Commander Fury

After five months of online and live regional events in Tokyo, Madrid, and Las Vegas, the world’s fastest GT drivers will gather at Monaco, home of the iconic Monaco Grand Prix this weekend to determine the first-ever Nations Cup Champion and Manufacturer Series Champions. Where can I see the action? You can catch the race live at the following times: Friday 16 October 9:00am – 11:00am (PST) Nations Cup: Qualifying Races Saturday 17 October 9:00am – 11:00am (PST) Manufacturers Series World Finals Sunday 18 October 9:00am – 11:00am (PST) Nations Cup World Finals Links to the live stream with commentary for your respective languages and details including tournament structure and race formats can be found at www.gran-turismo.com. Nations Cup The Americas region has some superstar drivers in the form of Igor Fraga, Fabien Porilla and Andy McCabe. With his experience in F3 racing, Fraga achieved a comfortable win in the Americas Finals just a few weeks ago but Portilla showed he was both fast and consistent. With Andy McCabe winning the Manufacturer’s exhibition race in Salzburg along with Mikail Hizal he has also shown his ability to perform on a global stage. Of the European drivers, Mikail Hizal is one of the current favorites following his stellar performance in Madrid where he managed to maintain pole throughout the competition with his consistently fast lap times. Or can Suswillo or Mangano pull ahead with their aggressive but calculated racing styles which has led them to a podium position in the European Finals? The Asia contingent has some incredibly strong and consistent drivers with many of them excelling during qualifying rounds. Both Kokubun and Yamanaka are potential favorites to win and have proven they are some of the fastest in terms of lap times but can they fend off the hungry European and American drivers under pressure? Or could Jonathan Wong from Hong Kong pull off a surprise win for the small country which has always had a passion for GT? Manufacturer Series Monaco will mark the first time we will see the manufacturer teams come together to race. Be sure to tune in on Saturday to find out which team will emerge as the first-ever Manufacturer Series champions! Each Manufacturer will consist of the top driver in each of the three regions — Europe, Asia/Oceania and the Americas. Drivers would have raced three seasons of online races consisting of up to 22 rounds for their chosen manufacturer and come out on top at the end of the season to earn their spot on the team. Below are the 16 manufacturer teams being represented in the final and their respective drivers. You will see some familiar names from the Nations Cup, in particular Nissan with all three regional winners! Will they be standing on the podium or will we see some new stars emerge to challenge them? If you missed any of the previous races you can find them all here and more on GT TV. Remember: You can find all the latest info on upcoming GT Sport content here on PlayStation.Blog or on the official Gran Turismo website. View the full article

Happy fifth birthday, PlayStation 4! In half a decade, PS4 has seen the release of some of the greatest games ever created. And it’s all thanks to the hard work of passionate, driven creators. We wanted to celebrate this momentous milestone, so we invited 23 of the world’s top game designers to build a list of the best PS4 games released to date. Each developer got three picks — you’ll see some clear patterns emerge quickly, but there are some surprises in store. Be sure let us know your picks in the comments! And finally: thank you. Not only for your support since PS4 launched five years ago, but for being part of this community for more than two decades. Without further ado… let’s get to the list. Table of Contents John Garvin Angie Smets Hermen Hulst Bryan Intihar Siobhan Reddy Neil Druckmann Anthony Newman Kurt Margenau Cory Barlog Scott Rohde Shawn Layden Shuhei Yoshida Jason Connell Nate Fox Scott Taylor Lars Bakken Naoki Yoshida Sebastian Kalemba Rami Ismail Steve Filby Derek Yu Tim Schafer Greg Kasavin John Garvin Creative Director // Bend Studio Uncharted 4 I love the entire Uncharted franchise, not just because we got to make one here at Bend Studios (Uncharted Golden Abyss for PS Vita!), but because of its characters. Drake, Sully, Elena, Chloe all have great stories to tell. We get to learn more about who Drake is, how he became the treasure hunter and adventurer we all know, and explore Drake’s relationship with Elena. In the end, I like narrative-driven games that are about interesting relationships, and Uncharted 4 is one of the best. God of War Speaking of relationships! How about that father and son relationship in the new God of War? It’s a franchise I’m a huge fan of, but until now, not one which I would have considered to be “character driven.” I was blown away by some of the game’s bold story choices: making Kratos a father; introducing a kid into the mix; having quiet moments like when Kratos helps Atreus kill the stag. In fact, throughout the game, it’s the moments where things aren’t said that are the most powerful. Kratos reaching out to say something, but not finding the words. Red Dead Redemption 2 I am a huge fan of the first game. In fact it was a major inspiration for Days Gone – I loved the fantasy of being a gunslinger in the Old West, and that love hasn’t faded. I’m only a few hours in but I’m already sold – the atmosphere, the cinematography, the environments, the mood, the music. And the characters – I want to avoid spoilers, so all I’ll say is that the cast of characters, the performances, the stories, all consistently top-notch and entertaining. The sheer scope of the game is daunting at times, but I’m not going to complain about having too much game. Angie Smets Executive Producer // Guerrilla Games The Last of Us: Remastered I missed The Last Of Us on PS3 amidst my never-ending backlog of great games, but when I played the remastered version on PS4 I was amazed by its timeless quality. From the nuanced characterization of Joel and Ellie to the poignant