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It’s great for us at Tribute Games to be back at the ol’ Playstation.Blog. Ah, has it been that long since our hotly commented post (16 scorching comments!) back in the summer of 2013? We’re simply thrilled to be part of Sony’s indie line-up for PS4. Having been a part of the E3 presentation is still a big deal to us.

If you don’t know us at Tribute Games, we’re an indie developer way up in Montreal, Canada. We create classic-looking games with modern twists — in this case here, Mercenary Kings, which looks like a nice, old-fashioned, run-and-gun platformer from the bygone ’80s and ’90s… but it’s actually ENHANCED with a deep weapon and item crafting system!

You can try to make your way and destroy C.L.A.W. (Cyber Loyalists Active Weapon) clan with your regular pistol, but as you progress through Mandragora Island and pick up materials, almost every character back at your HQ offers huge crafting possibilities. There are more than 300 gun parts to mix and match.

You could enhance your weapon’s magazine capacity, or forge an elemental blade that can freeze your enemy. Make your mercenary invulnerable to the enemy’s toxic weapons, or use an ingredient you’ve found to boost your mission skills. It’s a pretty comprehensive customization system that should appeal to the RPG fan in you.

Will you sacrifice accuracy for damage, or craft a smaller blade to be lighter on your feet? Or will you just build a weird, toilet-shaped rifle? (There’s also a cat-cannon and a fish-shaped knife!) A quick tap of R1 helps you reload faster than ever, while pressing L1 gives you access to Shock Bombs, Riot Shields, or deadly C4.

What we’re really excited about, though, is the co-op multiplayer in Mercenary Kings. Developing the game knowing it’s heading straight to a powerful, multiplayer platform like PS4 is, well — pretty amazing! Fueled by great memories of blasting down alien monsters with a friend in oldie classics, we want to recreate that type of fun on a modern console.

Is there better friendship cement than blasting away giant Exo-suited soldiers or evil gods from other dimensions!? There could be, but we can’t think of any. And while it’s still early for us to talk about it, the connectivity possibilities between PS4 and Vita are quite exciting for further multiplayer mayhem.

Mercenary Kings features more than 100 missions, with endless weapon-crafting possibilities. It looks familiar, but is quite innovative and will launch on PS4 this winter.

And if that wasn’t enough, you can get a glimpse of the hostile hijinks of Mandragora Island in our exclusive biweekly comic on www.mercenarykings.com.

Check out this gorgeous, tense fan film recreating the Bill's Town section of Naughty Dog's masterpiece.

PS3 Full Games Call of Duty: Ghosts ($59.99) Outnumbered and outgunned, but not outmatched. Welcome to Call of Duty: Ghosts, an extraordinary step forward for one of the largest entertainment franchises of all-time. This new chapter in the Call of Duty franchise features a fresh dynamic where players are on the side of a crippled nation fighting not for freedom or liberty, but simply to survive. Call of Duty: Ghosts Hardened Bundle ($119.99) • Call of Duty: Ghosts Season Pass: Get four epic DLC Map Packs*, each delivering a collection of fresh Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer content. Plus, you’ll receive the Team Leader digital content pack, a Season Pass-bonus that includes a unique MP character head, weapon camo, reticle, player patch, player card and player background, playable in-game upon purchase.
• Free Fall Dynamic Bonus Map: This brand-new dynamic downloadable multiplayer map drops you into a shattered skyscraper on the brink of collapse. Frantic action is thrown into overdrive as the skyscraper continues to fall throughout the match, evolving gameplay in real-time. Ben 10 Omniverse 2 ($39.99) Ben 10 Omniverse 2 has everything fans love about the hit series: Aliens, Action, and an all-new Adventure! The fastest Ben 10 game ever puts Ben in a race against the clock to make every alien transformation count in his battle against the all-new Incursean invaders. The Guided Fate Paradox ($49.99) God has never had it so rough! Meet Renya, who happened to become God through a lottery. And then, his self-proclaimed personal angel named Lilliel took him to Celestia right away. Together, they will tackle countless randomly-generated dungeons in this story-driven rogue-like RPG in order to guide the fate of all mankind to a revolution! Fight, grow strong, customize your appearance, strengthen your equipment, and then fight some more. The only limit to your strength is your imagination! PSN Games A-Men 2 ($9.99) Cross-Buy with PS Vita Prepare yourself for another journey through series of new worlds, featuring multiple challenges with many ways to pass a level and resolve puzzles. Highly tactical, completely addictive, A-MEN 2 is easy to play but still hard to master. CastleStorm ($9.99) Cross-Buy with PS Vita Welcome to the world of CastleStorm, a super genre mashup of 2D physics destruction mashed with tower defense brawler! CastleStorm was born out of the fond childhood memory of building and destroy Lego castles. Final Exam ($9.99) Final Exam is an action-rich 2.5D side-scroller, drenched in the blood and caustic humor inspired by the teen and horror movie genres. On the way to what should be the party of their lives, a group of long-time buddies find themselves facing hordes of aggressive and monstrous creatures. A wild mash-up of monsters, baseball bats, chainsaws, and references to video games and teen horror movies! How to Survive ($14.99) You are shipwrecked on an isolated island, a desperate castaway in a total freak show world. How will you survive? Collect the pages of a Survival Guide and figure it out, of course! Find food, water, and shelter before you perish. Uh oh, is it getting dark? Figure out how to get through the night! While you’re at it, gather up some of this awesome stuff and piece together over 100 handmade weapons and tools—from shotguns to Molotov cocktails. Now you can defend yourself and your friends like a boss! PS Vita Games A-Men 2 ($9.99) Cross-Buy with PS3 Prepare yourself for another journey through series of new worlds, featuring multiple challenges with many ways to pass a level and resolve puzzles. Highly tactical, completely addictive, A-MEN 2 is easy to play but still hard to master. CastleStorm ($9.99) Cross-Buy with PS3 Welcome to the world of CastleStorm, a super genre mashup of 2D physics destruction mashed with tower defense brawler! CastleStorm was born out of the fond childhood memory of building and destroy Lego castles. PS2 Classic The Adventures of Cookie & Cream ($9.99) The Adventures of Cookie and Cream is a 3D platformer that can be played as a single- or multiplayer game. Players must guide the two cartoonish, bunny-like characters (Cookie and Cream) through parallel courses that usually scroll from the top of the screen. PS Vita Non-Game Apps TuneIn Radio TuneIn lets you listen to the world’s radio with music, sports, news, talk, and comedy streaming from every continent. Enjoy 70,000 live radio stations and 2 million podcasts, concerts or shows all for free. PlayStation Store Highlights

