Commander Fury

Every time I talk about 3on3 Freestyle, I feel compelled to reiterate what I and the development team at Joycity wanted from the moment we conceptualized this vibrant, street basketball game: engaging competition that came alive with a creative sense of expression and player bonding. We always knew what we wanted, but how do you ensure that what you see in your design book makes it onto the court? Making a game is a formidable challenge and you never know what to expect until gamers like you get your hands on the controller. We were excited with what we created in 3on3 Freestyle, but it wasn’t until we offered a month of closed beta testing in the United States, followed by three months of intensely focused open testing, that we were able to make the final game what it is and surpass what we thought could be achieved. It all began a couple years ago with a steady vision, where we traveled to places like Venice Beach and Rucker Park in Harlem, New York, realizing first-hand that there was something distinctly special about these home-grown courts and — above all else — the colorful personalities that brought them to life. Fast forward, and observing real gamers and all their individual skills playing the game in all their glory led us to tweak an even deeper, more dynamic street basketball experience — as well as implement a better matchmaking system and report system. It all came together, piece by piece, virtual game by virtual game. As we analyzed the beta environment and saw the ways we could improve 3on3 Freestyle in unexpected ways, we never stopped reminding ourselves that an air of authenticity was forever crucial. Sure this is a video game and dialed up for razzle-dazzle fun, but the core of the street scene is what it’s all about, and what better way to showcase this than to partner up with real-life Streetball team Ballup? We knew we wanted to do something that drew on real-life athletes and their bold energy, and now that we had the game fully locked in place, the final piece was ready to be set: the incredible athletes at Ballup and the values we shared on all fronts proved to be a perfect fit, and we were able to work with Rise, their clothing brand, to integrate signature jerseys and shoes into the game. Everything clicked with Ballup and is still going. For our launch trailer, we got ballers Grayson “The Professor†Boucher, Guy Dupuy a.k.a Easy J, and Chris Staples to visit our studio and play their parts, and even more exciting, we will be announcing soon which players will be making an appearance in the game. Big announcements are on the way, but in the meantime, we’re proud to say the final version of 3on3 Freestyle is here, and in the end we’ve created an authentic, U.S. Street Basketball game — fun at its core, big and bold, where friends from all around come together to show their best game. Pick your player, pick your style, pick your court, and bond with your team. This is 3on3 Freestyle. View the full article

For a few years now, our friends on the LATAM teams have run “¡Vota Por Tu Favorito!†– a campaign where fans choose the next game to go on sale at PlayStation Store. We loved the concept so much here in the US, we’ve joined forces to bring “Vote for Your Favorite†stateside. Over the next month, we’ll match up two different titles each week, along with their prospective discounts, and give PS Blog readers the sole power to decide which game we’ll set on sale that weekend. Voting kicks off every Monday right here via PlayStation Blog poll. Only poll votes will be tallied. Comments, tweets or replies on our social posts do not count! Up first, we’ve got Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection vs. Final Fantasy XV! Immerse yourself in 15th-century Renaissance Italy as Ezio, the most iconic Assassin in the franchise. Play across the single-player campaigns and add-on content from three games: Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Or embark on an awe-inspiring quest across the breathtaking and expansive world of Final Fantasy XV. Join Prince Noctis on a roadtrip to reclaim his homeland in the latest installment of a legendary series. Select your favorite by voting below until Wednesday, March 1, 2017. We’ll announce our Week 1 winner this Friday, March 3! The winning title will remain on sale through the weekend. Ready? Set? Vote! Take Our PollAnd don’t forget to check back next Monday for Week 2’s contenders! View the full article

Thumper began as an idea back in 2008, when high-quality VR was just a fantasy. Last October, we were proud to release Thumper alongside PS VR. It’s been an honor to hear from so many PlayStation gamers who made Thumper their first VR experience! Thumper | PlayStation.com My co-developer Brian Gibson and I handcrafted our own engine, tools, and embraced risk as we developed Thumper. But perhaps our biggest gamble was deciding to add VR support to Thumper. In most VR games, you, the player, are a human interacting with a virtual environment based on our world. But the world of Thumper is abstract and alien. And you are a space beetle. Without any real-world frame of reference, we had to figure out what Thumper should feel like in VR. First, we had to decide how large everything in the world is relative to the player. As a starting point, we tried making the player’s character (a space beetle) very large – approximately 15 meters wide in real-world units. This didn’t have the feeling we wanted. When you are this small relative to the game world, moving your head around results in little or no change of perspective. The beetle and in-game objects feel distant, detached, and lack intensity. So, we made the player much larger. We tried making the beetle about the size of the player’s head. This made things more intense. In fact, it was too intense. At this size, crashing through the game’s many obstacles and sharp turns felt like getting smacked in the face! We thought it best to spare our players from this level of punishment. Finally, we adjusted the player size so the beetle is about 40 centimeters wide in real-world units. At this size, the path the beetle travels down is just wider than your shoulders. It makes it feel like you’re sliding down a long chute in a children’s playground. As soon as we played the game like this, we knew the feeling was perfect. A wonderful thing about VR is that visuals are no longer constrained to a static rectangular frame. Players can look around in any direction. We took advantage of this to make our boss encounters more epic in VR. In the image below, you can see Crakhed, the final boss of Level 1, as he looks in normal 2D mode. But when you reach Crakhed in VR, he is four times bigger! At this size, he looms over the player and encountering him is more ominous and overwhelming. We made many more minor adjustments to perfect Thumper’s VR mode. But a big technical challenge remained. On PS4, Thumper runs at 1080p and 60 frames per second. That translates to about 124 million pixels per second. On PS VR, we found that the best experience required the game to run at 90 frames per second. We also didn’t want to sacrifice visual fidelity, so our VR mode uses 1.4x super-sampling and high quality anti-aliasing. All that translates to about 366 million pixels per second. So to achieve our visual goals for PS VR, we had to find a way to triple our rendering speed! Fortunately, with the help of Sony engineers, we were able to improve our custom engine and better utilize PS4’s graphics processor. It was one of the most difficult things we’ve ever done, but I’m proud to say Thumper runs at a rock solid 90 frames per second on PS VR. A nice side benefit of our intense optimization effort is that Thumper’s renderer became much more efficient overall. With the added power of PS4 Pro, you can play Thumper in native 4K at 60 frames per second – a staggering 500 million pixels per second. And if you play in VR on PS4 Pro, the visuals are clearer and even more immersive. View the full article

Hey everyone! I’m Kelly Willoughby, the lead producer at Ripstone Games. We’re a British developer and publisher, and we’ve got a whole bunch of PlayStation games in our repertoire. You might know the Pure series, including Pure Chess, Pure Pool and Pure Hold’em, or maybe titles like Stick it to the Man and Knytt Underground. So here’s the deal: We’ve been secretly working on a brand new title created by our internal development team that we’d love to share with you today. We’re super excited to reveal that Chess Ultra, a sequel to our original 2012 hit Pure Chess, is coming to PS4 and PS VR this spring. Chess? YES! Chess Ultra is a massive step up from the original Pure Chess for the Ripstone team. Not only is the game going to be available in stunning 4K for PlayStation 4 Pro players, but PlayStation VR owners will be able to play the game in virtual reality. We’re super excited about that, as you might have gathered! Each of the Chess Ultra environments look absolutely stunning in 4K, as you can see from the screenshots and the teaser trailer, and the chess sets themselves are just as slick. We’ve worked really hard to make every inch of Chess Ultra shine and we think you’re really going to get the wow factor when you boot up the game. Running at a silky smooth 60 frames per second with textures beautifully rendered using PBR (physical based rendering) this really is something special. Developing the game from the ground up with our internal team has allowed us to make the most beautiful chess game ever seen! And of course, there are all the features you’d expect from a top quality chess game, and plenty more on top of that. There’s a huge amount of single-player content, including ten different AI levels, multiple environments and a variety of stunning chess sets. Once you’ve shown the AI what you’re made of, you can always take the action online, and play against friends and other Chess Ultra players from around the world. We’ve got plenty of game modes to keep you and your friends entertained online. If you’d like to see the game in action right this second, you’re in luck! We’re currently hosting a special livestream on Twitch, where you can play Chess Ultra against a Grandmaster by entering chess commands into the chat, and also ask questions about the game. How cool is that! That’s everything we’re ready to share right now, but rest assured we have some big surprises up our sleeves that we can’t wait to shout about! As the first internally developed game for PlayStation from Ripstone Games, Chess Ultra is extremely special to all of us here, and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on it this spring. Expect to hear from me again soon! View the full article

We didn’t forget about you! This week, the gang weighs in on critical hit Horizon Zero Dawn. And a solemn promise from me: no more dark secrets. I heard you! Enjoy the show. Subscribe via iTunes, Google or RSS, or download here Stuff We Talked About Horizon Zero Dawn (no spoilers!) Titanfall 2 Live Fire Mode ] Game Developers’ ConferenceGhost StoryLightfieldRecent Episodes 238: Take Me Out to the Ball Game 237: Andromonauts 236: Hashtag Jacket Cat The Cast Sid Shuman – Director of Social Media, SIEA Justin Massongill – Social Media Manager, SIEA Zac Minor – Sr. Social Media Manager, SIEA Send us questions and tips! blogcast@sony.com Leave us a voicemail! (650) 288-6706 Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music. [Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.] View the full article

