Commander Fury

Story by Michael McWhertor @ Kotaku.com. Career ninja Ryu Hayabusa is going to have a busy year, now that Team Ninja has officially unveiled Dead or Alive 5 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the form of this “pre-alpha” gameplay trailer. The star of Team Ninja’s Ninja Gaiden 3 is also prominently featured in our first look at Dead or Alive 5, which Tecmo Koei unveiled at this week’s Tokyo Game Show. Team Ninja describes the concept of DOA 5 as “fighting entertainment.” The console fighting game is expected in 2012. This is the fighting game series’ first entry on PlayStation console hardware since Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore, released on the PlayStation 2 in 2000. Team Ninja also released a “key visual” for the game, which appears to feature either Hitomi or Kasumi, one of Dead or Alive‘s many female fighters. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Story by Stephen Totilo @ Kotaku.com. Grant Theft Auto IV. Red Dead Redemption. L.A. Noire. For the last few years every console game from Rockstar Games has been a big deal, creatively and commercially. Next up: Max Payne 3, whose debut trailer hit today and you can see right here. GTA is Rockstar’s baby. Red Dead and L.A. Noire were the types of games no other studio was brazen enough to try. Max? That’s a shooter. That’s the kind of game everyone is trying to make. So can Rockstar’s be special? Can it be great and important? Max Payne 3 will be out for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC in March of next year, nine years after the last Max Payne was released. Rockstar is developing without the involvement of original series creators Remedy. The trailer implies that Max’s signature bullet time is back and it sure looks like this game is going to be all about the gunplay and hard-boiled crime. Graphically, it looks superb. Max Payne fans, do you like what you see? And can you spot any small details us non-experts may not have caught? Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

It's my pleasure to announce that we have just launched a limited beta for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/ratchet-clank-all-4-one/">Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One</a>. Our team in North Carolina has been working hard to build the ultimate co-op Ratchet & Clank adventure, and we hope that in the coming weeks you’ll get to try out the one- to four-player mayhem. The beta will enable you and up to three friends to go online and play through two sections of the game. The first scenario is the opening level of Luminopolis where Ratchet, Clank, Captain Qwark and the evil Dr. Nefarious are forced to band together when Nefarious’s light-eating Z’Grute is unleashed upon the city. The second area of the beta jumps you deeper into the action with The Vertigus Cliffs, set in the N.E.S.T. area of the treacherous Planet Magnus is a unique area full of vertical views that look stunning in 3D. The Vertigus Cliff level will also give you a chance to check out some mechanics from later in the game, including use of your weapon wheel and many of the crazy Ratchet & Clank weapons you’ve come to know and love. <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/25/ratchet-clank-all-4-one-weapons-more-ways-to-up-your-arsenal/">New weapons</a> like the Frost Cannon, Plasma Bomb Launcher and Warmonger give you a great assortment of guns to play with, but <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/07/28/ratchet-clank-all-4-one-up-your-arsenal-with-these-tools-of-destruction/">old favorites</a> like the Combuster are back as well. There are LOTS of weapons in the beta, as well as character’s <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/31/the-special-weapons-of-ratchet-clank-all-4-one/">special ability</a>. More...

So here we are creeping up onto yet another <a href="http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/english/">Tokyo Game Show</a> and we have a big announcement to make... and an unusual one at that! We are announcing a name change - I'm sure many of you have seen information about <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/pixeljunk-lifelike/">PixelJunk Lifelike</a> over the past year or so, including some live demo performances we did during E3, and a few of you might have noticed how much the core concept of Lifelike expanded and shifted since it was first announced as we explored more and more ideas. Well, after long deliberation we are changing the name to "PixelJunk 4am" to better match the atmosphere we are trying to create. And for more information about that, I have asked some questions and translated <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baiyon">Baiyon</a>'s answers for you: More...

