Commander Fury

We’ve been working on Vermintide 2 for PlayStation 4 for a while now, and it’s finally time! On December 18, Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is coming to PS4. The Closed Beta goes live today, and if you pre-order the game you get instant access to the Closed Beta, as well as four days early access and a bunch of other goodies. Fight together or die alone Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle world, and it’s the sequel to the critically acclaimed Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide. The Warriors of Chaos have joined forces with the relentless Skaven ratmen, forming a Dark Pact to ravage the realms of men. If you fall, so shall the empire. In Vermintide 2 you’ll be playing as one of the five heroes, and choose between fifteen unique career paths. Will you stand at the frontline donned in your Ironbreaker armor, let your belief in Sigmar guide your path, or give in to your flame addiction? The choice is yours to make, but be prepared to face a challenge like never before. The combined forces of the swarming Skaven horde and the destructive warriors of Chaos will climb walls, crawl through sewers, summon dark magic, and do just about anything to stop you. You will never experience the exact same playthrough twice. “How is this possible?” you might ask. Building on what we learned from Vermintide 1, we evolved our Spawn Director. Enemy spawning and formations now change constantly and make each playthrough unique and unpredictable, keeping you on your toes. The motto to follow while playing Vermintide 2 is “fight together or die alone.” The game is dependent on cooperation. You and your allies have to use your combined forces, skills and talents to survive. Your enemies have a wide array of specialized units ready to punish and tackle any cheeky hero attempting to play the solo hero. Fight your way together through the immense hordes of enemies and earn loot to match. Get instant access to the Closed Beta With the release, we’ve created a Pre-order Ultimate Edition bundle that might curl your whiskers a little. It will give you instant access to the Closed Beta, four days early access, two DLCs and other cool stuff. Here’s the full list of included content: Instant Closed Beta access 4 days early access Shadows over Bögenhafen DLC Back to Ubersreik DLC 6x Heroic deeds 2x Portrait frames Helmgart Heraldry themed skins Sigmar keep statue The release on PS4 has been a long time coming, and we’d be lying if we said that we’ve not received daily inquiries about it. Get ready to tackle the onslaught of the Dark Pact, but remember: If you fall, so shall the Empire. May Sigmar protect you, hero. View the full article

It’s hard to believe it’s already been five years since the launch of PlayStation 4. In that time, we’ve sold more than 86.1 Million hardware units, in addition to over 777.9 Million software units worldwide. We are so grateful to all the fans who have helped us come this far — it truly is an amazing time to be a part of the PlayStation family, and we thank you for your continued support. Here are a few highlights of some unique PS4 stats, including what games you all have played the most and what DualShock 4 color is the most popular after the standard black (hint: it’s a color we love at PlayStation). Check out the infographic below. To celebrate this occasion, we are also revealing a new PS4 bundle to add to our lineup, the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 PS4 bundle. If you haven’t already, now is the perfect time to join the PS4 community and experience the latest multiplayer first-person shooter that features gritty, grounded, fluid Multiplayer combat, the biggest Zombies offering ever with three full undead adventures, and Blackout, where the universe of Black Ops comes to life in one massive battle royale experience. Not to mention, PS4 players can look forward to unlocking content in advance of anyone else*. This bundle is available November 27 at participating retailers nationwide for $299.99 MSRP (USD) / $379.99 MSRP (CAN), and includes a jet-black 1TB PS4 system, a matching DualShock 4 wireless controller, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on Blu-ray Disc. This year has seen some of the best content ever on the platform, with God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Red Dead Redemption 2. There’s so much more still to come, including Days Gone, Death Stranding, Dreams, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us II! Once again, I’d like to thank all of our incredible fans, whose passion inspires us every day to make PS4 the best place to play. We look forward to welcoming all those who will be joining the PS4 community this holiday and beyond. What are some of your favorite PlayStation 4 experiences or memories from the past five years? Share in the comments below! *New playable content, when available, will launch on PS4 7 days prior to launch on other platforms. Content may be sold separately. View the full article

Rainbow Six Siege is coming to a PS4 near you from November 15-18 for a Free Weekend, and it’s an excellent chance to try out the strategic first-person shooter for the first time ahead of the release of Operation Wind Bastion, which features two new Operators and a new map. Those looking to keep playing after the Free Weekend — and keep their progress going — can pick up all editions of Rainbow Six Siege from PlayStation Store for 70% off from November 15-27. We’ve got four tips to help you hit the ground running: 1. Get to know the basics Every match of Rainbow Six Siege consists of multiple rounds, and pits five defending Operators against five attacking Operators in an objective-based game in which teams switch roles after each round. The three game modes will task you with securing an area, defusing a bomb, or rescuing a hostage. Each round begins with a preparation phase; this is a time for Defenders to fortify their location, and for Attackers to scout out the objective room and its defending Operators using their drones. Defenders should focus on reinforcing walls, deploying their gadgets, and shooting the attacking team’s drones. Attackers should prioritize finding the objective room and then identifying the defending Operators. Once the round starts, Attackers converge on the objective location, and the round ends either when the objective is completed, all Operators on one side are killed, or time runs out. Once the shooting starts, it’s important to stay in communication with your teammates. While voice chat is best for communication, never underestimate the power of a well-placed ping to alert your teammates of the location of an enemy. Make sure to check your corners when entering a room and press L3 and R3 to lean around walls and obstacles without completely exposing yourself. 2. Get to know the Operators Siege features more than 40 Operators to choose from, meaning that no matter your play style, there’s someone for you. Operators are broken up into two groups, Attackers and Defenders, and each Operator comes equipped with a unique gadget that helps separate them from the pack. Not only is it important to understand which Operator suits you best, but it’s crucial to learn what other Operators do so you can be prepared for what they’re bringing to the fight. When it comes to choosing your own Operator, you’ll have to find at least one Attacker and one Defender that you’re comfortable with. A few Operators are great for beginners. If you’re an Attacker, try an Operator that comes with extra defense, like Montagne, Blitz, or Blackbeard. When you’re on defense, try out a “set it and forget it” Operator that can place their gadgets during the prep phase, like Castle, Kapkan, or Rook, to maximize their utility. 3. Build Up and Tear Down Destructible environments play a huge role in Rainbow Six Siege, as nearly any wall can be breached or shot through. To help secure the objective zone, Defenders can deploy their unique gadgets, but are also able to reinforce two “soft walls” with steel barricades, making them impervious to gunfire or regular breach charges. For every strategy in Siege, there’s at least one counter, and because all Defenders are able to reinforce walls, multiple attacking Operators can breach those reinforced walls. Thermite, Hibana, and Maverick are considered “hard breachers,” and are able to break through reinforced walls, making them strong picks for any attacking team. 4. Intel, Intel, Intel In Siege, every bullet counts, and a single, well-placed shot can be deadly. Runners and gunners won’t last long. Information and communication is paramount and will often result in victory over quick reflexes. Intel is the deadliest weapon in Siege and fortunately, there are multiple ways to get it. Attackers start each round scouting with one of their two drones – don’t forget to use the second one once the round starts. Drones can help reveal camping Defenders and alert you to traps in your way. Likewise, Operators like Lion, Dokkaebi, and Jackal can help locate and track down enemies. Defenders have access to multiple cameras located around the map, so they can get a sense of where the attacking team is coming from. Certain Defenders, like Valkyrie and Maestro can set up additional cameras to maximize their intel-gathering, while Pulse can detect enemy heartbeats through walls. There’s no replacement for experience when it comes to Rainbow Six Siege, but with these four starter tips, you’ll be miles ahead of other rookies during the Free Weekend, which runs from November 15-18. View the full article

