Commander Fury

October is just about over, but before we say goodbye to this month (which brought Payday: The Heist, NFL Blitz, and King of Fighters XIII free to PS Plus members), we wanted to point out a great new <a href="http://go.channelintelligence.com/c/?nClientId=6553221&nVID=11302&nIID=279359749&nRGID=1864&rsVendorSku=B009APQ9QK&sCT=CI_Amazon_PS3bundlePSplus_blog">PlayStation 3 Bundle only on Amazon.com</a> that includes one year of <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/">PlayStation Plus</a>. If you know anyone who has yet to dive into <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PlayStation 3</a>, this might be a great item to recommend (or buy them if you’re feeling generous). With a one year membership of PS Plus included, this bundle will keep anyone plenty busy with great games, awesome discounts, and exclusive access to PS3 features throughout that first year with Plus. More...

Happy Halloween week guys and gals – we’ve got a special treat for you all! In our on-going quest to re-create as many of the best pinball tables of all time, we were able to get the licenses needed from Bally and the Mistress of the Dark herself, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvira,_Mistress_of_the_Dark">Elvira</a>! This means Elvira and the Party Monsters will be released in Table Pack 6 tomorrow, and Scared Stiff will be released before too long in Table Pack 7. Elvira has been super cool to work with. She invited us to part of her Macabre Museum at <a href="http://comikazeexpo.com/">Comikaze Expo</a> last month. We got to show off the Party Monsters table right along with a real machine. Some of the guys here on the pinball team got to meet her, and she even came over and played our game for a while. She’s actually pretty good at pinball! More...

<p style="text-align: justify;">On <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> this week, it's a time of civil unrest and political upheaval in the Americas. As a Native American assassin fights to protect his land and his people, he will ignite the flames of a young nation's revolution. Assassin's Creed III takes you back to the American Revolutionary War, but not the one you've read about in history books. On <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-move/">PS Move</a>, Sports Champions 2 revives favorite features, including the surprisingly deep and challenging single-player Cup Play and the customizable Free Play mode, plus fun arcade Challenge rounds for each event.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">On <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN</a>, you’re a cunning new assassin - Aveline, an assassin of mixed French and African heritage. You must use your skill, instinct and weaponry - including a machete, poison-dart blowpipe, and duelling pistols, to hunt down and eliminate your enemies in Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Also on PS Vita, Need for Speed: Most Wanted is the 19th release in the long-running Need for Speed franchise, and the first for the PlayStation Vita. It hearkens back to the earliest games in the series as players compete in races with police unified against them. Enjoy this week’s <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/the-drop/">The Drop</a>.</p> More...

It was a big week for PSN releases, with the long-awaited arrival of the thought-provoking exclusive The Unfinished Swan, the release of the enormously entertaining Frobisher Says! (Protip: it’s free!) and Orgarhythm for PS Vita, a Sports Champions 2 demo and much more — read on for the week’s top 10 most-viewed stories. It was [...] More...

I just peeked at this week's complete list of new releases (which will publish here in a few hours), and it's doozy. Two great Assassin's Creed titles, a new (and awesome) Need for Speed on both PS3 and PS Vita, the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/okami-hd/">HD remake</a> of one of my favorite games of all time, and actually a lot more. Forget Halloween, October 30th should be a national holiday this year. Oh, and if you're watching football this afternoon, keep an eye out for the Assassin's Creed III Liberation/PS Vita commercial, which will debut today. <strong>The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of October 22nd, 2012)</strong> <ul> <li><A HREF="http://www.siliconera.com/2012/10/26/zero-escape-virtues-last-reward-director-on-designing-characters/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+siliconera%2FMkOc+%28Siliconera%29&utm_content=Google+Reader" ADD_DATE="1351359423" PRIVATE="0" TAGS="">Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward Director On Designing Characters - Siliconera</A></li> <li><A HREF="http://www.destructoid.com/review-orgarhythm-237260.phtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Destructoid+%28Destructoid%29&utm_content=Google+Reader" ADD_DATE="1351359354" PRIVATE="0" TAGS="">Review: Orgarhythm - Destructoid</A></li> <li><A HREF="http://kotaku.com/5955299/xcom-isnt-a-horror-game-but-it-sure-does-feel-like-one" ADD_DATE="1351359315" PRIVATE="0" TAGS="">XCOM Isn't A Horror Game, But It Sure Does Feel Like One - Kotaku</A></li></ul> More...

