Commander Fury

If asked, most of us can recall a favorite scene or two from a movie, a shot or sequence that lingered with us long after the lights came on and we left the theater. We retain the visual, but often it isn’t until we see that same scene muted that we discover that the music, the aural accompaniment, was a far greater part of our experience than we realized. Just as in cinema, music is a huge part of what makes many gaming memories so rich. It’s a significant ingredient in creating a sense of grandeur and making something feel epic. <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-soul-sacrifice.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Soul Sacrifice</a>, the next title from legendary developer Keiji Inafune, has such aspirations. It may be a handheld action title, but there is nothing portable or small about the game’s scope or presentation. Case in point: the game’s soundtrack is composed by Yasunori Mitsuda and Wataru Hokoyama, two of the most recognized composers in the industry. More...

If you were to visit the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/media-molecule/">Media Molecule</a> studio, you’d see that it’s very <em>us</em>. The pink carpets lead you through to a work space that’s filled with bright colours and interesting or curious things to look at. In a bid to keep our surroundings inspiring and as conducive to creativity as possible, we’re spoiled rotten with creature comforts and toys to play. To a visitor, all of this can make for quite a tour. As a visitor though, you’d only get to see a brief glimpse of the studio - enough to take in the big picture, but not enough to truly get a feel for the place, and they say; the devil is in the detail. If you were able to spend more time here, you’d start to notice all the little things that are perhaps less immediately enticing as a ping pong table, but are far more interesting, and quite often, downright odd. More...

As 2013 starts to dawn and we all know we survived the 2012 phenomenon we wanted to wish you a very happy holidays from <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/naughty-dog/'>http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/naughty-dog/">Naughty Dog</a> studio! 2012 was jam packed with breaking news about <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/the-last-of-us/'>http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/the-last-of-us/">The Last of Us</a> and fresh content reveals for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/uncharted-3-drakes-deception/'>http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/uncharted-3-drakes-deception/">Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception</a>. On the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/uncharted-3/'>http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/uncharted-3/">Uncharted 3</a> front, we recently announced our holiday items and we’ll have even more content inbound in the New Year. Additionally, we have some very exciting information about multiplayer around the start of next year. Get ready for all the big news by checking back to the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/">PlayStation blog</a> and <a href="http://www.naughtydog.com/blog/">Naughty Dog blog</a> once 2013 hits. More...

It's Christmas! Time to hang up our stockings, stuff ourselves silly, and fall asleep in front of the fireplace. But before we do all that, we'd like to wish all of you a very merry Christmas. Now It's not much, but we've got you a little pressie, ooh! To set you all a little creative challenge, perfect for the holidays, we’ve given the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/tearaway/">Tearaway</a> Papercraft Elk a little festive makeover! Once made, we think it makes for a rather unique Christmas ornament, take a look… So grab your scissors and glue, and build yourself a Tearaway Reindeer using <a>these papercraft plans</a>, to add some Christmas sparkle to your home. If you do happen to make one, please send a picture to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/mediamolecule">our Twitter account</a> - or post them in the comments below, so we can collect them all for a nice festive gallery. More...

Munch the Gabbit is now in HD! The team at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/just-add-water/">Just Add Water</a>, with help from the programming staff at <a href="http://www.fourdoorlemon.com/">Four Door Lemon</a>, worked hard over the last 18 months to bring you an updated version of Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee on PS3. Gamers met the crazy planet of Oddworld back on the original PlayStation, with <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/28/behind-the-classics-oddworld-abes-oddysee/">Abe’s Oddysee</a> and Abe’s Exoddus quickly becoming classics. If you played those games, you’ll remember the reluctant hero’s destiny to rescue his fellow Mudokons from corporate slavery at the hands of Glukkon Companies Rupture Farms and SoulStorm Brewery. More...

Happy holidays! It’s a light publish this week due to the holiday season, but you can still pick up some great new deals via our Holiday Essentials Sale. If you’re a PS Plus member, you can enjoy deeper discounts on those deals, plus Retro City Rampage for free. It’s also worth noting that a couple things have been updated in the PS Store navigation. We’ve incorporated some of your feedback and you can now filter Add-ons by game title and the Weekly Deals section has been placed more prominently. We hope these changes will help you find what you’re looking for. As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments below. You can also chat about this update in the <a href="http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-Network/bd-p/22599">PlayStation Community Forums</a>. More...

