Commander Fury

A few weeks ago we <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/06/27/modnation-monday-show-us-what-you%E2%80%99ve-got/">challenged</a> you to build us a waterpark track using the recent Water World DLC. Just in time for Labor Day (U.S.) you delivered some really fun, wet ‘n wild waterparks that we might actually pay admission to visit in the “real†world! It seems as there is no challenge that the genius of the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/modnation-racers/">MNR</a> community cannot handle. Our Top Tracks this week feature five of our favorites. Dive in and treat yourself to some really fun racing! More...

<p style="text-align: justify;">Arm yourself with the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-move/">PlayStation Move</a> and a pair of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/07/01/stereoscopic-3d-on-ps3-updated-list-of-all-3d-games-and-movies/">3D glasses</a> and join the resistance when Insomniac Games drops <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/resistance-3/">Resistance 3</a> on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> this week. Naughty Dog combines their award winning greatest hits titles; UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune and UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/31/uncharted-greatest-hits-dualpack-in-stores-september-6th/">on a single blu-ray</a>, to help all new (and current) <a href=" ">Nathan Drake fans</a> catch up on his previous two adventures before they embark on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/uncharted-3-drakes-deception/">UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception</a>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Greek mythology’s man in white and lover of war, gets ahead of himself and dishes out a <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN demo</a> for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/29/god-of-war-origins-collection-demo-on-psn-this-week/">God of War: Origins</a>, continuing our first party domination this week.*<a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/03/25/dead-island-trailers-and-entrails/">Dead Island</a>, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/02/bloodrayne-betrayal-for-psn-all-the-bloody-details/">Bloodrayne: Betrayal</a>, a quintuple of minis and a PSone Japan import, is the barbecue sauce on your*succulent*PlayStation ribs this Labor Day weekend. Enjoy this week’s <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/the-drop/">The Drop</a>.</p> More...

Hope you're enjoying the long Labor Day weekend. It looks sunny out, but currently, I can't tear myself away from Deus Ex. <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/30/long-live-play/">LONG LIVE PLAY</a>! A good week coming up with the release of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/resistance-3/">Resistance 3</a> on Tuesday. I'm curious to hear what you all think; I've played through the campaign and it's my favorite in the series. After that, <a href="http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/english/">Tokyo Game Show</a>! A story or two related to that in the list below. Going to be a strong PS Vita presence there. I wish I had one for the 12-hour flight out there... <strong>The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of August 29, 2011)</strong> <ul> <li><a title="Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Cargo Plane Demo - Giant Bomb" href="http://www.giantbomb.com/uncharted-3-drakes-deception-cargo-plane-demo/17-4821/">Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Cargo Plane Demo - Giant Bomb</a></li> <li><a title="New Section 8: Prejudice maps hit PSN September 13 - Destructoid" href="http://www.destructoid.com/new-section-8-prejudice-maps-hit-psn-september-13-210395.phtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Destructoid+%28Destructoid%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">New Section 8: Prejudice maps hit PSN September 13 - Destructoid</a></li> <li><a title="DC Universe Online gettin' some free DLC Sep 6th - Destructoid" href="http://www.destructoid.com/dc-universe-online-gettin-some-free-dlc-sep-6th-210476.phtml">DC Universe Online gettin' some free DLC Sep 6th - Destructoid</a></li> <li><a title="Xseed's Mystery PSP Game Is Indeed Corpse Party - Siliconera" href="http://www.siliconera.com/2011/09/01/xseeds-mystery-psp-game-is-indeed-corpse-party/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+siliconera%2FMkOc+%28Siliconera%29&utm_content=Google+Reader">Xseed's Mystery PSP Game Is Indeed Corpse Party - Siliconera</a></li> More...

Read MoreThis week saw new details for PSN’s upcoming horror game Amy, Resistance 3′s orchestral score, the final phase in PlayStation Home’s Dead Island infestation, a preview of The House of the Dead: OVERKILL – Extended Cut‘s second PS3-exclusive level, a new Resistance 3 developer diary focusing on Chimeran weapons, an update on Dyad‘s music-gameplay fusion, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/03/the-playstation-recap-long-live-play-edition/"></a> More...

