adult. Heh, sucker...

I remember watching the opening scene as I sat there all alone in a dark room all by myself, and thinking it was both horrifying and exhilarating. From the moment the game actually started I was terrified...terrified and hooked. I loved this game from the onset, and I played it all by my mature little self.

Then Dino Crises 2 came along, and oh my gosh! I hadn't been this excited since I unwrapped my launch release N64 as an even younger --and perhaps slightly less mature-- boy a few years prior to this. I immediately rented it with someone else's hard earned money like any good mature kid. I couldn't wait to get home from the rental store (yes kids, we used to actually have to go to a video rental store to rent games. Good thing the dinosaur taxi prices were low) and put it in my PlayStation as I had done with it's predecessor a few years ago.

I was a cool thirteen this time around (I found the original Dino Crises a little late into it's life), and even more mature. Yes, I could definitely handle it this time around. I insisted my older sister play this game with me, and I raved about how amazing the original was, so this one was going to be even better and she just had to experience this with me!

The game starts.

The opening scene plays.

A T-Rex attacks our camp and David blows it's eye out with a bazooka. Blood and eyeball juices fly everywhere...it's SO cool! This game is surely going to be even more awesome than the last one was. I. was. hyped.

Enter gameplay. At first it seems similar enough, but soon (within a minute or two tops) I realize...this isn't Dino Crises at all! It's a simple shooter with dinos, not scary in the least.

I was crushed. How could Capcom do this to me? How cruel of them to dangle a supposed sequel to my beloved, parent defying Dino Crises in my face, when in reality they were giving me Goldeneye with dinosaurs? My sister however was enjoying herself immensely, so we pressed on, swapping the controller back and forth since it only supported one player.

I played through the game, and actually enjoyed it, but I never really thought it was anything special. No, it was an imposter, and as such was only mildly entertaining. I would have never finished it had the rental store not removed the original from it's shelves (presumably from excessive scratches), and had my sister not been sitting by my side playing it with me. Older siblings are cool, so you play what they're willing to play with you after all.

The story actually managed to become pretty interesting, and then even I was interested in seeing where it went. The level designs were pretty great as well, and the way some of the areas had to be traversed and returned to later when you had more equipment was ingenious. Then came the final scenes: they were a bit emotional and made me feel like I was actually fighting for a reason. I was so excited when we finally beat it, and then...

I saw the end.

Yeah... that was disappointing. No wonder they reviewer in PSM said the ending "leaves you wanting more". I was pretty upset about that, and the unlockable minigame only partly made up for it.

I went throughout this entire game telling my sister "This is nothing like the original Dino Crises" and telling her how much better it was and how she should have played that one if she thought this was good. I did this so many times that she actually finished my sentence sounding a little aggravated one time with "I know: The original was better". Oh, had I said it that many times? Oops. She broke me of that. But needless to say, I went through the years thinking this was a mediocre game and not worth a second look. That all changed recently however...

Sometime last year I was looking at PlayStation games that I wanted to play, and I instantly thought of Dino Crises, so I got it, but to my dismay, it didn't work (Insert the most disappointed face ever here). So I decided to settle on the less glorious Dino Crises 2, however disappointing it was.

I started the game up, and then it happened: I had a blast! I hadn't realized it all those years before, but this really was a genuinely good game when it was viewed as a stand alone game rather than a fail sequel. In fact, I thought it was great now that I was playing it again. How did I miss this?? Maybe it was because I was too busy doing the same thing most of the other gamers were doing, and looking at it as a sequel and comparing it to something it's design was never made to be really. We all have those rose colored glasses when looking back at games we liked back in the day, and in all honesty they usually aren't as great as we remember.

The story
It's actually pretty moving, really. Another experiment has gone wrong, and now dinos are taking over. The entire area has become a ghost town, with almost no humans around. Your job is to figure out what on earth happened, and fix it while saving the survivors.

Shortly into the game, mysterious things begin happening. You encounter people who don't seem as happy to see you as a rescue team could have hoped. Who are they? What happened here? You'll get deeper and deeper into this mystery as you go, and find clues to explain it all to you, but they will only serve to confuse you further. The ending is an incredible shock, and unless you look to external references, I promise you that you will not see it coming. Not to mention it'll break your heart.


What makes this game so different from the original?
Well for starters, it's a shooter rather than a horror/survival game. Play it in the dark all you want, you won't get scared at all.

Here's how it plays: Dinos attack you, you shoot them. If you kill them, you get "Extinction points" which you can use at terminals you'll find along the way to buy ammo, weapons, and other useful items. One thing you need to bear in mind is that Extinction points are shared between the two characters you play as (Regina and Dylan), but weapons are unique to each character; those double Sub-Machine guns you just dropped all of your extinction points on? Yeah, Dylan can't use them. Regina is set though.

Extinction points are easy to come by though, as enemies will respawn repeatedly, but they will eventually stop coming if you grind in the same area over and over long enough.


That's really about it, minus the lack of puzzles and the fact that you can't combine items together to make new items. Both are a little disappointing, and the inventory part makes it feel like Capcom took a step backward on the sequel. But again, we're looking at it through our sequel glasses.


