Commander Fury

Hey folks. I’m Jakub Kwinta from Anshar Studios, the developers of Detached. I’m happy to announce that our new PvP VR shooter, Telefrag VR, hits PlayStation Store July 19. Check out the game’s gameplay trailer and read on for details about the arsenal of weapons you’ll soon be able to try out on the battlefield. For those not familiar with the game, Telefrag VR is a fast-paced, PvP arena shooter set in an alternate universe in which the Roman Empire never collapsed. As a space gladiator, you fight in abstract arenas, using sci-fi weapons instead of a shield and spear. At the concept stage of building Telefrag VR, we asked ourselves how we could bring the classic vibe of the great titles of old to the virtual reality experience. When it came to designing locations with impossible geometry, many classic titles inspired us. The same can be said for the weaponry. Speaking of which, I’ll be introducing the Telefrag VR armory shortly, and I’m sure some of these bad boys will feel familiar to you. But first, it’s worth mentioning that every weapon has two firing modes. You can use both hands (one gun in each) at the same time and choose the most effective loadout for a given situation. The best one is, of course, the teleport attack, which can be used as a form of locomotion or as a weapon. So, keep an eye out for the teleport orb! Rocket Launcher An absolute must-have on the battlefield, this long-distance monster allows you to release a series of rockets that can be controlled during flight – perfect for use on maps that have a lot of open space. It’s an excellent choice for novice gladiators, as small mistakes in aiming will be irrelevant due to the rockets’ awesome area of destruction. Flak Cannon A real classic in the arena shooter genre, the Flak Cannon is a tool of brutality. But it also requires quick wits, as the bouncing projectiles can reach an enemy behind cover, while deadly mines can be deployed using the alternative mode. Remember to check the status of the weapon on its display as the Flak Cannon needs a few seconds to reload. Plasma Rifle A huge hit with fans of automatic weapons, this classic sci-fi rifle unleashes a series of plasma missiles upon your enemy from a great distance. Or you can hone your sharpshooting skills by limiting yourself to a single shot at a time. This second option may cause less damage, but it prevents the weapon from overheating. Laser Pistol Who shot first, Greedo or Mr. Solo? If one of them had a Laser Pistol to hand, there’d be no doubt. An extremely fast weapon, but like the good old Desert Eagle, it doesn’t forgive mistakes. Undoubtedly, the advantage is the maniacal, ricocheting beams that are capable of massive damage. This is a love letter to the railgun. Particle Cannon This weapon shoots a straight, continuous lightning bolt, pushing back anyone who stands in its path. Although the Particle Cannon causes little damage, it’s an extremely malicious weapon which combatants would be wise not to underestimate. Telefrag VR launches July 19 at PlayStation Store with PS Move, DualShock 4, and 3dRudder motion controller support. PvP multiplayer mode will feature cross-platform gameplay as well as two alternative locomotion types. View the full article

Operation Apocalypse Z is upon us, with hordes of ravenous undead across all the game modes as the latest season of content arrives for fans of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4! Expect new weapons to unlock and master, a return to Treyarch’s incredible Aether story in a shocking new Zombies experience, Multiplayer maps that mainly channel the Zombies legacy, and eerie changes to the Blackout maps. (Time to Fear) the Reaper: Brandishing the Scythe heavy machine gun (which applies a suppression effect on the enemies it targets), Reaper returns to Multiplayer. This experimental war robot also arrives with the Radar Shroud; a versatile deployable jammer that blocks enemies from using minimap information within its radius. Black Ops Pass owners now have three additional Multiplayer maps to battle across, including two new Zombies-themed battlegrounds, and a reimagined Black Ops classic: Journey to the Austrian Alps and drop into “Der Schatten” (“The Shadow”), a village sitting in the shadow of Griffin Castle (from “Der Eisendrache”), where a giant robot has spilled out element 115 with interesting results. Or head to the Louisiana swamps in Remnant to visit The Museum of Unnatural History. The museum has recently purchased a unique relic of the past that, sadly for them, still thirsts for blood! In addition, return to the streets of Havana. An original Black Ops map where Cold War tensions are high in a city amidst a revolution. If you’re parachuting into the main Blackout map, the bright and sunny skies have departed in a prelude to the zombie apocalypse. Life is being leached from the landscape, forcing those still living to take refuge; expect floating embers, decaying and dead flora and fauna, and… are those rivers running red with blood?! Blackout’s environmental changes and associated Zombies secrets will be spread across two map variants: The Haunting Fog limited time Quads playlist and core Blackout modes (Solos, Duos, Quads). As the name suggests, The Haunting Fog features a dark and foreboding fog that will have an impact on gameplay, requiring players to create new strategies to reach the final Collapse. Whereas the core Blackout maps will feature Zombies-inspiring theming but without the intense fog. Meanwhile, over on the Alcatraz: Nightfall variant of the Blackout Alcatraz map, a new game mode has brought Hellhounds and the Warden to the island where the undead are more prevalent than ever. Drop into the new mode Alcatraz Portals Horde to battle to survive enemies and the horde! If you’re a Black Ops Pass owner, prepare for the penultimate chapter of the Aether storyline in Treyarch’s newest Zombies experience, “Alpha Omega.” For the first time, you’ll be able to jump into the fray as both the Primis and Ultimis characters, as timelines converge and the fight for survival continues! Battle against new Zombies enemies with secrets behind their existence, solve challenges, and discover Easter Eggs in a wild experience that keeps you guessing until the very end! Operation Apocalypse Z releases first on PlayStation 4 on July 9. For a more detailed look, check the Roadmap (above), watch Treyarch’s Livestream today, visit the Treyarch blog, and check the Activision Games Blog tomorrow for a deeper dive! *Operation Apocalypse Z MP Maps, Alpha Omega Experience, and some content requires Black Ops Pass. The Black Ops Pass is included in the Digital Deluxe Edition, the Digital Deluxe Enhanced Edition, the Pro Edition, and the Mystery Box Edition of Black Ops 4, and can also be purchased standalone digitally or at participating retailers. Black Ops Pass (BOP) content is not final, is subject to change, and may not include all downloadable content available for the game. BOP content may not be available in all countries, and pricing and release dates may vary by platform. BOP content should be downloaded from the in-game store only; do not purchase separately, or you will be charged again. BOP content may be sold separately. For more intel about Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, be sure to visit CallofDuty.com/blackops4 and follow @CallofDuty and @Treyarch on Twitter. For more information on Activision games, follow @Activision on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. View the full article

It’s Saturday night, just minutes after the fourth annual TennoCon, and everyone at Digital Extremes is still tingling with emotion. All kinds of emotions: Nerves are mending, smiles grace the team’s faces, and somebody might be cracking open a bottle of champagne. This evening, more than 2,000 attendees from across the world poured into the RCB Place, London Convention Center to watch our 25-minute, live cooperative demo of the Empyrean Expansion (AKA Project: Railjack). The response? A massive, ear-splitting roar of enthusiasm that filled the convention center. Empyrean was just one of the many announcements unveiled at this year’s TennoCon. The Empyrean Expansion With Empyrean, Warframe has taken its next big step forward. Having started with procedurally generated tilesets, followed by Cinematic Quests and then moving to open world Landscapes, Warframe’s developers have taken the next evolutionary step. The Empyrean expansion gives players immense freedom to take their Railjack across the Origin System to explore, take on missions, and reap cool rewards. But it also permits players to move — via Archwings — from ship to ship, almost like space…ninja…pirates. The live floor demo, led by DE’s community team, showed the details in real time. With three players onboard a custom Railjack (the new space battleship), they departed from the Dry Dock, the upcoming custom space garage, and set off to pick a fight. An incredibly powerful set of scenes ensued — they blasted through a Star Wars-inspired ‘light speed’ travel sequence, located and captured an enemy galleon craft using EMP blasts, jettisoned from their own ship using Archwings to infiltrate the enemy galleon, powered through a small army of Corpus soldiers, and finally took control of the enemy ship! The team used the newly revealed ‘Squad Link,’ which extends missions by reaching out to players on land — in this case, the Plains of Eidolon — to perform tasks to help your cause. One community team member responded by powering down shields from a Corpus base on Earth, and was rewarded for it. Afterward, the team moved onto their next goal — attacking a capital ship with surprise boss, the Kuva Lich, Emra Rok, waiting at mission’s end! The demo showed off a series of mechanics and ideas totally new to Warframe. With Empyrean, players will be able to: customize the Railjack’s many components (armor, weapons, engines, and more) to upgrade and stylize it; assault, steal, and pilot enemy ships; and use a Squad Link to call additional players into their missions to assist them. Director Dan Trachtenberg and the New Intro The Digital Extremes development team thrives on its community’s feedback, enthusiasm, and its love for the game. Even though Empyrean was the main stage attraction, collectively the team was just as proud and excited to unveil a new CGI introduction to Warframe, created together with Director Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane, Black Mirror, Uncharted). The intro digs deep into an earlier time in the Warframe universe when the old Orokin era came to a fall. For the first time ever, players are able to see flashbacks of the original Warframes in action fighting against Dax Warriors, witness proto-Grineer soldiers, and more, all with the aim of creating a larger, deeper universe. Expect this new intro to be incorporated into the game sometime later this year or early next year. Everything Else! From the TennoCon stage, our devs made two more Warframe announcements, giving PlayStation 4 players immediately playable game content. Nightwave Series 2 and Wukong Prime Access were revealed for players across all four platforms, including PlayStation 4! For those not familiar with it, Nightwave is Warframe’s version of a free battle pass, delivered from your ship’s scanner in a space-radio broadcast. It’s built on story-driven gameplay rich with exclusive rewards, gear, and cosmetics. In Series 2: The Emissary players will meet a strange mute child (Arlo) who emerges unharmed from the Infestation and brings with him the miraculous ability to heal the sick. As players dig deeper into the ranked tiers and story, a frightening prospect emerges that the Tenno must confront. Wukong Prime was also announced from the show floor. Available through earned gameplay or purchase as of TennoCon, the enduring, swift and unruly Wukong Prime brings eager Tenno an enhanced version of the original for the first time ever. The Devstream crew revealed several additional surprises on stage including the fourth entry in Warframe’s narrative series with The New War trailer and the new open world Duviri Paradox update trailer. We also unveiled new details on the 41st Warframe (it’s in the works!) and our new Harrow Deluxe Warframe. The team offered up two spectacular contests — including one that gives players a chance to win $250,000 USD toward a trip to space by playing Warframe. In the end, TennoCon is about Digital Extremes giving to its community. All the preparation, time, effort, and focus the team generates reaches a pinnacle of excitement, passion, and creative joy during this show. And the community this year responded with an equally overwhelming level of response of joy, passion, and heart to all the reveals. Thank you, PlayStation players — for your support, feedback, and for playing Warframe! See you in-game! View the full article

