Hooray – it’s Gamer’s Day

Last week Sega held their E3 replacement; this week it was Sony’s turn to show off some shiny new polygons at their Spring Gamer’s Day 2007. Don’t expect to read anything PlayStation 2 related in this article – the show was dedicated to PlayStation 3 and PSP.

It has finally been confirmed what the devil is going on with Warhawk – first it was a launch title, then confirmed as download only, then back to being a full product. Sony has now put the rumours to rest – you can choose to buy it through Sony’s online store or pop into your local game emporium. The store-bought copy will come with a “free” Bluetooth headset and extra demos and documentaries. In IGN’s preview they state that the textures have been completely re-drawn since the last time it was shown and the weapon sets have been balanced out. A beta playtest starts in the US on 24th May but there’s no date set for Europe.

Another new title that will be available to download towards the end of the year is PAIN from Idol Minds. It should appeal to anybody who enjoyed the crash junctions in Burnout, with the idea being to cause as much damage to your character as possible. The demo involved some poor sap being flung out of a catapult into the middle of a built up city with all sorts of ragdoll physics to make his suffering more realistic. Replays can be uploaded for others to view online and comment on, and a host of co-op modes are also promised. Looks like fun.

Genji 2 didn’t go down well, largely because it was innovation-free, but Game Republic’s new title – Folklore – has a few tricks up its sleeve. It’s another hack and slasher, but this time it’s possible to steal a foe’s powers by moving the Sixaxis controller around the desired way. There’s definitely more of a western vibe to it and we wouldn’t be surprised if one of the bosses is a giant crab.

More details and new shots of Heavenly Sword, Lair, LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and more can be found on 1UP, IGN and probably some other websites that aren’t called Games Asylum. Gamevideos have all the videos released at the show ready for viewing too – be sure to take a look at PAIN and Heavenly Sword. The latter is looking rather similar to a certain title starring a pale-skinned masochist…