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See the PlayStation 4 and its games two days before launch.

Warner announces Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, an "original, dark story of retribution".

The wait is almost over – Killzone Shadow Fall comes out November 15th in North America, with the UK and Europe to follow on November 29th!

We’re thrilled to be able to show you the launch trailer for Killzone Shadow Fall. It’s been an amazing journey getting here, and we’re proud of what we were able to accomplish on the new PlayStation 4 hardware. Killzone Shadow Fall represents another big leap forward for us, both in terms of gameplay as well as technology.

When we began working on Killzone Shadow Fall, we set out to redefine the Killzone FPS experience. It had to cater to a new, more resourceful playing style, requiring the use of tactics and intelligence to outmaneuver and outsmart enemies. At the same time, we wanted the game to remain true to its roots as a highly visceral shooter.

As excited as we are to talk about where we’ve taken the story and gameplay in the Killzone universe with Shadow Fall, we’re just as eager to showcase the numerous ways in which we’ve leveraged the raw horsepower of the PS4 to push the tech in our engine to jaw-dropping new heights. See it in this new Tech video.

Lastly, we want to thank each and every fan who pre-ordered Killzone Shadow Fall. As part of the reservation at participating retailers, users are promised the Shadow Fall soundtrack. We will be slightly delayed in pushing the bonus out to our fans (only this one; everything else is on track), but can assure you the delay is minimal. We hope it’s yet another aspect of the game that you fall in love with this holiday season.

We think you’ll love the new direction Killzone Shadow Fall takes, and we can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the launch trailer in the comments below. Remember to mark your calendar for November 15th (November 29th in the UK and Europe), and keep watching PlayStation Blog and Killzone.com for more Killzone Shadow Fall news!

Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley has big claims about the upcoming PS4 shooter.

I've been wrong about Ratchet & Clank. I always thought Sony's series was the Dreamworks to Nintendo's Pixar. Yeah, they can be cute, and they can be funny, but Ratchet & Clank games always felt like the result of extreme market-testing, with whatever soul they could have had replaced with lowest common denominator pandering. Just look at Ratchet: He has that face, that smug smirk that every Dreamworks character makes (at least according to that popular web comic from a few years ago.)

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus isn't the first Ratchet & Clank that I've played, but it's the first to make me feel bad about writing these games off. Some of the dialogue and character designs might veer into that cloyingly sassy turf claimed by Dreamworks and so many smarmy kids' shows, but it doesn't happen as often as I had feared. Much of the game is legitimately funny. The variety of the game's action, and how smoothly it flows from third-person shoot-out to twisty platforming section, makes up for any of the story's creakier moments.

The 100 minute documentary about the success of Minecraft is available for you to watch right here.

We've played Battlefield 4 and Need for Speed: Rivals on a PS Vita via Remote Play from the PS4. Find out how it performed.

We've played Sucker Punch's PS4 game, and the neon abilities seem pretty incredible.

Bounties and Nephalem Rifts will reinvigorate adventurers throughout their journey in Sanctuary.

Nexus is a fine return to Ratchet & Clank’s inimitable brand of action-platforming.

Find out who you'll play as in The Last of Us story DLC this Thursday.

The time has almost come to welcome a new member of the PlayStation family into our homes, with the PS4 launching this Friday. Though the PlayStation 3 isn't going away any time soon officially, we're getting the eulogy started on the current-gen by remembering how it all started.

Join Xav and Dave and the rest of the Joystiq team tomorrow at 1 p.m. Eastern as we play through the entire PlayStation 3 launch lineup. Classic titles will be on hand, from giant enemy crabs in Genji: Days of the Blade to the delectable drifts of Ridge Racer 7 and more (some pictured above)! Take a journey with us to remember that a system's launch doesn't define its future. We even have Haze, which wasn't a launch game, but holy smokes do you remember that thing?

The stream will go live on Tuesday, November 12 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. If you want to participate in the live discussion, subscribe to Joystiq's Twitch channel.

Sony has updated the PlayStation Network's Usage Terms to include paragraphs on the resale of software and communication monitoring.