It’s been many, many months in the making, but as you’ll have noticed yesterday, we’ve unleashed <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/renegade-ops-ps3.html">Renegade Ops</a> onto <a href="http://us.playstation.com/psn/">PSN</a> as part of the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/psn-play/">PSN PLAY</a> promotion. We’re incredibly pleased to be part of this new promotion, and hope that you are ready to help General Bryant and the Renegades defeat the tyrannical Inferno and thwart his dastardly plans. Hopefully you already have a good idea of what the game is about, you may remember I did ramble at length in previous blog posts such as <a href="http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/08/08/renegade-ops-meet-the-team-2/">Meet the Team</a>, and <a href="http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/08/15/renegade-ops-lets-talk-about-upgrades/">Let’s talk about upgrades</a>, but if not allow me to give you a quick reminder; Inferno is threatening to detonate bombs in capital cities around the world, unless his demands are met, and it is in the hands of the Renegade Ops team that the safety of the world now rests. General Bryant and his crack team are taking their range of vehicles, weapons and various specialities to the battlefields to destroy the Inferno threat once and for all More...

This week’s update brings the final title of the PlayStation Network PLAY event: SEGA’s Renegade Ops! Blending frantic top-down gameplay, a crazy variety of vehicles and weapons, and lest we forget the 4 player co-op; Renegade Ops ends PSN PLAY with a bang! As part of PSN PLAY, PlayStation Plus subscribers can snag the title for 20% off, while everyone will have free access to a Vehicle & Character DLC Pack, if the game is purchased or was pre-ordered before 9/19. Another PSN title coming in hot is <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/08/from-dust-coming-to-psn-on-september-27th/">From Dust</a>, hitting the Store today. From legendary game developer Eric Chahi, comes an award-winning strategy game that puts you in direct control of world shifting elements to help a noble tribe regain the knowledge of their ancestors. PlayStation Plus subscribers take note: this one will be 20% off at release! More...

Once again, BradyGames has hit the market with a Map App for the avid gamers out there. The only officially licensed app for the year’s most anticipated release: ** Zoom and scroll through detailed maps of the entire game ** Locate all in-game collectibles: ID Cards, Banoi Herald editions and Investigation Tapes ** Track which collectibles have been found and which await discovery ** Official music from the game Customer Reviews It works 5 Stars by Sefiroth24 I bought it in the morning and right now im using it as a play What it says. 4 Stars by Beau Donnell Isn’t super amazing, and probably not worth the money, but it is exactly what is says it is. I just wish it was a full guide with tips and all, then I would pay over $5. But it is exactly what it says it is, no problems, and looks great. love it 5 Stars by Tass angiolillo This was very helpful. I really like how you can mark off your progress. Would have been even better to actual have a collectors map with the game. As you can see the users are loving it and its only $2.99 in the ITunes Store, so go get it today!!! Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Story by CallofDuty-Community.com. It’s that time of the patch cycle again. Treyarch needs to prepare the PS3 for the Rezurrection map pack, which will be available on September 22nd, and in order to do that, the PS3 needs to be patched. Besides the added Rezurrection support there are 2 other important updates. First important update, some security updates. Small as it may be, any update that’ll make Black Ops on the PS3 more secure is welcome. The second update is one I’ve been waiting for for quite a while now. A player’s win streak will now end if they quit out during a live match. Dashboarders will like that update. These are the full patch notes for patch 1.13 on the PS3: Security Updates. Addressed an issue where Custom Private Match settings were carrying over to Public matches. Prohibited clan tags can no longer be used. A player’s win streak will now break if they quit out during a live match. Players that are partied up are no longer allowed to go into party-restricted lobbies such as FFA. Fixed a rare issue with Recent Games not showing the correct heat map. Addressed an exploit copying another player’s emblem/playercard. Added Rezurrection DLC support. (Launching September 22nd!) Fixed some issues related to invites going from Zombie to Multiplayer. Unlocked clan tag colors can now be set using the swapped X/O button configuration. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Today’s the day! The <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/07/littlebigplanet-2-now-39-99-move-support-enabled/">LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack</a> will be available later today on the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-store/">PlayStation Store</a> refresh. The epic downloadable pack includes tons of new gadgets and tools, giving you the power to CREATE games for your <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/playstation-move/">PlayStation Move</a> motion controller, which eventually means that tons of user-generated PlayStation Move-enabled games will be available to everyone for free via PSN. But most importantly, the Move Pack contains an epic new storyline titled "Rise of the Cakeling!†See what’s in store in our new Story trailer below. More...