Last week, we asked you to step into the light-drenched world of the First in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. While taking on new enemies and meeting the Viera, you shared your favorite moments using #PS4share and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: @Bianca_X23 shared their hero overlooking some interesting architecture. @Bianca_X23 also showed off a full view of their hero and their weapon of choice. Our very own @j00zt1n shares his character, who is of the newly released Viera race. @j00zt1n’s character reaches towards the sky in this magical moment. Search #PS4Share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in next week’s Share of the Week? Theme: Marvel’s Spider-Man – New Suits Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, July 10 Next week, we’re swinging back into action to celebrate the release of two new suits in Marvel’s Spider-Man. Share your friendliest neighborhood moments wearing the new Upgraded and Stealth suits using #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

Spider-Man: Far From Home Director Jon Watts seems unfazed when I ask him if, after capturing what made the character of Peter Parker so great in Spider-Man: Homecoming, he’s given himself a tough act to follow in the web-swinging sequel. His answer is simple. “You have to tell the story that’s right for the characters.” That story places both Peter and his Super Hero alter-ego in unfamiliar territory, half a world away from the skyscrapers of New York that Spider-Man calls home. Peter finds himself shepherded to the other side of the globe along with his classmates as part of a school trip across Europe. It’s a welcome vacation from web-slinging that’s sadly disrupted when he’s enlisted by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and paired with a mysterious new ally Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) to combat a fearsome new threat. With Earth’s defenders now in short supply following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Peter must decide where his ultimate responsibility lies: protecting the world or the life he’s built with his friends. I’m talking with the movie’s director during a brief promotional pitstop in London. The whirlwind global press tour for Spider-Man: Far From Home, releasing in cinemas worldwide this week, has returned him and key cast members to within a few miles of where part of the movie takes place, at one of the city’s iconic landmarks: Tower Bridge. “I thought of Homecoming as being the story of a kid who is desperate to prove himself but the world isn’t listening to him,” says Watts of the dilemma facing Peter in this follow-up to the 2017 film, which he also helmed. “This movie is essentially a sequel to Endgame. It’s the situation were the world is now looking to this kid and for the first time the kid isn’t sure if he’s ready.” Making comic book suits cinema-worthy The challenges that arise require Peter to don two new suits over the course of the film. You’d think that nailing a duo of new looks for one of the world’s most recognizable Super Heroes must have been as much of a creative headache as crafting bombastic action sequences and emotionally-charged character moments. Not so, according to Watts, thanks to the talents of Ryan Meinerding. “He’s incredible,” the director says of Marvel Studios’ Head of Visual Development, who has had the enviable task of adapting the iconic costumes of Marvel’s biggest heroes for their cinematic debuts. According to Watts, his brief for Meinerding was, well, brief. “‘Make it real, make it cool.'” Meinerding’s response was “amazing,” says Watts, as he presented to the director a black-clad ‘stealth’ suit and an upgraded version of the classic Spider-Man costume. Passing the Super Hero torch While the Stealth Suit is a “stripped down” all-black version of the standard costume, masking the fact Spider-Man is operating in Europe to avoid further raising the suspicions of his classmates, the upgraded suit represents a milestone for the character. It’s the first Stark-tech Spider-Man suit specifically built by Peter, rather than having it gifted to him pre-made. “It was something I really felt like we needed to see happen,” explains Watts. “It was a really important story beat for me: it’s part of his growth. It’s supposed to be about him getting out from underneath this shadow of Tony Stark… he’s stepping up and becoming his own Super Hero.” Watts’ favorite Spider-Man suit The result is a long way from the customized sweatsuit Peter began his Super Hero life with (seen in both Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming). But Watts finds that bargain-basement garb particularly endearing, citing it as his personal favorite design of Spidey’s growing wardrobe. “He made it, he colored it himself,” says Watts. “I think there’s just something really cool about that.” Making Mysterio work on the big screen I mention how pleasantly surprised I am that he managed to make Mysterio’s traditional look work on the big screen. The ‘fish bowl’ helmet that Jake Gyllenhaal dons during key action sequences is as source material accurate as they come. It looks brilliant on comic book splash pages but could — should — have been notoriously difficult to translate into live action. Again, Watts points to Meinerding as the reason for the seemingly effortless translation, nailing the design on his first pass. “Our very, very first sketch became the thing that we built,” the director confirms. Putting a fresh spin on an iconic character Watts has helped develop the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Peter Parker over both Spider-Man: Homecoming and now Spider-Man: Far From Home, building upon his scene-stealing debut in Captain America: Civil War and the essential part he played in the larger ensembles of both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. While the MCU version looks to the high school era of the character’s earliest years as its primary inspiration, Watts also pays homage to Spider-Man’s long history in comics. “What’s great about Peter Parker is you can pick different sections of his life and tell a compelling story,” he explains. That’s something Insomniac Games embraced with last year’s critically-acclaimed Marvel’s Spider-Man, bringing its own spin to an experienced Peter Parker, charting the day-to-day struggles as his personal and Super Hero lives spectacularly collided. Try out Spider-Man’s new suits for yourself Watts was a fan of the game’s narrative (“I really liked it; I thought it was a great exploration of the Peter Parker story”) though he had to put the controller down to finish the movie. He was so invested in putting the finishing touches to the project, that the suits’ cameo in the PlayStation 4 game came as much as a surprise to him as it was for players. “It was an ‘oh by the way, check out the suits in the game,'” he cheerfully recalls of the moment during production when someone passed him a tablet with in-game shots of the suits. “I didn’t realize they were doing it until they had the finished design!” You can appreciate the finer details of both suits right now in Marvel’s Spider-Man for PS4 thanks to the free update* for Insomniac Games’ critically-acclaimed take on the wall-crawler. They join the trio of preexisting MCU costume choices — the Stark Suit, the Iron Spider Suit and the Homemade Suit — to give you a complete suite of Marvel Cinematic Universe outfits to save the world in (or to snap some heroic shots of in Photo mode). Spider-Man: Far From Home is releasing in cinemas worldwide from this week. Check your local cinema for screening times. *Internet connection and a copy of Marvel’s Spider-Man required. Players must reach a certain point in the game to unlock suits. View the full article

It’s Spike Chunsoft’s second Anime Expo this year and I’m back with even more news and announcements! At our company panel today, three new PlayStation 4 title announcements were made and a new Crystar character trailer was released. Check out the news below: Conception Plus: Maidens of the Twelve Stars Robotics;Notes Elite We promised two new Science Adventure series titles, and here they are. First up, Robotics:Notes Elite: Robotics;Notes Elite is coming to PS4 in 2020. And more news about the direct sequel, Robotics;Notes DaSH, is coming! Crystar Announced at GDC 2019, Crystar is an action RPG about one girl’s journey into Purgatory to save her little sister. Producer/Director Fuyuki Hayashi and Character Designer Riuichi hosted a Crystar portion of the panel where they shared a character trailer, newly created for the English release. The new trailer highlights the four playable main heroines. Watch it here: Crystar is scheduled to launch on August 27 for PS4. Pre-order now to secure a mini-artbook, featuring art by character designers Riuichi and ntny. Exclusive digital pre-order bonuses are also planned if you pre-order at PlayStation Store! Digital pre-order will start this month on July 26. That’s all the announcements today, but AX 2019 isn’t over yet. We’re holding another Anime Expo panel on Saturday to cover upcoming detective adventure AI: The Somnium Files co-hosted by AX Guests of Honor Director Kotaro Uchikoshi and Character Designer Yusuke Kozaki! Stay tuned for more. View the full article