The creator of BioShock has responded to criticism about the length of Burial at Sea Episode 1, arguing it's about "quality over quantity".

Sony has unleashed another viral advert for the PS4, this time focusing on Assassin's Creed and tailoring. Naturally.

New abilities, tough enemies and more maps make this a superb expansion, but the ending needs an upgrade.

Lost in a loop trying to use your PS Vita? Here's how to get it back online.

Every day, in addition to The Daily Fix, we list off the day's biggest stories in this simple and easy to read format.

We don't know its cost or distribution, but at least our characters will leap between generations.

Blizzard is taking better advantage of randomization to create a new mode that feels like an endgame.

Buy a PS4 and try out PlayStation Plus for a limited time and get a credit towards games.

Want to see how good the real world city is looking in Sucker Punch's super-hero game? Come get a glimpse of Delsin's playground.

My friend Simon Darveau and I quit our jobs at AAA gaming studios in favor of a smaller, more experimental and creative independent game development. We wanted to create a new kind of game experience, and what better way to do so than to ride the wave of the new generation of consoles? So with the help of PlayStation’s push for indies, we found our experiment in cooperation, Tiny Brains, coming to life on the shockingly high-res screens of the brand-new PS4 on November 26th!

For some background, Tiny Brains is an upcoming action puzzle game that follows the adventures of four tiny (but super-powered!) lab animals that have been experimented on by a mad scientist. Each “tiny brain” has a unique physics-based ability and players must work together to combine their powers and escape the trick-ridden science experiment. We made this game to truly be about co-op — unlike some co-op games where the stronger players can complete the objectives while their less-experienced friends hang back and bumble about, in Tiny Brains, all the animals’ powers must work in tandem in order to progress. You and your fellow gamers can no longer just coexist, you must truly cooperate, and it’s easy for non-gamers to jump in and have fun.

Bringing Tiny Brains to the PS4, we of course took advantage of the awesome power of the console by having more physics-based objects, more destructibles, and more legions of evil baby chickens. Beyond amped up power of the whole system, PS4 has some totally cool features that we got to work with. One of my favorites was the new tech in the DualShock 4 controller.

Bright Lights

Utilizing the PS4 DualShock light bar in Tiny Brains, you can tell which character you and your fellow lab rats are playing based on the corresponding controller colors. This comes in handy because each tiny superhero has a different power and you’ll need your friends’ help to cross boiling vats of acid, attract hard-to-reach batteries, and stop the pesky red ball from falling into the depths of the lab — just to name a few obstacles. Once you use your power, the light bar will turn white and will gradually return to your color when your ability has recharged.

For example, Dax, the miniature bat, is purple. For Dax, echolocation is so last season – he can project a supersonic wave that can effectively force push objects away from him.

Stew is the rabbit with the green rubber suit. He’s electrically charged (his enormous ears are stuffed with a pair of high-powered batteries), and his power is to telekinetically pull objects towards him.

There’s also Minsc, a chubby blue hamster. He can create an ice block out of thin air and blow them up with a second block, propelling any objects (or tiny friends) on top of the ice high into the air.

Finally there’s Pad, the red-eyed mouse, whose brain is so big that it must be exposed under a protective glass cap. Pad can teleport by swapping position between himself and an object.

The controllers help you figure out which of your friends is controlling which animal, so you know to shout at the guy holding the blue controller (the Minsc man) when you need a block of ice to boost you over a fence, or the girl with the glowing red controller (Pad’s puppeteer) to teleport to an important switch.

Touchy-Feely

In addition to the light bar, we’ve also made use of DualShock 4’s touchpad. The game features intuitive, easy-to-master controls but no matter how much gaming experience you have, you’ll need to communicate with your fellow tiny brains to solve each puzzle. To help facilitate this process, we’ve developed a feature where you can use the touchpad to bring down an arrow of your color into the screen. Players can use this to point to specific locations in a puzzle where they may require someone with a different power to chip in – an especially helpful feature when playing in our online multiplayer mode.

