All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Defend your castle and honor in Abylight's new Tower Defense game.

Epic Games design director and Gears of War guru Cliff Bleszinski was recently cornered by PlayStation Blog to chat about the studio's upcoming, over-the-top shooter, Bulletstorm, co-developed by People Can Fly. The outspoken designer shares more than a few interesting pieces of insight into the foul-mouthed title, such as the game drawing creative inspiration from Joss Whedon's short-lived "pulp sci-fi" series, Firefly. Bleszinski also drops a few more details about the game's Horde-inspired co-op mode, Anarchy, which sounds appropriately insane.

Additionally, Bleszinski describes his favorite kill (from the game) -- but we're not sure we can contextualize it in a way that you could understand. Just know that a cactus is involved.

The Parody TV spot
This week we decided to have a bit of fun with the new LBP2 machinima tools and create a parody of one of our favorite TV spots on the air right now. I’m sure you’ve seen it…

If you want to compare it to the original TV spot, here it is:

And FYI, the Best Buy TV/PS3 bundle offer ends later this week on Saturday, Dec 11th. While you’re there, be sure to pre-order LittleBigPlanet 2!

A “pair-o-deez” vouchers
Its official, this week is the big week where two sets of voucher codes will be send out to our LBP community. Check your e-mail in-boxes this week (hopefully for your sake you’re opted in) for codes for the following:

Sackboy’s Prehistoric Moves – With Move controller in hand, enjoy a brand new game with the PlayStation Move and Sackboy. Available on the PlayStation Store on 12/14, but free for a lucky batch of fans and free for all PlayStation Plus subscribers!

LittleBigPlanet 2 – expanded online beta (now with voice recording) – Here’s your chance to get on the online beta and get a glimpse of what the beta community has been creating. Help us test the server environment as you enjoy a taste of LBP2.

NOTE: If you didn’t get an e-mail, we’ll let you know where else you can get your hands on a code…maybe for some of you dedicated folks on our blog…

Talking to the Qore
Finally, make sure to check out the latest edition of Qore to get the latest on LBP2.

I don’t know why, but I’ve always hated it when a title has the @ symbol in its name. It wouldn’t keep me from buying that title, but I’ll get fed up every time I see it. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Square-Enix has done with their latest name trademark, Clover E@rth. It’s [...]

#science Launched earlier this year, Japan's Akatsuki spacecraft was supposed to enter equatorial orbit of the planet Venus yesterday, using a combination of specialized cameras to track clouds and watch for Venusian lightning for two years. Whoops. More »

Reported leak also reveals 10 new characters.

TopWare and SouthPeak's double-delayed RPG, Two Worlds 2, has finally received a North American release date of January 25, 2011. Later that week, the game will arrive in the U.K. and Ireland, where Topware will take over as sole distributor, allowing SouthPeak to focus on promoting the game in North America. That sounds like a decent strategy, but we're not sure the extra attention is necessary -- it's always been our experience that games with perfectly symmetrical titles practically sell themselves.

Two Worlds 2 has already been received with moderate success in Continental Europe, with the Xbox 360 and PC versions selling over one million copies combined since their releases in early November. (The PS3 version, remember, was held up due to a Blu-ray printing delay.) There's no telling how well the game will be received in new regions next month, but if its critical reception remains positive, we're guessing it'll do a great deal better than its predecessor.

8/12/10 - Future, the special-interest media group, has revealed GamesMaster Presents – a new series of premium bimonthly specials dedicated to video gaming icons. Issue one celebrates the 25th anniversary of the world’s most popular plumber with GamesMaster Presents Mario. Gaming’s greatest hero is immortalised with 132 pages covering everything you need to know [...]

#pc Bejeweled 3 is a wonderful game, a collection of mostly great riffs on the pure gameplay concept of matching gems. But two modes — Lightning and Ice Storm — are tough. More »

7 Shockingly Dark Origins of Lovable Children’s Characters If The Characters from ‘Street Fighter 2′ Got Hammered Thanks to ReyVGM for the heads up!

- due out in Japan on Dec. 18th for 4,179 yen (~$50) - open the roof to make a second floor - left/right walls open to reveal a restoration machine and shop - trap door on floor opens to a battle stadium - special handles for moving Pokemon in the battle stadium - rotating display can be purchased separately, which [...]

Protect your precious handheld against scratches and bumps with a Nintendo DSi sock. Made from 100% cotton and measuring 15cm x 7cm, it’ll make your Nintendo DSi feel all warm inside. Grab yours here

Though plenty of reviewers (our own included) were swept up by the enchanting world of Epic Mickey, its shoddy camera has been pretty much universally maligned. Creator Warren Spector leaped to his team's defense while speaking with MTV, saying, "First, there has never been a game that I couldn't break if you give it to me for 30 seconds. I mean, I will break a camera in any game ever made. [Ed.'s note: Well, clearly.] Third-person camera is way harder than I even imagined it could be. It is the hardest problem in video game development. Everybody gets it wrong. It's just a question of how close to right do you get it."