narrative, The Last Of Us: Remastered has lost none of its relevance. Inside Coming from the makers of Limbo, I knew Inside would be dark – but I didn’t expect it to be so haunting. The game uses neat puzzles and platforming mechanics to draw the player towards an ending that shocks and satisfies at the same time, and for months after completion my thoughts would involuntarily return there. Rayman Legends I loved playing games with my mom when I grew up, so being able to do the same with my son is very special to me. Rayman Legends fits the bill perfectly. Its co-op implementation is terrific, and the gameplay hasn’t lost any of the accessibility and inventiveness that I remember from back in the day. Hermen Hulst Managing Director & Co-founder // Guerrilla Games God of War With God of War, I feel as though Santa Monica Studios pulled off the impossible: they redeemed the most brutal demigod ever to star in a videogame franchise, by reframing his character through the very human lens of fatherhood. It was a stroke of genius that hugely paid off, reinvigorating the franchise and paving the way for a brand new chapter in its mythology. Red Dead Redemption 2 When Rockstar releases an open-world game, it sets a new bar that can only be surpassed by the next Rockstar game. I’ve barely spent a week in Red Dead Redemption 2, but I can honestly already say that I’ve never played a game with more attention to detail. Which is all the more impressive given the sheer scope and size of the game world. Inside Proof positive that puzzle platformers don’t always need to be lighthearted colorful affairs, Inside combines intricate puzzle platforming with deeply disturbing visual storytelling – without any of its characters uttering a single word. And just when I thought I’d seen it all, developer Playdead pulled the rug out from under me for a conclusion that defied all sanity. Bryan Intihar Creative Director // Insomniac Games God of War I’ve been such a huge fan of this franchise since the PlayStation 2 days. That being said, never did I expect God of War’s transition on the PS4 to be so fresh in its new setting, bold in its design, and emotional in its narrative. Seeing Kratos juggle not only the dangerous threats all around him, but also the responsibility of fatherhood really left such a mark on me. And when you throw in the technical marvel of a single-shot camera, it’s safe to say Sony Santa Monica has delivered one of the hallmark titles of the console’s first five years. Horizon Zero Dawn As a developer I always love to see my favorite game makers mix things up and take risks. And wow, did Guerilla ever do that with Horizon Zero Dawn. This experience has one of the most unique settings of any PS4 title (I mean, who doesn’t love ROBOT DINOSAURS?!?!?). But beyond the premise, exploring the terrain and battling these metallic beasts led to some of the most fun I had with an open-world game in the past few years. Lastly, I thought Aloy was an amazing character and she quickly became one of my favorite new heroes. Destiny Bungie’s new first-person shooter world was one of those PS4 experiences where I simply lost track of…well, quite frankly, everything. It’s one of those games where I would say to myself, “one more weapon upgrade…one more mission…one more strike with my friends” and the next thing I know it’s 4am and I need to be up for work in a few hours. In addition, Bungie’s buttery smooth shooter controls make it feel like anyone can be a top-tier Guardian while planet hopping. While the later installments in the franchise are just as strong, I’ll never forget that first go-around with Destiny. Siobhan Reddy Studio Director // Media Molecule Resident Evil This is one of the games that absolutely clinched my love of gaming. I’m a huge horror fan and the combination of atmosphere – music, visuals, story – made it actually frightening to play. It marks a period in my life where my appreciation of games began to rival my appreciation of film, because I could see what was really possible in the medium. Dark Souls 3 I came into the Dark Souls series at number 3 and just loved it. The passive co-op play is such a great mechanic. I also love the story of what inspired it, it has such a beautiful beginning. The game’s director Hidetaka Miyazaki told a story about being stuck in a row of cars on a hill in the show and the cars nudging each other up, allowing everyone to get home. I love the idea of people who don’t know each other helping each other. The Flame and the Flood I love a survival game, I think you can see that in all my choices. The Flame and The Flood has a beautiful atmosphere, funny characters, and gorgeous music. I loved the mechanics: you just get a little further every time. It also doesn’t hurt that your character, Scout, has a pet dog that you have to look after. I’m a big fan of dog companions. Neil Druckmann Vice President and Director of The Last of Us Part II // Naughty Dog God of War Love how Santa Monica Studio reinvented this franchise. The combat is tight and has greater depth, the world is fascinating to explore, and they made Kratos into a complex character that I truly cared for. Bloodborne This was my first “Souls” game. I was initially frustrated with its difficulty and its obscure mechanics. After a couple of hours, everything clicked and I learned to appreciate the tension this game provides. Few games match its tone, complexity, and the sheer sense of achievement upon conquering it. Resident Evil 7 Another brilliant reinvention of an existing franchise. I adored the more intimate tone of the environments, encounters, and enemy designs. It was great to have the original survival-horror series going back to its roots. Anthony Newman Co-Game Director // Naughty Dog Horizon Zero Dawn As a developer, I can’t help but have my impression of a game be influenced by the nature of the game’s development as well as the game itself. It’s hard to overstate my admiration for Guerrilla’s courage and ambition: to go from gritty, linear, first-person shooters to a colorful, open-world, third-person action game in a wholly