Story by Michael McWhertor @ Kotaku.com. Year after year, how can Call of Duty‘s massive online shooter remain fresh? With Modern Warfare 3, the game’s developers have focused on what works—player progression, extensive customization, tons of maps and game modes—and are blowing it out. Activision offered a first look at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 the night before Call of Duty XP officially kicks off. I liked what I saw, even if I’m not the kind of Call of Duty player capable of a 15 kill-long killstreak. It’s still the same hyperfast, 60 frames per second kill or be killed war game at its core: lots of guns, plenty of carnage, tons of explosive action. But developers Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer games are experimenting with a few new gameplay innovations that are designed to both deepen the experience and make playing multiplayer a little bit easier on the casual Call of Duty fan. Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling promised “more changes to the core experience than we ever have before” and “the most balanced multiplayer experience we’ve ever done” at a preview of the game at Call of Duty XP. He and Sledgehammer’s Michael Condrey blazed through a long list of new additions and tweaks to the very successful multiplayer formula of Call of Duty. They even dove deeply into the waters of Call of Duty Elite, which you can read about right here. On the multiplayer side, here’s what’s new in Modern Warfare 3. Modern Warfare 3′s New Strike Packages and Pointstreaks Before I get into the meat of what Strike Packages mean for Modern Warfare 3, say goodbye to the killstreak. And say hello to pointstreaks, all 28 of them. No longer will player kills be the only way to build up streaks. Sure, kills still count, but in MW3, completing objectives in gametypes like Capture the Flag and Seek and Destroy will reward players with points they can cash in to call in recon drones, attack helicopters, sentries and other power-ups. Kill assists count toward pointstreak numbers too, letting supporting players, not just the dominant virtual marksman have all the fun. Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling explained the change at Call of Duty XP, saying “the killstreak system was optimized for one game type: Team Deathmatch.” Now, players will be rewarded more handsomely for actually completing each gametype’s objectives. Modern Warfare 3‘s pointstreaks come in three groups, dubbed Strike Packages. Players can customize their classes with one of three Strike Packages, adding a new layer of personalization to COD multiplayer. The three types are Assault, Support and Specialist. Each has its own list of ‘streaks. Here they are. If you like “big body counts, the Assault package is for you. With Assault, you can call in UAVs and care package drops, naturally, but this is also where the big guns live: assault helicopters, AC130, Predator missiles, mortar strikes, Juggernaut suits. Assault brings the pain. Your streak count will reset every time you die, if you go for the Assault Strike Package. Support is about “helping the team win,” not just stacking your body count. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? For the less aggressive team player, Support deals in ‘streaks that lean more defensive. This includes the option to drop a remote gun turret, call in a hacked airdrop, deploy ballistic vests to your team, drop an EMP or, ultimately, call in an Osprey gunship that also delivers five airdrop packages (one of them hacked). With Support, your streak count will not reset upon death. Finally, Specialist is all about perks. Become a super soldier with Specialist, which lets players stack on additional perks. You’ll get up to six perks—including Sleight of Hand, Hardline, Recon, et al—as the ‘streaks pile up. After your eighth kill, however, you get every perk available to you. You become a monster. Here are a few of the new perks coming in Modern Warfare 3. Recon – Explosive damage paints the target on the mini map Blind Eye – Undetectable by air support/sentries Assassin – Undetectable by UAV, portable radar, thermal, heartbeat Quickdraw – Faster aim down sight Stalker – Move faster while aiming Marksman – Identify targets at longer range Some perks you wont see return in MW3. “No One Man Army, no Nuke, no Commando and no Last Stand,” Infinity Ward promises. New Progression Another big change to Modern Warfare multiplayer is Weapon Proficiencies, a new leveling system for firearms. Basically, the more often you use a weapon in MW3, whether it’s an assault rifle, handgun, shotgun or sniper rifle, the better that weapon gets. In real terms, this means players can reduce gun sway, decrease recoil and add more attachments over time—among other things. Click pic below for the Gallery @ Kotaku.com. Oh, and if you really just adore player progression and experience points, know that the leveling up of Modern Warfare‘s multiplayer has been adapted for the Modern Warfare 3‘s version of Spec-Ops mode. You can read more about that mode right here. Modern Warfare 3′s New Gameplay Modes Competitive multiplayer in Modern Warfare 3 will be expanded with at least two new prominent gameplay modes, Kill Confirmed and Team Defender. You may have seen a snippet of Kill Confirmed in the leaked-early multiplayer trailer. That’s the one with the big glowing dog tags that drop from corpses. Those dog tags are how players confirm kills in this Team Deathmatch variant. Kills don’t count as a point for your team until you or one of you allies grabs a dead man’s dropped dog tags. That adds an intriguing layer of strategy to Team Deathmatch, as opposing players can grab the dog tags of their fallen teammates before you do. And if they see one of their comrades lying dead, dog tags floating above their body, they’ll know where your headed if you want to score. Team Defender, which I didn’t get to preview, is a Capture The Flag variant, just without the flag return. Hold onto an enemy flag for as long as possible, sticking together as a team to survive. There will also be new Private Match game types added to MW3, each of which has been “significantly enhanced to allow players to create new, customizable game modes” that they can share with friends. “Through [Call of Duty Elite], subscribers can vote on favorite new modes and those modes could make their way into public playlists,” Activision says. Here are those new Private Match modes. Infection – The infected kills enemies to recruit them for the infected team. Drop Zone – Hold the Drop Zone for Team Points and Care Packages. Team Juggernaut – With the support of a juggernaut, kill players on the opposing team. The first team to reach the score limit wins. Juggernaut – Kill the Juggernaut to become the new Juggernaut. Gun Game – Be the first to dominate with every gun. One in the Chamber – Gain ammo by eliminating enemies. Be the last to survive. We’ll have hands-on time with Modern Warfare 3 (and much more) from the Call of Duty XP convention this weekend. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Story by Michael McWhertor @ Kotaku.com. Call of Duty Elite, Activision’s new social network and stat-tracking service that will launch alongside Modern Warfare 3—and work with last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops—is largely going to be free to use. But there are very good reasons for investing in Elite. At the war game maker’s Call of Duty XP gathering, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg finally put a price on the premium subscription it plans to offer to Call of Duty Elite members: $50 USD per year. That’s ten dollars less than the cost of purchasing a year’s worth of downloadable map packs at $15 a pop, Hirshberg says, which millions of Call of Duty fans seem content to do annually. (Call of Duty: Black Ops players have purchased more than 18 million map packs since the game’s launch last November.) Players who purchase an annual premium membership to Call of Duty Elite will receive “every piece of downloadable content [for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3] for the year,” Hirshberg said during a press preview at this weekend’s Call of Duty XP convention. He estimated 20 pieces of content in all, including map packs, missions for Modern Warfare 3‘s Spec Ops mode, additional unspecified game modes and more. Premium Elite subscribers will also get it first and faster, he said. “In the past, we offered it four times a year,” Hirshberg said of standard Call of Duty map pack releases, typically sold as a bundle every few months. “Premium will get it monthly.” Maps and other content downloaded via one’s premium Elite subscription will still be yours even if you let your premium membership lapse, the company said. Players won’t be required to maintain an ongoing paid subscription (a la Sony’s PlayStation Plus) to access their digital goods downloaded through Elite. Premium Elite memberships also allow players to take part in daily competitions for virtual and real prizes—iPads, for example. Activision says these competitions “aren’t just for the pros.” Players of all skill levels can take part, they say, with competition matches “managed and refereed by real people 24/7.” The premium subscription fee also lets players level up their Elite clans through specific challenges. Leveling up one’s clan unlocks virtual items like camouflage for weapons, badges and name tags, even double XP weekends on a clan-by-clan basis. It also includes video storage capacity eight times what a free membership offers, access to “expert strategy and analysis from the best players in the world,” and the ability to watch Elite TV, the premium episodic video content being created by Hollywood talent like Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Tony and Ridley Scott. Bateman and Arnett will deliver “Noob Toob,” which Hirshberg described as “gamers provide the videos, they provide the smack talk.” The Scotts will bring “Friday Night Fights” to Elite TV, a program built from Modern Warfare 3 game footage. Call of Duty Elite’s annual premium membership will cost $49.99 USD, according to Activision. Players will be able to subscribe via Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store. Activision also expects to sell Elite memberships at GameStop stores. It will also include one year of premium Elite membership to players who purchase the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 “Hardened Edition,” Activision confirmed. Call of Duty Elite, currently available in beta form as a web-based client, will also come to consoles (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) and mobile devices (iPhone, iPad and Android). I got a chance to preview the Elite interface for the Xbox 360—a free downloadable application, I’m told, just like the mobile versions—and found it identical to the web interface. Elite’s mobile apps may feature less functionality than the full-sized versions, but Hirshberg promises iOS and Android versions will still be “deep and rich.” Call of Duty Elite launches wide on November 8 alongside the release of Modern Warfare 3. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Story by Luke Plunkett @ Kotaku.com. Say what you will of the basketcase this franchise’s singleplayer has become, one thing it still does very well is multiplayer. Which, you know, is the reason 95% of people buying this game buy this game. So…it doesn’t really need a trailer at all! But thanks for making one anyway, Activision. Appreciate it. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Story by Kirk Hamilton @ Kotaku.com. In preparation for the November 15th launch of Ubisoft’s upcoming open-world stealth/action/swarthiness-simulator Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, the publisher will be running a multiplayer beta for the game from September 3-11th. However, the beta is exclusive to Playstation Plus members as well as “select Playstation 3 Uplay members.” Multiplayer in the new title will be much the same as the surprisingly enjoyable cat-and-mouse of last year’s Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, though with the expected number of new modes and maps. More information can be found at Ubisoft’s official Revelations beta webpage. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Story by Joel Johnson @ Kotaku.com. I’ve never been one for buying consoles painted with a single game, but this year’s Call of Duty Xbox is relatively understated. Pardon the copy-and-paste press release, but really, what else is there to say? Prepare for Domination with the Xbox 360® Limited Edition Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare 3® Console, Wireless Headset with Bluetooth and Wireless Controller Wheels up this Fall in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand UAVs don’t scare you. You laugh in the face of helicopter strikes. You think proximity mines are for rookies. And Prestige? Please, old news. Prepare for the launch of the Xbox 360® Limited Edition Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Console. Xbox, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games teamed up to create a “Call of Duty” collectible, just in time for the most epic “Call of Duty” experience yet. Aside from its (air)striking good looks, the console will play unmistakable “Call of Duty” sounds when powering up and when the tray is opened. This must-have for “Call of Duty” fans worldwide includes a customized console with graphics from the game, along with two custom wireless controllers, a 320GB hard drive, a copy of “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,” as well as custom sounds when the console is turned on. A one month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription to Xbox LIVE is included so you can play to your heart’s content, as well as exclusive avatar items that show your Xbox LIVE friends you’re one of the lucky ones to own this coveted console. The console will launch on November 8, 2011 in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and EMEA for $399 (U.S. ERP), and you can pre-order today at participating retailers. At 320GB, the console has the largest hard drive ever available for Xbox 360, with more than enough space to download and save game add-ons, downloadable content, games, music, photos, videos and movies. While “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3″ does not support Kinect functionality, all Xbox 360 consoles are Kinect-ready for when you’re ready to take a break from the battlefield. In addition to the console, Xbox 360 will be releasing two limited edition accessories, both shipping to stores October 11: · The Xbox 360® Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Wireless Headset with Bluetooth provides the ability to chat with friends during multi-player game play or with Bluetooth®-enabled mobile phones, PCs and other devices. Its artwork matches the custom console and includes a charging cradle, ear loop, ear gels, and an Xbox LIVE token for an exclusive download for $69.99 (U.S. ERP). o Users can chat without wires on Xbox LIVE and easily switch between Xbox 360 mode and Bluetooth mode. Use the headset with Bluetooth®-enabled mobile phones, PCs and other devices. The Xbox 360® Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Wireless Headset with Bluetooth is the comfortable, hands-free way to keep the conversations going. · The Xbox 360® Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Wireless Controller allows you to show all your friends your passion for the franchise. The controller includes exclusive artwork and a transforming D-pad that can be rotated to adapt to the user’s game play, as well as an Xbox LIVE token for an exclusive download, all for $59.99 (U.S. ERP). For more information on the Xbox 360® Limited Edition Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Console and accessories, visit http://www.xbox.com and visit MajorNelson.com for a video. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