Spector went on to say that the issue stems from the fact that his game isn't a pure platformer, so the camera couldn't be tuned just for that purpose. "If reviewers want to give us a hard time about it because they're misunderstanding the game we made, it's not for me to tell them that they're wrong," he continued, "absolutely not."

Listen, we love Warren Spector, and Epic Mickey has plenty of good points, for sure. But "We tried to do something that was crazy hard and it didn't work" is not a suitable excuse -- unless you're going house to house and explaining the "right" way to play. (P.S. If Spector does start doing that, you probably shouldn't let him near your cameras.)

The following information comes from Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino… - 600,000 preorders for the game. This is the highest initial order for any new Level-5 property, said Hino. - highest initial order for any new Level-5 property - staff hopes to sell one million or two million copies - “We consider Ni no Kuni to be Level-5’s next big [...]

#clips While we're still working on our LittleBigPlanet 2 impressions, have a look at the classic first-person shooter Wolfenstein 3D as it's been recreated in LBP2 by someone playing the beta. Surely, this proves LBP2's editing tools are flexible. More »

- Official title is Ikenie no Yoru, or Night of the Sacrifice - horror adventure game set around Tsukuyomi Canyon - this is a haunted place where it’s said the locals once offered human sacrifices to the gods - 5 college students decide to visit the canyon on vacation - use the Wii remote like a flashlight - explore the [...]

You'll learn two facts about Batman in the brief Arkham City teaser video offered exclusively by MSN Games UK:

Batman is sneaky Batman is good at fighting These are important character traits to reveal to people who have never heard of Batman before, which is apparently the target audience for this video. Otherwise -- if you know anything about Batman at all, or if you were looking for, say, gameplay footage from Arkham City -- the clip is less thrilling and more workaday.

Hi PlayStation.Blog readers! Since this is my first post, allow me to take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Abby Reyes and I work on the hardware PR team here at SCEA. We’re already eight days into December and the holiday shopping is in full swing. With all of the hustle and bustle, I thought I’d take a few moments to walk you through some of the great new official PlayStation accessories available this holiday season.

By now you’ve hopefully had the opportunity to test out the exciting and new PlayStation Move platform. Adding Move to your gaming arsenal is not the only way to elevate your experience on PS3 system. Designed to maximize your overall entertainment experience, finding a new Bluetooth Headset, a Surround Sound System, or a “Candy Pink” DualShock 3 wireless controller under the tree is sure to make anyone’s holiday a little brighter this year – at prices starting as low as $49.99(MSRP). As many of you know, PS3 is already the most complete home entertainment solution available this holiday season and tops many gamers’ wish lists. When combined with any of our newest titles, such as Gran Turismo 5, The Sly Cooper Collection, or SingStar Dance, PS3 instantly becomes something everyone in your entire family can enjoy and play together.

These peripherals are available at local retailers around the U.S., so be sure to check them out. As always, let us know your thoughts and enjoy!

#demo Is Dead Space 2 really "scarier" than the original? Find out later this month, when a demo of the scary sci-fi sequel drops for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. More »

Did you know you can add a store to your Facebook page? Neither did we ... but luckily for the human race, the clever folks at Grasshopper Manufacture did know, and they used that knowledge to add a store to the official Grasshopper Manufacture Facebook page.

The only thing available for now is a limited edition (only 1000 of these were made!) No More Heroes 2 Original Soundtrack CD with music from Akira Yamaoka, Jun Fukuda, The RIOT and others -- that can be yours for ¥3150 (about $38). In order to promote the new store, GhM sent us the aforementioned CD, the Hopper's Edition of No More Heroes 2 (detailed here) and the pre-order-only "Erotic Comic" to give away to one of you, so that's precisely what we're going to do with this very post.

Since his debut in 1987, Mega Man has remained a video game icon, having starred in more than 140 titles. In his 22 year history, the connection he’s made with pop culture at large has extended beyond games and into cartoons, toys, clothing, comics, and more. Now, Mega Man fans everywhere can become a part [...]

#screengrab The head-chomping, zombie-making alien of Half-Life looks good in a powdered wig when painted by Gearbox Software artist and Team Fortress 2 hat maker Shaylyn "ChemicalAlia" Hamm, as seen at deviantArt. More »

These images come from the Mission in Snowdriftland project, which said that BIT.TRIP FLUX content was on the way… Check out more here