Commander Fury

I'm quite looking forward to this week (and so should you) with the arrivals of Dishonored, XCOM Enemy Unknown, and Retro City Rampage to PlayStation platforms. I've played all three at recent industry events, and I'd expect the reviews to come in quite high across the board - good news for us gamers. Heck, even though I'm currently on vacation (we're in Florida for a wedding), I packed my PS3 to get on these games ASAP. I'll link to coverage in next week's post. Below, find stories on Tokyo Jungle, Silent Hill: Book of Memories, and a comprehensive title update for PS Vita's Madden NFL 13. More...

<a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/03/playstation-mobile-launches-today-with-super-crate-box-loot-the-land-and-more/">PlayStation Mobile</a> took its first steps into the world this week on PS Vita and <a href="http://us.playstation.com/playstationmobile/">supported Android smartphones and tablets</a>, dishing up star launch titles in the form of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/03/playstation-mobile-the-story-of-super-crate-box/">Super Crate Box</a>, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/03/playstation-mobile-pillage-and-plunder-with-loot-the-land-out-today/">Loot the Land</a>, FuturLab's <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/04/playstation-mobile-futurlabs-beats-slider-and-fuel-tiracas/">Beats Slider and Fuel Tiracas</a> and many more. If you're giving the new games service a test drive, be sure to chime in with your favorite games in the comments -- I'm hearing good things about Rebel, too! This was a hefty week for news and announcements, starting with the week's 10 most-viewed stories listed below. Other highlights this week: an update from esteemed Hollywood scribe Gary Whitta on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/02/the-walking-dead-episode-4-coming-soon-new-trailer-and-screens/">The Walking Dead - Episode 4</a>, Jeff's hands-on experiences with PS Vita action-RPG <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/03/silent-hill-book-of-memories-for-ps-vita-a-new-angle-on-silent-hill/">Silent Hill: Book of Memories</a>, new details on Perks and weapon mods for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/03/qa-new-details-for-call-of-duty-black-ops-declassified/">Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified for PS Vita</a>, an October 23rd release for delightful and unique PSN exclusive <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/05/the-unfinished-swan-flies-to-psn-october-23-early-access-for-plus/">The Unfinished Swan</a>, the reveal of PlayStation's <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/05/playstation-at-new-york-comic-con-play-god-of-war-ascension-playstation-all-stars-more/">New York Comic-Con lineup</a>, the release of the Director's Cut DLC for PS Vita puzzler <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/02/lights-camera-dlc-escape-plan-directors-cut-dlc-arrives-on-psn/">Escape Plan</a>, plus new Q&As for PlayStation-produced PS3 powerhouses <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/03/puppeteer-blending-the-best-of-east-and-west/">Puppeteer</a> and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/02/until-dawn-qa-teen-horror-goes-supermassive/">Until Dawn</a>. More...

As Major League Baseball gears up for postseason play, you can too, as baseball’s highest-rated and bestselling game is now available at a new lower price. <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/games-and-media/psv-mlb-12-the-show.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">MLB 12 The Show</a> is now just $29.99 for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> and $19.99 for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a>. Begin your hunt for October as you watch your favorite teams vie for postseason immortality. This price drop means owners of both the PS3 and the PS Vita hardware can buy both games for less than $50 combined, giving them the ability to enjoy cross-platform functionality by saving and continuing a single Season, Franchise or Road to The Show mode on either platform. As you get ready to take your team to the playoffs on MLB 12 The Show, check out what the top players in baseball have to say about what the postseason means to them! More...

Are you gearing up for <a href="http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/">New York Comic Con</a> next week? Well, we are too; we have a killer lineup on the show floor this year. If you're on the East Coast and want to experience some of PlayStation's biggest upcoming titles -- including <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>, <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>, <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> and <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/the-last-of-us-ps3.html?CMP=soc_us__ac_sm_05_21_12">The Last of Us</a> -- before they launch, here’s your guide to PlayStation’s activities at the show. God of War: Ascension’s single-player demo will be at New York Comic Con, giving fans a taste of what to expect next March. In addition, multi-player stations will also be available, where attendees will have a chance to check out the newest way to play God of War. More...

<a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/25/starhawk-and-free-dlc-soar-to-psn-today/">Last week</a> we released our massive Starhawk 1.04 multiplayer update, a ton of badass new free DLC, our multiplayer digital download edition, and our epic single-player campaign as a free download to <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/">PlayStation Plus</a> subscribers including all of the multiplayer DLC <em>free</em>. If you haven't signed up for PlayStation Plus yet, what are you waiting for? It's a crazy good deal -- not to mention it now includes a slice of Starhawk. On top of all that, in a partnership with the MLG, we launched a major $20,000 Starhawk multiplayer tournament. The competition has gotten off to a fierce start as all Starhawk players are eligible, including you! To sign up, head over to the <a href="http://gamebattles.majorleaguegaming.com/starhawk">MLG GameBattles Starhawk website</a> and mount up to compete for your share of the cash! After you sign up, all you have to do is get online in the ranked match frenzy and you’ll be entered. Easy! More...