We’re thrilled with the way Tiny Brains has turned out – as a joyously chaotic, intensely social game that can turn strangers into friends and friends into a team. We can’t think of a better medium for its gameplay than PS4.

Be sure to check out Tiny Brains on PS4, and let us know in the comments your favorite feature of the DualShock 4!

This past Wednesday night, the Gran Turismo Awards put on its 11th annual award ceremony at the Haze Nightclub inside the Aria in Las Vegas, Nevada. Held during the SEMA Show, the 2013 GT Awards sought to find the best cars from five different categories (Best Truck or SUV, Hot Rod, Domestic Automobile, Asian Import, and European Import) by calling on experts from the automotive media and industry tastemakers.

In addition to the five categories, a People’s Choice award was introduced for the first time this year where fans had the opportunity to vote on their favorite car by liking posts on Gran Turismo’s Facebook page.

Hosted by C.J. Wilson, the All-Star pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and owner of a Mazda race team and dealership, the MLB athlete/car guy revealed all six category winners, as well as the overall Best in Show.

For Best Truck or SUV, Matt Farah from the Drive channel on YouTube and Smoking Tire selected the 1965 Ford Econoline back-up pickup truck owned by Dave Shuten. It’s called a back-up pickup because it’s a truck with its driveline turned around. It will do a wheelie, going backwards.

Alexander Stoklosa and Michael Simari from Car and Driver teamed up as judges for Best Domestic Automobile and picked the Factory Five 818R. The 818R is a track-purpose kit car that uses a turbocharged Subaru motor.

For Best Asian Import, Jonathan Wong from Super Street magazine picked a 2014 Scion FR-S with a 2JZ engine swapped in from a Supra turbo. Built by the aftermarket company Greddy, the small Scion now makes 750 wheel horsepower.

Alex Bernstein from European Car was on deck for Best European Import. Alex chose a 2001 VW GTI-RS from 034 Motorsport that’s been converted to rear wheel drive and makes 900 wheel horsepower.

Ryan Friedlinghaus from the car customization shop West Coast Customs picked a 1967 Chevrolet Nova owned by Chris Holstrom for Best Hot Rod. The Nova is equipped with a supercharged LS9 engine out of a 2012 Corvette ZR1 that makes 700 horsepower. The overall clean execution of modern engine in a classic chassis, helped the Nova take the Best in Show honors as well. Look for it as a playable vehicle in an upcoming GT.

As for the People’s Choice, the fans picked a 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray owned by Octavio Villafana. The C7 Vette features a custom widebody painted in a brilliant blue.

Go to www.gran-turismo.com/us for more info.

As final platform testing comes to an end, I’m here on behalf of Housemarque to share some new footage and a few development insights for Resogun, our incredible new shoot-em-up launching alongside PS4 on November 15th.

First off, a short video from the team telling you exactly what Resogun is about.

As the guys explained in the video, everything in Resogun is constructed from gazillions (too many to count) of 3D bricks/cubes, known as voxels.

Voxels aren’t particularly new, but it’s difficult and time consuming to build intricate structures with them, so designing the game worlds of Resogun has been a really interesting challenge.

Here are some images showing some test buildings that we created.

The final worlds are, of course, much more sophisticated, but the cool thing these images illustrate is that the entire world in Resogun is literally a huge pile of bricks, begging to be blown up at any given moment. And one of the best things about Resogun is that stuff blows up all the time, and when stuff blows up in Resogun, it blows up BIG!

Yes, we like seeing stuff blow up.

Switching gears, the next video shows off the beautiful concept paintings that were created for each of the game worlds. It also has a full capture of the first world in Resogun blowing up, along with more of the cool introductory animation that you’ll see in the final game.

You’ll see that all of the world names are based on Greek and Roman mythology, and if you look them up and you may learn a little more about each theme.

Wrapping things up, I’d like to thank everyone that’s played the early demo at one of this year’s game expos, and I also want to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the development team at Housemarque, our partners at Sony’s WWS XDEV Studio Europe, all of QA, and everyone else that has helped to create Resogun.

Last but not least, we’ll be back again with more gameplay footage, and details about the different ships, just before the official launch on November 15th.

