PlayStation News Message Board

Over 50 titles to feature in Sony's booth at upcoming game event.

Company shares first details on Luminous at Japanese game developers event.

The boys have been wiggling their wands all week long.

Wanna run Linux on your PS3? Think again!

Older models being phased out - but when are they on sale?

Arcade games are finally back on the A-list.

PAX Prime is coming, but we've covered a lot of the games there.

Gabe Newell teases fans with big reveals.

New cloud-based service coming later this year.

Studio issues notices today.

The 3rd Birthday, Kingdom Hearts from Square, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood from Ubi.

Authentic rodeo title lets up-and-coming cowboys rope 'n ride using the PlayStation Move.

Mystery site promises Tokyo Game Show reveal for new game.

Come see what we think of the launch lineup.

Irem returns to consoles for next entry in adventure series. Toilets included.

We have a complete rundown of today's PSN update.

When we weren't at beach bonfires, we were playing these games.

Unannounced titles on the way for next month's big show.

New screen arrives for unannounced PSP title - can you complete the puzzle?

This week’s The Drop tells the story of the Green Knight, Gray Knight, Conehead and Snakey when they discover a black magical box in the Animal Ark that plays Blu-Rays. Get your battle axes and animal orbs ready, The Pipistrello and the Frost King await your arrival on the PlayStation Network. Need a testosterone hit of big guns, mechs and explosions? Here’s your chance to save New York City (again.) Shinji Mikami replaces the undead of Resident Evil with the Augmented Reaction Suit, when the PSN demo for his new sci-fi action shooter drops on PSN.

Jeff has a death grip on his PSP this week with the arrival of Valkyria Chronicles II, and PlayStation minis get some love when Europe’s Metacritic PSP darling and Youtube viral sensation goes ‘crabbing for gold.’ The PlayStation Network has tons of love to give this week — get the bandages ready — your gaming thumbs are going need it.

PlayStation Network

Castle Crashers // PSN Demo — Dan Paladin is not only the co-founder of his very own independent studio and Art Director for Castle Crashers, he’s also amazing at wrapping gifts. Yes, August 31st may be a Tuesday, but it’s also the official day PlayStation fans can pull battle axes and volleyballs out of their closets and download Castle Crashers on the PlayStation Network.  If the whole hack’n’slash thing has got you down, there’s a happier alternative. The PS3 version of Castle Crashers adds an additional volleyball mini-game, where you can play locally or online. There’s also a demo on PSN if you want to dip your toes in before taking the plunge.

Sam & Max Episode 5: The City That Dares Not Sleep – Debuting as a comic book in 1985, Sam & Max have their own episodic video game in its third season. Episode 5 of The Devil’s Playhouse grants Max the ability to shape shift, teleport and use future sight to fight an arcane scholar.

PlayStation Network Demos

Vanquish — If the creator of Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami woke up from a dream one morning and wanted to create his very own third-person shooter (and destroy San Francisco) he’d named that dream Vanquish. In the distant future, Russians have captured a US space station which harnesses solar energy, and have used it to annihilate the Bay Area faster then you can say Nuclear Man.

Armed with the Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS) — you play as Sam Gideon — the last defense against the Russians. Your mission is to restore peace and recapture the space station before they reach their next target, New York City. Associate Community Manager for Vanquish, Julian Mehifeld posted a blog earlier this week, with more details on PlantiumGames‘ latest title.

R.U.S.E. — Deception and intellect are the key ingredients behind this real-time strategy game. Play up to six different factions ranging from the US to the USSR, and change the tides of war using decoys and ruses to trick your enemies. Ubisoft and Eugen Systems deliver a demo this Tuesday and promise PlayStation Move support in the future.

PlayStation Portable

Valkyria Chronicles II — Valkyria Chronicles II takes place two years after the conclusion of the original game on the PlayStation 3. Experience stories of friendship, love and growing pains when Gallian Military Academy cadets plunge into civil war against the Gallian Revolutionary Army.

It’s no secret that our very own Jeff Rubenstein is a huge fan of Valkyria Chronicles II. He frequently drives to SEGA to pay Aaron Webber a visit when he needs a VC multiplayer fix on his PSP — we have a new multiplayer video tour coming up this week. Stay tuned.

PlayStation minis

Coconut Dodge — Coconut Dodge is an arcade-style mini that was released in Europe in May and quickly gained critical success with glowing reviews and a handful of perfect 10 out of 10 scores. It now sits at number 25 all time highest rated PSP games on Metacritic.com. Check out how addictive the game can be in the infamous One More Go video, which shows a player going through the highs, the lows and the ultimate joyous relief as he tackles Level 9 of Maze Master mode. Get ready to Crab some Gold!

Two meetups in a week; we just returned from Washington DC’s Move Meetup, and we’re about to take off for the other Washington – the one where Seattle is found. If you couldn’t make the first one, I hope you can make the PAX Meetup. If not, we’ll still have all kinds of video interviews from the Expo.

