Commander Fury

In <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/27/killzone-hd-re-developer-interview-part-1/">part 1</a> of the Killzone HD (re-)developer interview, <a href="http://www.guerrilla-games.com/">Guerrilla</a> Technical Director Michiel van der Leeuw and Senior Programmer Frank Compagner discussed the challenges they faced while bringing Killzone to a new platform. In the second part of our interview, they talk about the changes and enhancements made to Killzone HD by the conversion team. <strong>Victor Zuylen: Last week you explained how you retrieved the code and assets for the original Killzone. What happened once you handed them over to the conversion team?</strong> Michiel van der Leeuw, Technical Director: That’s where the real fun began! There were corruptions and missing bits in the exported data, which caused all kinds of weird artifacts like polygons shooting through the game world. For the conversion team, the first order of business was to go in and fix all that. More...

In last week’s <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/27/puppeteer-behind-the-scenes-with-the-weird-wild-ps3-adventure/">behind the scenes Puppeteer interview</a>, we talked to creator Gavin Moore about the origins of the title and got some lovely insight into what makes a great kids game really sing. In the second part of the interview, Gavin touched on the game’s size, its roots in classic platformers of yesteryear and what the development team’s vibrant cultural mix brings to the project. Read on for more on Sony Japan Studio’s tantalizing platformer, and look for a new update on development -- penned by Gavin himself -- next week. <strong>Fred Dutton, PlayStation.Blog Europe Manager: So, is Puppeteer a Japanese game or a Western game?</strong> Gavin Moore, Puppeteer Creator: It’s really interesting actually. I’ve seen people have arguments in the office about this - "It’s Western," "No, it’s Japanese" and so on. More...

Back in August, Jeff and I got <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/08/16/hands-on-call-of-duty-black-ops-declassified-for-ps-vita/">a few minutes of hands-on time</a> with <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-call-of-duty.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified</a>, the upcoming <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> entry in the battle-tested military combat series. Though the game was early in production, our experience was promising and pointed to a faithful translation of Call of Duty’s signature multiplayer combat to PS Vita’s 5" OLED screen and dual analog sticks. Two months later, <a href="http://www.activision.com/atvihub/home.do">Activision</a> and developer <a href="http://www.nihilistic.com/">Nihilistic</a> are shedding new details on this fall’s PS Vita punisher. We caught up with Robert Huebner, the developer’s studio head, for the latest intel drop. More...

From a titan-sized showdown with Ares to battling Zeus at Gaia’s heart, the antagonists of God of War have provided some of the most memorable encounters in gaming history. <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/god-of-war-ascension-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">God of War: Ascension</a> promises to continue with this tradition by introducing a challenge that will push Kratos to his physical, mental, and spiritual limits to say the least. In Ascension, Kratos is sentenced to an eternity chained within a prison for the living damned, and will battle insanity at the hands of the Furies – perhaps the most terrifying spectres of the ancient world. The six-legged Fury Megaera is the first of three to be revealed in our latest Monsters of Ascension entry, with Lead Concept Artist <a href="https://twitter.com/cannibalcandy">Izzy Medrano</a> - the mastermind behind their creation. More...

I’ve got a gaming confession to make: I’ve never played a Silent Hill game. Never really had much of an interest in the series, even... until now. <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-silent-hill-book-of-memories.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Silent Hill: Book of Memories</a> is a Survival Horror Action-RPG coming to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> later this month. Like chocolate and peanut butter, this is a mashup I can get into. After sampling the game at <a href="blog.us.playstation.com/tag/pax12">PAX Prime</a>, I met up with the game’s producer, Tomm Hewlett, in San Francisco to find out how Konami plans to please fans of both genres. <strong>Jeff Rubenstein, PlayStation.Blog Social Media Manager: How do you adapt an incredibly scary survival horror series into this action/RPG format? Why did you choose this genre?</strong> Tomm Hewlett, Game Producer: We heard about PS Vita, and we really wanted to make a Silent Hill that was specially suited for that. We really wanted to experiment with multiplayer. More...