original setting was a leap of faith you seldom see in the medium. And they nailed it! God of War I’m pretty jaded when it comes to hype, but I’ve never (ever) anticipated a game as much as God of War. The series had an immense influence on me as a designer, and knowing that Corey (who directed GoW II, my favorite entry) was returning for the reboot made it that much more thrilling. God of War flipped the script on its combat, found a slick new take on an open world, and represents a quantum leap forward in storytelling for the series. This game’s innovation is what all sequels should strive for. N++ Raigan Burns and Mare Sheppard created a game that exemplifies simplicity and elegance while offering a breadth of content that boggles the mind: they’re up to 4,340 levels, along with a wealth of player-created levels. Each level is a unique, brilliant haiku of death, and they’re made with the same simple building blocks. N++ reduces platforming gameplay to its purest essence, and puts a laser focus onto every last detail in physics, graphic design, game feel, and the best techno soundtrack you’ll find frankly anywhere. Kurt Margenau Co-Game Director // Naughty Dog God of War I don’t know what it was about this game, but I found myself playing it until 3am like I was a teenager again. Santa Monica Studio was already at the pinnacle of melee combat games in my book, and yet they still thoroughly re-invented this great franchise for an over-the-shoulder perspective, a more mature story, open-world layout, and no camera cuts?! I couldn’t help but smile seeing that every change was for the better. It’s clear they stuck to their vision even if it was way different from what people thought the franchise could be. They nailed it. Rocket League I don’t play many multiplayer shooter games because….I suck at shooting, I guess. As a die-hard racing game fan, Rocket League made more sense. And I fell in love. The mechanics are so approachable, but so hard to master. The smoothness and sheer speed of the game is unlike anything else. Technically speaking, it’s incredible a game this fast even works over the internet! I’ve put more hours into Rocket League than any other PS4 game, and it’s the only game where I’ve ever cared about playing ranked matches. The communication and positioning took me back to my high-school soccer days. I love that three years on, this silly game about cars playing soccer still has my heart. Inside Inside is the game that I loved as a player, but hated as a developer. It’s a masterclass in design elegance, with its minimal aesthetic and bare-bones interactions, while still having genius puzzles, amazing animation, and an absolutely mind-blowing final act. There were so many times as a developer playing the game I sat back and said “wow.” This small team from Denmark had made everyone in the industry look bad. Congrats to Playdead for proving you don’t need a lot of people to create a generation-defining experience. Cory Barlog Creative Director // Santa Monica Studio Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End There was a tie between Last of Us and Uncharted 4, but since my first TLOU playthrough was on PS3, I chose (what I suppose is) the final act of Nathan Drake’s story. I absolutely love the writing and performances in this game. It perfectly binds together incredible artistry, technical wizardry, and the concept of playing through the great action-adventure movies I grew up watching. This experience grabs you right from the start and takes you on an amazing journey that I will not soon forget. Horizon Zero Dawn For me, this was once of PS4’s best surprises. It’s just utterly brilliant. Guerilla put together a game with so much heart and imagination that I didn’t want it to end. It was thrilling to explore a world with such a unique take on the post-apocalyptic theme, and taking down giant robot dinosaurs really allowed me to get creative as a player. I cannot wait to continue the story of Aloy in what, I hope, is many more games to come. Marvel’s Spider-Man I grew up watching the reruns of the 1967 Spider-Man cartoon after school, but I can’t say that I was a huge fan of the web crawler. I started reading the comics when Todd McFarlane started his Amazing Spider-Man run. Insomniac’s vision of Spidey was everything I never even knew I wanted from a superhero game, and more. From the traversal to the combat, the game just felt right. Add to that the fantastic writing and performances and you pretty much have one of the best damn superhero games I have ever played. Scott Rohde SVP of Product Development // Worldwide Studios America Infamous Second Son I’ve always loved this series, but as an early PS4 title, this game really opened my eyes to the power of the machine. Second Son has some of the best lighting and visual effects I’ve ever seen, coupled with a first-of-its-kind Photo Mode built to make great use of PS4’s new Share button. Photo Mode has basically become a default feature in most big games these days, so kudos to the team at Sucker Punch for trailblazing! Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Probably my favorite action series of all time. Since I was a kid, I’ve been a sucker for a good treasure hunt, and Naughty Dog never disappoints. U4 really blurred my personal lines between action movies and interactive games in a way I never thought possible. The cast is one of the best ensembles ever in a game, and they all work together with amazing cohesion to help tell an amazing tale. This is my go-to game when a new gamer is looking for an epic storytelling experience. Gets ‘em every time. God of War This game and the team at Santa Monica Studio hold a very special place in my heart. Much like the plot of the game, the development of this masterpiece was a long and perilous journey, filled with bold risks and amazing triumphs. In film, I’ve always been drawn to coming-of-age stories, so to experience the bond between Kratos and Atreus in such a unique and impactful way makes this game extraordinary to me. Shawn Layden Chairman of Worldwide Studios Astro Bot Rescue Mission