PlayStation Network
Journey (PS3) – The pioneers that brought you the award-winning PlayStation Network titles flOw & Flower are back with another title that challenges traditional gaming conventions. With Journey, thatgamecompany (TGC) continues its tradition of delivering simple gameplay and accessible controls in a rich interactive environment that invites players to explore and experience emotional chords that are still uncommon in videogames.
An exotic adventure with a more serious tone, Journey presents a unique vision of an online adventure experience. Awakening in an unknown world, the player walks, glides, and flies through a vast and awe-inspiring landscape, while discovering the history of an ancient, mysterious civilization along the way. Journey’s innovative approach to online play encourages players to explore this environment with strangers who cross their path from time to time. By traveling together, they can re-shape the experience — creating authentic moments they will remember and discuss with others.
Bioshock 2 – Set during the fall of Rapture, players assume the role of a Plasmid test subject for Sinclair Solutions, a premier provider of Plasmids and Tonics in the underwater city of Rapture that was first explored in the original BioShock. Players will need to use all the elements of the BioShock toolset to survive as the full depth of the BioShock experience is refined and transformed into a unique multiplayer experience that can only be found in Rapture.
Warp – Warp is a unique stealth action game that feature a top-down sci-fi world with a distinctive art style, addicting levels, hazardous traps and challenging puzzles.
Time Machine: Rogue Pilot – Time Machine: Rogue Pilot offers a brand new approach to puzzle games genre taking the best from classic match 3 experience and combining it with the innovative hidden objects gameplay. Dozens of fascinating story mode missions and a special multiplayer mode that can be played with a friend online or on the same screen! Plus the game also offers several bonus modes — all of this coming along with dazzling full HD graphics, ambient background music and rich visual effects.
James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game – James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game is the official videogame based on the highly anticipated film James Cameron’s Avatar. The videogame will take you deep into the heart of Pandora, an alien planet that is beyond imagination. Gamers will encounter the Na’vi, Pandora’s indigenous people and discover other life forms the likes of which have never been seen in the world of video games before. When conflict erupts between the RDA Corporation, a space-faring consortium in search of valuable resources, and the Na’vi, gamers will find themselves thrust into a fight for the heart of a planet and the fate of a civilization.
Shoot Many Robots (Demo Available) – Shoot Many Robots follows P. Walter Tugnut on his mission to kill as many robots as possible after a factory begins to ominously produce killer robots. With an RV full of guns and beer, gamers will experience a four-player co-op run-n-gun side-scrolling RPG shooter filled with tons of weapon and item customization. Shoot Many Robots will also feature two game modes: Traversal, where players must progress linearly through a level, and Survival, where players fight against waves of robot hordes, delivering hours of robotic carnage and fun.
Phineas And Ferb: Across The 2nd Dimension (PS Move Compatible) - Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension is a fun-filled platforming and combat game where players can be one of eight characters including Phineas, Ferb or Master P as they use gadgets and combat maneuvers to defeat the evil Dr. D and his minions. In addition, the PS3 version features PlayStation Move’s motion controller compatible gameplay, giving the game a whole new level of fun and dimension.
PS Vita
Reality Fighters (PS Vita) – Delivering the most customizable fighting experience on the go, the world around you comes into the fight with Reality Fighters. Using augmented reality technology, take pictures of yourself and create your own personal fighter, complete with unique fighting and visual style. From kitchen tops to parking lots, the world is literally your arena as the stages you fight in are determined by the environment around you.
PS Vita Demos
wipEout 2048
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
Ridge Racer
Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen
Final Fantasy and Tom Clancy are the franchises that will see sales over the last two weeks of Spring Fever, so those PS1 games may finally get sales in the next week or two.SPRING FEVER NEW RELEASES:
3/13 – Journey: Enter the world of Journey, the third game from acclaimed indie developers thatgamecompany and presented by SCEA Santa Monica Studio.
Available one week early to PS Plus subscribers – Includes an Exclusive Free Theme – One day left!
Available to ALL PSN USERS starting tomorrow
3/20 – Rayman 3 HD: Rayman 3 HD takes Rayman on an epic journey through diverse worlds. This classic is remastered with HD and Trophy support.
PlayStation Plus subscribers – 20% off
3/27 – Closure: In Closure’s dark and foreboding universe, the only things that exist are what you can see. Featuring 100 puzzles, an award-winning soundtrack and hand-drawn art.