Verdict
Dino Crises 2, you are accused of being a lousy and disappointing game. How do you plead?

In all honesty, Dino Crises 2 is completely innocent of most of the crimes laid against it, and is actually a great game that deserved so much more love than it got, and I was sadly one of those people giving it more hate than it deserved. If pressed for a fun factor rating, I would give Dino Crises 2 a solid 9/10. It really is a great game as a stand alone game. In fact I would dare say it's one of the PlayStation's better games in my opinion, but only once you get past the sequel issues.



That's All, Folks!

That wraps it up for this month's edition of VSM. I hope you enjoyed it, and as always feel free to offer any feedback on how I could improve it. I have a few new additions planned for next month as well, so be sure to check it out.

Next month we'll cover:
-More console war coverage

-More software sales

-PSN sales*

-More PlayStation Nostalgia

and more!

Topics marked with a * are subject to availability of the related information


Until next time keep it real, keep on gaming, and keep it Sony.

Nicely written, Eirinn!

The PS4 Minecraft caught my eye. While the video didn't appear to show anything different from the PC version, it's neat that they've been able to port it from the PCs to the newer consoles, and that the console versions are enjoying success.

I've heard it's a fair upgrade price of $5 if you already have the PS3 version.

I actually read your last VSM but I did not reply. I honestly like reading this. 
 
I did not read all of but I did read the parts that caught my eye like the minecraft on ps4, the ps4 and xbox one war, and plants vs zombies garden warfare. I read a lot more than those but those were just a few.
 
I find these articles not boring in the slightest and very very well written. I also love looking at games I never even knew were going to come out. Even though I do not have a ps4 and will most likely not get one.

Keep making these and I will keep reading them.

Eirinn : Yeah, finally a "Tales of __________" game comes out this August. I love the tales series, it is one of my favorite game series. Do you like the tales games? Have you been following the tales series or games? If you have, what is your favorite tales game so far? My favorite is "Tales of Vesperia" for Xbox 360 (it was never released for the PS3 in English or in the United States, but it was released in foreign lands for PS3 with add-ons, such as more playable characters and bigger storyline) because it had a really good story, but it is save a world kind of game with a group of people. Sucks that the bigger version of "Tales of Vesperia" was never released in United States ! I just can't wait until "Tales of Zestiria" comes out, it looks like a pretty cool game that maybe different. What do you think of "Tales of Zestiria"?
Here is a Youtube URL to a gameplay video on "Tales of Zestiria":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXQddERLV2A

I think the PS4 will sell 17 million (just because I like seeing a "7" in numbers) consoles by January 2015. I also think your estimate of PSP Vita is too high that will sell in August, but I could be wrong since we don't know how much were sold in Australia, Canada, Europe, and South America. I think PSP Vita will sell 75000 consoles in August.

I liked the "PlayStation Nostalgia"! I liked the background and story to the piece! Also I judge a game's sequel by comparing it to their predecessor and I tell my siblings that they missed a good game when the prequel was the better game between it and its sequel. Maybe it is part of the gamer's thought process or judgments about a game to judge a sequel on their predecessors, but I don't know. Who knows if it is? Maybe a psychologist would know.

I would make a recommendation on maybe doing games that are coming out the same month as the article you are currently writing, but I realized you already do that, so don't pay attention to that recommendation. As always, thank you Eirinn for writing (or typing) these articles ! It helps someone like me who has no idea about what is coming out and to understand the console wars to see which system is doing the best in selling value (I think) internationally to see what they should buy as games for the consoles and the consoles themselves.

EideticMemory : Thanks, man. And I did manage to think of one new feature on the console Minecraft games: The ability to play split-screen and on the same system as a friend instead of needing two different systems and copies of the game. That alone justifies console porting imo. And that upgrade price is great! I wonder if they'll support remote play between PS4 and Vita...


awesomeguy279 : Thank you for the feedback. I always appreciate hearing what people think of the VSM. I love writing it, even if it is a lot of work. And I'll definitely keep putting them out.



happiness7 : I was actually unaware that there was a "Tales of" series. Is it the same group that made Tales of Phantasia on the GBA (SNES in Japan)? If so, I'll definitely have to try it, because that game was amazing. And the trailer for Tales of Zestiria looked great. I would really love to try that one for sure.

I hope you're right abut the PS4. lol And just as an update the figures for the last week of July are out now, and the PS4 has now sold more than 9.3 Million. As for my PS Vita guess, it likely will be a little off. It did sell 32,000 units worldwide last week though, and one can hope sales pick up on systems this month but July and August typically are the slowest months of the year on system sales.

And despite the fact that you said to ignore the suggestion, I have to ask: when you said "I would make a recommendation on maybe doing games that are coming out the same month as the article you are currently writing", did you mean like going into more detail in a separate section about the game? If so, I could try that and see if I can get enough information on the game to make it. And once I get a PS4, I plan on adding a section that gives a rundown of newer PlayStation games as well.

Eirinn : I think it should be the same people who made "Tales of Phantasia". I was just saying "Tales of (something inserted)" was the name of the game series, like "Tales of Phantasia", "Tales of Vesperia" and, "Tales of Xillia 2". I think Namco Bandai Company Inc. makes the "Tales of" games or the "Tales of (Something inserted)" games.