The fourth Ranked Season of MLB The Show 19 reveals a new legend, Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Grove, and three new diamond players rewards! Signature Series Lefty Grove (new Legend!) and Signature Series Rod Carew are the new rewards added to the Season 4 World Series choice pack Breakout Legend Will Clark and Breakout Flashback Tommy Pham join the Pennant Race choice pack Earn the Ice Cream bat skin in the Division Series reward pack World Series Rewards Make it to the World Series ranking and get a choice pack to choose from Grove, Carew and last season’s player items of Signature Series Matt Williams or Signature Series Yadier Molina. Rod Carew Diamond, 98 OVR 2B) Lefty Grove (Diamond, 99 OVR SP) New Pennant Race Rewards On your way to World Series you can choose one of these new, diamond player items in the Pennant Race Choice Pack: Signature Series Choice Pack Dazzles With Diamonds The new Signature Series Choice Pack arrives in Diamond Dynasty and offers a choice of a Diamond Legend or Flashback in every pack! There are two ways to acquire the pack: As a post-game reward. You may receive a voucher to exchange for one Signature Series Choice Pack just for completing a Diamond Dynasty game. Go to the Exchange area of Diamond Dynasty to turn in your voucher and open your pack! OR Purchase a Signature Series Choice Pack from the Show Shop and open it Once you open your Signature Series Choice Pack: You will see a group of three players from either the Rare, Mid or Base tiers (odds listed below) Select one player item Add the player to your Diamond Dynasty squad or list it on the Community Market. All items in the pack can be sold. The nine players featured in the Signature Series choice pack are divided into three groups: Rare Tier Odds 1:10 to see this choice tier of Diamond players in the Signature Series Choice Pack Signature Series Ryne Sandberg (Diamond, 99 OVR second baseman) Signature Series Kenley Jansen (Diamond, 99 OVR closing pitcher) Signature Series Gary Carter (Diamond, 99 OVR catcher) Mid Tier Odds 1:4 to see this choice tier of Diamond players in the Signature Series Choice Pack Signature Series Curtis Granderson (Diamond, 96 OVR center fielder) Signature Series Joey Votto (Diamond, 99 OVR first baseman) Signature Series George Brett (Diamond, 99 OVR third baseman) Base Tier Odds 1:1 to see this choice tier of Diamond players in the Signature Series Choice Pack NEW LEGEND! Signature Series Rick Ankiel (Diamond, 88 OVR starting pitcher) Signature Series Russell Martin (Diamond, 95 OVR catcher) Signature Series Keith Hernandez (Diamond, 98 OVR first baseman) The Signature Series Choice Pack costs 40,000 stubs in the Show Shop, and is limited to one per account at this time. Look for new ways to earn or purchase the Signature Series Choice pack in the future! New Battle Royale Flawless Rewards Battle Royale is a Diamond Dynasty mode that levels the playing field by challenging your managerial and stick skills. First, draft a 25-man team from multiple choice rounds. Then take your squad up against the drafted teams of others in a three-inning, head-to-head showdown! If you can take your Battle Royale team to 12 wins with no losses, you will earn the coveted Flawless Reward Choice Pack, which guarantees one of the two new Legends player items: Signature Series Eric Gagne (Diamond, 98 OVR CP) Minnie Minoso (Diamond, 99 OVR LF) MLB The Show 19 Now Starting at $39.99 SRP Standard Edition – $39.99 SRP MVP Edition – $49.99 SRP (Physical Only) All-Star Edition – $49.99 SRP (New Digital Release) Digital Deluxe Edition – $79.99 SRP Introducing MLB The Show 19 All-Star Edition Follow MLB The Show on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube or Facebook and be up-to-date on all of the latest content releases and roster updates. View the full article

Hawkins is full of challenges to overcome and secrets to collect. Luckily, the wide cast of Stranger Things 3: The Game has you covered. All twelve playable characters have two unique attacks with upgradeable special effects and powerful synergies. With three available difficulties, Story, Normal, and Master, players of all experience levels have a fitting adventure waiting. If you want to survive in the weirdest place to live in 1980s America, make sure to check out the tips below. One-Two Punch In Stranger Things 3: The Game, players control two characters at once. It’s easy to swap characters on the fly, and you’ll want to do just that to take down the enemies standing between you and your summer vacation. By combining special abilities, you can pull off powerful combination attacks. For solo players, that means commanding your buddy to activate their special ability when the time is right. For co-op players, it means yelling at your friend on the other side of the couch to use their special. Here are two of my favorite combinations. Hopper and Joyce share plenty of time on-screen together in Stranger Things, so it’s only natural that Hopper deals extra damage to enemies stunned by Joyce’s whirlwind. Line ‘em up, and then barrel them over with Hopper’s bull rush. Nancy deals extra damage to enemies from behind. It’s a perk that can be tough to pull off solo. But when Mike commands the enemy’s attention with his taunt or Jonathan stuns them with his camera, putting enemies down with Nancy’s backstab is a breeze. You can check out the entire roster’s abilities by navigating to the party screen in the journal. With more than a hundred unique character combinations to pull off, pick the one that fits you and your playstyle! Bling Bling The people of Hawkins store all kinds of stuff in their backyards and storefronts. You’ll quickly find your backpack overflowing with loot of all kinds. But what to do with it? You’ll find crafting stations in several places around Hawkins, usually at stores or near landmarks like Dustin’s house. There are dozens of trinkets available to craft with all the components you find in the world or buy at the different stores. Trinkets can be equipped to the party to grant certain benefits. In the event that you find yourself strapped for cash, consider revisiting Ivan in the Starcourt Corridors and completing his second quest offered after finishing Chapter 1. Players that assist the jovial smuggler will find they’ve unlocked a useful vendor to sell their unneeded crafting materials. The strongest gear requires unique, hidden materials. Search every nook and cranny around Hawkins if you want to craft them all! Burn, Zap, Melt Aside from the standard physical damage you deal from whacking someone with Mike’s baseball bat or Hopper’s punch, you’ll find that the Stranger Things crew have a variety of different attack styles at their disposal. Dustin’s hairspray inflicts chemical damage over time, while Eleven’s telekinetic push has a chance to critically hit for extra damage. An important hint for taking down the supernatural enemies from the Upside-Down is to use characters who can deal fire damage, as they deal extra damage to monsters from the other world. Will’s firework launcher is especially powerful, so make sure you take on his optional quest to unlock him after Chapter 4 by speaking with him in Mike’s Basement. Stock Up for Summer When you’re up against a tough enemy, there’s no better combination than Medkits and Coca-Cola. Medkits heal your party to full health, while Cokes grant you and your buddy three power uses each. Though you can only carry five of each item, staying stocked up on supplies will keep you prepared ahead of a tough battle. Stores in Hawkins Square or Starcourt Mall are a good place to find supplies. But when you’re exploring Hawkins Lab or wandering deep into a set of underground tunnels, keep an eye out for vending machines. While each vending machine sells a different set of items, they always have Medkits and Coke available. Deep underground mid-adventure and low on supplies? Spare yourself the long walk back to Melvalds and instead search for a nearby vending machine. Better Bring a Friend! The AI Buddy is useful, especially for its special abilities, but nothing beats tearing through Hawkins with a friend at your side. Human-controlled characters deal more damage and make coordinating buddy combos easier. If you’re going to team up with a friend, consider character combinations that benefit from the same set of trinkets. For example, the Wonder Women trinket lets female characters crit more often and deal more damage when they do. Pair up Max and Eleven and let them loose. Follow the tips above and you’ll be on your way to a clean finish. But even after taking down the final boss of Stranger Things 3, you won’t be done! You’ll unlock Eliminator Mode after completing the entire game for the first time. In our spin on New Game+, you start out with the entire cast from the start of the game. But when one of your characters die, they stay dead. Permanently! If you run out of characters, your run is over. It’s seriously tough! Stranger Things 3: The Game launches tomorrow and is available as a digital download from PlayStation Store. The game contains spoilers for season three, so play the game as you complete episodes of the series (the game follows the same episodic structure as the new season) or after watching it in its entirety. Best of luck, and stay safe in Hawkins. It’s strange out there. View the full article