A world in beautiful ruin has been overtaken by machines. Humanity lives in scattered tribes, struggling to survive. And a single hunter uncovers long-buried secrets that could change it all. Welcome to the post-post-apocalypse of Horizon Zero Dawn, an action RPG that launches next week on PS4. Developed by the technical masterminds at Guerrilla Games, Horizon Zero Dawn marks the studio’s colossal step into open-world adventure. Guide the hunter and outcast Aloy through gorgeous environments, battling towering machines with a variety of weapons. Hone Aloy’s skills, craft valuable items, and unlock the dormant mysteries humming within this vibrant new world. For a full list of new games out next week, read on. And enjoy the Drop! New Releases: Week of February 28, 2017 A King’s Tale: Final Fantasy XV PS4 — Digital (Out 3/1) Set in a fictitious 30 years before Final Fantasy XV, this game features retro-style visuals centered around a fast-paced combat system with influences from modern gaming. The in-depth combat system blends intense attacks, devastating magic, mighty summons, and unique companion attacks into a singular gaming experience through three diverse locations in the world of Final Fantasy XV. ACA NeoGeo Nam-1975 PS4 — Digital (Out 3/2) Nam-1975 is an action game released by SNK in 1990. It was one of the first ever games released on NeoGeo! Players take on the role of U.S. Special Forces soldiers braving a harsh battlefield as they try to survive a series of deadly firefights. Dying: Reborn PS4, PS VR, PS Vita — Digital Old School puzzle-solving gameplay reminiscent of adventure game classics mixed with impressive first-person visuals that make for a gritty and immersive experience. Fans of movie series such as Saw need look no further: a mysterious fish-head nemesis, a grudge, a series of never-ending trials, and a shocking ending will satisfy all your needs. forma.8 PS4, PS Vita — Digital (Cross Buy) forma.8 is a unique take on the Metroidvania action-adventure formula, with a striking visual style and a huge world to explore. As the small exploration probe forma.8 you’re stranded alone on the surface of an alien planet. Separated from your companions, you have a life or death mission to accomplish: find and recover a lost, powerful energy source before it’s too late. Are you ready to uncover the truth? Ghost Blade HD PS4 — Digital Ghost Blade HD is an intense bullet-hell shoot ’em up game with satisfying and addictive score-based gameplay. Designed with a modern graphic style and special effects, Ghost Blade also features an awesome two-player mode! Ghost Blade HD is easy to learn, yet hard to master. Grim Legends: The Forsaken Bride PS4 — Digital Within the shadow of an ancient forest, on the bottom of a foggy valley, stands the lonely village of Ravenbrook. The folk there are cheerful and diligent, yet warily superstitious. They surround the village with countless charms to keep the evil spirits at bay, for on the other side of the forest, there lies a seemingly bottomless pit, known as the Abyss. It is the place the villagers of Ravenbrook fear most… Horizon Zero Dawn PS4 — Digital, Retail Horizon Zero Dawn is an exhilarating new open-world action RPG exclusively for PS4, developed by the award winning Guerrilla Games (Killzone). Take on the role of skilled hunter Aloy as you explore a vibrant and lush world inhabited by mysterious mechanized creatures. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing PS4 — Digital Put on your wide-brimmed hat, grab your weapons, and embark on an incredible adventure in the gothic-noir world of Borgovia, where mad science threatens the fragile peace between monster and mortal. Be Van Helsing, monster-hunter extraordinaire and save the day with your charming and beautiful companion, Lady Katarina (who happens to be a ghost, by the way). Explore the savage wilderness in the mountains and the soot-stained brick districts of a grim metropolis twisted by weird science, and don’t forget: you might never know who the real monsters are! Stranger of Sword City Revisited PS Vita — Digital From the present day to the parallel world Escario. Survive in the land of polar night! Enjoy the tried and true fundamental charms of the Dungeon RPG genre such as character creation, dungeon exploring, and item collecting. Suikoden IV (PS2 Classic) PS3 — Digital A prequel to the acclaimed role-playing series Suikoden, Suikoden IV reveals the origins of the Rune of Punishment. Although set in the past, Suikoden IV has no shortage of innovation, as it features a Tactical Formation System and more than 60 playable characters. Torment: Tides of Numenera PS4 — Digital, Retail Explore Earth one billion years in the future in the science-fantasy setting of Numenera. Discover the Ninth World built on the bones of extinct, hyper-advanced civilizations and leave your own mark on it. Make thousands of essential choices, face the consequences, and meet death incarnated as you seek the answer to the ultimate question: What does one life matter? The Walking Dead — The Telltale Series: A New Frontier PS4 — Retail Telltale’s award-winning series returns with its third season: A New Frontier. Continuing the emotionally powerful storytelling seen in Seasons One and Two, we return to one of gaming’s most beloved characters: Clementine. We see her story through the eyes of Javier, a young man determined to find the family taken from him. WRC 6 PS4 — Digital, Retail (Out 3/3) On a race track, it’s the car that makes all the difference. In a rally, it’s the driver. WRC 6 puts you to the test: fog, mud, punctures, night racing, engine breakdowns… you have to deal with it all. Jose James – Love in a Time of Madness THEY. – Nü Religion: HYENA Smino – blkswn Fences Taken- February 27 at 10/9c (NBC) Taboo- February 28 at 10/9c (FX) Conan Without Borders- March 1 at 10/9c (tbs) The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

As we count down to Horizon Zero Dawn’s release on 1st March, Guerrilla Games reflects on the creation of its action RPG, and shares stories about the key beats that shaped its new game. In part two, Game Director Mathijs de Jonge, Art Director Jan-Bart van Beek, Lead Quest Designer David Ford, Combat Designer Troy Mashburn and Managing Director Hermen Hulst talk the making on its already iconic machines, and handpick their personal favorites. Even the earliest thrilling iconography of Horizon Zero Dawn could be split evenly in two: on one side, there’s red-haired heroine Aloy, bow taut and ready to fight. On the other, the hulking, immediately intriguing design of an animalistic machine. This mechanized threats, so intrinsic to the world’s ecosystem and its overarching mystery are already iconic. The nimble Watcher of the earlier reveals has become a PlayStation event cosplay mainstay, while the hulking Thunderjaw has been immortalized in the game’s fantastic artwork. Creating the Concept of the Machines“We didn’t know how animalistic we should go for the machines,†confesses Horizon Zero Dawn’s director Mathijs de Jonge of the initial design process. “We did crude models and mockups at a very early stage.†Surprising this may be given the game’s background story being humanity’s regression to a primitive culture and surviving an aggressive, dominant animalistic species, but ‘dinosaur’ wasn’t the immediate creative direction the team went in. “We did some machines that were more like scorpions,†explains Mathijs, “but we noticed that shooting at it was really problematic… the legs were so thin you barely had any surface to hit.†The game’s director Jan-Bart van Beek (JB) concurred from a visual perspective. “We shied away from these because it gave the game a completely different feel. It’s different shooting alien-looking machines compared to robot dinosaurs, which changes the gameplay. Visually it didn’t work as well either, compared to seeing big robot dinosaurs!†And with large surface areas and mechanisation key components, it allowed Guerrilla Games to entertain the idea of multi-layered animals with collectable components that could be shot off. Horizon Zero Dawn’s fantastical beasts – and their creator – had found their inspiration, though Mathijs is quick to point out that not one mechanized creature is a parallel of a real world one, extinct or not. “The Watcher in the game,†he uses as away of example. “it’s animalistic but you can’t say exactly what type of animal it is, which was what we were aiming for – it should resemble a combination of animals but not a literal translation of a singular one.†That said, there was one particular, familiar type that was attempted, but become a creative dead end: rabbit-like metallic animals. Mathijs dismisses them with a laugh. “That looked so weird!†Bone and Flesh, Steel and CableYou’ll notice smaller game – geese, boar for example – wandering the wildlands as you explore, which ties into the fiction of tribes’ hunting for fur and meat. But Mathijs touches upon the decision not to include larger flesh-and-blood animals onto the digital reserve, pinpointing its effect on gameplay. “We initially considered having larger predators animals like mountain lions and bears, but we thought it may get a little strange as they’d get into conflict with the machines and you’d get these weird looking fights between them,†he laughingly remembers. Besides, Aloy’s got enough to contend with as humans are thrown into the procedurally-generated mix, stories of which both Combat Designer Troy Mashburn and Managing Director Hermen Hulst happily share. The former remembering how a group of people being chased by a machine ran smack into another mechanised pack. An “epic battle†ensued. “It wasn’t scripted to happen, it just happened.†Similarly Hulst remembers prepping for a machine encounter, only for a humanoid faction to wander into the fray. “All of a sudden I had a much more intense fight than I was planning to have! That sort of thing happens all the time.†The creators pick their personal favorites from Horizon Zero Dawn’s machines Troy Mashburn, combat designer: “Shell Walkers have a variety of things you can do to them. They’re fun as you need to plan how to attack them, set traps and maybe disable them piece by piece, or maybe lob some explosive grenades and weaken them.†David Ford, lead quest designer: “The Scrapper looks like a hyena, has more weak points but not one single critical weak point. That presents a different challenge. They have this scary projectile attack from their mouth and they’re really good at flanking and swarming you, so they can be deadly in groups.†Mathijs De Jonge, game director: “The Watcher was one of the first machines we built in prototype in animation, about five years ago. It had no AI at the time, just animation, but immediately felt so real.†JB, art director: “The Thunderjaw – the massive T-rex machine – is a favourite. Also because it was the first one that we did and was our proof of concept; if we could make this work then we could make the game work.†War Machines: Masters of the EarthJB coins the term “ancient war machines†as an apt description of Aloy’s fearsome foes. Lead narrative designer John Gonzales calls them “the masters of this Earth.†“They’re the stars of the show,†Managing Director Hermen says simply. “I like how different the machines are from each other,†touching on the impressive species count – 25 unique kinds – that roam the world you’ll find yourself in. “There’s an entire ecology which feels natural – some behave to try and stick with a herd, so even if you lure one away they still try to have that herd mentality.†David Ford, lead quest designer, elaborates. “If you’re tactical about where you’re shooting [the machines] you can do a lot more damage. If you’re shooting the sides or the armour plating of a Watcher for example, it will eventually go down, but during that time its buddies can swarm and overwhelm you.†Ford pinpoints the Watcher’s eye as the place to aim for an instant-kill. Yet even knowing a beast’s weak spots doesn’t lessen the thrill of the hunt – be you hunter or hunted. “It’s an incredibly satisfying experience because they never quite get to the point where they’re trivial.†Hulst echoes a similar sentiment. “Even as an experienced Horizon player, I get a different type of fun toying with four or five Watchers at the same time – whereas at the beginning at the game just one is tough! And sometimes you’ll come across one which has a upgraded with a few skills that they didn’t have at the start of the game, so they develop with you.†“I like how, as a player, you can learn about [machines] by scanning them and finding their weak spots and behavioural patterns,“ he continues. “There’s so much backstory that’s expressed via gameplay. We really have to switch things up depending on which machines you’re coming across at the time. And the sound team did a great job bringing them to life.†I can attest to machine ferociousness and iconic sounds. Even combating a single Watcher late into a recent preview event I was surprised at its cunning and respectful of its power. One tail strike knocked Aloy across the glade of the overgrown city ruins I was fighting in and depleted half her health. As I readied to strike back, a sudden high-pitched whine behind instinctively had me roll out of the way. A split-second later another Watcher launched itself at the spot I just vacated. I’d found myself in the middle of a Watcher pack with no recourse but to fight my way out. JB summed up my feelings from the encounter best. “All the machines need to be awe-inspiring, threatening, overwhelming and overpowering,†a sense of presence that every creature, great and small, carries. “We wanted to portray a sense of majesty – we want you to look at these landscapes and have them take your breath away.†View the full article

It is my pleasure to be able to share the launch trailer for Guerrilla’s new title, Horizon Zero Dawn. This is easily our most ambitious project that we have taken on. When we began our journey over five years ago, we wanted to have the creative freedom to imagine something fresh. As soon as we saw the enthusiasm from the team for the concept, and our lead Aloy, we knew we were on the right path. The result of our voyage is Horizon Zero Dawn – a game set in a lush post-apocalyptic world, in which Machines are the dominant species and mankind is propelled back to the stone ages. It is a game of exploration, not just of the perilous new world but also of Aloy’s identity. On behalf of the entire team at Guerrilla, I hope you’ll enjoy accompanying Aloy on her journey as much as we have enjoyed creating it for you. View the full article

