Archive for the ‘PlayStation Games’ 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.
Coming Tuesday to PSN: Earthworm Jim HD for PS3
Posted by Jen Kye in PS3, PSN, PlayStation Games, earthworm jim hd, gameloft on July 29th, 2010
Remember playing Earthworm Jim during the glorious 16-bit era? How about battling Major Mucus and Evil the Cat? Or saving Princess What’s-Her-Name?
If you don’t recall ever playing Earthworm Jim, I can only shake my head with utter sorrow. Who else but an ordinary earthworm can transcend fleeing from crows and eating dirt to become a mutated superhero?
Cue the dramatic music.
Get your Plasma Baster ready for some trigger happy times in the sweet world of high definition graphics — thanks to the amazing team at Gameloft, they’ve given all the original levels in the single-player campaign a healthy HD face-lift. As an added bonus, you’ll discover three exclusive levels which you can now venture through in a never-before-seen setting.
Not one for solo adventures? Gameloft has you covered. Earthworm Jim HD offers local and online 2-4 player co-op gameplay in 15 multiplayer levels! You can also team up with your buddies to (you know) launch cows or madly whip space ships.
Did I mention, launching cows?
Simply strap into the Ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit™ (Super Suit for short) and be prepared to take down Psy-Crow!
Earthworm Jim HD will be hitting the PlayStation Network on August 3rd at an awesome price of $9.99!
Hands-on: PixelJunk Shooter 2 for PS3
Posted by Sid Shuman in PS3, PSN, PlayStation Games, pixeljunk shooter 2, q-games on July 28th, 2010
Q-Games and Dylan Cuthbert are cooking up plenty of new tricks for PixelJunk Shooter 2, the follow-up to the 2009 PSN title that mixed retro-styled audio-visuals with progressive gameplay mechanics. But once I picked up the controller at last week’s NYC PlayStation media day, I discovered that PixelJunk Shooter 2 expands upon this formula in several key ways.
Light and dark. I quickly learned that darkness is not your friend in PixelJunk Shooter 2. Traveling though a dark area for more than a few seconds will attract invulnerable apparitions – the spectral remnants of a “lost civilization” — and almost instant death. Faced with a long, shadowy tunnel, I turned my cannons on a nearby phosphorescent mushroom. While it bobbed like a metronome, I was able to stay within its small orb of light to pass through the tunnel unscathed.
That’s when I discovered another threat lurking in the darkness: worm-like parasites that latched onto my ship’s hull and slowed my movement to a crawl. Once exposed to light, the worms quickly wither and die — but their slowing effect can spell doom when you’re desperately trying to escape the ghosts.
New elements. By and large, the original game tasked players with manipulating magma and water (plus that magnetic black fluid found near the end of the game) to advantageous effect in order to rescue stranded explorers. But being set inside the “Belly of the Beast,” PixelJunk Shooter 2’s various substances have a more organic theme: I saw a caustic bile-like fluid as well as a mysterious purple ooze.
Eden…found? In another sequence, I encountered vast clouds of a smoke-like substance that caused my ship to spin like a top and careen helplessly out of control. Trouble was, I had to traverse the cloud in order to reach the end of the level. What to do?
While spinning, I used my grappling hook on an oddly shaped object placed nearby, which caused me to swing around and around like a kid on a merry-go-round. By releasing the grappling hook at the right time, I was able to propel myself out of the cloud and safely into the level’s exit. PixelJunk Eden fans will feel right at home!
My first hands-on experience with PixelJunk Shooter 2 didn’t last long, but it also gave me a chance to track down answers to a couple of PlayStation.Blog reader-submitted questions, which I’ve posted below.
plaztiksyke asks: Will PixelJunk Shooter 2 have a longer campaign than the original?
Q-Games is still hard at work on PixelJunk Shooter 2’s development process. From what I’ve been told, they haven’t yet nailed down the set number of levels and environments for the final game, though the game’s overall length is expected to be roughly comparable to the original game.
