Hacking the PSP Blog

Call of Duty 3 for PSP

It seems that the Activision creation, Call of Duty 3, will also be offered for the PSP. We are actually caught off guard with this new development since we thought that CoD3 will only be offerred for the next-gen consoles, the Xbox360, the Wii and the PS3. Now it seems that a PSP version is on the way.

Slated to be released on Fall 2006, it is being offered at $49.99. Call of Duty 3 enables its future users to get closer than ever to the fury of combat as an Allied soldier in World War II’s most harrowing military operation, the Normandy Breakout Campaign.

Melee combat and destructible cover bring you face-to-face with German forces. Multiple attack routes mean you decide whether to flank your enemy or hit him head on. Varied terrain, next-gen graphics and sound, and a dramatic story deliver Call of Duty’s signature cinematic intensity.

This is great and all but there is one thing that bother us and that is the control...How you would aim with a dumb thumb analog on a tiny screen? This may be crazy but unpredictable...and most of the time, the combination of that two results to something good. Well, let's just wait and see about that.

Source: PSPUpdates

USB ISO Loader Released for Sony's PSP

According to a post on PSP-Spot, a user named Dark_AleX has released a tool for Sony's PSP that allows the hand-held device to load and play ISO files mounted on a desktop computer. The tool allows users to connect their PSPs via a USB cable and mount .iso files.  The PSP-Spot forum administrator claims the following:

- A bug originally from the UMDEMULATOR core has been found. UMDEMULATOR didn't handle the case where the string pointed by the parameter file (sceIoOpen, sceIoOpenAsync), or dev (sceIoDevctl) was not aligned to 4 bytes, causing an exception when that happened. That caused incompatibility with some games (Coded Arms, Mahjong Fight and maybe others), and some homebrews (FileAssistant++, Irshell and maybe others). Fixed. People, try again all the games that worked with Fastloader and not with UMDEmu to see if they work now. Thanks a lot to the person who discovered the bug, well done!!

Previously, users had to load a game ISO onto a Memory Stick and use a utility to custom load the file. Now with the tool called DAX ZISO, the Memory Stick limitation is removed. DailyTech previously reported that Sony had attempted to patch the firmware on its PSP to avoid further cracking by the community but the new firmware again ended up being cracked in a short period of time.

While the PSP is enjoying support by the user community -- although in a manner frowned upon by Sony -- the actual UMD disc format developed by Sony is suffering in terms of industry support and sales.

Download HERE

Source: Daily Tech

Off Topic: Detox Clinic Opening for Video Game Addicts!

An addiction center is opening Europe's first detox clinic for game addicts, offering in-house treatment for people who can't leave their joysticks alone.

Video games may look innocent, but they can be as addictive as gambling or drugs _ and just as hard to kick, says Keith Bakker, director of Amsterdam-based Smith & Jones Addiction Consultants.

Bakker already has treated 20 video game addicts, aged 13 to 30, since January. Some show withdrawal symptoms, such as shaking and sweating, when they look at a computer.

His detox program begins in July. It will run four to eight weeks, including discussions with therapists and efforts to build patients' interests in alternative activities.

"We have kids who don't know how to communicate with people face-to- face because they've spent the last three years talking to somebody in Korea through a computer," Bakker said. "Their social network has completely disappeared."

Read the entire article here.