I’m so pleased and proud for Japan Studio and Team Asobi for the creation of the best platformer in VR, perhaps the best new platformer in years. The unabashed fun and delightful gameplay is surrounded in a world that comes alive with characters and bosses you simply cannot resist falling for. It reminded me of some of classic platformers going back to an early fave of mine, Jumping Flash!. And it sits well alongside the likes of Crash, Spyro, Jak and Ratchet. Welcome, Astro Bot. Horizon Zero Dawn When Guerilla Games said it was going for a new IP that was 180 degrees different from Killzone, we were quite curious as to what that could be. As the story and ambition for HZD revealed itself, our curiosity was now met with anticipation. Aloy’s journey of discovery – into her past, into our future – is compelling and gorgeous. The game is simply beautiful, and the creatures, tribes, and robot dinos are revelatory. For a brand-new IP, HZD scored a bona fide critical and commercial hit. And Guerrilla has a fabulous franchise start. God of War When Santa Monica Studios decided to return to the legend of Kratos, but many years in the future and in the world of Norse rather than Greek mythology, we were intrigued. When we saw that they were taking it to open world gameplay, full-on adventure ethos, and pairing him up with a son, we were gobsmacked. No resting complacently on past laurels here, apparently. It was a huge undertaking and not a project for the faint of heart. But in the end, the Santa Monica team delivered a tour de force of story, engagement, character development, and spot-on combat mechanics. Oh yes, the soundtrack is bloody awesome, too. Full package. [Editor’s Note: We let Shawn call out a few honorable mentions here: “Other favorites of mine, and really the list does go on, would include Marvel’s Spider-Man (of course), Everybody’s Golf (no, really, try it), Shadow of the Colossus (now as beautiful as you “remembered” it being), and Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy. So good to have that manic marsupial back on the platform.”] Shuhei Yoshida President of Worldwide Studios Bloodborne I was already a big fan of “Souls” games, and Bloodborne tweaked the formula with faster gameplay and a more aggressive combat style by replacing the shield with a gun. I was obsessed to play this game, to the point of acquiring the Platinum trophy, and to do that I had to beat the impossibly difficult “Big Flame Dog” boss in the Chalice Dungeon. In a livestreaming show by Japan Studio, I beat the boss as hundreds of people watched live. I chipped life away from the beast and, in the end, got a big triumph. I still remember the adrenaline rush when I did it. God of War As game creators grow and gain life experiences, that reflects on the titles they work on. God of War is a great example. The creative lead Cory Barlog, who had been an integral part of creating the first three games, grew up and raised a son of his own. God of War shows a perfect blend of a touching, universally appealing story of father and son with GoW’s signature “feels so good the controller disappears from your hands” combat. I was compelled to play to gain my second Platinum trophy from a AAA title on PS4. PlayStation VR Worlds: Ocean Descent PS VR has been an enormously fun project for me. VR has brought back the pure excitement and amazement that I felt when I worked on the original PlayStation, which pioneered the use of real-time 3D graphics for gaming. Ocean Descent, aka the “Shark Demo,” was a perfect experience to convert people from “curious” to “completely excited” about the future of VR gaming technology. After two years after the launch of PS VR, developers are using their learnings to develop amazing titles like Firewall and Astro Bot Rescue Mission. This fast progress has not been possible without early innovators like London Studio, who produced Ocean Descent and The London Heist at launch. Jason Connell Creative & Art Director // Sucker Punch Productions Bloodborne The tone, mood, colors, and vibe of the world totally captivated me. This was my first Souls-like game and, needless to say, I became a huge fan. The cryptic storytelling and Old World feel of Yharnam makes my skin crawl…in all the best ways. Horizon Zero Dawn I was looking for something new, and Horizon delivered. It showcased fresh art direction consisting of fantastic character and mech designs, along with vibrant lighting direction. The big-picture environmental storytelling drew me in, while the ranged combat and traps kept me playing far beyond a healthy number of hours. Guerrilla brought something new to the table, and it was inspiring to just exist in that world. Shadow of the Colossus One of my all-time favorite games remastered on PS4. Shadow has a subtle approach to storytelling, simple features, and a camera that unforgivingly immerses you in its world. I enjoyed using Photo Mode to practice my cinematography skills against the backdrop of Shadow’s simple and vast art style. It’s a sad tale, and one I’ll always hold close. Nate Fox Creative Director, Sucker Punch Productions Horizon Zero Dawn Honestly, they had me at robot dinosaurs. I went in excited, but kept playing for the unscripted encounters with deadly robo-predators. Guerrilla made good on the promise of a living, breathing ecosystem that begged to be explored. God of War Santa Monica Studio packed a lot of soul and fresh ideas into this reboot… so many, in fact, that it’s hard to think of this game as a sequel. The story between Kratos and his “boy” routinely managed to grab my attention between the escalating lush combat encounters. Also, the recall on Kratos’ axe was amazing. PlayStation VR Worlds: Ocean Descent It never gets old watching people new to VR go down into the deep ocean for a shark encounter. My five-year old likes to pinch the unsuspecting VR player’s legs once the great white starts chewing through the dive cage, which always elicits an inappropriate four-letter word. Scott Taylor Production Director, Bungie Batman: Arkham Knight All of the Arkham games are special to me, because