Happy Birthday to us! Realm Royale is now officially one year old, and we’re celebrating by giving away 200 Crowns and a free Chicken skin to anyone who logs in before July 20. It’s been an amazing first year on PlayStation 4, where more than 3 million players have stepped into the Realm thus far. We’ve been thrilled with how you’ve all loved Realm Royale’s unique take on the battle royale genre, mixing a fantasy style with class-based, ability-driven gameplay. Where else can you mount up, assault a forge, and craft a legendary sword? We’ve iterated throughout our first year to give our players more of those unique, fantastic experiences. Take down a goblin to score his sweet loot. Hop in a catapult and launch yourself over castle walls. There’s so much new to see in the Realm! We’ve listened to our players and made the class system more flexible, while staying true to its roots. You still become a Mage, Hunter, Assassin, or Warrior, but you can now equip any class ability! A deep talent tree lets you further customize each class to specialize in the abilities and weapons you want; my dodge rolling, bowhunting Hunter may be different than your scouting, trapping Hunter. And, of course, you can still turn into a chicken — our signature “down-but-not-out” mechanic that lets players bok around the clock and try to survive until they transform back into humans! This has long been one of Realm Royale’s most popular — and fun — features, and in the coming months we’ll be making it even better. We’re adding chicken combat, giving you the chance to peck your way to the Crown Royale! We have so much more planned for this year, and we’re focused on the features our players want most. Custom lobbies are coming in our next update, allowing players to host private matches and their own tournaments! And we’ve got new abilities, weapons, map updates, and Battle Passes coming all year long, keeping the game fresh. Our most recent Battle Pass, “The Eternal Conflict,” just released a few weeks ago! Before I leave, we have one final announcement: I’m thrilled to announce that, soon, we’ll be welcoming even more PlayStation fans to the Realm. Realm Royale will be launching on PlayStation 4 in Japan later this year! Be sure to follow @RealmRoyale on Twitter for updates as we get closer to our Japanese release date. Whether you’ve been playing Realm Royale from the start, or you’re just discovering the game for the first time, thank you. We hope you’ll log in, enjoy the free Birthday Bundle, and continue to help us make Realm Royale the amazing experience it is. View the full article

Pearl Abyss is proud to announce that Black Desert will be launching on PlayStation 4 on August 22! Pre-orders begin today, and we’re looking forward to introducing players to the world we’ve created. Black Desert is a revolutionary sandbox MMORPG featuring a player-driven economy, intense real-time combat, and a seamless open world. Your story begins with Black Stone — an energy resource so powerful that it has sparked a war between the Republic of Calpheon and the Kingdom of Valencia. Accompanying you throughout your journey is the Black Spirit, an enigmatic being whose destiny is entwined with yours. Together, you will uncover the hidden secrets of Calpheon and Valencia and control the fate of the kingdom. Black Desert features six playable classes at launch, each with their own unique playstyle: the Warrior, Ranger, Sorceress, Berserker, Wizard, and Witch. Paired with an extensive character creation system, you have the ability to become your true self in Black Desert, or someone else entirely! A unique real-time combat system allows you to show off your abilities on the battlefield against mobs of imps, groups of bandits, or even go toe-to-toe with massive world bosses. Black Desert thrives on allowing players to be social with one another to take on new quests, trade, or discover new areas. Being a part of a Clan or Guild allows players to group up under one banner, participate in Guild-exclusive missions, and interact via voice chat. With Guilds holding up to 100 players, declare large-scale warfare with other Guilds as you claim sovereignty over the entire continent of Calpheon and Valencia! In addition to taking on enemies and world bosses, Black Desert’s extensive life skills offer the chance to focus on a life outside of combat. From fishing, farming, trading, hunting, and more, you can truly find your true self in our living, breathing world. Expand your horizons on August 22 — your journey into the Black Desert awaits you… View the full article

Greetings, everyone! Matt “Bayohne” Hilton here from the Final Fantasy XIV community team to wish everybody a happy Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers launch day! I think last time on PS.Blog we talked with our development team about the infamous Omega, and this time we have something special as well. The team in Japan has so many amazing artists who help paint the world (and now worlds!) we call our home. Over the past few weeks, we have been getting ready for Shadowbringers on our social channels with some great countdown art featuring art from many of these artists, and we brought them all together here for your to enjoy. Full Countdown Gallery We hope you enjoyed all of the different art — each of the artists have their own unique style, which helps bring Final Fantasy XIV to life! However, in celebration of today’s launch, we wanted to show a little something extra. We were able to get one additional, and never-before-seen, piece of art to share with you! This drawing comes from the amazing Ayumi Namae, character concept artist for Final Fantasy XIV who you might have seen if you caught the Paris Fan Festival art panel this year. As we are celebrating the launch of Shadowbringers we felt there was no better way than to showcase one of the new jobs coming with the expansion — dancer! The attention to detail in the dancer equipment is amazing — I don’t know about you but I’m ready to start leveling dancer right now after seeing this! To wrap things up, we’re happy to present this brand-new art as wallpapers for you to enjoy on your PC or smartphone! Head on over to the PlayStation Wallpapers page to download it now. We hope you enjoyed all of these wonderful pieces, and see you in the First! View the full article

Your American Dream starts here! I’m Hungry is a fast food restaurant simulator available on PS VR starting today. With its fun interaction, comic book art style, and intuitive movement, players get to enjoy the thrill of racing with time while satisfying each customer’s order. By making fries, hamburgers, and milkshakes in the VR world, I’m Hungry is both stressful and relaxing. By completing each order correctly and promptly, customers will reward players with coins that can later be used in upgrading equipment. One interesting feature of I’m Hungry is that the game calculates the actual calories burned while playing the game, which can be extra motivating. I’m Hungry takes advantage of VR technology to create an immersive fast-food kitchen experience. In addition, the controller and the sensing technique can truly correct the player’s posture while simulating the fast-food restaurant work. Since the player’s in-game operation is exactly the same as the moving speed in the real world, the player won’t feel uncomfortable while playing I’m Hungry. While playing I’m Hungry, random choices from the customers make the task more interesting. Some customers might ask for more complicated orders than others. I’m Hungry has two modes for players to choose from. Career Mode offers various tasks to earn money and upgrade the equipment. This is the default mode when starting the game. There’s also an Infinity Mode, which has unlimited time for hardcore players to challenge themselves. While it’s fun to go through each level, I’m Hungry gives a performance rating and various rewards according to the player’s performance during each level as well. For players that mean business, I’m Hungry allows players to keep improving the score for a higher global online ranking. Enjoy your fast-food restaurant experience! View the full article

Hello, PlayStation Now fans! Summer is in full swing, the holiday weekend is almost upon us, and we’re ringing in the 4th of July with some perfect summertime games. This month includes Rocket League, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 — all three are fun and frenzied, and support local play for up to 4 players, as well as online play with friends. You can also get down and dirty in the mud with MXGP3 – The Official Motocross Videogame, or sit back with a cold one and catch some fish in some of the most iconic fishing locations in North America with Rapala Fishing: Pro Series. We have twelve exciting new games this month, so keep reading to find out more. Just in time for summer is everyone’s favorite physics-based multiplayer acrobatic car game, Rocket League. Download it today to jump into the action, and check out the Radical Summer in-game event happening right now, featuring free items, new Premium Licensed DLCs, limited-time game modes, and more! Celebrate the glory of the 80s with this limited summer in-game event ending August 12. And with your PlayStation Now subscription, you can play Rocket League online whether you have a PlayStation Plus subscription or not. With the launch of Borderlands 3 just two months away now, whet your appetite with Borderlands: The Handsome Collection on PS Now. This collection includes the definitive versions of both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and supports for the first time, play four-player split screen on a single screen, all in stunning high definition. Experience the entire Handsome Jack saga, from his not-so-humble beginnings to the heights of his egomaniacal tyranny. And if you have a PS4 Pro, download the free Ultra HD Texture Pack for even more detail in 1080p or 4K UHD. NBA arcade action is back with NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 and takes street balling to the next level with a massive roster of current and retired NBA players, improved online matchmaking with dedicated servers, four-player online matches, three-point contests, new playgrounds, custom matches, and more! Pick your team, get ready to jam, and Ball Without Limits! Here is the full list of the twelve new games joining PS Now this month to download to PS4 or stream to PS4 and PC: Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (PS4) Dark Arcana: The Carnival (PS4) MXGP3 – The Official Motocross Videogame (PS4) NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 (PS4) Nightmares from the Deep 2: The Siren’s Call (PS4) Rad Rodgers (PS4) Rapala Fishing: Pro Series (PS4) Real Farm (PS4) Red Faction 2 (PS2) Rocket League (PS4) Tachyon Project (PS4) Wuppo (PS4) Here are the most played PS Now games during the month of June: NBA 2K18 Batman Arkham Knight WWE 2K18 Mortal Kombat X Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor Mafia III LEGO City Undercover Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution For Honor Saint’s Row IV: Re-Elected The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited If you haven’t tried PlayStation Now yet, now’s the perfect time to give it a spin with the seven-day free trial for PS4 and PC. (Terms apply. New Subscribers only. Credit card required. See here for details.) Stay tuned for more updates on PS Now. Happy gaming! View the full article