Maybe your guess is an underestimate of how much PS4's they will sell until January 2015 and my guess is an overestimate (I don't know), but I would hope I'm right too because that way I can be lucky and right on something for gaming guesses too. Or maybe both our estimates are underestimates for the PS4, since selling of console games do seem to spike up between November and December (I think). And also about the PSP Vita, did they sell "32000 units worldwide last week" of July or sell 32000 last month all together? I might have misread the information in the "VSM".

Well you can try out whatever you like, I will still read these articles and give feedback on what I think about it, but no when I said "I would make a recommendation on maybe doing games that are coming out the same month as the article you are currently writing", I meant that you could talk about the games releasing the same month for your VSM article that is being posted for that month, but I realized that you do that already, so it was a needless and pointless comment in my part (I think). As for what you said about "once I get a PS4, I plan on adding a section that gives a rundown of newer PlayStation games as well", what do you mean by that? Do you mean that like the "PlayStation Nostalgia", you will talk about newer games in the PlayStation that came out, or do you mean you will be giving a walkthrough of a game or games in the VSM of a PlayStation 4 game or a PlayStation (the first PlayStation console) game, or do you mean something else? I didn't know "PlayStation" and "PlayStation One" were two different game systems. I just always said "PlayStation One" for "PlayStation" since I only knew about "PlayStation" (I think) and "PlayStation" was the first of "PlayStation consoles", like "PlayStation 2", "PlayStation 3", and "PlayStation 4" as PlayStation consoles, unless I'm getting it totally wrong and "PlayStation One" was the first of "PlayStation consoles". Do you know what I'm trying to say about the "PlayStation consoles" and my thought process for saying "PlayStation One" for "PlayStation"? Unless "PlayStation One" is the correct saying for the first "PlayStation console" before "PlayStation 2, 3 or 4" came out o_0 lol.

"It looks like pornography masquerading as a game". 

If that were the case, then it would actually have sex scenes in it. It is one thing to personally see it as trash, but it is another to mislead people on the basis of porn. That probably was not your intention, but that is how I interpreted everything you said on the game. It seems that you are judging it from pure surface-value appearances, of which are not even remotely accurate. 

sop281 : Perhaps, but I did say that I was being biased against it and it was purely all personal opinion on the game. I also stated that I didn't wish to upset anyone with my opinion on the game. I apologize for having done so. Just know that anything I list as "My thoughts" or include in a section of the article that offers my opinions are meant to be nothing more than opinions. I never meant for them to be taken as facts, and I hope that I communicated that sufficiently with the disclaimers that I listed ("I'll be listing my picks for best and worst games of the month.", "Bear in mind, it can be difficult to pick what games will be good or bad before anyone has actually played them", and "Again, just the view of a strongly opinionated gamer. Don't take it too personally if you find it interesting").

Again, my apologies if I did not make that clear enough. That entire section is meant to be nothing but opinions, I am strongly opinionated on some matters, and nudity to any extent is one of those matters. If I offend, I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me for being so plain spoken about my feelings on the matters.


happiness7 : Yes, 32,000 Vita's were sold that week, not that month. The total for the month was closer to 100,000, but I don't have the exact number since I didn't follow it all month like I did with the PS4.


When I said I would give a rundown of newer PlayStation games, I meant like I did with "PlayStation Nostalgia" only with a new title. Kind of like a mini-review.


Yeah the whole PlayStation, PlayStation One, PlayStation 2 etc. is a bit confusing. lol
Here's how it was:
PlayStation released in 1994.
PlayStation One (or PS One) released in 2000 (I think).
PlayStation 2 released in 2000, after the PS One.

The PlayStation One was simply the smaller version of the PlayStation, much like the PS2 and PS2 slimline. The PS One was about half the size of the PlayStation, and played the same games as the PlayStation, so they were the same system in a sense, but the terms PlayStation One and PS One refer to the smaller of the two. Here's a link to a page on Amazon with the PS One on it so you can see: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Playstation-PS-One-Video-Console/dp/B00004XOWT

Eirinn: Fair enough, but I would like to point out that this game contains no nudity. There are people that are scantily clad, but there is nothing resembling porn. I want to clarify this in order for the debasing to be clarified, true, and fair. I respect your opinion. I don't agree with it, but there is no porn. I just want to make it clear. Otherwise, I enjoyed the article. It was well-written. 

sop281 : Allow me to clarify: I consider the characters being in their undergarments as partial nudity. Strict, I know, but again it's all my personal opinions. I know the game is not actually pornography, but to me it resembles soft mild pornography enough that I find it offensive personally. All my respect to those who do not though. I'm sure it probably has some fun gameplay elements in it and is worth a play for many people, I just don't personally recommend it so I said what I thought of it. Saying it was pornography masquerading as a game was hyperbole, and meant that it was borderlining it in my eyes. I never meant to debase it or disrespect it's developers or fans. To each their own, right?

And thank you. I worked hard on it, so I appreciate hearing people think it was well written. Means a lot.