To patch or not to patch? After reportedly saying that they are currently working on a patch meant to fix Pro Evolution Soccer 2008's (for the Xbox 360 and PS3) lag woes, they now refuse to comment on the patch rumor. Could it just be a case of a broken press release date, or have we been led to hope for a non-existent patch?

Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has been giving some unrest and discontentment to its PS3 owners in the form of existing frame rate issues and slowdown. Today, it looks like Konami has finally recognized and is taking steps to addressing the problem.
 
Upon entering the PES 2008 lobby online, players will be greeted with a notification from the developer saying that they have found "issues which can affect the online gameplay quality of PES 2008" and that they are working "full strength to find a solution as quickly as possible."

Pro-G called the UK office as a costumer to verify this and to further investigate as to just what kind of steps are they taking to remedy the issue. They were told that Konami is currently working on a patch that is supposed to improve both offline and online play (or at least attempt to).

However, you guys might hold on to those celebratory hats for now as there is still no clear timeframe as to the release of the said patch, nor is it clear how this may fix the problem for those players who do not enter games online.

 

It's no secret that one of the games we've been waiting for is Clive Barker's Jericho (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC). Codemasters looks to be doing a great job in translating the work of Mr. Barker into a format we all love: video games.

The Vice President of branding at Codemasters Tim Woodley was recently interviewed by Pro-G, and gave a few details on the game. However, the big bomb he did drop was the fact that the game will not have multiplayer, which has become a staple in first person shooters such as this. However, they did this due to the fact that the game is very plot driven, which reflects the style of Clive Barker. Here's what Woodley had to say about it:

Obviously the game is quite plot-driven, so it is not going to include multiplayer. We thought long and hard about first-person-shooters, and how people expect them to include multiplayer in this day and age. When you think about what Jericho is, and how the storyline delivers and provides the ability to bend time and slow down time, this creates all kinds of physical difficulties.

If you were to create a multiplayer that had any real worth you'd have to strip away all of those special things that are so crucial to the single-player. Ultimately all you'd be left with would be the maps we'd created and a bit of deathmatch and capture the flag.

Rather than put that in and get marked down for a weak multiplayer, we thought "no, we're going to concentrate on creating what is essentially a multiplayer game in a single-player world." It was an agonising decision but we feel we've made the right one.

This is probably a good decision to focus on one aspect of the game rather than coming out with another generic shooter. Judging from the trailers and the screenshots, it looks like their decision is paying off. However, we have to wait and see how the rest of the gaming community will take to the game once it's released. If you want to see the full interview, feel free to click on our read link. More updates as we get them.

Team Ninja recently mentioned that it will try to silence the PlayStation 3 critics with the help of real-life Rachel video game title Ninja Gaiden Sigma. The Nintendo Wii, to be quite frank, also has a lot of critics (ranging from weak graphics to lack of hard-hitting games).

When asked if Team Ninja is also willing to silence them Wii haters, producer and director Yosuke Hayashi gave a rather ninja-esque answer. Gaming site Pro-G was at the recent Ninja Gaiden Sigma event in London and met up with Hayashi.

The exact question was if the title is going to make an outing on the Wii. Just imagining playing as Ryu Hayabusa, or Rachel for that matter, using the Wiimote sends shivers down our spine. However, Hayashi's answer was quite vague:

We would make something for the Wii if we came up with something unique that would only work on the Wii. There are several groups within Team Ninja. The PS3 group, the Xbox 360 group, and there are Wii fans in Team Ninja.

Pro-G mentioned that Hayashi told them something more but the site didn't divulge it. The only Ninja Gaiden action Wii fans can have for now are the ones coming from the Virtual Console.

 

James Orry of UK gaming news site PRO-G reports that Ubisoft's Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions, has unfortunately been set for a delay of sorts. It's supposed spring release is now a more specific August 31.

In this iteration of the franchise, you play the leader of Operation Wildcard, an undercover and elite squad of pilots secretly created by the American government. Your mission is to stop the Nazis from creating a weapon of mass destruction. In the game itself, you get access to spy missions using some extremely hush-hush prototype aircraft, so your life as a spy isn't all that bad.

Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions is to be released for the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3. The US is set to see the game a few days earlier as the North American release date is August 28.

The third Spider-Man movie is slated for a worldwide release on May 4 (although Ryan A.'s already watched it thanks to the magic of advanced screenings). To coincide with the film's theatrical release, the multiplatform Spider-Man 3 video game will also be released on the same day for all of its target consoles.

Well, that was the plan anyway. European PS3 owners will have to wait longer to experience the game on their next gen consoles. According to Pro-G, Activision UK has confirmed that the PS3 version of Spider-Man 3 has been delayed for two weeks and is now slated for a May 18 release. No reason was given for the delay.

We'll keep you guys updated as soon as more details surface.

    
 

It seems Dante's still up to his high-flying, two-fisted gunplay antics as we present a truckload of some of the most jaw-dropping screenshots of Devil May Cry 4 for the Playstation 3, courtesy of the good folks over at PRO-G. If they're anything to go by, then this could probably be the Killer App for Sony's shiny black console, just as the original Devil May Cry sent a lot of PS2 owners packing for a copy. Just look at those details!

   

More screenshots after the jump! And we mean MORE.

Bloody hell. After all the speculation regarding the mysterious countdown timer in the God of War website "Island of Rhode" a few weeks back, it turns out that it was nothing but a false alarm. At least, that's what everyone believed at first. As QJ reader Dave points out (thanks for the tip!), Pro-G reports that the countdown has already finished and the Island of Rhodes site is now open with - no, not info for the PSP version - but goodies for God of War II for the PS2. Videos and a wallpaper. Yay.

Recent developments though have led a lot of fans on a wild goose chase across the mysterious website because apparently, there are hidden content in the site. Someone from the GameFAQs forums was able to take a crack at it, and gave a walkthrough of how you could achieve two things: 1) the secret to unlocking HD mode in God of War II, and 2) another countdown timer that hints at the next God of War game.

No one seems to know where all this leads, but speculation points at either more info on the PSP GoW title, or maybe even one for the PS3! Click the Full Article link below to learn more.

Remember Afrika? No, not the continent. Not the old Toto song, too. It's been quite a long time since it was first shown during the Sony press conference at E3 last year, and we still have almost no info on this title.

During last week's GDC, Pro-G had the chance to talk to Sony Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison, and one of the topics that came up was Afrika.

Harrison coyly sidestepped the question, and instead lauded Pro-G's idea about the title being integrated into the PlayStation Home as a kind of Safari holiday.

"That's actually a good idea," said Harrison. "The game designers on Afrika are being deliberately coy about the game experience. I know what it is; I've seen it and I know it's going to be a very interesting gaming experience."

Harrison also declined to be reveal any dates, but did tell Pro-G to "hold on just a little bit more." Typical corporate speech, but hopefully more details will surface about this beautiful-looking title soon.

Can it be that we'll be looking at the new Resident Evil from a different perspective?

Pro-G reports from Leipzig that Capcom's Jun Takeuchi said the next Resident Evil will use the third-person perspective previously used in Resident Evil 4. However, it may also have something a bit new in regards to perspective, but Takeuchi refused to be more specific.

When asked about Resident Evil Wii, Takeuchi said he didn't know if it will occur, though if he is referring to Resident Evil 5 on Wii, and not a separate Wii entry in the series, is unknown. He was still being mysterious about the series' debut on the Wii.

On an amusing note, Takeuchi said Capcom's production staff groaned "Oh god, he's gone and invented another one" at many of the new ideas for the new installment. And that remark is indeed promising for us gamers.