Hey fine folks; 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 for your PlayStation stories, and gamer <a href="http://us.playstation.com/publictrophy/index.htm?onlinename=zixpk">zixpk</a> wrote in to tell us about his first gaming memories (hint: It wasn’t on the PS3). <strong>A Fine First Moment in Gaming</strong> Yes. I know. Another first gaming moment story. More...

A bit of advice for Assassin’s Creed fans: get some sleep this weekend. Come Tuesday, you’ll get to immerse yourself in the Revolutionary mythology of Assassin’s Creed III both at home and on the go. If you’ve been keeping up with our coverage of Aveline de Grandpre’s portable adventure, you’re likely already aware of <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-assassin-s-creed-iii-liberation.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Assassin’s Creed III Liberation</a>’s open-world gameplay, its crossover with the PS3’s <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/assassin-s-creed-iii-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Assassin’s Creed III</a>, and it’s <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a>-specific features. But showing <em>is</em> better than telling, so have a look at some of Liberation’s (optional) touch controls in action, as AC3L Writer Richard Farreese tells us how the team adapted the series’ new control scheme to PS Vita. Spoiler: they didn’t have to change much. More...

<a href="http://www.nissanusa.com/gtacademyshow/">Nissan GT Academy</a> is back for a second season, seeking to determine which of America’s best Gran Turismo players has what it takes to become a professional racing driver. The first of the six-part episode will air on Spike TV beginning Thursday, November 1st at <strong>11:30pm Pacific Time /10:30pm CET</strong>. The remaining episodes will air at the same time each Thursday night and will be available on the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/nissanusa">Nissan YouTube</a> channel the following Monday. GT Academy will also be screened on <a href="http://www.mtv.com/mtv2/">MTV2</a>, one week after the original airdate on <a href="http://www.spike.com/">SPIKE TV</a>. For a preview, visit <a href="http://www.nissanusa.com/gtacademyshow/">GTAcademy.com</a>. More...

The 10th Anniversary of Ratchet & Clank is coming up next month, and it’s been a lot of fun this year reliving the memories from our original PS2 games in the recently released <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/ratchet-and-clank-collection-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Ratchet & Clank Collection</a>. We also had a blast playing the beta of <a href="<a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/ratchet-clank-full-frontal-assault-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">">Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault</a> with all of you earlier this fall. Since then, we’ve gotten a flood of e-mails, tweets and Facebook posts asking when you can get back to exploring the battlefield and defending your base in FFA. We’re happy to announce Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault will be available on November 27th on the PlayStation Store and at retail. That’s right, you asked and we listened: Full Frontal Assault will be available as a retail copy for those of you who love physical copies of your games! Both the download and retail versions support cross-buy as well, so your purchase gets you both the game on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> and a digital copy for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PlayStation Vita</a>. More...

<del>Making a licensed game is hard</del>. Making a <em>good</em> licensed game is hard. As huge <a href="http://www.fox.com/familyguy/">Family Guy</a> fans, when the opportunity came to make a game based on the hilarious TV show, with <a href="http://www.heavy-iron.com/">Heavy Iron Studios</a> at the helm, it was impossible to pass up. But there was one giant hurdle we had to get over in order to make a good Family Guy game – we don’t work at Fuzzy Door, Seth MacFarlane’s production company, and we aren’t involved in any way with the Family Guy TV show. And it wouldn’t matter how much effort we put into the graphics, or the level design, or the action. If it didn’t <em>feel</em> like Family Guy -- if it wasn’t funny, or if Stewie shouted “Blast!†and it was clear we’d just hired some actor to do a mediocre Stewie impression - fans would hate it. WE would hate it. More...

