ZTGameDomain.com: Inside Look: PlayStation Qore Special Feature

ZTGD Special Feature

Inside Look: PlayStation Qore

Inside Look: PlayStation Qore

Words By: Catastrophe

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Now available from the Playstation Store is episode one of Qore, an online magazine featuring exclusive developer interviews, game previews, and behind the scenes tidbits for all those need-to-be-in-the-know gamers. You can add Qore to your downloads for the single episode cost of $2.99, or show your girlfriend you really can commit with the $24.99 investment for thirteen episodes. Annual subscribers also get the raucous good time of a download Calling All Cars, making the deal sugary sweet.

Qore opens with the Hulk trailer but if you're just too eager to get to the heart of the matter feel free to utilize the "skip" option, his Hulk-iness is available later. Immediately following is a welcome from host and industry regular Veronica Belmont, and in very Letter from the Editor format she goes over what Qore has to offer. Here, again, you have the chance to hit "skip", and as the twice-mentioned "skip" might indicate, Qore functions very much like a magazine: subscribers can flip to the good stuff by choosing what content they want to watch. There are five sections available this month, plus the Download Center, which is where you can pick up Calling All Cars, the SOCOM: Confrontation theme and the SOCOM Beta (once it's in Beta). The content is in HD, very easy to navigate, and generally a treat. Also contained within this episode of Qore is the (Easter egg!) game Death Orb. At the Menu, hit L2 for some retro gaming fun; it's a nice extra with a multiplayer option and proves fair consolation for those of us that already made the Calling All Cars investment.

The SOCOM: Confrontation chapter opens with another message from our new friend Veronica, clearly marking this as the featured content. Design Director David Seymour, Lead Designer Alan Goode and Technical Director Paul Martin are all here, and they discuss everything from gameplay and environments to keeping the hardcore SOCOM fans happy. There is a lot of pre-Alpha gameplay footage, clan warfare discussion, as well as a gallery with character models and screens. What most caught my attention, however, was the discussion of the previously rumored rechargeable Bluetooth headset.

Veronica pops in again for another chat as the lead-in to the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed segment. The interview that follows with Project Lead Haden Blackman mostly covers gameplay and the Felicia environment (a little-seen world from Episode Three). There's a nice, if brief, video of a Rancor Battle. In general, getting to see the weapons and force powers is the highlight.

High Impact Games' Design Director Lesley Mathieson is joined by Dave Goodrich (Lead Designer) and Matt Gigenbach (Lead Gameplay Designer) for the behind-the-scenes footage of Secret Agent Clank. Beyond general discussion of the premise there's good information on the weapons and gadgets, as well as the process of making the game more stealth and action based instead of sticking close to Clank's puzzle-based history.

The all Namco Bandai section is a bit thinner on content. Soul Caliber's Wayne Shiu (Product Marketing Manager) discusses gameplay, environments, story and characters with a bit of footage. Afro Samurai's featured speaker is Senior Producer David Robinson. He covers the basics like story and environments, and becomes most engaging in the brief mention of the game's musical influences and the score by RZA. Of course, if this all has you muttering "yawn" you could always click "Sponsor" at the bottom of the screen to see a GRID ad! Ooh!

Yes, there are advertisements. It all begins with a ten second ad at start-up, an innocuous digital simulation of sorting through the first ad-smothered pages of a magazine in search of the contents. Additionally there is a short ad as you enter each sub-section, which for the most part are game ads (GRID, Guitar Hero, Metal Gear). The one-of-these-things-just-doesn't-belong-here kicks in about the time the Whopper Ad pops up as you enter the Download Center. Otherwise, the advertising is minimally invasive, and I think it can be safely assumed that most would prefer an ad-free product. What does smack of lameness is that my Bluetooth remote was incompatible. Odd since the whole presentation is more cinematic than anything else, and my best guess is that they want you to have controller at the ready for Death Orb.

Provided all this is indicative of what we can expect from future episodes, Qore is the type of service that will appeal most to people that really want be in the know about the latest in gaming, and for a couple dollars it offers at least an hour's worth of entertainment. You could argue that the likes of things offered in Qore should be free; I like to view it as paying a bit extra for what are, ultimately, extras. Of course, free would be even better. Interactivity is the crux of it all, and there's a fair amount of un-actualized potential here. I'd love to see Qore grow into even more, though that may just be the greed talking: the current formula is pretty satisfying. If, however, the prospect of exclusive, HD content and access to Betas doesn't make you say "ooooh", then Qore isn't for you.

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