On behalf of my team, I’m really excited to announce Floor Kids, a funky hand-drawn breakdance game, featuring an original soundtrack, and an emphasis on freestyle moves and self expression. I’m JonJon, the creator and animator of the Floor Kids characters, and a lot of my best friends are bboys. So how did I get here? I moved to Montreal in 2004 and while working on some short films in my round-head-dot-eyes style, I was also getting involved in the local break scene. I gained entry to a small 4-man crew, hidden in the shadows of the city. Each crew member covered one of the basic elements of – Power, Freezes, Toprock and Footwork. I was more the footwork guy. Relying on ideas from my drawings to try to invent movements to impress my friends. In a flash of spontaneity, my two passions came together. I started animating my sketch-style character with realistic bboy moves and spunky attitudes. No video reference. From the moment of creation, I knew there was some kind of a hook to the concept, because I couldn’t stop laughing and having fun with it. I had met Kid Koala through the animation scene in Montreal and as we were hanging out one day, I showed him a couple stacks of animation that I had tested of Noogie and O-Live, and I flipped it for him at 24 frames per second speed in front of his eyes. He lost it. And by that I mean, he was just blinking and staring into space, deep in thought. He broke the silence. “How fast can you finish this battle? My new album’s about to drop. We could do a video for promo!” Later I would find out that it was the album titled “Your Mom’s Favorite DJ”. We made the promo project official with the help of Ryhna Thompson, Kid Koala’s long time collaborator. I got to work finishing a small series of animated bboy clips. The world of Floor Kids was born. Floor Kids made a little splash on the internet, and did a short stint touring animation festivals, like the Brooklyn Animation Block Party. I also remember being at the practices and a few of the bboys would show up with their PSP rocking a brand new game called B-Boy. It was the wildest thing ever, featuring big names in the international break battle scene. A lot of the knew that I was also doing my own brand of break animation so they would show me. To me, the game B-Boy for PSP and PS2 will always be the pinnacle of breakdancing games for the bboys & bgirls of the community, because it comes directly from one of the most influential, original bboys of all time: Crazy Legs of the legendary Rock Steady Crew. B-Boy the game will always be the first, and most comprehensive of its kind, and we didn’t try to replace it. I never would have thought that we would come full circle with Floor Kids, just over 10 years later, reaching the level that we are on the brink of launching on PS4. 10,000 drawings & 5 trillion lines of code later, and we have three things to consider: 1) it’s fun. 2) It’s FUN. 3) IT’S FUN!!! With those technicalities aside, whilst developing our game, we wanted to approach everything with style, so that the game would be an interpretive vision between two artists. The visuals, with eight never-before-seen characters, and the music, over 40 original tracks. The idea was to make something fresh & original from our own memories and experiences of the eras that we grew up in. I will always be primarily a visual artist. That’s my bread & butter. But having the opportunity to make this game reminded me that I’m also a bboy at heart, who still has things to accomplish. To me, the breaking artform is about many things. It’s about expression. It’s about telling a story with your steps. It’s about proving to yourself what is possible. It’s about competition and respect, but respect that must be earned by giving everything you have… and then some. It’s about creativity and invention. The element of surprise. Levelling up your skills. It’s about seeking more knowledge. It’s about you and your friends, and having fun. And it’s about having the freedom to find your style. Floor Kids Pro Tips: Combo hints are located on the backs of the character recruit cards and are instrumental in achieving the highest scores. Cards are located in the Break Deck, accessible from the map screen in Story Mode.
 Infinity Mode lets you practice and master your combos without the pressure of fixed time.
 Discover the hidden Strobe state during power moves by spinning the left analog stick faster to accelerate your spin, when at max speed, repeatedly press the analog stick like a button to S-T-R-O-B-E!
 Earn extra Flyness points by adding holds and poses to your routine by pressing L1 or R1 during top rock or down rock moves.
 Add flyness hops to your freezes by pressing L1 and R1 during a freeze.
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Hello, everyone! This is Matt “Bayohne” Hilton from the Final Fantasy XIV Online community team, this time sitting down with one of Final Fantasy XIV’s battle content designers, Yoshito Nabeshima. When it comes to MMOs, one of the most exciting elements for the team is creating something that truly challenges your players–and a raid is a perfect example of that. Providing tough-as-nails encounters and new mechanics, these battles are not just a test of skill, but a test of teamwork. In the last five years we’ve released three different series’ of raids to challenge our players in Final Fantasy XIV. It’s not as easy as you might think to come up with not just new mechanics, but bosses that fit with the story and have a unique visual look! We wanted to give you a first-hand look at how the development team creates a raid boss from start to finish, and with four all-new bosses in the recent 4.4 patch, this is the perfect opportunity! Let’s take a look at Omega with Nabeshima-san, a boss who should be familiar to anybody who has played Final Fantasy V! How did the creation of this boss fight begin? Did it start with gameplay concepts, fitting the boss to the story or something else entirely? When we first started work on the Omega boss battle, we had to consider the storyline of the raid series: Omega fights in order to learn and grow stronger, and is holding a ‘tournament’ to find a worthy opponent. Our team took this base and considered how Omega might behave in an encounter with the Warriors of Light, who continued to triumph in each of the tournaments bouts. It boils down to the very simple theme of “who is stronger?”– Omega or the Warrior of Light. Because of this, we didn’t want to have a monster swoop in and assist Omega in battle, but instead utilize only Omega and its own battle capabilities when creating the battle. How did your team decide on the battle mechanics (attacks, AOE patterns, etc.) for this raid? With this basic idea in mind, we started to think about the battle mechanics. If you’ve raided in FFXIV before, you might have noticed we include mechanics that require teamwork from the group–think of it as something like a three-legged race, or having a giant jump rope and having a whole group jump in sync. Unfortunately, including these kinds of mechanics have never been my strong suit, but I challenged myself to do it for this fight! I think it’s easier to get a grasp of this by looking at some specific mechanics, so let’s dive into two particular parts of this fight a bit deeper–the “Level Checker” phase and “Pantokrator.” The First Leg of the Level Checker Phase The Level Checker phase is inspired by the “Encircle” ability, which you might remember from the very first fight with Omega in Final Fantasy V. I’m sure there is a rhyme and reason to it, but the “Encircle” in FFV was pretty hard to understand since it is never really explained during the fight. I took that idea for our FFXIV battle and built it into it one of those “jump rope mechanics” I mentioned previously. The way it works is that two players are marked with a debuff called “Chains of Memory.” These players need to move along the edge of the battlefield opposite each other in an arc–they’re essentially drawing a circle. That was my way to tie-in my own Encircle into the fight. Drawing the Circle with Chains of Memory Handling this mechanic isn’t as easy as it sounds, as these two players are linked by a kind of particle beam which rotates with them as they move. It gets pretty hectic since the other players in the raid not only have to deal with avoiding this beam, but also pay mind to other mechanics at the same time. Now with Pantokrator, the idea was to have a weakened Omega retaliating against players by unleashing a barrage of its strongest attacks one after the other. We wanted the eight Warriors of Light fighting Omega to band together as one to conquer this challenge. Move in Sync or Else! Pantokrator is a slew of different laser attacks brought out one after the other, and all party members need to know the characteristics and patterns for each. We designed this portion of the fight so that without complete teamwork, you won’t be able to succeed! These are just a few examples, but in both cases, we thought of the overall goal for the mechanic, and then fit it into the parameters of the specific boss. I’m sure several teams worked together to make this happen. What is the overall flow in working with these teams to create the boss model, the battlefield, the animations, and everything else that is needed to bring the fight to life? Creating a boss doesn’t start off with creating the mechanics. Typically, the first thing to happen is the story and setting of the raid get hammered out, and then the art team works on the initial design. We work together during the design process, letting the art team know our vision for the battle so they can incorporate those elements into the design. Omega Design Sketches Omega was unique though, since it had been around since Patch 3.5. It was a rare case where the design was finalized well before we began designing the fight. Omega, as revealed in Patch 3.5 We continue planning out the battle content, working with the lore team to incorporate any enemy lore into the overall fight. This stage of planning is where most of the battle mechanics are decided upon: the shape of the battlefield, the flow of battle phases, and other key features. The next step is a team review of the content that includes the battle and monster teams. If we receive feedback or revision requests, we go back to the drawing board here to make those adjustments. We’ll actually repeat this process as many times as needed until all teams are in agreement with the proposed content. We also need to make sure our plan is actually going to work in game. We share our full plan with the programming team and they review the battle to make sure there won’t be any problems with making our boss fight a reality. As you can see, every step of the creation process is a group effort. We talk not only with the teams I’ve mentioned so far, but also with the graphic and sound teams. It’s important to make sure all of us are on the same page in terms of the battle concept, and ensure all parts of the fight match the overall vision. The pieces start to come together as we put the puzzle pieces from each team together to build the fight for the first time. The battle and monster teams do a lot of play testing, and FFXIV’s Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida joins in for these in the later stages. With his approval, we move on to QA to hammer out all of the bugs, and then all of you get to enjoy the fight! Well, at least that’s the typical flow… A Completed Omega…after a few tweaks. Omega: The Wild Card Omega had another rare occurrence: for the first time in FFXIV boss history, we had to do a major overhaul of much of this fight. Around the office we call the reviews from Producer and Director Yoshida “P/D checks.” Most of the time, Yoshida will request small tweaks or adjustments, but with Omega things were a bit different. It was a bit of a shock, but during that first check Yoshida was very blunt in his feedback: “it doesn’t feel like you’re battling Omega at all!” The Omega Savage fight at the time had two parts to the “Level Checker” phases that I mentioned earlier, and he felt it dragged on for too long. Yoshida also told us the fight didn’t have that climactic feel other bosses up until now did. Reworking the Fight I took that feedback to heart, and went to work on a revised plan right away. I worked with some of our raid design veterans, and went through the entire process again talking to all of our teams. It was somewhat of a miracle, but the revised plan was approved by Yoshida. The new plan required changes from all sides. We were adding new mechanics, changing existing mechanics, adding animations, graphical effects, and sound effects. It was another huge team effort that went all the way to our QA team again–I was the one who had to bear the bad news of needing to retest the fight because of the new mechanics… So what did we actually change? First we removed the second “Level Checker” phase, but we also bumped up the intensity of the fight following that phase. We added in new animations to visually show Omega’s rampage in the later stages of the fight, as well as two new laser attacks: Condensed Wave Cannon Kyrios and Diffuse Wave Cannon Kyrios. Our teams also created the “Rocket Punch” attack for this fight in record time. Just for fun, let’s take a look at that second Level Checker phase we took out. This image is clipped from the design document, and shows the different positions players would need to be in and move to in order to succeed. Looking at this now… I’m actually glad I was able to rethink this phase! As you can see, Omega was born out of very tough labor, and I probably caused more than a bit of trouble to many of the teams. They might not have the best memories coming out of all of this, but their willingness to go back to the drawing board is why this battle turned out as well as it did. I’m filled with nothing but gratitude for their support. When the modeling team created this raid boss’ 3D model, what factors needed to be taken into account in order to translate the concept art into the game itself faithfully? Hello! Lead character artist Yuji Mitsuishi jumping in here to talk a bit about creating the Omega model! Omega is comprised of an extremely large number of parts, so getting each of those elements in order and putting them together to create the model was a very time consuming task. My team did not want to deviate from the envisioned design we were given, so we would make even the slightest adjustments to the position of each part of Omega to fit the design. If you’ve fought Omega, you might have noticed the relief on the surface of his body. I think this is a very important element that makes Omega a memorable foe, but it was important to not lose the sense of three-dimensionality in the design or create a frail-looking Omega in the process. Omega looks like a pretty tough fight to me! Did you or your team had any “Aha!” moments during development that changed the outcome of this raid’s design? Sometimes we do have those moments where something just clicks and you end up with a great idea that might change the fight entirely, but again Omega was a unique case. Almost all of the fight from the Level Checker phase onward was born from reflecting and brainstorming the fight as a group following Yoshida’s orders for the overhaul. Omega’s ‘frenzy’ after the Level Checker phase was actually a suggestion from my team leader. He told me, “why not just make Omega go completely berserk?” That alone was an eye opener to create that feeling of a true battle against Omega that Yoshida was looking for. That’s a lotta lasers Were there any moments during the creation of this raid that sparked new ideas for other content we might see in the future? When working on mechanics for one fight, there are times when new ideas come to mind that you can’t always realize right away. I actually thought of a few new ideas when working on the Chains of Memory mechanic for Omega–I’m hoping I can fit them into a future boss fight! If the boss is inspired from a past Final Fantasy boss, how do you and the teams balance keeping true to the original, but also providing a special flair for Final Fantasy XIV. When working with bosses from a past Final Fantasy we do make sure to provide a unique experience in Final Fantasy XIV, but at the same time it’s important to consider the original. You’ll only see this in the Omega Savage fight, but we actually included an “Encircle” ability (known as “Loop”) in the battle. It’s basically the enrage timer for the fight, so you’ll only see it if you can’t finish the fight within a certain time limit. Encircle was an ability used by Omega in Final Fantasy V that would remove a target from the battle–no questions asked. Unfortunately, mimicking this exactly in FFXIV and removing players from the raid instance wouldn’t really work, and honestly just randomly killing players during a fight isn’t that interesting. However, after thinking about it I came up with the idea of using this as the boss’ enrage, since we would be able to preserve the original concept. If you happen to encounter this in FFXIV, you can see your raid party get exiled to another dimension! The Original Encircle and the Final Fantasy XIV version – “Loop”! What part of this new raid are you most excited for players to experience? Which gameplay moments or lore should players should keep an eye out for? I’m sure many of you have already had a chance to play, but I’d say my favorite part of this fight is when Omega goes berserk after the second Pantokrator. You can only see this in Savage mode, but the visuals and animations of Omega filling the screen up with its onslaught of attacks are truly amazing. This might sound a bit weird, but if you do get a chance to do Savage, make sure you hit that Enrage timer and see the full Loop effect! You won’t be disappointed! View the full article