Fellow Spartans - The wait is over! Kratos storms store shelves everywhere in the form <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/god-of-war-origins-collection/">God of War: Origins Collection</a>—the compilation of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/god-of-war-chains-of-olympus/">God of War: Chains of Olympus</a> and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/god-of-war-ghost-of-sparta/">God of War: Ghost of Sparta</a> on a single Blu-ray Disc, available today! Now fans and newcomers to the franchise can complete the God of War experience on their PS3 for the first time. And so far, members of the media have given God of War: Origins Collection a strong thumbs up. <a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-pod-god-of-war/719859">GameTrailers.com</a> called the game “a gift worthy of Olympus," while <a href="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2011/08/29/god-of-war-origins-collection-review/">MTV.com</a> said "God of War: Origins Collection is an absolute steal." Other early reviews include <a href="http://ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1190707p1.html">IGN.com</a> (9/10), <a href="http://www.gamesradar.com/god-war-origins-collection-review/">GamesRadar.com</a> (9/10), <a href="http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/222448/review-god-of-war-origins-collection-ps3/">GamePro</a> (4/5), <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/games/god_of_war_origins_collection/b/ps3/archive/2011/08/29/god-of-war-origins-collection-review.aspx">Game Informer</a> (9.5/10), <a href="http://www.1up.com/reviews/review-god-of-war-origins-collection">1UP.com</a> (A-), <a href="http://blog.machinima.com/insidegaming/2011/08/30/god-of-war-origins-collection-review/">Machinima.com</a> (9/10), <a href="http://www.complex.com/video-games/2011/08/god-of-war-origins-collection-fittingly-rounds-off-sonys-epic-saga">Complex.com</a> (8/10), <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/god-of-war-origins-collection-review/">DigitalTrends.com</a> (9/10), <a href="http://www.dualshockers.com/2011/08/29/review-god-of-war-origins-collecion/">DualShockers.com</a> (9/10), <a href="http://playstationlifestyle.net/2011/08/29/ps3-review-god-of-war-origins-collection/">PlayStationLifestyle.com</a> (9/10), <a href="http://www.craveonline.com/gaming/reviews/172611-review-god-of-war-origins-collection">CraveOnline.com</a>, and the <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/business/consumer/articles/2011/08/30/20110830god-war-origins-review.html">Arizona Republic</a>—just to name a few. More...