Call of Duty: Ghosts is now available on the PlayStation Store, and the Digital Hardened Edition is available for anyone looking to get the Season Pass. This game is part of our upgrade program, so if you purchase the PlayStation 3 version, you can get the PlayStation 4 version when it comes out for only $9.99. You can learn more about that program by clicking here.

PS Plus members can now download Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for free, and there are also discounts on PS Vita brawler titles like SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny, Mortal Kombat PS Vita and Guacamelee!

Crackle has partnered with PlayStation and Sony Entertainment Network to present the EXCLUSIVE full series streaming premiere of the Emmy-nominated thriller, Last Resort. Set in the near future, Last Resort revolves around the crew of a U.S. nuclear submarine. After ignoring an order to fire their nuclear missiles, the crew is attacked by their own country. Escaping to a NATO listening outpost, they declare themselves to be the world’s smallest nuclear nation with 24 nuclear warheads. Watch it on Crackle starting today!

PlayStation Plus

Become a PlayStation Plus member

Learn more and purchase online, or activate instantly on PlayStation Store. To learn more about this week’s Plus offerings, check out this week’s PS Plus post.

Instant Game Collection

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3)

Discounts

Game Title PS Plus Price Sale Price Regular Price SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny $13.49 $14.99 $24.99 Mortal Kombat PS Vita $10.79 $11.99 $19.99 Dead Or Alive 5 Plus $21.59 $23.99 $39.99 Real Boxing $6.29 $6.99 $9.99 Guacamelee! PS Vita (Cross-Buy) $8.39 $10.49 $14.99 Demos CastleStorm Welcome to the world of CastleStorm, a super genre mashup of 2D physics destruction mashed with tower defense brawler! CastleStorm was born out of the fond childhood memory of building and destroy Lego castles. Final Exam Final Exam is an action-rich 2.5D side-scroller, drenched in the blood and caustic humor inspired by the teen and horror movie genres. On the way to what should be the party of their lives, a group of long-time buddies find themselves facing hordes of aggressive and monstrous creatures. A wild mash-up of monsters, baseball bats, chainsaws, and references to video games and teen horror movies! How to Survive You are shipwrecked on an isolated island, a desperate castaway in a total freak show world. How will you survive? Collect the pages of a Survival Guide and figure it out, of course! Find food, water, and shelter before you perish. Uh oh, is it getting dark? Figure out how to get through the night! While you’re at it, gather up some of this awesome stuff and piece together over 100 handmade weapons and tools—from shotguns to Molotov cocktails. Now you can defend yourself and your friends like a boss! Grid 2 Download now to experience racing on the edge of control in GRID 2’s stunning new world of competitive motorsport. Storm down the epic open roads of the California Coast and roar through the streets of Paris at night in single-player races, then prove yourself on the track in a 12 car online event at Austria’s Red Bull Ring. Weekly Deals Game Title Sale Price Regular Price Madagascar 3: The Video Game $9.99 $19.99 Zeno Clash 2 $7.49 $14.99 Ben 10 Galactic Racing $4.99 $9.99 Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable $19.99 $39.99 Ben 10 Ultimate Alien: Cosmic Destruction Digital $4.99 $9.99 Class Of Heroes $7.49 $14.99 Crimson Gem Saga $7.49 $14.99 Despicable Me $4.99 $9.99 Growlanser: Wayfarer Of Time $9.99 $19.99 Gungnir $9.99 $19.99 Hexyz Force $7.49 $14.99 Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble $7.49 $14.99 Knights In The Nightmare $7.49 $14.99 Riviera: The Promised Land $4.99 $9.99 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona $9.99 $19.99 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2: Innocent Sin $9.99 $19.99 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable $9.99 $19.99 Yggdra Union $4.99 $9.99 Dragon’s Crown PS3 $39.99 $49.99 Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon $12.99 $19.99 Hyperballoid HD $1.99 $4.99 Dragon’s Crown PS Vita $29.99 $39.99 Gods Eater Burst $12.99 $19.99 Dragon’s Crown: Into The Labyrinth Theme $1.49 $1.99 Dragon’s Crown: Dragon’s Crown Ps Vita – Storyteller Voice Pack $1.49 $1.99 Price Drops Game Title New Price Original Price Max Payne 3 Ultimate Edition $29.99 $69.99 Max Payne 3 $19.99 $39.99 Turbo: Super Stunt Squad $29.99 $39.99 Let’s Fish! Hooked On $9.99 $19.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Deathmatch Made In Heaven Pack $4.99 $9.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Hostage Negotiation Pack $4.99 $9.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Painful Memories Pack $4.99 $9.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Cemetery Map $0.99 $1.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Classic Max Payne Character $0.49 $0.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Deadly Force Burst $0.49 $0.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Local Justice Pack $3.99 $7.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Pill Bottle Item $0.49 $0.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Rockstar Pass $14.99 $29.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Silent Killer Pack $0.99 $1.99 Max Payne 3: Max Payne 3 Special Edition Pack $0.99 $1.99 PS Vita Add-ons Valhalla Knights 3

