News - 2012, Week 17
Sunday29th Apr 2012
Rumour Snow Elves to Feature in New Skyrim DLC
The lion, the witch and the wardrobe
Gamers are an intelligent bunch. When they’re not hunting for domain name registrations or poring over employee CVs, they’re picking apart game code to find references to future content. That’s exactly what one devoted Bethesda forum poster did with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s most recent patch — and...
Saturday28th Apr 2012
News Mortal Kombat Girls Flaunt Their Vita Exclusive Glad Rags
Dressed to kill
We already know about the plethora of new outfits being added to the wardrobes of the male ninjas in Mortal Kombat Vita, but what of the ladies? Publisher Warner Bros has released a brand new trailer showing off the additional exclusive clobber available for Mileena and Skarlet. The former will get to don her leotard getup from...
Rumour Presentation Hints at Metal Gear Rising for Vita
Portable chops
The questionably titled Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance could be slashing its way onto Vita if a corporate presentation slide is to be believed. The Platinum Games developed action title was spotted amongst a list of other upcoming Vita titles on a slide used during the AT&T Developer Summit earlier in the year. The slide shows the...
Rumour Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Releases 13th November
Plug the holes
It's not particularly surprising to learn that Activision is readying a direct sequel to 2010's pretty good Call of Duty: Black Ops. The title has been heavily rumoured for months now, but was finally confirmed overnight via a sneaky photograph of a Target pre-order token posted on IGN. The card clearly shows the game’s logo, in...
Friday27th Apr 2012
News PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is Real, This Trailer Proves It
PaRappa!
Sony's finally confirmed what we've all known for months — PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is real, and it's coming to PS3 later this year. SuperBot took to the PlayStation Blog to discuss its new brawler, an "accessible yet deep" fighter it hopes will bring all PlayStation fans together. It's only a quick taster, with the...
Feature Why We're Excited About PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Playing favourites
The existence of a mascot mash-up featuring characters from the PlayStation universe was always going to be controversial. Let's not be coy about it: this is a concept that Nintendo's already perfected across numerous iterations of the Super Smash Bros. series. Add to that the simple fact that characters such as Sweet Tooth and...
News Wrap Your Head Around These Tokyo Jungle Plot Details
Deer versus dinosaur
Those of you that have been following PlayStation closely will already know about the upcoming Tokyo Jungle. The baffling PSN exclusive follows the adventures of a menagerie of common animals, who find themselves fighting for survival in a post apocalyptic Tokyo. One of those animals is the humble Pomeranian, who, upon...
News Dead or Alive 5 Trailer Shows You Where Not to Have a Fight
Sparzone
Of all the places to engage in one-on-one combat, the middle of a warzone rates amongst the worse. This Dead or Alive 5 trailer proves as much by showcasing the potential hazards. You might get targeted by an errant RPG for example, or come close to getting hit by a crash-landing helicopter. The message is clear folks: if you’ve...
News PlayStation 3 Leads European Hardware Market
Through the keyhole
There’s a myth on various forums and websites that the PlayStation 3 is unpopular and the poorest performer of the current generation consoles. It stems from years of disappointing NPD reports, where Sony’s home console has spent the generation lagging behind the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 in North America. But overseas,...
News Irrational Games Focusing on BioShock Infinite, Not Vita
Nothing to say
When Ken Levine announced BioShock Vita at Sony’s E3 press conference last year, it was clear that the project was nothing but an idea. Fast-forward a year and not much has changed, with Levine’s studio, Irrational Games, opting to focus its attention on the upcoming BioShock Infinite. In an interview with Wired, the studio lead...
News Multiplayer Events Finally Fire into Mass Effect 3 on PS3
Omni-tool up
“It’s no secret that the Reaper War has had its fair share of logistical SNAFUs,” said Admiral Hackett in a post published on the BioWare Blog this evening. The ordinarily stern military commander was taking time out from the Reaper invasion to make a joke about the PlayStation 3’s lack of Mass Effect 3 multiplayer events...
News The Unfinished Swan Takes a Step Closer to Completion
Abstract adventure
If you were offended by the conclusion to the so-called NeverEnding Story, then you might want to hit your browser’s back button before reading anymore of this article. It appears that development on Giant Sparrow’s intriguing PSN collaboration with Sony Santa Monica, The Unfinished Swan, might be heading towards a close. A...