Hey everyone, today we are thrilled to unveil the exciting announcement that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is officially coming to PlayStation 4! Bringing PUBG to the PS4 has been an ambitious project for us, and we are beyond thrilled to finally be sharing this news with the world. What is PUBG? PUBG is a battle-royale shooter where 100 players drop into a map and fight for survival. It’s a game of life or death as you explore and loot the map for weapons and armor. Internet and PlayStation Plus are required to play on PS4. Be the last one standing to achieve the elusive Chicken Dinner – bragging rights included. Pre-order Bundles PUBG will launch on December 7 with three iconic maps – Erangel, Miramar, and Sanhok – with the highly anticipated snow-themed map coming this winter. The game will include all major features like custom matches, ranked system, event mode, Trophies, and much, much more. Today, we’re kicking off pre-order sales with various options: Disc Edition $29.99 USD (MSRP) / $39.99 CAD (MSRP) Includes: Base Game Looter’s Digital Edition $29.99 USD (MSRP) / $39.99 CAD (MSRP) Includes: Base Game Survivor’s Digital Edition $59.99 USD (MSRP) / $79.99 CAD (MSRP) Includes: Base Game, Survival Pass: Vikendi, 2,300 G-Coin Pack, 20,000 BP Champion’s Digital Edition $89.99 USD (MSRP) / $119.99 CAD (MSRP) Includes: Base Game, Survival Pass: Vikendi, 6,000 G-Coin Pack, 20,000 BP Pre-order Bonuses – Digital Skins We teamed up with our friends at Sony to bring you some amazing pre-order digital skins that will be included in each pre-order bundle. Nathan Drake Desert Outfit Uncharted Series Ellie’s Backpack The Last of Us We are also offering a PUBG avatar and theme to rock on your PlayStation Network User ID as an instant download for pre-ordering! The Unknown Avatar Miramar Theme A few words from the PUBG HQ Team in Korea From Koo Sung Jeong, PS4 Lead Project Manager: “One of most memorable moments while developing PS4 PUBG was the first time we had 100 people join a test match. Before the test, the dev team’s mission was to deliver the finished product this year – it was a big challenge and it felt almost impossible. But as soon as we had 100 people drop in for the test, our confidence started to build and and we pushed ourselves harder to make everything happen. We are proud of the game we have created and can’t wait to get it into your hands!” From Changmin Lee, PS4 Engineering Lead “It’s always exciting and tense presenting our work to the players as a developer. Getting our game into the hands of the PS4 community that haven’t experienced PUBG is a thrill equal to creating a new game. Everyone on the PS4 dev team have worked passionately on every single moment of the game to create a perfect experience for our players – we hope you all enjoy your journey on getting a chicken dinner!” As we prepare for the official launch on December 7, be sure to stay up to date on the latest news at our website and social channels. The team here at PUBG have worked tirelessly to bring our unique Battle Royale experience to this platform, and we can’t wait to start this new journey with you. View the full article

Creed II is sure to get your blood pumping in the theater– but nothing matches taking on Viktor Drago and Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler yourself. On November 27, Creed: Rise to Glory’s first free content update adds the hotly anticipated sequel’s antagonists to the game’s roster of Freeplay and PvP opponents on PlayStation VR. In Creed II, Adonis Creed finally faces off against his old Delphi Gym rival Danny Wheeler (Andre Ward) as the lead-up for a much larger showdown with his past: Viktor Drago, son of Ivan “The Siberian Express” Drago, the Soviet boxer who killed Adonis’ father Apollo during an exhibition bout. Creed: Rise to Glory brings the drama of Creed II’s climactic bouts to your VR playspace with these two Freeplay opponents inspired by their cinematic equivalents. Plus, Wheeler and Drago join the extensive roster of playable PvP characters, including PlayStation VR timed exclusive Classic Rocky. Creed: Rise to Glory puts players in the gloves of Adonis Creed as he trains with the legendary Rocky Balboa to become a champion in his own right. Physically active, immersive gameplay powered by proprietary Phantom Melee Technology brings a new level of uniquely cinematic intensity to the boxing-game genre, whether facing off against the game’s opponents in Career or Freeplay mode or getting personal in PvP. The Creed II content update goes live for auto-download on November 27. Want to hone your moves or get a friend into the ring before it arrives? Pick up Creed: Rise to Glory now in a PlayStation VR bundle pack or for 50% off during PS Store’s Black Friday sale. View the full article

Here at Insomniac Games, we’ve had a terrific time expanding our new and original Spider-Man story. We hope you enjoyed returning to the game recently, whether it was for New Game+ and Ultimate Difficulty, or to meet Black Cat in the first chapter of Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps – The Heist. And, of course, if you haven’t yet checked out Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Heist, what are you waiting for? With that said, we’re ready to give you a first look at the next chapter, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Turf Wars. As we hinted in Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Heist, Hammerhead is the main antagonist in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Turf Wars. First appearing in the 1970s via the pages of Amazing Spider-Man comic book, Hammerhead — the organized crime boss known for his obsession with the mob’s glory years and a cranium surgically enhanced into a deadly weapon — has declared war against the other Dons of the Maggia, and are using equipment left by Sable International during its occupation of Marvel’s New York. Spider-Man and Yuri Watanabe will have to team up to put an end to the violence that has erupted in the streets of the city. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Turf Wars features brand new story missions, bases, crimes, challenges, and trophies! In addition, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Turf Wars features three great new suits. We heard from many fans last May who were excited to see the new version of the Iron Spider suit in the game, but several wanted the classic Iron Spider Armor from the comics. With Marvel’s Spider-Man: Turf Wars, we’re glad to bring it to the game! Speaking of armor, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Turf Wars will also have the Spider-Armor MK I to help round out your MK set in the game. Finally, we have my favorite suit in this drop – the Spider-Clan Suit, which leaps directly out of the pages of the Marvel Mangaverse comic books. We know how much you love these animated-style suits — and we cannot wait to see what you do with this one in Photo Mode! As with Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Heist – we have a brand new piece of art to share.​ We once again worked with famed Marvel illustrator and suit designer Adi Granov on this new image. It’s been a pleasure to continue working with him to create amazing new art for the post-launch DLC. You’ll also notice it features Spider-Man in his Velocity Suit – which was designed by Adi and that you can unlock in Marvel’s Spider-Man (we know many of you have already!). Marvel’s Spider-Man: Turf Wars releases on November 20! It will be available for MSRP $9.99 USD, but of course, you can also purchase the entire Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps bundle for MSRP $24.99 USD, which includes Marvel’s Spider-Man: Turf Wars, the previously released Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Heist chapter, as well as the upcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man: Silver Lining chapter. Haven’t played Marvel’s Spider-Man yet but want to check out the game and its DLC? The Digital Deluxe is an especially good value, including the full-game and all three Marvel’s Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps chapters for MSRP $79.99 USD. That’s all for now – as always you can keep up with all the latest by following Insomniac Games on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram feeds for all the latest! View the full article

With Knowledge is Power: Decades releasing today, I’m back again to share some shiny new screenshots of our latest PlayLink game. While 2017’s Knowledge is Power was all about a world’s worth of knowledge, this time around we’ve focused exclusively on entertainment and pop culture specifically from the last forty years. In Knowledge is Power: Decades, you’ll be traveling through ‘Decades of Trivia’ testing your knowledge on the 80s, 90s, 00s and the 10s. If you’re nostalgic for the 90s, or just aching for the 80s, you can keep the questions to whichever decade takes your fancy, before showing off your knowledge across other categories such as Movies, Music, Pop Culture and more. To keep the quiz fast-paced, you’ll play six different Challenges between questions including Chain Reaction, Fill the Blanks, Odd One Out and Spin to Win! With points available at every swipe and tap, each of these touch-controlled challenges gives you a chance to get closer to the winner’s spot at the top of the Pyramid of Knowledge. You’ll need a strong competitive spirit to make it there, but you’ll also need to get acquainted with our Power Play system. For those familiar with Knowledge is Power, you’ll remember Power Plays as sneaky ways to sabotage your foes midgame to unleash against your opponents as they answer trivia questions. We’ve kept our favourites, but joining the selection from the first game are brand-new Power Plays such as Disco Fever, Zipper and Lockdown… For example if you throw a Zipper Power Play, your opponent has to unzip the answers on their touch screen before they can find the right answer! We’ve also created a completely new roster of eight marvelous characters for you to play as, complete with era-themed filters for all those beautiful and ridiculous selfies. These are a great ice-breaker to your multiplayer party and let you showcase your love of your favorite era! Not only have we translated all the questions to work just as well across multiple languages, we’ve also added in thousands of specifically localized questions for other countries! Knowledge is Power: Decades is out today – for fans of the original it’s bigger and better than ever, and for new players it’s the best quiz game show on PlayStation. We hope you love it! Don’t forget about the rest of the PlayLink titles also available today, including Chimparty, Just Deal With It, WordHunters, Melbits World and Ticket To Ride! View the full article

