More Fry’s deals today.

$219 - PSP Daxter package with 4 movies and a 1GB memory stick. 

$159 - Rock Band PS3 or 360.

$32 - Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core for the PSP

$50 - Dark Sector PS3 or 360.

$30 - TimeShift for the 360.

$100 - Windows Vista Home Premium

$190 - Windows Vista Ultimate

$105 - 250 GB Seagate SATA hard drive which you can install on your PS3!

I am interested in the Final Fantasy game for the PSP, but I should probably finish Final Fantasy VII on the PS1 first.    Then of course I would also have to watch Advent Children.

That hard drive looks great and just happens to be from my favorite hard drive manufacturer.  I am currently juggling free space on my 60 GB PS3 so that 250 would be a life saver.  As time moves forward though, the prices on hardware will only come down so I am not in a rush.

If I get the side job I’m looking for I may just have to buy that PSP slim and sell my reliable original.

Rumors are flowing accross the internet from a few reliable locations.  Here they are.

According to Famitsu and PS3 Fanboy, Angol Fear from Keroro Gunsou, will be an additional character selectable in Soul Calibur IV.  No word yet on whether this character will be available in the U.S.

PS3 Greatest Hits proposed list of titles to include; Heavenly Sword, MotorStorm, Resistance, Lair, Formula One, Ridge Racer and Genji.  No confirmation on pricing but I’m betting $30-$40.

Notable features.

• DivX content can now exceed 2GB
• Resume play for Blu-Ray or DVD’s even if the disc had been removed
• Most importantly Blu-ray Profile 2.0 now supported

Rock Band is finally coming to the masses.  Wii owners will finally be able to rock out starting June 22nd for $169.99 with a few bonus songs for waiting and a wireless guitar.

It was only a matter of time, and a few cases of Red Bull, before some enterprising modders created this.  Unreal Tournament mods have allowed the Master Chief, as well as other Final Fantasy and Gears of War characters to fight it out on the PS3.

Get them here.

Now where’s my Simpson’s Doom?

For all you Rock Band players out there…

An update was recently released to bypass the very ugly 360 and PSN downloadable content interface solutions.  I was playing around  with the 360 version this weekend and came away very impressed.  It isn’t just a simple list of clickable links.

You can reorganize the songs by release date, difficulty, and a few others.  One of the features I greatly appreciate is the ability to preview the song.  Find one you don’t remember to well?  Click on the song and then select preview and a short snippet of the track will download to your 360’s hard drive.  The preview will stay on your hard drive until the next reboot.

If there is one thing I could change about this update it would be to have the ability to keep the preview on the drive permanently.  I have the 120 GB drive so I’m not fighting for storage space as I was with the 20 GB my 360 came with.

In addition to the music store, there are also some updates to the core gameplay.

Adjusted fan limits for World mode: Those playing from Easy to Hard will be able to earn more fans, therefore allowing bands to get further along on the tour. Easy players will be able to cross the Atlantic, Medium players can get access to more venues, and Hard players on the Xbox 360 can unlock the One Million Fans achievement.

Better randomization of setlists: Senior Designer, Dan Teasdale was quoted from the Rock Band forums, “You’ll be glad to know that we’ve tracked down and fixed the issues that triggered these very repetitive moments in Band World Tour.”

Improved detection and scoring for mic recognition: “If you had trouble on songs like ‘Timmy and the Lords of the Underworld’ and ‘Blitzkrieg Bop,’ you should have an easier time beating these songs now” Teasdale continued.

Faster loading of DLC: DLC loads faster and only once, instead of each time the game is turned on.

Microphone latency on PS3 is “improved”: Microphone latency has been reduced.  High-end AV set-ups had mic and drum fill lag issues that affected a small but vocal amount of users.

Xbox 360 band logos visible on Xbox Live: Parental controls previously stopped band logos from being visible on Xbox Live.

ENCORE ladies and gentlemen!  If you stopped playing the game now you have an excuse to jump back in and pick up the mic!

If you’ve played the Lego: Star Wars demo and don’t smile, there is something truly rotten in your heart.  A very cute trip through the entire Star Wars saga, Lego: Star Wars: The Complete Saga for the PS3 is now available from the Lego website for only $25.

