Snakeball, Super Stardust HD en route to PSN

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Apr 26th 2007 at 11:24AM }

Sony has officially announced the impending arrival of two more PlayStation Network titles, each of them boasting hyper-rainbow visuals that are likely to induce a mental state similar to that following ingestion of a hallucinogenic substance. Not that we have any experience with that sort of thing. We do have some familiarity with Snake though, which you may remember as that slithering self-extension exercise available on every electronic device known to man.

In Snakeball, you pilot a "bizarre hoversnake" across an "outlandishly dazzling disco floor," all the while devouring delicious spheres, blasting other players and whacking them with your bizarre hoversnake tail. The game supports online multiplayer, as well as the newly announced PlayStation Eye camera, ideal for plastering a face over your bizarre hoversnake pilot. Three Speech expects the game to arrive in July.

Gallery: Snakeball -- PSN

Super Stardust HD, to which the Sony blog gives a 15 June release date in Europe, is an arcade shooter built around the high concept of blasting defenseless asteroids to smithereens. A two-player co-op mode (it's unclear if this is local, online, or both), online rankings, 1080p resolution and a "seriously catchy soundtrack" are mentioned in the game's list of features. No word yet on what it costs to shoot at space rocks or pilot bizarre hoversnakes.

Gallery: Super Stardust HD -- PSN

Tags: Asteroids, PlayStation Network, PlaystationNetwork, PSN, Snake, Snakeball, Sony, Super Stardust HD, SuperStardustHd, Three Speech, ThreeSpeech

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fernando Rocker @ Apr 26th 2007 11:29AM

So... another Geometry Wars... Sony, Sony Sony... can't you think by yourself???

Fernando Rocker @ Apr 26th 2007 11:32AM

Ahh the fucking "HD" word at the end of every game name... and I remember you Sony Fanboys bitching about how Nintendo add the 64 and the end of every game...

Vidikron @ Apr 26th 2007 11:42AM

You going to bitch about everything Sony related?

JodyAnthony @ Apr 26th 2007 11:44AM

fernando gives wii and 360 owners a bad name.

how bout you just play some damn video games no matter what console they are on instead of being stupid and arguing how hunk of plastic X is better than hunk of plastic Y?

Fatass of Kickassness @ Apr 26th 2007 11:45AM

Thats funny Fernando, aside from one other game, this is the only PSN game I've seen with the label 'HD' aside it.

I think you're thinking of Xbox Live Arcade.

sheppy @ Apr 26th 2007 11:46AM

"You going to bitch about everything Sony related?"

Yes, yes he is. At least he didn't start his comments out with a sheppy bash... this time.

Aisling @ Apr 26th 2007 12:38PM

Stardust?!? Damn, I loved that game back on the Amiga, best crunchy 8 bit synth music outside of Chaos Engine!

Jerk Face @ Apr 26th 2007 11:49AM

I don't have a PS3, and I don't really want one. But god DAMN it does it put out some nice looking visuals. Even in a simple game like Super Stardust it just looks crisp and nice. Well done!

Jake @ Apr 26th 2007 12:05PM

Does anyone else find it weird that Fernando started this post with two consecutive mindless Sony bashes?

In unrelated news, these two titles look pretty promising. Obviously a screen doesn't do much, but it does show that there is a little effort behind the titles. We'll have to see how they hold up when it comes to gameplay, though.

Fernando Rocker @ Apr 26th 2007 12:10PM

I dont hate Sony... I just dont want that nex gen of system be the same... there will be a point when the graphics cant go further... we need more ways no have fun with videogames... its not only about polygons, resolutions, multimedia capacities... its about GAMES... a game is suposed to be fun...

If Sony win this generation with the PS3, they will want to release the PS4 with a price of $1000, with all the capacitie of a PC, plus the capacitie of a Foreman Grill... dont you see this sheppy, or Jake???

Ali @ Apr 26th 2007 1:03PM

More games that will appear in the European PSN in about 8 months time.

Stef Geiger @ Apr 26th 2007 12:14PM

Theories from people who can barely type with proper grammar OR spelling demand credibility.

Fernando Rocker @ Apr 26th 2007 12:20PM

Sorry my english... Im from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico... but I live in Laredo TX, legally.

Shagittarius @ Apr 26th 2007 12:21PM

I'll be picking up Super Star Dust for sure. I was the producer for the publisher of the original PC version back in '96. I can tell you that for its time the game was impressive to look at and quite fun to play.

We were demoing the game at E3 in '96 on a couple P133 machines which were top of the line at the time if memory serves me correctly. We originally had a problem with compatability of the video boards in those machines beacuse they had 2 whopping megs of vram and the game hadn't been previously tested with that config. We contacted the devs and they patched it up quick enough before the show began. Can you imagine if now adays game companies rented new machines for E3 with hardware that had never been tested with the intention of demoing its newest games to potential buyers? Things were simpler back then.

Just a little blast from the past and its nice to see SSD getting another release.

Aex @ Apr 26th 2007 12:29PM

Can anyone explain to me why expensive products are not fun? I wasn't aware that price and fun were inversely correlated.

Shagittarius @ Apr 26th 2007 12:32PM

Expensive products are not fun beacuse you can't afford to play them.

sheppy @ Apr 26th 2007 12:38PM

"If Sony win this generation with the PS3, they will want to release the PS4 with a price of $1000, with all the capacitie of a PC, plus the capacitie of a Foreman Grill... dont you see this sheppy, or Jake???"