While we’re smack-dab in the middle of the holiday season, we thought we’d drop in and deliver some new content for PlayStation Plus members. Don’t forget that you still have time to make Plus <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004RMK5QG/ref=nosim/6553221-rg1864-00-20">a great stocking stuffer for the PlayStation gamers in your life</a>. You can buy online, get the voucher code, and then give that voucher code to your friends and family. Now, to business! Plus members will be getting the wonderfully hilarious 8-bit styling of Retro City Rampage free, as well as extra savings on the continuation of the PSN Holiday Sale. Important note: We’ll be updating the PlayStation Store today (Monday, 12/24) due to the Christmas holiday. Therefore, this Plus update will be live later today when the update has published. More...

Happy holidays from all of us here at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/guerilla-games/">Guerrilla</a>! As 2012 draws to a close, we look back at an eventful year for Guerrilla and the Killzone series. In February we released </a>Killzone 3 Multiplayer</a>, a standalone version of Killzone 3’s online mode and DLC maps, on the PlayStation Store. In August we announced a new handheld title for PlayStation Vita called <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/killzone-mercenary/">Killzone: Mercenary</a>, which sees its protagonist fight on both sides of the ISA-Helghast conflict. And in October we simultaneously released <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/killzone-trilogy/">Killzone Trilogy</a>, a bundle containing all three first-person shooters in the Killzone series, and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/killzone-hd/">Killzone HD</a>, a high-definition remaster of our original Killzone game. More...

I hope you enjoyed your first week of deals on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> games for our <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/holiday-essentials/">Holiday Essentials</a> Sale. As I mentioned in <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/12/17/holiday-essentials-huge-discounts-on-40-must-have-games/">our previous post</a>, we’re bringing you some of the best PlayStation games at great prices to help you stock up for the holidays. This week we’re providing you with 16 awesome action/adventure games along with other essential PlayStation titles. For great prices you can take part in <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/starhawk/">Starhawk</a>'s frenetic space combat and multiplayer battles, relive two of Kojima's most acclaimed titles in the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/metal-gear-solid/">Metal Gear Solid</a> HD Collection, or bend your mind with the award-winning Journey. In addition, PlayStation Plus delivers an extra special deal this week – we’re offering members Retro City Rampage for absolutely nothing. Moreover, Retro City Rampage features Cross-Buy, which means that when you purchase either the PS Vita or PS3 version, you get the other version at no additional cost! More...

Christmas Day is but one sleep away now, so hopefully your presents are all wrapped and under the tree, your stockings are hanging up over the fireplace and you are all ready for your annual visit from everybody’s favourite jolly old fat man! Before you all head off early to bed though, we have some festive cheer to spread around the LittleBigPlanet community including some wonderful levels and a few other treats for everyone. <h4>Sackboy’s Winter Wonderlands</h4> With Christmas approaching, the LittleBigPlanet community have been out in full force with their festive creations to bring some holiday cheer to the Sackfolk across LittleBigPlanet. More...

Are you in Canada? Did you score some sweet gift cards over the holidays? If yes, you’ll want to check out PlayStation Canada’s Boxing Week sale. Between December 25th and December 31st, you can pick up a 160GB <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PlayStation 3</a> system for $199.99 at Best Buy, EB Games, Future Shop and Walmart. This console is perfect for a new PS3 owner, or is a great second system if you already have a PS3. But, that’s not all we have on sale for Boxing Week – one of our favourite games is also available at a discount. You can pick up <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> for $29.99. Playing this year’s biggest and best games on PS3 is a great way to spend the rest of the holidays. More...

Putting together this Recap is the last thing I'm doing before my holiday vacation officially begins, so forgive me if I keep it brief. I still love you, I just love gorging on Christmas cookies more. We didn't see it coming, but the first half of this week ended up being quite a doozy. We saw <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/2012/12/17/sack-it-to-me-marvel-heroes-return-marvel-heroes-costume-pack-5-coming-this-week/">Marvel heroes return to LittleBigPlanet</a>, Sonic and co. hit the portable tracks in <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/2012/12/18/sonic-all-stars-racing-hits-ps-vita-today-nab-bonus-dlc/">Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed</a>, map-exploring indie entry <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/2012/12/18/knytt-happens-knytt-underground-rolls-to-ps3-ps-vita-today/">Knytt Underground</a> rolled out on PSN and PS Vita, we landed some <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/2012/12/18/angry-birds-trilogy-anger-management-pack-hits-psn-1218/">Angry Birds DLC</a> (seriously, who saw that coming?)... and that's not even addressing the top 10 listed below! Let's talk about that number 1 post though: The first-annual <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/12/19/here-are-your-winners-playstation-blog-game-of-the-year-awards-2012/">PlayStation.Blog Game of the Year Awards</a>! More...