If you’ve been following the development of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/amy/">Amy</a>, you probably know that we’re trying to make a unique survival-horror game for PSN. As explained in my <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/06/20/amy-is-survival-horror-evolved-coming-to-psn-this-summer/">previous post</a>, we’re working hard to bring a different gameplay based on a deep interaction between Lana, a young woman who is the lead character, and Amy, an eight year-old child, set in a horrific environment. Soon, we’ll give you many more details on some of the key elements of the gameplay. But for now, we wanted to show you that, even for a downloadable game, we’re trying our best to bring you real flesh-and-blood characters. You can meet two of them in the new videos below. First, a quick primer on the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/06/20/amy-is-survival-horror-evolved-coming-to-psn-this-summer/">world of Amy</a>. It’s 2035, and global warming has intensified beyond mankind’s control. More...

As we lead up to <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/resistance-3/">Resistance 3</a>’s launch this Tuesday, we wanted to start your holiday weekend right with the two television commercials you will be seeing for Resistance 3 over the next few weeks. These commercials will be airing during NFL games and my personal favorite, college football, as well as series premieres of some of the biggest shows on TV. Why two commercials, you ask? Well, we have two great approaches for Resistance 3. One involves the story of Joseph Capelli’s journey. In some ways this ties us back to the very first <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/08/17/resistance-3-from-insomniac-games-coming-exclusively-to-ps3/">live-action prologue trailer</a> that showed us the first glimpse of Resistance 3’s grim new world. Here you get a glimpse of the emotions and story that make up our game. We really feel like this ad wonderfully captures and encapsulates Resistance 3. Take a look: More...