At Playerthree, we've been beavering away all summer to bring you Loot the Land as a launch title for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-mobile/">PlayStation Mobile</a>! Loot The Land is a fast-paced puzzle game in which you have to help your raiding party of angry Vikings in their quest to conquer the land. By connecting complex lines of various icons using an original touch play mechanic, you'll be pillaging and plundering villages and castles in no time. It's very exciting to have a launch title for a new platform, and PlayStation Mobile is a great opportunity for us to bring all our casual gaming experience to the PlayStation audience. The game is played entirely using the touch screen, so it will work on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> just as well as tablets and smartphones with no physical controls. More...

It’s been a while since Super Crate Box originally debuted as a PC download and put the two of us here at Vlambeer in the worldwide spotlight for arcade games. Today, Super Crate Box is available on Mac, Steam and iOS. With the launch of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-mobile/">Playstation Mobile</a>, it’ll be available for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PlayStation Vita</a> and other PlayStation Certified Devices, too. For the uninitiated, Super Crate Box is an action-arcade game in which you control a little guy tasked with collecting as many crates as possible while fending off enemies and avoiding your impending death. Every crate you pick up randomly changes your method of attack, so you'd better be ready for anything. When Sony reached out to us a few months ago to have Super Crate Box launch with PSM, we sent a request to friends and fellow coders to help us out developing it within the limited time we had left to launch. More...

As you may remember from our <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/20/playstation-mobile-coming-to-tablets-smartphones-and-ps-vita-starting-on-october-3rd/">previous post</a> about <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-mobile/">PlayStation Mobile</a>, PlayStation’s brand new mobile games platform for select mobile devices has been in the works, and you can try it out yourselves starting today! PlayStation Mobile allows you to get PlayStation-like experiences on a variety of platforms such as <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> and PlayStation Certified devices such as select Android phones and a variety of tablets. Downloading content, including games, on PlayStation Mobile is easy for gamers with a <a href="http://www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/home/">SEN</a> account. Simply use your PSN Wallet to purchase PlayStation Mobile content. While we’ll be constantly expanding our content offerings for the platform, we’re excited for you to check out our initial line-up of launch titles, including Loot The Land, Beats Slider, and Super Crate Box. Let us know which titles are your favorites. More...

Last month’s debut of PlayStation Move-based horror game <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/until-dawn-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Until Dawn</a> generated enough intrigue to propel the game onto at least one news site’s best of gamescom list (LINK: http://www.t3.com/features/best-of-gamescom). And after watching a 30-minute gameplay demonstration of this cheeky horror game at gamescom, it wasn’t hard to see why. The game oozes confidence and style: its immersive use of the PlayStation Move motion controller (from flipping levers to tugging zippers), rapid-fire banter, and unabashed reliance on genre tropes all point to a game that’s determined to push horror gaming into uncharted territory. It’s important to note that Until Dawn is firmly a <em>teen</em> horror game, trading in the healing herbs and bullet counting of the survival-horror genre for quips, jump scares, and salacious scenarios that wouldn’t seem out of place in Friday the 13th or I Know What You Did Last Summer. After Until Dawn’s gamescom debut, I had a chance to speak with <a href="http://www.supermassivegames.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73&Itemid=22">SuperMassive</a>’s executive creative director Will Byles, who discussed the game’s genesis, HUD-free presentation, and adaptive storyline. More...

It’s officially October, which means our <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/01/big-savings-buy-100-on-psn-in-october-get-20-psn-credit/#comment-762732">latest store promotion</a> is in full swing. If you spend $100 this month you’ll receive a $20 PSN credit in November. Even better, if you already pre-ordered an October title last week, that money counts toward this promotion. This week both NBA 2K13 and Resident Evil 6 are hitting the PlayStation Store the same day as retail. Remember, there are still a few titles <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/25/psn-day-1-digital-get-these-8-ps3-games-digitally-on-release-day/">you can pre-order</a> to receive an exclusive theme and a discount if you’re a Plus member. In case you missed picking it up before, LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7 is also available on the Store today. Other goodies out today include Sonic Adventure 2, NiGHTS Into Dreams and PS2 classics Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon Special Edition and Ruff Trigger: The Vanocore Conspiracy. In terms of add-on content there are items available for Dead or Alive 5 and NBA 2K13. More...