So stay posted here, and visit us on Facebook.

Namco's newly released screens of free-to-play, single-player entry SoulCalibur: Lost Swords are more revealing than they first seem. According to Siliconera, what we're looking at is a support system that lets you temporarily swap in a friend's character for your own.

Namco Bandai hasn't released any concrete details on what modes feature in Lost Swords, but we do know the game's running on the "next iteration" of the SoulCalibur 5 engine. As Producer Masaaki Hashino told us in September, "The game system itself is quite different, it's been more streamlined and simplified so that people can more easily perform flashy, over-the-top maneuvers,"

Soulcalibur: Lost Swords is due to hit the PlayStation Network this winter.

Just think — this time next month, we’ll be looking at the top sellers on PS4!

Grand Theft Auto V takes the top spot on the final PS3 list of this generation, followed by Battlefield 4, The Wolf Among Us, and NBA 2K14. The Walking Dead and Killzone: Mercenary rocked the PS Vita charts (with a respectable showing from a personal favorite, Persona 4 Golden), and Fatal Frame and its sequel sit at the top of the Classics chart.

Want to see what the numbers look like on the other side of the pond? Head to the EU PlayStation.Blog to see their list.

Which game do you think is going to top the inaugural PS4 chart?

Top 20 PS3 & PSN Games


Grand Theft Auto V Battlefield 4 The Wolf Among Us – Episode 1: Faith NBA 2K14 Dead Island: Game of the Year Edition Okami HD The Walking Dead – Season Pass Batman: Arkham Origins EA SPORTS FIFA 14 Resident Evil 4 Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag The Last Of Us Diablo III FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn rain I Am Alive Remember Me LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Madden NFL 25 WWE 2K14 Top 10 PS3 Add-Ons
Call of Duty: Black Ops II Apocalypse Borderlands 2 Bloody Harvest Call of Duty: Black Ops II Vengeance The Walking Dead: 400 Days Call of Duty: Black Ops II Nuketown Zombies Map Borderlands 2 Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2 Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Revolution Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising Battlefield 4 Premium WWE 2K14 Season Pass Top 10 PS Vita Games
The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season Killzone: Mercenary Malicious Rebirth Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut PS Vita Persona 4 Golden Dragon’s Crown Real Boxing Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Valhalla Knights 3 Need for Speed Most Wanted Top 5 PlayStation Mobile Games Sola Radio Beats Trellis Hills of Glory: WWII Scientific Electronic Calculator CHAOS RINGS Top 10 Classics
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Fatal Frame Crash Bandicoot (PS3/PSP) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Metal Gear Solid (PS3/PSP) Crash Bandicoot 3: WARPED (PS3/PSP) Crash Bandicoot 2 (PS3/PSP) FINAL FANTASY VII (PS3/PSP/PS Vita) Spyro the Dragon (PS3/PSP) CTR: Crash Team Racing (PS3/PSP) Top 10 PSP Games
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable Corpse Party Corpse Party: Book of Shadows Star Wars: Battlefront II Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Monster Hunter Freedom Unite DISSIDIA 012[duodecim] FINAL FANTASY FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE WAR OF THE LIONS God of War: Ghost of Sparta

With just one week until Super Motherload launches alongside PS4, I’m eager to share with you PlayStation.Blog readers a bit about what makes Super Motherload tick, as well as show off a brand new video to set the scene.

Super Motherload is an arcade style digging adventure for one to four players, set on Mars in the retro future (And if that’s not a mouthful enough, you’re welcome to add “Soviet space race,” “B movie sci-fi,” and “mining puzzler” to the mix!).

Inspired by our original game, Motherload, we wanted to bring Mars mining to consoles and breathe some life back into the four-player, couch co-op style of gameplay that we love and miss so much. Online play can’t hold a candle to a good, “reassuring” elbow to the ribs when your buddy goes in the wrong direction with no fuel to spare.

Super Motherload’s visual charm is no doubt rooted in some of our favorite movies and tv shows of past decades, including Battlestar Galactica (the original), Buck Rogers, and Moon, to name a few. Those favorites, along with an ’80s inspired soundtrack, all lend to Super Motherload’s B movie, sci-fi aesthetic — Eric even cited Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as inspiration for the soundtrack.