A few weeks ago, you may have noticed that Street Fighter IV’s venerable producer Yoshinori Ono said he was looking forward to a new game called <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/02/evo-ono-discusses-cole-in-street-fighter-x-tekken-ps-va-development/">“Skullgirls.â€</a> A lot of you probably hadn’t even heard of the game before, so I’m here to remedy that. Skullgirls is more than just a <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/">PSN</a> fighting game, it’s the realization of two peoples’ long-held dreams... seriously! Creative director Alex “o_8†Ahad has been working on the characters and story since he was in high school, and project lead Mike “Mike Z†Zaimont had been working on a fighting game engine in his free time since 2008. When mutual friends introduced them to each other, Skullgirls was born. Joining the recently founded <a href="http://revergelabs.com/">Reverge Labs</a> team in 2010, they signed with publisher <a href="http://www.autumngames.com/">Autumn games</a>, and at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/e311/">E3</a> Konami announced that it will be distributing Skullgirls. More...

We’ve been working ridiculously hard on BloodRayne: Betrayal for quite some time now and I can’t tell you how stoked I am to tell you that it’s launching <em>next week</em>, on September 6th, as part of the annual <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/psn-play/">PSN PLAY</a> promotion. For those of you who might not know, <a href="http://www.wayforward.com/">WayForward</a> has been working on a full-on 2D re-imagining of the iconic BloodRayne franchise. BloodRayne: Betrayal is all about deep and varied combat, tough-as-nails platforming, smooth and fluid animations, and of course, buckets and buckets of blood! We’ve previously been fortunate enough to work with the game’s publisher, Majesco, on A Boy and His Blob. It was a great experience, so when they approached us with the opportunity to reboot BloodRayne, we jumped at it! With the power of the PS3 behind us, we have crafted our first HD side-scrolling game, and it looks frickin’ amazing! We’ve combined a rich fluid dynamic system that allows for superbly splattery blood, unique screen-distorting refraction effects for all of Rayne’s slicing and dicing, tons of layers of background parallax, and literally thousands of frames of character animations to make one of the prettiest digital HD games you’ll ever play. More...

