What an outstanding event it was for PlayStation at the Game Developers Conference last week. With big reveals and news on Resistance 3, SOCOM 4, inFamous 2, Mortal Kombat and UNCHARTED 3, the media and community alike didn’t walk away disappointed. Look for a collection of GDC video coverage and interviews this week on the PlayStation.Blog.

Our PlayStation first party titles keep on coming and delivering our distinctive brand of gaming when MLB 11 The Show arrives this week, featuring pure analog controls, 3D and PS Move support. Looking better and hitting harder, Dragon Age II (you may of heard of it,) also drops this week, introducing fans of the series to a whole new story spanning 10 years in the Dragon Age universe.

PlayStation Plus members get to enjoy the taste of lush and succulent fatalities when the demo for Mortal Kombat arrives on PSN exclusively for PS Plus members, in 3D (optional.) Finally, ladies and gentlebugs, larvae of all stages, PSone Classic launches a new category on PSN when Disney opens their vault to their collection of PSone gaming classics.

This week’s The Drop is nothing short of a Flawless Victory!

PlayStation 3

MLB 11 The Show (PlayStation Move & 3D Enabled) (Also on PSP) – MLB 11 The Show is set again to provide fans with an unparalleled baseball experience with even more features and modes destined to quicken the heart, raise the stakes, and hurl you further into the true MLB baseball experience. Leading off on the new features set for PS3 is the addition of the Pure Analog Control System, which includes analog controls for hitting, pitching, and throwing, adding more precision and accuracy to all three disciplines.

Next up is the newly added Co-op Mode, which allows up to four-player offline or online cooperative play where gamers can split duties covering either the infield or outfield. The fifth generation of Road to The Show returns in version 5.0 bringing a new interactive slider set to the Create Player process, new training modes triggered by the Player Performance Evaluator, Minor League substitution logic improvements, advancement system improvements that now compare your stats versus your competition in the organization, and the new No Assist Fielding option to make the fielding experience even more realistic.

And for the fully immersive big league experience, Additional new features MLB 11 offers options for stereoscopic 3D functionality in all modes and PlayStation Move motion controller support in the Home Run Derby mode.

Dragon Age II – Dragon Age II thrusts players into the role of Hawke, a penniless refugee who rises to power to become the single most important character in the world of Dragon Age. Known to be a survivor of the Blight and the Champion of Kirkwall, the legend around Hawke’s rise to power is shrouded in myth and rumor.

Featuring an all-new story spanning 10 years, players will help tell that tale by making tough moral choices, gathering the deadliest of allies, amassing fame and fortune, and sealing their place in history. The way you play will write the story of how the world is changed forever.

Yoostar 2 (PlayStation Move Enabled) — Yoostar 2 allows players to perform in hundreds of famous movie scenes, record their performances, and share them with friends and family online. Using the sensor of Playstation Eye, Yoostar2 achieves Hollywood green screen style effects without the use of a green screen. In an instant, players can literally step into well-known movie scenes and play the roles of the world’s most famous actors.

Major League Baseball 2K11 (Also on PSP) – This year’s edition offers improvements in the fielding system to ensure better control of the ball against the advancing runners. Each player has been re-created in the game down to the last detail, with performance stats based on live data to match the realistic looks. And with My Player Mode, gamers can look beyond the league and their team to focus on just one player that they guide through a Minor League career all the way through the ranks to step out on the field as a big league star.

PlayStation Network

TestYourself: Psychology – The goal of TestYourself: Psychology is to provide users with an affordable, professional assessment of various aspects of their personalities and psychological abilities. After the release of the initial pack, new blocks of tests will be available for download on a monthly basis, each focusing on different elements of psychological health. Users who complete all 12 blocks will receive a full psychological portrait and will understand the complex characteristics of their states of mind.

Ultimate Board Game Collection – This portable game is the ultimate collection of classic board games! Play against a computer-controlled opponent, or up to five others either through wireless gameplay or shared on a single system.