Story by Stephen Totilo @ Kotaku.com. The next Counter-Strike, the one coming out early next year called Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, won’t be called Counter-Strike 2, because that game would be “something different”, two of Valve’s top people on the new game recently told Kotaku. “A lot of Counter-Strike: GO is taking Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike 1.6 and melding it into a product that every side likes and also expanding the base by putting it out on the consoles,” Valve’s Chet Faliszek said, referring to the two most popular incarnations of the game. “Whereas Counter-Strike 2, at least internally, we think about as something different.” During a recent interview at Valve headquarters in Bellevue, Faliszek and CS: GO project lead Ido Magal let me play Counter-Strike: GO (for an hour) and then helped me narrow in on what the new game is and isn’t. It’s clear that the new game, which will be released as a downloadable title for PC, Mac, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 early next year, isn’t a full-fledged sequel. “Counter-Strike: GO has this kind of objective of homing in,” Magal said. “We’re taking that competitive experience that’s very hard to organize in Counter-Strike: Source… We’ve taken that and let everyone experience the fun of a five-on-five [game] where everyone is equally matched. The product doesn’t span all of Counter-Strike. Counter-Strike is zombie mods and all these different things. This is more narrow.” The new GO will feature several classic maps, new weapons and tweaks that range from modified maps to a new casual mode that removes the in-game money restrictions on which weapons and items players can buy. It also will be supported by Valve’s in-house match-making, an option that allows Valve to promise a controlled, predictable multiplayer experience for all gamers. GO is being developed in concert with Hidden Path Entertainment, which is located just a couple of blocks from Valve HQ. That team was initially been assigned to work on a straight Xbox Live Arcade port of 2004′s Counter-Strike: Source. “We wanted to see what that would look like,” Magal said. It looked good. “We realized there was something more there that we could do, something that the community would be interested in,” Faliszek said. “And we got excited,” Magal added. Valve had expected the 2004 Source version of the game to replace the previous year’s 1.6 iteration, itself a successor to a game that had been evolving since the late 90′s. But many of 1.6′s most ardent fans, including those who played it competitively, as a sport, resisted the Source version. Source “didn’t do what we thought it would do, but we weren’t disappointed about what it did,” Magal said. “We thought Counter-Strike: Source would replaced Counter-Strike 1.6 but instead it generated a community just as large as the 1.6 community on its own.” Faliszek called it “an amoeba-like split.” GO is supposed to bring those crowds together and rope in console players who have only had an original Xbox version to choose from. Valve also assumes it has lost some computer Counter-Strike gamers who have moved away from PC gaming and wants to reach them on the consoles those gamers may have moved to (fittingly, the PS3 version of the game will even include mouse and keyboard support; and all players on PS3/PC/Mac will be match-made against each other.) The Valve guys describe two of the goals for GO as lowering the skill floor—making it easier for newbies to have fun with game, hence the casual mode—and raising the skill ceiling—making meaningful, subtle changes to maps and mechanics that only pro-level players will notice and appreciate. Valve is not trying to necessarily turn GO into an e-Sport. “That requirement doesn’t exist,” Magal said. “If it happens, that’s nice.” They do want to make sure those highest-level players can enjoy GO, though, so Valve is launching a PC beta for the game in October and having what Magal calls an ongoing “dialogue” with hardcore CS players “to fix the things that everyone agrees is an issue.” For example: “The way the smoke grenades used to work in Counter-Strike: Source. We changed the rate at which it blooms and dissipates and everyone preferred it.” And another example, also from Magal: “The maps Dust and Aztec aren’t played competitively at all because they were so imbalanced in Source. We feel very bullish on changing them, so we did. Dust 2 is a wonderfully balanced map that we didn’t need to change. We just gave it a visual upgrade.” And then there are the Halo and Call of Duty gamers out there, the FPS hordes who may wonder why a new Counter-Strike is at all relevant to them. What’s the appeal of CS:GO for that crowd who already have plenty of first-person shooting to do in their favorite series? CS may have sold 25 million copies already (according to Faliszek), but Valve might still have trouble pulling those folks from their beloved franchises. What’s a CS have to offer those people? Magal describes the essence and value of CS in one word: skill. “I think where Counter-Strike differentiates itself is what impact skill has on your success.” It’s the way skill factors into a CS match that makes it feel different from other shooters, Faliszek added. “It’s clean. You died because you made the wrong choice.” He explained that beginner CS players tend to use lots of grenades, but that veterans don’t since it is “super-easy” to kill a player who is holding one. “There’s not a lot of spam in there,” he said. “There are a lot of clean kills. Most kills are gun kills. And it’s about, ‘Oh I didn’t check that corner before I entered this room. I made the bad choice of trying to defuse the bomb before clearing the area. We rushed around this corner and we got ambushed.’ It’s always about making those kinds of decisions and not about, ‘Oh man, why did I die? What the hell? That’s bullshit kind of thing.” “A small difference in skill between two players, the impact of that on the game will be accentuated,” Magal said. “My experience in other games is that’s not the case.” That’s what Counter-Strike is: a game of skill. And this is what CS:GO is: an effort to put anyone who has or should play Counter-Strike into the same game. That’s a big enough goal but not a grand enough one to merit the name Counter-Strike 2. As we discussed possible names for this new Counter-Strike, I had to ask if they’d considered one other name, one that would be an inside joke for fans of Valve’s Half-Life series whose third episodic sequel has been missing in action for years. Did anyone suggest, during those brainstorm sessions, Counter-Strike: Episode Three? “No,” was Faliszek’s quick reply. Then a quick inhale of breath. This new GO may not be a full-fledged Counter-Strike sequel, but it’s no joke. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Hi everyone! Today, I’m back to talk to you about my favorite topic – <a href="http://us.playstation.com/ps3/">PlayStation</a> hardware! By now, you’ve probably seen that the official <a href="http://us.playstation.com/ps3/accessories/wireless-stereo-headset-ps3.html">PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset</a> is available now at a retailer near you. We’re very excited to bring you this advanced PS3 peripheral and we thought we’d take some time to walk you through the key features. The Wireless Stereo Headset brings you an exceptional sound experience, a rechargeable battery, simple setup and a streamlined design that is as durable as it is comfortable. Available for $99.99 (MSRP) from retailers nationwide, the Wireless Stereo Headset gives you an audio advantage and high-quality Bluetooth voice quality (with a retractable microphone) at a seriously affordable price point. And yes, the official Wireless Stereo Headset pumps up more than PS3 games - Netflix, Blu-ray movies and more will benefit from the Headset’s crisp audio quality. More...

