As the title suggests, Ezio’s old friend and confidant is in trouble. Now Ezio has taken upon himself to rescue Leonardo Da Vinci. The Da Vinci Disappearance will include eight missions, which will be accessed through markers on your map of Rome (similar to the Copernicus Conspiracy). Ezio will also travel to two new locations and meet Leonardo’s assistant, Salai (who may not have as high of moral standards as Leonardo).

But we didn’t stop there, as we’ll be making updates to multiplayer, including adding four new playable characters. Check out our new trailer showing off some of the new assassins that will be available:

The Da Vinci Disappearance will also include one new map and two new modes. The new map will bring the battle of assassins to Alhambra, a multi-leveled Spanish city featuring outdoor and indoor areas. Also, we’ll be bringing a classic free-for-all death match mode called Assassinate and team mode called Escort where teams must protect/assassinate a VIP target.

Look for The Da Vinci Disappearance to go live on the PlayStation Store tomorrow. Also, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more Assassin’s Creed updates.

Later today, the Dead Space development team will be bringing an all-new experience to your PS3 with Dead Space 2: Severed! Dead Space 2: Severed will follow the story of Gabe Weller, one of the characters from Dead Space: Extraction, as he travels through the Sprawl on a mission to find and rescue his wife, Lexine. Gabe, who is a security officer by trade, will fight his way through the Titan Mines and the Hospital in a journey that will offer lots of new and exciting game-play for the Dead Space community.

Given that Gabe Weller is a security officer by trade, we wanted to create an experience that focused on his skill-set through pacing, game-play mechanics, as well as combat & level design. Gabe Weller will start off with a Pulse Rifle and a Seeker Rifle as his default weapons which will give players a new way to approach combat – he’s equipped to take the action to the Necromorph forces. From the beginning of the Severed experience players should notice the difference in game-play, and there will definitely be a number of curve balls for players throughout the chapters. One of the most exciting additions to the game is the “Twitcher” which was a character from the original Dead Space game who has returned in Severed – he’s extremely fast, eerie, sporadic, and difficult to dismember.

The development team has definitely worked long and hard on Severed in order to create an experience that’s frightening, packed full of action, and a ton of fun to play. We really hope that you enjoy playing Severed, and we’re looking forward to seeing how many people can earn all of the new Trophies within Severed!

Thank you for your continued support!

Dead Space 2 gets an afterlife tomorrow with the PSN release of Dead Space 2: Severed. This downloadable expansion picks up where PlayStation Move-enabled shooter Dead Space: Extraction left off, with (spoiler!) the escape of security officer Gabe Weller and surveyor Lexine Murdoch from the doomed colony of Aegis VII. Fate ultimately brings the pair to another very bad place: the Sprawl, otherwise known as the source of Dead Space 2’s Necromorph outbreak. While Issac Clarke is busy tracking down the Marker and battling his inner demons, Gabe is pursuing a more personal objective – locating Lexine, who’s been abandoned somewhere in the dark recesses of the station. Played through Gabe’s eyes, Severed brings a different perspective to the events of Dead Space 2 and fleshes out the backstory of both characters, complete with a few twists and turns for good measure.

I went hands-on with the first chapter of Severed in a guided tour narrated by Dead Space 2 Producer Scott Probst and Executive Producer Steve Papoutsis. Decked out in high-tech armor and packing a suped-up pulse rifle and ultra-precise Seeker Rifle, Gabe Weller is a bit more battle-ready than series everyman Issac Clarke. “We tailored the level layout and combat design around the fact that Gabe is a security officer,” Producer Scott Probst explains, “which makes Severed somewhat more action-focused.” Severed’s faster, more aggressive pacing is noted in its hair-raising battle sequences, and accelerated even further with the addition of a new Necromorph breed: the Twitcher.