Next week sees the keenly anticipated release of <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/need-for-speed-most-wanted-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Need for Speed Most Wanted</a>, the latest release from <a href="http://blog.criteriongames.com/">Criterion Games</a> – the legendary UK racing specialist behind the Burnout series and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/need-for-speed-hot-pursuit/">Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit</a>, the phenomenal 2010 entry in EA’s long-running street racing franchise. That the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PlayStation 3</a> version is very, very good should come as no surprise, but somewhat more unexpected is the amount of care the studio has lavished on replicating the experience on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PlayStation Vita</a>. Producer Matt Webster and his team have squeezed almost the entire experience onto the handheld, and even found room for a little bit of extra content exclusive to the system. More...

This week, the Music Unlimited service features <a href="http://blog.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/2012/10/23/new-releases-on-the-music-unlimited-service-102312/">new releases</a> from <strong>Kendrick Lamar</strong>, <strong>Gary Clark Jr.</strong>, and <strong>Swedish House Mafia</strong> as well as <strong>Lady Antebellum</strong>, <strong>Tony Bennett</strong>, <strong>Colbie Caillat</strong>, and <strong>The Sword</strong>. Also, make sure to check out our latest record label retrospective channel shining the spotlight on <a href="http://blog.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/2012/10/23/new-premium-channel-kill-rock-stars/">Kill Rock Stars</a>. With its roots deep in discovering indie superstars like <strong>Elliott Smith</strong>, <strong>Sleater-kinney</strong> and <strong>The Decemberists</strong>, the label continues to release great albums from a variety of artists, including <strong>Horse Feathers</strong>, <strong>The Thermals</strong> and <strong>Thao & Mirah</strong>. On the video side this week we continue the Halloween celebration with special prices as low as $4.99 on select zombie thrillers like <strong>Dark Shadows</strong>, <strong>Shaun of the Dead</strong>, <strong>Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies</strong>, and <strong>Pet Sematary</strong>. 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://traffic.libsyn.com/playstation/48_Episode_048__The_Trumpet_of_the_S.mp3">MP3 here</a> on PS3, PS Vita or PC (Right-Click->Save As)</li></ul></blockquote> With a new <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN</a> indie innovator fluttering in the wild, we spend today's show discussing <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/the-unfinished-swan/">The Unfinished Swan</a>, how it compares to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/journey/">Journey</a>, and games with "mystique." I also geek out on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XCOM:_Enemy_Unknown">XCOM: Enemy Unknown</a> (seriously, it's good), Nick talks about his early experiences with <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/dishonored/">Dishonored</a>, and look forward to next week's release of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/assassins-creed-iii/">Assassin's Creed III</a> (with the PS3-exclusive Benedict Arnold four-mission arc) and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/assassins-creed-iii-liberation/">Assassin's Creed III: Liberation for PS Vita</a>. More...

Part of <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/assassin-s-creed-iii-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Assassin’s Creed III</a>’s ample appeal lies in its fastidious recreation of Revolutionary War-era America, a time of great uncertainty and even greater promise. Developer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubisoft_Montreal">Ubisoft Montreal</a> has gone to considerable lengths to accurately recreate historic locations across the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, referring to era maps and historians in order to bolster the game’s authenticity. We recently spoke with lead designer Steve Masters and creative director Alex Hutchinson to learn more about the game’s slavish attention to detail in recreating late 18th century colonial America. Enjoy! “In Boston, you’ll see a lot of places you could see today, from the old statehouse to Fenway Market to a pub called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Dragon_Tavern">Green Dragon Tavern</a>. Using maps from the era, we recreated Boston at a 1:3 scale, including a lot of the surrounding countryside with towns like Lexington and Concord.†More...