News Crytek: TimeSplitters 4 is Not in Development
Monkey business
Despite rumours to the contrary, Crytek has denied that it is currently developing a fourth entry in the TimeSplitters series. The company joked in a statement to CVG that it had attempted to employ the infinite monkey theorem to develop the game, but ran over budget after purchasing seven monkeys. The developer continued that thus...
News New Datura Footage Touches Down
Reaching out
Plastic’s released a brand new trailer for its intriguing Move powered interpretative adventure title, Datura. The ambiguous short highlights the variety players can expect from the motion enhanced game, including a driving section and a World War-esque shooting range. These kind of off-the-wall interactive experiences are amongst our...
Thursday26th Apr 2012
News PSone Compatibility Imminent on Vita
Buzzing
Clever Vita owners have managed to get a first glimpse at how legacy PSone software will be presented on Sony’s new handheld. NeoGAF users discovered that this week’s PSone Classic, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, could be copied to the shiny new system without an error. While the game itself doesn’t run on Vita, the content does boast...
Preview Dishonored Could Be PS3's Darkest Adventure Yet
Killing in the name
We didn't know much about Dishonored, Arkane Studios’ new game, until its first promotional trailer landed a week ago, sending the cyber-masses into feverish speculation. A few things about its concept and storyline could be gleaned from the teaser film: players will assume the role of Corvo, an Imperial bodyguard accused of...
News Shinji Mikami: Zwei Will Be a True Survival Horror Game
Hide behind the sofa
Zwei, the next project by Resisdent Evil creator Shinji Mikami, will be a “pure” survival horror title, according to a statement released by publisher Bethesda this morning. The game – which was officially announced yesterday – intends to “push the limits of fear and exhilaration”. Mikami elaborated: A true...
News Metal Gear Rising Teaser Gets Cryptic
Snake it right
This live-action Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance trailer has it all: blood, intrigue and injections. The teaser appears to show a man in military uniform being questioned and subsequently killed. Pretty brutally, we hasten to add. It concludes with the date 30th April. While our attention has certainly been piqued, this is far from a...
News Become the Ultimate Ninja with Free Ninja Gaiden III DLC
Masochist
Ninja Gaiden III is so easy that our own blade-wielding beast Christopher Ingram managed to play through the game with his eyes closed. Or so we’re told. That’s not exactly a glowing endorsement for a franchise that prides itself on its difficulty, and so publisher Tecmo Koei has taken steps to rectify that issue. Now available for...
News Konami Preparing Downpour of Updates for Silent Hill Duo
Raining ones and zeros
It’s not often we get to report on simultaneous patch announcements for two different titles, so we’re going to savour this moment. Konami has announced that it will shortly release new updates for Silent Hill: Downpour and Silent Hill HD Collection with the intent of fixing audio synch and auto save issues present in the...
News Skullgirls Fights Its Way to Europe on 2nd May
Better late than never
Reverge Labs’ gorgeous downloadable brawler Skullgirls will finally punch its way onto the European PlayStation Store next week. The fighter has been available in North America since 10th April. If you can’t wait for the slick scrapper to arrive, you’ll be able to sate your anticipation with the game’s official...
News Domain Registrations Tease Legendary New Rayman Game
Ray of sunshine
Update: It's real — our friends at Nintendo Life have the Rayman Legends Wii U trailer. Remember our recent report regarding the possibility of a Rayman Origins sequel? Looks like it might be happening. Internet sleuths have uncovered Ubisoft website domain registrations for RaymanLegends.com and Rayman-Legend
News Battlefield Developer Working on New IP
Faith no more
Battlefield 3 and Mirror’s Edge developer DICE has started work on a new IP. That’s according to the CV of script writer Adrian Vershinin, who previously worked at new Sony studio Superbot Entertainment. The EA owned outfit has been pretty quiet since the release of Battlefield 3 last year, opting to focus its attention on new DLC...
News PixelJunk 4am Public Beta Hits the Stage
Turn it up
PlayStation Plus subscribers will find a nice surprise tucked away under the premium compartment of the PlayStation Store this evening. Developer Q-Games has released the public beta for its brilliant Move powered music endeavour, PixelJunk 4am. The trial appears to be exclusive to European users at the moment, with North America set to...
Wednesday25th Apr 2012
News Move Stripping Game Dancing Eyes Canned
For shame
What do you get when you combine PlayStation Move, tiny monkeys and stripping? Dancing Eyes is the answer — or, at least, it was. Famitsu (via Andriasang) reports the game is now cancelled and won't see the light of day. Namco Bandai hasn't given any reason for the cancellation, but we imagine it's something to do with the tiny monkeys...