A dusty Western fort. A gleaming pile of gold bars. Three ornery Operators who stole it fair and square, and three law-abiding Operators who have come set things right. This is Showdown, a new event for Rainbow Six Siege that runs from today through July 16, and brings a new mode, new map, and new cosmetic rewards to PlayStation 4 players. Cowboy hats, sheriff’s badges, and all make and manner of Western garb will be available for some of your favorite Operators, and you’ll even get a free item just for logging in. Showdown will take place exclusively on the limited-time map, Fort Truth, a dusty, sun-baked ruin with crumbling walls that have seen more than a few gun battles. The rules are simple: each round is a 3v3 face-off to secure the area, and the gold. The available Operators are decked out in new Showdown-specific headgear and uniforms, and split into two posses: The Law (Attackers: Ash, Capitão, Glaz, Maverick, and Twitch) and the Graveltop Gang (Defenders: Alibi, Caveira, Kaid, Maestro, Rook). No matter who you choose, however, you’ll all wield the same weapons: The BOSG.12.2 shotgun and the Magnum LFP586 revolver. With no preparation phase, no reinforcements, and limited HUD, each 90-second round is gonna be a fast-paced shootout where you’ll prevail by the sharpness of your aim and the strength of your grit. If you want to look the part, you’ll have to rustle up a Showdown Collection pack, which contains a new headgear, uniform, or weapon skin for one of the ten featured Operators. There are 31 exclusive items in the collection, covering a range of styles from Maestro’s stalwart, heavily armored sheriff look, to Twitch’s roguish wide-brimmed hat and bandana. Each pack is guaranteed to contain a new item, so you won’t get any duplicates. You’ll be granted a free Showdown Collection pack just for logging in during the Showdown event, and you can earn another pack (as well as a unique BOSG.12.2 weapon skin) for completing the Ubisoft Club Challenge for the event. You can also purchase packs from the in-game store for 300 R6 credits each. Showdown is putting a blistering new spin on the intense firefights of Rainbow Six Siege. Fire up your PS4 and play with PlayStation Plus between July 2 and July 16 to brave these frantic frontier shootouts and get some shiny new gear for your gunslingers. View the full article

Hello everyone! It’s been a while since we last talked! We’d like to thank all of you for your support of Marvel’s Spider-Man since its launch last September. Many of you have played, and we have been floored by the response to the game. It has been gratifying to continually hear new stories from players exploring our rendition of Marvel’s New York with the web-slinger and see all of the great shots you have created in Photo Mode. While we’re busy working away here at Insomniac Games, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to once again team up with Sony Interactive Entertainment, Marvel, and Sony Pictures Entertainment to celebrate the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home in theatres now! As such, we have released a new update for the game via Patch 1.16 that will bring two free brand-new suits from Spider-Man: Far From Home to the game. After you have built the Advanced Suit early in Marvel’s Spider-Man, you are able to switch between suits during the story — so if you have already reached this stage in-game, you can use the Spider-Man: Far from Home Upgraded Suit, or the Spider-Man: Far From Home Stealth Suit right now. Before you rush off to download the update — here’s a couple of new images showing those brand-new suits in game. We’ve had a great time adding free additional content to Marvel’s Spider-Man, such as the Webbed Suit in December, and suits celebrating the Fantastic Four in January. You can get even more additional suits for Marvel’s Spider-Man by purchasing the Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps expansion series. The series tells a post-game story over three DLC chapters, and each one includes three new suits to unlock that you can use in the rest of the game and in New Game+. The series begins with Black Cat returning to Marvel’s New York, but players quickly realize she’s a part of something much bigger that will entangle Spider-Man with the notorious Hammerhead. You can download Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps from PlayStation Store today for $24.99 USD. That’s all for now — thank you yet again for all of your support of Marvel’s Spider-Man. It means the world to us, and we hope you get out to see Spider-Man: Far From Home, in theatres now! Get your tickets now: bit.ly/FarFromHomeTix *Internet connection required. View the full article

At PlayStation Vue, we always strive to provide the best live TV viewing experience at the most compelling value to our customers. This includes both the content that is popular with our overall customer base, as well as the key features that make PS Vue the best place to watch. With costs rising each year for content, we constantly evaluate each deal to ensure we continue to deliver the content you want while considering the overall value of each package. After reviewing this, we have made the decision to raise the price of all of our multi-channel plans by $5. This change starts today for new customers. Our existing customers will keep their current price for at least 30 days and will see the new price beginning on their first billing cycle on or after July 31. We will continue to focus on making PS Vue the premier destination for live TV streaming, with top networks including HBO, FX, HGTV, ESPN, and NFL Network, in addition to over 650 local broadcast stations. The recent addition of beIN Sports, and soon to be launched NHL Network and ACC Network, will ensure PS Vue has the most robust assortment of national sports channels. While PS Vue already offers unique features such as multi-view on PS4 and Apple TV, the most simultaneous streams at home, and conflict-free DVR (all at no additional cost), we will continue developing new integrations and functionality to enhance your TV viewing experience. We thank all of you for your continued support. View the full article

Welcome back! It’s an oddly nostalgic Players’ Choice poll this month, with heavy-duty remasters, revivals, and spiritual successors like Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, Samurai Shodown, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night leading the charge. Legal beat-em-up Judgment (from the team behind the beloved Yakuza series) launched last month too, as did VR entrants Vacation Simulator, Trover Saves the Universe, and Mini-Mech Mayhem. So… which one gets your pick? You have until Sunday, July 7 at 11:59pm Pacific to cast your vote. How does it work? At the end of every month, PlayStation.Blog will open a poll where you can vote for the best new game released that month. Soon thereafter, we’ll close the polls, tally your votes, and announce the winner at PlayStation.Blog. PlayStation Store will also showcase some top Players’ Choice winners throughout the year. What is the voting criteria? That’s up to you! If you were only able to recommend one new release to a friend that month, which would it be? In keeping with our long tradition in the Game of the Year Awards, remastered or re-released games won’t qualify. Ambitious, larger-scale rebuilds and remakes like Shadow of the Colossus and Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy will. How are nominees decided? The PlayStation.Blog and PlayStation Store editorial teams will gather a list of that month’s most noteworthy releases and use it to seed the poll. Write-in votes will be accepted. Players’ Choice: What Was June 2019’s Best New Game? View the full article

Embark on a journey into a new world consumed by light. Become what you must. Become the Warrior of Darkness. Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers launches Tuesday (but you can play it now via early access, should you be so inclined), ushering in a massive new story campaign, a new level cap, two new jobs, two new playable races, and a whole bunch more of that sweet, sweet Soken-composed music. See you in the First! For a full list of new games coming to PlayStation next week, read on. And enjoy The Drop! Asdivine Dios PS4, PS Vita — Digital (Cross-Buy) Among the many worlds the deities have created, there is one world that abounds with life known as Asdivine. But when a spate of disturbances erupts across the globe and an ever spreading murk threatens to destroy it, Izayoi, the deity of Asdivine himself, takes up his cause to save the world he created with his own hands. Brain Breaker PS4 — Digital (Out 7/3) Are you ready to break your brain? While the kids are having fun with Easy mode, master players can use different regions in your brain in insane mode! Choose from hundreds of backgrounds to create your own atmosphere. Playing three different games at the same time requires multitasking skills. Can you handle it? Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers PS4 — Digital, Retail Take part in the next saga of the critically acclaimed Final Fantasy XIV Online with the next legendary expansion pack — Shadowbringers! Journey through expansive new areas such as the Rak’tika Greatwood, Amh Araeng, Il Mheg and Lakeland. Explore new jobs, new races, new cities, and more. Early Access begins June 28. Ovivo PS4 — Digital (Out 7/3) Ovivo is a mesmerizing platformer with unusual mechanics where everything is as simple as black and white. It is a metaphorical game filled with illusions and hidden messages. In the world of Ovivo, Black and White exist in harmony. By constantly intertwining and replacing each other, they maintain balance. Paradox Soul PS4, PS Vita — Digital (Cross-Buy) Paradox Soul is an exploration-based, survival Metroidvania that takes hand-holding and throws it out of the window. Instead of spelling everything out for the player, the only way for Dr. Alli Rose to figure out what’s going on in a peculiar test facility, is to descend deeper down the rabbit hole and figure it all out by herself. You are her only hope. Scraper: First Strike PS VR — Digital Scraper: First Strike is the first episode of a planned five-part VR sci-tech shooter with RPG and exploration elements. It will take the player on a journey through a new IP with fully developed characters, story arcs, and a world filled with unique and exciting environments. Sea of Solitude PS4 — Digital (Out 7/5) When humans get too lonely, they turn into monsters… Set sail across a beautiful and evolving world of darkness and light, and discover what it means to be human. Embark on a nuanced and intimate action-adventure, where players must guide Kay through her Sea of Solitude, in this touching tale of darkness and light. Stranger Things 3: The Game PS4 — Digital (Out 7/4) Stranger Things 3: The Game is the official companion game to Season 3 of the hit original series. This adventure game blends a distinctively retro art style with modern gameplay mechanics to deliver nostalgic fun with a fresh new twist. Explore, solve puzzles, and battle the emerging evils of The Upside Down. Tour de France Season 2019 PS4 — Digital, Retail The yellow jersey is yours! The official route of the 21 stages of the 2019 Tour de France has been reproduced down to the last detail, and will take you from Belgium to the Champs-Elysées. You can also play online for the first time in the history of the series, challenging up to three other players in shorter, more intense races. Will: A Wonderful World PS4 — Digital, Retail Become a god and help change the fate of people, even the world! In Will: A Wonderful World, you will receive letters written by characters living in urban cities. By rearranging the order and combinations of sentences in these letters, you are going to alter the destiny of whomever that wrote them. SpiderMan: Far From Home Soundtrack Mortal Kombat 11 The Black Keys – “Let’s Rock” Shazam! Boruto: Naruto Next Generations – Set 2 Dead Trigger Watch live Saturday, June 29 at 9PM ET/ 6PM PT on ESPN The actions starts Monday, July 1 live on ESPN PlayStation Vue has your favorite sports, news and must-watch shows. The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