It's easy to forget that "tactical espionage action" is a relatively recent innovation in the videogame medium, with trailblazers like Metal Gear Solid and Syphon Filter emerging in the late '90s to great acclaim and even greater influence. A more realistic, open-ended philosophy towards combat soon spread through the action genre, permanently impacting the development of artificial intelligence, level design, and narrative -- ultimately paving the way for everything from <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/sly-cooper-thieves-in-time/">Sly Cooper</a> to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/assassins-creed/">Assassin's Creed</a>. Syphon Filter veered closer to the action-adventure end of this spectrum, though it too left a distinct mark on the genre with its more realistic approach to combat. Enemies ducked for cover behind objects, an array of memorable gadgets gave players more combat choice, and headshots dropped most combatants instantly. Syphon Filter's high-stakes story was also a sign of things to come in videogame design, merging contemporary themes (programmable viruses, shadowy terrorist networks) with a globe-trotting super spy in protagonist Gabe Logan. As part of PlayStation.Blog's ongoing <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/behind-the-classics/">Behind the Classics series</a>, we reached out to <a href="http://www.bendgamestudio.com/">Bend Studio</a> Creative Director <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/author/jgarvin/">John Garvin</a> to learn more about the inspirations for this PSone classic. More...

In terms of things that constitute A BIG DEAL, the arrival of a new <a href="http://www.insomniacgames.com/">Insomniac</a> game is right up there. The California-based studio boasts one of the sturdiest resumes in gaming, with past works including Spyro, Ratchet & Clank and Resistance, and its latest effort - spectacular third-person shooter <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/fuse/">Fuse</a> – looks every bit as distinctive. The set-up is simple – you play as one member of a four-strong squad of special agents, each armed with a high-concept weapon powered by a mysterious alien substance called Fuse. There’s beefy Dalton who wields a weapon that allows him to generate a force field. Naya’s assault rifle generates a mini-vortex which sucks in enemies. Izzy wields a shatter gun that freezes foes on the spot, allowing colleagues to step in and vaporize them. Finally, Jacob sports a crossbow that fires molten projectiles capable of turning the opposition into a pile of ash. More...

The Earth Defense Force is back, and I'm here to tell you what to expect when it lands on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> this winter! Earth Defense Force 2017 (“EDF3†in Japan) launched in 2007 as a third-person shooter developed by Sandlot and published by D3Publisher. In Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable for PS Vita, the core of the game (the 3D arcade action and the system features) remain the same as in EDF2017, but by adding many additional features the game feels completely transformed and remastered. These additions include an online co-op mode, new missions, enemies and weapons, and a new playable character in Pale Wing. More...

For the first time ever, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonidas_I">King Leonidas</a> will be brought to life in <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>’s multiplayer as depicted by Gerard Butler in the blockbuster film “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_(film)">300</a>.†If you pre-order God of War: Ascension standard or collector’s edition at <a href="http://www.gamestop.com/">GameStop</a>, you will receive a voucher code that gives you access to history’s most heroic Spartan. We are very excited to partner with Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment to offer you the chance to play as one of the biggest badasses in Greek history on the God of War: Ascension multiplayer battlefield. More...

We interrupt your regular scheduled blog content with a gentle reminder from Helghast Autarch Scolar Visari: “My people... Sons and daughters of Helghan... Today is a glorious day for our nation. For many years, our history was incomplete – divided, fragmented, and split up over multiple platforms. But on this day, the record of our great struggle is made whole. On this day, <strong><a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/killzone-trilogy/">Killzone Trilogy</a> is released for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PlayStation 3</a>!</strong> Experience the power of the Third Helghast Army in the original Killzone, remastered in majestic HD. Witness the tyranny of the ISA as it attempts to seize Helghan in Killzone 2. More...

Our <a href="http://us.playstation.com/day-1-digital/">Day 1 Digital</a> program continues this week with Medal of Honor Warfighter, sequel to 2010’s Medal of Honor. The Darkness II also makes its way onto the store this week, along with the single-player campaign of Starhawk. If you do end up purchasing Starhawk’s single-player campaign and decide you want in on the multiplayer action, please purchase the separate multiplayer item in the store, not the online pass. Another highly anticipated release this week is The Unfinished Swan. This artistic game is receiving positive reviews, so check it out. Killzone HD joins The Unfinished Swan as a PSN release this week, so if you’ve been itching to replay it with trophies, here’s your chance. Finally, there’s a bunch of new releases on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a>. Street Fighter X Tekken hits the platform, along with a plethora of downloadable content. More...