Twitchers were introduced in the original Dead Space, and their blistering speed and spastic movements quickly made them among the game’s most-feared enemies. “Twitchers became fused with a Stasis module and it had an adverse effect,” Executive Producer Steve Papoutsis recalls. “Rather than slowing them down, it sped them up.” Though Twitchers were conspicuously absent in Dead Space 2, Severed drags these terrors back into the spotlight. The Twitchers in Severed live up to their name, bobbing and weaving around shots with unnerving ease. Combined with the brisker combat pacing, the Twitchers help give Severed a steeper difficulty that will keep Dead Space 2 veterans on their toes. “You’re getting a challenge, but you’re also getting a different experience,” Probst adds. “We wanted to offer something new and cool from a gameplay perspective.”

While the stronger action hook is a welcome change of pace, I suspect many players will ultimately play Severed to learn what happened to Gabe and Lexine after the events of Dead Space: Extraction. “It’s definitely worth playing Extraction before playing Severed,” Papoutsis notes. “But it’s not required. This story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.” Of course, PS3 owners have no excuses – Extraction is included with the limited edition of Dead Space 2. Whether Dead Space 2 will see further downloadable episodes that will expand the Dead Space fiction in other ways remains an open question. “We’ll see what people want,” Papoutsis says. “It depends on people’s appetite.”

Dead Space 2: Severed hits the PlayStation Store tomorrow for $6.99 with two new single-player chapters and new Trophies.

First up is The Fight Fitness Pack. Featuring an all-new workout based on variations of the tried and true gym exercises offered in the game, The Fight Fitness Pack helps you shape up with activities like shadow boxing, squat thrusts, lunges, circuit training and more. Whether you packed on a few extra pounds over the holidays or you just want the edge of a little extra training before you hit the underground fighting circuit, The Fight Fitness Pack is a must have for only $4.99.

Next, we’re hooking you up with The Fight Timesaver’s Pack, an all-access pass to everything The Fight: Lights Out has to offer, right out of the box. Available for $1.99, The Fight Timesaver’s Pack gives you instant access to all of the game’s unlockable features including new fighters to square off against, different dirty moves to use while taking down your opponents, new accessories and more.

If you’re new to The Fight: Lights Out, learn how to dominate the online competition using the game’s one-to-one control, dirty moves and training modes by watching this new trailer, available today on PSN in both 2D and full 3D.

Visit PSN to access our latest downloads, and be sure to check out both DLC packs when they hit the PlayStation Store later today.

Hey Sackpeople,

Congratulations to all!
Today’s the big day! After a long wait and being teased with all the amazing beta levels, LittleBigPlanet 2 is finally here, so, congratulations to Media Molecule and PlayStation! We know a lot of our fans will be there with us on day one. Will you? If not, FYI, you’ll miss out on getting the “1 week only” DLC – so don’t!

Little Big World Record
As we celebrate, don’t forget to tune into our live stream @ gamingworldrecord.com, or right here on the PS.Blog. Day 2 of our event is filled with interviews, activities, and Mm tutorials for your viewing pleasure.

@ Sony Style NY
And if you’re in the NY area, feel free to drop by at the PlayStation Lounge in Sony Style at 550 Madison and check us out in person. Join us for cool activities, chat with Media Molecule and even join our gaming marathon.

Check in with Sony
And as a special offer, for those of you who drop in and buy the game, be sure to check in at the Sony Style Store Foursquare page and get an autographed cover from Media Molecule and Limited Edition DLC. Just Show up, check in and claim your gift.

Visit the Sony Facebook page for more details!

Today’s the day all our amazing PlayStation 3 fans can get their hands on Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam. This expansion pack to Battlefield: Bad Company 2 adds new maps, weapons, vehicles and trophies, all set to a two hour soundtrack of period-typical songs, making for one dynamic tour of duty.

Along with all of this great content comes a challenge to you, our PS3 audience, directly from Battlefield developer DICE called The Battle for Hastings. This challenge asks players to complete 69 million support actions within Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam, which will unlock the fifth map to be found in the expansion, Operation Hastings.

Get ready to do your part in The Battle for Hastings and download Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for the PS3 today! And while you’re at it, take advantage of our newly dropped prices on Onslaught (now $4.99), Shortcut Kit ($14.99), and in case you haven’t picked up the variety of free multiplayer maps through our VIP Pass, you can now pick that up for just $9.99.

