Archive for the ‘Featured Post’ Category
Valkyria Chronicles II Coming to PSP Later this Summer
Posted by Jeff Rubenstein in Featured Post, PlayStation Games, psp, sega, valkyria chronicles II on July 29th, 2010
Valkyria Chronicles is one of those hidden gems from the early-ish days of the PS3; a strategy-RPG with third-person shooter controls and stunning anime styling. If you’re into any of those genres (or World War II, for that matter), I highly recommend you procure a copy.
While Valkyria Chronicles didn’t top the sales charts, it inspired intense fandom among many who played it (be prepared to open your wallet wide if you want to get ahold of the detailed Valkyria figurines coming out of Japan). Like many of these fans, I’m particularly excited about the prospect of carrying the game’s sequel with me for most of the 2nd half of this year.
So I took the short trip to Sega’s US HQ to play an English build of Valkyria Chronicles 2 for PSP, and report back to you. VC2 may be shrunk down to portability, but there are significant advancements in this sequel, including multiplayer.
We’ll have more details on Valkyria Chronicles II soon.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta Comic-Con Panel, New “Midas” Video
Posted by Eric Levine in Events, Featured Post, PlayStation Games, god of war ghost of sparta, psp, ready at dawn studios on July 27th, 2010
This past week was Comic-Con in San Diego – a gathering of all things relating to pop culture, from gaming to movies to television, and everything in between. The Ghost of Sparta development team headlined a Comic-Con panel called “The World that is God of War” in which they discussed details about the new game. Watch the video below to catch the panel.
Dana Jan (game director), Derek Mulder (lead gameplay programmer), Nathan Phail-Liff (art director), and Adam Byrne (lead animator) from Ready At Dawn Studios performed a live demo, along with a brief Q&A session for more than 250 fans and media in attendance.
Also, we were thrilled to include God of War: Ghost of Sparta in the Comic-Con festivities beginning with an unveil of new gameplay footage on SPIKE’s Friday night GameTrailers TV episode. Watch it for yourself below.
We’re calling this footage the “Midas Moment” since is depicts Kratos’s battle against King Midas. The terrain in the environment is volcanic with lava all around, providing a great glimpse into another part of the world Kratos will explore in Ghost of Sparta and another example of the breathtaking aesthetics found in the game. This scene also shows off a more immersive “in your face” battle with up-close and personal brutality. It cinematically presents the brutal, bulldozing force that Kratos exerts to obliterate each and every obstacle in his path (a la the Poseidon kill in God of War III). And with the inclusion of King Midas, it seamlessly integrates another popular character from Greek mythology into the God of War universe.
Twisted Metal Returns! Eat Sleep Play Speaks Today
Posted by Jeff Rubenstein in Featured Post, PS3, PlayStation Games, comic-con10, eat sleep play, twisted metal on July 23rd, 2010
If you recall our E3 press conference (of course you do), the new Twisted Metal game owned the trademark showstopping reveal. Soon after, I sat down with Eat Sleep Play’s David Jaffe and Scott Campbell for a candid talk about what bringing Sweet Tooth and company to PS3 will mean for you gamers.
There’s actually a lot more from that conversation, so maybe we’ll have to do an unedited director’s cut some time down the line…
If you want to hear more from David and Scott soon, you’re in luck: they’ll be speaking *today* at Comic-Con. They’ll be revealing some of the characters of the new game, share early looks at the game’s twisted end stories, and show concept art of ideas that never saw the light of day.
The “Twisted Metal Returns!” panel starts at 1PM this afternoon in Room 8. It should be awesome in person but, if you’re not going to be able to make it to Comic-Con, we’ll be recording it and sharing highlights with you next week.
The Midway Comes to PlayStation Home + Massive Independence Day Event, Alpha Protocol, Toy Story 3 Items & More!