PSN Demos

• Mortal Kombat (PS Plus Only)
• Bionic Commando Rearmed 2
• Explodemon!
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12
• TNT Racers (PSP)

PlayStation Portable

Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle (Also on PSN) — Phantom Brave is a free-roaming, turn-based strategy RPG that incorporates unique battle styles and a hardcore character customization system. The game uses a unique ally summoning system called “Confine” and a deep customization system for the hardcore!

PSone Classics

R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 – R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 keeps the arcade style intact with all of the powerslides and spinouts fans of the series have come to expect. You take the role of a professional driver in the Grand Prix mode. Pick one of four teams and one of four car manufacturers, and then race on eight tracks. Each team has its own storyline that plays out between races in conversations with your team liaison, and how well you finish changes what the liaison says to you.

New Disney Category

• Hercules
• Peter Pan
• Lilo Stitch
• Toy Story Racer
• Monsters, Inc.
• Toy Story 2
• The Emperor’s New Groove
• A Bug’s Life

PSone Japan Imports

Mega Man 3 – The bad news is that the evil Dr. Wily is back in town, but the good news is that so is the blue bomber Mega Man! Take the controls and make Mega Man run, jump, slide, and blast his way through two massive sections with four stages each.

[Editor’s Note: The following dates are subject to change. Game details are gathered from Press Releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]

Citizens of earth, there is nothing else to fear, the creature has been caught, slain and caged away. The days of finding loose feathers in your cereal bowls and arrows lodged into your front doors has finally come to an end. Cupid is no more! In celebration of the capture of this nefarious beast, I present you with this Valentine’s Day card. The Drop!

After a decade of patiently tapping on your arcade joysticks, Capcom brings the the fate of two worlds to the PS3 in the stylish and hyper-realistic fighter, Marvel vs Capcom 3. Personify your PlayStation 3 into a goddess and join Neptune on a quest to save Gamindustri from the evil forces of Arfoire in Hyperdimension Neptunia. Try saying that three times fast. On the digital spectrum, two well recognized franchises arrive on PSN with a long list of episodes. PS minis return this week with a dual offering, followed by a triple dosage of classics on PSone.

Quickly now, our Valentine’s Day pillaging doesn’t end here, we have a world supply of candy hearts we need to plunder.

PlayStation 3

Marvel vs Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds — Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 is an explosive showdown between the heroes of the Capcom universe and the superheroes of the Marvel universe. After a decade of waiting, iconic Marvel and Capcom characters join forces again in team fighting action.

Fill the shoes of legendary characters from both the Marvel and Capcom Universes — including massively popular characters such as Ryu, Wolverine, Iron Man, and Morrigan, as well as fan favorites such as Trish from Devil May Cry and the wise-cracking Deadpool. They all come to you battle in a living comic book art style powered by Capcom’s MT Framework, an advance version of the graphics engine used for Resident Evil 5. (PS Blog Coverage: Read More)

Hyperdimension Neptunia – Hyperdimension Neptunia is a unique RPG for PlayStation 3 that features game consoles personified as goddesses — CPUs (Console Patron Units) — who you can customize visually with equipment to enhance their stats. Players take the role of Neptune and follow her quest to save the captive Histoire.

This leads her to face the corrupt monsters ravaging the world of Gamindustri unleashed by the evil Arfoire. Neptunia also features iconic characters from classic games as special summon skills. (PS Blog Coverage: Read More)

PlayStation Network

Pure – Designed by the speed fanatics who have brought gamers such hits as ATV Off-Road Fury and MotoGP, Pure is the new racing phenomenon that gives gamers the raw thrills of off-road, extreme quad racing. Expect big air, ballsy tricks, mass-crush online play for up to 16 racers, and no end to the mayhem.