You were hacked and used as a tool to kill the Boss of Heaven. I broke the hack, but it was a mess. You lost an arm and barely made it out of there. Your brother was kidnapped to make sure you did your job. He’s going to die unless you find him first. You’ve all been asking for it: Ruiner is coming to PS4 this summer. Set in 2091, Ruiner will drag you through the darkest, shadiest, deadliest corners of the rapidly growing, brilliant metropolis of Rengkok City. From the shiny corridors of Heaven’s corporate interiors, through the city’s lowest districts — even into the underground imagination farms. Your brother is there, somewhere, waiting for you to save him. It won’t be easy. Those who took him know you’re coming. Their hideouts are armed with mines, traps, and sentry guns, and they’re protected by armies of specialized guards and deadly assassins — some human, some machine, some in between. To tear through all that, you’ll need loads of weapons and gadgets. And some skill. Let’s start with melee. You can stick to your good old pipe, but if you want something more fancy, go for nano katana or electric sword, or one of the heavy, two-handed super-swords. The two modes of fencing have their own advantages and special attacks. The first, light one lets you stun enemies for a second, a lot of time to finish them. The heavy melee whirlwind AOE attack is not only spectacular but deals massive amounts of damage, too! Then there are more than 20 guns to choose from. Starting with conventional pieces like pistols, SMGs, shotguns, and plasma rifles, all the way up to hi-tech armaments like the singularity gun, orbital cannon, sonic shotgun, lightning cannon, subzero gun, rail gun, and more. Just wait for the enemies to drop them and try for yourself. Some come with bullets that pierce through multiple enemies, stun them, set them ablaze, disintegrate them, or bounce off walls making the whole battlefield look like an insane dance-floor. Combine that with the lot of the unlockable gadgets and cyber implants and you can see the multitude options for bringing your vengeance to the doorstep of those who did you wrong. Dash and shield are your best friends. The mix of their offensive and defensive abilities make you one deadly ball of fury. As with any other gadget you obtain later in the game, you can upgrade and develop them, too. With Multidash you can plan out and execute your dash sequence in self-defense or as an offensive move, to chase down your enemies and take their weapons. Upgraded shields will deflect projectiles, making you an impenetrable, deadly reflector. Kinetic barriers let you control the battlefield, dividing the space around you, separating you from and slowing down foes and their bullets so you can pick them apart, one by one. Activating the Slow Motion mode, you can almost freeze the scene in time and calculate your options. Overclock mode lets you dive straight into the fire of close combat, making you almost invincible, while Switch Gun gives you more space: why not make your enemies work for you while you think of your next move from a distance. Did I mention grenades? You have those, too. Each gadget, including your melee weapon, can be upgraded in a number of ways to support and expand developing your play style. Luckily, you’re not in this alone. You have me, Puppy. Go get them! View the full article

Bioware’s shaking things up for Mass Effect: Andromeda, the first PS4 installment in its spacefaring action-RPG series. The game’s setup represents a clean break from the original Mass Effect trilogy, taking place 600 years later in another galaxy as a crew of explorers searches for humanity’s new home. Despite the shift in time and place, Mass Effect: Andromeda retains all the signature elements that propelled the series to fame. You’ll assemble an all-star team of adventurers; explore exotic locations both beautiful and hostile; pore over rich, detailed fiction; engage in thought-provoking conversation with an ensemble cast of colorful characters. So what’s new, then? Much to my delight, I found Andromeda’s action to be faster and far more ferocious, with tighter gunplay and more responsive handling. Two new maneuvers — a boost jump (X) and an evasive dash (Circle) — lend a more kinetic feel and allowed me to quickly reposition mid-battle or move in for the kill as the situation dictated. Based on what I played in the first four hours of the game, I’m betting that this combat overhaul will greatly expand the game’s appeal. Andromeda’s biotics also benefit from a more muscular approach. As series veterans will recall, biotics are superhuman powers that can drag enemies out of cover, unleash energy blasts, and so forth. Bioware has reworked how all the various powers and abilities interact with each other, creating a reworked “combo†system that proved to be one of my favorite additions to Andromeda’s gameplay. Most offensive abilities are considered either “primers†or “detonators,†and Andromeda’s UI includes a handy graphical icon to help you tell the difference. Deploying a primer skill, then landing a follow-up detonator attack will trigger a combo and inflict more damage on your target. That means you can grab an enemy with Lift (primer) and follow up with Concussive Shot (detonator) for a huge damage boost. Other interactions can unleash more exotic effects; detonating a Cryo Beam attack can trigger an icy nova effect that chills nearby enemies. Better still, combos can be primed or detonated by either you or your AI squadmates. There’s plenty of room for improvisation! Some of the new abilities caught my eye, too. On the Biotics side, Lance fires a precise energy shaft that can inflict huge damage on enemy weak points and detonate combos, while Backlash can reflect some incoming attacks if properly timed. New Tech skills include a Flamethrower that can set enemies ablaze, and an Invasion ability that weakens enemies with a swarm of small robots. For Combat skills, the Flak Cannon and Tripmines add an extra offensive punch. On a related note, Andromeda abandons formal character classes, instead adopting flexible skill “profiles†that empower players to adapt to individual challenges. Given the tighter action and new primer/detonator combos, this seems like a smart move to me. I noticed a host of subtle gameplay refinements as well. Taking cover is now a smoother, contextual process that doesn’t require a button press. Healing and resupplies seemed to be handled by grabbing pickups located in the environments, versus fiddling in a menu to find that Medi-Gel. Outside of combat, my experiences with Andromeda demonstrated plenty of promise. With Commander Shepard out of the picture, newcomers Scott and Sarah Ryder make for capable protagonists. A species of brutish tyrants called the Kett appear to serve as the core antagonists, with much of the conflict revolving around an ancient alien relic called the Remnant. Later in the demo, I took control of the Tempest, Andromeda’s answer to the Normandy, and spent a few minutes bonding with its crew. My highlight was Jaal, a soulful alien with a mysterious past touched by the Kett. I’m betting he’ll quickly become a fan favorite. True to Mass Effect form, the conversations were freewheeling, philosophical, and deeply fascinating. It’s worth noting that Andromeda replaces the Paragon and Renegade conversation options from prior games with new conversational “tones†— emotional, logical, and so on — that can influence the direction of conversation. After my chat, I landed on a new planet and explored the Kadara Market, a seedy hive of villainy populated by spies and scoundrels. Then I hopped into an armored Nomad to explore the bleak surface of Kadara, carefully avoiding acid lakes and aggressive, raptor-like creatures. These Nomad expeditions evoked the best parts of the Mako sequences from the original Mass Effect, but offered up far more environmental variety and interesting emergent combat encounters. At one point, I spotted a skirmish at a small outpost in the distance. I pulled up, jumped out, and helped some local fighters finish off a squad of Outcast Raiders. These scenarios aren’t quite open world, but they feel big, exciting, and brimming with possibility. On a related note, exploration-minded players will love scanning objects in the environment, a new addition that’s used to solve puzzles, unlock new lore in the Codex, and earn research points for equipment upgrades. For those wondering how much Andromeda will build on the story of the original Mass Effect trilogy, the answer appears to be: not so much. Since Andromeda is a major departure from the original trilogy, don’t expect to bump into Shepard or the Reapers. A Bioware rep did tell me, however, that eagle-eyed players may uncover a few narrative morsels that relate to that story. You won’t be importing past save files to carry on any narrative choices, either, as it doesn’t fit with the new protagonist and setting. We also got a peek at the pre-release version of Andromeda running on PS4 Pro, where it will support higher resolutions as well as HDR features. The results were impressive — we’ll have more details to share there soon as we prepare for the game’s launch on March 21. Have any questions? Let me know in the comments below! View the full article

Ghost Recon Wildlands gives you the chance to explore a truly massive open world with a team of elite operatives, dismantling the operations of the Santa Blanca drug cartel however you see fit. And starting today, you’ll be able to get a sense for just how big Wildlands is when the open beta gives all PS4 players a free taste of what’s in store. Running through February 27, the open beta will set you loose in two Bolivian provinces, Itacua and Montuyoc, where you’ll be tasked with finding and neutralizing high-ranking Santa Blanca operatives. If you were selected to play the closed beta for Ghost Recon Wildlands in early February, you already recognize Itacua as the place where you established ties with the Kataris 26 rebels, traded shots with corrupt Unidad troops, and hunted down La Yuri and El Polito, two lovers who’d turned their medical expertise to interrogation and torture. They’re back again in the open beta, although they’ll stay dead if you killed them before, as any progress you made in the closed beta will carry over. And there’s plenty more where they came from; the open beta is a hugely expanded experience, with enough total content to fuel around eight hours of gameplay. What’s New in the Open Beta?Montuyoc is a mountainous province that includes the popular Bolivian salt flats. Santa Blanca keeps a huge arsenal and trains its best sicarios in this province, so you can expect a stiffer challenge than you faced in Itacua. There’s a new Santa Blanca warlord to chase, and to find him, you’ll need to raid Santa Blanca encampments and strongholds to destroy their weapons, kill their elite instructors, and interrogate cartel officers across five new story missions (in addition to the six already available in Itacua). And if you want to learn more about your target and the Santa Blanca, you’ll be able to find 12 new Kingslayer Files filled with fascinating dirt on your enemies. As before, you’ll be able to tackle these any way you see fit, customizing your Ghost and their loadout to suit your tactics. If stealth is your thing, you can wait until nightfall and sneak to your objectives, using night vision and silenced weapons to avoid full-blown firefights. You can coordinate with other players to line up synchronized sniper shots, skydive straight to your objectives from a helicopter, or smash through enemy fortifications with powerful military vehicles. Or you can go in solo with a computer-controlled squad, issuing orders and picking off cartel guards at your own pace. The open beta also adds a fistful of new side missions, including new rebel operations and supply raids, and you can further break from the beaten path to track down new intel drops and earn new weapons, accessories, and skill points for beefing up your Ghost. If you’re truly adventurous, you’ll also be able to tackle the open beta at the hardest difficulty, testing your squad’s mettle against Santa Blanca’s best or seeing how long you can survive solo. The open beta will be free to all PS4 players (although you’ll need a PS Plus membership to play co-op) and will run from February 23 through February 27. And if it leaves you hungry for more, you won’t have long to wait, as Ghost Recon Wildlands launches on March 7. View the full article

