Commander Fury

Hello again PlayStation fans! <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/08/help-fund-psns-sportsfriends-featuring-johann-sebastian-joust-on-kickstarter/">Last month</a>, I posted about <a href=" ">our Kickstarter campaign</a> for <strong>Sportsfriends</strong> – a compendium of four multiplayer indie games, packaged together. The other three Sportsfriends developers already posted about their games – <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/21/sportsfriends-barabariball-and-beyond/">BaraBariBall</a>, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/14/sportsfriends-building-a-better-pole-riders/">Super Pole Riders</a>, and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/29/sportsfriends-pass-the-hokra-please/">Hokra</a>. We need <em>your</em> support to help bring it to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a>, so I want to tell you about the fourth and final Sportsfriends game – my <a href="http://us.playstation.com/ps3/playstation-move/?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">PlayStation Move</a> game, <a href="http://www.jsjoust.com/">Johann Sebastian Joust</a>. More...

Still haven't gotten behind the wheel of <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/littlebigplanet-karting-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">LittleBigPlanet Karting</a>? You're in luck: the official LBP Karting Demo is available now! Containing a Tutorial track, two Story tracks, a minigame, and a solid selection of costumes, karts, stickers, and more to customize your experience with, the Karting demo is a fantastic way to try our game before you buy. Give it a go and if you enjoy it, remember that the full game contains <strong>over 10 times</strong> more tracks, costumes, and other content than the demo. And that's just what's on the disc! Add to that all of the content made in Create mode and the list becomes nearly endless. LittleBigPlanet Karting has only been in the community’s hands for a few weeks now, and there is already a ton of content to download and start exploring. So if you’re not feeling especially creative and would rather jump right into some pre-made levels, there’s plenty to choose from. More...

There’s a lot to enjoy this week on the PlayStation Store. Ubisoft’s <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/far-cry-3">critically acclaimed</a> Far Cry 3 is available for download – so even if you can’t get to the store you can enjoy the game. There are also two highly anticipated bundles – the Rockstar Games Collection Edition 1, which includes Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, L.A. Noire and Midnight Club: Los Angeles and the Mass Effect Trilogy, which includes all of the titles, including the original as well as some DLC. Other games of note on PSN this week include Guardians of Middle Earth, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus, Page Chronica and Rotastic. If you’re looking for Vita content, both Uncharted: Fight for Fortune card game and DJMax Technika Tune are releasing this week. More...

Starting today, I’m happy to report that <a href="http://www.easports.com/">EA Sports</a> is bundling four of its hit <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> sports titles with tons of bonus downloadable content on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN</a>! If you’ve been meaning to pick up <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/madden-nfl-13-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Madden NFL 13</a>, <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/ncaa-football-13-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">NCAA Footaball 13</a>, <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/ea-sports-fifa-soccer-13-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">FIFA Soccer 13</a>, or <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/tiger-woods-pga-tour-13-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13</a>, this is the perfect opportunity -- and yes, this deal is only on PSN. You’ll be able to download the full game and extra content bundle all month long. More...

<a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/19/uncharted-fight-for-fortune-coming-to-ps-vita-in-december/">Last month</a> I announced UNCHARTED: Fight for Fortune, an original <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> title building on the UNCHARTED universe, was going to launch exclusively on the PlayStation Store in December. I'm here now to let everyone know that you can download it today! UNCHARTED: Fight for Fortune is an action-adventure turn based card game featuring all the heroes and villains that you have met throughout the UNCHARTED games, including <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-uncharted-golden-abyss.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss</a> on PS Vita, which directly ties into your experience in Fight For Fortune. The learning curve for card games can be steep, but rest assured we spent a considerable amount of time in the early design of UNCHARTED: Fight for Fortune to make sure it was going to be easy to learn, engaging and a whole lot of fun to play. More...

Hey Sound Shapers, we're really excited to announce our first wave of DLC: four new packs are coming your way – three Sound Packs and a Curved Terrain Pack. The Sound Packs each include five new instruments, five brand new Beat School levels, and for you Trophy hunters, <strong>five new Trophies</strong>! The Sound Packs are $0.99 each, and the Curved Terrain Pack is free. You'll find everything in our new in-game Sound Shapes Music Shop today. (You can also grab them on PSN, as usual.) Here's a short trailer with a track we put together using some of the new sounds. And remember, if you create something you're digging, tell us on <a href="http://twitter.com.soundshapes">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/soundshapesgame">Facebook</a>, or <a href="http://soundshapesgame.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> – we love playing your levels. More...

