PlayStation News Message Board older than one year ago

And how lawyers like the ESA's Ken Doroshow are using the Constitution to stop the government's efforts.

"Part cat, part girl - and fully lethal."

That's how Krome Studios' press release describes the heroine of the upcoming Blade Kitten, a two-part, downloadable arcade action game coming to the PS3 this Spring. The anime-inspired game is based off a comic of the same name, created by Krome Studios co-founder Steve Stamatiadis.

A gameplay trailer will debut later tonight exclusively on Spike TV's GameTrailers TV. Expect to see some platforming, sword fighting and a disturbing focus on her -- we kid you not -- "smart mouth" and "hot body." Meow. Before then, you can watch a teaser trailer after the break.

Last week, Xbox 360 owners got the first look at Fable 3, the newest Peter Molyneux game. Don't feel left out, members of the PlayStation Family -- you've got your own Molyneux game on the way! An old one!

The ESRB has rated the PlayStation version of Magic Carpet for release on PS3 and PSP, meaning it'll join last week's release of Populous: The Beginning as PSOne Classics at some point in the future. Why settle for being a king when, for the low price of $5.99, you could be a wizard on a flying carpet!

If that doesn't grab you, you'll also be able to pick up Sorcerer's Maze at some point. While not a Molyneux game (it's a low-budget Arkanoid-style game published by XS Games) it is also about a sorcerer (not sure about the "maze" part). And how can you refuse that box art, even in a digital version with no box?

It's no secret that shmup fans love inflicting pain on themselves. That's why they'll undoubtedly love the news that the upcoming PSN-exclusive shooter Soldner-X 2 will feature a new "Challenge" mode -- as if the game wasn't going to be challenging enough! In this new mode, players will have to complete a variety of tasks in order to earn Trophies, bonus items and additional credits. Considering the near-impossible task of earning a 100 percent in the first game, this new mode is sure to further frustrate and delight hardcore gamers.

Soldner-X 2 will be available on the PlayStation Network some time this Spring.

Just because a game exclusively features powerful British accents doesn't mean said game can't be released outside of Europe. The episodic PSN mystery series Blue Toad Murder Files will make its way to North America on March 25. Episodes One, Two and Three can be purchased as a single bundle for $14.99, or separately for $7.49 apiece.

If you've got a hankering for some Layton-esque brainteasers wrapped in an overarching, cartoonish story, Blue Toad will probably scratch that itch. If you just want to hear a manly-voiced gentleman bellow the word "maaaahdaaaaahhh" over and over again, it should satisfy that desire too.

According to its website (and an ESRB classification), Elefunk dev Big Head Games is bringing its The Terminator iPhone / iPod Touch game (released last summer) to PS Minis. There's no date yet for the cross-compatible PS3/PSP title (described as "run-and-gun" by the ESRB) which casts players as Kyle Reese in a prequel to the original Terminator film. iTunes users haven't exactly been kind to the mobile version of the game, but we've yet to see what changes (if any) BHG will be making for the Minis release.

Wait -- did we just write this without making a single cringe-worthy Terminator reference? Hmm. Off day, we guess.

[Via Destructoid]

Lead, Senior and Experienced development positions open as Codemasters Studios Guildford accelerates hiring program and targets additional team for future projects.

High demand, low supply means problems.

Stuart Black heads up new action title from Codemasters.

Top industry figures discuss what gaming will be like in ten years time.

We generally opt for punnier headlines, but it's difficult when the news is as uninspiring as this. GamesRadar's much-hyped PS3 exclusive announcement has been revealed: FirstPlay, a weekly digital "magazine" for European PS3 owners. Much like Qore, it will provide video previews and exclusive demos of anticipated PlayStation titles. However, unlike Qore, it will be produced weekly.

FirstPlay will be available in the UK beginning in March, with other European territories to follow shortly thereafter. Individual episodes can be purchased for 99p, while a three month subscription will cost £8.99. Replacing Veronica Belmont for this strictly-European offering is British comedian Lucy Porter. Hopefully, she'll find some time to make fun of the people that thought this announcement was going to be about Resistance 3.

Gaijin Entertainment Corporation plans to publish 1C's PC combat racing game Death Track: Resurrection, on PS3. At least, the publisher secured an ESRB rating for a PS3 version, which it probably wouldn't do if it didn't plan to release the game. Death Track: Resurrection, released last year, is about a violent racing competition set far in the future, in which cars have weapons and stuff. As a rookie driver, the player must make their way up the tournament ranks by driving well and not exploding.

Resurrection is the sequel to a PC game, Deathtrack, created by Red Baron/Tribes developer Dynamix and originally released in 1989. That actually goes a long way toward explaining how you can have "Death Track" and "Resurrection" in the same title. It's the death track that was resurrected.

Niche Japanese publisher Nippon Ichi hasn't had a very good year. With an expected loss of 299 million yen ($3.33 million) for the fiscal year, it's clear NIS must make drastic changes to turn things around. According to a report by Andriasang, the company blames its poor performance for relying too much on externally-developed games, something that will be rectified in the coming fiscal year. 2010 will feature a more focused title catalog, with only eight game releases.

With 1.6 million Disgaea games sold so far, the franchise is unquestionably Nippon Ichi's most valued asset. Going forward, the company plans on releasing yet another Disgaea title for the PS3. The new release is part of a new initiative at the company to focus on potential growth areas: PS3 software, and the North American market.

However, the off-the-radar release of their last PS3 game, Last Rebellion, proves Nippon Ichi may not be properly equipped to exploit the current generation. Disgaea may be well known in the hardcore gaming community, but will another game be enough to turn Nippon Ichi's fortunes around?