I am not Batman in real life, and in this game I get to be Batman. This game feels huge, has a ton of twists, and combat that is simple to engage in and super satisfying to master. Arkham is my favorite all-time game series. Journey This launched, of course, as a PS3 game. But playing it on PS4 is a revelation, and the spirit of exploration and discovery of other players makes this an absolute classic. When you run into another player and begin silently working together it feels like a true connection is being made. And that music! Destiny 2: Forsaken I know I worked on it, but I can’t put this down. I work on it all day and play it all night. For me there’s no better feeling in gaming than invading another team in Gambit and wiping a team of enemy Guardians. If I could play Gambit 24 hours a day, I would. Maybe I can find someone to pay me to do that. Lars Bakken Design Lead, Bungie Bloodborne Where do I begin!? As an unabashed Souls fan, I highly anticipated this game’s release. It did not disappoint. I love the hardcore nature of these types of games, which makes your accomplishments feel so rewarding! The atmosphere was unique as well, and while I love the dark-medieval high-fantasy of Souls, Bloodborne’s comparatively more modern art and ambience were a refreshing change. Also, encouraging players to get in close to ensure their health stays up is a great combat mechanic that kept me hooked for weeks. God of War The God of War games have always been fantastic at spectacle, and the latest one has no shortage of that. The three things that make me put it on the list however are: 1) its amazing depth in combat mechanics; 2) the excellent narrative interaction between father and son that changes over time, and 3) exploring Norse mythology. Journeying through the different realms was exhilarating, and exploring all the nooks and crannies always felt rewarding. Until Dawn For me, this game sets the bar for interactive fiction with branching outcomes. It took my love of horror and for gaming and smashed them together in such a novel way. How many times have you ever screamed at the TV or a theater screen that they should never go into the basement? This game allows you to make those choices yourself as a player, and you have to live with the outcome. The characters and dialog were also pitch perfect for what the game (and genre) requires. One of the highlights for me was Peter Stormare playing Dr. Hill. So creepy! Naoki Yoshida Producer & Director of Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix Monster Hunter: World I’ve been a fan since the original Monster Hunter, and it’s been exciting to see how the series has evolved with each new platform. I can only imagine the amount of pressure that falls on the development team to deliver the next installment, but they’ve pushed that aside and created what I felt was the Monster Hunter of the new generation. This is an amazingly entertaining game that hooked me from the start. It’s a title that brings a lot of pride to those in the Japanese game industry. Marvel’s Spider-Man I have to say that Marvel’s Spider-Man is the current pinnacle of character-driven games. I feel a deep connection with the protagonist, and on top of that, the action gameplay was nailed down perfectly. Traversing from one point to the next is especially fun, to the point where I stopped using fast travel. From an engineering perspective as well, I am amazed at the development team’s ability to both design and execute something like this. I would strongly recommend this game to anyone who is considering working in the gaming industry in the future. Fortnite This title made me think about a lot of different things: originality, community, game design, play style, and a lot more. Overall, I feel that this title left a big impact on the gaming scene. I am honestly a bit envious, and even jealous as a game developer, when I see how this game was able to capture the imaginations of so many gamers – especially the younger crowd. Looking at it from a historical perspective, I think this title will be seen as one that brought about a big transitional period in gaming. Sebastian Kalemba Associate Game Director & Head of Animation, CD Projekt RED God of War This is one of my favorite games of the year and I love every aspect of it. From the father-son dynamics between Kratos and Atreus, to how consistent and well-executed the story is, to a perfect conclusion that beats the typical larger-than-life boss fight cliché…. Rarely do games get me this involved on an emotional level. Mad props to the devs at Santa Monica Studio and everyone involved for rebooting God of War the way they did. It was a bold decision to move the setting to Norse mythology, as well as to change the gameplay to be more methodical and closer to action-adventure. I think it paid off big time, and fits well with the more mature and human tone of the game. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus I was pleased to learn that Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is every bit as good as its predecessor. The alternative post-WWII setting is one reason — it feels new, yet vaguely familiar. The gameplay features the best elements of The New Order, with some much appreciated tweaks and new features. I particularly enjoyed that collecting and deciphering enigma codes gets you intel on where to find special targets, as well as how the game handles the open world after you finish the campaign. Still, the story is the biggest highlight. The humor is spot on – perfectly over the top, introduced in just the right amounts and at just the right moments. The characters are all rich and varied, andI felt like I knew them better with each conversation. I had three completely “WTF” story moments that I couldn’t believe. I was absolutely sure I knew what was coming next, but was masterfully misdirected by the game’s writers and designers. Each new twist was better than the previous. I loved it! Titanfall 2 Titanfall 2 is a great shooter, and offers some of the most dynamic and fun mech combat I’ve ever encountered. It also has