Acceleration of Suguri X-Edition – The “little war” continues at a breakneck pace in Acceleration of Suguri, the follow-up to doujin game developer Orange_Juice’s unique side-scrolling shooter title. The frenetic, rapid-fire combat action that fans have come to love in the first game is all here, as well as more characters, new special attacks, new powers and new levels! Whether you choose to play as Suguri, Hime, Nanako or any of the other multiple fighters, you’re dealing with weapons of massive destruction! Score big damage points through Max Attacks and lowering your enemy’s armor gauge level, but keep in mind that your enemy is trying to do the same to you!

Back To The Future: The Game – Marty McFly and Doc Brown return in a completely new Back to the Future adventure. Six months after the events of the third film, the DeLorean Time Machine mysteriously returns to Hill Valley — driver-less! Marty must go back in time and get aid from a resistant teenage Emmett Brown, or else the space time continuum will forever be unraveled! This episodic game series takes you back in time as Marty and Doc embark on a completely new cinematic time-travel adventure based on the blockbuster movie franchise about a nutty scientist who has invented a time-traveling DeLorean.

TNT Racers (PSP) – TNT Racers is a racing game full of variety, combining fast as lightning race action with brand new features. The Shadow Race feature lets every player stay in the race even if a driver is clearly in an inferior position. But the best things are the wicked pick-ups which will ultimately decide about victory or defeat. One powerful adrenaline kick is guaranteed.

PSN Demos

• MotoGP
• Nail’D
• Back To The Future: The Game – Episode 1: Its About Time
• Killzone 3 Single Player Demo
• Killzone 3 Single Player 3D Demo
• Naruto: Kizuna Drive (PSP)

PlayStation Portable

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (Also on PSN) – Remade for a new generation of fans with this PSP edition enhanced with new side stories, characters and graphic elements. The game includes new graphics, music, and gameplay, as well as a re-arranged soundtrack from the original composers including 15 new compositions.

PSone Classics

Saiyuki: Journey West — It’s a long way to India, but you’ll stop at nothing to get there in order to please Lady Kannon, one of six guardians of heaven. As Sanzo, a young monk at a small Buddhist temple in China, you’ll travel through lush, 3D worlds in an attempt to round up the five remaining guardians and deliver them all to the Thunder Temple of India. This won’t be so easy, as there will be dozens of detractors and obstacles along the way. You’ll enlist the help of such as Son Goku, the monkey king, and others each of who has unique abilities and weapons.

Destrega – The people of Zamuel were struggling to survive. The Strega, an advanced race, took pity on them and shared their knowledge of magic. Immediately, Zamuel became the most powerful nation on the globe and started to conquer surrounding lands. Had the Strega known of the humans’ thirst for power, they never would¿ve shared their knowledge. One thousand years have passed and the Strega are locked in a bitter war with the humans for control of the last magic relics.

Romance IV of the Three Kingdoms: Wall of Fire – It’s the era of the Second Han Dynasty, and China is being overrun by powerful warlords. A struggle for power among the court families has spawned a time known as the Three Kingdoms, and it’s up to you (as the current ruler) to restore peace to your troubled country. There are 558 different officers to discuss your strategy with including 108 inspired by your own decisions and preferences.

minis

Soccer Bashi — Soccer Bashi offers an unbelievable amount of levels for friends and family to just gather around for some classic arcade fun similar to most beloved game we all know, Brick. Soccer of the future; destroy the defender blocks and smash the ball into the goal to win, but watch out for the enemy defenders out to destroy you!

Core Blaster – There’s a leak in the main reactor and thousands of deadly atomic cores are on the loose – don’t let them pass through the gate! Combine the right weapons and crush the hectic hazards before the whole engine explodes. Use powerful blasters to strategically destroy the radioactive cores.

[Editor’s Note: The following dates are subject to change. Game details are gathered from Press Releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]

Konnichiwa! It was a big week in Japan for PlayStation with epic announcements and the introduction of NGP, but let’s return to our regularly scheduled program. The Drop returns with Capcom’s Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2, Atari’s The UnderGarden, and PlayStation minis celebrate a retro classic with PAC-MAN Championship Edition. On the Blu-ray front, Jean Claude Van Damme has got nothing on Kevin Van Dam when it comes to bass fishing on PS3.