• Good Cat Food ($1.99)
• Foreigners No.1 ($1.99)

PS3 Add-ons Call of Duty: Ghosts

• Season Pass ($49.99)

Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate

• Complete Sports Gear Costume Set ($16.99)
• Core Fighters: Christie Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Core Fighters: Costume Catalog 05 (Free)
• Core Fighters: Eliot Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Core Fighters: Helena Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Core Fighters: Hitomi Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Core Fighters: Kokoro Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Core Fighters: Leifang Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Core Fighters: Lisa Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Core Fighters: Mila Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Core Fighters: Momiji Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Core Fighters: Rig Sports Gear ($1.99)
• Championship Set + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($16.99)

Special Tailgate Bundles

Tailgate Bass + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($4.99) Tailgate Bass Gear + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($1.99) Tailgate Bayman + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($4.99) Tailgate Bayman Gear + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($1.99) Tailgate Leon + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($4.99) Tailgate Leon Gear + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($1.99) Tailgate Rachel + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($4.99) Tailgate Rachel Gear + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($1.99) Tailgate Tina + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($4.99) Tailgate Tina Gear + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($1.99) Tailgate Zack + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($4.99) Tailgate Zack Gear + Core Fighters + Gwp Tecmo Bowl ($1.99) Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness

• Adell ($2.99)
• Lilliel ($2.99)
• Raspberyl (Free)
• Rozalin ($2.99)

Dynasty Warriors 8

• Base Theme 3 ($1.99)
• New Weapon Pack 4 ($1.99)
• New Weapon Pack 5 ($1.99)
• New Weapon Pack 6 ($1.99)
• New Weapon Pack Set 2 ($4.99)
• Old Costume Pack 2 ($2.99)

How to Survive

• ‘Heat Wave’ Abby’s Pack ($0.99)
• ‘Heat Wave’ Kenji’s Pack ($0.99)
• Jack’s Pack ($0.99)

Magic 2014 Duels of the Planeswalkers

• Deck Pack 1 ($2.99)

Rocksmith 2014

• Hotei – Bambina ($2.99)
• Hotei – Battle Without Honor Or Humanity ($2.99)
• Hotei – Thrill ($2.99)
• Hotei Song Pack ($7.99)
• Iron Maiden – 2 Minutes To Midnight ($2.99)
• Iron Maiden – Aces High ($2.99)
• Iron Maiden – Fear Of The Dark ($2.99)
• Iron Maiden – Run To The Hills ($2.99)
• Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast ($2.99)
• Iron Maiden Song Pack ($11.99)

Saints Row IV

• Pirate’s Booty Pack ($2.99)

The Last of Us

• Bone Mask ($1.99, Free for Season Pass)
• Deadman’s Mask ($0.99, Free for Season Pass)
• Derby Mask ($0.99, Free for Season Pass)
• Firebrand Mask ($1.99, Free for Season Pass)
• Ghost Mask ($0.99, Free for Season Pass)
• Nightmare Bundle ($8.99, Free for Season Pass)
• Painted Skull Mask ($1.99, Free for Season Pass)
• Skull Helmet ($0.99, Free for Season Pass)
• Wraith Mask ($0.99, Free for Season Pass)

PS3 Themes

• 3D Art Static Theme ($1.49)
• Batman Arkham Origins Assassins Theme ($2.99)
• Color Tubes Static Theme ($1.49)
• Digital Blasphemy Arrakeen Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
• Hot Spot Dynamic Theme ($2.99)
• Various NFL Dynamic Themes ($2.99)
• Operation Invasion Dynamic Theme ($2.99)

In February, we announced PS4. In June, we showed it for the first time. Next week, on November 15th, we unlock a new generation of play in North America.

Join PlayStation and Spike TV for the live PS4 All Access: Greatness Awaits launch event! We’ll be live in New York City on November 14th starting at 11:00pm. Tune in to see exclusive world premieres and announcements about the PS4 games that will define 2014 and beyond. Watch live on Spike TV, Ustream, or right here on PlayStation.Blog.

And keep checking back for up-to-the-minute information on all the PS4 launch week festivities. This is gonna be one for the history books!

Hey, doods! Your humble Prinny David from NIS America again, and I’m here to ask: are you prepared? Have you made peace with your social life? Because The Guided Fate Paradox is finally upon us — out in stores today and on PlayStation Store. Now then, gather ye ’round, that we may bear witness to the glory that is this story-based roguelike!

In The Guided Fate Paradox, Renya Kagurazaka is an ordinary high school student who wins a mall lottery and becomes a god! Guided by an angel named Lilliel, he learns that a god’s job isn’t just sitting around in the clouds. He must help people (And mermaids, and zombies…) by guiding them to their proper fates — a task that can only be done in the Copy World, which renders each person’s fate into a different, randomly-generated dungeon. There, Renya can lay a hammer of judgment down on the aberrations holding these folks back from their fates.

