Gizmo Ground

Yesterday we told you about the announcement date of the PSP phone, and quite some time back we also mentioned specs although they are not really confirmed for sure. Today there are some more rumors (and this time we pray and pray some more, that these are only rumors) about the PSP phone not being able to play PSP games. It also says that the phone won’t sell under the PlayStation logo, but rather will be a part of the XPERIA family. 


This might not affect those who are only looking for a bad-ass phone, but it definitely surprises those who game on the PSP and we have seen good titles coming to the portable gaming device (for evidence, check the God of War review) Sony Ericsson has chosen to make a different set of games and these will be compatible only with the phone. The games should all be below $10 (approx Rs. 450). The device will probably be launched at the MWC 2011 in February andSony Ericsson targets a 500 US dollars (approx Rs. 22,900) retail price with 5 games included. 

So that’s about it for now. It's good that it runs on the latest Android, but not playing PSP games is certainly not cool! 

The Dead Space series is well known for two things – gratuitous amounts of violence and gore and its 'uh-oh I just soiled my underpants again' scares. Thankfully, both aspects of the game have been retained with the move to iOS platforms. Add in some serious technical wizardry and you have an action game that is without a doubt, a must buy.

Dead Space takes place nearly three years after the first game and leads up to the events of Dead Space 2. You play as an engineer by the name of Vandal who during his time aboard the ginormous space-station, the Sprawl, inadvertently causes a Necromorph outbreak. People die in horrific ways,come back as lumbering corpses and it’s up to you to end their misery. I mean that’s the least you can do right? 


Gameplay for Dead Space is near identical to its console counterparts. You skulk around the shadows, dismember nasty aliens and solve minor puzzles that generally involves fixing stuff or opening doors. Dismemberment not only looks hella cool but is also a strategic way to annihilate foes before they get too close for comfort. Throughout the campaign you'll regularly come across newer weapons, all of which can be upgraded using Power Nodes found across the Sprawl. 

The one aspect in which the iOS version differs drastically from the console version is obviously, controls. Using the iPhone/iPad’s touchscreen functionality, players can control character movements as well as the camera angle via invisible virtual joysticks of sorts. This takes some getting used to and I’ll be lying if I said I was comfortable with this sort of a control scheme but it then again, this is a drawback with nearly every third/first person action game on the iPhone or the iPad. Tapping on the right hand side of the screen will draw your weapon and tapping that same part again will fire a shot. Opening doors and picking up items is also a touch based affair and there were times during the frantic action when I ended up shooting stuff instead of picking it up or shooting at doors instead of opening them. 


There’s no doubt that gameplay in Dead Space is tense but there are instances when it gets a tad predictable. You’ll find yourself in a room and just as you’re about to leave, it gets locked down and you’re left fighting for your life against a wave of necromorphs. It was intense the first few times, but after that it just loses its charm. 

On the technical front, Dead Space delivers – and how. There were times when I found it hard to believe I was playing an iOS game. Environments look stellar,vare awesome and Necromorphs look as menacing as they did on your Xbox360, PS3 or PC. There are a few framerate issues on the 3GS platform but on the iPad, the game performed flawlessly.


I’m really glad EA went ahead and meticulously created a game from the ground up that’s fully capable of complementing its console counterparts. Boasting of stellar production values, Dead Space is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for the casual gamer. I may have had a few issues with the control scheme but that’s a small price to pay for slaughtering Necromorphs on the go. 

Zombies games have quite literally, been done to death by now. There are a few games like the Left 4 Dead series that have still managed provide gamers with a thoroughly entertaining experience, but the genre on its own hasn’t really evolved a lot. With Dead Island, developer Techland are traversing territory that’s never been explored, fusing multiple genres to create one ambitious game. Expectations are sky high but if they manage to pull it off, Dead Island could be the best game ever. And here are five reasons why.

It’s an open world zombie game


There are zombie games – and then there are open world games but never have the two genres crossed paths. This obviously opens up a whole new sub-genre of games that could be the best thing since sliced ham. Instead of simply moving from point A to B in a linear fashion, Dead Island will allow players to tackle any situation in a non linear way. And since the entire (fictional) island of Banoi will eventually open up, the possibilities are limitless. Oh and did we mention it’ll ship with four player co-operative play? Yeah, think about that for a second.

Focus on melee combat


Most zombie games hand you a plethora of weapons and encourage you to go carve up the undead but Dead Island will focus more on melee combat. This obviously makes matters a lot more intense as you’ll have to move in closer for the kill. And as Left 4 Dead 2 has shown us, bludgeoning a zombie to death is just plain awesome. In Dead Island, pretty much any melee object be it a pipe, an oar, a tree trunk and lots more could be used to hammer away at the undead. We also hope Dead Island go a bit more primal and allow us to set traps. That would be completely mental. 

Create and customize your Tools of Destruction


Even though Dead Rising 2 was frustrating, it did allow you to combine all sorts of weapons to create uber badass weapons. Dead Island will grant you somewhat of the same mechanic as well where you’ll have to craft various weapons to survive. Imagine fusing a machine and a harpoon gun together or combining a rocket launcher with a tree trunk. According to Techland, this particular mechanic will allow them to offer over thousands of weapons to the player, just like Gearbox did with Borderlands.