I was also reminded that PixelJunk Shooter 2 will also include a new competitive arena, as well as a “ghost attack” mode, both of which will add further gameplay options.
plaztiksyke asks: Who’s doing the music for PixelJunk Shooter 2?
High Frequency Bandwidth will be returning to create new music tracks for PixelJunk Shooter 2.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World Soundtrack Goes Old School
Posted by Michael Micholic in PS3, PSN, PlayStation Games, scott pilgrim vs the world, soundtrack, ubisoft on July 28th, 2010
Once we decided to go for the old school, side scrolling, beat ‘em up style with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Video Game, we wanted to go all in! We brought in pixel artist extraordinaire Paul Robertson.
The next step was creating an amazing soundtrack. We immediately thought of Brooklyn chiptune rockers, Anamanaguchi. They wowed us (and 5,000 others) at PAX and really captured the sound we wanted for the game. Here, the guys share their favorite songs from the game.
Ary Warnaar
“Twin Dragons”
I really enjoyed how the Twin Dragons cue came into existence. It was very unexpected. A couple months ago we were playing a show here in Brooklyn with Ok, Go. I was hanging out backstage with one of my good friends Damon who also happens to be one of the most talented chip artists I know (he goes by Starscream with his drummer George). We were kinda bored and decided to start a collaboration italo-disco song on Game Boy. He started with an awesome bass line and beat, and I started writing some melody stuff. We didn’t get past the loop that night, but the next day I couldn’t get it out of my head, and kept working on it. I don’t remember at what point I realized it would work perfectly for the game… it sort of just transformed into that cue naturally. So yeah, it’s my favorite because it really started as a song for myself that ended up being for Scott Pilgrim. That natural transition is a great example of what made the project so fun. It never really felt like writing for a video game, it felt more like composing music for life stuff we’ve all experienced – stuff that Scott Pilgrim happened to have experienced as well…
Luke Silas
“Suburban Tram”I’m especially proud of the track we wrote for the train level – Suburban Tram. When we were working on it, Pete had brought up giving it a sort of Hot Water Music-type sound, and it actually came very naturally after that. I really love positive, uplifting punk and post-hardcore music, and it was a lot of fun to try and translate it into our distinct style. Something about the final version of this track evokes real motion, as in makes you want to move, both from the heart and on the road.. at least that’s how i hear it!
James DeVito
“This is the End”It was really interesting to hear ‘This is the End’ (yes, it’s for the perfect ending only!) go through many different phases as it was being written. At first it was just a straight ballad, but it needed something more… more epic and triumphant. Obviously it’s gotta be the best song ever if you have to be perfect to get there. That’s when Ary mentioned to Pete to think of it more as an epic Queen ballad, and it all came together after that. Pete absolutely nailed it. Not only will this song be extremely gratifying to the player as they perfect the game, but it also ended up being one of the last songs we wrote, and the last song we mixed, so us too were even treated to the ‘perfect’ ending of an incredibly amazing project.
Peter Berkman
“Scott Pilgrim Theme”It’s really difficult for me to pick just one track to talk about, so I guess I’ll approach it in the big picture and discuss the theme. This was the first song we wrote for the game, I wanted the theme to be everything that epitomizes “Scott Pilgrim” to me. I wanted a melody that was both melancholy and triumphant, I wanted it to evoke a sort of nostalgic John Hughes world and the deluge of emotions and gut feelings that present themselves when you’re completely smitten, which Scott Pilgrim undoubtedly is. That’s what the second half of the song is about, the first half is about punching people, obviously.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World debuts exclusively on the PlayStation Network on August 10th.
Don’t forget to pre-order for a free Sex Bomb-Omb tee for your PlayStation Home Avatar!
God of War: Ghost of Sparta Comic-Con Panel, New “Midas” Video
Posted by Eric Levine in Events, 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 it 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.
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.