And you don’t just have hammers, either. You’ve got tank treads, a Prinny hat, electric plug hands… there are hundreds of items you can equip, each with their own unique “Divine Skill” attached, which will help you blast your way through these dungeons. On top of that, you can also recruit an angel to help you out, each with his or her own angelic specialty, like healing, debuffing, or doubling up attacks.

And guess what? Those angels also get to wear whatever equipment you want to throw at them, so you can customize every last bit of the game. You can also give them commands while traversing the dungeon to change how they act. Feeling a little greedy? Have them run around looking for treasure! Or maybe they’re low on health, in which case you can have them try to avoid enemies. It’s up to you and your playing style.

Sounds like a pretty rad package for a god, right? But wait, there’s more! The Divinigram system allows you and your angels to achieve permanent stat boosts and passive skills by getting your equipment to their breaking points so that they “Burst!” Not only does this strengthen you, but it allows you to repair and strengthen your items and, later, even synthesize them together to create crazy strong stuff.

Now that I’ve got you all excited about your equipment, let me bring up the fact that this is a story-driven roguelike in the same vein as Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman. What does that mean? Basically, when you die, you can say goodbye to what you have equipped and whatever you’re carrying, and your level will reset back to one.

It’s okay, though, because whatever levels you’ve gained still count towards your base level, so you’re always stronger when you go back to brave the dungeon, and you’ll have access to safekeeping for your hard-won items. You’re a god, after all!

Such god-like powers require some beautiful presentation, and you’ll get that in spades with character design and artwork by Noizi Ito, the artist behind titles like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Shakugan no Shana. The game is enhanced with music by the band Yousei Teikoku, which brings an appropriate air of epic to the proceedings, and you’ll even get to see Yui from the band in the game.

The Guided Fate Paradox is out today. Hundreds of dungeons await you in this story-driven roguelike where customization lights your way! Harness your Divine Skills and call upon your angels to show this world and the Copy World who’s god! These fates aren’t going to guide themselves, after all!

Thanks for your support, and taking the time to read this! Prinny out, dood!

UPDATE: Today's GTA Online patch fixes all the game's remaining issues, paving the way for the compensation's arrival.

If you like building castles, destroying castles, knights, vikings, war, weapons, spells, troops, multiplayer, PS3, PS Vita, cross buy, well… CastleStorm is your game! CastleStorm launches today for both PS3 and PS Vita.

For those of you getting ready to play later today, we thought it would be nice to give you some tips on using the ballista, the primary weapon mounted just above your castle’s gate. Starting out, you’ll utilize the low-powered, quick-spawning javelin, while the vikings fire harpoons. As the game progresses, you’ll unlock more projectiles for your arsenal and upgrade these with gold you earn during missions.

The javelins and harpoons have the shortest regeneration period and will be your best asset in early levels. Getting five kills at once activates a shooting frenzy, which means you can shoot all projectiles in rapid succession for a few seconds. No regeneration period means you can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time, so don’t hesitate to fire away.

While javelins are meant for targeting specific enemies on the ground, the Knights’ Apple Grenade can either be used to take out a cluster of oncoming enemies, or better yet, demolish castle walls. Once launched, you can either wait for the Apple Grenade to hit its target, or you can detonate it at any time by while it’s still in the air.

The Vikings, while rugged and dangerous, also care about the environment. They take their garbage and turn it into weapons! The Vikings like to repurpose sharp scraps of Trash Metal to wipe out waves of ground troops before they can reach the gate. It’s not a very accurate weapon, but a great choice if you have scattered troops marching across the battlefield toward your castle, or any pesky flying troops that you need to get rid of.

If you’re still not sure about CastleStorm, check out the free demo on PlayStation Store, and just try not to get hooked! See you on the battlefield!

Unity is joining Microsoft's effort to bring indie developers to the Xbox One.

Hi everybody, this is Francois from Mighty Rocket Studio. This is our big day, because Final Exam launches on PlayStation Store. It’s available for $9.99.

Do you like action games or beat ‘em ups? If so, I encourage you to try the demo. In Final Exam, you can maim monsters with baseball bats, shotguns, flamethrowers, and many more. There’s a solo mode, a co-op mode for two players on the same screen, and a multiplayer mode, with up to four players online. You’ll have plenty of fun in solo mode, and even more fun when playing in multiplayer mode.

Choose your favorite character: Brutal Joe (the quarterback), Cassy (the street dancer), Nathan (The geek, my favorite!) and Sean (the handsome bad boy). Learn to take advantage of each one’s unique characteristics, make them evolve, and discover their most powerful attacks through eight monster-packed missions. We can promise many hours of fun.

There’s also a time attack mode that you’ll have to unlock. One particular guy on the team that really, really likes getting high scores inspired us. In this mode, you have seven minutes to get the highest possible score. So you’d better unlock all the available attacks in order to be able to vary things up to achieve some stellar combos.

Here’s a trick that might be useful when dealing with hordes of monsters: you can throw them into fire. They burn really well. But be careful not to burn your ass! Actually, you can throw everything in the game.

You’ll also meet nice people in Final Exam. Some NPCs help you escape from locations infested with monsters. The sad thing is that they often die when they’re not useful anymore: smashed by a tank monster or electrocuted. There are other silly things in the game that you’ll discover during your journey. You’ll also meet other NPCs who’ll seem familiar to fans of Obscure. There are indeed many details that will remind them of that game.