Posted by Locust_Star in Featured Post, PSN, PlayStation Home, PlayStation Network, Toy Story 3, alpha protocol, sodium one on June 30th, 2010
If you came out to the Los Angeles Convention Center a few weeks back and managed to catch up with GlassWalls and me in the PlayStation E3 Booth (err…complex), chances are you got a glimpse at a new suite of games packed into one convivial space known as Midway. And chances are you asked us when it was going to be released. And chances are we gave you a wink and a sly smile and said “soon.”
It’s funny how quickly “soon” turns to “tomorrow” in the rapidly-growing world of PlayStation Home. As the holiday weekend approaches us (and with it, all those extra hours to play our favorite games), we figured tomorrow would be the perfect time to launch what is easily one of the most epic gaming experiences to ever be released in PlayStation Home.
The Midway — available Thursday, July 1st — launches with 10 games, over a hundred rewards (including the Darla’s Den personal space), and plenty of secrets that you will have to uncover for yourself as you progress through this massive new game space. Simply collect your tickets from the kiosk at the entrance to the Midway and embark on a journey where a new reward is unlocked for every level of every game you master. Hang out in the space for long enough and you can even be rewarded with more plays for your favorite games (or the ultimate bragging rights at the Meet Darla photo booth). You can even collect exclusive arcade-style games like Trigger Happy-in-a-Box for the Darla’s Den personal space! Just enter the hilarious Tele-Porta-Potty in PlayStation Home’s Central Plaza to access the Midway when it launches this week.
For a holiday as important as Independence Day, we wanted to make sure we delivered the best event we possibly could to you, the loyal PlayStation Home community. And we wanted to make sure that both Canadians and Americans got an ample opportunity to celebrate – hence, Captain Kablooey’s Boombastic Bonanza! Simply head to the Central Plaza on Canada Day (Thursday, July 1st) and/or the 4th of July to participate in the festivities by playing the brand new Independence Day game with your friends, unlocking exclusive rewards (that you’ll have to see to believe), and then using those rewards to unlock progressively bigger and badder fireworks displays for the enjoyment of all onlookers. It’s easily one of the largest and most awesome events we’ve ever thrown — and it will only be available for a limited time — so come out to Central Plaza and show your national pride Home-style.
This week also plays host to some serious updates in the PlayStation Home Mall — with the highly-anticipated Active 8 Apartment UFO (which we’ve heard has a penchant for cattle abductions), new Independence Day-themed items from the Sodium store, full Woody, Jessie, and Zurg costumes from Toy Story 3 (and a bunch of furniture to boot), and tons of Alpha Protocol clothing items (including Michael Thornton, Sie, and Scarlet Lake costumes). So be sure to head to the PlayStation Home Mall this Thursday to keep your collection complete with these awesome new items.
See you in Home!
Introducing thatgamecompany’s Journey
Posted by Kellee Santiago in Featured Post, PS3, PlayStation Games, journey, thatgamecompany on June 17th, 2010
We are really excited to officially announce our current thatgamecompany project, Journey.
The inspiration for Journey came from Jenova Chen’s feeling that in the modern world where man has so much power, we have lost an integral aspect of the human experience – awe towards the unknown. And we can see this in our video games as well. But don’t take it from me! Here’s Jenova to talk about it more:
In today’s society, man is powerful – We can travel at 60 mph; we can fly; we can connect with just about anyone, anywhere, at anytime. But on the street, people pass by each other ignoring the wonderful existence of other beings. We are overwhelmed by the attention needed to gain and execute our own power – just like we are in most video games. While we are doing that, we can become isolated and insecure deep inside our mind.
On the contrary, when we are hiking in the wild, we become tiny and weak again. These feelings make every other person we encounter much more important and enjoyable. We greet them, giving them genuine and useful help. We might travel together for a period, learn from and rely on each other. Struggling against the dangerous nature together, somehow, makes us warm and powerful inside. (This doesn’t make any rational sense, but somehow that’s how I feel. And I’m sure many of us do.) While most video games offer the sense of empowerment in the online gaming experience, we felt the player will pay more attention to the other players if they are less distracted by the power, and the online gaming experience will be quite unique if it carries the feeling of awe towards the unknown.