Enjoy this week’s The Drop! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have five boxes of cheesecake and green-tea Kit Kats I have to devour!

PlayStation Network

Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2 – Classic side-scrolling gameplay is reporting back for duty with Bionic Commando Rearmed, a remake of the classic NES game. 20 years after the 8-bit classic was released, Bionic Commando Rearmed recreates the world of the original with a complete “2.5D” visual revamp. Bionic Commando Rearmed preserves the original’s mix of swinging and shooting in an intense 2D side-scroller, all to the tune of a brand-new soundtrack based on the classic 8-bit music from the NES masterpiece.

The UnderGarden – Offering a puzzle exploration experience designed for gamers who have an affinity for solving new-style puzzles, The UnderGarden is a casual zen-like game that challenges players to explore beautiful underground caverns filled with strange life forms; physics based puzzles and plenty of hidden secrets. With local co-operative gameplay, players can chill out, work together to solve puzzles and explore the world. Read More: The UnderGarden Coming to PSN this Winter

Assassin’s Creed II: Deluxe Edition — The Assassin’s Creed II Deluxe Edition includes 3 bonus maps! Explore some of the Renaissance’s most prestigious monuments to reveal secret treasures in three special in-game maps: Palazzo Medici, Santa Maria Dei Frari, and the Arsenal Shipyard. Assassin’s Creed 2 is an epic story of family, vengeance and conspiracy set in the pristine, yet brutal, backdrop of a Renaissance Italy. Ezio befriends Leonardo da Vinci, takes on Florence’s most powerful families and ventures throughout the canals of Venice where he learns to become a master assassin.

Samurai Shodown (PSP) – Available as part of the NegGeo Station on PlayStation Network, this is a downloadable version of the classic NeoGeo game. Cultures clash literally in this Samurai Shodown. The 12 fighters from around the world gather to fight to the finish. Samurai, ninja, knights and other brave souls from Japan, France, China, and the United States enter the ring with their chosen weapon and attack. Refine your moves and develop combinations, just make sure you hold onto your weapon.

PlayStation 3

Kevin Van Dam Fishing — Compete in tournaments with expert advice from KVD himself as you angle for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Be careful though – these fish are ready for a fight, so choose your lure wisely or you could end up with an empty boat and wounded pride. Master your approach, and you will be giving KVD a run for his money!

PSone Japan Import

Mega Man 2 – As the robotic blue bomber, Mega Man, the player must battle through 14 levels and defeat eight robot masters before tackling the nefarious Dr. Wily.

minis

PAC-MAN: Championship Edition – PAC-MAN returns in this enhanced version of the all-time classic videogame! PAC-MAN Championship Edition brings you back to those classic days of pizza parlors and arcades with the first brand new mazes released in more than 26 years. Think you can break your old record? With mazes that dynamically change shape during play and new timed game modes, it’s time to experience the evolution of PAC-MAN and play the Championship Edition now!

Wackylands Boss – Are you sick and tired of the handsome prince always getting the happy ending? Well Wackylands Boss is the game for you; take control of a monster as you rampage through a kingdom destroying anyone who dares try to stop you.

[Editor’s Note: The following dates are subject to change. Game details are gathered from Press Releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]

The Infector, the Slasher, the Lurker, oh my! This week, the sequel your mom loves to hate (except this one, she rules) is already receiving exceptional scores and will reunite you with the Necromorphs, waiting to embrace you in their warm mutated limbs in Dead Space 2. The deadliest version of Dead Space: Extraction comes to the PlayStation Move, where you can find it in the Collector’s and Limited Edition versions of Dead Space 2 for PS3. Did I also mention you can also find Extraction on the PlayStation Network?

The Drop‘s line-up for this week is made up of space engineers battling dementia, arcanaian lords and signature kills in a mutant’s paradise in a short but appetizing collection of games that will satisfy your survivor horror or RPG taste buds. Closing things off, you’ll find an “epic” demo on PSN with a forecast bullets.