If you want to know more about Final Exam, have a look at our website. You’ll even find a paper craft pattern to have your own Brutal Joe with you on your desk all day long.

What? You’re still reading this post? Shouldn’t you be downloading the demo of Final Exam? And tell us what you think of the game. We at Mighty Rocket Studio love to listen to people who play our games.

Square-Enix's six-monthly financials show that FF14 exceeded expectations, and the company's fortunes are turning around.

Robust multiplayer gameplay, challenging campaign, and fun co-op modes make it one of the best in the series.

Lunar Rover revealed among huge list of new track, car, and gameplay details.

One of PlayStation 4's coolest features is letting you play PS4 games on PS Vita. The newest Vita firmware update unlocks this capability.

The 2013 baseball season may have just ended, but we’re not ready to stop talking baseball here at PlayStation. We’re proud to announce the award-winning MLB The Show series will be coming to the PS4 system next spring with MLB 14 The Show. The beloved franchise will also launch on the PS3 and PS Vita systems, making PlayStation your home for baseball.

With a new generation of consoles comes a new face for MLB The Show. Last year, you — the fan — voted on which superstar should be on the cover, and chose superstar Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates. With this year’s iteration of The Show, we did something that’s never been done in video game history — we let the ball players vote.

Our cover athlete was chosen by his fellow players, by the opponents who compete against him day in and day out. Every player in the big leagues had the opportunity to nominate one player for this year’s cover, and earlier tonight at the 2013 Player’s Choice Awards on the MLB Network, the winner was revealed. We’re proud to announce that eight-time All-Star, 2012 American League Most Valuable Player, 2012 American League Triple-Crown Award winner, two-time Sporting News Player of the Year (2012, 2013), and the two-time Hank Aaron Award winner (2012, 2013), Detroit Tigers third baseman, Miguel Cabrera, will grace the cover of MLB 14 The Show.

Cabrera’s on-the-field accolades, and off-the-field work ethic, make him the perfect cover athlete to lead our franchise into the next generation of baseball on PS4.

Speaking of PS4, the crew over at San Diego Studios is hard at work creating our best baseball product ever. Here’s a sneak peek at their plans.

Without revealing too much, we did want to give you a taste of some of the many advancements we’re making to the product for 2014. Here are just a few:

• We know how much time and effort our fans put into their Seasons, Franchises, and Road To The Show players. So beginning with MLB 14 The Show, you can now carry over your saves to future versions of MLB The Show. MLB 14 The Show lays the foundation for year-to-year saves, meaning you never have to worry about starting your Franchise or Road to the Show seasons over!
• Thanks to the power of PS4, MLB 14 The Show is going to be the most beautiful baseball product we’ve ever created.
• For some of you, full 9-inning baseball games may be too long for your liking, so we’ve created an all-new Quick Counts option, which utilizes generated pitch counts allowing gamers to play through full games faster than ever. Realistic statistics in this shortened gameplay experience have not been compromised. Users will now be able to play a full 9 inning game in less than 30 minutes, essentially cutting traditional game times in half.
• We think Road To The Show is the deepest, most realistic single-player experience in sports video games, and we’re making it even better. A few of the new features include a new advancement system, new intuitive player creation process, and all new pre-draft prospect showcase.
• And finally, what makes baseball great are those “big moments.” The power of PS4 will allow gamers to share those moments using the new “share feature” by capturing and publishing their most thrilling baseball moments, from hitting a game-winning grand slam, to picking off a runner at first for a crucial win in a World Series game.

We also wanted to give you a quick glimpse of some of the graphical leaps we’ll be able to make via the power of the PS4 hardware. Below are some comparison screens of a “work in progress” version of Fenway’s Green Monster for PS4, and a current version of the same famous wall in the PS3.

Hover your cursor over this image to see the PS3 version

In the PS4 picture of the Fenway Park “Out of Town Scoreboard,” you’ll notice how different types of materials such as metal, wood, and steel properly reflect the sun. The shinier materials such as metal will give you more of a direct or tighter reflection. This is immediately noticeable on the team name plates. In contrast, the more matte surfaces such as the wall above the scoreboard won’t reflect as much direct light as seen in the photo. Contrast this with the PS3 version, where you see a consistent lighting reflection profile across the entire scoreboard.

Hover your cursor over this image to see the PS3 version

Our lighting engine in PS3, while powerful, was limited in the way in which the lighting interacted with our models. Moving to PS4, which boasts 8 GB of GDDR5 RAM, we are able to properly represent the true nature of the surfaces. In the PS4 screenshot, you’ll notice the game scoreboard has actual geometry to it and not just a flat plane, compared to the contrasting PS3 screenshot. With the added horsepower of PS4, we can create more detailed representation of elements within the stadium. With the added memory, we can increase the texture size, and use higher resolution normal maps to push the illusion of reality.

Hover your cursor over this image to see the PS3 version

In the final comparison, you get the complete composition of all the new technology we can use in the stadiums. Here we have an excellent example of the increased polygon count which is immediately noticeable in the depth and shadow projection in the small elements. In this angle you can see the specular highlight from the advanced PS4 materials interacting correctly with the new lighting engine.

These are just a handful of the improvements you’ll see in MLB The Show as we continue to develop and harness the power of PS4. We can’t wait to share more information about the game’s visuals and new modes in the coming months.