It’s been particularly hard to avoid being swept-up in the wave of Death Stranding, ever since Hideo Kojima appeared on stage at last year’s Sony E3 conference and triumphantly declared to the cheering crowd – “I’m backâ€. And with a bang, it seemed. The reveal trailer for Death Stranding was one of the most talked-about segments from a busy E3 show, and the follow-up teaser at TGA has resulted in even more questions and rumours circulating around Kojima Productions’ first independent project. Kojima-san was in Australia for RTX Sydney and we were privileged to have the opportunity to sit down with him during his busy schedule to find out more about the ‘Strands’ gameplay, the reason behind using the Decima Engine, and how development was going on the project. Has the idea for Death Stranding always been there, or is it something that has blossomed very quickly and developed based on the new collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment? This is a question I get asked a lot. When we started our new studio, I came up with several ideas, but we chose to do Death Stranding because it answered the questions – “What game do I need to make now? What type of game does the market want now? What kind of game can we make? We really wanted to make something that was different. That was out-of-the-box, and Death Stranding was the answer to this. Sometimes people have an idea from when they were a child, and they’ll turn that into a game when they’re an adult, but I don’t think that’s the way to approach the subject because every day our lives change. Society changes every day, and we need to make something that is topical and something that is in-line with the world that we live in now. What type of game will Death Stranding be? You can think of Death Stranding as an action game. Many people play games in the shooting genre and I want to make a game that is very intuitive for them so they can get into the experience very easily, but when they play it for a bit they will realise there is a certain new type of depth to it, something that they might not have seen before. Can you tell us more about the gameplay? I can’t really speak on that right now but in a word, it’s an action game – an open world game, with a lot of freedom. You have a lot of freedom of choice to do what you want to do and you can get in vehicles and so on. If you are a fighter, there’s plenty of opportunity for that. If you’re not that type of player, there are other ways to play this game. I can’t really say much more, but it’s an open-world, action game that’s very intuitive to play. Once you get into the world and start to explore more, we’re hoping there’s something there you’ve never seen before. We have heard about the ‘Strands’ concept that is being introduced for this game, what does this mean, exactly? Concerning the ‘Strands’, this is my 31st year in the games industry and I’ve been deep in action games across that time. In action games, generally, the player has a gun and plays against enemies in a single player environment – or they take it online and play against other players in a competitive environment. They join in together with guns – [laughs] it’s almost always with guns – to take down a stronger opponent. In this game you can do that but I wanted to go a little deeper beyond that with something that doesn’t focus on a weapon like a gun and that’s what has a connection to the strand concept. It has also been said that Death Stranding will feature a new type of online play, differing from the traditional. Can you tell us more about this type of gameplay? Again, this is something that we can’t say a lot about at the moment but if you want to play the game stand-alone, without an online component, that’s perfectly fine. We do have an online component and, again, it’s different as there will be something different versus what most people expect from an online game. A lot of games have a ‘campaign mode’ and once you’re done with that you take it to the online mode. This game is not that kind of structure. During your studio tour with Mark Cerny, did you have a vision of what you were looking for in a game engine already? We visited 15 studios around the world with Mark Cerny, and after this we spent another 6 months visiting other studios of people that I know. In total we visited 30 studios looking for the engine. I had a vision for the type of engine that we needed because I knew the type of game that I wanted to create. So, first, I knew that I wanted to create an open world game, so the engine had to support an open world game structure. As far as the visuals were concerned, I was looking for very photo-realistic presentation, so the engine had to be able to support those types of visuals. Also, the tool-set had to be easy to use. With some engines, the tools are behind a ‘black-box’ and for our purposes we needed to be able to optimize and edit the tools. These were the conditions we had when looking for the engine. As you know there are some commercially available engines and these are the ones with the ‘black-box’ type structure. “They handed over what was basically the crystallisation of their efforts over many years.†And what specifically led to the adoption of Guerrilla Games’ Engine? I visited many studios all around the world, meeting many great people. Guerrilla Games in Amsterdam: their technology was just a league ahead of everywhere else. Even though they have an open world they are able to render very rich scenes with many objects. As you know their upcoming game Horizon Zero Dawn, which is coming out in February, has an artistic sensibility, particularly with regards to the use of color, whereas we’re looking for a very photo-realistic sensibility. Their engine is built for their purposes, for the game that they wanted to create, and as I said we wanted to create a game that even at the very base levels looks very different from that, so we needed to test it to see how far we could tune their engine to fit our purposes. Usually when you go to use, buy or borrow an engine, someone will say, “Lend us your name,†or of course ask for payment. We had no contract with Guerrilla Games, but when we met them they suddenly gave us a box, a very pretty box. When we opened the box, there was a USB dongle inside that had the source code for the engine. Keep in mind we had no contract or anything at this stage, yet still they handed over what was basically the crystallisation of their efforts over many years. They simply said, “Mr. Kojima please use this engine,†and we thought these people are incredible. There was one condition though, that Kojima Productions doesn’t just use the engine, but that we develop the engine together with Guerrilla Games, that it should be a collaborative effort. So we were really blown away by their stance on this and being so open with the engine and we thought “Wow, these are the people we have to work with.†How has this collaboration with Guerrilla Games grown since first adopting the engine? We were looking for a realistic presentation (for TGA), so we had to make changes to the tools and other adjustments to the engine. Over the course of 6 months we passed the code back and forth between Guerrilla Games and Kojima Productions, working off the same code base. At this point our code had completely merged together. It was different from the engine they originally gave us, so we decided we should give this new engine a name. That’s when we came up with the ‘Decima’ name (derived from Dejima – an artificial island in Japan where The Netherlands and Japan would trade during the Edo period). I really feel that with both of us working on this engine we are accomplishing the work at twice the speed and building something really fantastic. Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen are working on this project, so can we expect more Hollywood stars to be revealed on the project in the future? Unfortunately, we can’t really say anything with regards to Death Stranding at the moment, but I feel like this type of method (working with Hollywood stars and actors) in games is going to become the norm in the future. Creating movies and creating games like this, the process is very similar. Was the part of the protagonist written with Reedus in mind? When I went independent and I was thinking about my first game in my head, I did see Norman playing this character. The visuals of this character were based on using Norman Reedus as the precedent. Finally, can you tell us how development is going so far? As you know, we have a new office in Tokyo and we’re still hiring additional staff to work with us. We’re still running tests on the game, but we have made it to the stage where we have the framework worked out. This year is all about hardcore production and development, so please look forward to the fruits of our labor further down the road. We certainly will, Kojima-san. View the full article

Hello PlayStation Pilots! As the team is getting ready to ship out Live Fire, our next free update for Titanfall 2 players, we wanted to check in with some details on this brand-new mode you’ll be playing when it drops on February 23. Live Fire is a new mode for Titanfall 2 with lightning fast, six-on-six Pilot action. It brings competitive, close quarters combat to the forefront. A round-based mode with no respawns, you have one minute to eliminate the opposing team in order to win the round. You can also win the round if your team is holding the neutral flag when the round timer ends. It’s fast, frantic, and sure to help hone those teamwork and mobility skills. Check out the gameplay trailer: And that’s just a portion of what else is coming in this update. In addition to Live Fire mode you’ll also get: Mixtape Matchmaking: You’ll notice a complete overhaul of the matchmaking menu. Thanks to hard work from the team and feedback from the community, this new feature will allow you to create your own “mixtape†of modes. Featured Playlist: Here we will be swapping out new modes each week that we think you should play, and for some of them we’ll reward you with Double XP events for checking them out. Live Fire Maps: There will be two maps, Stacks and Meadows, that will support Live Fire mode only. Live Fire will be a limited time mode that will show up on Featured Playlists. We’ll be rotating this with other modes that we want to feature. New Patch: There will be a large patch included with this update that will bring a plethora of game changes and fixes among many other things. We will provide patch notes online at release as well as in the Multiplayer menu FAQ. New Execution: Inspired by the Stim, Last Hit packs a punch and you’ll see it show up with the rest of the executions in the Pilot customization options. New Coliseum Map: Go mano e mano in a brand-new map called Columns that adds a twist to the existing formula. New Factions Intros: We’ve added some new dialogue for faction leaders, so enjoy the new pep talk as you drop into that next match. Now enjoy some wisdom from one of the designers of the mode, Griffin Dean, to get you ready to play when Live Fire launches on February 23. In Live Fire, the decisions you make in the opening seconds of the round are critical, so have a simple plan before you start. “I’ll throw my pulse blade, move left, then cut right towards mid to hit advancing enemies in the side.†If you spend your first 5 seconds planning you’re handing your opponents the time they need to outplay you. Mobility is your best friend. It’s not enough to outgun your foes; you need to outrun your opposition. Rapidly advance by wall running and you’ll catch enemies out of position and unprepared for a fight. Advance and attack decisively. Momentum is key. Don’t give the enemy time to realize they’re in trouble. Don’t pick up the neutral flag simply because it’s there, but don’t let the enemy take it. Carrying the flag makes your position visible to the enemy, so plan accordingly. You can use the flag to force your enemy to attack, lead them into an ambush, or even win the round if you are outnumbered. Remember, picking up the flag early in the round isn’t nearly as important as holding the flag at the end of the round. Secure your flanks and attack where your enemy is weakest. Never leave openings where the enemy can get behind you. If you flank the enemy, you can catch them out of position and engage them on your terms. Play for the good of the team. All that matters is winning that round. You have to think on your feet. An EPG round screaming towards your flag carrier is all that stands between you and victory? Then take one for the team and stand between that EPG round and your flag carrier. Do it for the win, and your team will love you for it. Live Fire is the first of many updates we have planned for 2017. This, along with all future maps, modes, and weapons we release, will continue to be free for all Titanfall 2 players. We look forward to seeing the PlayStation Nation on the Frontier in the months ahead! View the full article

Heading to Game Developers Conference? So are we! This post serves as your guide to all of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s GDC activities. You’ll be able to find our spacious booth at location 1202 in the South Hall, directly facing the center entrance. If you would like to meet with us to talk about the world of PlayStation, come and visit! Our booth hosts a variety of development tools available to our licensees on PlayStation platforms, as well as many new and interesting games. In addition, Sony Interactive Entertainment developers, programmers, producers, and technology specialists as well as experts from independent development studios will be speaking on a variety of topics. Tech Kiosks PlayStation VR Aim Controller & 3D Audio PlayStation VR Game Engine PlayStation Developer Tools – SN Systems PlayStation 4 Subdiv PlayStation VR Trace Tool PlayStation Magic Lab VR Tech Demo Click here for more information about Tech Kiosks. Game KiosksPS4 TitlesPS4 Pro TitlesPSVR TitlesPyre Full Throttle Remastered Everything Nex Machina Gang Beasts Cosmic Star Heroine Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Nidhogg 2 Sundered Rain World EITR GNOGGT Sport Horizon Zero Dawn RiMEFarpoint Dino Frontier Psychonauts in the Rhombus of RuinIntroducing “Ask Developer Relations @GDCâ€The Ask Developer Relations table will be here throughout GDC to answer any development related questions around working with PlayStation you may have. Members of our Third Party Developer Relations team will be here to answer them and have discussions with you throughout GDC. Click here for more information about times and availability. Sponsored SessionsSubdiv for the PlayStation 4 (Presented by Sony Interactive Entertainment America)Date: Thursday, March 2nd Time: 11:30am – 12:30pm Location: Room 3007, West Hall Speakers: John Doolittle (Senior Software Engineer, SIE), Anthony Rivero (Senior Character Artist, SIE) Competitive Gaming with PlayStation (Presented by Sony Interactive Entertainment America)Date: Wednesday, March 1st Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm Location: Room 2014, West Hall Speakers: Zev Solomon (Senior Engineer, Platform Services, SIEA), Matt Tomczek (Technical Project Manager, SIEA), Gavin Howell (Business Development Manager, SIEA), Jon Webb (Director, Product Strategy and Planning, SIEA) Increasing VR Presence: From Believable Character Behaviors to Developing with the New PlayStation VR Aim Controller (Presented by Sony Interactive Entertainment America)Date: Wednesday, March 1st Time: 2:00PM – 3:00PM Location: Room 2024, West Hall Speakers: Tom Bruckbock (Technical Project Manager, SIEA), Seth Luisi (Co-founder Impulse Gear, Impulse Gear), Greg Koreman (Co-Founder Impulse Gear, Impulse Gear), Richard Marks (Senior Research Engineer, Sony Interactive Entertainment) Extending the Player Experience with 3D Audio: Creating Immersive Soundscapes (Presented by Sony Interactive Entertainment America)Date: Thursday, March 2nd Time: 5:30pm – 6:30pm Location: Room 2009, West Hall Speakers: Victoria Dorn (Software Engineer, SIEA), Phillip Kovats (Audio Lead, SIEA), Jonathan Lanier (Audio Programmer, SIEA) PlayStation Related TalksThere will be over 30+ PlayStation-related sessions and roundtables at GDC focusing on developer topics such as visual arts, audio, design, business & marketing, programming, advocacy, and more. Click here for the full list! Tool and Middleware DirectoryCompanyBoothAllegorithmic416 (South Hall) & BMR5332 (North Hall)Amazon Lumberyard1602 (South Hall)ARM – EnlightenBS4726 (North Hall)Audiokinetic524 (South Hall)Autodesk, Inc.BS4826 (North Hall)Coherent Labs635 (South Hall)CRIWARE316 (South Hall)CRYENGINE1224 (South Hall)Epic Games-Unreal Engine1024 (South Hall)FMOD424 (South Hall)HavokBMR5538 (North Hall)IncrediBuild2042 (South Hall)NaturalMotionNDA Room 270 (Mon-Fri)NVIDIA824 (South Hall)OC3 Entertainment533 (South Hall)PlayFab1738 (South Hall)PopcornFX / Persistant Studios324 (South Hall)RAD Game Tools724 (South Hall)Silicon Studio624 (South Hall)Softkinetic Studios502 (South Hall)SpeedTree529 (South Hall)Umbra1635 (South Hall)Unity1402 (South Hall)VisiSonics243 (South Hall)YoYo Games2116 (South Hall)View the full list of exhibitors at GDC Become a Registered DeveloperWhy develop on the PlayStation platforms? With the ability to self-publish on PlayStation Network across PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation Mobile, there’s a PlayStation platform for every game. No slotting, no voting. You are the publisher! https://www.playstation.com/en-us/develop/ Careers at SIEAInterested in a career with PlayStation? Stop by the PlayStation Lounge at the Career Center (Booth #1624, South Hall) to grab some coffee, play games, and strike up a conversation with recruiters and hiring managers. View the full article