Talking Point Does Vita Really Need Online Multiplayer Games?
Mismatch
Online multiplayer has become a key component of gaming over the past ten years. Social platforms such as PlayStation Network have paved the way for connected experiences impossible on systems of old, and driven emerging brands such as Call of Duty to the top of the charts. And yet, while those experiences have thrived on static platforms...
News Japanese Sales Charts: Vita Stagnates
A familiar story
This week’s Japanese sales charts prove the nation is gripped in 3DS fever. After enduring a tepid start, Nintendo’s handheld has become something of an unstoppable force, dominating the software and hardware sales charts alike. Meanwhile, the Vita continues to lurk beneath the decisive 10k units mark, selling 44 consoles less...
News Resistance Trilogy Getting Bundled Up
Catch up
Amazon France has outed the existence of a Resistance Trilogy bundle for PlayStation 3. The platinum re-release includes all three original PS3 Resistance titles, collated into one value package. It’ll set you back a reasonable €59.99. The listing notes that the bundle is due for release on 16th May. Expect Sony to make a full...
Store Update 25th April 2012 (Europe)
Jewels, zombies, paintball and more
Plenty of good things to download this week including Skype for Vita, the Dragon's Dogma demo and more. There's also some God of War discounts in celebration of the announcement of God of War: Ascension. Here's what's up for European PSN fans. PS3 Games: Bejeweled 3 (Released Friday 27th) The biggest, brightest...
News DJ Max Technika Tune Scratches onto Vita This Summer
DJ, put it back on
Ace Korean rhythm game DJ Max Technika Tune is to dance its way onto North American Vitas this summer, developer Pentavision has announced. The arcade adaptation promises a familiar blend of touch-based rhythm gameplay, taking advantage of the Vita’s front and rear screens. It’ll boast a bigger soundtrack than previous titles,...
Store Update 24th April 2012 (North America)
Skype, Walking Dead, Dragon's Dogma demo and more
This week's new PSN content is available in North America, so here's what's on offer. Vita owners, you get add-on content and Skype but no games — sorry. PlayStation Plus: Full Game Trials:The Cursed CrusadeBattlefield 3 — Battlefield 3 reviewDiscounts:
News Scratch Your Head over Monster Hunter Puzzle Spin-Off
For PSP
When Capcom teased last week that it was going to reveal a new game in the next issue of Famitsu magazine, the Internet was sent into a predictable frenzy. Could it be the long awaited Monster Hunter title for Vita? Well, it is a new title in the Monster Hunter series – just a puzzle spin-off for PSP. Disappointment aside, the game...
News Online Resume Lists Unannounced EA Titles
Bring on E3
Before we get down to business, let’s spare a thought for Jeremie Benhamou, who’s probably sitting looking sheepish in an EA office as we type. The game designer’s online resume has added credence to mounting rumours regarding the development of new Dead Space and Army of Two sequels. It’s not the first we’ve heard of either...
News PlayStation Home Upgrades to Version 1.65
Splash of paint
Sony’s divisive virtual world PlayStation Home is set to get a few upgrades this week. Version 1.65 brings with it a new user interface and speed improvements – making it even easier to stalk avatars wearing nothing but swimwear. Tweaks include a new menu screen, personal voice chat and more intelligent use of furniture slots...
News StarDrone Extreme Scraps Premium Level Skip DLC
Extremely generous
Cast your mind back to our StarDrone Extreme review and you may recall us being a bit miffed at the game’s implementation of DLC. The Vita puzzle title essentially allowed you to skip difficult stages for £0.79 — an additional cost that felt a bit forced. Thankfully, developer Beatshapers has responded to the criticism and...
News Get Your First Look at Shinji Mikami's Next Project
Zwei to go
If you’re still salivating over the prospect of Shinji Mikami’s upcoming survival horror project Zwei, perhaps we could tempt you with our very first look at the game. The sneak peek comes courtesy of a single piece of concept art uploaded to developer Tango Gameworks’ website, and shows a suitably macabre scene. Specific details...
News Starhawk Takes You on a Trip to the Wild West
Space saloon
Lightbox Interactive’s upcoming PS3 exclusive Starhawk may primarily be a multiplayer focused affair, but the game will also boast a comprehensive single-player campaign to boot. The plot follows the adventure of Emmett Graves, a miner infected by valuable rift energy. We love the look of the game’s comic book cut-scenes, but...