Lastly, to our loyal Canadian fans, you’ll have a hand in deciding who will grace the cover of MLB 14 The Show in Canada. And also, EB Games will have the same pre-order exclusive as GameStop. Stay tuned for more info on both.

Today, Sony revealed what you may have already expected. MLB 14: The Show is officially coming to PS3 and Vita early next year. And PS4, too!

Killzone Shadow Fall has been built from the ground up for PS4, and the response to the gameplay footage so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Unfortunately, there are limitations to streamed video on the internet, and many of the clips and trailers we’ve released thus far aren’t being viewed in the best possible fidelity and framerate.

In order to properly demonstrate the framerate and resolution we achieve in Shadow Fall’s multiplayer, we’ve captured and lightly compressed new footage that we’re not offering through a video sharing service. Instead, we ask that you download and locally view the high-resolution, uncompressed footage directly from from us.

Important note: Please use a video player with hardware acceleration when viewing the footage. We recommend Windows Media Player for Windows users and QuickTime Player for Mac users. Do not use a non-accelerated player (such as VLC Media Player) because the framerate and resolution of this movie are simply too high and will likely cause choppy playback.

Click here to download the video.

The video you just saw has been captured from a multiplayer match on “The Park,” which is situated firmly behind enemy lines near the Visari tribute statue.

As you can probably tell from the footage, Killzone Shadow Fall multiplayer outputs at a native 1080p, rendering uncapped but always targeting 60 FPS. We’re very pleased with how well the game runs, and we can’t wait for you to play it come November 15th.

In the meantime, let us know what you think in the comments below!

How many times have players respawned? How many total matches have we contributed to? Learn about the insane stats behind Call of Duty.

The wait for a next-gen games is getting unbearable! And our team at Ghost Games has been pushing themselves to be a part of PlayStation’s big launch day. We’re excited to announce today that Need for Speed Rivals will be a launch title for PS4 in North America on November 15th.

We’re stoked to be the first racing game on PS4, and believe we’re setting a new bar for driving gameplay and visuals. PS4, coupled with the Frostbite 3 engine, will give players unparalleled next-gen gaming — epic locations and vistas, stunning time of day and weather changes, and super high fidelity cars. But we’re not just about looks — what’s under the hood counts, too! With Rivals, we’re introducing AllDrive, a new feature which allows players to choose seamlessly between single player, co-op, or multiplayer, and a completely new way for you to play Need for Speed.

Share Your AllDrive Moments on PS4

Even as we play Need for Speed Rivals, we can never be sure what’ll happen next. Just recently in a Pursuit race, one of the racers dropped a stun mine at the bottom of a jump — another car landed right on top, wiped out, spun out of control, finally landing on the cop that was pursuing him. It’s that chaos and variety enabled by AllDrive that makes Rivals so unpredictable and fun. There’s no way you can script something like that, and when it happens, being able to have players show off those moments through the Share button is something we’re really excited about.

Continue the Race with Remote Play

This feature will work out of the box, allowing players to put down their DualShock 4, grab their Vita, and continue their game for those moments when you have to give up the TV. This is a great new feature, and when you also consider the drop-in functionality of Overwatch mode, we’re giving you more ways to enjoy and play Need for Speed.

See You on the Road

All in all, our team is incredibly proud of what we’re delivering on PS4. As a new studio, this is our first game, and we couldn’t be more excited to have Need for Speed Rivals be there at launch. Whether you choose to be a cop or a racer, we hope to see you out on the open roads of Redview County!

If you have any questions or comments about Need for Speed Rivals, let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to answer them. Feel free to also drop by our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.

We’re kicking off this month’s PlayStation Plus freebies with Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen. This vast role playing game includes the original title with a few key changes like fast-travel. If you’re unfamiliar with the franchise, it allows you to fight massive creatures (and some of them you can even climb on), hire specialized friends (also known as pawns) to help you in combat, all while exploring an expansive world with a new region, Bitterblack Island, thanks to the Dark Arisen expansion. This is a great title to get lost in while you await your PlayStation 4.

You can take advantage of all these PS Plus benefits after tomorrow’s PlayStation Store update.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (PS3)

Free for PS Plus members, Regular Price: $39.99

An epitaph speaks of another’s demise…A mysterious island known as Bitterblack Isle appears off the coast of Gransys. Its depths have claimed the lives of many Arisen their voices still haunt the labyrinth that lies deep beneath its surface–a labyrinth ripe with secrets waiting to be discovered. The time to take up arms has come once again. Delve into the isle’s depths and uncover its dark secret!

Game Title PS Plus Price Sale Price Regular Price SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny $13.49 $14.99 $24.99 Mortal Kombat PS Vita $10.79 $11.99 $19.99 Dead Or Alive 5 Plus $21.59 $23.99 $39.99 Real Boxing $6.29 $6.99 $9.99 Guacamelee! (Cross-Buy) $8.39 $10.49 $14.99

Last Chance (Leaving on 11/12)

Instant Game Collection
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee HD (PS3)

Discounts
Mortal Kombat Ps Vita
Dead Or Alive 5 Plus
Real Boxing
Reality Fighters
Guacamelee!
Guacamelee! PS Vita
Proteus

What’s your favorite content from this week’s update?

We’ll be back next week to add another title to the Instant Game Collection as well as any other benefits, like super sweet discounts.

If you’ve got feedback on today’s Plus update make sure vote in the poll and leave a comment below. To discuss all things PlayStation, including this update, you can also head over to the PlayStation Community Forums where you’ll find topics you can contribute your thoughts to, or start one for yourself.