The story is told through fully voiced transmissions, and illustrated cutscenes as written by comic book veteran Kurtis Wiebe, whose experience was a perfect match to write the dialogue-driven storyline.

“Mars.
The near future.

The Solarus Corporation discovered an infinite source of rare and precious minerals deep in the red crust. Resources that will end the energy crisis on Earth and fuel the deep space expeditions planned as population swells beyond capacity.

Constructing magnificent surface bases, Solarus’ early mining endeavors resulted in returns of wealth beyond measure. Delving deeper they installed new facilities and recruited more adventurous technicians and operators seeking to expand their empire.

Then, one day, Mars went silent.

Cut off from their people, Solarus sent new recruits to continue operations and restore communications. You are such a recruit and with Mars growing closer by the hour, you sense that all is not right on the Red Planet.

Can you uncover the mysteries of Mars or will her secrets be your undoing? Good luck, employee 1001.”

There’s a surprising amount of depth in the design behind Super Motherload, with four years of concepting, experimentation, and refinement to the mechanics. Ultimately, the feedback loop remains straightforward; dig around to collect minerals and return to the surface to sell those minerals for cash. That cash allows you to refuel, repair, and — most importantly — buy upgrades so that you can drill deeper into the Red Planet.

The further you dig, the more difficult it is to progress. Your mining pod is upgradable to suit your style of play with various combinations of speed and capacity upgrades, bombs, items, and quest rewards. Eventually you’ll find the perfect balance and upgrade progression that allows you to blast through to the core and find out what’s happening to your comrades below. There are a number of strategies for efficient digging, and with the aid of co-op players, you’ll begin to discover better methods to reach your full potential with each trip.

We’re excited to say that Super Motherload runs at a buttery smooth 60 FPS in 1080p on PS4, and the new touch pad on the DualShock 4 provides the most immediate method for using specific bomb shapes to blast through obstacles and solve puzzles. Instead of selecting a bomb type by cycling through your items with the DS4 triggers, gestures are utilized: up, down, left or right for the most basic bomb types, or touch pad click to use an Electron Bomb.

This small addition to Super Motherload really streamlines gameplay; once you’ve memorized the direction to swipe for the bomb types, it becomes second nature. When we were testing out the feature in the office, it was funny to watch coworkers who hadn’t yet broken their L1 and R1 button habits face off against those who had mastered the touch pad — while the button cyclers were doing their thing, the touch pad elite had already busted through the obstacle for the prize.

Considering the combos, multipliers, a crafting system, hundreds of explosive-based puzzles, procedurally generated worlds, B movie villains, unlockable characters, hardcore mode, boss battles, special upgrades, and multiple endings — any real-world aspiring cosmonaut will be well prepared for future colonization of the Red Planet (Mars One 2023?). Just remember the ol’ Solarus Corp adage: keep helmet on.

Super Motherload is available on November 15th for $14.99. In the meantime, check out our blog, official website and soundtrack. See you on Mars!

After months of anticipation, we’re just a week away from the launch of PlayStation 4 in the United States and Canada. Starting at midnight on November 15th, you’ll be able to see for yourself what the future of gaming and entertainment looks like.

The network now expands across a wide array of digital entertainment including incredible multi-player gameplay, availability of full games day and date, streaming movies and TV shows, and a premium cloud-based music service. We are excited to provide those of you in the US and Canada with a special promotional voucher in every PS4 box* that includes:

• $10 Sony Entertainment Network wallet credit for PlayStation Store
• 30-day free PlayStation Plus membership trial
• 30-day free Music Unlimited service trial**

Out of the box, you can immediately experience everything PlayStation Plus for PS4 has to offer and have access to millions and millions of songs through Music Unlimited. The $10 credit can be used towards anything in the store including new PS4 launch titles, such as Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty Ghosts, and Killzone Shadow Fall.

Look for the voucher when you open your PS4 box and let us know what you’re excited about playing, listening, or watching by using #PS4 on Twitter.

