Metal Gear 4 Gets Release Date. Helps Save PS3
2007 was a pretty crappy year for the PS3. It sold relatively poorly when compared to the Wii and Xbox 360. It was more expensive, confusing, and most importantly, didn’t have any games that really warranted a purchase of the Blu-ray based console.

Well now that 2008 is in full swing, things seem to be looking up for the PS3. For starters, HD-DVD is now totally dead, and despite the PS3 still costing more than the other two consoles, it is still the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market, which makes it more interesting for those looking to upgrade from standard DVD movies.

Secondly, the PS3’s online viability is finally picking up steam. The PlayStation Store, which is accessible for free through the PS3, now offers dozens of downloads (the majority of which are not free, however), and with the spring release of Home, Sony’s free virtual hub, the PS3’s online capability has become much more interesting.

Finally, and most importantly, the PS3 is finally getting some major games–the biggest of which is Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Originally promised last year, the cinematic stealth espionage epic now has an official release date of June 12. Not only that, but Sony will also bundle the game with 40GB PS3s and the newly announced Dual Shock 3 controller for $499 (It’s $399 sans game and controller which run about $60 each) on the same day.

With MGS4, Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Turismo 5, Home and the much-missed rumble of the Dual Shock controller coming to the console in the very near future, and with Blu-ray emerging as the dominant HD format in the last couple of months, my purchase of a PS3 is all but imminent. And I have to say, as down as I was on Sony the last year and a half, I am now equally as excited.

Halo Lazer Tag!
If you are a child of the ’80s, then you certainly remember the toy industry’s fascination with the cutting-edge tech of INFRARED BEAMS!

There was Captain Power, Photon, and, most famously Lazer Tag! Which, if you don’t recall, was pretty much exactly what the name implies. Sets of futuristic guns that made the requisite “pew pew” noises could be purchased along with sensors that you could to attach to your body and would notify you if had been tagged… by a laser.

You and your friends would then run around the basement or backyard, pretending you were in Star Wars or The Terminator or some such thing, and proceed to never hit each other when you thought you ought to have (and vice-versa) provoking many fistfights and the revocation of any borrowed He-Man guys.

The makers of Halo 3 and Jasman Toys realize that there is still love for infrared beam weapons, and this week have teamed up to release the first in a series of Halo-themed light-guns, dubbed Halo Command.

The first two guns resemble those of the Covenant Plasma Pistol and Plasma Rifle, and from images and video we have seen, these aren’t your average fake alien guns. These are big, heavy-duty, recoiling, noise-making, over-heating fake alien guns. And we want them.

A set of two pistols will run you $80 and a set of giant rifles will set you back $130. Each includes a “shield generator” unit, which acts as the target you are aiming to blast furiously away at.

The Plasma Sword is expected later this year, though we aren’t sure how that would work. But who gives a shit. It’ll look awesome.