Hi everybody! I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition on PS Vita next week. To prepare for this game’s imminent arrival, we’re offering discounts on some of our favorite PS Vita fighting games.

Tomorrow, we’ve got a set of discounts on PS Vita fighters (with a new batch of discounts next week), with prices up to 60% off. PlayStation Plus members get an additional 20% off. Visit PS Store tomorrow to take advantage of the first week’s deals, and check back on November 12th for the second week of sales.

Bam! Check out the hard-hitting lineup below:

11/5 through 11/11 Game Title PS Plus Price Sale Price Regular Price Dead or Alive 5 Plus $21.59 $23.99 $39.99 Guacamelee! PS Vita (Cross-Buy) $8.39 $10.49 $14.99 Mortal Kombat PS Vita $10.79 $11.99 $19.99 Real Boxing $6.29 $6.99 $9.99 SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny $13.49 $14.99 $24.99 11/12 through 11/18 Game Title PS Plus Price Sale Price Regular Price Atomic Ninjas PS Vita (Cross-Buy) $6.29 $6.99 $9.99 Divekick PS Vita (Cross-Buy) $5.59 $6.99 $9.99 KickBeat PS Vita (Cross-Buy) $5.59 $6.99 $9.99 PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale™ PS Vita $19.34 $21.49 $35.99 SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny $13.49 $14.99 $24.99 ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3 PS Vita $12.79 $15.99 $39.99 Reality Fighters $5.99 $7.49 $17.99

Let us know which games you are going to pick up in the comments!

Is this mysterious Assassin's Creed project real?

Developer SideQuest Studios has announced the Vita port of the PSN-exclusive strategy RPG will drop next month.

Ascention director Todd Papy has said goodbye to the home of the God of War series.

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With just weeks until PS4′s launch in North America, we check in on NBA 2K14′s next-generation court, learn how to help children’s hospitals with Extra Life, share new game releases for November 15th and more!

Stuff We Talked About

• Extra Life
• NBA 2K14
• Call of Duty: Ghosts
• Castlestorm
• The Guided Fate Paradox
• The Adventures of Cookie & Cream
• Batman Arkham Origins
• Red Dead Redemption
• Ryan’s Top 10 of the Generation
• More of your top 10 lists

Recent Episodes

• Episode 095: Shadow Fallin’ For You
• Episode 094: Witness the Daylight
• Episode 093: From the Shadows

Send us questions and tips: blogcast@playstation.sony.com or leave a voice message! 650-288-6706 The Cast

• Nick Suttner – PlayStation Account Support Manager
• Justin Massongill – PlayStation Social Media Specialist
• Ryan Clements – PlayStation 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.]

• Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.

Official Killzone Shadow Fall Game Page

It’s been 30-odd years since the events of Killzone 3, and my, how things have changed. The fearsome Helghast are now refugees, their homeworld annihilated in a nuclear firestorm. In a desperate bid for survival, the surviving Helghast emigrate to an idyllic planet controlled by their mortal enemies, the ISA. Unrest simmers, leading to the construction of a vast security wall intended to separate the Vektan haves from the Helghast have-nots. A long, fragile peace is shattered following a terrorist strike (seen in Killzone Shadow Fall‘s February 20th at PS4’s debut conference), prompting the ISA leadership to bring out the big guns. That’d be you, elite Shadow Marshal operative Lucas Kellan. Your mission is simple: Restore order at any cost.

Launch game or no, Killzone Shadow Fall’s campaign is a visual stunner on PS4, rendering a smorgasbord of reflections, dynamic lighting, and billowing smoke at a razor-sharp 1080p native resolution (1920 x 1080). It’s as if developer Guerrilla Games wanted to cast off every technological limitation from the PS3 era all at once. Combined with Shadow Fall’s expanded color palette and sprawling environments, the results are spectacular.

Shadow Fall isn’t set on a traditional battlefield and Lucas Kellan isn’t a traditional army grunt. Kellen packs state-of-the-art military gear such as the OWL, a military done that can provide cover fire, deploy shields, or serve as a zipline for traversing wide expanses via a quick swipe on DualShock 4’s touchpad. Kellen can emit a “tactical echo” ability to highlight nearby enemies, or slow time to get the jump on his enemies.

Shadow Fall’s combat also infuses a stronger sandbox sensibility, giving players far more control of how, where, and when they launch their attacks. White-knuckled firefights can be supplemented with stealthy takedowns and traps, making the game far more nonlinear than its predecessor. And the single-player campaign is no lightweight, weighing in at more than 10 hours.

Then there’s the competitive multiplayer mode which, like the game’s campaign, runs at native 1080p and 60 fps. Supporting up to 24 players across a variety of play modes, Shadow Fall’s multiplayer combat feels more agile and responsive than its predecessor thanks to DualShock 4’s many refinements and, well, dat framerate.

Shadow Fall breaks from the multiplayer pack in several notable ways. For starters, you’ll start with the game’s full arsenal (22 guns) and you’ll complete skill-based challenges (1,500 in all) in order to upgrade your gear and abilities. But perhaps most enticing are the player-created Warzones that will begin popping up once Killzone: Shadow Fall lands on November 15th. We’ll have more Killzone Shadow Fall coverage leading up to PS4’s launch in less than two weeks!

Redbox Instant by Verizon, the digital extension of the Redbox video rental service, has come to PlayStation 3, the PlayStation Blog has announced. An $8 subscription to Redbox Instant will allow PS3 owners to stream videos from the Redbox library, and will also grant four DVD rentals per month from Redbox kiosks. For an extra dollar, subscribers can upgrade to Blu-ray discs. Even without a subscription, users can purchase or rent digital videos - they just won't be streaming.