Hey everyone! We couldn’t be more excited to be launching the Megalith beta tomorrow for PlayStation VR. Creating this game has been a real adventure for us, and we can’t wait to share that adventure with you. We started Disruptive Games with one simple overriding goal: make great online games. Our first step was to assemble an amazing team. That done, we have spent the last two years working extremely hard on our first game, Megalith. The good thing is that a big part of our “work” has been playing Megalith almost every day! We have spent countless hours discussing, debating, and even arguing over the details to ensure Megalith is fun, beautiful, and highly competitive. But something has been missing…you! So, for the next couple of months all of you will be able to play with us for free in our open beta. Also, to thank early adopters we are offering a ton of rewards for pre-ordering the game. Now to the details… During the open beta you will have access to two of the five Titans at any time. The ones you get change every week, and not every player will have the same rotation of Titans; so there will be plenty of variety when you play. But if you pre-order the game, you’ll immediately be able to choose from any of the five titans anytime you want during the beta. And you get all the bonuses listed below, too! Pre-order Megalith to receive the following: Immediately: Unlock all Titans available during the Beta. Bonus: Avatar pack including the starting five Titans. Bonus: One DLC Titan granted when the game releases. Exclusive: Epic skins for each of the starting five Titans when the game releases. How to play In Megalith, choose from one of five starting Titans and work in teams of two to take on other Titans in battle. The Titans each wield unique powers and abilities derived from their origin. These abilities can be used alone, but become even more effective when coordinated with an ally. Each team must protect their side while attempting to lead their minions into enemy territory and breach their defenses. Titans will need to destroy enemy walls and towers in order to make their bases vulnerable to attack. Powerful siege minions can be summoned to aid in the path to Victory. The Titan Roster Here are the five starting Titans and their abilities: Tundra: Frost Blast (Primary), Ice Shield, Ice Shackles, Permafrost, Ice Age (Ultimate) Cipher: Bounce Launcher (Primary), Boomerang, Tether Pull, Rupture, Tracker Orbs (Ultimate) Taur: Swipe (Primary), Charge, Acid Spit, Rage Mode, Stoneblock (Ultimate) Aurora: Ethereal Burst (Primary),Chain Lightning, Ion Shell, Tempest, Wrath Of Heaven (Ultimate) Hunter: Crossbow (Primary), Arrow Volley, Explosive Arrow, Talisman, Solar Beam (Ultimate) More details about their abilities can be found in the images below: We can’t wait to finally play Megalith with you! Don’t forget we are continuing to improve the game during the beta, so please join us in making the game even better. See you in battle! View the full article

Hello again Spyro fans! We are less than 24 hours away from the launch of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and we are brimming with excitement here at Toys For Bob. With such a great response to our last blog post, we wanted to follow it up with an inside look at the making of one of our favorite realms in the trilogy, Dragon Shores. A couple members on our team who worked closely on this level, Josh Nadelberg (Art Director) and Ray West (Lead Level Designer), share their experience with bringing back the best theme park in all the Dragon Realms. Josh: The art team had a blast revisiting Dragon Shores for Spyro Reignited Trilogy. As the final “bonus” level in Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage, we wanted to make sure that Dragon Shores lived up to its reputation as the premier vacation spot in the Dragon Realms. As was our intention with each of the 100+ levels in the trilogy, we wanted to stay faithful to the layout and themes from the original, while enhancing the storytelling and mood with the additional detail we were able to add to the world. In this case, we had a literal Fun Park to play with, and we didn’t pull any punches. For example, to spice things up we designed a giant mechanical dragon to encircle the park and a huge nest of golden dragon eggs perched above the square. Ray: Thinking through the level design, for a project like Spyro Reignited Trilogy it was very important to determine which are the crucial elements that need to be spot-on for parity versus altering it to give the player an updated experience. The original game’s level art and placement/pathing information were invaluable to the design team because it takes away a lot of the challenge with level reconstruction and we could instead focus on building the mechanics/minigames. Dragon Shores was one of those levels where we experimented with making significant changes but all in all it was much more satisfying to experience the original attractions and let the fantastic artwork make them shine. Josh: From an art standpoint, we began production of every level by having concept artists paint over screenshots that we captured of the original game geometry. This approach ensured that our artistic decisions mapped one-to-one with the levels and don’t interfere with gameplay. The concept art guided the environment and lighting artists as they translated the work into 3D, but there’s always room for creativity at every step along the way. Our first pass at Dragon Shores had a more restrained color palette, just like the original, with cream colored stone walls and archways. We didn’t feel like we were evoking the playful energy of a theme park quite yet, so we tried giving the whole place a bit of a paintjob to cheer things up and it made a huge difference. We also added colorful flags and banners throughout to liven things up, and even hung some Spyro Reignited Trilogy posters at the entrance to the theater. To make the Tunnel of Love feel more like a theme park attraction, we built a giant heart and signage to dress up the entrance, and added vibrant red carpets to help to guide the player to each of the different attractions. Ray: Speaking of the Tunnel of Love, it almost had a gigantic cast of characters from all three games in it, but in the end we opted to just stick with the OG list (and because I’d already made FAR too many last-minute surprise animation requests to our animators). We did add a new character into the Dunk Tank, though; he’s the Boat Gnorc from Spyro 1’s Wild Flight level. I initially put him in as a placeholder while the Spyro 2 assets were still under construction, but it was so satisfying to dunk him that I made sure he stayed in there for the final game. Josh: Dunk tank, Tunnel of Love, the rollercoaster — this level really exemplifies the fun and sort of off-the-wall spirit of the Spyro games. Having the opportunity to bring new life to these legendary games has been an amazing opportunity, and we can’t wait for people to have the experience of helping Spyro make his way to Dragon Shores again after all these years. We are excited to share a little tease of the level here with you now. It’s also a reminder that as you’re working your way through Avalar over the coming weeks, don’t forget those gems and orbs! View the full article

Music plays an integral role in the overall gaming aesthetic in Desert Child, coming to PS4 December 11. This was all done by design, as the creator of the game, Oscar Brittain, set out to create a unique gaming experience in this stylized, hoverbike racing RPG. But before we continue, you must be asking yourself, who is Oscar Brittain? To provide some context, Oscar Brittain is a one-man indie game developer from Fremantle, Australia, and is the sole creator of Desert Child. Everything, from game design, art, animation, programming, and music, was created by him, as all elements of the game were carefully designed and curated. How Music Affects the Game As mentioned in the opening, music plays a vital role in the game, especially during the racing element. Initially, there isn’t a clear indicator to notify the player of the distance to the finish line during the race, as this was done be design; after competing in several races, one will quickly discover that the duration of the race matches the duration of the song. To put it bluntly, if you are able to identify the end parts of each track, you will be able to know when the finish line is coming up. Soundtrack Influences The soundtrack to Desert Child mostly consists of lo-fi and 90’s influenced hip-hop, with most of the music, created by Oscar himself. His musical influences, which range from Tokimonsta, Eevee, Central Parks, A L E X, anything from Inner Ocean Records, and the Wu-Tang Clan, are reflected in the tracks created for the game. You can check out his eclectic Spotify playlist of the various tracks he listened to that inspired the creation of Desert Child. Soundtrack Creation As Oscar did create most of the music himself, a lot of time and effort was put into each song. Below is a list of equipment and software that was used during production: Ableton Live 9 (plugins iZotope Vinyl and Glitch 2 by Illformed) EDIROL Sound Input AKG Perception 420 Condenser Microphone Micro Korg XL Keyboard Fender Stratocaster Custom Teabox Guitar Roland Cube Amplifier Here is a sampling of some of his music that can be found in the game: The Filth Beats To Live By Man, How Wicked Were the 90’s? Gravity’s Rainbow Enlisting Other Artists As there is a burgeoning artist scene in Fremantle, Oscar had to look no further than his own neighborhood to recruit artists for the soundtrack. Several local indie artists, such as Puncture Repair Kit and Girlfriend Material, have all contributed to the soundtrack, with most notably Girlfriend Material’s “Spatula” being used for the promotional E3 2018 PlayStation Trailer. My Freind Marcus is also credited and featured prominently in the game as well, but Oscar has admitted that Marcus contributed nothing to the game, and only left him in there to forever remind Marcus of a blown opportunity to have his music featured in a video game. Additionally, we were able to secure two tracks from Mega Ran at this year’s The Mix showcase during E3, as he was DJing at the event. As we had a relationship with him from a previous game we worked on (The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor), we literally walked up to him, pitched him the game, and came back with permissions to use two of his songs. View the full article