PlayStation 3

Dead Space 2: — Engineer Isaac Clarke returns for another blood-curdling adventure in Dead Space 2, the sequel to the critically acclaimed horror adventure. After waking from a coma on a massive space city known as “The Sprawl,” the lone survivor of a horrific alien infestation finds himself confronting a catastrophic new nightmare.

Battling dementia, hunted by the government and haunted by visions of his dead girlfriend, Isaac will do whatever it takes to save himself and rid the city of the gruesome, relentless Necromorphs. Equipped with a new arsenal of tools to dismember the Necromorphs, Isaac will face the challenge head-on. (All PS Blog Coverage: Dead Space 2)

Two Worlds II – Two Worlds II expands the RPG adventure by introducing new game content, extending gameplay and providing you with the answers to many questions and mysteries which arose in the main story.

Besides several well-known regions of Antaloor, there are also completely new territories to explore. The combat system has been further enhanced too, with an active blocking system, a completely new means of transport, a much-enhanced reaction system from NPCs, and other tweaks. (PS Blog Coverage: E3 Encounters: Two Worlds II for PS3)

PlayStation Portable

Lord of Arcana (Also on PSN) — This world is called Horodyn, so named for its first king. At the edge of a village surrounded by a huge forest lies the powerful stone Arcana, the source of all order in the world. It is said that only one with power can acquire Arcana. Slayers annihilate hordes of monsters so that they could lay their hands on Arcana. What power does it hold? And to what destiny is one with Arcana bound?

Defeat tough enemies and obtain new items and skills with up to three friends, or take on a variety of quests in single-player mode in this multiplayer action game from Square Enix. With its simple and intuitive controls, even those unaccustomed to action games can jump right into the fast-paced world of Lord of Arcana. (PS Blog Coverage: Lord of Arcana: Delivering Brutality on the Go)

PlayStation Network

Dead Space: Extraction (Demo Available) — Dead Space Extraction tells the story of a handful of space colonists desperately struggling to escape from a horrific infection on the Aegis VII mining colony deep in the furthest regions of space.

The game introduces a new heroine to the fiction and as the crew fall victim to a mysterious contagion aboard the ship, it becomes clear that protecting her may be their only hope for survival. Dead Space Extraction introduces all new characters, weapons, enemies, puzzles and co-operative multiplayer gameplay.

Bulletstorm (Demo) – Bulletstorm brings new furor to first-person shooter action thanks to its signature ‘kill with skill’ gameplay. The game tells the story of a futuristic confederation protected by an elite band of mercenaries: Dead Echo. When Dead Echo members Grayson Hunt and Ishi Sato learn they’ve been working for the wrong side, they’re betrayed by their commander and exiled to the far reaches of the galaxy.

In Bulletstorm, Grayson and Ishi find themselves surrounded by hordes of mutants and flesh eating gangs in an abandoned paradise. They have two objectives: get off the planet alive, and exact revenge on the man who sent them there. (PS Blog Coverage: BulletStorm PS3 Interview: Me and CliffyB)

[Editor’s Note: The following dates are subject to change. Game details are gathered from Press Releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]

“Twas the night before The Drop, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…” Did you honestly think we were going to sit this one out and get lost in a sea of eggnog and pecan pie this holiday? This may be the last official “The Drop” post I’ll be publishing this year, but we’ve made sure to go out with a triumphant explosion of gaming to wrap up 2010. The PlayStation Network delivers on all fronts this week, with an assortment of digital stocking stuffers with over 25 games for your PS3, Move and PSP.

The long awaited sequel to echochrome finally arrives on PS3 and on PlayStation Move when echochrome II emerges from the shadows this week, fans of Godzilla or Power Rangers will enjoy trashing a fictional metropolis with Eat Them! and rounding out what’s been an amazing collection of 50 PlayStation Move titles, Top Darts hits the bulls-eye. “…But I heard him exclaim, before he drove out of sight, Happy Holidays to all, and to all a goodnight!”