Rebox Instant also boasts a unique feature for PlayStation called The Playlist, which features a curated selection of movies based on themes like "Stuff Blowing Up," "Beards On Film" and "Movies With Balls." We'd write a joke about these titles, but what more can be said? Movies. With. Balls. The Playlist is only available to subscribers.

Redbox Instant came to Xbox 360 in March, and required a Gold subscription to access. The PS3 version does not require a subscription beyond paying for Redbox Instant itself.

This year, thousands of PlayStation gamers answered the call to help their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals through Extra Life, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children’s hospitals and the medical treatment, programs and charitable care that is provided to kids in their communities.

Today is a huge day for children’s hospitals across North America, as our 6th Annual Extra Life main event begins at 8am. For 25 hours we will celebrate the social impact of gamers who have been fundraising for their local CMN Hospitals. And you’ll be able to watch it all live.

Not registered? Not a problem. It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up, hit the moms and best pal up for a few dollars for the kids, and then celebrate with us.

While there is a lot of talk of streaming your game play and a few elaborate physical events popping up all over the place, most people participate from the comfort of their own living room. Now I don’t have any scientific data on this, but I’d be willing to bet a measurable percentage of our Extra Life Heroes participate in their underwear. Try getting that mental image out of your head.

Before we get into the best practices in surviving Extra Life, you might want to know more about this charitable initiative and where it came from. Quite simply this whole crazy thing was born in memory of my friend, Tori. She would have been 21 years old this year. Here’s her story, and that of Extra Life for those wanting to learn more.

Now that you’re registered, here’s a suggested plan of attack for your personal Extra Life marathon.

• Watch the official stream at http://twitch.tv/ExtraLife4Kids and keep up with the latest results and catch interesting interviews and videos from Extra Lifers all over the world. This is a great way to take a break and catch a little inspiration. Twitch will also be featuring over ONE THOUSAND of other Extra Life themes from heroic gamers and celebrities.
• Get shut-eye: A runner wouldn’t pull an all-nighter before a marathon, so don’t slack on your Z’s the night before yours. Basic motor skills (the kind you, Gamer, desperately need) and mental endurance plummet with every hour you skimp. Be just as disciplined with keeping up on your comatose state as you are perfecting your game. And remember; if you are tired… go to bed. Get up later and finish then.
• Drink up: Water is your new best friend. Even breathing requires H2O.Stay hydrated by keeping a nice, big 32-oz. water bottle by your side and fill it up five to six times throughout your 24—err, 25-hour trek (that’s right). Limit caffeine until you absolutely need it. That Venti cup of Joe or those Monster drinks should be a last-ditch emergency effort, not a plan of action.
• Nosh well: Treat your body like an engine. You wouldn’t put maple syrup in your car’s tank, so don’t put starchy, sugary, processed foods in your own. Stock up on energy-producing brain foods such as fruit, veggies, complex carbohydrates and lean protein. Keep nuts and fruit by your side instead of that family-size bag of Cheetos. Fuel your body right, and it will perform at those high speeds and long hours you need it to.
• Hit the pause button: Take breaks! Stretch. Walk about. Chat with a friend for a few. Powering through does not equal toughness in this game. Rest your eyes from the screen, stretch your muscles and take a jog around the block (or the house) every hour or two to get your blood flowing and keep your brain alive. Feeling sleepy? Get some zzz’s. Seriously. You can always pick up where you left off after some rest.
• Brighten the mood: Playing in a dark room might seem cool at first, but that’s not going to fly at 4 a.m. Keeping the lights bright during the wee hours can help “trick” your brain into making less melatonin, the sleep hormone naturally produced when the lights go out. But if your body is screaming for a nap, listen to it.
• Join a team: Even if this isn’t your first rodeo, going it alone will have you wind up like the lone, sickly antelope at the back of the stampede. Keep up your motivation, increase your enjoyment and further your success by participating with friends and family — or strangers! Remember, you can also split all 25 hours amongst several people so consider a five hour-long party with five friends.
• Remember the cause: Finally, don’t forget why you’re doing this! This is 100 percent For The Kids. Revel in the fulfillment of helping sick and injured children across North America. You are saving lives, one hour at a time. Keep up the great work, and have fun!

This is going to be an incredible weekend for the generous PlayStation community as nearly 30,000 gamers stand up, or more accurately sit down to do what they love For The Kids. Before you play, however, make sure you’ve done all you can to help those kids. On behalf of our dedicated Extra Life team, I would like to thank the PlayStation community for your intense and enthusiastic response to our request for your help, and thank the folks at PlayStation for the privilege of sharing Extra Life with you.

A "Crystal," wireless DualShock 3 is coming to Japan on December 19, PlayStation Japan announced (translation from Polygon). The controller is translucent white and notably not made out of actual crystals.

The Crystal DualShock 3 costs 5,500 yen ($56) and will be compatible with PlayStation Vita TV, which launches on November 14. There's no word if the Crystal controller will ever head westward.

You'll recall this isn't the first time Sony has experimented with natural elements in its hardware.

The Epic-owned developer of Bulletstorm and Gears of War: Judgment has a new name.

This week, it was finally confirmed that Titanfall won't be coming to PS4 in its "lifetime," and IGN sat down with a member of Bungie to discuss plans for Destiny.