In a world where the majority of the players are distracted by technology, evoking a sense of awe and mystery could be very refreshing and powerful.
To realize these goals, we aimed to create a world that feels vast and somewhat unfamiliar. And so the game begins with a character waking up in a desert, with no clues as to what might have happened before or what will happen later. There’s only a tall mountain in the distance, beckoning the player to set out and explore.
As you travel through the world, you may encounter a stranger who is on his or her own journey. But we don’t want to talk too much about the online experience right now. In part, because we really don’t want to inform your own experience of it; also, because we really enjoy seeing what happens when experiences come without explanation. But there’s plenty of time left for us to talk about it in the future…
One thing is for certain: we love getting to talk about a new project! It means that we can’t just navel-gaze about our own work anymore. It’s out there. You’re responding to it! And it also means we’re that much closer to getting the game into your hands. So we’d like to extend a HUGE thanks to everyone who has already expressed words of encouragement – they really do help!
MLB 10 The Show Pitches In To Support “Stand Up To Cancer”
Posted by Eric Levine in Featured Post, PS3, PlayStation Games, mlb 10 the show, san diego studios on June 10th, 2010
Baseball fans –
As we approach the MLB All-Star break, I’d like to tell you all about an important partnership that SCEA is involved in this summer. We are teaming up with Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and Major League Baseball (MLB) to aid in the fight against cancer. Beginning June 13 through July 10, for every copy of MLB 10 The Show purchased for PS3 in US retail stores, SCEA will donate $10 of its proceeds to SU2C to fuel research centered on getting new treatments to patients quickly and saving lives.
With Father’s Day approaching in just over a week, MLB 10 The Show provides the perfect gift for the baseball fanatic dad in your family. Not only will fans get the most authentic and realistic sports game around, but it will also allow them to join the ever-growing SU2C community to raise awareness and support for cancer research. Major League Baseball is a founding partner of SU2C and has been continuing to support in the years since. We’re thrilled to join them in this fight and hope we can inspire others in the industry to do the same.
Welcome to The Show!
MAG Interdiction DLC on June 22
Posted by Jeremy Dunham in Featured Post, MAG, PS3, PlayStation Games, dlc, zipper on June 8th, 2010
It’s been just over four and a half months since MAG released worldwide and 930,000 battles, 1.7 million players, and 1.1 billion kills later, the time to expand is now.
Yes friends, everyone here at Zipper Interactive is proud to announce that beginning June 22, our first expansion pack, dubbed “Interdiction,” will be available to players all over the world for $9.99 US (prices in other regions may vary).
“But what’s in it,” you say? Well, for starters, we’re introducing a brand new gametype that we’re calling (what else?) “Interdiction.” Built for up to 128 simultaneous players, Interdiction challenges two rival factions to be attackers and seize control of three command posts with the aid of several heavily-armed convoys on three brand new maps (Lake Bayano Spur, Sovot Motorway, and Iron Cree Quarry). To make it even more interesting, we’ve made all three maps completely faction neutral – allowing all sides to play any map whenever they want – in addition to supplying every squad with their own APC vehicle (that’s 16 APCs on the map at once!). To win, players must capture and hold as many objectives as possible to increase their score while concurrently depleting their enemy’s. In short, Interdiction mode = crazy battlefield mayhem.
A new gametype and three new maps isn’t all we’re packing either. As an extra bonus, we’re also adding the ultimate in MAG protection, our “Heavy Improved” armor set. Trust us when we say that it doesn’t matter if you’re Raven, Valor, or SVER — if you don the Heavy Improved armor consider yourself a walking tank.
Oh, and one other thing, to reward you for spending your hard-earned dollars on our new DLC, we’ll also be including a handful of brand new in-game medals, ribbons and trophies! What are they? Glad you asked!