PlayStation Network

echochrome II (PlayStation Move Compatible): Utilizing the PlayStation Move motion controller and the PlayStation Eye camera, players can rotate levels and control light and shadows to change the way objects are viewed and the shadows they cast. The ultimate goal is to lead your character through the path from beginning to end, while learning how a variety of different objects can be combined with perspectives, angles and the use of light can be used to help solve the puzzle.

(PS Blog Coverage: echochrome ii)

Eat Them! (PSN Exclusive): Destroy cities, eat people, smash your friends and unleash your beast in this action-packed monster smasher from the makers of Savage Moon. Build your unique creature in the Monster Lad and go on a monster mash, causing as much damage to the city as possible. Enjoy bonus missions, multiplayer modes and global leaderboards to maximize your monster madness!

(PS Blog Coverage: Eat Them!)

Top Darts (PlayStation Move Compatible): Top Darts features a large selection of traditional darts games as well as an assortment of unique challenges & frantic offline multiplayer games for up to 8 players. Using the accuracy of the PlayStation Move motion controller, aim for the highest score in nine classic dart games including 501, Around the Clock, Soccer & Warfare. Or go for gold in a wide range of fun and diverse challenges based on time limits, target scores, and accuracy.

(PS Blog Coverage: Top Darts)

Prince Of Persia: The Two Thrones HD: Part of the Prince of Persia Sands of Time trilogy, this remake of the classic third chapter of the series has been upgraded with enhanced graphic effects and offers options for HD (720p) and stereoscopic 3D output. The Prince of Persia, a seasoned warrior, returns from the Island of Time to Babylon with his love, Kaileena. Instead of the peace that he longs for, he finds his homeland ravaged by war and the kingdom turned against him. The Prince is rapidly captured and Kaileena has no choice but to sacrifice herself and unleash the Sands of Time in order to save him.

Blokus (PlayStation Move Compatible): The award-winning hit board game from Mattel arrives on PlayStation Network. The winning strategy: block your opponents so they cannot add any more pieces to the board. Play with your friends in local or online multiplayer modes using one of the four game variations.

More PSN Games

• Borderlands
• Risk: Factions
• Alpha Mission II
• Art Of Fighting
• Baseball Stars Professional
• Fatal Fury (Also on PSP)
• League Bowling
• Magician Lord
• Metal Slug (Also on on PSP)
• Samurai Showdown
• Super Sidekicks
• The King Of Fighters ’94
• Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People – Season Pass
• BUZZ! – Quiz Player

PSone Classic

Front Mission 3: An excellent science-fiction-themed strategy game with role-playing elements, Front Mission 3 is the first installment of the popular Japanese series to make it stateside. In a future where giant robots known as “Wanzers” are the war machines of choice, you are cast as a civilian test pilot who gets swept up in an international military conspiracy surrounding a weapon of mass destruction.

minis

N.O.V.A: With Earth no longer able to sustain life, huge artificial satellites called “near-orbitals” were constructed for people to live on. To protect themselves, the near-orbitals banded together to form N.O.V.A., the Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance. Now, a strange threat has emerged from the darkness of space. A Marine ship, reported missing just a week ago, has suddenly reappeared and is headed directly for the near-orbitals, ignoring all communications. Against his will, retired Marine hero Kal Wardin is forcefully returned to active duty to prevent mankind’s annihilation.

A Space Shooter For 2 Bucks: Following in the footsteps of Frima’s critically-acclaimed Young Thor, Widget’s Odyssey and Zombie Tycoon titles released earlier this year, A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! features the level of quality fans and media have come to expect from Frima Studio and all with a ridiculously low two dollar price point, just in time for the Holiday gaming season.

More minis

• Jane’s Hotel
• Forest Puzzle
• Dr. Minigames

[Editor’s Note: The following dates are subject to change. Game details are gathered from Press Releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]