Hey there, PlayStation Blog friends! This is Frank "Bo" deWindt II of <a href="http://www.aksysgames.com/">Aksys Games</a>, but you can all call me Bo. We have a demo coming today for our upcoming PS Vita title, Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward! For those who aren't already familiar with the Zero Escape series, Virtue's Last Reward is a sequel to the critically acclaimed <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/ds/nine-hours-nine-persons-nine-doors">Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors</a>, which came out in November 2010 and received glowing accolades from IGN, as well as amazing reviews from Destructoid and Nintendo Power, among others. Virtue's Last Reward is a visual novel-style game with puzzle elements that traps college student Sigma, a mysterious young woman named Phi, and seven other strangers in a game of life and death. More...

It’s a big week for gaming! The release of a new mainline Resident Evil game is one of those events where gamers the world over prepare to bunk off school/work (PS.Blog can condone neither action!) and devote their every waking hour to the noble pursuit of zombie slaughter. The sequel to 2009’s Africa-set Resident Evil 5 is an absolute beast of a game, offering one of the largest single player campaigns in recent memory. Ahead of its global release today, we caught up with executive producer Kobayashi-san, director Sasaki-san and producer Hirabayashi-san at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/tgs12/">Tokyo Game Show</a>, to find out how Capcom went about creating such a mammoth title. <strong>Fred Dutton, PlayStation.Blog Europe Manager: What makes <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/resident-evil-6-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Resident Evil 6</a> stand out from its predecessors?</strong> I think it’s the human drama that we really wanted to convey. More...

Escape Plan is wrapping up the Director’s Cut with new content for everyone today. Patch 1.04 also goes live with the new direct controls, and we’re adding new visual stimulation for you costume fans. After working on the project for over a year we decided to bring back some of our favorite level designs, and needless to say, we love a challenge! This is why the Director’s Cut pack is filled with the most devious and evil tricks that Bakuki ever conceived. Including the Slap-a-ma-tron 9001, and a butt-ton of mind-bending puzzles. Continuing tradition, we have added four new costumes to the dressing room. Dress Lil and Laarg in a new spectrum of costumes such as Timeless and Lost Clause, with Halloweeners and I’m with Cupid unlocked by playing through the 21 Director’s Cut levels. We’ve also added a new poke control to allow the player to stop the selected character with the ease of a button, as well as adding the directional pad to start the character’s march. Using your feedback we’ve done our best to get the game to be yours as much as it is ours. Let us know what you think! More...

Congratulations. You’ve made it. You’ve survived. This far. If you’re reading this blog, that means you’ve probably already played the first three installments of <a href="http://www.telltalegames.com/">Telltale Games</a>’ episodic video game adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s never-ending zombie epic <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/the-walking-dead-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">The Walking Dead</a>. And you’ve been put through an emotional meat grinder unparalleled in interactive storytelling. You’ve had to deal not just with the dead rising up, but with the living brought low as the scattered and desperate survivors of the zombie apocalypse have struggled to hold onto their humanity under impossible pressure. You’ve seen murder, cannibalism, fear, paranoia, insanity, betrayal, and even the tragic death of an innocent child. And all I can say to you after all that is, I’m sorry. Because it’s about to get worse. Much worse. More...

This Wednesday, October 3rd, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-home/">PlayStation Home</a> brings even more metro to our metropolis with <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/12/build-your-dream-city-in-home-tycoon-coming-soon-to-playstation-home/">Home Tycoon</a> launching, Aurora evolves to version 1.6 and Digital Leisure offers a special Canadian Thanksgiving celebration. Here’s what you can enjoy this week: <strong>1. Hell Fire Games – Home Tycoon</strong> Hellfire Games proudly launches Home Tycoon, the free-to-play, fully customizable 3D city building game this week in PlayStation Home! Build your town from humble beginnings into a bustling metropolis as the new Mayor! Save the city in action-packed missions, unlock <strong>over 50 rewards</strong>, and race turbo-charged cars with your friends online. Broker savvy business deals and manage resources carefully to keep your citizens happy, and grow your population high enough to stake your claim on the leader boards! With so many options at your fingertips, the only limit is your own imagination. More...