Last week, we asked you to soak up the sun to celebrate the start of the summer season. While exploring the sunniest summer spots in your favorite games, you shared your best moments using #PS4share and #PSBlog. Here’s this week’s sunny highlights: @JRPyznar shared Spyro rocking some summer shades in the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. @EliteGamingP shared a summer moment from the beaches of Ancient Greece in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. @possibletemplar shows off a Hope County summer lake hangout in Far Cry 5. Not totally sure what Nathan Drake is doing, but he seems to be enjoying the water in this Uncharted 4 share by @SebastianoCatig. Aloy handles the summer heat in this searing shot from Horizon Zero Dawn, shared by @virtualphotography4. The gang from Final Fantasy XV soaks up the sun in this share by @alexiou90_virtual_photographer. Search #PS4Share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in next week’s Share of the Week? Theme: Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, July 3 For next week’s Share of the Week, show us your best captures from the light-drenched world of the First in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. Become what you must. Become… a photographer. Don’t forget to tag #PS4share and #PSBlog. View the full article

Hello everyone! I’m Victor from Labrodex Studios. We’re very excited to see Scraper: First Strike make its way to PlayStation VR on July 2 to be among the many incredible games with compelling narratives, immersive worlds, and creative gameplay experiences at PlayStation Store. I’m here to talk about the ways Scraper executes on more traditional RPG Shooter paradigms while remaining faithful to the VR medium! Drawing inspiration from games like Elite Dangerous and Star Wars Galaxies, it became a studio goal to provide players with personalized progression for the right effort. In Scraper: First Strike, players drive their Modified Hover Pod (MHP) to combat the Humechs, artificial intelligent insurgents. Their MHP can be upgraded part by part to enhance different aspects of its functionality: its thrusters improve the player’s mobility, its shields improve their defensive and regenerative capabilities, and its core improves the MHP’s usage of special abilities. To do this, players must first find engineering schematics for these parts by locating terminals and then scanning for them in the Humech Resistance Force (HRF) network. Afterwards, players can scavenge for ingredients from fallen Humechs or buy them from the HRF Vendor to take over to an Engineering station and build their new MHP equipment. Players can invest the time in fully decking out their MHP to handily obliterate their enemies. Alternatively, they can stick with an econ budget MHP for a bigger challenge. Another way players can tailor their MHP’s capabilities are through modifications. Each equipment has mod slots players can put in modifications for to further augment that part’s capabilities. The number of mod-slots a piece of equipment has is determined once it is built through the engineering system. This means if the player has built two miniguns, their left minigun can have enhanced attack speed while their right can be modified with a larger ammo capacity. Each enemy type in Scraper: First Strike offers a set of unique abilities along with different elemental resistances. We want players to appropriately arm themselves for certain combat situations while not breaking immersion with excessive menu navigations mid-fight. To accomplish this, we’ve provided players with a weapon wheel that can be quickly opened and closed to swap between different offensive options. The best part is it slows down time. This allows player the mental bandwidth to consult information from their dashboard such as enemy resistance charts, ability cooldowns, and ammunition while not being removed from the moment. On the subtler side of player customization, we’ve provided support for the DualShock controller, PlayStation VR Aim controller, and the new 3d Rudder motion controller. Our team is eager to see what combinations of weapons, modifications, abilities, and strategies you’ll pull from the engineering toolbox as you help the HRF defend the megacity of New Austin from Cifer and his Humech arm. View the full article

Email us at blogcast@sony.com! Subscribe via iTunes, Spotify, Google or RSS, or download here This week, the gang talks Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers (even though Justin isn’t even on this episode?!) and, uh… Twin Peaks. Enjoy! Stuff We Talked About Bloodstained FFXIV Shadowbringers Twin Peaks Mortal Kombat 11 The Cast Sid Shuman – Director of Social Media, SIEA Kristen Zitani – Social Media Specialist, SIEA Tim Turi – Senior Social Media Specialist, SIEA Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music. [Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.] View the full article

Hi everyone, I’m David Sirlin, head of Sirlin Games. With the release of Fantasy Strike planned for July 25 (at $29.99 USD), I want to give the PlayStation community some insight into the thinking behind the game and why we made it in the first place. I’ve played fighting games for a long time at a high level. I was top 8 at the huge Evo tournament three times. I represented the USA at the Super Battle Opera tournament in Japan. I know why fighting games are strategically interesting and fun, but it always bothered me that that fun has been out of reach of most gamers, locked away behind genre conventions. I want everyone to have it. But just about every time I’ve seen a fighting game try to be “more accessible,” I’ve been disappointed. That can mean dumbed down, or it can mean training-wheel features that you can’t use competitively, or sometimes it means some easy controls that have some kind of drawback to use. It feels like trying to make a motorcycle by sawing a car in half. I’d like to try actually making a motorcycle. Experts And Beginners Both Need Some of the Same Things What we’re doing with Fantasy Strike probably sounds like a contradiction, so I’ll walk you through it. We’re making a deep competitive fighting game designed for experts and tournament play… that also just happens to be great for people who have never even played a fighting game before. “Impossible!” you say. I want players to experience the depth of the genre that I’ve experienced. To participate in a deep competitive game, you’re basically doing this sequence over and over: 1) understand the situation you’re in, what your options are, and how they all work, 2) make a decision about what to do, 3) execute that decision so it really happens in the game. A deep game is one where all three of those steps work well, and the quantity and quality of these decisions the game offers is high. To Make A Decision, You Have To Know What’s Going On Fighting games have generally been very bad at that first step: being readable, understandable, and learnable. Fortunately, no depth need be sacrificed for this. It just requires good UI and some elegance. This is why Fantasy Strike has an unusual health system of discrete hit points — 6 hit points for most characters. A 3-hit combo does 3 damage and it’s very clear if it will kill the opponent or not before you even do it. It’s also why the super meter fills automatically over time: because it’s simple to understand. It’s why we have colored highlights on our characters to tell you whenever a move is invulnerable (white), armored (blue), or is a parry (green), and whenever your character got counter-hit (red) or is poisoned (purple). It’s why we have a move list for each character that fits on one screen, so you can easily understand what your character can do. It means we had to work extra hard to make every single move useful, often with many different uses, but we think that effort was worth it. Readability is also why we implemented a new feature that’s never been in any fighting game ever before: frame advantage is displayed in the visual effects of every move. When your move hits or is blocked, a blue symbol appears if you will recover before the opponent, and a red symbol appears if you will recover after them (there’s a yellow one if you will recover at the same time). The size of the symbol is proportional to how much sooner/later you’ll recover. The idea isn’t that you’ll instantly react to this stuff, but it’s a way to understand that a certain move is extra safe, or extra unsafe. It’s a way to know that a certain move is usually unsafe, but if you do it at the very tip from far away, it can be safe. It arms you with the knowledge you need to make better decisions and it helps everyone from newbies to tournament pros. Something we did specifically for beginners though we made a Netflix-like video selection screen that looks like every character has their own TV show. From there, every character has a spotlight video narrated by me that explains all the moves and properties of that character and what their gameplan is. For A Decision to Count, The Action You Intend Has to Really Happen The other half of the depth equation is execution. We’re committing to being a decisions-first game focused on strategy, so if you intended to do something, we need to do everything we can on the programming side to make sure your intent really happens in the game. That’s why we have a huge input buffer that makes combos really really easy. You can just tell someone a combo out loud, probably like “Jump A, A, B” or something, and they can do it. The hard part is getting in a situation where you can really land it against a good opponent. Often in fighting games, you need to do an invulnerable move like a super right when you get up from knockdown, or right when you leave blockstun. If you intend to do it, it will easily come out every time at the first possible moment in Fantasy Strike. We’ve done more things than we can even mention here to make sure your moves come out when you want every time, but I hope you get the idea. Depth Comes From Testing and Tuning Over Time I think it’s easy to see why all these things above help beginners, especially those who have never played a fighting game before. What might seem surprising until you think about it, is that it helps us make a deep game for experts too. We’ve had the unusual situation for the last four years of developing this fighting game that every time we test it, everyone can do optimal punish combos every time. Everyone can do all the techniques. Sort of like how everyone can move all the pieces in chess. Usually in fighting game development though, things get so difficult to execute at the expert level that testing “the real game” is very hard. So few people can even “move the pieces” correctly that balance problems can go unnoticed for a long time, and ultimately make a game shallower. But any time we had something shallow or degenerate, it was immediately obvious because the spotlight is right on player-decisions. It was sure a lot easier to ensure high level play is rich and varied than it would have been for most other fighting games. Spending four years on it helped quite a bit too, lol. Online Play I also want to mention at least briefly that online play is really important to us. We use a technology called GGPO plus our own proprietary sauce that makes online play especially smooth and responsive feeling, minimizing input delay. I live in California, and I’m able to play a friend in Tokyo and our games feel almost impossibly smooth. We really hope you try the online play! Another big factor in the online experience of any game is the UI. Fighting games have generally had convoluted, confusing UI just to play someone online. We’re trying to really stand out from the crowd here by having a simple single click to challenge a friend. You have an in-game friends list and you can just click anyone to challenge, and if they accept, you’re put in the same gameflow as if they were sitting next to you in the same room. And we also let you watch any friends match with another single click from that friend’s screen. You’ll even automatically follow them and watch all their online matches in all modes automatically. We haven’t seen this before in any other fighting game. I hope that gives you a taste of some of the things going on in Fantasy Strike. We’ll see you online next month at launch! View the full article