Hey, PlayStation fans! We’re iFun4all and we’re super excited to announce that our wacky, fast-paced stealth game Serial Cleaner will be making its way onto your favorite console! Working on this game has been a blast, and we want to share some of the things that make it unique. Serial Cleaner’s premise is simple — you’re a professional cleaner, the guy who’s tasked with taking care of the mess left after mafia shootouts and other grisly affairs. Your job is to remove the evidence from the scene — bodies, weapons, and blood — so that nobody can connect the crime to your clients. The police force is on the scene as you move through it, so a single mistake can lead to your arrest and questioning, putting a black mark on your career! In essence, the idea of Serial Cleaner came from dynamic, lose-fast/reload-fast games that demand that you retry a level several times to learn how enemies react, and figure out which zones of the map are safest. Each time you are caught, the level restarts, but elements of it will get randomized, ensuring that you can’t rely on just muscle memory to get through a stage! The Cleaner is resourceful, but he’s also got years of experience under his belt — his trademark Cleaner Sense allows you to have a look at each location from a bird’s eye view, and figure out how best to proceed. The game is tough, but fair, so plan your moves right, or just get in there and improvise: both approaches are valid! Serial Cleaner includes a fleshed-out story campaign that takes you inside the 1970s, a decade of funky music, disco dancing, outta-sight clothes… and serial killers. Join the Cleaner as he takes missions from the mafia and a new, mysterious Client, whose influence will put our anti-hero in harm’s way. Learn new tricks and escape new enemy types that are added into the mix as you progress through the story, and see the game change as it modifies your experience based on real-world data! Then check out one of our many Challenge Modes to see if you can beat your friends’ score while playing under a different set of rules! We haven’t yet mentioned the game’s unique, angular artstyle, and a 70s-inspired soundtrack full of beats to make you bounce in your seats. Expect to hear a lot of funk, mixed with disco, hard rock, and smooth tunes to soothe the soul. Add to that unlockable alternative clothing and movie-inspired bonus levels, and you’ve got yourself one groovy package! Can you dig it? View the full article

The Oscars are this weekend – and while the Academy votes on the year’s best films, here at PlayStation Store we’re celebrating the year’s best games with our annual Critics’ Choice Sale. Starting right now, save up to 60 percent on some of 2016’s most acclaimed titles, as well as winners from our own PlayStation Blog 2016 Game of the Year Awards. PlayStation Plus members save up to 70 percent. Head over to PS Store all this week to pick up titles like Doom, Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration and Titanfall 2. For our film lineup, PlayStation videos Oscar Sale brings discounts on Academy Award winning titles like The Revenant, Hell or High Water and The Big Short Check out the full breakdown below, but don’t wait too long. Our Critics’ Choice Sale ends Tuesday, February 28, 8 AM Pacific. Games PlatformTitleSale PricePS Plus PriceOriginal Price PS4 BATMAN: RETURN TO ARKHAM $34.99 $29.99 $49.99 PS4 DARKEST DUNGEON (CROSS-BUY) $12.49 $9.99 $24.99 PS4 DEAR ESTHER: LANDMARK EDITION $5.99 $4.99 $9.99 PS4 DESTINY – THE COLLECTION $44.39 $39.59 $59.99 PS4 DESTINY – THE COLLECTION UPGRADE $34.79 $31.99 $39.99 PS4 DEUS EX: MANKIND DIVIDED $26.99 $20.99 $59.99 PS4 DEUS EX: MANKIND DIVIDED – DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION $40.49 $31.49 $89.99 PS4 DIABLO III: REAPER OF SOULS – ULTIMATE EVIL EDITION $29.39 $19.79 $59.99 PS4 DIRT RALLY $29.99 $23.99 $59.99 PS4 DIRT RALLY PLUS PLAYSTATION VR BUNDLE $43.39 $37.09 $69.99 PS4 DISHONORED 2 $44.99 $40.19 $59.99 PS4 DOOM $35.99 $29.99 $59.99 PS4 DOOM DIGITAL DELUXE $59.99 $49.99 $99.99 PS4 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION – GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION $19.99 $15.99 $39.99 PS4 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION DELUXE EDITION $7.99 $5.99 $19.99 PS4 ENTER THE GUNGEON $8.99 $7.49 $14.99 PS4 F1 2016 $38.99 $32.99 $59.99 PS4 FALLOUT 4 $35.99 $29.99 $59.99 PS4 FALLOUT 4 DIGITAL DELUXE BUNDLE $65.99 $54.99 $109.99 PS4 FURI $13.99 $11.99 $19.99 PS4 GUILTY GEAR XRD -REVELATOR- $35.99 $29.99 $59.99 PS4 HOTLINE MIAMI 2: WRONG NUMBER (CROSS-BUY) $8.99 $7.49 $14.99 PS4 KERBAL SPACE PROGRAM $23.99 $19.99 $39.99 PS4 LIFE IS STRANGE COMPLETE SEASON $7.99 $5.99 $19.99 PS4 METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE DEFINITIVE EXPERIENCE $29.99 $24.99 $49.99 PS4 MORTAL KOMBAT XL $23.99 $19.99 $39.99 PS4 ODIN SPHERE LEIFTHRASIR $35.99 $29.99 $59.99 PS4 OVERWATCH: ORIGINS EDITION $53.99 $49.79 $59.99 PS4 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2017 $35.99 $29.99 $59.99 PS4 REZ INFINITE (VR) $22.49 $20.09 $29.99 PS4 RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER: 20 YEAR CELEBRATION $35.99 $29.99 $59.99 PS4 ROCKET LEAGUE $15.99 $13.99 $19.99 PS4 STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT $11.99 $9.99 $19.99 PS4 STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT DELUXE EDITION $17.99 $14.99 $29.99 PS4 STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT ULTIMATE EDITION $23.99 $19.99 $39.99 PS4 STREET FIGHTER V – 2017 DELUXE EDITION $47.99 $39.99 $79.99 PS4 STREET FIGHTER V $23.99 $19.99 $39.99 PS4 STREET FIGHTER V – SEASON 1 CHARACTER PASS $11.99 $9.99 $0.00 PS4 TALES FROM THE BORDERLANDS – SEASON PASS $10.49 $8.99 $14.99 PS4 THE TALOS PRINCIPLE: DELUXE EDITION $24.99 $19.99 $49.99 PS4 THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT COMPLETE EDITION $29.99 $24.99 $49.99 PS4 THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT – BLOOD AND WINE $13.99 $11.99 $19.99 PS4 THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT – HEARTS OF STONE $6.99 $5.99 $9.99 PS4 THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT EXPANSION PASS $17.49 $14.99 $24.99 PS4 THE WITNESS $23.59 $19.59 $39.99 PS4 TITANFALL 2 STANDARD EDITION $29.99 $23.99 $59.99 PS4 TITANFALL 2 DELUXE EDITION $39.99 $31.99 $79.99 PS3 DIABLO III: REAPER OF SOULS – ULTIMATE EVIL EDITION $19.79 $14.69 $29.99 PS3 GUILTY GEAR XRD -REVELATOR- $29.99 $24.99 $49.99 PS3 HOTLINE MIAMI 2: WRONG NUMBER (CROSS-BUY) $8.99 $7.49 $14.99 PS3 LIFE IS STRANGE COMPLETE SEASON $7.99 $5.99 $19.99 PS3 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2017 $23.99 $19.99 $39.99 PS3 SOUTH PARK: THE STICK OF TRUTH $9.99 $7.99 $19.99 PS3 TALES FROM THE BORDERLANDS – SEASON PASS $10.49 $8.99 $14.99 PS VITA DARKEST DUNGEON (CROSS-BUY) $12.49 $9.99 $24.99 PS VITA HOTLINE MIAMI 2: WRONG NUMBER (CROSS-BUY) $8.99 $7.49 $14.99 PS VITA SEVERED $5.99 $4.49 $14.99 Movies TitleSD Sale PriceSD Original PriceHD Sale PriceHD Original Price 12 YEARS A SLAVE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 20 FEET FROM STARDOM $5.99 $12.99 $5.99 $14.99 8 MILE $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 AFFLICTION $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 AMADEUS:DC (1984) $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 AMERICAN HUSTLE x x $9.99 $12.99 ANASTASIA (1956) $9.99 $14.99 x x ANNIE HALL $8.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 ARGO:EXT (2012) $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $17.99 BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 BEN HUR (1959) $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 BIRDMAN $9.99 $12.99 $9.99 $12.99 BLACK SWAN $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 BLIND SIDE, THE $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 BLUE JASMINE x x $9.99 $12.99 BOYHOOD $7.99 $12.99 $9.99 $12.99 BRAVEHEART $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $17.99 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 CABARET (1972) $4.99 $9.99 x x CAPOTE $8.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 CAPTAIN FANTASTIC $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 CARTEL LAND $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 CASABLANCA $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 CHARIOTS OF FIRE $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 CHICAGO $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 CINEMA PARADISO $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 CITIZENFOUR $5.99 $12.99 $5.99 $14.99 CLEOPATRA (1963) $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 COLD MOUNTAIN $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 CRAZY HEART $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 DALLAS BUYER’S CLUB $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $14.99 DANCES WITH WOLVES $8.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 DEPARTED, THE (2006) $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 DIRTY DANCING $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 DRIVING MISS DAISY (1989) $4.99 $9.99 $5.99 $12.99 EMMA $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 FARGO $8.99 $9.99 x x FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS $9.99 $12.99 $9.99 $14.99 FORREST GUMP $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $17.99 FRENCH CONNECTION, THE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 FRIDA $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) x x $9.99 $12.99 GANDHI x x $9.99 $12.99 GENTLEMAN’S AGREEMENT $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 GLADIATOR $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $17.99 GLORY x x $9.99 $12.99 GONE WITH THE WIND $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 GOOD WILL HUNTING $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 HELL OR HIGH WATER $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 HELLO, DOLLY! $9.99 $14.99 x x HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 HUGO $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $17.99 INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS $2.99 $9.99 $2.99 $12.99 INTERSTELLAR $7.99 $12.99 $9.99 $14.99 IRIS $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 JERRY MAGUIRE x x $9.99 $12.99 JUNO $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 KING AND I, THE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 KING KONG (’05) $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, THE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 LIFE, ANIMATED $8.99 $11.99 $8.99 $12.99 LOTR: THE RETURN OF THE KING $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 MAN ON WIRE $6.99 $9.99 $6.99 $12.99 MARTIAN, THE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 MASTER AND COMMANDER $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2004) $4.99 $9.99 $5.99 $12.99 MONSTER’S BALL $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 MOULIN ROUGE! $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 MY LEFT FOOT $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 ON THE WATERFRONT x x $9.99 $12.99 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST $6.99 $9.99 x x PATTON $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 PHILADELPHIA x x $9.99 $12.99 PLATOON $8.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972) $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 PRECIOUS $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 PULP FICTION $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 RAIN MAN $8.99 $9.99 x x REVENANT, THE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 ROCKY $8.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $17.99 SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 SIDEWAYS $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 SLING BLADE $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 SOUND OF MUSIC $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 SOUTH PACIFIC $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 SPOTLIGHT $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 STILL ALICE x x $9.99 $12.99 STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A (1951) $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 TENDER MERCIES $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 THE ARTIST x x $9.99 $12.99 THE BIG SHORT $7.99 $12.99 $9.99 $14.99 THE CIDER HOUSE RULES $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 THE COVE $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 THE CRYING GAME $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 THE DANISH GIRL $8.99 $14.99 $8.99 $14.99 THE GODFATHER $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $17.99 THE HURT LOCKER $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 THE PIANO $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 THE QUEEN $5.99 $7.99 $7.99 $9.99 THE READER $2.99 $9.99 $2.99 $13.99 THE RED VIOLIN $4.99 $5.99 $5.99 $7.99 THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 TRAFFIC $8.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 TRAINING DAY $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 UNFORGIVEN (1992) $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 USUAL SUSPECTS, THE $8.99 $9.99 x x VENUS $2.99 $3.99 $4.99 $5.99 VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA $5.99 $9.99 x x WALK THE LINE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 WALK THE LINE (EXTENDED VERSION) $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 WALL STREET $7.99 $9.99 $7.99 $9.99 WEST SIDE STORY $8.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 WHIPLASH x x $9.99 $12.99 Note: All pricing is for U.S. only and subject to change. 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It’s quite an exciting time for us right now, seeing all our time, labor, and passion finally culminate in this announcement of Lightfield on PS4. It was a very intense time for us — we founded our own indie studio Lost in the Garden, put in a lot of time and effort, learned so many new things, and also made many new friends on the way. There are still exciting times ahead, but for now, let’s take a look back to see what’s behind and how it all came to be… We are a team of four (Julia, Raimund, Matthias, and me) from Vienna, Austria with a background in both art and tech, as well as interactive media and games. It all started three or four years ago when we first got together over a weekend to try out something new. Matthias’ initial inspiration was Slipstream 5000, a classic from 1995, and we wanted to try a new mix of racing and flying with a dash of futurism. The first results were very far from how Lightfield looks and plays now, but we felt that there was already something worth pursuing, or at least enough for us to spend some more weekends on it. The game concept gradually evolved, and at some point early on we introduced the main concept of spinning the ship around and aligning it with the track geometry. The controls were still a bit cumbersome — more flying than racing — but it already was a lot of fun and opened up new and interesting possibilities for us. The concept of a racing game with no predefined roads, no invisible walls or guide rails, was born. Still a weekend project at that time, it became more and more clear to us that this is what we wanted to do. With all the positive feedback we received back then the only way forward was to commit to the project and to start working on it full time. We wanted to turn it into a “real†game, a game that we could see and play on PlayStation. Raimund started developing these fascinating, hyper-futuristic worlds, and the characteristic look of the game. Julia designed the tracks around this impossible and abstract architecture. Matthias put everything together into one coherent game. And I spent quite some time on getting the flying/racing behavior of the ships right. Fast forward two or three years, and this is where we are now: seeing our indie dream slowly becoming a reality. Lightfield became this omnidirectional version of parkour with spaceships where you can attach your ship to any surface, go inverted, and find your own lines through the race tracks and environments. The game features time trial and classic race modes, as well as online and local split-screen multiplayer. It’s an open invitation to explore the worlds beyond the race tracks, to lose oneself in the colorful environments and the driving IDM music by Viennese musician Zanshin. This announcement might seem like one small step, but for us it’s one giant leap into the hyperfuture. We’ll stick around in the comments, so let us know what you think of Lightfield and we will try to answer as many questions as we can. View the full article