It’s officially October, and we have a great new promotion for you to get the most out of your PlayStation gaming experience this month. If you spend $100 or more on the <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-store/">PlayStation Store</a> in October, we'll give you a $20 credit to your wallet to spend in November! This is a store-wide promotion, so anything you purchase using your wallet will count towards the $100 total. One caveat: the credit back is limited to the first $100 you spend. With great new programs like <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/25/psn-day-1-digital-get-these-8-ps3-games-digitally-on-release-day/">PSN Day 1 Digital</a>, offering day-and-date digital <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> games on the same day they hit retail, there are plenty of ways to participate in the “Buy $100, Get $20†promotion. As a reminder, <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/">PlayStation Plus</a> members receive an additional 10% discount on a number of titles in the line-up when they pre-order. Additionally, if you’ve already pre-ordered one of the awesome titles in the PSN Day 1 Digital program, the money you’ve spent on those will count toward your $100 for October. Not bad, eh? More...

Last week you welcomed <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/24/playstation-plus-update-starhawk-campaign-free-for-members-hell-yeah-and-tokyo-jungle-release-week-discounts/">Starhawk's single-player campaign</a> into your gaming collection for free as a <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/">PlayStation Plus</a> member. This week we continue to roll out even more content with NFL Blitz, coming free to Plus! Please note that Borderlands will be leaving Plus with this week's PlayStation Store update, so make sure you grab it while you can. Don’t have PlayStation Plus? Go to the PlayStation Store on your PS3 or <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/">click here</a> to get access. More...

<strong>The Pirates! Minipack Docks at the Store</strong> This week will see the release of The Pirates! Minipack on PlayStation Store, containing a variety of costumes from The Pirates! Band of Misfits. The Pirate Captain, Cutlass Liz and Black Bellamy will all be coming to <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/littlebigplanet-2-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">LittleBigPlanet 2</a> and <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-littlebigplanet-playstation-vita.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">LittleBigPlanet PS Vita</a> this week. Not forgetting that they will also be taking to the track too, when <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> releases next month. Best of all, you only have to purchase The Pirates! Minipack once and you’ll have access to these costumes across all three games! <strong>LBPC9: Locomotion Commotion – Rare Prize Crown Contest</strong> The LBPC Contest Crew is back with a brand new Rare Prize Crown contest: LBPC9 - Locomotion Commotion. To enter, build a motion-oriented level for your sackperson to navigate. A level where all the obstacles are powered by kinetic energy; where starting from a single power source, the obstacles are set in motion and that motion is passed on in an ever-evolving chain reaction. More...

October is an exciting time, the leaves are falling, Halloween is coming... and 505 games is bringing Naughty Bear: Panic in Paradise to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a>! It seems an appropriate season to launch its stuffing-filled blend of stealth and machete-wielding fun to PSN. The plot is simple - when all the other bears go on holiday to the fabled Paradise Island resort, they forget to invite Naughty Bear. This is a decision they seriously regret after he finds out about their plans and sets out to get his revenge. Naughty Bear Panic in Paradise has been built using a fully revamped version of our internal engine. A new lighting and shadow system brings a new mood and feel to the world, and allows for a dramatically increased number of bears on screen. It has also allowed us to create much larger levels and, despite all these improvements, run at a smooth framerate. Combat is fun, furious and downright naughty, featuring a new combo system that allows you to chain different attacks. There are five weapon classes: Fist weapons, Pointy, Slash, Bash, and Smash, all with their own attack animations. More...

<p style="text-align: justify;">On <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> this week, blending action and survival horror, Resident Evil 6 promises to be the dramatic horror experience of 2012. Resident Evil favorites Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield are joined by new characters, including Jake Muller, to face a bioterrorist threat on a global scale. The narrative moves between North America, the war-torn Eastern European state of Edonia and the Chinese city of Lanshiang.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">On <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN</a> this week, you are a fantasy jester called NiGHTS and experience a heightened sense of gliding, spiraling, and looping through seven extraordinary worlds of Nightopia. When the "Nightmarens" from the neighboring dark world of Nightmare infiltrate the idyllic Nightopia, NiGHTS must defend the dream world to keep it safe for all dreamers. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams will take you in a voyage filled with courage, hope and inspiration. Enjoy this week's <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/the-drop/">The Drop</a>.</p> More...

