We loved Warhawk’s frenetic online battles back in the PS3’s early days, so we’re excited about its spiritual successor Starhawk — this month’s cover star for PlayStation: The Official Magazine. An innovative Build & Battle system that allows players to quickly and intuitively construct fortifications looks to ramp up the multiplayer action, while the all-new campaign fleshes out the universe and introduces us to space cowboy badass Emmett Graves. We can’t wait to jump into a Hawk and take the battle to the stars.
Our March issue also means that it’s time to celebrate V-Day. No, not Valentine’s Day. We’re talking about the really most important date in February, the 22nd: PS Vita’s launch day! Hands-on time with PS Vita is more potent than any cupid’s arrow, so the PTOM editors reveal which games and accessories they’re coveting and break down the purchasing decisions you’ll need to make on day one.
Elsewhere in the mag, the love fest continues with our first in-depth look at Lollipop Chainsaw. Zombies and cheerleaders?! Sounds irresistible to us. We’ve also got big previews on Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and the gorgeous new JRPG Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. And we put Street Fighter X Tekken through its paces to determine the game’s most potent tag-team combo.
Things are also picking up on the reviews front as some of the biggest first-quarter releases have finally arrived. SoulCalibur V proves that its weapon-based fighting action is as sharp as ever, the Jak and Daxter Collection fuels our nostalgia for the good ol’ days, and we finally get to see whether action RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning lives up to its considerable potential.
Check it all out in the March issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine, hitting newsstands on Tuesday, February 14—you know, that other V-Day.
Even with Nick and I on death’s doorstep (::cough cough::) and Jeff and Rey at CES in Las Vegas, the PlayStation Blogcast marches on with another jam-packed new show! A Journey interview with thatgamecompany CEO Kellee Santiago? Done. An Origin Story for SCE President and Group CEO Andrew House? Confirmed. Starhawk Public Beta details and dates? Oh yes.
And, as always, we’ve got exclusive first details on next week’s PSN game lineup: a couple of “colossal” classics, two well-regarded Tom Clancy PS3 games, and the digital version of Crysis 2. And that’s just the beginning, dear listener…
And we’ve got another exclusive for you: first details on PlayStation Store’s 12 for ‘12 sales event, which cuts 30% off 12 top-rated PSN games (and 50% off for PS Plus subscribers) for one week starting Tuesday, January 17th. Listen to PlayStation Blogcast to learn six of the 12 titles, then check back next week for the full roster.
How’s our driving? We want your feedback, comments, questions, and suggestions, so leave ‘em in the comments below!
The Cast
Sid Shuman – PlayStation Sr. Social Media Specialist
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
With PlayStation.Blog kingpin Jeff Rubenstein out on vacation this week, today marked the perfect opportunity for a long-awaited guest: IGN’s PlayStation Executive Editor and Podcast Beyond host Greg Miller! In today’s show, Greg shares his experiences with PS Vita, including his love affair with ModNation Racers: Road Trip, insights into PS Vita’s Trophy management, and key games to watch. As Podcast Beyond listeners already know, Greg’s a passionate guy and we had a blast discussing PS Vita and upcoming games in this lively episode.
Of course, as always, we also expose the exclusive first details for next week’s PSN game releases (that’s for Tuesday, January 10th), answer a flurry of new reader questions, name a new PSN Gem of the Week, and share a pair of new user tips. A strong episode, all in all, and an effective way to bring you out of your post-holiday slump.
As always, we encourage you to leave your feedback and questions in the comments here and rate us on iTunes. And while you’re at it, let us know your most-anticipated game of 2012!
The Cast
Sid Shuman – PlayStation Sr. Social Media Specialist
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
This week brings a double-stuffed episode of Official PlayStation Blogcast, beginning with exclusive first details of PSN new game releases for next week (that’s Tuesday, December 20th) and rapidly moving into a wide discussion of late-breaking PlayStation news and updates. I share my hands-on experiences with PlayStation Move poster child Sorcery (read my full Q&A with Design Director Brian Upton here for more), discussions of PS Vita standout title Gravity Rush, Rey’s experiences with UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss and Touch My Katamari, a new batch of user questions, a new PSN Gem of the Week and a new Tip of the Week, all interspersed with the sputtering and stammering that makes our show so charming.
Protip: Gran Turismo fans will definitely want to listen to today’s show for an in-depth interview with Gran Turismo’s US producer Taku Imasaki, who discusses details of Gran Turismo 5’s upcoming Car Pack 2 and Update 2.02. Imasaki also delves into GT Academy insights and how GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi decides what features make it into the game. Insightful!
All in all, a jam-packed show ahead of the holidays. As always, we encourage you to leave your feedback and questions in the comments here and rate us on iTunes. Thanks, and enjoy!
The Cast
Sid Shuman – PlayStation Sr. Social Media Specialist
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
Cool! It’s confirmed the PS Vita will in fact be region-free! That’s straight from the horse’s mouth — @yosp — Shuhei Yoshida, President of Worldwide Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment.
What’s that mean? It means when the Vita is released in Japan first, on December 17th, you’ll be able to import that badboy across the border and not worry about region locked games or content.
Import a Vita from Japan, buy a game in North America, and everything’s gravy, baby.
I just had to write about this game, because its made by a company called Team Ninja! The game is Ninja Gaiden 3 and this is the official trailer that will be launched at GDC (Game Developer’s Conference).
This trailer doesnt really show any of the gameplay, but it looks amazingly cool! I dont know much about the Ninja Gaiden series myself, but this game I might have to give you guys a hands on demo.
It also hints at the fact that Ninja Gaiden 3 will appear at this years E3 in June, which I really want to attend.
If there is any more information I will make sure you here about it here first.
The official Final Fantasy XIII-2 website has launched! On the site you will find the very first trailer, screenshots and news.
The bad news is, it’s strictly on-site for now, with Square Enix stamping down hard on any attempt to host it via YouTube. For now, you can watch it at the main website, here.
Mass Effect 3 will be hitting shelves at the of 2011 on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Below is the official trailer that looks amazing!
A small synopsis of the game has of course been seen on the net as to whet your appetite:
“Earth is burning. Striking from beyond known space, a race of terrifying machines have begun their destruction of the human race.
“As Commander Shepard, an Alliance Marine, your only hope for saving mankind is to rally the civilizations of the galaxy and launch one final mission to take back the Earth.”
Mass Effect 3 will be hitting shelves at the of 2011 on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Below is the official trailer that looks amazing!