While <a href="http://www.gunghoonline.com/">GungHo Online Entertainment America</a> may be a relatively new company, its parent company has some incredibly extensive backlogs filled with cult classics and esoteric hits! Today, for the first time ever, GOEA has brought six of these old-school Japanese PlayStation games to America. This post will discuss what these games are all about, how they play, and how accessible they are to the non-Japanese speaking crowd! Zanac is a classic shoot ‘em up that was originally released on the MSX and later ported to the NES. It was later tweaked, revamped, and made ever-more-awesome in its sequel, Zanac Neo. ZANAC x ZANAC contains three different versions of the original Zanac, as well as Zanac Neo in one neat little package. While rail-shooters and bullet hell games are nothing new, Zanac represents a level of polish and style worthy of being considered a true classic. More...

It’s official: More people stream <a href="http://netflix.com/">Netflix</a> content to their televisions via <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> than any other device worldwide. This is a major milestone, and one we’re particularly proud of considering the myriad Netflix-compatible streaming devices on the market, from other gaming consoles to smart TVs and internet-connected set-top boxes. To demonstrate why our partnership has been so valuable for both PlayStation owners and Netflix users, we asked Netflix CEO Reed Hastings a chance to offer some further insight: <em>"PS3 is our largest TV-connected platform in terms of Netflix viewing, and this year, at times, even surpassed the PC in hours of Netflix enjoyment to become our number one platform overall...</em> More...

Hey, gamers! The studio that brought you Far Cry 3’s online experience is preparing something big to kick off the new year: the co-op DLC pack, High Tides, exclusively on PS3 for console gamers. This January, we’re releasing two entirely new co-op chapters, Jailbreak and Redemption. These new chapters feature the culmination of all the hard work we’ve put into the main co-op campaign. They’re truly the best of the best. High Tides will take place where the original six co-op chapters left off. These are the gang’s final moments, and we’re really challenging ourselves to go all-out. We’ve got new missions, tougher fights, bigger competitions, some great up-close time with your favorite characters, and explosive moments unlike anything you’ve seen before. Can you tell we’re excited? More...

EcoFish is a game I personally wanted to do for a long time. It's based on games from my childhood - games that I loved but for some reason haven’t been re-done and re-invented a million times already. If you liked old-school platformers you’ll find lots of new games still being made in that genre, but if you look for games like QiX, Styx or Gal's Panic, you're not likely to find many. It wasn't hard to convince the rest of the team since they played those classics too and loved the 'genre' as much as I did! The core mechanic of the game consists of drawing lines starting from the borders of the playable area enclosing parts of it that are 'acquired'. If you enclose an enemy within the area you acquire, it is destroyed. We thought this kind of gameplay would fit particularly well on touchscreens and, of course, the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a>. More...

It’s been a couple of weeks since Seth <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/15/first-playstation-all-stars-dlc-kat-and-emmett-join-the-battle-royale-for-free/">let the Kat (and the Emmett!) out of the bag</a>, so I thought I’d stop in and give you guys some insight into the philosophy behind putting these two great characters into <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/playstation-all-stars-battle-royale-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale</a>. The team and I attended an event at the Santa Monica Studios last night where we gave media attendees the first hands-on look at our new DLC, including the unveil of a brand new level, so I wanted to give you all a sneak peek at some of their moves and show off our newest level, Fearless! It’s all exciting stuff that I’m eager to tell you all about, so let’s get started. <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-gravity-rush.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Gravity Rush</a> landed on PlayStation Vita earlier this year, introducing us to Kat. More...

Starhawk fans, we'd like to thank you once again for your support in keeping the battle for Rift Energy thriving online. The team is committed to keeping the servers maintained, and ensuring the war rages on. If you've been following or participating in our Starhawk MLG tournament, you may be aware of the grand final that is going down <em>today</em> at 5:00PM PST. It'll feature the Top 16 players from the PlayStation Hall of Play leaderboard, going head to head in a fierce "Best of 7" match for their share of the prize pool -- a cool $12,000 -- just in time for a Holiday gaming shopping spree, no doubt. Second place will walk away with $6,000 -- yes, it pays to join these tournaments! Our good friends at <a href="http://urgentfury.com/">UrgentFury.com</a> will be hosting the live stream on Twitch at 5:00PM PST <a href="http://www.twitch.tv/urgentfury">here</a>. More...

This Wednesday, December 5th, The Casino introduces Bingo, LOOT’s much-awaited Active Radios will soon fill the air, Granzella and Konami release new fantasy outfits, while Lockwood has several new exciting updates to share. Let’s get to it. <strong>Digital Leisure – Bingo + Old West Saloon Clubhouse</strong> Grab on to your daubers it’s time for Bingo! In this contest, players face off against each other in an all out numeric battle royale! Be sure to pay close attention because these numbers come at you fast. If you’re the first to correctly mark the pattern and call bingo, you’ll take home some of the biggest jackpots in Paradise Springís history! Head to The Casino and make your way down to the Bingo Hall located in The Concourse. It’s bingo time! More...