some of the best FPS level design I’ve ever seen, perfectly capturing the scale of the world and technology within it, plus some ingenious puzzles and clever gameplay mechanics. Without spoiling too much, shifting between the “states” of the world was simply amazing. And I’m amazed with just how attached I became to BT. On the surface, BT seemed to be just a piece of tech, a machine I could replace if I wanted… but it became so much more over the course of the story. Thanks to solid writing, a simple but welcome dialogue system, and some intense single-player co-op action from both leads, the finale turned out to be a real tear-jerker for me. Which is something I didn’t expect coming in. If you haven’t played Titanfall 2, you should, even if you’re not a fan of multiplayer. The campaign is worth it alone. Rami Ismail Vlambeer NieR Automata A powerful mix between Yoko Taro’s unique scenario writing and Platinum Games’ relentless action game experience created a once-in-a-lifetime game, a game for enthusiasts of the medium, and a game that tells a story that only a videogame could tell. Destiny 2 Whether I’m stuck in the wild west of Red Dead Redemption 2, the snowy mountain peaks of Celeste, or the Japanese underworld of Yakuza Zero, I always return to Bungie’s universe. Sometimes for the friends, sometimes for the expertly crafted gameplay, sometimes for the universe, and sometimes to rage at that random who is messing up the Gambit match. God of War A flawless execution in both form and presentation, God of War shows that the most mythological of settings can be fertile grounds for intimately personal stories, empathetic storytelling, beautiful scenery, and violently ripping off the arm of an enemy before slinging your axe into some giant’s face, all at once. Steve Filby Motion Twin The Last of Us There’s not a terrible lot to say here, but the storytelling and the acting here was just on another level. I was wanting to stay to the end, even though I’m not usually into the narrative-driven games. I think Naughty Dog did a great job with a lot of the stealth aspects of the game. I love stealth, so sneaking around and throwing bricks at people is right up my alley. Bloodborne Bloodborne took the challenge of a standard Souls game and added a new faster pacing that I hadn’t found in the previous games. The rally mechanic got you moving forward and wanting to play riskier loadouts, and moving into positions that you probably would have just ruled out in Dark Souls. Then the change of setting gave me a whole other place to explore and be immersed in. Horizon Zero Dawn For me, I think HZD was the first big AAA game that I’d played for a while where I was really interested in the story as well as the mechanics. I’m a big sci-fi fan, so the whole dystopian future and techno-paranoia was really my thing. I often feel like a lot of games focus entirely on the story, and it ends up feeling like more of an interactive movie than anything else. On the other extreme, some games entirely focus on a tight and polished mechanic, but once you master that there’s no sense of mystery or desire to keep going forward. HZD found that balance for me. Derek Yu Mossmouth Bloodborne Bloodborne took the winning formula of the Souls series and cranked up the speed and ferocity of the combat, making it one of the best action videogames of all time. The Victorian/Gothic world that the game is set in is haunting and beautiful. It’s an unforgettable masterpiece. Shadow of the Colossus I’m still taken by how confident Shadow of the Colossus is in terms of its design. Even years after its initial release, it feels like games are afraid of the emptiness and quiet that Shadow of the Colossus uses to such great effect. It’s a game you wish you could erase from your memory so you can play it for the first time again. Marvel’s Spider-Man Swinging through New York in Marvel’s Spider-Man I can’t help but think about all the years of hard work by so many people trying to make moving around in a game feel like this. It’s a technical marvel that makes you reflect on how far games have come. Tim Schafer Double Fine Loot Rascals Amazing style, challenging gameplay, and even during times when I was deeply involved with another game there was always time at the end of the night to squeeze in a run. I am still playing this game. The Last Guardian Like all of Fumito Ueda’s games, it created a magical world that instantly put me in an altered state of mind every time I went there. And this time, I had an amazing companion. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor So many fun, creative, tactical choices to make when sneaking up on nasty orcs. I would get slaughtered by them over and over, but each time I’d think, “Hm, but what if I tried something else? Maybe bees?” Greg Kasavin Supergiant Games Bloodborne While I’ve enjoyed From Software’s games for many years, I think this grueling and atmospheric horror-themed 2015 action adventure is easily one of the studio’s greatest achievements. The unsettling, even otherworldly vibe of Bloodborne, the design of its vicious weapons and countless enemies, the unnatural yet believable architecture of its spaces, the raw and daunting challenge… it all comes together to create a rich, memorable, endlessly replayable experience that really got under my skin. I love how this game, above all, trusted me — to find my way not just through its often brutally tough battles, but through its evocative and labyrinthine world. Nier: Automata A game that grew on me the more I played it, up through its climactic and unforgettable finale at the end of multiple interconnected storylines. The sci-fi world of Nier: Automata has this beautiful bleakness to it expressed through every detail, from the look of it and its distinctive android protagonists, to the tightly woven themes of the narrative, to the breathtaking musical score. Nier: Automata is also a game with courage enough to save many of its finest moments for later on, so it keeps you guessing even as it enthralls you, and ultimately really rewards the time you put in. I can’t say I’ve ever played anything that ended up making me feel quite the way Nier: Automata did. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End I think developer Naughty Dog is unequaled in its ability to create incredibly lifelike, wonderfully written game characters. Uncharted 4 just reinforced to me that this is a studio at the pinnacle of its craft, continuing to define the state-of-the-art while setting a hopelessly high bar for the rest of us trying to make games worth a damn. It’s got stunning set-piece encounters, from a breathtaking jeep race through a mud-soaked villa to a swashbuckling battle in a burning ship. It’s got a wonderful cast, from Nathan Drake’s no-good brother Sam, to the cool-headed mercenary leader Nadine Ross. It’s brimming with wonderful detail and has tons of heart. 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We are thrilled to announce the new Astro C40 TR Controller, an Officially Licensed PlayStation 4 product designed with more than two years of development with pro gamers. Astro is expanding into a new category with a product that utilizes our class-leading industrial design and professional gaming expertise to reset expectations for professional controllers, just like we did with headsets 10 years ago. Our products have dramatically changed the esports landscape: improving team and player performance along the way. This new controller is the next natural evolution of our continued commitment to esports, pro gaming and gamers in general. The Astro C40 TR Controller delivers best-in-class features and premium components in an ergonomically comfortable controller that can withstand rigorous use by professional gamers in high-stress environments. The controller has been designed from the ground up with pro gamers and professional tournaments in mind — aspiring pros, hardcore gamers or any gamer who demands more from their gaming equipment will find much to like in our new controller. Replaceable, swappable stick modules: Quickly and easily swap the Analog Stick or D-Pad Modules for consistently sharp performance. Setup the controller in either Offset or Parallel configurations. Replaceable Stick Caps provide added customization for a competitive advantage. Integrated, remappable rear buttons: Optimum rear button layout for superior ergonomics improves precision during critical moments. Mappability streamlines the controller for any genre and playstyle while improving response time and accuracy. Remap buttons directly on the controller with no PC software required. Astro customization software: Astro customization software exponentially increases the C40 TR’s versatility and accuracy. Create profiles that can be switched directly from the controller. Adjust trigger and stick sensitivity, remap buttons, adjust dead zones, tweak EQ, audio output, mic out and sidetone. Wired/wireless modes: With the on-board Mode Switch, quickly change between wired and 2.4 GHZ wireless mode to adapt to any gaming environment. Game sound and voice chat are available using the 3.5mm jack in both modes. Wireless audio: The C40 TR Controller delivers high fidelity game sound and voice chat in Wired and Wireless mode via the 3.5mm jack. Compatible with any gaming headset. Trigger stops: Quickly and easily activate the trigger stops, which adjusts the trigger pull distance, to allow hair trigger performance in most FPS titles. 12-hour battery life: Outlast your game with up to 12 hours of battery life. Included travel case: Travel safe and secure with the travel case for the C40 TR. Protect your controller, module, stick caps and tool all in one hard-shelled case. Tournament ready: Ready for any environment, the TR line of Astro Gaming products deliver premium design and performance for every type of gamer. All Tournament Ready products are designed and developed to meet the demanding specifications of pro gamers. The modular and highly customizable Astro C40 TR will deliver a competitive edge while adapting to any gaming environment, from professional tournaments to head-to-head competitions with friends. The new Astro C40 TR Controller is available for pre-order now online direct from Astro’s website for $199.99 ($269.99 CAD), shipping in early 2019, with Gamestop, Amazon, Best Buy and Best Buy Canada also offering the product in early 2019. It is available for PS4 and Windows PC in the United States and Canada, with more countries to follow. For more information about Astro Gaming or the C40 TR, please visit www.astrogaming.com. Thank you for being a part of the Astro family! This product is being developed under the official licensing program for PlayStation by Sony Interactive Entertainment and is subject to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s final product approval. View the full article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spyro means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but one thing is undeniable: He’s one of the most iconic, memorable, and feisty characters in the pantheon of gaming history. Our purple pal takes flight once again next week on PS4 in Spyro Reignited Trilogy, featuring scaled-up graphics, a re-orchestrated soundtrack created with the help of original composer Stewart Copeland… and all the sass you remember from the game’s 1998 debut. For a full list of new games coming to PlayStation next week, read on. And enjoy The Drop! Chimparty PS4 — Digital Launch, wobble, jump and rotate your chimps using simple and intuitive one-button controls – just download the free Chimparty app and use your smartphone or tablet as a controller. Chimparty is the newest addition to the PlayLink range of games for PS4. Emerald Shores PS4 — Digital Emerald Shores is a challenging 16-bit platformer with a bunch of twists. Level up, take on rewarding sidequests, play unique minigames, unlock secret levels, raise a pet monster, fight an optional mega-leveled beast of a boss, and more! Fallout 76 PS4 — Digital, Retail (Out 11/14) Bethesda Game Studios welcome you to Fallout 76, the online prequel where every surviving human is a real person. Work together, or