News Resident Evil Creator Working on New Survival Horror Game
Act surprised
Survival horror’s been a pretty under represented genre this generation. Other than the brilliant Siren: Blood Curse, there’s been a real dearth of truly frightening content. As such, it’s up to Shinji Mikami – the creator of the Resident Evil franchise – to resurrect the dying genre. According to the latest issue of Famitsu...
Tuesday24th Apr 2012
News First Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 Details Dribble Online
No Vita version
We’ll get to dissecting Pro Evolution Soccer 2013’s actual announcement in a moment, but first let’s deal with the gigantic elephant in the room. Despite launching on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2, there will not be a Vita version of PES 2013. We suppose that could change as the game’s autumn release...
News PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale to Debut This Week
Promo trailer practically confirms it
We’ll finally get our first look at gameplay footage from Sony’s heavily rumoured mascot mash-up PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale this Thursday. Host Geoff Keighley prompted speculation when he teased a massive “PS3 exclusive” would debut on this week’s episode of GTTV – but the announcement has...
News Kat Dresses Up for Gravity Rush Pre-Order DLC
A lady in uniform
Those that pre-order Sony’s upcoming topsy-turvy Vita exclusive Gravity Rush from “participating retailers” will get their hands on an extra ration of DLC for the main game. The Military Mission pack – which launched separately in Japan earlier in the year – includes a slick sergeant major costume for protagonist Kat, in...
News Test Your Might with Klassic Mortal Kombat Vita Kostumes
Killer threads
Mortal Kombat Vita will not only ship with the full original game and DLC shrunken down to pocket size – it’ll also add some, ahem, exclusive kontent of its own. Extras include Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 outfits for Ermac, Noob Saibot, Rain, Reptile, Smoke, Scorpion and Sub-Zero. There’ll also be some Mortal Kombat 2 themed...
Feature Should Games Find Inspiration in Television?
Suitable for broadcast
The video game industry has been infatuated with cinema for years. The obsession stretches back to the late 1980s, if not earlier. Titles like Prince of Persia scattered cinematic setpieces throughout: leaps of faith into nothingness, climactic battles upon crumbling bridges. There was delight when SEGA's Mega CD allowed the...
News PlayStation Plus Update: May 2012 (Europe)
Awesomeness in store
The European PlayStation Blog has revealed the goodies PlayStation Plus subscribers can expect next month. Here's the breakdown of what will be made available to you Plus members from 2nd May onward. Free Games — PS3: Awesomenauts – saving £7.99/€9.99 Hamsterball – free until July 4th, saving £7.99/€9.99 Wakeboarding...
News PlayStation Plus Update: May 2012 (North America)
Trine 2, Castlevania and Pixel Junk
PlayStation Plus subscribers in North America, here's what you can look forward to downloading after May's first update next Tuesday. Plus Exclusive Early Access: PixelJunk 4am Closed Viewer Beta — 1st May Velocity (Free PS mini) – 1st May Free Games — PS3: Awesomenauts — 1st May
News Uncharted Series Surpasses 17 Million Sales
Priceless treasure
Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series has officially entered the pantheon of great PlayStation sellers, with Sony announcing this evening that the franchise has surpassed 17 million sales globally since its debut in 2007. The numbers account for the PS3 trilogy and Sony Bend’s recently released Vita spin-off. To celebrate the news,...
News Skype Calls on PlayStation Vita This Week
Who's there?
Popular internet phone service Skype comes to PlayStation Vita this week as a free app. The app lands in North America today and Europe tomorrow, with support for both 3G and Wi-fi models. You can use Vita's rear or front-facing cameras to make video calls, plus have the app running in the background while you play, so you need never...
News Sony Pulls Exploited Super Collapse 3 from PSN
Play a different brick game
Mere days after restoring two hacked PSP titles to the PlayStation Network, Sony has had to yank another one. Super Collapse 3 is the latest release to be completely removed from the company’s digital storefront, after hackers found a way to run unsigned code through an exploit in the software. Homebrew junkie Wololo...
News Sackboy Plans an Escape on PSN This Week
On the road to freedom
Sackboy’s cross-marketing potential continues to lavish us with outstandingly adorable costumes this week, as new Escape Plan and Journey outfits are added to the animated hero’s LittleBigPlanet 2 wardrobe. If you pick up the Journey costume you’ll also score a themed sticker pack to go with it, allowing you to create...