Since June, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> owners have enjoyed watching videos via the YouTube app on the device’s brilliant 5†OLED screen, bringing you entertaining, hilarious, and viral videos, plus trailers for the hottest games coming to PS Vita and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> on the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playstation">official PlayStation channel</a>. While PS Vita’s YouTube app launched with a robust set of features, today you can update the app to version 2, bringing several new features that will enhance your viewing experience even further. Here are the highlights: <ul><li><strong>Subscriptions and channels:</strong> Now you can view and manage your subscriptions (including your subscription to the PlayStation YouTube channel), browse all videos on a specific channel and check out detailed information in the “About this channel†menu option.</li></ul> More...

What a whirlwind year this has been for LittleBigPlanet, we recently released two brand new games and we’re now heading into December, which can only mean one thing -- Christmas is on the way! To help kick the festivities into gear, we will be re-releasing the Santa Costume and Festive Minipack this week, which you can use to help craft your own Christmas creations. This is just the beginning of the fun though! The Winter Seasonal Creator Kit will be seeing a release later this month too and we even have a couple more surprises for everybody to look forward to… More news on those soon, so stay tuned! The Mm Picks this week include some classic platforming fun which finds Sackboy in A Sticky Situation, a real-mind bending journey through reality in Gap the Mind and a wonderful puzzle game in Drop Puzzle. More...

In <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/21/soul-sacrifice-takes-tokyo-game-show/">my last post</a>, I explained that monsters in the world of PS Vita’s Soul Sacrifice are what have become of humans who succumbed to darkness, using magic according to their desire. Today, I’m pleased to reveal a new monster, “Leviathan,†and to share its backstory. <strong>Meet Leviathan</strong> Once upon a time, in a kingdom far away, there were two twin princes. The older twin excelled at everything, and the younger one failed at just as much. The two were so different that it was a wonder that the same blood flowed through their veins. It was like pairing up a giant and a dwarf. The younger brother grew up with a severe inferiority complex and developed an extremely dark personality. He started to enjoy collecting ferocious animals, one in particular being a crocodile from another kingdom. He put the crocodile in a cage, where he tormented it. It was the only time he could ever feel strong. More...

It may be gift-giving season, but <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/">PlayStation Plus</a> delivers gaming gifts all year round, and this week is no exception. While many of you might still be getting acquainted with the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/19/playstation-plus-update-instant-game-collection-comes-to-ps-vita/">PS Vita Plus games</a>, PS3 gamers can welcome <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/bioshock2-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">BioShock 2</a> into their Instant Game Collection. Download it for free if you’re a Plus member when the PlayStation Store updates on Tuesday. Don’t forget that the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/30/1-year-music-unlimited-premium-subscription-only-1-a-month-for-ps-plus-members/">Music Unlimited offer</a> is still on as well. You can pick up the 1 year subscription for only $12! If you have questions on the service, you may want to check out this <a href="http://support.us.playstation.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2209/~/music-unlimited-on-the-ps3-faq">handy FAQ</a>. To take advantage of the offer, you’ll need to subscribe from your PS3 or PS Vita Plus enabled account. More...

Making the decision to develop an entry of the DJMAX TECHNIKA franchise for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PlayStation Vita</a> was something of a no-brainer. The arcade game is known for its stylish cabinet, high-definition background videos, and innovative touch-screen game play. PS Vita is known for its stylish design, high-definition graphics, and innovative dual touch control scheme. Everything seems to line up, until you realize that the gameplay experience on a 22†touch screen has to be re-created for a handheld platform. If you’re not familiar with the DJMAX TECHNIKA arcade franchise, at its core it plays like most other arcade music games. It has a dedicated control interface used to activate “notes†in as accurate timing with the music as possible. More...

Hi there, PlayStation Blog readers! This is Martial Hesse-Dreville from Dancing Dots, here to tell you about our game -- Rotastic -- arriving on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN</a> tomorrow! Now, how to best sum up what Rotastic is all about... well -- imagine a knight. Got it? Good. Now give him a rope with a hook. Ok? Very well... now swing that knight around 80 levels filled with jewels and gems to collect. Sounds simple? Well, maybe then I should tell you about the hundreds of deadly traps, cannons, razor-sharp blades, crazy chickens, black holes, flying dragons, and killer bats... it won’t be easy! The whole idea behind Rotastic is simple: we wanted to provide tons of fun while using a very simple game mechanic, and I think it worked. Using just one button, you latch your grappling hook onto the nearest anchor point, many of which are scattered around each level. More...

