The first thing that pops up for episode 3 of Qore is a trailer for a new Brothers in Arms game, and it has to be said that it looks pretty terrible (at least graphically). Moving on, I'm sort of dumbfounded that I can't use my PS3 remote control to navigate through the menus of Qore. It's nothing but videos, so why do I need a controller for that? Also, there's apparently no fast forward or rewind capabilities when watching videos either, but that's not really a problem since the video segments are in very manageable chunks.
I do have another minor complaint and that's that the "bug" for Qore that says that you're watching Qore in the corner of the screen is not transparent enough nor is it tucked far enough into the corner. Also, it's about 20% too large. But hey -- the devil is in the details, as they say.
As for any actual content that Qore offers, you still have to wait until September to play the betas for Resistance 2 or SOCOM. Also, if you've already downloaded Calling All Cars because you subscribed annually, that's going to apparently be continuously grayed-out since you already have it. So it appears that Qore is only capable of offering 3 downloadables an issue and one of those is always Calling All Cars. And what is Qore episode 3's third downloadable besides the Resistance 2 beta? A Qore theme. ... Alright. What about an exclusive demo or something a little more valuable? So far the only other thing has been a Naruto demo. Isn't this a show about games? Isn't it supposed to be "interactive"? Sure, when we have access to the betas, it'll be worth it, but until then there's nothing enticing going on.
The content of episode 3 concerns DC Universe Online, LEGO Batman, Baja: Edge of Control and NBA 09. It's a nice potpourri, although I'm really only semi-interested in DC Universe Online and LEGO Batman. I also thought that Qore was supposed to offer a monthly look at Resistance 2 until it shipped. Guess not. As far as DC Universe Online, I like that the look is inspired by Jim Lee, but so far I think it looks clunky (more so than other MMORPGs). The flying animations in particular don't look natural or fully fleshed-out, so I hope that this game is far from being released, because it needs more time cooking in the oven.
As for LEGO Batman... It looks like another LEGO game with a new skin. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the series needs to evolve if it wants to stay interesting because as it stands, I can get my fill of LEGO simply by playing the LEGO Star Wars or LEGO Indiana Jones demos. Baja looks like a last generation game and I could care less about another new NBA game (I couldn't even begin to tell you the difference between NBA 09 and NBA 2K9). Also, it's about time they switched up the "secret" L2 game. We need to move on from Pong-clone thing. I don't expect Sony to make a brand new game every month, but I also hope that this isn't the only bonus game that's going to be available this season.
I bitch and moan, but it's not really a bad product. As I've said, the best thing about Qore is Veronica Belmont, but I would certainly like some more content. As it stands, with the amount of stuff that's contained within, it should be more like a twice-a-month (or even weekly) type of show rather than once-a-month. It's a very polite show that's more like the pre-scrubbed and PR-approved gaming journalism that you're probably used to, but I'm also glad that's it's not trying to rip-off 1UP Yours or anything like that. As such, their choice of Veronica Belmont as host is key since most anyone else would seem very hammy.
So! Sony either needs to produce more content for Qore, or charge a little less. If someone asked me if they should subscribe, I'd say that depends on how much you like Veronica Belmont. Otherwise, stick with the 1UP Show and the like.
I do have another minor complaint and that's that the "bug" for Qore that says that you're watching Qore in the corner of the screen is not transparent enough nor is it tucked far enough into the corner. Also, it's about 20% too large. But hey -- the devil is in the details, as they say.
As for any actual content that Qore offers, you still have to wait until September to play the betas for Resistance 2 or SOCOM. Also, if you've already downloaded Calling All Cars because you subscribed annually, that's going to apparently be continuously grayed-out since you already have it. So it appears that Qore is only capable of offering 3 downloadables an issue and one of those is always Calling All Cars. And what is Qore episode 3's third downloadable besides the Resistance 2 beta? A Qore theme. ... Alright. What about an exclusive demo or something a little more valuable? So far the only other thing has been a Naruto demo. Isn't this a show about games? Isn't it supposed to be "interactive"? Sure, when we have access to the betas, it'll be worth it, but until then there's nothing enticing going on.
The content of episode 3 concerns DC Universe Online, LEGO Batman, Baja: Edge of Control and NBA 09. It's a nice potpourri, although I'm really only semi-interested in DC Universe Online and LEGO Batman. I also thought that Qore was supposed to offer a monthly look at Resistance 2 until it shipped. Guess not. As far as DC Universe Online, I like that the look is inspired by Jim Lee, but so far I think it looks clunky (more so than other MMORPGs). The flying animations in particular don't look natural or fully fleshed-out, so I hope that this game is far from being released, because it needs more time cooking in the oven.
As for LEGO Batman... It looks like another LEGO game with a new skin. Not necessarily a bad thing, but the series needs to evolve if it wants to stay interesting because as it stands, I can get my fill of LEGO simply by playing the LEGO Star Wars or LEGO Indiana Jones demos. Baja looks like a last generation game and I could care less about another new NBA game (I couldn't even begin to tell you the difference between NBA 09 and NBA 2K9). Also, it's about time they switched up the "secret" L2 game. We need to move on from Pong-clone thing. I don't expect Sony to make a brand new game every month, but I also hope that this isn't the only bonus game that's going to be available this season.
I bitch and moan, but it's not really a bad product. As I've said, the best thing about Qore is Veronica Belmont, but I would certainly like some more content. As it stands, with the amount of stuff that's contained within, it should be more like a twice-a-month (or even weekly) type of show rather than once-a-month. It's a very polite show that's more like the pre-scrubbed and PR-approved gaming journalism that you're probably used to, but I'm also glad that's it's not trying to rip-off 1UP Yours or anything like that. As such, their choice of Veronica Belmont as host is key since most anyone else would seem very hammy.
So! Sony either needs to produce more content for Qore, or charge a little less. If someone asked me if they should subscribe, I'd say that depends on how much you like Veronica Belmont. Otherwise, stick with the 1UP Show and the like.
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