Blade Kitten for PS3: Artificial Intelligence, Physics in a 2D World
Posted by Chris Fowler in PS3, PSN, PlayStation Games, blade kitten, krome studios on July 27th, 2010
Working on the PlayStation 3 has been wonderful. As this was my first project on the PS3, I was apprehensive at first about the new technology and how to use it as best we could. But now, I can honestly say I am a fan of the PS3.
Early in development, Blade Kitten was both a 3D and a 2D game and you could switch between them instantly — you’d run through a section then it would transition to 2D. It didn’t take us long to fall in love with the 2D version, so we focused all our efforts on making the 2D the fun game it is today.
From the start of our project, our goal as programmers was to give the designers all the power they needed to create the game that they wanted. Ideally, a level designer controls the player’s progression and experience in each area of the game (enemy placement, special events, collectables, and so on). So rather than implement a boss character’s attack moves myself, I would give the designers scripting tools to implement the boss themselves.
This proved to be one of the best decisions we made. For example, the level where Kit is running away from a huge monster called Acland, who destroys everything in his path, was completely scripted by the designers — as were all our bosses and many of the encounters you see. This has allowed for a much more flexible design with changes being quick and easy. But most importantly, much happier designers!
Being able to move any object anywhere and have our characters move along with them was fundamental to our game, so we made it so Kit can attach to pretty much everything. If the object moves or rotates, so does she. The level designers have done a great job using this and, even from the first level, you will see some fun movement and puzzles you can play with using these moving objects.
Blade Kitten was a re-think of how we normally do artificial intelligence. As there is a single plane that everyone fights on, we needed to make all the enemies work together without getting in each other’s way. Therefore, you’ll see things like the front guy duck down so the guy behind him can take a shot, or even have one guy jump over another to try to aggressively get to you. They all work together which helps create an interesting experience without overwhelming the player. It’s important that the enemies in the game feel like they are alive and are planning their strategy together to form a real challenge to players.
It was fun to get physics working properly in a 2D environment. We have some items which are fully 3D enabled and allowed to fly off into the yonder. Enemies have “ragdoll” effects that have them falling down in different ways when hit, and “fraggable” objects that break apart realistically. Additionally we have items that are fully physics-driven but stay on the player’s plane so you can use them without worrying about them flying away from you. This goes towards making the game world deeper, more detailed and unpredictable.
I hope you all enjoy this game as much as we have enjoyed making it.
MAG v1.07 Available Early August
Posted by Jeremy Dunham in MAG, PS3, PlayStation Games, zipper on July 27th, 2010
If you consider yourself the type of person who likes getting new video game features for free, then our next MAG patch — version 1.07, due in early August — is definitely something for you.
Yes friends, in just over a week from now, players will be treated to a number of features that you’ve been asking us for all summer in addition to a few surprises. Like what, you ask? Like these:
- A new “Happy Hour” Double XP bonus that’s applied to the first hour of any player’s gameplay session in a 24-hour period.
- Suppression will join Sabotage as a “Faction Neutral” gameplay mode, allowing any PMC to battle each other on any Suppression map.
- Faster download and patching code that allows us to update MAG with more content and bigger file sizes in a speedier way.
- Redesigned versions of the Flores Basin (Raven) and Alyeska Terminus (Valor) Domination maps that include new obstacles and repaired exploits.
- New lighting effects for more attractive and realistic environments.
- Various fixes to address bugs or glitches to improve MAG’s overall performance.
Of course, there are a number of other additions and fixes coming with MAG v1.07, but the points listed above should whet your appetites while you wait for the full list of changes closer to the update.
Watch this space for patch details next week and, as always, let us know what you think of these modifications on our official forums.
Dead Space 2, Ignition, Extraction, Aftermath, and Salvage
Posted by Jeff Rubenstein in EA, PS3, PlayStation Games, dead space 2, dead space ignition, visceral games on July 27th, 2010
It’s been a busy few days for Dead Space fans; a lot of news has come to light over the last week. While Dead Space 2 is still on track for early 2011, the world of Isaac Clarke is spreading like necromorphs through a ventilation system.