Hello, Cory Davis here! I’ve exhumed a treasure chest full of Here They Lie news and updates from the void. While many of you have been diving into the nightmarish rabbit-hole that is Here They Lie on PlayStation VR, we’ve continued forging ahead on future updates and additions to improve the experience. I’m excited to let you know about the goodies that are about to roll out for the PS VR version and… wait for it… the PS4 and PS4 Pro versions of Here They Lie! That’s right, Here They Lie will be updated on February 21 to be playable without a PS VR headset — the Standard version. If you already own Here They Lie for PS VR, you’ll automatically receive this update through a downloadable patch. Anyone purchasing Here They Lie after February 21 will get both versions of the game. Here They Lie is also getting an insanely juicy PS4 Pro patch on the same day! That means 4K (users need a 4K display device to view in 4K) / HDR support for the Standard version of the game, and an all-around higher quality render-mode for PS4 Pro on PS VR. Better shadows, post-processing effects, dynamic flashlight shadows, and ambient occlusion! We’ve been listening to your feedback on our website, social media, and in our communal dreams. Many of you had really great requests for Here They Lie, and we’ve implemented as many of them as we could. New additions include a controller configuration screen, the highly requested Chapter Select screen, subtitles (only for the Standard version), and a slew of visual upgrades — like improved anti-aliasing and lighting across the board. We remember that all of you PS VR Rangers were our first love, and we have not forgotten you! We’ve improved head tracking globally for a smoother, more accurate, and more immersive experience. Additionally, we’ve reworked the overall texture streaming to improve the sharpness of the visuals throughout the world. Some additional tutorial screens have been added to help you smoothly immerse yourself in VR, and you’ll be able to switch between the VR and Standard (non VR) version of Here They Lie seamlessly. That’s a lot of upgrades — we’ve been working our asses off! I can’t wait for you to get your hands on all of these updates to Here They Lie on February 21 for PS4, PS4 Pro, and PS VR! View the full article

Hi everyone! Chris King from NIS America here to give you a complete list of all the PlayStation announcements we made at our annual press event in San Francisco. We announced three new game localizations, release dates for Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, and two other games — and brand new content coming to Suda 51’s The Silver Case for PS4! Brace yourself — there’s a ton of news here, dood! Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DanaPS4, PS Vita Fall 2017 We’re proud to announce our partnership with Nihon Falcom to bring the action RPG Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana to PS4 and PS Vita in Fall 2017! We’re also happy to share that the game will have dual audio (English and Japanese), as well as in-game text in English and French. This will be the first brand-new Ys adventure in eight years! The story begins with Adol, shipwrecked and stranded on a cursed island. There, he and the other castaways establish a village to challenge fearsome beasts and explore mysterious ruins on the island. Amidst this, Adol begins to dream of a mysterious blue-haired maiden named Dana living in an unknown world. Join Adol as he unravels the riddle of the cursed isle and the blue-haired maiden in Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana! Touhou Kobuto V: Burst BattlePS4, PS Vita (Digital) Summer 2017 The latest and greatest Touhou game awaits with Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle, coming to PS4 and PS Vita (digital-only) in Summer 2017. Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle is a fast-paced, one-on-one fighting game set on 3D square areas where your goal is to deplete your opponent’s life bar using a wide variety of bullet-hell patterns, melee attacks, and spell cards. You can also perform dashes, double-jumps, and mid-air dashes to avoid bullets and demoralize your opponent! Tokyo Tattoo GirlsPS Vita 2017 The strategy title Tokyo Tattoo Girls will be arriving on PS Vita in 2017! In this game, Tokyo has been devastated and some of the city’s survivors find themselves with mysterious yet powerful abilities bestowed upon them by colorful tattoos. The city has been divided into 23 wards, each controlled by a powerful group known as “Kumiâ€. Together, these Kumi form the “Union.†As the player, you will choose a companion character who will help you defeat all of Tokyo’s 23 wards and escape the city. Develop your companion’s abilities by giving her powerful tattoos to defeat the “Union†and make your escape! In addition, we officially revealed the release dates for all of the following PlayStation games: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony PS4, PS Vita September 26, 2017 Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy PS Vita May 16, 2017 Cladun Returns: This Is Sengoku! PS4, PS Vita (Digital) June 6, 2017 Last but not least, we announced that Suda 51’s The Silver Case for PS4 will include two brand-new chapters: “Yamiâ€, which takes place several months after the last chapter and serves as a conclusion to the initial game, and “White Out Prologue,†which occurs afterward with a time leap, linking The Silver Case universe with Suda 51’s episodic sequel The Silver Case: Ward 25! I really hope you’re excited for our lineup this year everyone, and thank you all for your support over the years. If you’d like to check out the complete list of all the games we announced at our press event, visit our NISA blog. With that said, we’ll have much more information to share for these games soon, so stay tuned, dood! View the full article