Hi guys, Shabs here, Game Director on Firewall Zero Hour*, the team-based tactical multiplayer shooter, exclusive to PS VR. It’s only been a few weeks since we launched Operation: Nightfall, which kicked off a bunch of new content and improvements planned for the game. There’s a lot we introduced with Nightfall — the Op-Pass, Hack Keys, Missions, Tasks, Rewards — all while completely revamping the user interface. Given the scope of the changes, it was difficult to anticipate all of the growing pains, but we’re happy to report that as of Patch 1.26, squad and matchmaking issues should now be addressed. It has been a process, this buildout of a reliable and robust platform — one that will set us up for future growth, improvements, and content rollouts. We hope where we take the game from here exceeds your expectations and rewards your continued commitment. As always, there’s more info in the last post we did on Nightfall here on the PS blog, and also over on our FCE blog. If you have more questions, feel free to comment here and we’ll read them! There’s never been a better time to try Firewall Zero Hour, which is why it’s also the perfect time for another Free Weekend Trial*, coming June 28-30 for active PS Plus members. Have a friend with PS VR who’s never tried the game? Well, now they can hop on with you, and you can show them the ropes! For all the veterans, we’re also stacking a Double XP Weekend on top of the trial. That’s right: this weekend, all Firewall Zero Hour players will earn Double XP during the same weekend of the Free Trial (June 28-30). We hope to see you online! In this post, we wanted to do a deep-dive into the making of one of our favorite maps — Hangar — which is the first of two new free maps introduced in Operation: Nightfall, and the eleventh map to release in Firewall Zero Hour! Planning a Multiplayer Map for VR: Hangar In early development of Firewall Zero Hour, we realized that one of the most important things about VR is the player’s sense of scale — putting the player in a very small or very large space, allows players to get creative with their movement. We’d only touched upon extra-large maps in the main game (maps like Docks, Warehouse, and District), so we wanted to try pushing it as far as we could in the Hangar map. In Hangar, the action takes place around a large military transport aircraft in a hangar in the heart of Malaysia. The gigantic cargo plane — big enough to transport a tank, inside an even larger building, on an expansive airfield, and in the daytime so you can see everything — is a first for our studio. We even gave the players a few raised vantage points, like the skybridge area, so they can really take in the scope of the map. We wanted this map to combine elements that have worked well in other maps: big, open spaces, large indoor spaces with lots of cover and different height levels, and tighter rooms and corridors that lend themselves well to intense, up-close firefights. Across the Hangar map, there are lots of nooks and crannies for enemies to hide in. We wanted every part of the map to have ample cover options. We’ve seen so much creativity from the Firewall Zero Hour community in terms of creating new and different strategies on the existing maps, and a lot of them are based on using the environment to your advantage. Be cautious when searching for the Laptop, though; all those nooks and crannies can mean a more challenging search, and more risk of running into enemies lying in wait before you get there. Don’t forget to look up! You’ll have to watch out for enemies perched on balconies, walkways, and the skybridge. We think having to be mindful of above and below adds a wealth of unpredictability and fun to every match, and it’s something we did our best to amp up in Hangar. One of our favorite parts of the Hangar map is the Air Traffic Control Room. Sure, we’ve got a gigantic airplane in an even bigger building, on a gigantic airstrip–but we just love all the movement and details on the monitors. A lot of research went into making this space as believable as possible. We will always keep trying to come up with new ways to bring our maps to life. Deep Dive — Anatomy of a Map, from Concept to Final: Hangar Blockouts Exterior of Hangar
 Blockouts are the first phase of the map creation process. In this first image below, we have the blockout version of the exterior of the Hangar map. During this phase, a barebones but fully playable version of the map is made. It’s rudimentary look allows for quick iteration, empowering the team to “find the fun” before committing to the final look and layout of the level. Props and entire buildings are represented in their simplest forms during this phase, often times just simple blocks–hence the term “blockout.” After the layout of the map is finalized, the first Art phase begins, below. During this phase, the artists begin creating the 3D geometry for the buildings and grounds, and also their corresponding “materials,” such as concrete, corrugated metals, etc. Interestingly, during this phase, many near final assets will coexist with lingering blockout assets from the previous phase until the art team systematically replaces every asset. Below is the final version of the scene. Big difference! All blockout assets have been replaced with final assets, and additional assets have been added as well to make the scene feel more believable and lived-in. The periphery, sky, and lighting have all been updated to achieve the desired time of day, which changed to something more dramatic compared to the original blockout version. Unique sounds and music have also been added at this stage, tying the whole package together. Interior of Hangar
 This is the blockout of the Hangar interior, below. Notice how the airplane — one of the most complex assets we’ve ever made — is still represented as a simple shape — in this case, a tube. As with the exterior — once the layout of the map is finalized, the first Art phase for the interior also begins, seen below. During this phase, the artists begin creating the 3D geometry for the structural elements. “WIP” (work in progress) versions of complex assets such as the scaffolding and airplane are also added, to be finished in a later phase. A very rough lighting pass is also added to help get across the feel of a large Hangar, even at this early stage. Scale is extremely important in VR, and the ceiling lights really help achieve the feel of such immense structures. Below is the final version of the scene. All blockout assets have been replaced with final assets, WIP assets have been updated with final assets, and additional assets have been added as well to make the scene feel more believable and lived in. The lighting pass is much more dramatic, creating bold pockets of light and shadow in the player’s space, while also allowing the player to appreciate the giant structure of the building. A lot of sound design went into this room as well—gunshots and footsteps in large rooms made of hollow metal and concrete, for example, sound very different than in outside spaces or small offices. We are so excited to see the community’s reaction to the Hangar map, and to Operation: Nightfall in general. See you online, Contractors! – Shabs *PS Plus required for Weekend Trial View the full article