<a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/mlb-11-the-show/">Challenge of the Week</a> #28 celebrates the AL Wild Card race as the RedSox young center fielder matches up against the Rays hard throwing righty, with over 200 strikeouts this year. Climb the leaderboard and get as many hits as you can to win your choice of signed ball from an MLB star- Hamels, Reyes, Upton, McCann, Matsui, Span. Week #28 begins on Monday September 12th at 5:30am PDT and ends Monday September 19nd at 4:30am PDT. To play, simply select the Challenge of the Week option in the main menu. This week continues the August monthly prize period - $2000, cold hard cash. Every 4 weeks a monthly prize will be awarded to the player with the most Challenge of the Week points. Weekly scores will also be added from May 30th until September 18th 4:30am PST for a chance to win Grand Prize #2, a Trip for two to a 2011 World Series Game! More...

Don’t look now but that kart that just pwned you (again) just might be one of the lady racers of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/modnation-racers/">ModNation Racers</a>. Racing games tend to be male dominated but that’s not the case in <a href="http://us.playstation.com/games-and-media/games/modnation-racers-ps3.html">ModNation Racers</a>. So this week, we're featuring the ladies of ModNation. The women are all about what makes this game so fun - Playing, Creating, and Sharing - and they truly are some of the best in the game! <strong>Track Creation 101: The Lady’s Eye For Detail</strong> Atmosphere and environment are two key aspects I focus on when looking for user-created tracks to promote. And let's be honest: these are sometimes overlooked by guys. Let’s not assume the ladies tracks are all sunny, bright, colorful, flowery jaunts, though: In this week’s Top Tracks, you will race around a polluted landfill, explore the inside of an epic super computer, and whip through a bleak, gloomy, moldy swamp just to name a few. Give em’ a spin. More...

The team at <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/insomniac/">Insomniac Games</a> in North Carolina has been working hard to wrap up their first game, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/ratchet-clank-all-4-one/">Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One</a>. It’s a terrific four-player co-op adventure, and we’re really excited to have it in your hands next month. A frequent question we’ve been getting is “how is it when you play alone?†While bringing co-op to Ratchet & Clank has been by far our number one request for the franchise, we know many of you love to sit down and play <a href="http://ratchetandclank.com/">Ratchet & Clank</a> and enjoy the fantastic worlds, inventive weapons and hilarious storylines on your own time. More...

<div style="text-align: justify;"> Kratos returns this week when his classic PSP adventures*<a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/god-of-war-chains-of-olympus/">Chains of Olympus</a> and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/god-of-war-ghost-of-sparta/">Ghost of Sparta</a>, receive the HD and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/07/01/stereoscopic-3d-on-ps3-updated-list-of-all-3d-games-and-movies/">stereoscopic*3D treatment</a> with <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/god-of-war-origins-collection/">God of War: Origins</a> on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/ps3/">PS3</a> and <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/category/psn/">PSN</a>. If you missed out on <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/12/08/bulletstorms-cliff-bleszinski-explains-co-op-anarchy-mode-favorite-kill-combo/">Bulletstorm</a> earlier this year (shame on you), here’s your chance to “kill with skill,†and download it on PSN. PSone Classics and PSone Japan Imports both offer PlayStation nostalgia in the same week. Stretch out your trigger finger and enjoy <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/the-drop/">The Drop</a>. </div> More...