It’s been more than 10 years since the world was first introduced to the intrepid Psychonauts! Now, with the Grand Head of the Psychonauts Truman Zannotto in peril, Raz (a newly minted agent) and his friends must stage a daring rescue — in virtual reality! Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is out next week on PS VR. Set directly after the cult classic, Rhombus of Ruin drops players directly into the head of Raz as he works to save the team using his psychic powers. Trapped in the Rhombus of Ruin, our brave hero has precious little time to rescue Zannotto, foil the mysterious villain, and protect the Psychonauts from going mad within the confines of the deadly Rhombus! For a full list of new games coming to PlayStation, read on. And enjoy the Drop! New Releases: Week of February 21, 2017 A Pixel Story PS4 — Digital (Out 2/24) In a world hidden deep inside your computer, an unlikely hero is about to appear. A tale of platforms and perils, of magical teleporting hats and sarcastic software, of thieving seagulls and maniacal operators. It’s no fairy tale… it’s a pixel story! ACA NeoGeo Neo Turf Masters PS4 — Digital (Out 2/23) Released by SNK in 1996, players can choose from a total of six golfers with different abilities and play on courses located around the world such as Australia or Germany. Players can test out their golf game skills against friends with game modes such as Stroke Play and Match Play. Beserk and the Band of the Hawk PS4 — Digital, Retail Behold the fierce blend of Warriors and Berserk! In Band of the Hawk, the action of cutting through hundreds of enemies, fundamental to the Warriors series, is fused together with the dark and gruesome atmosphere of the world of Berserk, making various heretofore unseen acts possible, such as using a giant man-sized sword to cut enemies in half, as well as smash or send them flying with the Slash and Smash actions. Chime Sharp PS4 — Digital Place pieces, paint the board, make music. Chime Sharp is an sequel to 2009’s Chime, a music puzzle game with an addictive, ambient heartbeat. You tessellate shapes to cover a grid, while a beatline reads those shapes as notes. As you cover the board the music builds to a beautiful crescendo of your own design. Clouds & Sheep 2 PS4 — Digital Feed them, play with them, and they will love you back! Solve countless quests and fulfill your wooly friends’ needs. Plant grass, flowers, trees, and decorate different pastures to make them even more beautiful. Control the clouds and make it rain or protect your flock from dangerous thunder. Provide your sheep with food, accessories, toys, and more and style them with funny costumes! Let’s become the best shepherd in the world! Malicious Fallen PS4 — Digital When the forces of ultimate evil are unleashed on the world, only the Spirit Vessel can hope to subdue them. Malicious Fallen includes the complete story so far and adds two brand new chapters, Pursuit and Demise. Experience the thrilling finale of the Malicious saga, remastered, enhanced, and expanded for PS4. Mervils: A VR Adventure PS VR — Digital With merely a sword and a few coins, your quest begins in the Mervil Countryside. The pages of the Great Mervil Book have been scattered throughout the land and the dark sorcerer Balazar the Evil has risen from the shadows. It’s up to one brave hero to collect the lost pages, rebind the Great Book, and defeat Balazar once and for all. Will that Mervil be you? Night in the Woods PS4 — Digital College dropout Mae Borowski returns home to the crumbling former mining town of Possum Springs seeking to resume her aimless former life and reconnect with the friends she left behind. But things aren’t the same. Home seems different now and her friends have grown and changed. Leaves are falling and the wind is growing colder. Strange things are happening as the light fades. And there’s something in the woods. Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin PS VR — Digital Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is an all-new Virtual Reality adventure that takes players back into the mysterious and paranormal world of the Psychonauts for the first time in more than ten years! Once again players will assume the role of Raz, an intrepid young psychic and now fully fledged member of the Psychonauts — an elite group of international psychic secret agents! Typoman PS4 — Digital Typoman is a 2D puzzle platformer. You slip into the role of a character made of letters, struggling to make your way through a dark and hostile world. Despite your small stature you have a powerful gift: you can craft words to alter your environment. But choose your words wisely. They can either be a blessing… or a curse! Vaccine PS4 — Digital Vaccine is a new approach on survival horro inspired by those of the 90s. You can choose between the two members of a special bio-hazard rapid response team, each starting with their own unique abilities. They are trapped in a strange house populated by dangerous mutated creatures, they will have to find a vaccine for another team member who is infected with a deadly virus. Warhammer 40K: Deathwatch PS4 — Digital (Out 2/24) Deathwatch is a turn based strategy game set on the edge of Imperial space, where your Space Marines will engage the Tyranids in a series of tactical engagements. From war ravaged cities, to the insides of Tyranid bio-ships, your mission will see your Kill Team rise in strength and skill as you face ever greater threats and peril. Warhammer Quest PS4 — Digital Lead your group of brave adventurers through the perilous dungeons of the Warhammer World in the search for wealth and glory! Level up your party of heroes. Loot weapons, armour and mysterious artefacts from fallen enemies. Crush Orcs, Goblins, Trolls and more ferocious enemies! What lurks in the darkness? Only the mightiest warriors will survive. Ys Origin PS4 — Digital Following a devastating demonic invasion, the twin Goddesses use their magic to bring the inhabitants of legendary Ys safely into the sky. While the demons work to construct Devil’s Tower and reach the humans’ new abode, the Goddesses disappear. As a mighty warrior or a cunning mage, you must seek the Goddesses in Devil’s Tower. With your swordsmanship and spells, can you banish evil from the land of your ancestors? Ramin Djawadi – The Great Wall (Original Soundtrack Album) Fat Joe / Remy Ma – Plata O Plomo Future – FUTURE Moana (plus bonus features) Shut In Incarnate (Unrated) The Detour- February 21 at 10/9c (TBS) Major Crimes- February 22 at 9/8c (TNT) The Blacklist: Redemption- February 23 at 10/9c (NBC) The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

Get in on the action this weekend at PlayStation Store with deep discounts on a lineup of adrenaline-charged games and movies. From adventure to battle arena, hack and slash to shooters, save up to 80 percent on titles that explore all aspects of the action genre. Starting now, pick up heart-pounders like Dark Souls II: Scholars of the First Sin, DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Edition, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game Of The Year Edition – as well as films like Mad Max: Fury Road – Black & Chrome Edition, Interstellar and more. Check out the full roster below, but don’t drag your feet on this one – PS Store’s Action Deals ends Monday, February 20, 8 a.m. Pacific. Games PlatformTitleSale PriceOriginal Price PS4 A BASTARD’S TALE $1.99 $4.99 PS4 ACTION HENK $3.74 $14.99 PS4 ADAM’S VENTURE: ORIGINS – DELUXE EDITION $19.60 $52.99 PS4 ADR1FT (VR – PATCH) $4.99 $19.99 PS4 AWESOMENAUTS ASSEMBLE! $3.99 $9.99 PS4 AWESOMENAUTS ASSEMBLE! ULTIMATE OVERDRIVE COLLECTOR’S PACK $17.99 $44.99 PS4 AWESOMENAUTS ASSEMBLE! ULTIMATE OVERDRIVE PACK $7.99 $19.99 PS4 BANNER SAGA 1 $4.99 $19.99 PS4 BIG BUCK HUNTER ARCADE $7.99 $19.99 PS4 BLOODBORNE COMPLETE EDITION BUNDLE $24.99 $49.99 PS4 BROKEN AGE (CROSS-BUY) $4.99 $24.99 PS4 CABELA’S AFRICAN ADVENTURES $9.59 $39.99 PS4 CHIVALRY: MEDIEVAL WARFARE $7.79 $19.99 PS4 CHIVALRY: MEDIEVAL WARFARE ULTIMATE EDITION $9.89 $29.99 PS4 DARK SOULS 2: SCHOLAR OF THE FIRST SIN $11.99 $39.99 PS4 DMC DEVIL MAY CRY: DEFINITIVE EDITION $11.99 $39.99 PS4 DMC4SE DEMON HUNTER BUNDLE $10.79 $35.99 PS4 DOGOS $4.79 $11.99 PS4 DON’T STARVE: CONSOLE EDITION (CROSS-BUY) $3.74 $14.99 PS4 GODZILLA $17.99 $59.99 PS4 GRAND THEFT AUTO V $29.99 $59.99 PS4 GRAND THEFT AUTO V & GREAT WHITE SHARK CASH CARD BUNDLE $37.99 $75.99 PS4 GRAND THEFT AUTO V & MEGALODON SHARK CASH CARD BUNDLE $61.19 $135.99 PS4 GRAND THEFT AUTO V & WHALE SHARK CARD BUNDLE $44.54 $98.99 PS4 HOTLINE MIAMI (3 WAY CROSS-BUY) $3.99 $9.99 PS4 INFAMOUS SECOND SON (STANDARD EDITION) $7.99 $19.99 PS4 KING’S QUEST COMPLETE COLLECTION $11.99 $29.99 PS4 LARA CROFT AND THE TEMPLE OF OSIRIS & SEASON PASS PACK (DELUXE ED) $7.24 $28.99 PS4 LICHTSPEER $3.99 $9.99 PS4 MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE $17.59 $39.99 PS4 MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 2 $17.59 $39.99 PS4 MERCENARY KINGS $5.99 $19.99 PS4 METAL GEAR SOLID V: GROUND ZEROES $4.99 $19.99 PS4 MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR – GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION $7.99 $19.99 PS4 MIGHTY NO. 9 (ONE WAY CROSS-BUY) $7.99 $19.99 PS4 MONSTER JAM: CRUSH IT! 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SOLOMON & LEVY) $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 GLADIATOR $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $17.99 GRIDLOCKED $8.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 GUN WOMAN $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 HIGH-RISE $8.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 HITMAN $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 HITMAN: AGENT 47 $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 HOWARD LOVECRAFT AND THE FROZEN KINGDOM $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE $8.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 IN TIME $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 INTERSTELLAR x x $9.99 $14.99 INTO THE BLUE 2: THE REEF $9.99 $12.99 x x KILL GAME $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 LAST KING, THE $8.99 $12.99 $8.99 $14.99 LITTLE DEAD ROTTING HOOD $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 MAD MAX x x $9.99 $12.99 MAD MAX: FURY ROAD – BLACK & CHROME EDITION x $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., THE (2015) $8.99 $14.99 $9.99 $19.99 MAN ON FIRE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 MANTERA $6.99 $9.99 $6.99 $12.99 MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 MAX PAYNE (UNRATED VERSION) $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 MIDNIGHT MAN, THE $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 MONKEY KING: HAVOC IN HEAVEN’S PALACE $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 MONKEY KING: HERO IS BACK $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 MORTAL KOMBAT 2 FILM COLLECTION $7.99 $11.99 $9.99 $17.99 MYTHICA: A QUEST FOR HEROES $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 MYTHICA: THE DARKSPORE $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 NEVER DIE ALONE $4.99 $14.99 $4.99 $14.99 NINJA ASSASSIN (2009) $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN x $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 ONG BAK TRILOGY $13.99 $24.99 $13.99 $29.99 PACIFIC RIM (2013) $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 PAN (2015) $8.99 $9.99 $9.99 $12.99 PHONE BOOTH $9.99 $14.99 x x POINT AND SHOOT $6.99 $12.99 $6.99 $14.99 POSEIDON ADVENTURE, THE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 PROTECTOR 2 $6.99 $9.99 $6.99 $12.99 RAID 2, THE x x $9.99 $12.99 RED DAWN $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 RED SONJA: QUEEN OF PLAGUES $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 ROBOCOP (2014) $9.99 $13.99 $9.99 $14.99 ROBOCOP 2 x x $9.99 $12.99 ROBOCOP 3 x x $9.99 $12.99 RUSH HOUR 3-FILM COLLECTION (3PK) $9.99 $19.99 $16.99 $29.99 SALT x x $9.99 $12.99 SHARKANSAS WOMEN’S PRISON MASSACRE $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 SHARKNADO 3: OH HELL NO! $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 SHARKNADO: FEEDING FRENZY $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 SHARKNADO: THE 4TH AWAKENS $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 SHOOT ‘EM UP (2007) $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 SKIN TRADE $6.99 $9.99 $6.99 $12.99 SPEED $9.99 $14.99 x x SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 SPEED RACER (2008) $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 STAGECOACH: THE TEXAS JACK STORY $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 SUCKER PUNCH (2011) $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 SWORDFISH $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3, THE (2009) x x $9.99 $12.99 TERMINATOR 4: SALVATION (2009) $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 TERMINATOR, THE x x $9.99 $12.99 TOOKEN $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 TRADED $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE (30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION), THE $4.99 $9.99 $4.99 $12.99 TRANSPORTER 2 $7.99 $14.99 $7.99 $14.99 TRANSPORTER, THE $9.99 $14.99 $9.99 $14.99 TROY:DC $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 UNDER SIEGE (1992) $6.99 $9.99 x x V FOR VENDETTA $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 WAR PIGS $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 WATCHMEN $6.99 $9.99 $8.99 $12.99 WEAPONIZED $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 WHITE HOUSE DOWN x x $9.99 $12.99 WILD TARGET $6.99 $9.99 $6.99 $9.99 XXX x x $9.99 $12.99 ZOMBIE FIGHT CLUB $4.99 $7.99 $4.99 $9.99 ZOOLANDER $7.99 $9.99 $9.99 $17.99 ZOOLANDER NO. 2 $7.99 $12.99 $9.99 $14.99 Note: All pricing is for U.S. only and subject to change. 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Hey folks! Tim and Jay here from High Horse Entertainment. We’re thrilled to announce the online beta test for Disc Jam, an action sports game for 1-4 players! During our alpha phase, the top two requests we received were “Please do a PS4 Beta!†and “Please add doubles!†So today, we’re announcing both! Throughout development, it’s been critical for matchmaking that we only offer the singles mode (1v1) to help players around the world find opponents with a good connection. Now that Disc Jam is nearing completion, and with the hopes of getting some solid stress testing on our network, we are activating singles and doubles for the PS4 beta. In addition, we’ve made some exciting new changes to the mode including an updated court, as well as a complete overhaul to the pass mechanic. When we initially implemented doubles, we wanted to see whether the mode would be fun in exactly the same play space as singles. Our assumption was that the additional player would add tension to the frantic pace on offense. With the passing mechanic, players could set up more powerful offensive shots which we believed would compensate for the extra defender. This was true for the most part, but it became quite clear during high-end tournament play that some adjustments were needed. The singles court was simply too small to make defending your end zone as challenging as it should be. After some tweaking, a simple widening of the court by a few feet proved to be a simple and effective solution. This small adjustment to the play space compensates incredibly well for the extra player (not unlike the sport of tennis). Another issue we had with doubles was the first implementation of the pass mechanic. Our main problem was that there wasn’t any significant punishment for poor timing on a pass. This basically created a situation where passing was always the optimal strategy. It slowed the game down and directly opposed our key design pillars: positioning and timing. To address this, we redesigned passing so that your timing is graded just like the other throws in the game. Your teammate can now only throw as hard as the incoming pass, so a poorly timed pass to your teammate at the net will severely hamper their offensive power. With this new implementation, choosing to pass is a much more strategic decision which includes a layer of difficulty that the previous mechanic lacked. However, if executed properly, the pass mechanic is still quite powerful, enabling teams to charge the net and maximize their offensive potential! It has been very important for us that singles and doubles each feel like first-class citizens in Disc Jam. We want to ensure that both modes remain competitive and that both lone wolves and team players have a home. So far, we have heard great feedback on both modes with many players gravitating to one or the other, but enjoying both. We believe these simple yet game-changing updates have made doubles a unique experience without straying too far from Disc Jam’s core gameplay. Of course, we may just have our “developer blinders†on, so we hope you’ll join us in the beta and share your thoughts! We are accepting signups for the PlayStation 4 beta on our website, so be sure to hit the link below and keep an eye on your inbox! View the full article

