PlayStation Latest News

Hello, I’m Kellee Santiago from thatgamecompany, creators of flOw, and currently in development on Flower. The fine people at Playstation.Blog are good enough to allow me to use my first post here to let you all in on a little thing we have going on here at thatgamecompany call the 24hr Game Jam.

Championed by our lead engineer John Edwards, the 24hr Game Jam was created as a way for us to do something quick, dirty, and fun … and maybe let out a little steam in the process. The goal is always to make a game, from start to finish, on the PS3 in 24hrs. We go from 10am Saturday to 10am Sunday, and then whatever we have, we lock it up. Future Game Jams might have more specific goals, but for this first one, we just wanted to see how much fun we could make in a day. Oh, and our game designer Nick Clark wanted something that was multiplayer that we could enjoy in the office.

So welcome … to Game Jam 0: Gravediggers

Goals:

• To see how much fun we could generate in 24 hours.
• To make something multiplayer we could play in the office.

Premise/Rules:

You are a gravedigger. There can be up to 6 gravediggers competing against one another locally. You move with an analog stick, jump with the “X” button, and shoot with Right Bumper. Oh yeah, you are a gravedigger with a pistol.

You are killing zombies. There are lots of them. More specifically you are collecting zombie heads. When you kill a zombie, their head pops off and you can collect them.

In order to get a point for your head, you must deposit heads into a crypt. There are two crypts on the level, but they can move around in the middle of a game.

You can shoot other players, and collect their heads. Their heads are worth more. In addition, you will be able to collect all of the zombie heads they have gathered so far.

If you are shot by another player or a zombie chomps you to death, your head will pop off and you will become a zombie. (“Rise from your grave….”) You can still chomp other players, but you can’t deposit heads, and you will remain a zombie until you find your head. If another player deposits your head in a crypt, it will pop up somewhere else on the level.

The ground is very soft. If it’s in your way, I suggest shooting a path through it. It’s a lot more fun. Every level is randomly generated.

Along the way, you might pick up special weapons:

• Uzi (fast pistol)
• mines (explode on impact)
• satchel charges (detonated on command)
• the uber-weapon, the shotgun.

If you pick one up, it will automatically become your new default weapon.

The first player to deposit 50 heads wins. Below is a play-through with five players.

And there you have it! The product of 24hrs straight work on the PS3. I’m not sure if it plays well on video, but I gotta tell you the game is large amounts of ridiculous fun for us to play. Maybe you have to be there. At any rate, I’m looking forward to reporting back from our next Game Jam, and I hope you all got a kick out of this one!

So by now many have you hopefully have passed the nasty desert, took down a few bosses, and can catch the FEVER like you were one of those cats from Outbreak.

Now let’s talk about amp-ing up your Patapon army. As you have probably have found out, success in this game takes rhythm and focus, but that will only get you so far. You are going to have to build a bad-a$$ army, arm them to the teeth, and know how to put them to work.

“Where do they get those wonderful toys?”
Helmets, Shields and Weapons “Oh My!” There are a ton to collect in this game, if you keep on fighting the Zigotons, they will drop goodies left and right.

You can also acquire more gear from boss levels. You can replay boss levels infinitely, but as the level goes up so does the difficulty so man up your troops as you go along. Just as a sample here are some of the helmets you can score:

• wood helm = is standard issue
• iron helm = boosts stamina
• steel helm = boosts both stamina and defense
• wind helm = quickens attacks and resists flames
• strength helm = greatly boosts attacks
• ancient helm = greatly improves basic skills
• Giant Turtle helm = greatly improves defense
• Divine helm = resists flames and has destabilizing capabilities

(more…)

We here at High Impact Games have taken the multiplayer mode you know and love from the PSP version of Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters and retooled to let you take advantage of playing it at home on your PlayStation 2 with your friends. After you pick up your copy next week, don’t forget to grab a friend and get sucked into some intense split-screen multiplayer action!

In addition to Capture the Flag mode, Iron Lombax challenges players to complete different sets of unique goals depending on which of the multiplayer maps they are playing on. All maps can be played in co-op or versus mode:

• Island Escape - Players race to collect radioactive cores and use them to be the first to launch their rocket to freedom. Be careful not to hold onto the core for too long though! Prolonged exposure may result in mutations.
• Danger Valley - Players must find radio homing beacons and place them on enemy force field transmitters in order to guide a collection of volatile hover mines in to their target. Once the shields are down, place the homing beacon on the enemy’s base and let the mines finish the job.
• Mega Cannons - Players must gather the missing pieces to their Mega Cannon and then struggle for dominance of the power relays necessary to charge their cannons main gun. Once the gun is fully charged, jump in and turn your enemies into radioactive waste.
• Moon Cow Disease - The fate of the universe once again hangs in the balance! The supply of galactic burgers is dangerously low, and only the players have the skill required to gather this precious resource! Hunt down the space cows, deliver them to the processing vendor, and then avoid enemy attacks as you make your way to the delivery trucks. First person to fill the orders wins.