*Available for a limited time only
**Only for new subscribers to the Premium Plan

Featured New Releases

Check out what’s new on the Music Unlimited service this week! Read the highlights and browse new albums below.

Highlights

A brand new Eminem album. . . do we need to say more? How about that the rap legend summoned guest appearances by Kendrick Lamar, Skyler Grey, Rihanna, Sia & Fun.’s Nate Reuss.

The official Call of Duty: Ghosts Soundtrack featuring 35 original scores composed by David Buckley, who also wrote for games like Metal Gear Solid & movies like The Town.

Avril Lavigne’s latest album, the first on Epic Records (under mentor L.A. Reid) and which during recording she met her now husband, Chad Kroeger (from Nickelback).

A new EP from Tech N9Ne, a nice treat for fans as it closely follows his summer release, Something Else.

New Albums Available This Week, 11/5/13

Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP 2

David Buckley – Call of Duty: Ghosts Soundtrack

Avril Lavigne – Avril Lavigne

Tech N9Ne – Therapy: Sessions with Ross Robinson

Céline Dion – Loved Me Back to Life

David Bowie – The Next Day Extra

The Wanted – Word of Mouth

M.I.A. – Matangi

James Blunt – Moon Landing

Scott Stapp – Proof of Life

Brian Tyler – Thor: The Dark World Soundtrack

Cut Copy – Free Your Mind

Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time

Latyrx – The Second Album

Tennis – Small Sound

Midlake – Antiphon

Night Terrors Of 1927 – Guilty Pleas EP

New Singles Available This Week, 11/5/13

Lady Gaga – “Dope”

Britney Spears – “Perfume”

Leona Lewis – “One More Sleep”

A Great Big World – “Say Something (ft. Christina Aguilera)”

Broken Bells – “Holding On For Life”

Did you purchase the special One Year offer for Music Unlimited? Add 3 more months for only $3 or just $1 a month! Learn more here: http://bit.ly/HuICi8

In this week’s New Release Recap we showcase a couple “family” adventures with Grown Ups 2, We’re the Millers and the epic action thriller 2 Guns. Plus, from now until November 24th, for every $20 you spend on video content , you get $5 credit back! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to stock up on your favorite movies and TV shows before the holiday season begins.

The funny foursome of Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock and David Spade are at it again and this time they brought along some exciting new additions in Grown Ups 2. After moving his family from the always busy city of Los Angeles to his hometown, Lenny (Adam Sandler) finds out that between old bullies, new bullies and wild bus drivers, sometimes crazy follows you.

David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) finds himself in a sticky situation in the laugh out loud comedy We’re the Millers. In order to make amendswith his supplier, played by The Office and Hangover series star Ed Helms, he must become a big-time smuggler and bring in the latest shipment from Mexico. Join in on his adventurous road trip with his makeshift family, “the Millers” including a cynical stripper (Jennifer Aniston), a streetwise teen (Emma Roberts) and a wannabe customer (Will Poulter). Buckle up because the fun is just getting started.

In need of some action and suspense? Look no further than2 Guns,featuring the star-studded duo ofAcademy Award-winner Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. In this flick the two play undercover operatives who are forced to go on the run together after a failed attempt to take down a drug cartel. Get ready to be at the edge of your seat from the time you hit play until the closing credits.

Remember, remember the fifth of November. Watch the action/thriller V for Vendetta, featuring Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman, all over again and enjoy the newly added Extras.

Lastly, catch-up on the entire drama taking place in Miami Beach in Magic City – Season 2 as Ike Evans risks everything to rid his Miramar Playa Hotel of the mob and Ben “The Butcher” Diamond.

Make sure rent this week’s Theatrical Throwdown Winner, G.I. Joe Retaliation for only 99₵ SD or $1.99 HD in the PlayStation Store this weekend, now until Sunday night 11:00 PM PDT. Also, visit the video store on your Sony Entertainment Network compatible devices, or simply access the Sony Entertainment Network web store to watch all the latest new releases in movies and TV shows in order to get $5 credit back for every $20 you spend!