It’s holiday break time, people! Woo! Anyway, it’s also time for 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 via private message on the forums. Last week we asked for your PlayStation stories, and gamer <a href="http://us.playstation.com/publictrophy/index.htm?onlinename=oliemoon">oliemoon</a> wrote in to tell us about his love affair with JRPGs. More...

Creating a quality track in <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/littlebigplanet-karting/">LittleBigPlanet Karting</a> is no easy task, so we’ve gathered this list to arm you with the knowledge you need to make use of some of the more advanced Creative methods. Have your own ideas? Let us know in the comments! <strong>Track Modification</strong> Did you know your paint roller can follow the elevation of the terrain? Simply press L1 while painting your track and it will automatically stick to the topography below. This is a great way to keep your track flush to the ground without accidentally changing the terrain itself. More...

Happy Holidays to everyone in North America! This is Keiji Inafune. <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-soul-sacrifice.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Soul Sacrifice</a> is finally near completion, and we are proud to say with confidence that this game is worth recommending to everyone. It’s been awhile since I’ve created a game that made me feel this enthusiastic. We put a lot of passionate unremitting work into this masterpiece and we are super excited about it. As promised, the game includes a mind-blowing world and a magnificent story, which will instantly draw you in and I hope people will just indulge themselves on Soul Sacrifice. Through this game, I hope that everyone will experience the heart and essence of true Japanese game development once again. More...

Hi, I’m Skander Djerbi executive producer of the half-Japanese, half-gaijin indie production <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/fuel-overdose/">Fuel Overdose</a> on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN</a> (demo available now), and today I’m going to explain why and how we brought strategy to our combat racing experience. When you think of combat racing games of the past 25 years, you realize that they more or less follow the same pattern: you collect an item and then you use it before collecting another one, and so on. These games ask you to focus on speed and targeting but they do not really challenge your mental skills. The only decisions you might have to take from time to time are “Should I use my missile now or later?†or “Should I take that risky shortcut?†More...

This week, the Music Unlimited service features <a href="http://blog.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/2012/12/18/new-releases-on-the-music-unlimited-service-121812/">new releases</a> from T.I., Chief Keef and The-Dream, as well as Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Dry the River, Office Romance, and Slum Village. Also, don’t forget to check out our <a href="https://music.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#channel/921baaf835adeb42e040007f01002bdf/Premium">Best of 2012 Premium Channel</a>, and procrastinators can still take advantage of our limited time <a href="http://www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/1-year-premium-plan/">Premium Music Unlimited One Year Subscription</a> available to PlayStation Plus members for only $12 or $59.99 for regular subscribers. In the video store this week, own Taken 2 and Looper before they land on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, as well as Pitch Perfect, which are all now available in New Releases. Also make sure to check out Total Recall and Ice Age: Continental Drift, both now available to rent. More...

EDF! EDF! EDF! We are excited to share the news today that <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/earth-defense-force-2017-portable/">Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable</a> will be available as a digital download on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PlayStation Vita</a> at the beginning of the year. The game will be available on January 8th, 2013 in North America for $39.99 and players will get to experience all the intense action that the Earth Defense Force can endure. What is really cool is that Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable is completely remastered from the original classic shooter (Earth Defense Force 2017) and with so many extras, players will truly get a new EDF experience that wasn’t possible before. Players will get to check out seven new levels plus dive into all the action with fan favorite Pale Wing, giving players the power to soar high over buildings in her jet pack and cause massive destruction from above. More...

Last month, we revealed that you, the fans, will have the opportunity to choose the cover athlete for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/mlb-the-show-2013/">MLB® 13 The Show™</a>. Over the last few weeks, five of baseball’s top athletes have announced their candidacy to be the new face of the most realistic baseball game on the market. Here’s a quick recap of who is in the running to be on the cover of The Show and how and when the final candidate will be unveiled. 2012 National League All-Star and NL rookie of the year, Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals, was the first athlete to announce that he wants fans to vote for him to be on the cover of The Show in an interview with Kotaku’s Owen Good on December 12th. More...