I see a complete lack of following within the game industry, Fernando. Look, I'll spell it out nice and simple and see how, no matter what happens, PS4 will NOT be more expensive.

1. Howard Stringer was PISSED at how much was invested in PS3. Ken was basically removed from his position, meanwhile Sony had a huge fucking hole in the PS3. They gotta dig this out. Unfortunately, the price is the biggest stumble block for the console right now.

2. About the only person in Sony who hasn't been humbled by PS3s performance so far is David Karrack. Anyone from Ken to Stringer to even Harrison has been quite candid and readily admit PS3 has one hell of a battle to fight.

3. The market isn't mass accepting 360 at $400 nor is it mass accepting PS3 at $600. What makes you think the next system will be higher.

But hey, thanks for the foreman bash. I haven't seen/heard that one for at least 5 minutes.

Aex @ Apr 26th 2007 12:50PM

@Shagittarius

So if all things were the same and the Wii was $600 it would be less fun? It would be more of a ripoff but could someone say it was less fun because it was more expensive?

I understand why the PS3 isn't selling as great as the Wii. It isn't because it isn't fun, or that it won't in the future. The only reason can be summed up in 3 little numbers, 6 0 0. Price directly affects sales and demand, but it doesn't affect "fun".

oGMo @ Apr 26th 2007 1:12PM

@17 (Aex): Actually, from a business perspective, Sony is doing pretty much the right thing. They have a limited amount of something (six million units), and they want to sell it and maximize their return. Sure, if they priced it at $299 it would sell out ... and they'd lose a lot of money. At $499-599, it's selling well enough that units are flowing while a few are always available on the shelves.

Sure, the angsty kids living in their parents' basements whine and bemoan the PS3 as crappy and outrageous because they can't afford it, and the console you don't have isn't "fun". "Fun," as you've noted, seems to be this nebulous concept that is being applied as a stop-thinking-word much like the "T" word or "Safety" by certain elected top government officials. It's "fun" to swing the wiimote around! This is "fun"! If you're not playing this you're not a gamer, and you're not having "fun"! When asked to quantify, we get vague comments about "more interactive" and "original".

This isn't to say you won't have fun on the Wii, but let's be realistic here: *games* are why we buy consoles. Not controllers. Not graphics. The one with the biggest library wins.

Shagittarius @ Apr 26th 2007 1:29PM

The ones with at least an acceptable number of great games all win.

JodyAnthony @ Apr 26th 2007 1:33PM

oGMo wins the internet.

Jake @ Apr 26th 2007 1:51PM

Fern,

You are an annoying fanboy. Sheppy, myself, and others cannot have an intelligent discussion with you because you are a mindless twit, constantly regurgitating the same empty posts in every thread. You only call people by name and flame so heavily because you want responses and attention and are unable to get that with intelligent, thoughful posts(because you are unable to make a thoughtful post that is worth reading).

Both Sheppy and I own a Wii. We don't hate it. You should focus your flame more on people who hate the Wii altogether, not people who have already invested hundreds of dollars into it.

I play my 360 far more than the Wii right now because the games are much better, period. The Wii games are mostly budget titles to be honest. I play my Wii when non-gamers are over that suck too bad at normal games. I'm not going to set down a game like Gears to play through some Rayman. That is ludicrous.

Believe me, though, when I say that Metroid, Mario, Zelda Wii, SSBM, etc. will get the shit played out of them. That is why I own a Wii.

Darkiewonder @ Apr 26th 2007 1:56PM

Looks good.

Super Stardust HD BY Housemarque looks interesting. I have my eyes on Snakeball though ;D

Hiroken @ Apr 26th 2007 2:19PM

Regarding the two new games:
I have a PS3 and these are the first PSN games that I am seriously considering downloading-- Snake is old hat but no matter how old it is it's always been fun, and online multi with it sounds like a blast.
Super Stardust HD looks really sweet too ^^

Regarding the discussion so far:
I have to agree that just because the PS3 is more expensive doesn't mean it isn't as much fun. While I don't have a Wii or 360 (but will probably get a 360 eventually) I have a great time with my PS3. Thanks to everyone who, love or hate the PS3, is having an intelligible discussion regarding these games and the ridiculous behavior that some people insist on perpetuating.

~Hiro

wallywallaby @ Apr 26th 2007 11:07PM

Sweet - Stardust looks like a good game that you can blow 20 minutes here and there while you are waiting for your SO to finish her hair. ;)

Rubang B @ Apr 26th 2007 7:23PM

@oGMo, it's true that the biggest most diverse game library will win the war, but I think that new control schemes lend themselves to new ideas and thus new games moreso than higher resolutions. No developer is going "Wow look at the increased resolution, hey that just gave me a new idea. I'll make a game with a character that is more detailed than the last game!" (Or maybe they are.) But developers are going "Wow look at this wacky new controller, hey that just gave me a new idea." Some of these ideas are good and some of them suck, but either way the new control schemes of the Wii are increasing the number of ideas and thus the number of games. Right now the Wii has more games on discs, more downloadable games, and more games in development than the PS3. This is true even after the majority of developers were caught with their pants down by the instant success of the Wii.

I agree with everything else you said, and I'm not going to pull a "The Wii is more fun!" on you. But the Wii is getting more games, which is going to be another huge asset to its continuing success.

Dreadhead541 @ May 6th 2007 9:12PM

"So... another Geometry Wars... Sony, Sony Sony... can't you think by yourself???"

you do know that super stardust hd is a remake of super stardust, a game that came out almost 10 years ago. So geometry wars actually copied this game.