This is a real bargain.  The game is a compilation of two previously released games now at less than half the price of each.  If you don’t have this game in your collection yet, now is the time.  You can’t even find this game at this price used.

Buy Me

If you grew up watching Star Wars like I did, this is a must buy.

(Edit: Sold Out.  Wow, that was fast!)

For a couple of months now the PlayStation 3 has been outselling the XBox 360 according to the NPD group.  Many new PlayStation 3 owners have purchased it for its Blu-Ray functionality as evidenced by the lackluster game sales that do not coincide with the boost of hardware sales.

This top of the line home entertainment console does not come with a top of the line movie playing remote.  You technically could control your movies with the Sixaxis or Dualshock controllers.  Why use both hands though, when you truly only need one.  If you feel like dropping an extra $20-$30, you could pick up some nice equipment that will fit right in with your IKEA entertainment center.

If you are in the market for a Blu-Ray remote for your PS3 there are a few options available for you.  Let us begin with the product Sony offers.

Sony - PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote $19.99

KEY THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT Of the three we are looking at today, this is the only one that is Bluetooth.  Theoretically, you could have your PS3 locked in a cabinet somewhere and it would still respond.  Though I would never recommend that. The buttons do not have a backlight feature. This remote works with two AA batteries, which may make the remote a little heavy.

If the slightly blasphemous self-proclaimed Messiah Entertainment brand name of the manufacturer of the remote below doesn’t bother you, perhaps this may be the movie shepherd you have been searching for.

KEY THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT This remote includes docking station that doubles as an IR receiver. This product is not Bluetooth.  It has to be in line of site for it to work. It has built in rechargeable batteries that recharge when docked. The batteries only charge when the PS3 is on just like the Sixaxis. I found some reports of a different matte finish. The buttons have a backlight feature.

If you are budget minded, you will probably be looking at the following product.

Nyko – PlayStation 3 Blu Wave Remote $17.99

KEY THINGS TO NOTE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT This remote works with two AAA batteries. This is an IR device, which means it has to be in line of site of the IR receiver. The IR receiver is a USB dongle that has to stay permanently plugged into the PS3. This product claims luminescent buttons, which could mean glow in the dark.  Be careful.

The two-dollar difference between the Sony and Nyko products does not justify the budget excuse.  Especially when there isn’t much of a difference between them.  For this reason alone, I disqualify the Nyko Remote from consideration.

The true competition lies between the Sony Bluetooth remote and the Jesus Games (Messiah Entertainment) product.

Resolution

Since the Darklite includes a docking station, built-in rechargeable battery and backlit buttons my choice is easy.  The Darklite can do everything the Sony Remote can do and more.  The fact that it looks great is a bonus.

If you purchase any of these remotes or find any others that you like, please let me know.

Just when I thought they couldn’t makeup for the mistake that will be Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, here comes Four button Guitar Hero on the DS.  It looks like it might only be fun for a short while but that fits right in with most Nintendo systems and products.  They burn quickly, but burn brightly.

I know quite a few people who would buy this so this product will be straight money for everyone.  The buttons jack into the GBA port and strap on to your hand.  It looks, from the video, like they will support wireless multiplayer and some other DS specific gimmicks…err…functions.

It might be fun with a group of friends.  "Rock on with your strap-on!"

Read more at VideoGamesZone.de. 

Unboxed versions of Valve’s Orange Box game suite including; Portal, Team Fortress 2, and  the Half-Life 2 Episode Packs will be available for PC April 9th in the U.S. and April 11 globally from $20 to $30.

Capcom strong arms (padumpum) Microsoft into unlocking the chastity belt known as the 150MB XBLA limit to let publisher achieve "complete feature and graphical parity" when compared to their PSN counterparts of SSFII Turbo HD Remix and Bionic Commando Rearmed.

Lost Planet "Enhanced" to add a range of new single-player, multiplayer modes, in-game items and cross-platform play starting May 27 for $29.99.  No word yet about a patch for early adopters but no one is holding their breath for those of us left out in the cold.

GTAIV online multiplayer to support up to 16 players including co-op missions.

Burnout Paradise creators, Criterion announce downloadable add-on packs including new cars, new islands and different gameplay modes.  But more importantly, it will all be free!  Wait a minute, is this EA?