Look for Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters PS2 in stores March 11.

I just wanted to drop a quick note to anybody out there who is interested in the talks that Naughty Dog gave at the 2008 Game Developers Conference. We just posted the slides to all 8 sessions on our website. You can find them here.

They cover a wide range of topics including lighting, animation, modeling, tools and a project post-mortem. So for everybody who couldn’t make it to the sessions, or if you’re just interested in the development of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, enjoy.

Explore the mysterious island for yourself in Lost on PLAYSTATION 3.

The environment is your enemy in sub-zero shooter Lost Planet: Extreme Condition on PLAYSTATION 3.

Hey, everyone. It’s time again for the PLAYSTATION Store weekly update.

Downloadable Games

Rocketmen: Axis of Evil (free demo, $9.99 full game)
Join Nick Sion, Alec Mink and the rest of the Alliance of Free Planets in their white-knuckled, frenzied struggle to free the Solar System from the tyrannical grip of Lord Invictus and the Legion of Terra! With its distinctive cel-shaded art style, engaging storyline, RPG elements and non-stop action, this shooter promises to keep players coming back for more!
ESRB Rated E
File size: 124 MB

Add-on Game Content

Guitar Hero III: Modern Metal Track Pack ($6.25)
“Almost Easy” as performed by Avenged Sevenfold, “The Arsonist” as performed by Thrice, “Hole in the earth” as performed by Deftones. For all song credits please visit www.redoctane.com
File size: 46.2 MB

Rock Band
Build your Rock Band library by purchasing these song game tracks. Rock Band Grateful Dead Pack 1 includes all six songs. For song credits, visit www.RockBand.com.

• “Casey Jones” -Grateful Dead ($1.99)
• “Sugar Magnolia” -Grateful Dead ($1.99)
• “Truckin’” - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
• “Franklin’s Tower” - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
• “I Need A Miracle” - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
• “China Cat Sunflower” - Grateful Dead ($1.99)
• Grateful Dead Pack 1 ($9.99)

File sizes: 21.4 MB - 36.5 MB (singles), 175 MB (Track Pack).

Game Videos

NBA Ballers: The Chosen One Trailer
Live the Game. Play the Life.
File size: 30 MB (HD)

Movie and Blu-ray Disc Trailers

Hancock Theatrical Trailer (free)
There are heroes… there are superheroes… and then there’s Hancock (Will Smith). With great power comes great responsibility – everyone knows that – everyone, that is, but Hancock.
File size: 21 MB (SD), 78 MB (HD), 103 MB (1080)

21 Theatrical Trailer
Every year Vegas takes people for millions. On March 28 Ben Campbell is going to get it all back.
File size: 31 MB (SD), 115 MB (HD), 153 MB (1080)

PS3 Themes

Lost Planet Theme (free)
Customize your PS3 system with a cool Lost Planet theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons.
File size: 2.37 MB

PS3 Wallpaper

(3) Condemned 2: Bloodshot wallpaper (free)
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Condemned 2: Bloodshot Wallpaper.
File size: 817 KB - 1.91 MB

Here is this week’s content release for the PLAYSTATION Store for PC. To download these games to your PSP, navigate to http://store.playstation.com. There, you’ll find descriptions of the content and directions on how to get started. For more on the PLAYSTATION Store for PC, please click here.

Downloadable Games

*flOw ($7.99)
*Ape Escape: On the Loose ($14.99)

Game Videos (free)

* God of War Chains of Olympus Trailer
* Ape Escape On the Loose behind the scenes #1
* Ape Escape On the Loose behind the scenes #2

PSP Wallpaper (free)

* Ape Escape On the Loose wallpaper
* Warriors Orochi Wallpaper (x6)

Hope you enjoy!

I’m blogging today with some awesome news! Today SCEA released more information about the North American version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, scheduled for launch on PS3 in April. These new details include the full vehicle roster, the track list and some cool additional features. You can read all the nitty-gritty details in the press release, but here is a brief summary and some new screens shots. Enjoy!

Summary of differences between Japanese version and the American version:

• A whopping 30+ additional vehicles (compared to the Japanese version), including tuner cars from Amuse, Mine’s, etc.
• Another track to race on: an all-time favorite in the series - frantic and chaotic High Speed Ring!
• In Drift Mode, measure your drifting technique based on driving line, angle and speed within scoring zones on the course
• With the Quick Tune feature, adjust your vehicle’s settings including power, weight, tires and suspension
• All new set of online and offline race events and time trials to jump into, win, and unlock cars/features
• With Logitech’s new Driving Force GT racing wheel, you can adjust brake bias, traction and damper settings on-the-fly like they do in real-life with Formula One and rally cars. GT5 Prologue will support DualShock 3, too!

There will be much more info coming on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue soon, but in the meantime, enjoy these crisp, new screenshots!

Grab your clubs and head for the course, it's Everybody's Golf: World Tour on PLAYSTATION 3.

Ivolgamus, the developer behind Fading Shadows on PSP, answers questions from the forums.