Hello! I’m Christina McGrath, Senior Community Manager for Dirt Rally. As you may have heard, Dirt Rally PS VR powerslides onto PS VR headsets today — so we thought you’d like to know more about it, and what you can expect from its top-notch PlayStation VR experience. It’s the Whole Game First things first: when you pick up the Dirt Rally PS VR upgrade, you get to enjoy all of Dirt Rally’s content in glorious VR. Whether it be racing through the forests of Finland, climbing the iconic Pikes Peak International Hill Climb course, or going bumper-to-bumper with other supercars in the FIA World Rallycross Championship, you can do it all with your PlayStation VR headset on. Every track, stage, car, and discipline is available for PS VR users — there’s nothing off-limits when it comes to immersing yourself in Dirt’s off-road racing world. It Includes an Innovative New Co-driver Mode The co-driver is one of the most crucial elements of rally. Imagine: you’re racing on a cliff-side and about to throw your car around a blind corner, with only your co-driver’s pacenotes providing you an idea of what lies around the next bend. You need those calls to be well-timed, clear, and reliable. Well, we’re literally putting those calls in your hands. Or, rather, the hands of Player Two. That’s right — featuring a new co-driver mode, a second player can be entrusted with the important responsibility of sending the right calls at the right time. Press the wrong button at the wrong time, and your rally pilot won’t have a clue about what to expect from the next few turns. However, get the timings right from the social screen, and the calls will be delivered crisply and cleanly to the person in the driver’s seat. After the end of each stage, an accuracy rating will be given too — so there’s nowhere to hide if your coordination is off or your reactions aren’t quite quick enough! The Update is PS4 Pro Optimized We know that a lot of you have upgraded your hardware to optimize your PlayStation VR experience, so we’re making sure that our PlayStation VR upgrade makes the most of your extra performance power. The PS VR update comes PS4 Pro optimized, and you’ll literally be able to see the difference with the graphical improvements it brings — so those of you with the hardware can enjoy the benefits of your PS4 Pro. It’s Launching with an Introductory Offer The best news of all? We’re running an introductory offer when the DLC drops! From tomorrow through February 28, you can pick up the entire PlayStation VR bundle — the 2D game, the PS VR upgrade, and our Fully Loaded DLC Add-on packs — for the absolute bargain of $43.39. And if you already own the game, the cost is even better — it’ll cost you $12.99 for the DLC upgrade. Want to know more? Feel free to fire away any questions in the comments below. View the full article

Subscribe via iTunes, Google or RSS, or download here Welcome back, friends! We have a huge show today, with interviews on MLB The Show 17, Prey, and a surprisingly intimate look into Sid’s past that none of us were prepared for. Plus, we cover this week’s news, the upcoming games for next week, and the fact that I actually saw a movie for once. Enjoy the show! Stuff We Talked About MLB The Show 17 Prey Sid’s terrible past Arrival Hotel lobbies Recent Episodes 237: Andromonauts 236: Hashtag Jacket Cat 235: Born to be Wildlands The Cast Sid Shuman – Director of Social Media, SIEA Ryan Clements – Sr. Social Media Specialist, SIEA Zac Minor – Sr. Social Media Manager, SIEA Send us questions and tips! blogcast@sony.com Leave us a voicemail! (650) 288-6706 Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music. [Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.] View the full article

Human Conditions, the second DLC for Watch Dogs 2, will be released February 21 on PS4. This is our biggest content addition yet, adding more than five hours of gameplay with three brand new DedSec operations, and an Elite Co-op challenge with endless replayability for hardcore hackers. To give you a little more insight into the narrative and gameplay experience of Human Conditions, we asked producer Fabian Salomon (from the Ubisoft Paris team who developed this DLC) and scriptwriter Ethan Petty some questions. How will Human Conditions build upon the main story of Watch Dogs 2? Ethan: These operations fit snugly into the middle of the main story where DedSec has upped its game and is looking to tackle more hacktivist issues. They’re picking targets that will help them not only gain followers and positive press, but also to fight back against abusive technology. With that said, you will need to have met a couple of the key players in your game before you can dive into these. What kind of enemy is DedSec up against this time? Ethan: The stories here will primarily put you up against several corporations and their high-tech security as well as the Bratva (Russian Mafia). What do you think fans will be most surprised by in the story? Ethan: The characters. Fans of either Watch Dogs games should find plenty of surprises here and some really fun character moments. I want to say more but I don’t want to spoil anything! It’s a really fun experience overall! Raymond “T-Bone†Kenney shows up in Watch Dogs 2 to help DedSec find their purpose. What impact will Jordi have now that he’s being thrown into the mix? Ethan: Jordi is a creature of chaos and he brings that with him. I think it’s pretty clear he’s never going to get a membership badge, but his goals may temporarily align with theirs. They just need to stay out of his scope. What’s most exciting about having old characters interact with the new ones? Ethan: By the time you’re bringing back old characters in a new game, you know everything about them. You know the mannerisms by heart. You know the actors behind them and can write to their strengths. These are your tested (And approved!) building blocks. Bringing them face to face with new characters is going to help you refine the newcomers. What does it take for somebody to stand up to T-Bone? To Jordi? When we brought back Ray, we already knew how he would react to each DedSec member and had a good idea what he could bring out in them. The fans probably did, too. What new gameplay elements are being introduced in Human Conditions? Fabian: In Human Conditions, we wanted to build and expand upon what made Watch Dogs 2 such a great game with many new gameplay opportunities that players can experiment with. Our team had a lot of fun expanding on a variety of well-established mechanics like drone navigation, net hack or VR puzzles, and really bringing them to the next level! We don’t want to spoil too much, but you can expect a lot of dynamic and action-packed missions! Are we adding new co-op missions or just upping the difficulty? Fabian: The Elite Co-op challenge is a brand new harder mission designed to be a lot more challenging than the one in the base game. In this new challenge, DedSec is trying to learn more about, and stop, a new group of hackers called Hooks. They are making deals with criminal groups all across the bay, and they are packing a punch! Unlike regular co-op missions, they take place in much larger parts of the world, blurring the lines between the open world and the mission area. They also combine multiple objectives spread throughout several zones, bringing more than 10 new mission objective combinations for these areas, and more than 30 new locations! They will also include the new enemy archetype, the Jammer. They are compatible with our Guest mode, which allow the DLC owner to invite a non DLC owner to join Elite missions (and mayhem) for free. What was the main design intention behind adding the Jammer enemy archetype? Fabian: The Jammer is a new enemy archetype that wears a new device that deactivates all hackable objects and hacking opportunities in a limited range around him. We felt that it would be interesting to enrich the player experience with a new mechanic that forces him to adapt his playstyle dynamically. When there is a Jammer around, you really need to quickly adapt and change your strategy. Of course, Marcus has different ways to counter the Jammer, but I’ll let you discover them by yourself! Are you expanding the map or adding to the world in Human Conditions? If so, does this mean the online community will be split? Fabian: We are not expanding the map per se, but we’re adding and updating tons of new locations within it for our players to discover. You will be able to find new interiors, like tech companies and corporate HQs, but also revamped and updated areas from the main game like a new medical mobile clinic, a homeless camp, or a massive yacht (named Tachanka) in the middle of the bay! There is definitely a lot of new locations to explore. We also wanted to make sure these changes would not split our community by tying them to the DLC! All of the new locations will be accessible to all players through the title update. How did feedback on the base game influence the content and design of this DLC? Fabian: We’re always listening to the community in order to create a better experience. For example, we know some of our players felt the missions in Watch Dogs 2 did not have enough checkpoints and this is something that has been addressed in our new DedSec operations. It makes for a less punishing experience. We’re constantly updating the game outside of DLC releases, and you can read about changes and improvements in the Patch Notes posted on our website. View the full article