News Swap Blocks with Bejeweled 3 on PSN Today
Sparkling sequel
We're onto Bejeweled 3 already? How much mileage is developer Popcap going to get out of a simple game of match three? Quite a lot, we suspect, because we know you’re going to buy this game like the hopeless sheep you are. It’s more Bejeweled – and who doesn’t want to play more Bejeweled? The latest version includes a better...
Rumour Marketing Survey Teases Rayman Origins Sequel
Born again
When Rayman Origins appeared to struggle at retail late last year, many thought it was game over for Ubisoft’s stout nosed mascot. But alas, dreams can come true, as a marketing survey sent out by Arkenford on the French publisher’s behalf has hinted at the possibility of a sequel. The survey – discovered by Kotaku – notes that...
Monday23rd Apr 2012
News Sony Registers PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Domain
Mounting evidence
Sony’s heavily rumoured crossover brawler PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale took a step closer to confirmation this weekend, as cyber snoops uncovered a website domain registration for the title filed by SCEA. The name was previously mentioned in a PlayStation survey, and seems to be pretty legit at this point. The game itself...
News Harley Quinn Gets Her Revenge Next Month in Arkham City
"Time to die, B-man"
Harley Quinn isn’t particularly happy about... Wait, that’s probably a spoiler isn’t it? If you’ve already played Batman: Arkham City, then we probably don’t need to tell you what Harley Quinn’s upset about. What we do need to tell you is that she’ll get her revenge on 29th May, when Batman: Arkham City is updated...
Preview Double Dragon Neon (PSN)
Blast from the past or best left unearthed?
If anyone stands a chance at a Double Dragon revival, the 2D maestros over at WayForward are the most likely to pull it off in a convincing way. Between beloved revivals of Contra and A Boy and His Blob under their belt, new takes on BloodRayne and Batman and side-scrolling classics like
News Geoff Keighley: Huge New PS3 Exclusive Reveal This Week
Announcement extravaganza
It’s going to be a “good week for PlayStation fans” according to GameTrailers hype-man Geoff Keighley. The industry legend teased over the weekend that a “huge new PS3 exclusive” will be revealed on GTTV this Thursday, with the first in-game footage on display. While it’s unclear what the title will be,...
Rumour Sony Cut Heavenly Sword Sequel in 2008
Ninja theory
The original Heavenly Sword wasn’t quite the breakout success Sony expected it to be, but there was still a sequel in the works. The CV of former Sony Cambridge staffer Martin Binfield has revealed that a sequel to the action title was in development in 2008 before being cancelled. An animation reel by the same developer also offers...
News New Call of Duty to Debut Next Week
Back ops
It’s time to plot your pursuit of prestige all over again, as Activision readies the announcement of another Call of Duty title. As previously speculated, all will be revealed on 1st May. A countdown on CallofDuty.com notes that the title will be showcased during the basketball playoffs on US cable channel TNT. Seems like an appropriate...
News Try to Survive in Resistance: Burning Skies
Last man standing
When Nihilistic Software lifted the lid on Resistance: Burning Skies’ multiplayer, it primarily focused on the game’s Deathmatch variants. Now it has revealed the Vita exclusive’s third and final multiplayer mode: Survival. The mode works a little like a deadly game of Tag. The eight-player playlist puts six players in charge...
News Twisted Metal Derails Outside North America
Unplayable online
For a game that’s designed around multiplayer, Twisted Metal has some seriously problematic connectivity issues. But at least it was actually playable up until the weekend. Indeed, players outside of the US are now complaining that the game won’t even load into the main menu unless you sign out of the PlayStation Network. While...
News The Walking Dead Shuffles onto PSN This Week
Brrrains
Telltale’s latest episodic offering is to begin its amble onto the PlayStation Network this week. The first episode of its new The Walking Dead series will kick off on 24th April in North America and 25th April in Europe. Episodes will be available individually for $4.99/£3.99, or as part of a season pass for $19.99/£15.99. Plump up for...
Most Read
News PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is Real, This Trailer Proves It
Feature Why We're Excited About PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Talking Point Does Vita Really Need Online Multiplayer Games?
News Mortal Kombat Girls Flaunt Their Vita Exclusive Glad Rags
News Sony Registers PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Domain