From the gargantuan, larger than life battles with <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=84366">Zeus</a>, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=84366">Cronos</a>, and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=85401">Poseidon</a>, to the brutally intimate no-holds-barred <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=86205">fight with Hercules</a> in God of War III, to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=84929">fighting alongside his brother, Deimos</a>, in Ghost of Sparta, there have been plenty of epic moments in Kratos' journey. But what, ladies and gentlemen, Spartans, warriors and champions, reigns supreme as the #1 Most Epic God of War Moment of All Time? If you ever doubted Kratos' ultimate arch-nemesis, the true evil that propelled him into an unstoppable rage, the original God of War -- who emblazoned the Blades of Chaos upon Kratos, as he swore an oath to serve his new master -- then by the Gods, this moment is bound to get you fired up. More...

Good news, everyone: we have an official date for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/08/22/sunflowers-beaming-to-ps-vita-this-fall/">SunFlowers</a> -- next Tuesday, October 9th for $3.99! SunFlowers is a brand new puzzle-shooter game for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a>, including two unique worlds: Classic and Tropical. Each world has more than 160 flowers to collect. Now let’s take a closer look at the second world from SunFlowers: Tropical. In this world you will discover new varieties of flowers, including pirate-themed blossoms, but every flower is still based on a real existing species. When you play on this tropical island, you will quickly discover that the climate is very different from the Classic world, and the weather can be unpredictable. More...

In response to many, <em>many</em> questions from <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps-vita/">PS Vita</a> owners, I’m delighted to officially announce that the PS Vita version of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/doctor-who-the-eternity-clock/">Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock</a> will be available to download from the <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-store/">PlayStation Store</a> next week on October 9th in the US and October 10 in Europe! The PS Vita version of the game will have several new features that we’ve been working on the past few months. One example are the new <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psvita/">PS Vita</a> controls, which utilize the combination of the dual analog stick controls and PS Vita’s touchscreen features, enabling players to switch between the more traditional controls and the ability to tap the screen to affect the action. All of the puzzle games within the game have been reworked to make full use of touchscreen controls as well. We’re also tapping into “nearâ€, PS Vita’s geo-social service. Using “nearâ€, players can collect “Gallifrean†medals while playing through the adventure and then drop them in a GPS location for other players to collect. Grow your collection while searching for other players’ medals! More...

It's great to be back on the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/">PlayStation Blog</a> so soon! I'm here to tell you something surprising! <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/joe-danger-2/">Joe Danger 2</a> is coming to <a href="http://us.playstation.com/">PlayStation</a> gamers very soon, next week in fact! That's October 9th in the US! PlayStation owners are getting a huge exclusive DLC pack of bonus content too. I'd love to tell you more about it, but first I'm going to have to explain a little about how we make games. When we make a game, we make it for ourselves. We play it every day, getting better and better at it. The great thing is that you get rid of every snag and rough edge, but then we let our friends play, and realise it has become too hard! More...

One of the great things about localizing games for western audiences is giving fans the opportunity to experience their favorite titles in their native language, while providing newcomers a different take on a specific genre. Another great aspect of localization is the ability to bring cult classics and underrated games back into the current marketplace, giving these games a chance to gain popularity among new audiences. This is the case with Under Defeat. Today, we have released a new trailer for our upcoming title Under Defeat HD: Deluxe Edition, showing off some intense shmup (shoot ‘em up) gameplay with multiple weapon and vehicle options available. Developed by well-known Japanese arcade game company <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.rev">G.rev</a>, this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Defeat">classic title</a> will be receiving new features such as improved graphics, a new two-player mode and a 16:9 New Order Mode, which will take advantage of HD television screens by making the field twice the size of regular shmups. More...

We have been developing our first title, Planet in Distress (coming soon to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN</a>), for nearly two years now. Like all developers, we had to decide what our focus with the game would be. The videogame medium is unique in the respect that it borrows from many other media, such as movies, radio, and the written word. The one aspect that separates games from movies or books is their ability to interact. But there are other distinctions worth mentioning, too. A book is conventionally about the text; a movie is the combination of sound and pictures. A game experience, however, can be crafted using a varied palette and with a more unpredictable focus. The balance between the different media incorporated within a game differs from project to project. That is the strength of videogames as a medium – but also the challenge for consumers. More...

When you make a game about something unusual like, say, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/05/01/the-unfinished-swan-is-coming-to-psn/">throwing paint in an all-white world</a>, you expect to get a lot of questions. But we were surprised that the question we got asked the most turned out to be "when can I buy it?" Now we have an answer: you can buy <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> on October 23rd exclusively on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN</a>. And if you're a <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-plus/">PlayStation Plus</a> member, you can get the game a week early -- October 16th. In the meantime, there’s still a lot to learn about the game. You’ve <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/08/31/meet-the-king-of-the-unfinished-swan/">met the King</a>, now get to know us: the team behind it all. More...