<a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/frobisher-says/">Frobisher Says!</a> is a collaboration between the independent developer <a href="http://www.honeyslug.com/">Honeyslug</a>, and the artist and designer <a href="http://h099.com/">Richard Hogg</a>. Frobisher was a strange little man we met a few years back. At first, he seemed to be the imaginary friend of an artist pal of ours, Roger Kelly. But it turns out he's real! And the next thing we knew we were making a game for him! Frobisher is a rather demanding person -- and while not actually cruel, his demands tend toward the mischievous... and you really don't want to get on the wrong side of him! So the PlayStation team approached us to ask if we were interested in creating something for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> that would demonstrate its unique features. We'd recently been to a PS Vita demonstration day at their offices, where the hardware was revealed to developers -- and found the whole thing quite bewildering! PS Vita has motion controls, front and rear cameras, front and rear touch, a microphone, face detection and Augmented Reality powers, as well as all the traditional controls from a DualShock controller. So many options that thinking about what to do was confusing... until artist and Honeyslug-collaborator Dick Hogg said “let's make a game that uses everything!†and it went from there. More...

At <a href="http://www.insomniacgames.com/">Insomniac</a>, we’re big fans of some of amazing artists out there creating incredible screen-printed posters for movies and games. Being able to work with <a href="http://ollymoss.com/">Olly Moss</a> on the cover for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/resistance-3/">Resistance 3</a> was a highlight for all of us here. For Ratchet & Clank’s 10th Anniversary, we wanted to work with some more of our favorite artists to create amazing, limited-edition screen-print posters celebrating everyone’s favorite Lombax and his robot companion. (If you’re curious about how screen-printing works, <a href=" ">this video</a> is informative.) We partnered with our friends and collaborators <a href="http://www.fb.com/iam8bitproductions">iam8bit</a> to create this highly limited edition series of posters. Each poster will be coming from a different artist, and will be hand-screened here in Los Angeles. More...

<a href="http://www.orgarhythm.com/">Orgarhythm</a> drops today! Don those headphones because you’re going to want to turn up the volume on this one. To make this easy for the uninitiated, the curious, or those of you scratching their heads, here’s the bottom line on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/xseed-games/">XSEED</a>’s latest <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> offering. Music! Strategy! The unholy union of rhythm and little tribal guys that you can send into battle! <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/orgarhythm/">Orgarhythm</a> is a hybrid rhythm/real-time strategy game where you direct your own personal army by using the touchscreen to keep the beat. Destruction and creation vie for dominance on this fledgling world. You play as the God of Light, boogieing through each level in your quest to take down your brother, the God of Darkness, and you do it with style. More...

<a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/the-unfinished-swan-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">The Unfinished Swan</a> is now finished and I think it's a pretty amazing game. You probably shouldn't take my word for it though. See, making a game is like having a baby. You put a lot of yourself into it, there's a mad scramble to push it out at the end, and once it's out there's no way you can ever be objective about it. So I'm not the best judge of whether this game is any good. What I can say though is that it's definitely the game we wanted to make. We set out to create a game about a sense of wonder, about what it feels like to discover astonishing new things. We wanted to create an experience where as soon as players started getting the hang of something the game would shift and they'd be on to something new. I'm still surprised we managed to pull it off because making a game like that is crazy. More...

I am super excited for <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/sports-champions-2-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">Sports Champions 2</a> to launch on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> on October 30th, and hope you feel the same! So start warming up with your <a href="http://us.playstation.com/ps3/playstation-move/?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">PlayStation Move</a> motion controllers, because the team at Zindagi and San Diego Studio have been hard at work packing the title with five all-new sporting events including Skiing, Boxing, Tennis, Golf and Bowling – plus an <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/08/10/sports-champions-2s-improved-archery-mode-hits-the-mark/">updated Archery experience</a>, a new Party Play Mode, an Avatar Creator feature, and more. Check out our trailer below to see these new features in action! Today, we’re excited to give you a free taste of the experience with a demo on PSN. In the demo, you’ll have a chance to start working up a sweat in a singles Tennis match against the AI, play a hole of Golf for one to two players, and try out a fast flying and jumping Ski run for up to two players. More...