Ribbons
- Jump Start – Capture 2 Command Posts in a round of Interdiction
- Mowing the Grass – Get 10 kills with a vehicle turret in one round
- Dashed Hopes – Destroy 2 mines with gunfire in one round
- Cannonball Rally – Become an MVP (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) in a round of Interdiction
Medals
- Roadside Assistance – Capture 10 Interdiction control points over your career
- Landscape Architect – Get 50 kills with a vehicle turret over your career
- BOD – Destroy 20 mines with gunfire over your career
- Designated Driver – Earn 5 Interdiction MVPs over your career
Trophies
- King of the Hills (Bronze) – Earn the Roadside Assistance medal while playing Interdiction
- Red Ball Express (Silver) – Earn the Designated Driver medal while playing Interdiction
- Road Runner (Gold) – Capture 3 Interdiction control points in a single round
And that’s the Interdiction Pack. Again, you can pick it up for $9.99 starting June 22, but don’t think that we’re stopping there – we still have a lot planned for MAG in the coming months. In the meantime, check out gaming sites like IGN for more on what we have in store!
UNCHARTED 2: New Multiplayer Playlist “The Lab,” and new PSN Avatars
Posted by Mick Perona in Featured Post, PS3, PlayStation Games, PlayStation Network, PlayStation Store, naughty dog, uncharted 2 on May 27th, 2010
Hey Everyone, Are you itching for some more multiplayer mayhem? Well, you’re in luck!
This weekend – May 28 to June 1 – we’re introducing a new playlist that will mix things up and maybe, possibly lead to updates or additions to the existing playlists in competitive Matchmaking. We’re calling this playlist “The Lab.”
We’ll be running “The Lab” Playlist roughly every other weekend for the foreseeable future.
During each weekend “The Lab” is active, we’ll be running a playlist featuring one or more custom-tuned gametype variations from the tons of variables we can tweak in our multiplayer gameplay settings.
Here’s the current schedule and description for the first event in our “The Lab” Playlist series:
May 28 – June 1
2 vs. 2 Team Deathmatch
Grab a partner for this small- to medium-size map mow-down. You’ve got 15 minutes to rack up 25 kills, or more than the other team, to prove your small-team superiority. I’m going to recommend now that you’re going to want pick a reliable teammate you want to play with over the weekend…
Of course, to commemorate the launch of “The Lab” Playlist program will be a Double Cash Weekend!
Starts: Friday, May 28, 10:00 AM PDT
Ends: Tuesday, June 1, 10:00 AM PDT
As with our previous Double Cash Weekend, the per match cash limit has also been raised to $150,000 maximum per match.
Head on over to NaughtyDog.com for the full schedule of the “The Lab” playlists, as well as to learn where you can chat in the forums to give your feedback on these new events, as well as get information on updated play schedules.
BRAND NEW PSN AVATARS AVAILABLE NOW!
And that’s not all; don’t miss out on our brand new UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves avatar bundles for PSN we released this Tuesday on the PlayStation Store! We are so excited to be able to bring these new avatars for your PSN ID’s, we know how badly you’ve been wanting to update your avatars, and now you can show off your UNCHARTED pride in style!
The UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves Avatar Pack #1 includes Nathan Drake, Elena Fisher, Victor Sullivan, [Cameraman] Jeff, and Karl Schafer. And Pack #2 delivers Chloe Frazier, Tenzin, Zoran Lazarevic, Harry Flynn, and the Phurba Dagger!
Hurry over to the PlayStation Store and download these avatars for $0.49 cents each, or grab the avatar bundles to collect all 10 and save some moolah!
LittleBigPlanet – The Last “Sack It To Me”…
Posted by Mark Valledor in Featured Post, PS3, PlayStation Games, lbpdlc, littlebigplanet, littlebigplanet 2, media molecule on May 21st, 2010
Craftworld fans! Welcome to the final version of “Sack it to me” (actually not really…see LittleBigChallenge below). Lots of mini-updates to catch everyone up on so here goes:
Available Tuesday 5/25…
…for LBP (PS3):
- ModNation Racers ($1.99) – To celebrate the release of ModNation on Tuesday, May 25th, we’ll be releasing a special ModNation Racers “Tag” costume for your Sackboy w/ some extra stickers to make your level tributes to ModNation!
