Sony and Bigbig Studios have touted Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice for the PlayStation Portable as one of this season's biggest releases. The game was recently launched and we had the chance to play through it. Is it as good as they say it is? We'll ram through the details hard and fast in the full review after the jump.

In just a few more hours, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice from BigBig Studios for the PSP will be made available at your local retailer.

If you're up for more info before the launch, we're letting you know that the game's devs have released a few more details regarding The Raiders, The Syndicate, and Viper. The info's up ahead in the full article.

If anything, this week is a premonition. Last week was big since it saw No More Heroes and Burnout Paradise, and a good crop is in store this time to keep you mildly distracted before next week's high-profile titles. Electronic Arts is dishing out another fun expansion in form of The Sims 2: Castaway Stories, and Sony Computer Entertainment America's (SCEA) Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice for the PlayStation Portable is finally heading to North America. For more game releases this week, head over to the full article!

More high speed action coming your way: four new gameplay videos have arrived for Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice. Lots of action in this batch of videos as the hero does some high speed chases on land and water. Check out the full article for the videos!

You've been briefed about the Convicts, now you better get informed about the Raiders, who will try to make your copper job hard in BigBig Studios' Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice. The video in the full article!

Waiting for more information on Sony Computer Entertainment and BigBig Studios' Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice? If you are, then you might want to check out The Convicts video which shows off some of the bad guys you have to arrest in the game.

If you want to see the video, don't hesitate to follow the "read more" link below to get to the full article.

Waiting for more news on BigBig Studios' Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice? Well, Sony Computer Entertainment of America's Assistant Producer Greg Lutton revealed more details about the game, showed a new trailer video, and announced the opening of the official site.

Want to find out more about this? Feel free to head on over to the full article.

BigBig Studios Lead Designer Chris Whiteside was recently interviewed regarding Playstation Portable video game Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice. He shared that while some of their team members had earned their experiences with Codemasters before, the Pursuit Force franchise has been a total and new learning process.

"Getting the in-game jumping mechanic right was a huge challenge because we didn't have any reference points. It was a real learning process. Going into this game though, we felt a lot more confident and focused in terms of what we wanted to make," shared Whiteside.

Whiteside also said that several tweaks were made in Extreme Justice gameplay mechanics. A lot of gamers reportedly had problems focusing on one aspect of the game such as taking down a car, giving them little time to accomplish other goals. He explained:

We want to give the player more time to strategise. Hopefully you won't notice it but we've segmented the game up so at one point, you'll be focused on shooting at a vehicle from range and won't be too concerned about your driving. At other times, you'll have to concentrate more on your driving style.

The control scheme of Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice was also changed a bit to make the title more responsive and immersive. Whiteside takes pride on the hybrid first-person shooter control system that provides gamers with a roving lock-on targeting system and an advanced aiming mode. The lead designer discussed:

This lets you strafe left and right but you can't move forward and backwards. It's based on the action from films like Heat. You don't see people running around and shooting all over the place. It's a more measured approach, where you find cover, fire, and then move onto the next piece of cover.

These certainly are welcome changes and additions to Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice and we can't wait to get our hands on it when the game hits PSPs this coming November.

 

Though many great things emerged from Sony Computer Entertainment International's (SCEI) press conference at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, CEO Kazuo Hirai's main keynote focused on what Sony has planned for the PlayStation world. The keynote highlighted an extension of the PlayStation 2 life, the broadening of the PlayStation Portable's entertainment capabilities, and the PlayStation 3's power extending its future.

DualShock 3, PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home, and closer developer bonds aside, Hirai revealed to investors at the conference that they were serious about delivering quality games to the PS3. Sony has announced the acquisition of Evolution Studios (MotorStorm) together with its subsidiary Bigbig Studios (Pursuit Force). They will join Sony Computer Entertainment's (SCE) World Wide Studios (WWS) development force.

As for new business opportunities, Sony will continue dipping into online-offered PS3 games, which already includes the likes of Incognito's Warhawk. Gran Turismo 5 will soon follow suit as well, plus the fact that the online PC portal for the PlayStation Store is already up in Japan.

Hirai also underlined their focus on entertainment and utility possibilities for Sony PSPs, stating that the 1Seg TV Tuner, camera, and GPS add-ons were developed for this purpose. And with the advent of the PlayStation Store PC portal, SCEI hopes to expand online content for PSPs worldwide.

PlayStation 2 gamers can hope for a longer life of their current generation console, for Sony is not planning on leaving it just yet. Seven years into its life, 120 million units of the PS2 has already shipped worldwide - and the numbers are still increasing - proving to Sony that a great expanse of the world is satisfied with its entertainment value. Games will continue to come out for it, says Sony, and the platform will be supported longer than the first PlayStation.

Sony Computer Entertainment has given word that they have purchased Evolution Studios Ltd. and its subsidiary Bigbig Studios. This move adds both MotorStorm and Pursuit Force into Sony's stable, further strengthening the company's IPs. The acquisitions of Sony have very good track records, with Evolution Studios shipping a game yearly over a span of six years.

SCE World Wide Studios President Phil Harrison commented on the company's newest investment and how it fits into their plans, pointing out that the company's current strategy focuses on creating "the best games by working with the best talent and Evolution and Bigbig are world class additions to the team."

No word was given on how much Sony paid for both companies, or how long before they expect to recuperate their initial cash outlay. We'll just have to wait and see if their purchase was worth the money in the long run.