Emergency 4

Emergency 4 has landed in the US, but we’re waiting for confirmation on whether or not this follow-up will ever be a reality. The original Emergency series was a strange look at what was a world of serious emergency services and, with its third instalment having recently been released in Japan, is a ripe for a new take on the series.

But that’s not all, with the latest instalment having arrived on select Toshiba TVs in the US - this time, the second and third instalments have received an HDMI port, so you can plug a network stream into the TV using this model.

Cable support is also available with the exception of three of the channels included in the update - the PSP-3000. If you want to watch the videos on the PS3, you can also buy a USB stick to get the same stuff as the latest instalment.

The first Emergency 4 title launched last year, with a story mode that detailed how the emergency services had collapsed. In the UK, this mode was nothing more than a sort of a teaser to let you know the events in which they were taking place.

But the update for the US saw more additions including a Mission mode, a tutorial and a new Play Disc option.

It’s worth noting that Sony didn’t go into specifics about how the function worked in the USA, although they did say that it will be possible to change the Play Disc in the US to USB.

We're talking 30 of these things if you want to see what's on offer in this update. Well, I'm assuming not much, but they're all in the order listed on the 'games' section.

In the US, the only games to get a bit more extensive are SOCOM 3, which has now come out for the PS3, as well as two PSone classics: SOCOM: Confrontation and SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3.

Meanwhile, in the UK, you can now download three PSone Classics to your PS3 with the PS3's camera, plus a handful of PSP titles: Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Spy Hunter 2: Birth To ambush, Pro Evolution Soccer 5, and Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai. You can also get a sneak peek at the PSP Minis promotion, which provides demos of a bunch of different kinds of games.

Finally, in Japan, Sony has added some support for the PSP, and a PSP firmware update was released yesterday that increases the resolution of some titles. The most notable feature of the update is the addition of music playback on the PSP's Presario menu, which should allow you to watch a song without having to download anything to the PSP's hard drive.

For a comprehensive list of new features and other tweaks to the PSP, check out GameSpot's full review of the PS3's firmware update.

THE JUGG-NASTANDING PS3 ENVIR

SCEA showed off more information about the PSP, its new software lineup, and what to expect from the platform in the coming months.

GameSpot: Sony's debut lineup was pretty solid. With the launch of the PSP, how will the system hold up against other home consoles, both in the US and Japan? Will the system receive a stable debut, and if so, how will it compare to the rest of the systems?

Tekken and Pro Evolution Soccer series' big sister series, Winning Eleven, were on hand for the first time at the Tokyo Game Show. The publisher also took the opportunity to show off some of its more kid-friendly titles, such as Kumajō Monogatari DS for the PSP.

GS: Will the US launch of the PSP be staggered, or a gradual one?

PM: Due to the steep price of the console, Japanese consumers may prefer the US launch. However, in the US, there will be two versions of the console: the Japanese version. The US launch will be one with two different SKUs, and the European one will have two SKUs.

GS: So how will the US launch of the PSP differ from that of the North American launch?

PM: No, there are no differences. The new model will have 2GB of RAM, which is not too dissimilar from the PSP and the PlayStation 2. In the US, the higher RAM version will also feature 2GB of RAM, which is not too dissimilar from the PS2.

GS: Was it a challenge working with Konami to implement a PSP touch-screen, or something you'd like to do?

PM: Not really, but in a very Japanese way. In order to get the input and handling of the device to work, the designers had to incorporate that into the touch-screen. There is a lot of work involved in the touch-screen and the hardware itself.