…for LBP (PSP):
- SackCircus Costume (FREE) – Who doesn’t love clowns! Especially Free ones. Head on over to the PSP store and grab this free costume from the Sack Circus Extravaganza Pack
- Sack Circus Extravaganza Pack ($2.99) – Available this Tuesday, download a new set of costumes and CREATE materials to create your own LittleBigPlanet PSP Islands levels! The extraordinary Sack Circus Extravaganza Pack offers 4 fantastic costumes, and 12 great new stickers to give your levels all the razzmatazz they need.
Also, if you missed the announcement last week, don’t forget to check out the super-duper cool Turbo! Level Kit available for LBP PSP. Tons of great new vehicles to fill your LBP PSP worlds with.
LittleBigChallenge
Need a bit of help from our LittleBigCommunity. Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere – we’ll still be here to provide community updates on all things LittleBigPlanet. Whether its community, new items, random internet findings, we plan to bring it to you…but as our audience gets bigger and bigger, and with LBP2 on the horizon, even bigger and broader, we’re looking to re-name our “Sack-it-to-me” posts to something better!!! Any ideas? If you do, add them to your comments below…
Here’s you chance to win a PlayStation PSP 3000 system!
- The MacArthur Foundations’s LittleBigPlanet Kids Competition has been extended to May 28th. If you’re below the age of 18 and want a chance to win a new PSP. Click on over for more details
- PlayStation HOME – We’ve been having so much fun in the new LittleBigPlanet HOME space, we wanted to make sure everyone knew to drop by PlayStation Home to check it out. Make sure you jump in and play the “Snap Happy” challenge and make your own XMB wallpaper!
- Sackboy in ModNation Racers – We just got copies of ModNation Racers in the office and can’t wait to start Racing, Creating and Sharing. I’m sure you all know that in specially stickered copies of ModNation, you get a free voucher code inside for a Sackboy costume + Craftworld Kart. And while opening our copy, we realized there was one more freebie not mentioned…the actual sticker from the wrapper :)
- Mm Doodling – the MediaMolecule staff is a sneaky bunch and managed to capture fellow Molecule, Rex, in the doodling zone. Love the video!
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – Back to his (PS2) roots
Posted by Graeme Jennings in Featured Post, PS3, PlayStation Games, Trailers, prince of persia, prince of persia: the forgotten sands, ubisoft on May 13th, 2010
Hi everyone, my name is Graeme Jennings and I’m the producer for Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands on PlayStation 3. With the game coming out so soon and everyone at Ubisoft excited to see what you guys thought of it, we wanted to get your opinions on the PlayStation.Blog and have the chance to answer some questions you guys might have for us.
To start off, let me explain a little about Forgotten Sands. The first thing I wanted to mention is to let you all know that this is not a game based on the Sands of Time film, in fact, we are bringing the prince back to the roots from the PlayStation 2 era by having this game take place in the seven year gap between Sands of Time and Warrior Within. We think you’ll notice a lot of reminiscent elements of the original trilogy in Forgotten Sands.
Some other things we’re extremely excited to talk about are the elemental powers and epic battles that take place n the game. Thanks to new innovations in technology we are able to pull off huge battles, from a boss that’s over 30 feet tall to fights with up to 50 enemies on the screen at once; the Prince definitely has his work cut out for him in this one. We are also providing the Prince with new powers over the elements, abilities like being able to solidify water to climb on it, creating a trail of fire behind you, and blasting enemies away with a tornado to name a few.
Finally as an added bonus for PlayStation users, if players connect their PSP and PS3 together, they will unlock extra experience points to put towards upgrading the Prince’s arsenal.
So if you have any questions for us on Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands feel free to ask them and we’ll do our best to answer. One of the best opportunities to see how we did with a game is to hear it directly from you. Thanks, hope you all enjoy the game!