Noted RPG developer to assist Red Eagle games in building videogames based on Robert Jordan's fantasy series "The Wheel of Time."

It may not have charted in the January NPDs, but Uncharted 2 has stealthily beaten sales of the first game in the series, according to PlayStation's Jack Tretton. We can think of a number of reasons why: Certainly, the growing install base of the PS3 has something to do with franchise's growing success; and perhaps the addition of multiplayer makes Uncharted 2 a more attractive purchase than the first game; or maybe it's simply because it's pretty darn good.

Uncharted 2 sales are "now closing in on three million copies sold worldwide," according to Tretton. Considering those figures, it's clear that Sony management should have one directive for developer Naughty Dog: "Make another one, please!"

Nippon Ichi plans fiscal recovery through additional PS3 support next year.

Are all those Xbox 360 megatons getting a bit monotonous? Here, try something in PS3 flavor. Specifically, a brand new God of War 3 trailer from GameTrailers TV (after the break). In it, Kratos proves that, for him, carrying around a big boulder is no Sisyphean task. In fact, it becomes somewhat of an improbable method of propulsion. The game also puts a giant monster on an even bigger giant so Kratos can fight while he fights.

It's a festival of excess, tied loosely into Greek myth. Total God of War stuff, essentially.

Nintendo first, followed by Sony, then Microsoft.

The week in Aussie news, reviews and opinions – in video form!

Some of our favorite games are making us, like, feel stuff.

The sights, sounds, and electrifying feeling of my very first game disc.

We're going to have a few very busy months.

We're big fans of the Digital Comics service on PSP. However, there's been one feature that's sorely missing from the program right now: the ability to delete comics from your Memory Stick. While the footprint of a single issue is rather small (around 30MB), it can easily build up. Who knows? That free issue of Archie you downloaded could prevent you from downloading Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker!

Thankfully, that doomsday scenario seems unlikely. Pete Scott told readers of the PlayStation.Blog that "there will be an update to the application to enable in-app deletion." Until then, if you want to manage your PSP comics collection, you'll have to make do with the Media Go app on the PC.

Gravity Crash developer Just Add Water has announced a brand new game for PSP, PS3 and iPhone. Vektar Beat is a "rhythm/puzzle game" that will presumably feature vector-styled graphics. Taking a page from WiiWare's Bit.Trip franchise, Vektar Beat is just the first in a series of Vektar mini-games.

While details are scant, there's good reason to play close attention to the game. Just Add Water plans on charging as little as $1 for the game on the Minis service, introducing pricing parity between the App Store and the PlayStation Store for the first time. For PSP owners frustrated at overpriced Minis, Vektar Beat represents an interesting experiment.

Vektar Beat is scheduled for release in the Spring. Further details are scant for now, but tonight's episode of the PS Nation podcast should reveal much more.

Halfbrick Studios continues to churn out Minis for the PSP and PS3. Rocket Racing is the fourth title from the Australian studio for Sony's indie platform, following Age of Zombies, Echoes and Blast Off. Based on the Xbox Live Indie Game of the same name, Rocket Racing is one of the few games designed with the PSP Go in mind: the game can be played exclusively with the shoulder buttons, meaning Go owners can play with the system closed.

The gameplay of this top-down racer is rather unique. Each shoulder button represents a side thruster on the vehicle. Players will have to adjust each thruster to cut through corners, and make their way through the game's 24 levels. Hugging the walls won't result in a penalty; instead, the "grind" will result in a speed boost. Unfortunately, due to limitations of the Minis platform, there's no real multiplayer. Instead, gamers will have to resort to pass-around multiplayer, taking turns to go through the courses. Unfortunately, this "Party" mode seems like a rather misguided attempt to circumvent Minis' shortcoming.

Rocket Racing should appear on the PlayStation Store later this month for $4.99. Check out a trailer after the break.

Creat Studios, one of the few proud and brave developers supporting Sony's PSP Minis service, recently announced in a PlayStation Blog post that it had three titles in the works for Europe: Alien Havoc; Freekscape and Bubble Trubble. Alien Havoc is already available here in the States, but a recent ESRB listing suggests that Freekscape is also on its way.

The ESRB site describes Freekscape as "a platformer game in which players run around a "cartoony" version of the underworld ("Hell") as a small demon creature, essentially a "good" devil." You can check out a two-minute video sample of Freekscape's blend of puzzle-platforming after the break.

[Thanks, Blake]

Comedy Central is promoting the return of two of its most popular original titles on PlayStation Network. Rush to the PlayStation Store to get free downloadable episodes for your PS3 or PSP: the first episode of Important Things with Demetri Martin and episode seven of The Sarah Silverman Program's second season, "High, It's Sarah." If you're having trouble finding these programs, look for the "Free TV" section of the PlayStation Store.

Other free TV offerings on the PlayStation Store include Lost "Season Catch-Ups" which futilely attempt to summarize the events of the seven seasons of ABC's drama. The first episode of Bravo's Kell on Earth is also available for free.

Franchise will still be annualized.

New Guitar Hero, DJ Hero 2 coming back half of 2010.

Creat Studios, one of the few proud and brave developers supporting Sony's PSP Minis service, recently announced in a PlayStation Blog post that it had three titles in the works for Europe: Alien Havoc; Freekscape and Bubble Trubble. Alien Havoc is already available here in the States, but a recent ESRB listing suggests that Freekscape is also on its way.

The ESRB site describes Freekscape as "a platformer game in which players run around a "cartoony" version of the underworld ("Hell") as a small demon creature, essentially a "good" devil." You can check out a two-minute video sample of Freekscape's blend of puzzle-platforming after the break.

[Thanks, Blake]