Treat your family, friends, and (maybe) yourself to PlayStation this holiday season. We’ve got you covered during Black Friday week, November 18-26 (November 22-30 in Canada). As Black Friday rolls in, we are giving everyone more reasons to stay inside and play. This new commercial playfully welcomes the arrival of winter, celebrating this time of year as perfect the opportunity to stay at home, bundle up, and play games. The TV spot premieres November 16, and we’re sharing a sneak peek here. From a new PS4 Bundle to sales on PS VR units and digital content at PS Store, this Black Friday delivers great value across the PlayStation portfolio, including: A new Marvel’s Spider-Man Standard Edition PS4 Bundle for $199.99 USD (MSRP) / $259.99 CAN (MSRP).This jet-black 1TB standard PS4 system includes a matching DualShock 4 wireless controller, and a physical copy of the critically acclaimed Marvel’s Spider-Man game from Insomniac Games. A great addition for you or friends who are aching for a chance to play and experience a brand-new and authentic Spider-Man adventure. Select DualShock 4 wireless controllers available for $39.99 USD (MSRP) / $49.99 CAN (MSRP) at participating retailers. Now you can customize the look of your gaming set-up with a wide variety of colors, ranging from the new Blue Camouflage color to Magma Red, Midnight Blue, Gold and Crystal for a great price. PlayStation VR systems available for $199.99 USD (MSRP) / $249.99 CAN (MSRP) at participating retailers. If you haven’t already tried it, now is a great time, with newly released titles such as Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Firewall, and Creed: Rise to Glory alongside upcoming games like Borderlands 2 VR coming soon. PlayStation Plus is offering discounts on their 12-month subscription, while special deals on popular game titles, will be offered at PlayStation Store this November 16-27, 2018. PlayStation Plus subscribers can also purchase the most recent addition to the Call of Duty franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, for a great price starting today. Black Friday offers will be available at participating retailers starting November 16 in the U.S., and November 22 in Canada, while supplies last. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned for more details to be confirmed soon! From all of us at PlayStation, we hope you have a wonderful holiday season! View the full article

Hello, PlayStation fans! It’s Lau again, the Creative Director behind Chimparty*. I’m here to tell you that it’s almost time to stop monkeying around, swing over to PlayStation Store, and grab your copy of Chimparty ! We’re super excited to share it with all of you tomorrow! You might be wondering what it is you can expect from Chimparty? Well, the first thing you should know about our family-friendly and accessible party game is that it’s got four great game modes and ninety mini-game levels to enjoy! Whether you’re up for a session with the fam or a group of friends, you’re sure to have a blast competing to see who’s top of the troop! Whether the stakes are for who’s doing the dishes in a family challenge, or you’re just playing for bragging rights against your pals, Chimparty has a game mode to fit the scenario. But it is up to you to find a good reason for a rematch, should you be “unlucky” the first time around! If you like to roll dice, then I suggest you start up the Board Game mode. This is the main game mode of Chimparty where two to four players will adventure through a beautiful game board, and play mini-games across the Jungle, Haunted, Pirate, Wizard, and Alien themes. In the Board Game mode, you move spaces on the board according to the score you get in the different mini-games. Don’t worry too much on lagging behind the other players, if this happens you get to roll the die to see if you can catch up! When you get further through the board, the dice will change based on the area you are currently in. This is where you can get to take back the lead from the winning player with a cannonball effect from the Pirate dice, or even stir up some havoc with the Wizard dice that can allow you to swap places! Who said anything about Chimps playing fair? Chimparty also allow you to traverse the board game world on your own in the Solo Challenge game mode. Here, Orangutan Bob will be chasing you through different levels of difficulty. This is where you can really put your skills to the test, as you will need to score a lot of points to avoid getting caught! If you are in the mood for a more curated experience, you should look into the Custom Game mode that allows you to make a game pack with your very own mini-game favorites. Some of my own favorites include Basket Head and Monkey Shot! If you’re low on time and want to get into the action right away, then check out Quick Play, our last game mode, a studio favorite for getting straight into the action. In Quick Play you’ll be thrown into 10 random mini-games in rapid succession to quickly determine who’s the real ‘Chimpion’ of Chimparty! …Oh. And did I mention that this is a one-button game? It always leaves one hand free for grabbing snacks and beverages without having to worry about getting your phone sticky! Perfect fit for a party game, if I do say so myself! Get your pals, grab some snacks, and pick up your copy of Chimparty tomorrow! And don’t forget about the rest of the PlayLink titles* available tomorrow, which includes Knowledge is Power: Decades, Just Deal With It, WordHunters, Melbits World and Ticket To Ride! * Compatible mobile device and Companion App required. For more information, visit www.playstation.com/playlinkcompatibility. View the full article

Spyro means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but one thing is undeniable: He’s one of the most iconic, memorable, and feisty characters in the pantheon of gaming history. Our purple pal takes flight once again next week on PS4 in Spyro Reignited Trilogy, featuring scaled-up graphics, a re-orchestrated soundtrack created with the help of original composer Stewart Copeland… and all the sass you remember from the game’s 1998 debut. For a full list of new games coming to PlayStation next week, read on. And enjoy The Drop! Chimparty PS4 — Digital Launch, wobble, jump and rotate your chimps using simple and intuitive one-button controls – just download the free Chimparty app and use your smartphone or tablet as a controller. Chimparty is the newest addition to the PlayLink range of games for PS4. Emerald Shores PS4 — Digital Emerald Shores is a challenging 16-bit platformer with a bunch of twists. Level up, take on rewarding sidequests, play unique minigames, unlock secret levels, raise a pet monster, fight an optional mega-leveled beast of a boss, and more! Fallout 76 PS4 — Digital, Retail (Out 11/14) Bethesda Game Studios welcome you to Fallout 76, the online prequel where every surviving human is a real person. Work together, or not, to survive. Under the threat of nuclear annihilation, experience the largest world ever created in Fallout. Gnomes Garden: New Home PS4 — Digital Gnomes Garden: New home — a continuation of the exciting fantasy strategy game about the world of gnomes. Obtain the Crystal of Eternal Light and return prosperity! Hitman 2 PS4 — Digital, Retail Travel the globe and track your targets across exotic sandbox locations in HITMAN 2. From sun-drenched streets to dark and dangerous rainforests, nowhere is safe from the world’s most creative assassin, Agent 47 in the ultimate spy thriller story. Just Deal With It! PS4 — Digital Just Deal With It! on PS4 with PlayLink delivers a whole new twist on five classic card games, locally or on-line. Team up with friends and family, launch attacks, sabotage the competition, and go all in for the win, in this joyous card game party! Knowledge Is Power: Decades PS4 — Digital Who will be first to scale the Pyramid of Knowledge? Put your pop culture knowledge to the test in this high-energy quiz game show featuring thousands of entertainment-themed questions spanning the last four decades. The Long Journey Home PS4 — Digital (Out 11/14) When mankind’s first experimental jump drive goes wrong, you and your crew find yourselves trapped on the wrong side of the galaxy. The only way back leads through the vast unknown of outer space. One destination. Endless adventures. Mars: Chaos Menace PS4 — Digital (Out 11/16) Humanity is terraforming Mars, but chaos and destruction threaten the planet. Battle your way through innumerable hordes of enemies that wish to destroy you and face the most terrible and powerful monsters in the galaxy. Monkey King: Master of the Clouds PS4 — Digital (Out 11/15) Join Michael Chang, the Monkey King, on his journey through famous landmarks of ancient China and fight off mythical creatures and legends in this classic arcade shooter. My Riding Stables PS4 — Digital, Retail Make your dreams come true on the stud farm near the old mill: renovate your own riding school, look after your horses and tend the cute little foals. As well as wonderful hacks, working in the stables and caring for the horses, you’ll have plenty of other exciting things to do! Project Highrise PS4 — Digital, Retail A skyscraper is more than just steel and glass, it’s an intricate ecosystem, full of people that live and work in the building. They become a complex machine that needs your steady hand to keep it running smoothly and efficiently. The Quiet Man PS4 — Digital (Out 11/16) Unravelling within a single night, players take the role of deaf protagonist Dane as he fights his way through a “soundless” world to discover the motives behind the kidnapping of a songstress from a mysterious masked man. Runner3 PS4 — Digital The rhythm-music gameplay of Bit.Trip Runner and Runner2 is back! The Timbletot is determined to rid the multiverse of all its love and happiness. CommanderVideo is ready to jump, double-jump, wall-jump, slide-jump, slide, kick, float, drive, fly, and dance his way to victory! Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut PS Vita — Digital (Out 11/15) A killer puzzle game where you control Skullface, an adorably demented murderer, across hundreds of isometric puzzle levels in a darkly comic homage to 80s horror movies. Spyro Reignited Trilogy PS4 — Digital, Retail The original roast master is back! Same sick burns, same smoldering attitude, now all scaled up in stunning HD. Rekindle the fire with the original three games, Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Swords & Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon PS4 — Digital Take command of mighty Vikings, sly Persians or brutish Demons! Smash your opponent’s base to rubble while defending your own in this action-packed side-scrolling strategy game! Ticket To Ride PS4 — Digital (Out 11/15) Hop on a train with your friends and family and set off to conquer the railways! Who will be the fastest to set up links between cities and achieve their objectives? Explore the strategies in this iconic board game and get ready to connect more than cities! Wordhunters PS4 — Digital (Out 11/15) Dive into a whole new world of competitive word games with your guide, Amy the Aviator. Use the free Wordhunters smart device App as a game controller to compete in 15 party-play word games suitable for the whole family. Bohemian Rhapsody: Songs Inspired By the Film For Honor Playlist Imagine Dragons – Origins Crazy Rich Asians Christopher Robin KIN Watch live on Sunday, November 11 at 6PM PT on E! Don’t miss the final episode Sunday, November 11 at 6PM PT on CNN 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 stop and smell the roses (or horse manure) throughout the world of Red Dead Redemption 2. From riverbanks and farmland to stunning mountainscapes, you shared your best landscapes using #PS4share and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: @Raffu42 shared a double rainbow, all the way across the sky. @Ps4_Photomodeshared a moment from this wood’s golden hour. Bluebells grow alongside this lush farmland, shared by @juliusjgreen. There’s something calming about this lakeside share from @siaplays. @TheHomoHero shares a look at this foggy roadside. The sun sets over this beautiful farmland share from @VishuPS4. 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: Emotion Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, November 14 Next week, we’re getting in our feelings. Share moments where emotions run high in the game of your choice with #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