Enjoy your one last weekend of summer with hit flicks and great deals. Disney’s latest musical movie smash <strong>Prom</strong> hits <em>New Releases</em> this week. Get into the back to school vibe with this tale of class presidents, bad boys, jocks and smart kids. Who will ask who? Will she say yes? Catch all the fun in HD or SD with your choice to rent or own. Robert Redford directs <strong>The Conspirator</strong>, now available in the <em>Movies</em> section. In the wake of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Mary Surratt is the only female implicated in the crime and becomes the first woman ever to be executed by the United States government. The cast includes James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class), Robin Wright (State of Play), Danny Huston (Robin Hood), Evan Rachel Wood (True Blood) and Tom Wilkinson (The Green Hornet). <em>Rent Now</em> features the digital exclusive <strong>Red State</strong> directed by Kevin Smith available before it’s released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 18. This film sees three teenagers lured into a horrific trap by a fundamentalist priest with a deadly agenda. More...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gjR-pkH1QU&feature=youtube_gdata

When we set out to make <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/resistance-3/">Resistance 3</a>, we wanted to make it an emotional, personal story of Joseph Capelli’s harrowing journey to New York City in the face of certain death. It’s a brutal game, showing how humanity struggles to survive under the crushing weight of the Chimera. A big element of that was making sure that our score and soundtrack represented this new emotional payload. It was a sincere pleasure on the part of <a href="http://www.insomniacgames.com/">Insomniac Games</a> to work with Composer Boris Salchow on the score for <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/resistance-3-ps3.html">Resistance 3</a>. Boris was here constantly, seeing the game and talking to our team. He wanted to be invested in the story and create a truly great score, and we’re confident that he’s done just that. It was also a pleasure to have the score for <a href="http://www.insomniacgames.com/games/resistance-series/resistance-3/">Resistance 3</a> recorded by an orchestra at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London, aka the very same studio that The Beatles famously used to record their final album. Our colleagues in Europe were there to give you this behind-the-scenes look at the Resistance 3 score and orchestra recording session at Abbey Road - watch it above. More...

Greetings from the deck here at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/sucker-punch/">Sucker Punch</a> Productions! As many of you may have heard we had an excellent panel at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/pax11/">PAX Prime</a> last weekend about creating our 2D cutscenes. Those lucky enough to attend got a sneak preview of a cutscene from inFAMOUS 2: Festival of Blood, and a free <a href="http://i.imgur.com/UVedO.jpg">inFAMOUS 2: Festival of Blood t-shirt</a> to boot. We can’t wait to share more details about Festival of Blood, so here’s the sneak peek. Let us know what you think in the comments! If you want to know how we created these sequences you can read our detailed summary of our PAX Prime panel, <strong>A Panel on Panels: Creating the Comic-Inspired Cutscenes of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/infamous-2/">inFAMOUS 2</a></strong>, over on <a href="http://www.suckerpunch.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=269:pax-prime-2011-report&catid=62:infamous2-game-page&Itemid=115">SuckerPunch.com</a>. For more updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter, <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/suckerpunchprod">@SuckerPunchProd</a>, and ‘Like’ us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/suckerpunchproductions">Facebook</a>. More...

Hi there everyone! Our new game, Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon, is <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/30/playstation-store-update-202/">live now on PSN</a> and well worth checking out. It’s got everything you could possibly want: co-op, zombies, demons, tons of weapons, RPG elements, hilariously rude and crude humor, and enough action to keep you going longer than a cockroach could survive a true apocalypse! For those of you that haven’t been following our development, Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon is a four-player, co-op, dual-analog arcade shooter (think Robotron on crack…with plenty of raving zombies and delinquent man-birds, of course). What’s really fantastic about the game is that we’ve been lucky enough to work extremely closely with the über-talented staff over at the <a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/ugly_americans/index.jhtml">Ugly Americans</a>. All of the voice actors from the show lent their talents to their characters, the writers created a completely new story for the game, and Devin Clark (animator and series creator) came up with all the character design including some insanely twisted end-level bosses. As a result it really feels like you are playing inside an episode of the show, every element from the world of Ugly Americans forms a crucial part of this game experience. More...