On PS3 and as a full digital download on PSN, travel beyond the reach of civilization and find a lawless island ruled by violence. This is where you find yourself stranded, caught in a bloody conflict between psychotic warlords and indigenous rebels. Discover the island’s dark secrets and take the fight to the enemy; improvise and use your environment to your advantage; and outwit its cast of ruthless, deranged inhabitants. Beware the beauty and mystery of this island of insanity... You'll need more than luck to escape alive in Far Cry 3. Also on PS3 and PSN, BioWare's award-winning sci-fi trilogy is bundled together for the first time in this compilation from Electronic Arts. Equal parts role-playing and third-person shooter, the series features squad-based combat as protagonist Commander Shepard travels across multiple galaxies in a starship while making a name for the human race. In each game player's choices impact the entire storyline as save files can be transferred between games. Enjoy this week The Drop. More...

Festive music is becoming increasingly prevalent, the streets smell of pine, and shopping is more difficult each day. Regardless of which holiday you celebrate this season, I'm sure most of us have accrued a decently sized backlog of games to catch up on during the extra days we'll have off. PS.Blog had a good week, from a look at top-down shooter <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/27/under-defeat-hd-launches-on-ps3-today-psn-next-week/">Under Defeat HD</a>, to an <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/30/new-trailer-for-ps-vita-fishing-game-lets-fish-hooked-on/">anime-styled fishing game</a> on PS Vita. Music Unlimited is <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/30/1-year-music-unlimited-premium-subscription-only-1-a-month-for-ps-plus-members/">sporting a deep discount</a> for a premium membership right now (but only if you're a <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/">PlayStation Plus</a> member), and if you pride yourself on your vocabulary, you'll want to check out <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/29/flex-your-lexicon-in-page-chronica-out-tuesday-on-psn/">Page Chronica</a>. Finally, I can't believe I'm typing this, but Sid did it. <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/2012/11/29/playstation-blogcast-053-el-viaje/">He finally did it</a>. More...

It’s officially gift-giving season! My present to you is the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/psn-spotlight/">PSN Community Spotlight</a>. For the unfamiliar, this is where PlayStation gamers tell their unique stories/experiences/thoughts, as submitted to this section in the <a href="http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/PSN-Community-Meets-the-PS-Blog/bd-p/22802">PlayStation Community Forums</a>. Those that make it all the way to the PlayStation Blog will receive a $50 PlayStation Store voucher. Last week we asked for your PlayStation stories, and gamer <a href="http://us.playstation.com/publictrophy/index.htm?onlinename=soldierone">soldierone</a> wrote in to tell us about his family’s PlayStation gift-giving tradition. More...

Hi all – we have exciting news for <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/">PlayStation Plus</a> subscribers. For a limited time, our premium Music Unlimited One Year Subscription is available to PlayStation Plus members at an insanely low price of $12….that’s $1 a month and savings of over $100 a year based off the normal price of $9.99 a month. As a Premium subscriber, you’ll have access to every feature of our cloud-based music service and our entire catalog of more than 18 million songs that can be streamed ad-free across multiple devices, including: PS3, PSP, PS Vita, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod, Android smartphone and tablets, and more. Here’s a reminder of some of the benefits you’ll get with a One Year Premium Subscription: More...

<blockquote><strong>Subscription Links:</strong> <ul><li>Subscribe via <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/official-playstation-blogcast/id483223024?mt=2">iTunes here</a> </li> <li>Subscribe via <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheOfficialPlaystationBlogcast">RSS here</a></li> <li>Download the <a href="http://ec.libsyn.com/p/1/a/e/1ae7865d944605f5/53_Episode_053__El_Viaje.mp3?d13a76d516d9dec20c3d276ce028ed5089ab1ce3dae902ea1d01cd8335d5cd5982e0&c_id=5188171">MP3 here</a> on PS3, PS Vita or PC (Right-Click->Save As)</li></ul></blockquote> Today's show is a fun, fluid affair -- a welcome change of pace after the last few industrial-strength PlayStation Blogcast episodes. We bring in our <a href="http://blog.latam.playstation.com/">LATAM PlayStation.Blog</a> brother in arms <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/author/lgrajales/">Lorenzo Grajales</a> to discuss gaming in Latin America and tips for breaking into gaming social media. Then we outline next week's North American <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-store/">PlayStation Store</a> lineup (it's practically bursting at the seams with new games, add-ons, and demos) before deploying a literal barrage of voice mail questions, tips, and comments. It's a fun, fun show and I give it my highest rating ever: seven thumbs up. More...

<strong><em>Be warned, there are spoilers for seasons 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead TV show in this post, so if you haven't watched them, steer clear!</em></strong> When we first decided that The Walking Dead videogame would be built around a single-player action-adventure prequel to <a href="http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead">AMC’s insanely popular series</a>, there’s only one character that checked every “must have†slot. We needed somebody who was rugged and capable of surviving alone in the ruins of civilization, but also sympathetic to the needs of others in a world where it only makes sense to help yourself. We needed a protagonist who is tough enough to take on a swarm of raging walkers, but smart enough to know that there are probably safer alternatives. Finally, we wanted a fan-favorite character who you can’t wait to learn more about. More...