When I was first approached about working on a new God of War comic, a prequel to this year’s PS4 game, I was both intrigued and intimidated. Intrigued, because I knew from the early promotional stuff I’d seen that the new game would move Kratos away from his roots in Greek mythology and transplant him in a new setting, drawing instead from Norse myths and legends, which I’ve been obsessed with since I was a kid. Intimidated, because it promised to be a huge job. I’ve always loved stories that take characters from one setting or era or genre and drop them into another—samurai warriors in the Old West, western gunslingers in the African jungle, and so on—and the story-telling possibilities of taking a character like Kratos and running him up against the kinds of obstacles he might encounter in a world filled with ice giants and trolls were too intriguing to pass up. But at the same time, I was intimidated to be tackling such a recognizable and well-established character and to be contributing to a franchise with such an enormous scope and backstory. Because it was clear from the outset that what Santa Monica Studios and Dark Horse Comics had in mind was a direct prequel to the events of the new game that would be in continuity, and I knew from past experience working on similar projects that meant a lot of moving parts. Thankfully, everyone involved with the project from my artistic collaborator Tony Parker to the editorial team at Dark Horse to Cory Barlog and the rest of the team at Santa Monica Studio really showed up and helped bring the story to life. I had the basic outline of the plot worked out in the course of my first conversation with Spencer Cushing at Dark Horse, who was the one who originally approached me about the project, but it took some time to work out if it made sense in terms of the continuity of the new game. I was sent a massive amount of background on what the team at SMS had come up with to that point, from outlines to world-building materials to incredibly detailed character backstories, and learned that the antagonists that I’d originally considered using in the prequel comic had already been incorporated into the game. But I noticed that some of my favorite bits of Norse mythology hadn’t yet been used, and fired off a series of questions to the team at SMS about their thoughts, and they sent back more ideas of their own, and from that point, the story came together really quickly. In the final stages, some very productive discussions I had with Cory and the team at SMS helped to bring Kratos into full focus and to really tie our prequel story to the character’s emotional journey in the new game, and then the scripts were off to Tony to do the heavy lifting of bringing the pages to life. And now all of that hard work finally pays off as readers get to see for themselves what we’ve come up with. I hope that everyone who enjoyed the new game checks out the prequel comic, and I hope that they enjoy it, too! View the full article

Okay, I’ll be honest: I just wanted an excuse to feature the launch trailer for Tetris Effect on PlayStation.Blog. You should watch it! Right there, at the top of this post! It’s really good! But, while I’ve got you… I suppose I can share a few tips for anybody interested in dipping their toe into the tetromino-filled waters of Tetris Effect. I know the readers of PS Blog probably have pretty wide-ranging levels of Tetris expertise, so apologies if you already know this stuff. In fact, I’d encourage the pros out there to share your advice in the comments! I’m still trying to master the art of the T-spin, myself… The tips below are reflective of Tetris in general, since I haven’t had a ton of time with Tetris Effect yet and as such don’t yet know the intricacies of its scoring system (except for Zone Mode, which I’ll address a bit further down). Let’s go! Line ’em Up There are lots of ways to play Tetris. Generally speaking, though, you’re pretty much always going to be trying to get a big ol’ stack built up while leaving a single column open for the infamous long (or line, or “I”) block. Use that long block to clear four lines at once and earn a Tetris, usually accompanied by a hefty score bump. Bonus points (no, really, you get bonus points for this) if you can score back-to-back Tetrises by using your held pieces wisely (or stumbling upon the rare double line block drop). Know What’s Next Sure, it’s tempting to keep your eyes on the ghost piece at the bottom of your playfield, but as you start getting better at Tetris and pieces start dropping more quickly, pasting your peepers to that one spot can cost you precious milliseconds of reaction time. Knowing what piece is coming up next (look at the top-right corner of the playfield in Tetris Effect) can mean the difference between a Decahexatris and a demoralizing defeat. Zone Out This tip is specific to Tetris Effect, as it pertains to the new “Zone” mechanic Enhance has introduced. On its surface, going into Zone mode is a great way to recover from a tough situation (since, ya know, it stops time and all), but it also affords more advanced players with new strategic options. When you enter the Zone, lines you clear no longer count toward your progress toward the next level. Used efficiently, this mechanic can help you stretch levels out far longer than they would usually last, ultimately resulting in far more points tacked onto your final score. Not to mention the significant bonuses you get for clearing more than 8 (Octoris), 12 (Dodecatris), or 16 (Decahexatris) lines at once during a single Zone activation. Do not ignore this mechanic! If you’re feeling bold you can even go for a Perfectris (18 lines) or — and this one’s only for the most hardcore Tetris masters out there — an Ultimatris, which requires you to clear the entire playfield in one Zone activation. That’s 20 lines at once! Good luck. Tackle Those T-Spins This one’s a bit more of an advanced tactic, but it’s worth ingraining into your playstyle early on. I grew up playing Tetris before T-spins were really a thing (or at least before games started handing out generous score bonuses for them) so I’m still struggling with this myself, but it’s important! A T-spin is when you spin a T-block into an open T-shaped space that is obstructed by other pieces. There are lots of tutorials out there that can do a much better job than I can explaining the how here, but I’d encourage you to start small learning how to pull off some T-spin double line clears, then once you’re starting to feel comfy with those move on to trying to set up some triples. Don’t Despair! This is the most important piece of advice I can impart on any aspiring Tetris Grandmaster. No matter your skill level, you’re going to end up in tough situations. If you find yourself creeping further and further toward the top of the matrix (that’s the official name of the playfield in Tetris), try not to let your increasing heart rate and sweaty hands distract you from the task at hand: clearing those blocks. It’s almost always possible to recover from even the most desperate situations in Tetris, and remaining calm will increase those odds. The fabled “Ultimatris” Whether you heed the above advice or set off on your own path toward Tetris mastery, Tetris Effect is an excellent venue in which you can practice your block-droppin’ skills. Share your own advice in the comments, and I’ll see you on the leaderboards this weekend. View the full article

One year ago this week, we released The Frozen Wilds – an expansion for Horizon Zero Dawn that adds a whole new chapter to Aloy’s quest, including new territories to explore, new quests to complete, and dangerous new machines to hunt. In honor of the expansion’s one-year anniversary, we sat down with two of our developers, Richard Oud and Pinar Temiz, to talk about breathing life and character into one of Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds’ fiercest additions: the bear-like Fireclaw. The Bear Essentials “Originally we were going to have a bear-like machine in Horizon Zero Dawn, but we had to abandon the idea because of time constraints,” Lead Animator Richard Oud recalls. “It was a shame, because everyone felt it had potential. So when we started working on Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds, the bear concept seemed like a natural choice right away.” The team set out to develop the bear concept into a pair of full-fledged machines, starting with a set of design document and visual design concepts. 3D models of the machines were then created and delivered to the animation department. “From there, we started creating tests and animations for the machines based on the movements and attack areas that were outlined in the design documents,” Richard says. Not everything in the design documents was implemented one-to-one. After a few tests the animation team felt that certain head-on attacks would be too difficult to read for the player. A bit of back-and-forth between the design and animation departments led to a mutually satisfying solution. “We were able to improve the readability of the movement by having the machines attack at more of an angle,” Richard says. “This opened up its silhouette to the player, allowing for a much better impression of speed and motion.” Once the machines were able to move and attack, the AI department put them in the game and Senior Sound Designer Pinar Temiz began the process of providing them with sound effects and vocalizations. “The timings of the animations largely need to be locked before I can start implementing their corresponding sounds,” Pinar explains. “Of course, I can already start collecting materials and textures based on what the design doc tells me– in this case, that it’s a huge bear-like machine with lava-based attacks.” In addition, the basic movement sounds of the Fireclaw drew from a similar set of materials as the other machines in Horizon Zero Dawn, which gave Pinar a clear starting point. “The machines in Horizon Zero Dawn are all supposed to be constructed from special alloys and high-tech polymers,” Pinar says, “so I tried to avoid making the movements sound too clunky or metallic.” Finding Refurrence For the basic movements and walk cycles of the Fireclaw, the animation team had planned to reference nature footage of grizzly bears. “We quickly switched to polar bears, though, because their movements are much more distinguished,” Richard says. “Polar bears have slightly longer necks than grizzlies and when they run, it almost feels like they’re pulling themselves forwards with their heads.” Another important source of inspiration for the Fireclaw’s movements came from an unlikely place: YouTube clips of Red Pandas play-fighting. “I felt like we needed something extra, to prevent the machine’s movements from becoming too straightforward and predictable,” Richard says. “So I started looking at reference footage of other species, and that’s how I came across the Red Pandas. They looked adorable, but I was struck by the way they dropped and rolled and use their weight to pull their opponents down.” Pinar also looked beyond the target species for inspiration. “For the Fireclaw’s vocalizations I initially studied recordings of bears – in particular their grunts and sounds of exertion while moving around,” Pinar says. “Then I began searching for other animals that sound intimidating in a grumpy and gurgly way, and I quickly arrived at walruses and seals.” Combining their grunts with synthetic sounds and even human performances, Pinar then began layering and processing the snippets to achieve the desired vocalizations. Overcoming Beariers A dilemma that animators and sound designers frequently encounter is repetition: if the motions or sounds of a character are presented in the exact same manner over and over, it quickly becomes artificial and grating to players. At the same time, development time and memory are finite resources, so throwing endless amounts of varied content at the problem is not a workable solution. At Guerrilla, the animation and audio departments devised systems that use randomness to pick and mix from a limited pool of content in order to achieve variation. “We actually ran into this issue very early on in the development of Horizon Zero Dawn,” Richard says. “When Aloy rode her mount it would feel repetitive – you could tell it was a cycle, particularly when travelling greater distances. Our solution was to create different versions of the walk cycle for the mount, and then randomly blend between them to achieve a natural, non-repetitive look.” “Audio’s solution works along the same lines,” Pinar adds. “In the walk cycle example, we’d have a container of ten to twenty snippets of sounds and then randomize through them, combining them into different layers of sound with every footstep. We’d add a little bit of pitch shift on the fly to add further variation, and we even differentiated between front and back footsteps on the quadrupeds.” One particular barrier the animation department had to overcome stemmed from the fact that the Fireclaw and the Frostclaw could walk on four as well as two legs. “As soon as we added a set of bipedal animations, it instantly started feeling like a guy in a metal bear suit,” Richard laughs. “So we had to comb through a lot of nature footage to find ways to fix that impression. Locking the hips of the machine during bipedal movement, which made its strides more awkward and ungainly, was one way we were able to mitigate the issue.” Similarly, Pinar’s use of human performances in the mixes for the machine vocalizations proved tricky to get right. “Our hearing is just really adept at recognizing human voices. I pitched them down and mixed them in with other sounds, but there are still certain samples in the final mix that come close to what I would qualify as a human voice,” she says. “Oh no, I hope people don’t go searching for them now!” Diffurentiating the Machines The differences between the Fireclaw and the Frostclaw actually go beyond their distinct models and sizes. “Certain Fireclaw-specific attack animations, such as the one different attack where it grabs and throws rocks at the player, required us to figure out a whole new posture for the machine,” Richard says. “When it handles the rock you can see the machine actually tilt its center of gravity back, to compensate for the extra weight.” The reference for the postures came from watching blockbuster superhero movies. “Hollywood has become really adept at giving CGI characters, particularly supernaturally strong ones, a sense of weight and exertion without inhibiting their speed and responsiveness,” Richard says. “They’re masters at striking that delicate balance.” “For me the difference between the two machines wasn’t so much their personalities but their powers,” Pinar says. “The Fireclaw and the Frostclaw are both grumpy and dangerous, but the Fireclaw has lots of fire and lava elements, which affects not just its attacks but also its vocalizations. I even put little lava bubbling sounds in the gurgles of the Fireclaw.” Despite their different fields, Richard and Pinar both had very similar goals for the Fireclaw: to make it move and sound like a heavy, dangerous machine that could quickly attack and respond to the player without losing its sense of weight and physical presence. The end result meets those goals in every respect, presenting players with a formidable challenge with every encounter. Even bigger and more powerful than its ice-based little brother, the Fireclaw can shrug off fire-based attacks and explosions like they’re nothing. It’s a lumbering hulk of steel and polymer that can easily rip huge chunks of rock out of the ground to use as shields or weapons. Seasoned players will find that taking down a Fireclaw is no simple task… but then, neither was building it in the first place. We hope you enjoyed this look into the creation of the Fireclaw! We’ll be celebrating the anniversary of Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds all week, so keep an eye on Guerrilla’s official Facebook and Twitter accounts for more content. View the full article