Dead Space 2 Demo Infests PSN Today

by Jay Frechette, Community Manager, Visceral Games

Hello Dead Space fans! Today the single player demo for Dead Space 2 is available on the PlayStation Store! We can’t wait for you guys to play it and wanted to share a couple details of what to expect.

In the Dead Space 2 demo, you will take engineer Isaac Clarke on a terrifying adventure through the Church of Unitology, what appears to be a sanctuary quickly turns dangerous and deadly, during the Necromorph outbreak on the Sprawl. You’ll have access to a variety of new tools, including the new Javelin gun that has an electrifying secondary attack, the updated stasis recharge mechanic and enhanced telekinesis ability. Don’t forget to stop at the Store to change into the advanced suit, equipped with jets that will allow Isaac full 360-degree control in zero-g space! We hope you enjoy it and pick up Dead Space 2 when it’s released on 1/25/2011.

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit: Super Sports Pack hits PSN today

by Spenser Norrish, Community Coordinator, EA

One of the fastest street legal race cars ever manufactured has joined the pursuit! The GUMPERT Apollo S—as well as the equally awesome Porsche 911 GT2 RS and Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport—is now available in Need For Speed Hot Pursuit via the Super Sports Pack. This DLC (available for $6.99) also brings 13 new events and 11 new Trophies into the fray.

Mass Effect 2 PS3 demo arrives today on PSN

by Jarrett Lee

Today marks the first time PlayStation 3 gamers will be able to experience the Mass Effect universe. The demo for Mass Effect 2 has arrived, allowing players to experiment with character creation (which will you chose: play as the iconic John Shepard or your own customized Commander Shepard?), play through the opening levels of the game, and even jump to an area further into the game to try out some of the more intense combat areas and see the kinds of amazing locations that can be visited throughout the story.

Mass Effect 2 for the PS3 is the most advanced Unreal Engine game shipped to date, and makes full use of the PS3’s hardware to bring this BioWare-created universe to life in spectacular detail. In fact, it was built on the same engine being used to build the recently announced Mass Effect 3! Here’s your chance to see it for yourself – and don’t forget that after the holiday the full game arrives on PS3 January 18th – including six hours of bonus missions, and an interactive digital comic designed by BioWare and Dark Horse Comics to introduce new players to the franchise. The digital comic allows players to make key choices about their back-story that will be reflected during their game.

And that’s not all!

Starting today, EA is happy to offer you the following add-ons for some of your favorite games at a lower price!

• Dante’s Inferno – Trials of St. Lucia, $4.99
• Burnout Paradise add-on content
• Big Surf Island, $6.99
• Legendary Cars Collection, $4.99
• Cops & Robbers, $4.99
• Boost Specials Collection, $4.99
• Party Pack, $4.99
• Toy Collection, $6.99
• Toy Car Collection 1, $4.99
• Toy Car Collection 2, $4.99

If that weren’t enough, you will now be able to use all of the boss characters as well as the main man, Duke, to use in both online and offline multiplayer modes as part of the Duke DLC pack.

The patch will soon be available to download when you start up the game and the Duke DLC will be available from PlayStation Store in December.

The Fight: Lights Out is a brand new type of fighting game. It puts your moves and your actions directly into the game, with an unprecedented level of freedom. Your own skill is the only limit.

But as with all great new things, there is, of course, some great new rules and details to learn. Freedom is better when you know what to do with it, so we’ve put together these little bonus tutorials to help everyone get to grips with this wholly new way to play fighting games. For more helpful videos, click here.

First, the numbers …

As mentioned earlier, the Reverse Course DLC is also now available on the Playstation Store. If you are hungry for more Disc Golf content this is definitely for you. We’ve taken all 18 holes and re-worked them for a fresh new compelling gameplay experience. But it’s much more than just an aesthetic difference of swapping the tees and the baskets – everything about how you play changes. You’ll need to come up with new strategies to master this course – tee shots, obstacles, hazards, where to lay up, shortcuts – basically everything. Check out a couple example holes for a taste of what we mean.

We thought these stats were pretty interesting and useful, and we hope you agree. It lets us know what you like and maybe where we need to improve. Thanks to all of you, we have a better idea of what to focus on next. With the past and current out of the way, please help us look to the future to get even better!