After a <a href="http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=310908009">very entertaining kickoff game</a> (and this isn't just spoken as someone who drafted <a href="http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fantasyfootball/players/playerpage/419780/aaron-rodgers">Aaron Rodgers</a> in his fantasy football team), the NFL's first Sunday kicks off, well, now. As a longtime subscriber, I'm looking forward to trying out <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/17/directv-and-playstation-bring-nfl-sunday-ticket-to-ps3/">NFL Sunday Ticket on my PS3</a> later on as well. Good luck to your teams today, unless you're a Rams fan. E-A-G-L-E-S! <h3>The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of September 5, 2011)</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2011/09/08/uncharted-stories-in-the-sand/">Uncharted Stories In The Sand – PlayStation.Blog.Europe</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-ico-shadow-of-the-colossus-ps2-ps3-comparison">Ico/Shadow of the Colossus: PS2 vs. PS3 - Eurogamer.net</a></li> <li><a href="http://ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1193220p1.html">From Syphon Filter to Uncharted: Sony Bend's Story - IGN</a></li> <li><a href="http://ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1193492p1.html">SkyDrift Review - PlayStation 3 Review at IGN</a></li> More...

The big news this week - if you couldn't tell by the massive artwork sprawled across the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/">PlayStation.Blog homepage</a> - was the eagerly anticipated launch of Insomniac Games' moody shooter <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/resistance-3/">Resistance 3</a>. The addictive pacing, seductive weapons, tense action, and grim atmosphere have propelled me through the campaign with laser focus - a rarity, as I'm easily distractible. Did you pick up Resistance 3 this week? Which version did you get? What do you think so far? The week also saw news of the <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/07/this-week-in-home-resistance-3-invades-ugly-americans-and-deadliest-warrior-come-home/">Chimeran invasion</a> in PlayStation Home, details on God of War: Origins Collection's <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/07/god-of-war-origins-collection-bonus-content-detailed-roundtable-reflections/">Blu-ray bonuses</a>, and a <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/07/skydrift-hits-psn-own-the-skies/">first look</a> at new PSN combat racer Skydrift. Oh, and an <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/09/08/from-dust-coming-to-psn-on-september-27th/">update on From Dust</a>, which will now hit PSN this Tuesday, September 13th. That's two weeks earlier than expected! More...