We're not even into October, and I'm already wayyyyyy behind in my Fall gaming. Despite putting about 20 hours into Borderlands 2, I've got a lot to go (love the side missions). Resident Evil 6 is out this week, XCOM Enemy Unknown (looking great) and Dishonored (also looking stellar) are out next week - and I just started Tokyo Jungle. I love it. I'm stuck heading out to Florida this week to visit some family, and I dont want to slip any further behind... I'm thinking it's time for my parents get a PS3. More...

Today's top 10 posts are just scratching the surface of what was an exceptionally active week in the world of PlayStation. This week saw the releases of the weird and wild <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/25/venture-into-the-tokyo-jungle-on-psn-today/">Tokyo Jungle</a>, the charming and creative <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/25/littlebigplanet-ps-vita-is-go-for-launch/">LittleBigPlanet for PS Vita</a>, the grotesque and goofy <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/25/hell-yeah-wrath-of-the-dead-rabbit-out-on-psn-today/">Hell Yeah!</a>, and a <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/25/daturas-hidden-meaning-free-soundtrack-hits-psn-today/">free Datura soundtrack</a> on PSN, as well as <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/24/the-testament-of-sherlock-holmes-explores-the-detectives-dark-side/">The Testament of Sherlock Holmes</a> on Blu-ray. We also saw the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/26/pulse-wireless-stereo-headset-elite-edition-tech-tour/">launch of the Pulse Wireless Stereo Headset </a>- Elite (complete with <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/26/pulse-wireless-stereo-headset-elite-edition-tech-tour/">video tour</a>), learned more details about the enhanced <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/27/new-little-kings-story-enhanced-for-ps-vita-out-on-psn-tuesday/">New Little King's Story</a> coming to PS Vita on Tuesday (with a <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/27/new-little-kings-story-enhanced-for-ps-vita-out-on-psn-tuesday/">new trailer</a> to boot), an October 9th release date for the PS3-exclusive papercraft game <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/27/new-psn-exclusive-derrick-the-deathfin-swims-to-ps3-october-9th/">Derrick the Deathfin</a>, word of the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/26/exclusive-assassins-creed-ezio-trilogy-to-launch-on-ps3/">PS3-exclusive Assassin's Creed Ezio Trilogy</a> coming November 13th, and first details on Joe Danger: The Movie's PS3-exclusive <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/26/joe-danger-the-movie-roars-onto-psn-with-exclusive-content/">special features</a>. More...

I’m already running out of clever things to say about Saturdays. Oh well. Anyway, it’s 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. Last week we asked about your PlayStation stories, and gamer <a href="http://us.playstation.com/publictrophy/index.htm?onlinename=papawarlock">PapaWarlock</a> wrote in to tell us about how he bonded with his family by playing games. More...

If God of War were Game of Thrones, then the House of Kratos would be absolutely decimated by now...not counting our fearless Spartan, that is (though that's debatable at the end of <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/god-of-war-iii-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">God of War III</a>). Aside from being deceived into tragically murdering his wife and daughter in a moment of uncontrollable rage (“Ares!!!!â€), Kratos has quite literally destroyed every bit of his lineage: Cronos (grandfather), Zeus (father), Callisto, (mother), Athena (sister). And, in what is our #2 most epic God of War moment of all time as voted by the God of War Facebook community, his brother Hercules. The battle with Hercules in God of War III was not about a titan-sized boss encounter. However, you can’t deny the crushing blows and empowering strength you felt as Kratos pummeled his brother in his own arena. God of War is as much about power as it is about scale and spectacle, and this moment had it all. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below. More...

During this year’s <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/tgs12/">Tokyo Game Show</a>, we got hands-on time with the latest <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/metal-gear-rising-revengeance/">Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance</a> playable demo and spoke with three members of <a href="http://platinumgames.com/">Platinum Games</a> (Kenji Saito, Yuji Korekado, and Atsushi Inaba). Our conversation touched on Revengeance’s long, twisted development process, a new philosophy towards boss encounters, gameplay mechanics, and much more. Read on for our full interview and be sure to watch the new Tokyo Game Show trailer below. More...