It’s been just over two weeks since HOARD released, and thousands of gamers have been getting their flame on while toasting villages, incinerating knights, crisping thieves, and kidnapping the occasional princess!

Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, with many surprised at just how addictive and deep the dragon “stratecade” (strategy arcade) experience is. Ars Technica says HOARD “will keep you scorching villages for hours on end” while IGN boasts, “burninating the countryside is definitely a lot of fun.” Joystiq says it perhaps best of all: “There is a sparkling gem of gameplay here.”

However, the game was not entirely without its rough edges, and there are a few issues we’ve been monitoring which need a little tweaking. Your feedback at HOARDgame.com has been very important to us, and we’re happy to confirm that we’ll be addressing most of those issues in an upcoming patch!

The patch will include:

• Eye Strain Begone — We’ll be increasing tutorial and badge text size for less squintyness. 20/10 vision no longer required!
• Lasting Friendship — The multiplayer lobby will now be persistent. After finishing a game, you’ll return to the game setup lobby so you can easily play again with the same people. If you want to back out and de-friend them, that’s now on your conscience!
• Leaderboard Glitch No-More — Certain co-op games were not posting leaderboard scores correctly. This sometimes leads to improper scores being posted on the main HOARD Rank leaderboard. That will be fixed, and although the HOARD Rank leaderboard will be reset, you won’t lose any progress—the first time you play a new game of any type, your HOARD Rank will be reposted without delay!
• Anti-Royal Bias — This badge wasn’t reliably triggering. We fixed it. Yay!
• That One Exploit is Fixed — There was a certain little exploit involving a specific power-up that could be abused by some sneaky people, and it is now fixed! We’re not telling!
• Which Map? — During game setup, some people were getting confused about whether their map selection was confirmed or not. We modified to make it more obvious.
• A Little This, a Little That — Various tweaks and improvements throughout.

And because we love you, we’re throwing in a couple bonus goodies as well:

• Deathspin — A new HOARD map will be included, absolutely free. Try your hand at surviving in a terrible spiral of DOOOOOM! Check out Deathspiral in the video above.
• Purple Princesses — Princesses worth 3,000 gold or more will show up in a purple dress (instead of pink), so you can quickly assess which lady you’d like to pursue even in the heat of the battle.
• Friendly Competition — Sort leaderboards by your friends list, so you can always make sure you’re a step better than the rest of your social circle.

We’re finishing up the patch now and hope to see it go live within the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned, and thanks for HOARDing! Oh yeah—if you aren’t playing HOARD yet, what are you waiting for? In the words of Platform Nation, “Buy this game right now. Right. NOW.”

‘Nuff said!

The Bionic Swarm campaign continues where Comet Crash left off. Enemy forces have resurrected with improved defenses and advanced technology. To defeat them you will battle your way through 16 action packed levels that span across two new environments.

In Bionic Swarm you will expand the abilities of Basic Ops units and unlock advanced weapons with the Research tower. Scouts and Tanks are morphed into hideous and powerful swarm creatures. Drones are upgraded into vicious Kamikazes that hurl themselves into enemy air units. One of the most exciting additions in Bionic Swarm and the highlight of today’s new video footage – Missiles – obliterate clusters of enemy buildings and units with one strike. Missile Defense systems also help to protect territories of your choice. Players will see mass clusters of missiles streaking toward their targets, decimating the metallic swarm creatures in devastating attacks that players will need to master.

New health upgrades for your ship allow you to navigate the deadliest of enemy territory and carry out your nefarious plot. You might be able to cause some serious damage!

Here is a quick rundown of the new content offered in Comet Crash: Bionic Swarm:

• 16 challenging campaign levels across 2 new environments
• 10 more battle maps on the new environments
• 4 new towers, including the Harvester and Missile Silo
• Research facility to unlock new weapons and units for late-game strategies
• 11 new trophies

Additionally the free update adds the following:

• 4 new Battle maps
• Option to select between an assortment of player ship colors
• Graphics enhancements

Thanks to all of the avid Comet Crash fans who have taken time to send us tons of great feedback and creative suggestions!