Since 2011, players have been shooting, jumping, and solving level-switching puzzles across Planet Land as cybernetic peacekeeper Officer Patricia Wagon in the Mighty Switch Force! games. So far, however, the series has never appeared on PlayStation systems — but that’s about to change. Finally, the Mighty Switch Force! titles are coming to PS4 on July 25, and better yet, it’s in the form of Mighty Switch Force! Collection, which features all four mainline Mighty Switch Force! games in one convenient package. At last, fans can enjoy the games’ unique puzzle-platforming action in the same place, at the same time, all on a single system. Mighty Switch Force! Collection contains four full games: Mighty Switch Force!, Mighty Switch Force! 2, Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition, and Mighty Switch Force! Academy. As series creative director Matt Bozon explains it, the original Mighty Switch Force! was conceived as a showcase for stereoscopic 3D visuals, so the idea of an action-platformer with multiple layers of depth was born. Initially, the idea was to allow Officer Wagon to use her Siren Helmet to “switch” blocks between four distinct layers to solve brain-bending level-navigation puzzles, and though that was changed to two layers during development, the overall concept remained (and it made the gameplay work equally well even without stereoscopic 3D effects). Naturally, Officer Wagon does more than switch around blocks — she does it while blasting enemies, avoiding precarious hazards, interacting with a variety of block types (such as Launch Blocks that propel her or her foes across the screen) and recapturing the devious Hooligan Sisters who have escaped prison and are hiding in each stage. After completing her duties, Officer Wagon meets up with her support robot, Corporal Gendarmor, and they prepare for the next mission. The concept worked so well that it was revisited and enhanced in Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition, designed to take advantage of high-definition hardware. While retaining the gameplay of its predecessor, Hyper Drive Edition changed the pixel art of the original to gorgeously detailed HD cel art, and it offered new, more challenging “Hyper” versions of the original levels (created by the first MSF’s level designer, Austin Ivansmith) as well as remixed musical tracks by composer Jake Kaufman. True to the series name, Mighty Switch Force! 2 switches things up, with Officer Wagon trading in her Pellet Shooter for an Infinity Dousing Apparatus (AKA a firehose) and enlisting in the Galactic Fire Brigade to save citizens from a raging inferno. Part of the reason for the change was to allow Officer Wagon to be more of an everyday hero rather than a superhero, plus, from a gameplay perspective, it enabled players to control a new type of weapon that fired in an arc and interacted differently with the environments and block types. Of course, the level-switching gameplay returned, as did characters like the fan-favorite Hooligan Sisters (this time reformed and in need of rescue). Rounding out the compilation is Mighty Switch Force! Academy, a previously PC-exclusive entry that features widescreen levels that enable you to view the entire stage layout at once, as well as multiplayer action for up to four players. Conceptualized by Bozon and guided into reality by Ivansmith, Academy received a great deal of fan input during development, ultimately arriving at a unique installment that includes both cooperative and competitive modes, plus costumes from the previous Mighty Switch Force! Games. With four complete games, more than 70 levels, plenty of challenge, and level-switching gameplay for up to four players, Mighty Switch Force! Collection offers a wealth of content for only $19.99, and it’s a great way to experience the entire mainline series, whether you’ve been there since the beginning or you’re discovering it for the first time. Mighty Switch Force! Collection is scheduled to arrive at PlayStation Store on July 25. View the full article

Two weeks ago, one of the biggest musical moments yet happened in Beat Saber. We released the Imagine Dragons Music Pack — a 10-track selection of the band’s most popular hits accompanied by a brand-new industrial-inspired environment. It took us months to make this Music Pack a reality. Sometimes, people do not realize how much effort is behind every release like this. The right selection of tracks, the quality and flow of levels, and the immersiveness of the environment is crucial for us. To better understand the philosophy behind the levels in Beat Saber, I interviewed Josh Joynes — alias Freeek — our Full-Time Level Creator and author of the Imagine Dragons Music Pack levels. Michaela: Freeek, why do you think experiencing music in VR feels so special? Freeek: VR as a whole allows us to experience the world in many different ways. Music is not an exception to this. Beat Saber brings a different type of experience to music. One that’s hard to explain without experiencing it yourself. Just like listening to a song you’ve already listened to thousands of times but now on a high-end pair of headphones, Beat Saber gives you a new way to experience music, and it’s unlike anything else. The simple way to explain it is that you experience the music both physically and visually. A dancing game is physical, and a lighting show is visual, but we’ve never really had it all combined before, especially at home. Things like the environment and lighting play a key part in this feeling, but this new experience is primarily driven by how it makes you move. Every Cube, every direction, every bomb, and every wall is hand-crafted with the intention of letting players experience the music in a whole new way. All of this put together is what we call a ‘Level.’ Michaela: Can you tell us more about who’s creating the levels now and how it was at the beginning? Freeek: The original 10 levels were all handcrafted by Jan ‘Split’ Ilavsky, with future content being a team effort. This team was hired post-launch and has contained several members, but now sits as Split and GreatYazer, with me being our Full-Time Level Creator. Michaela: Compared to the early beginnings at Beat Saber, what changed in the way how you – level creators – work together? Freeek: Our music guy, Jaroslav, gives the team music to work with. We start off by listening to this music (practically on repeat) for a good couple of days, to really learn and understand every aspect of the songs. I remember listening to Crab Rave for a full week before even touching it. I do this so I can determine whether there is anything unique in the song that can be utilized. With Pop/Stars, for example, I watched the ‘behind the scenes’ dancing videos more than the actual music video itself. Then I determined which parts of the dance would be fun to match the player’s movements to, and went from there. Pop/Stars (Expert+) After the level and its difficulties are completed, a lot of testing follows. We play the songs on all difficulties over and over again. I test songs at varying speeds to make sure they are flawless, I play on my knees when testing Easy and hold my arms in, trying to imitate what it’s like playing as a kid. On higher difficulties like Expert+, every section is also tested to make sure it’s physically possible to Full Combo, rather than just hypothetically. After the levels are crafted, they are given their own final testing by Jan himself, with any necessary adjustments made. Michaela: What’s the psychology behind the patterns in the levels? Freeek: Many ideas we implement into the levels are usually inspired during the period of time when all we do is listen to the songs. We take inspiration from multiple things, including some you might not have even thought of. Lyrics are an obvious one, but others include if the song is currently in a major/minor scale, the current instrument, and any external meanings or traditions about a song, amongst other things. This added ‘layer’ of the song is the type of thing I try to convey when thinking of patterns. It’s not all just about the difficulty. There are several of these extra ‘layers’ in the levels in the game that many people might not realize. Some examples include: Overkill (Expert) During ‘Overkill,’ the main drop has an upwards lifting feeling. A pitch-rising massive synth with a big snare hit between each one. During this section, the player is forced to make increasingly large upward swings with a big downwards hit between each one. During ‘Crab Rave,’ the majority of the song is focused on patterns that move from left to right, matching the sway of the Crabs’ dance in the music video. During ‘Whatever It Takes,’ there are a few sections in the verse with special cues. “Run me like a racehorse” feels like using the reins when riding a horse. “Break me down and build me up” has the player slicing blocks in descending then ascending order. During ‘Unlimited Power,’ the lyrics that say ‘From red to blue, from blue to red, and ducking the red from overhead” have the player performing the exact moves to these lyrics. Crab Rave (Expert+) These are just a few examples of the attention we put into making levels. Even the difference between the types of instruments can be used while mapping: if a piano is being matched, the pattern will be more stylized towards a simple flow, and the position of the blocks may match the pitch of a piano roll. If it’s a drum, the angles will be more up/down focused. Bass guitar will have notes more in the bottom row, whereas vocals will be higher up in the air. A lot of the time, these habits are mixed with multiple instruments. Michaela: Lighting is a super important aspect of every level. It seems quite complex to put together such a light show — how do you approach lighting while mapping new levels? Freeek: Yes, lighting has a lot of time put into it. In most cases, there are even more lighting triggers than blocks! Even in Expert+! For example, ‘Digital’ has 951 blocks to hit in Expert+, yet it has over 3000 lighting events! Lighting events in ‘Overkill’ A lot of thought processes that are applied when creating the blocks for the levels are also used in lighting. In ‘Thunder’ we primarily use blue (for obvious reasons) but we’ve even tried to re-create specific lighting events to imitate a thunderstorm. In ‘Radioactive’ the blue and red lights never mix until the lyrics sing the song’s title. In ‘Crab Rave,’ we changed the color of the entire environment to match the tropical look of the music video, and we changed the Monstercat logo to orange… because of crabs haha. A lot of lights are also hand-synced with lyrics. Next time you play Pop/Stars, pop on no-fail and try to pay attention to the large ‘X’ lights. Even for an upcoming song we are releasing, I studied the way lights look on a carousel (especially when powering up/down) to then imitate that in the level. For every song, we even have unique lighting for Expert+, specifically so that more intense/strobe based lighting doesn’t outweigh the lower intensity of lower difficulties. We also make sure that some of the more intense lights match the frequency/Hz of different HMDs so that they’re actually visible! Michaela: With the current selection of the music in the game, which artists or bands you would personally like to see in Beat Saber the future? Freeek: If there’s one thing I have learned about Beat Saber, it’s that any genre works. Songs I may dislike listening to can be very enjoyable when done right in the game. But if I had to pick out some artists, I’d love to see Gorillaz, Linkin Park, Daft Punk, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arctic Monkeys, Deadmau5, Flume, Black Keys, Skrillex, Will Sparks, Caravan Palace, Metallica, AC/DC, Guns n’ Roses, Kygo, Avicii, Nero, Pantera, Pendulum… hell, even some Outkast, Eminem, Hilltop Hoods or Kanye West wouldn’t be too shabby. Oh, and of course, more Jaroslav Beck! There may be quite a few there, but honestly, they would all work. Even an official Level Creator can dream… right? Michaela: Good selection! Let’s see who’s coming next! Our goal for 2019 is to bring as many genres as possible to Beat Saber so everyone can find the music they enjoy the most. In the meantime, I would like to invite all PS VR players to try our fresh new Imagine Dragons Music Pack – a selection of the band’s 10 biggest hits. The Imagine Dragons Music Pack is now available at PlayStation Store. View the full article