We’ll definitely be covering our first party games like Killzone 3 and inFAMOUS 2 – but are there any other titles you’d like us to investigate on your behalf? Let us know in the comments.

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of August 23, 2010)

• Heroes on the Move for PlayStation 3 – Preview – G4tv.com
• Let’s Look At Gran Turismo 5 Parts – Kotaku
• Telltale Games is bringing a DeLorean time machine to PAX – Destructoid
• A Horde Of Localized Z.H.P. Screens – Siliconera
• All About Trinity: Souls Of Zill O’ll And How Tecmo Koei Designed It For The West – Siliconera
• Ys Seven for PlayStation Portable Review – G4tv.com
• Why inFamous got a new Cole (and why he was changed back) – Joystiq
• Back to the Future Trilogy Finally Coming To Blu-ray – G4tv.com
• EA boss: MOH won’t submit to ‘Taliban’ outcry – Develop
• This is what UFC Undisputed 2010 looks like on PSP – Joystiq
• Video: John Daly’s ProStroke Golf – G4tv.com
• Resistance 3 Coming 2011, Skipping PAX – IGN
• Red Dead Redemption’s Liars And Cheats Pack Is Two Packs In One – Kotaku
• NBA 2K11 Supports PlayStation Move and 3D – IGN
• Shank review: Always Be Murdering – Joystiq
• PAX: PS Blog and IGN Meet & Greet – IGN
• Feeling your way through thatgamecompany’s Journey – Destructoid
• Dead Rising 2: High Stakes Edition Announced – IGN
• Planet Minigolf Receiving Move Support – IncGamers
• All About the PlayStation 1′s Design – 1UP
• PlayStation Move Meets Top Gun – IGN
• Eyes-on With Infamous 2′s New Cole, New Tricks – Kotaku
• GOW III Ultimate Edition Giveaway – GamesOnSmash
• Ys Seven Review for PSP – GameSpot
• What Killzone looked like before it was Killzone – Joystiq

We're tracking the best sellers on PSN, just for you.

Is this the long awaited Romancing SaGa sequel?

Relatively food-chat free.

It's our anniversary, and we're giving you the gifts.

Today, we take our shirts off.

For the 150th episode, IGN's PlayStation boys are giving you the presents.

It’s a proud week for us here at Zipper Interactive as tomorrow marks the 8th birthday of our first-ever PS2 game and the title that started a huge multimillion-selling franchise, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs. To celebrate the eight-year mark, we’ve put together a special video for our fans.

In it, you’ll experience the gamescom 2010 SOCOM 4 demo in its entirety with commentary by lead designer, Travis Steiner. This is the first time anywhere that you’ll see the gamescom demo played all the way through and in high-definition, making it a “must watch” for anyone even remotely interested in what we have in store for 2011.

Let us know what you think below, and please accept our sincerest thanks for making the first eight years of SOCOM as great as they have been. Here’s to many more to come!

Come play the latest from Sony and hang out with our editors.

During Comic-Con a few weeks ago, IGN’s Greg Miller asked me if I had my PSP and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker with me. As it turns out, I did. Greg, a dude named Dennis Miller (not *that* Dennis Miller), and I then proceeded to take down Metal Gear Rex in an intense co-op match. Oh yeah, this was in the middle of G4’s party.

In that moment, an idea was born.

A few days later, Greg asked if I was interested in getting a bunch of Peace Walker fans together to tackle the hardest levels – the ones that are best handled cooperatively. Sounded good to me. As we began to plan it, we realized that such a group is already going to assemble… next week at Penny Arcade Expo.

So here we are, doing this thing, and you’re invited. We’re renting out Top Pot Donuts in downtown Seattle next Thursday evening and will fill it with new and upcoming PSP games such as Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Valkyria Chronicles II, Split/Second, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

Also, we have ordered 34 dozen donuts. They’re tasty. Very tasty.

While it’ll no doubt be fun to try out those games, we also strongly encourage you to bring your own PSP for friendly competitive or cooperative matches in games like Hot Shots Tennis, SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3, and, of course, MGS: Peace Walker. We’ll even lend you a copy if you wanna jump in but don’t already have one.

Are you sold on this yet? Wait, there’s more!

As you sample the games, we’ll be keeping track of the best players, and the top performers will get a special behind-the-scenes tour of our media-only area, where you’ll be able to check out games that won’t be on the show floor like inFAMOUS 2 and the recently announced Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.

And every attendee will walk out with a voucher to download the demo for God of War: Ghost of Sparta – before anyone else gets to play it. Please tell me this is reason enough to attend.

Still want more? Ok, I’ll give: Greg Miller will autograph your bare chest if you ask politely.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Thursday, September 2, 2010
• Top Pot Donuts (2124 5th Ave., 
Seattle, WA 98121)


• Time: 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
• RSVP here

RSVP today, and don’t forget to bring your appetite for fried dough – we’ve got 408 donuts and we’re going to make Rey eat any leftovers.