Get your PS Move controllers ready, it’s time to slash some beats! Beat Saber is coming to PS4 on November 20, bringing the thrilling rhythm experience right into your living room. You won’t want to put it down. In case you aren’t familiar with Beat Saber’s gameplay, your goal is to slash the beats, represented by small cubes, as they are coming at you. Every beat indicates which saber you need to use and the direction you need to match. This immersive rhythm experience is embodied in an appealing futuristic world filled with lights and mist. And of course, accompanied by exclusively made electronic dance music and tons of levels made entirely by hand. We know the development took us a while, but here comes the best Beat Saber ever made! These are some of the exclusive new content and features: Challenging campaign: Improve your game style every day by completing levels in our complex campaign, exclusively created for PS VR players. Exclusive new songs: Everyone loves Beat Saber’s Original Game Soundtrack. That’s why we bring you, above our well-know music hits, five new exclusive songs coming straight from excellent electronic dance music artists and talents from around the world. Tons of modifiers: The game contains many modifiers to make your gameplay even more challenging and exciting every day. Epic sabers: Get ready for those shiny beasts because they look just amazing. Watch them glow and slash the cubes with style! Practice mode: We know practice makes perfect. In Beat Saber, you can start from any part of the level or even slow the game to practice problematic parts. The game offers much more! From solo modes to competitive multiplayer modes, Beat Saber is fun to play alone or with a bunch of friends. Party mode: Entertain your friends and family and have fun together! Everyone can join and start playing in seconds! Who is going to win today? One saber mode: Use only one saber for playing but be aware – there is no time for slacking. You will feel like a real life swordsman. No Arrows mode: The direction of your swing depends on you. How fast can you decide and make the best cut? Global leaderboards: Climb the global leaderboards and compete with other players from all around the world. Excited? Fresh content is our priority and we want to bring you new music regularly. The first Expansion Pack with 10 songs is coming to the game very soon after the release. You can choose between different music genres and enjoy well-known artists together with emerging indie talents. Are you ready to lose yourself in this unique and addictive music experience? Beat Saber can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of skills or previous experience with VR. Everyone can understand the basic mechanism in seconds, grab a pair of PS Move controllers and swing right into the music. Invite your friends and family over and prepare to spend the best time together, surrounded by energizing music and your best dance moves. Get ready for November 20. This is going to be a ride! View the full article

Bring in the charts! October has come and gone, and we’ve got some huge new games to prove it. Which one claimed the coveted “most downloaded” spot, though? In a highly competitive month, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 managed to secure the #1 spot on the PS4 chart. Japan Studio’s fantastic Astro Bot: Rescue Mission sits atop the PlayStation VR list (well-deserved, I’d say), and we event got some slick new PS4 Themes from the likes of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and The Last of Us: Part II. Now that we’ve nearly made it to the end of 2018, what are your predictions for the rest of the year? PS4 Games 1 Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 2 Red Dead Redemption 2 3 Assassin’s Creed Odyssey 4 FIFA 19 5 Battlefield 1 6 Marvel’s Spider-Man 7 NBA 2K19 8 SoulCalibur VI 9 Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood 10 WWE 2K19 PS VR Games 1 Astro Bot Rescue Mission 2 Superhot VR 3 Job Simulator 4 Driveclub VR 5 Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality 6 PlayStation VR Worlds 7 Firewall Zero Hour 8 Creed: Rise to Glory 9 Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality 10 I Expect You To Die Free-to-Play Games 1 Fortnite Battle Royale 2 Warface 3 H1Z1: Battle Royale 4 Brawlhalla 5 Paladins 6 Warframe 7 Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 Lite 8 APB Reloaded 9 DC Universe Online Free-to-Play 10 3on3 FreeStyle PS Vita Games 1 God of War: Collection PS Vita 2 Stardew Valley 3 Jak and Daxter Collection 4 Minecraft: PlayStationVita Edition 5 Persona 4 Golden 6 Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory 7 Akiba’s Beat 8 Borderlands 2 9 Need for Speed Most Wanted 10 Full Throttle Remastered PS4 Themes 1 Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – New Dynamic Theme 2 The Last of Us Part II Ellie Theme 3 Friday the 13th: The Game Theme 4 Tropical Skeleton Dance HiQ Dynamic Theme 5 Welcome to Cyber City HiQ Dynamic Theme 6 Legacy Dashboard Theme 7 The Last of Us Outbreak Day Theme 8 4k Halloween Dynamic Theme 9 Black Hole Void 4K Dynamic Theme 10 Mega Man 30th Anniversary Theme – Dr. Light’s Lab PS Classics 1 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 2 Bully 3 Metal Slug Anthology 4 Resident Evil Code: Veronica X 5 War of the Monsters 6 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 7 The Warriors 8 The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga 9 Red Dead Revolver 10 Manhunt View the full article

“This thing is tiny!” That was my first thought upon meeting PlayStation Classic in the flesh. It’s around the size of a small paperback novel. It even fit snugly it into my back pocket. It’s slim, trim, and charmingly reflects the visual look of the original PlayStation in almost every way. Next came the controller, a recreation of the model that launched alongside PlayStation in North America. I wrapped my hands around it, and the feel of those ergonomic grips sent me tumbling back to 1995, when I was huddled in a friend’s basement playing Battle Arena Toshinden for the first time. The directional pad felt a bit more comfortable to me, but otherwise, it was almost a carbon copy of the original controller. I turned on the PlayStation Classic system and was pleased to see the original opening screen, compete with the teeth-rattling original system sound. Here, I noticed the logo was updated to Sony Interactive Entertainment. How things change! PlayStation Classic | Full Gallery Then I browsed the 20 pre-loaded titles, a lineup that includes essential classics like Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, and Tekken 3. While navigating through the UI — which is charmingly rendered with a lower-res aesthetic circa 1995 — each title depicts its original year of release, publisher, and the number of players supported. I moved to the memory card management screen and encountered a UI that appeared to be nearly identical to its original incarnation… right down to that rainbow-hued Delete button. Speaking of memory cards, PlayStation Classic adds some nice quality-of-life improvements in regards to saving game progress. At any time, you can press the Reset button on the system to exit your game and return to the main menu. Pressing the Reset button creates a Resume Point, which means you can play another game and return later to pick up your progress. You can also use in-game save functionality to create traditional save files on the unit’s virtual memory card. In a nice touch, each game can accommodate 15 save slots’ worth of save files, so you’ll have plenty of headroom. Meanwhile, the system’s Open button has limited application, and is solely used to change “discs” in multi-disc games like Final Fantasy VII and Metal Gear Solid. It’s a cool touch and well implemented. Then I fired up Twisted Metal, Grand Theft Auto, Jumping Flash, and a few other titles. Overall, the games played as I remembered them, 4:3 aspect ratio and all. I noticed that some of games on PlayStation Classic are sourced from PAL (European) versions of the games, with the remainder being NTSC (American) versions. Overall, PlayStation Classic’s cute formfactor, nostalgic interface, and overall ease of use point to a well-designed trip down 32-bit lane. Let me know if you have any questions, and I’ll do my best to answer in the comments! View the full article