In this interview from last week’s EA Showcase, Dead Space 2 Producer Rich Briggs answers your questions about Dead Space 2 and the PS3-exclusive HD edition of Dead Space Extraction, and details the forthcoming Dead Space Ignition (which will tie in to DS2).
Later on in the week, EA/Visceral Games made even more Dead Space-related announcements at Comic-Con. Here’s Dead Space 2 executive producer Steve Papoutsis with details for our readers:
Today is a very exciting day for the Dead Space franchise. I’m proud to announce 2 new fiction extensions for the Dead Space universe.
Dead Space Aftermath is our second animated feature. It tells the story of what happened after Isaac had his encounter with the red marker. We are working on this with Starz/Film Roman and will be released January 2011.
Dead Space Salvage is a new graphic novel featuring the talented artist Christopher Shy. It takes a peak at what happened to the Ishimura after Isaac departed.
Both of these additions will continue to expand the Dead Space fiction and we can’t wait to see what people think when they get to enjoy them.
If this stuff sounds cool please post a message and let us know. Thanks.
ModNation Monday: Creations of the Week
Posted by Ramone Russell in PS3, PlayStation Games, modnation racers, united front games on July 26th, 2010
Greetings everyone Ramone Russell here with another ModNation Monday update!
MNR Creations of the Week
Amazing creations in ModNation get shared every day and we are playing a ton of them. If you are interested in submitting your mod, kart or track to be a future “creation” of the week be sure to visit up on the official ModNation Community site and who knows? You might see your handy work on the PlayStation.Blog.
Mods of the Week
Mod Name: Break Time
Creator: coltsandcubsfan
Mod Name: Ike(Remaster)
Creator: paradise131
Karts of the Week
Kart Name: Buggy O’Hare
Creator: SuperSpecs
Kart Name: DualShock
Creator: cros1625
Tracks of the Week
Track Name: The Desert Kingdom
Created by: StealthReborn–
StealthReborn—says “This is another map that’s well suited for the beginners and a very fascinating map for the advanced players. There’s a lot to see in this map, and a couple of minor surprises. You think you’re going to be going through that hoop in the air? Think again, you might just find yourself on the same road heading straight for a devastator if you’re not careful. This map is has tons of scenery, nice twists and turns to satisfy everyone.”
Track Name: Alpine Stadium
Created by: dragon_Bremen
dragon_Bremen says “Blast up (or over!) Winding mountain roads, through dangerous caves and BLAST OFF the peak at maximum altitude and velocity! Pods are easy pickings at the base, but become harder to grab toward the top. Can you find all the shortcuts?”
Track Name: Roma
Created by: CIV_BOSS
CIV_BOSS says “This is a trip through ancient Rome. When you play this track you’ll have a choice of whether to focus on the track and win or just be absolutely amazed at how beautiful this map is, and probably hit a wall staring off into the scenery. You will blast off over the Pantheon through the roman city and market, around or through the coliseum, across the aqueduct and through the Circus Maximus. Have fun playing or just enjoy the beauty.
Hot Lap Roster for this week
Continuing with the trend we started weeks ago, this week’s Hot Lap roster features all new community created tracks.
- Monday: The Desert Kingdom, by StealthReborn–
- Tuesday: Mount St. Salad Climb, by SaladSnacksSTD
- Wednesday: Morning Sprint, by Crashdance23
- Thursday: Roma, by CIV_BOSS
- Friday: Festival Circuit, by dragon_Bremen
- Saturday: Crimson Valley 1.6, by BorrelnootjeNL
- Sunday: La Lotte, by INeon_INoodle
What’s up with the PATCH?
We know everyone has been extremely patient with this patch and it’s much appreciated. We are happy to say that we hope to have a solid release date next ModNation Monday.
Until then… see you in the ModSpot!