Story by Kirk Hamilton @ Kotaku.com. I haven’t had cable since I moved, and my Xbox 360 had a lot to do with that. Over the past few years, my Xbox 360 has become a bit of a “Netflix Box,” and more often than not I’m using it to stream episodes of Twin Peaks and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Yesterday, I met with Microsoft’s Terry Farrell, who is product manager on a host of coming additions to the Xbox dashboard, and I got the distinct impression that the Xbox is about to become much more of a centralized media hub—it could soon finally become the cable-streaming, all-encompassing entertainment device that Microsoft has attempting to create for almost the past decade. Farrell described the coming dashboard update, which is set to arrive this holiday, as the most dramatic overhaul since the New Xbox Experience that launched in 2008. It will include total Kinect integration and a box-based redesign that is very in line with the operating system on the Windows Phone, as well as what we know of the coming Windows 8 operating system. The dashboard will be broken into familiar categories—Video, Games, Music, Apps, Settings—with a few notable additions. The “Social” tab will allow access to all of the Xbox’s social media functionality. While I’ve yet to feel a burning desire to use Facebook from my Xbox, the Xbox team is pushing to integrate social media into games in new ways. Xbox users will be able to set “Beacons” for various games, which will be posted across Xbox Live and other social media, letting your friends know, for example, “I want to play Halo: Reach tonight.” Also, achievements will be sharable right through a game’s list of achievements. If you want to let your friends know about a particularly awesome achievement, you can post it to Facebook straight from the dashboard. In the future, Farrell said, they’ll be working social functions into the achievement system as games are being developed; there will be an option to share achievements automatically with friends. And he went to great lengths to assure me that these functions were entirely optional—your Xbox will not turn into a Facebook-spamming machine unless you want it to. Farrell also demonstrated the slick Kinect integration, which worked quite well for the most part. By giving spoken instructions (e.g. “Xbox: Games.”), he could quickly move around the dashboard, and it was really easy to go back and forth between the controller and the Kinect. He had to repeat himself a few times when navigating, but given that the code was still pre-alpha, those small kinks could very well be worked out. In a nice touch, the new Xbox dashboard will use the Bing search engine as an all-encompassing search. Doing a search for, say, “Batman” will turn up every game, movie, show, and app available across the entire system. From that results screen, users can drill down to more specific searches, though the extent of search customization has yet to be determined. Searching for a given product on Xbox Live is currently quite a headache for me, and the Bing functionality really looks like a big step in the right direction. Now, if only we could stop calling it “Bing”… I guess you can’t have everything. I was very interested to talk to Farrell about television programming, which is his main area of focus. Since adding ESPN functionality to Xbox Live, it has seemed like Microsoft is moving towards providing users with live television streams over their Xboxes, the “holy grail” of finally rendering set-top cable boxes obsolete. By adding the ability to watch alongside your Xbox friends around the world, Microsoft goes one step further, giving an included layer of social connectivity that we’ve never had before with TV. Personally speaking, I didn’t think that Netflix’s “party watch” feature would be nearly as much fun as it is, but after watching a few movies with my friends from around the country, I’m sold—it’s a great deal of fun, and would be even better with a live sporting event. But ESPN is one channel—the end goal of all of this, in theory, would be to provide comprehensive cable coverage, including premium channels, all streaming through your Xbox for a set monthly fee. In fact, Microsoft is already doing this in several places overseas—in England, they offer British Sky Broadcasting programming straight through the box, a service which Farrell described as the British equivalent of Comcast. He said that they are currently in talks with every possible cable provider in North America, and though he wouldn’t name names (specifically Comcast), he said, “The assumptions of the people you think we’re talking to are the people we’re talking to.” Farrell was aware that users could get at this content in other ways—I still use my PC to play a lot of movies and TV shows, and my PS3 also has Hulu Plus and Netflix. But to his eye, the Xbox experience, dashboard, Kinect and social functionality add a layer of “special sauce” to all of the media that makes it the superior experience. The Xbox dashboard update will be coming out in the Holiday, with a rolling series of content additions set to come after the initial launch. YouTube and UFC will be both be added to the dash immediately on launch, but nothing else has been announced—we’ll hear more about possible full-service cable packages soon. Price, content, and functionality remain a question-mark. Beyond the ESPN app, I haven’t seen any of this streaming-TV stuff in action, so the idea of streaming cable into my Xbox is all still speculative. Furthermore, cable companies are pretty entrenched in the ways that they do business, and any talks with a digital competitor, even one with Microsoft’s strength and resources, could well end up stalling out or leading to a crippled compromise that offers less than what regular cable customers receive. After all, Microsoft has been singing this song for a while now, with AT&T U-Verse functionality already built in. But with broader system-wide functionality and the company in talks with the largest cable providers to offer comprehensive plans, Microsoft’s dream of a fully-fledged, all-encompassing entertainment box looks closer to fruition than ever. Xbox owners might finally be able to ditch their cable boxes for good. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Story by Brian Crecente @ Kotaku.com. Next Wednesday, at noon Eastern, Rockstar plans to release their first trailer for Max Payne 3. Until then you’re going to have to make do with this poster that confirms that Payne has hair and is a sweaty drunk…. or maybe he just has malaria. See full poster below. Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

Would you like a chance to work with the world-famous <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/santa-monica-studios/">Sony Santa Monica Studio</a> team? Then <a href="https://casting.thetester.com/join/">sign up now</a> to audition to become a member of the cast of <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/the-tester/">The Tester: Season 3</a>! This is the last week to enter and the last week to vote for your Round 1 favorites before we narrow the search to the Top 100. While we’ve already received thousands of entries on <a href="https://casting.thetester.com/Default.aspx">our site</a>, we still need your help. Remember, the community votes one lucky gamer onto the cast of Season 3. So, head over to the site and vote for your favorite potential cast member, or make a contestant profile of your own. If you want to have your say (or get a chance to be on the show), you’ll need to act fast! Open casting and Round 1 voting conclude next Friday, September 16. So all you procrastinators: time to get it done. More...