not, to survive. Under the threat of nuclear annihilation, experience the largest world ever created in Fallout. Gnomes Garden: New Home PS4 — Digital Gnomes Garden: New home — a continuation of the exciting fantasy strategy game about the world of gnomes. Obtain the Crystal of Eternal Light and return prosperity! Hitman 2 PS4 — Digital, Retail Travel the globe and track your targets across exotic sandbox locations in HITMAN 2. From sun-drenched streets to dark and dangerous rainforests, nowhere is safe from the world’s most creative assassin, Agent 47 in the ultimate spy thriller story. Just Deal With It! PS4 — Digital Just Deal With It! on PS4 with PlayLink delivers a whole new twist on five classic card games, locally or on-line. Team up with friends and family, launch attacks, sabotage the competition, and go all in for the win, in this joyous card game party! Knowledge Is Power: Decades PS4 — Digital Who will be first to scale the Pyramid of Knowledge? Put your pop culture knowledge to the test in this high-energy quiz game show featuring thousands of entertainment-themed questions spanning the last four decades. The Long Journey Home PS4 — Digital (Out 11/14) When mankind’s first experimental jump drive goes wrong, you and your crew find yourselves trapped on the wrong side of the galaxy. The only way back leads through the vast unknown of outer space. One destination. Endless adventures. Mars: Chaos Menace PS4 — Digital (Out 11/16) Humanity is terraforming Mars, but chaos and destruction threaten the planet. Battle your way through innumerable hordes of enemies that wish to destroy you and face the most terrible and powerful monsters in the galaxy. Monkey King: Master of the Clouds PS4 — Digital (Out 11/15) Join Michael Chang, the Monkey King, on his journey through famous landmarks of ancient China and fight off mythical creatures and legends in this classic arcade shooter. My Riding Stables PS4 — Digital, Retail Make your dreams come true on the stud farm near the old mill: renovate your own riding school, look after your horses and tend the cute little foals. As well as wonderful hacks, working in the stables and caring for the horses, you’ll have plenty of other exciting things to do! Project Highrise PS4 — Digital, Retail A skyscraper is more than just steel and glass, it’s an intricate ecosystem, full of people that live and work in the building. They become a complex machine that needs your steady hand to keep it running smoothly and efficiently. The Quiet Man PS4 — Digital (Out 11/16) Unravelling within a single night, players take the role of deaf protagonist Dane as he fights his way through a “soundless” world to discover the motives behind the kidnapping of a songstress from a mysterious masked man. Runner3 PS4 — Digital The rhythm-music gameplay of Bit.Trip Runner and Runner2 is back! The Timbletot is determined to rid the multiverse of all its love and happiness. CommanderVideo is ready to jump, double-jump, wall-jump, slide-jump, slide, kick, float, drive, fly, and dance his way to victory! Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut PS Vita — Digital (Out 11/15) A killer puzzle game where you control Skullface, an adorably demented murderer, across hundreds of isometric puzzle levels in a darkly comic homage to 80s horror movies. Spyro Reignited Trilogy PS4 — Digital, Retail The original roast master is back! Same sick burns, same smoldering attitude, now all scaled up in stunning HD. Rekindle the fire with the original three games, Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Swords & Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon PS4 — Digital Take command of mighty Vikings, sly Persians or brutish Demons! Smash your opponent’s base to rubble while defending your own in this action-packed side-scrolling strategy game! Ticket To Ride PS4 — Digital (Out 11/15) Hop on a train with your friends and family and set off to conquer the railways! Who will be the fastest to set up links between cities and achieve their objectives? Explore the strategies in this iconic board game and get ready to connect more than cities! Wordhunters PS4 — Digital (Out 11/15) Dive into a whole new world of competitive word games with your guide, Amy the Aviator. Use the free Wordhunters smart device App as a game controller to compete in 15 party-play word games suitable for the whole family. Bohemian Rhapsody: Songs Inspired By the Film For Honor Playlist Imagine Dragons – Origins Crazy Rich Asians Christopher Robin KIN Watch live on Sunday, November 11 at 6PM PT on E! Don’t miss the final episode Sunday, November 11 at 6PM PT on CNN PlayStation Vue has your favorite sports, news and must-watch shows. The information above is subject to change without notice. View the full article

Last week, we asked you to stop and smell the roses (or horse manure) throughout the world of Red Dead Redemption 2. From riverbanks and farmland to stunning mountainscapes, you shared your best landscapes using #PS4share and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: @Raffu42 shared a double rainbow, all the way across the sky. @Ps4_Photomodeshared a moment from this wood’s golden hour. Bluebells grow alongside this lush farmland, shared by @juliusjgreen. There’s something calming about this lakeside share from @siaplays. @TheHomoHero shares a look at this foggy roadside. The sun sets over this beautiful farmland share from @VishuPS4. Search #PS4Share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in next week’s Share of the Week? Theme: Emotion Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, November 14 Next week, we’re getting in our feelings. Share moments where emotions run high in the game of your choice with #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article

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

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

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

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

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

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