The leaves are changing colors, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I’m excited to tell you about the 11 new games available in PlayStation Now as of today, ready for you to download or stream on-demand. The recently-added game download feature gives subscribers the option to download almost all of the 230 PS4 games in the service (and all of the PS2 games as well), in order to play locally with DLC and add-on support (DLC and other add-ons sold separately). And starting today, we are starting to roll out Collections, a new way to browse the full library of nearly 700 games as well. Here you can find the entire catalog grouped into different collections based on platform, genres, and themes. From the main PS Now screen, press the Circle button and move to the Browse tab to start exploring. This feature will be rolling out to more users over the next week, so you may not see the option right away. Leading this month’s batch of new PS Now games is Mafia 3. Set in 1968, this epic open-world game lets you build a criminal empire and seek revenge against the mafia gang that wiped out the closest thing you had to a family. Stream the game, or download it to your PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro. Downloading the game also allows you to use any of the free and paid DLC available for the game (paid DLC sold separately). Also available new this month is Steep: explore a gorgeous open-world mountain range with snowboards, skis, wingsuits, and paragliders, compete and complete challenges, ride solo or with friends, and create your own paths down the mountain. Strap in, suit up, and drop in. Other new games this month include the quirky puzzle platformer LocoRoco Remastered, the intense 2.5D anime fighter Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2, and unique titles like the top-down dungeon crawling RPG Vikings: Wolves of Midgard and the turn-based RPG Battle Chasers: Nightwar. A complete list of all the new games available to stream on PS4 and PC, and download to PS4, includes: Baja Edge of Control HD Battle Chasers: Nightwar Destroy All Humans! (PS2) Destroy All Humans! 2 (PS2) Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland (PS2) LocoRoco Remastered Mafia 3 Steep Vikings: Wolves of Midgard World to the West Check out the seven-day href=”https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/IP9101-NPIA90010_01-PSNOWSUB1MOTR000″ target=”_blank”>free trial for PS4 and PC to experience the streaming service today. PS Now provides unlimited on-demand access to a growing library of nearly 700 games, with streaming for all games and download access to most PS4 and PS2 games in the library. Stay tuned for more updates on PS Now. Happy gaming! View the full article

The wait is over! Runner3, the third entry in the Bit.Trip Runner series, is coming to PS4 on November 13. The game will retail for $19.99, with a planned 50% discount for the first two weeks of release to celebrate our 10th anniversary as a company! For the uninitiated, the Bit.Trip Runner games are rhythm-music auto-runners with a heavy emphasis on the “rhythm-music” element. Every action your character performs in the game has a sound associated with it, and these sounds contribute to the music as you play the game. You’re instrumental (pun intended) to creating the game’s soundtrack! Runner3 has proven to be a very special game for our studio, thanks in large part to our very vocal (and very helpful!) fanbase. They’ve been generous enough to share their thoughts with us from day one of development, and their input has proven invaluable. We feel confident the finished product lives up to and honors their expectations for the game. Those of you who played the first two Runner games are in for quite a few new additions this go-around. There are branching paths in every level, vehicle sections (an eggplant airplane somehow being the normalest of them), quests that unlock new characters, an item shop, new Retro Challenges, and more Charles Martinet dialog than your ears will know what to do with. It’s the ultimate Runner experience, and no doubt CommanderVideo and friends’ greatest adventure yet. Oh, and Unkle Dill is returning. He wanted us to make sure we told you that. Now, understandably, you may think you know all there is to know about Runner3. We get it. But do us a favor, if you will, and shed all of that knowledge before reading on. We have a lot to say about this game that we haven’t said before, so buckle up. When Runner3 first launched, some people mentioned they missed the difficulty options from Runner2. This made a lot of sense to us, which is why we’ve worked to make sure they’re included from here on out. And you can get real granular with them, including toggling enemy density, adding more checkpoints to levels, and getting assistance with perhaps the most treacherous villain in all of Runner history: The Stairs. Players have also requested the ability to “self-bonk” in the game, and who are we to say no? If you’re going for a perfect run in a level and miss a gold bar or a gem, briefly press L3 and R3 and voila. A bonking of your own creation. These items only make up some of the improvements we’ve made to Runner3, however. Here’s a (still incomplete!) list of what players can expect: All character moves are available from the start of the game – You can double-jump to your heart’s content! Made the jump and avoid enemies/obstacles more forgiving – We love tinkering with hitboxes over here. We’re cuckoo bananas for it. Added more on-screen communication regarding the Impossible Levels, the Retro Levels, and the overall difficulty of the game – Don’t say we didn’t warn you when you fire up one of the game’s nine “Impossible Levels.” Added a “break” sound effect to kickwalls in addition to their musical tone – We received more requests for this than just about anything else. We were happy to oblige. We hope you’re ready for the Commanders’ latest and greatest journey. It was a lot of work bringing it to life, but it was also a lot of fun. We think you’ll get a very good sense of that when you play it, so brace yourselves for the game’s November 13 release. And, as always, feel free to ask us any questions you have in the comments! View the full article

Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon brings Vikings, Persians and Demons together in an epic war for control of the perfect shawarma! Our side-scrolling strategy game has all the good stuff you’d want… The single-player campaign tells a story leading from the Viking homeland all the way to Persian deserts and the depths of the netherworld itself! On top of this 10-hour tale you can practice against the AI in skirmish battles and try for high scores in a series of hilarious mini-games, before taking on online opponents. Multiplayer support includes split-screen and online play, and a custom army builder feature which allows you to mix and match your favorite units, spells and structures from across the three factions. If you want to combine Viking berserkers with carpet-riding fakirs and demonic magic, go for it! You can also skirmish or mini-game while waiting for an online match-up, then return to the skirmish after your multiplayer battle is complete. Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon is running a special week-one bundle! That bundle includes a 10% launch discount and four special avatars from the game in a Launch Promo Pack: Phil the Genie, delicious Sheep, solid Shield spell, and the Persian ‘Dance of Daggers’ super spell! More avatars will be available at PS Store of course, both free and paid, as the variety in our factions and units mean there’s something for everyone. Let’s take a look! Unleash your inner genie with Phil, the djinn of a magic lamp which plays a large part in the story of Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon. He looks very serious compared to the Vikings. We wouldn’t recommend asking him for any wishes! He’s included in the Launch Promo Pack, along with two magical avatars — literally! The Dance of Daggers spell offers a dynamic, dashing and deadly demonstration of a delightfully distinguished disposition, while the Shield spell avatar will protect you from trolls*. *May not actually protect you from trolls, but it does look cool… If these avatars sound too serious you could choose to represent yourself as… a sheep! A delicious, delicious sheep. Source of shawarma, bringer of brilliant flavor, utterly useless in a fight. In fact, one of our mini-games involves dropping meteors to defend one of your tasty four legged friends from waves of demonic sheep rustlers! If that’s not enough sheep for you, the Vikings also have a spell to transmogrify troublesome enemy units into a harmless fluffy food source. Factions We really wanted to emphasize differences between factions, from unit and spell variety to how they collect the mana for spell casting. The Vikings generally rely on brute force, with tough but expensive units backed up by Freya’s Healing and Thor’s Lightning. They use valuable real-estate for putting up mana menhirs to generate more of the magical blue stuff, and they can summon snowstorms or call Thor’s hammer Mjolnir to smash into massed enemy ranks if lightning isn’t enough. For beard-lovers, there will be a free Viking Avatar Pack featuring both the Viking leader Redbeard and Gramps, whose beard is less huge but makes up for it with fetching tartan and a traditional tam o’ shanter cap. The other Viking representative in the pack is Helga, their faction hero unit in the game. This valkyrie is as skilled with her operatic singing as she is with that enormous hammer, and will inspire friendly units to fight harder! Other avatars that will be available at PS Store will be from the Demon armies, who offer a mix of cunning and brute strength! Two demonic leaders, Sir Loyn and Miss Chief, are featured alongside the humble boggart Charles (boggarts are the demon workers in-game). The fourth demon avatar is the sinister Necromancer, who raises the dead to fight again as spooky skeletons. We think the Demon units are great fun – particular favorites include explosive barrel riders and the enormous Troll hero, who can literally hurl friendly units over enemy defenses or hurry them into the fray! Practicing dark magic, the Demons can sacrifice their own units to suck mana directly from their health bars, leaving behind a skeleton to fight on (they also have a Crypt structure that pops out a stream of skeletons… you may be noticing something of a theme here)! Their spells can explode corpses, transform their workers into cash stealing fighters, or summon kobold trappers who float above the battlefield waiting for enemies to catch and consume — fiendish! The ancient Persian armies can hit hard and turn the tides of battle with stealthy Desert Stalkers and subtle magic with the ability to leap allies forward, bribe enemy units into switching sides, creating mirage doubles of units. To generate more mana, the Persians can switch their Gold Mine to become a Mana Mine. This combines excellently with their hero unit, Phil the Genie, who can activate his wish-granting mode to halve spell costs and cooldowns! Art The art style for Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon was initially heavily inspired by French comics and traditional animation. Here at Ronimo we really love the specific way of drawing characters and finer hints of detail in the art of comic artists like Albert Uderzo (Asterix & Obelix), and we strived to emulate that in Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon. A good example of this can be found when looking at the iconic berserker unit: compared to our previous game his lines now have a lot more variation in width to create the traditional “inked” feeling. Parts in shadow generally tend to have thicker lines, while parts that are in the light are a little thinner. Increased detail can be found in both the face and the detailing on the armor itself. To contrast with this comic look we chose to have the backgrounds in a more painterly style reminiscent of traditional animated movies like Aladdin. It also contrasts nicely with the characters to make it easy for the player to see what’s relevant to the gameplay and what’s not. For a long time we’ve also looked at older animations to guide our choices in what we would use outlines for and what we would keep painted. The rule ‘only outline what moves/interacts with other objects’ was at first used as an incredibly strict guideline, but that lead to results that, in the eyes of the team, were not ideal. A good example of this was an early iteration of the Viking base: only the tires were outlined (as the Viking base is able to drive in certain parts of the game), and everything else was painted. This, however, caused the team while playtesting to feel a jarring visual disconnect between the two parts of this single structure. Therefore we revised our plan to the more liberal use of outlines in the game that you see right now. To further reinforce the feeling of playing a game that looks and feels like a cartoon or a comic, we also put a lot of time in making the special FX feel like traditional animation. We did this by combining frame-to-frame animation and effects like particles and glows that our custom Ronitech engine takes care of. We’re excited to show off Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon to the world, and we hope everyone will have as much fun playing it as we’ve had making it! With three powerful factions willing to go to any lengths for the perfect shawarma — the only thing certain is that there will be the battle of a lifetime! View the full article