Hey everyone, Earlier this year, you may remember that we ran a Get in the Game contest for <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/resistance-3/">Resistance 3</a>. In fact, we had winners from both the US and UK fly out to San Diego in late March to get scanned for the game, and also come to the Insomniac Community Day at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Our two winners had great entries in the contest, and we were really excited to have them out to California and put them in Resistance 3. Now that the game is almost here, we wanted to give you a glimpse at the head-scanning process, and show you how they look as their characters in the final game. Take a look. We think the head scans turned out pretty well. You might be wondering where all of the other heads in the game came from. Many Insomniacs took a bus ride from Los Angeles down to San Diego to get their headscans in. We did some mixing and blending of the heads (not as gross as it sounds) so you may not recognize us specifically, but some of our features are certainly in the game! More...

Mutants, assassins and chopper riders dominate this week! This week, <em>New Releases</em> welcomes the summer blockbuster <strong>X-Men: First Class</strong>. Follow the beginnings of the friendship and rivalry of Professor X and Magneto as they attempt to thwart all-out war in the Cuban Missile Crisis. James McAvoy (Gnomeo and Juliet), Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds), January Jones (Mad Men) and Kevin Bacon (Frost/Nixon) join the large cast of mutants. Want all of the X-Men movie action? Purchase the <strong>X-Men Collector’s Set</strong> to receive all four X-Men films – X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men-First Class – to own in SD on your PS3 for only $24.99 in the US! The critically-acclaimed <strong>Hanna </strong>hits Movies this week, starring Eric Bana (Star Trek) and Cate Blanchett (Robin Hood). Trained as an assassin from an early age by her father in the backwoods of Finland, Hanna is thrown into action when it’s revealed her father is a former CIA agent. She’s put on the run from the greatest espionage outfit in the world. Watch it now before it’s available from Netflix! More...

Story ‘Repeated’ by: CritiKiL The confusion regarding EA’s plans for*Battlefield 3‘s multiplayer access is*palpable.*GamerZinesreports that*Battlefield 3*Executive Producer Patrick Bach stated in an interview last week that the game would “probably” require a code for access to multiplayer. When pushed on whether EA would lock out second-hand players through use of an online pass, he replied, “I think we are.” EA told the site it would pick up the conversation “another time.”The latest major iteration of the*Battlefield*franchise,*Battlefield: Bad Company 2, implemented a “VIP Pass,” granting access to extra content, but placed no initial limitations on multiplayer access. EA’s online pass (i.e.*Project Ten Dollar) — now utilized by many publishers, with*Ubisoft being the latest*– cuts off multiplayer to anyone who doesn’t purchase a code, which comes bundled in new copies of games. Of course, with today’s announcement of*EA Sports Season Ticket*(i.e. Project 25 Dollar), there’s a whole new level of possibility. “The whole idea is that we’re paying for servers and if you create a new account there is a big process on how that is being handled in the back end,” Bach said. “We would rather have you buy a new game than a used game because buying a used game is only a cost to us; we don’t get a single dime from a used game, but we still need to create server space and everything for you.” Update: EA’s statement: “We have not made any announcements regarding*Battlefield 3*and Online Pass.” ~ This still needs more clarification. We will update this article when we know more… Score: 0 (0 votes cast) More...

It's been a while since we've updated you on the remastered <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/ico-and-shadow-of-colossus-collection/">ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection</a>, but we did want to remind you about its upcoming launch on September 27th! As a special treat, we're proud to unveil the final box art and inside packaging for the collection, depicting stylized artwork from both titles. In addition to full 1080p HD, <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/3d/">stereoscopic 3D</a> support, and 7.1 surround sound, this re-release contains a ton of exclusive bonus footage and behind-the-scenes content that will await you on September 27th. Full details are available here: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/08/15/ico-and-shadow-of-the-colossus-collection-bonus-content-trophies-revealed/ Additionally, we wanted to confirm that <a href="http://blog.us.playstation.com/tag/the-last-guardian/">The Last Guardian</a> is not on the schedule for this year's Tokyo Game Show. However we can assure you that Ueda-san and the rest of the development team are hard at work to bring his lofty vision to life and deliver the very best gaming experience possible. More...