This week, the <a href="http://www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/music-unlimited/why-music-unlimited/">Music Unlimited</a> service features <a href="http://blog.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/2012/10/02/new-releases-on-the-music-unlimited-service-10212/">new releases</a> from MGK, Miguel, and Three Days Grace, as well as Matt & Kim, Tori Amos, and Blake Shelton. With two preview tracks from the upcoming LP, “Lace Up†as well as an exclusive track only found on the Music Unlimited service, be sure not to miss the exclusive MGK EP, “Lace up: The Prelude!†This week on the <a href="http://www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/video-unlimited/">video side</a>, check out <a href="https://blog.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/2012/10/02/new-releases-on-the-video-unlimited-service-10212/">New Releases</a> including the eerie shocker, Chernobyl Diaries, and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, which is available on the Video Unlimited service before it hits DVD. 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><a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/playstation/45_Episode_045__Monsters_Myths_and_PlayStation_Mobile.mp3">Download the MP3 here</a> on PS3, PS Vita or PC (Right-Click->Save As)</li></ul></blockquote> With <a href="http://us.playstation.com/playstationmobile/">PlayStation Mobile</a>'s byte-sized games for PS Vita and supported Android phones and tablets officially on the move, we sit down with PlayStation Mobile's Sarah Thomson to chat about the top launch games, the future of mobile gaming, and the ins and outs of business development in a new Origin Story segment. Good stuff! More...

It's <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/ragnarok-odyssey/">Ragnarok Odyssey</a> time! I wanted to share more details about the game's beloved card equipment system, as well as the six job classes available in-game, so if you’re all about the meat of the gameplay, this will be an informative blog entry for you. If any of you have played Ragnarok Online, you may already be familiar with how cards work in Ragnarok Odyssey. For those who haven’t played, don’t worry! I’ll explain. You will find cards in shops and from defeated monsters. Depending on what monster you defeat, different things will appear on these cards, such as their likeness, rarity, and specific new abilities and stat boosts. Taking advantage of this is easy, as all armor in the game has a Card Capacity gauge – and the more you upgrade your armor, the more cards you can equip. It’s a nifty little system for when you need an extra boost in firepower to defeat an ugly FrostGiant (they really aren’t all that cute) or a little extra HP. More...

Good news for anyone who’s been enjoying Namco Bandai’s enormous JRPG <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/03/12/jrpg-tales-of-graces-f-debuts-tomorrow-new-trailer-here/">Tales of Graces F</a> since its launch back in August: its immediate successor, Tales of Xillia, is on its way exclusively to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PlayStation 3</a> in 2013. We’ve struggled our way through an hour or so of the original Japanese version, which launched overseas back in 2011, and the 13th entry in the long-running series brings with it a number of significant new innovations for the much-loved franchise. Duly, we took the time to check in with producer Hideo Baba while in Tokyo last month to find out exactly what fans should expect. <strong>PlayStation Blog: What are the key new additions to the Tales formula since Tales of Graces?</strong> Hideo Baba, Producer: There are many unique features in Xillia but I’d like to emphasise that the battle system is very unique and much improved over the previous title. More...

It’s been a while, but we’re back with some updates on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/when-vikings-attack/">When Vikings Attack!</a> So what’s been happening since the last update? Well, apart from tirelessly working on the game day and night, the team have been to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/gamescom12/">Gamescom</a>, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/comic-con12/">Comic Con</a> and just this last weekend the game took a trip to the Eurogamer Expo in London. All of the events were great; we were all super happy to get your tweets and positive reactions, so big thanks to everyone who played the game! Anyway, it seems about time that we announced the winner of our <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/07/19/when-vikings-attack-character-design-contest/">design a character competition</a>. More...

This year we’ve been rolling out some <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/08/06/never-stop-playing-with-playstation-collections/">great value offerings</a> for PS3 owners who may have missed some of our past classics, from God of War Saga to the Ratchet & Clank Collection. Today, we’re happy to announce that we have yet another sweet collection coming your way this winter -- The Resistance Collection. The Resistance Collection will include all three of the critically acclaimed PS3 Resistance games from Insomniac Games - Resistance: Fall of Man, Resistance 2, and Resistance 3. You’ll also get extra bonus DLC content for Resistance 2 and Resistance 3 so you can play with all of the best DLC from both games, including the Aftermath Pack and skin bundle from Resistance 2, and both the Brutality and Survival Packs from Resistance 3. More...

Hello folks! Earlier this year we were shouting about <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/02/09/futurelabs-space-shooter-velocity-revealed-free-via-ps-plus-at-launch/">shouting about Velocity</a>, and now we’ve got some new things to be excited about. We’ve been hard at work coming up with more simple, elegant and clever ideas, and crafting them into fun and addictive games. The first of these games is called Beats Slider, and it’s called that because you slide beats around. It’s simple, rather elegant, and pretty clever too… <strong>Beats Slider – Conquer Those Blasted Slider Puzzles!</strong> Each block of the sliding puzzle represents MIDI data, which is basically musical notation that computers can read. MIDI data can be used to play back any instrument, synthesizer, drum loop or whatever you throw at it, just by changing the instruments or samples that are triggered by it. More...

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...