Story by Nemesis. Here is a new video interview of Robert Bowling telling us a little more about Spec-Ops Survival Mode and the various Perks, Armory, and Weapon Upgrades that you can purchase with the COD Dollars that you get within the game mode instead of ranking up. Modern Warfare 3 will be out on November 8, 2011 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC, and the Wii. Thanks to GamerSpawn for the video. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Story by oferrar1o @ SFX-360.com. The list of Hardened Edition extras in the photo that Wired.com (See Pic Below) received includes: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 game with unique disc art. One year of membership in Call of Duty Elite. “Founder status†on Elite with exclusive in-game emblem, player card, camouflage, clan XP boost and other exclusive benefits. SteelBook case. PlayStation Network exclusive: “Animated Timeline Theme.†Xbox 360 exclusive: “Special Ops Juggernaut Xbox Live Outfit.†Limited-edition “field journal†with more than 100 pages of “authentic military sketches, diagrams and written entries.†Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Hi there Lombax fans! It was great to have so many of you swing by the PlayStation booth at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/pax11/">PAX</a> this last weekend and get your hands on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/ratchet-clank-all-4-one/">Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One</a>. Those we did speak to seemed to have a great time playing around with the incredible weapons shown in the PAX demo. If you didn’t get a chance to make it to PAX and are curious about just what other unique weapons can be found in All 4 One, you’re in luck, because today we’re detailing the weapons specific to each of the four characters. Take a look at this final video in the series and see how the character-specific weapons of All 4 One work. Watch as Ratchet uses his Dopplebanger to distract enemies before he blasts them with his Warmonger rocket launcher, Qwark uses his Quantum Deflector to protect his teammates and run through enemies, Nefarious gets sneaky with his Cloaker, and Clank slows down time and space with the Zoni Ray. More...

The Dead Island Total Game Integration continues in <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-home">PlayStation Home</a> as the third and final wave of the zombie horde is unleashed this week. Head to the Central Plaza this Thursday, September 1st and get to slaughtering swarms of zombies with the new Sawblade Mace weapon. Survive a series of bloody, hyper-violent challenges that allow you unlock a host of unique rewards – including the exclusive “Exploding Zombie Meat†weapon for use in Dead Island. Can you help the community exterminate 20 million zombies? Get your hands bloody this week in PlayStation Home. The Velocity Racing League enters a new phase this Thursday with the Sodium 2 Nemesis Update. With the start of the Nemesis stage of the Velocity Racing League a new challenge awaits you in the form of a new track (complete with reverse mode) – Wasteland Spires! More...

GameSpot has posted a new interview with Bear McCreary, composer for SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs as well as numerous television series, including Battlestar Galactica and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The interview touches on his inspirations for the SOCOM 4 score and how he worked to create something unique for the game. Here's an excerpt on his experience creating the music for SOCOM 4: "We scored the game with a live orchestra at Skywalker Ranch in Northern California, but the orchestra is not the primary focus of the music. The primary focus of the music is actually the Southeast Asian instrumentation, such as the gamelan orchestra. You hear taiko drums, you hear the shamisen, the biwa, the koto, bansuri, shakuhachi, just a wide array of instrumentation that has a really distinct Asian sound. And that was really exciting to me." The full interview can be found right here. More...

It’s hard to believe that <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/resistance-3/">Resistance 3</a> is coming out next week! It’s been an amazing journey for those of us at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/insomniac/">Insomniac Games</a>, we’ve spent the last three years ensuring this is our most polished, focused, and consistent entry in the Resistance franchise. We’re very excited to share it with you. As we get close to release, it’s time to show you our very last Dev Diary – this one focused on the high-tech weapons created or influenced by the Chimeran invaders. We were extremely pleased to work in collaboration with the PlayStation.Blog on these diaries, and we hope you love them as much as we do. As you may know by now, the Resistance 3 Multiplayer Beta is winding down on September 4th, but we wanted to get one last blast of testing on our servers, so we’ve made the beta available to all on the PlayStation Store. We also wanted to acknowledge that while the R3 beta wasn’t always smooth sailing, we totally appreciated those of you who helped us test the game and stuck with us through the rough patches. We’ve announced a Beta Player Appreciation program – if you download and play a few rounds of the Resistance 3 Beta before it ends on September 4th, you’ll receive a couple of cool rewards for the final game. More...