The polls are closed and the votes have been tallied. Read on for the full list of PlayStation.Blog Game of the Year Awards winners as chosen by <em>you</em>, plus a few Editors’ Choice picks from the extended PlayStation.Blog team. I want to thank each and every one of you for voting, debating, and commenting on our first annual awards! As predicted, the process wasn’t entirely without its hiccups, but in general I think it was a pretty good first attempt. That said, we absolutely want your feedback on next year’s awards, which will be bigger and better in many ways. Please provide your feedback in the comments - we’ll be referring to it in preparation for next year! ‘Nuff said. Read on to see the very best in PlayStation gaming for 2012 as chosen by PlayStation gamers worldwide. More...

You have spoken! The winners of the first-annual PlayStation.Blog Game of the Year Awards have been revealed at last! Now it’s time to listen to a bunch of people you don’t know discuss great PlayStation games you may or may not have played. Behold! The final, thrilling episode of PlayStation Blogcast for 2012 is about to begin. It’s high time we brought in the illustrious Dan Hsu, Editor-in-Chief (“EIC†if you’re <em>super cool</em>) of GamesBeat and former Editor-in-Chief of EGM, to class up the joint for a few precious hours. Along with straight-shooting PR man Aram Jabbari and a loveable scamp we’ve dubbed Nick Suttner, we plunge into the year’s best moments in gaming, whether it’s the stark vistas of Journey, the monochromatic mysteries of The Unfinished Swan, or the eye-popping menus of Persona 4 Golden. We touch on a ton of titles across PS3, PS Vita and PS Mobile, so this is a great chance to get inspiration for those last few stocking stuffers. More...

The holidays are upon us and things are getting festive here at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/queasy-games/">Queasy Games</a>! Between launching <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-sound-shapes.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Sound Shapes</a>, reviews of the game, awards, and an awesome Community, we have a lot to be thankful for – it's been a great year! And because you're one of our good friends, we made you a gift. Oh, it's okay you didn't get us anything – playing our game, creating amazing levels, and just being you is more than enough. Go ahead... open it. Yup, a Holiday Sound Pack. Do you like it? Five new Christmas-themed instruments from classic carols to create your own holiday tunes – because there's no such thing as too much Christmas music! More...

This week’s PlayStation Store update brings you two impressive sales. The SEGA Holiday Sale is offering great SEGA titles for up to 50% off in the Store. Find games like Crazy Taxi, Sonic 4 and Hell Yeah! on sale. Don’t miss out on these great deals. Be sure to also check out the Holiday Essentials Sale where you can enjoy 50% off (or more for PlayStation Plus members) of great titles like Dyad, Catherine and Little Big Planet Vita. We’ve also added an impressive selection of demos this week. Fans of indie developers will be particularly pleased with the free demos available for Sound Shapes (PS3 and Vita) and The Unfinished Swan (PS3). Both of these games explore gameplay in new and unique ways. Download them and check them out today. As always, there’s a whole lot more to this update than just sales, new games and demos. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below. More...

We are happy to announce the release of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/burn-the-rope/">Burn the Rope </a>for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a>. Burn the Rope is an game where you -- as the title implies -- must burn as much rope as possible in each level. To start burning the rope you simply tap PS Vita's front touchscreen wherever there is rope. Once the rope starts burning, you control the direction of the flame by rotating the screen. The flame always burns up and it will burn out if it runs out of rope. The speed at which the flame travels along the rope is determined by the angle of the rope. You can also control the flame using the touch screen, by rotating the PS Vita or you can use the rear touchpad if you don't want your fingers to block the view. More...

What can a small team achieve in 10 months? How about porting a classic Oddworld console game to the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a>! The heroes at JAW beavered away since the launch of the handheld in February 2012 to bring you the most the console has to offer. PS Vita users might still be waiting for the chance to play Munch, but just in time for the holidays, here’s <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/oddworldstrangers-wrath/">Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath</a> HD. We’re bringing an enhanced version of the much-loved classic to PlayStation Store later today. Like the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> version before it, Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD features high-quality graphical assets, better textures and high poly models. But this isn’t a lazy port… The game makes use of PS Vita’s touchscreen and rear touchpad for added controls and runs at the native screen resolution to give you a genuine Vita experience. More...