PlayStation Plus subscribers – 20% off
SPRING FEVER FRANCHISE SALE – THIS WEEK:
Call of Duty (3/13 – 3/19)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
PS3 Game + Variety Map Pack Bundle (Reg. $29.99, Sale $20.99, PS Plus $14.69)
PS3 Game (Reg. $19.99, Sale $13.99, PS Plus $9.79)
Variety Map Pack (Reg. $9.99, Sale $6.99, PS Plus $4.89)
Call of Duty Classic
PS3 Game (Reg. $14.99, Sale $10.49, PS Plus $7.34)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
PS3 Game + 2 DLC Bundle (Reg. $59.99 (value), Sale $41.99, PS Plus $- $29.39)
PS3 Game (Reg. $29.99, Sale $20.99, PS Plus $14.69)
Stimulus Package – (Reg. $14.99, Sale $10.49, PS Plus $7.34)
Resurgence Pack – (Reg. $14.99, Sale $10.49, PS Plus $7.34)
Call of Duty: World at War
Map Pack Bundle (Reg. $24.99, Sale $17.49, PS Plus $12.24)
Map Pack 1 (Reg. $9.99, Sale $6.99, PS Plus $4.89)
Map Pack 2 (Reg. $9.99, Sale $6.99, PS Plus $4.89)
Map Pack 3 (Reg. $9.99, Sale $6.99, PS Plus $4.89)
Call of Duty: Black Ops
PS3 Game (Reg. $49.99, Sale $39.99)
PlayStation Move compatible
Multiplayer mode
Multiple paths
Ranking and grading system to track your shot accuracy
Additional levels from The House of the Dead 4 Special
Bonus unlockable PlayStation Home item
Original creator interview
Trophies
Journey’s much-celebrated launch on PSN this week served as a powerful reminder of the importance of fresh perspectives and bold risk-taking in video game design. But it also begged the question “what’s next?” Enter Closure, the grand-prize winner of the DICE 2012 Indie Game Challenge and the climactic final release in this year’s Spring Fever PSN showcase.
Much like its starkly rendered characters, Closure stands out in an indie game development field dominated by esoteric art styles and quirky gameplay choices. The game merges elements both old and new, fusing puzzle-based platforming with a light-and-dark twist. If you want to learn more about Closure’s gameplay (and why you’ll want to collect as many Silver Moths as possible), read Jeff’s in-depth hands-on report.
During Game Developers Conference last week, I spoke with the lead designer of Closure, Tyler Glaiel, to learn more about the game’s influences, level design, and characters.
Sid Shuman, PlayStation.Blog: Another game that used stark monochromatic visuals to huge effect was Limbo. How is Closure different?
Tyler Glaiel, Lead Designer and Programmer, Closure: I’ve played Limbo for a grand total of about two minutes, years ago at the Independent Games Festival (LINK: http://www.igf.com/), That was on purpose because I didn’t want any influence from Limbo in this game. Limbo is mostly silhouettes, black characters on a brighter greyish noisy background. Closure’s characters are white on a black background, so it’s very high contrast. The graphics are crisp, there’s no blur or noise on top of it. We’ve got a completely distinct visual flavor from Limbo, despite the similar color palette.
PSB: Light and dark is more than an aesthetic in Closure, it’s the core gameplay mechanic. How does it work?
TG: If you can’t see something in the game, it doesn’t exist: you can jump through walls and fall through floors, or push boxes through walls, and a lot of other interesting twists. There are a lot of commonly seen game mechanics that suddenly gain new meaning when interpreted in Closure. Even a locked door here is different because in most games you’d pick up a key and walk over to the door to unlock it. In Closure, you might have to drop the key through floors and walls to get it to the door.
PSB: Where did the idea for Closure come from?
TG: Portal and Braid were my main influences. They’re completely different games, but they follow a similar formula: the developers found one interesting core mechanic and built as many puzzles as they could around it. You don’t want to strip away everything else, but as a designer I wanted to make sure we were heavily focused on our core mechanic: the lighting. We did everything we could to add to that.
PSB: You begin the game by controlling a demonic-looking character — what’s that about?
TG: There’s more than one protagonist. The game begins in this mysterious world made out of “nothingness” that we internally refer to as Purgatory. The opening level is simple so that players can learn the basics of the gameplay, and at the end of the level, the demon character puts on a mask and transforms into a human. Closure ultimately splits into three distinct stories, each with its own story following a different human character and featuring different gameplay mechanics.
PSB: How do the three main level sets differ from one another?
TG: All the levels are eerie, but they all have their own distinct flavor of eerie, and the mechanics and level design philosophy is quite different for each level set. The Factory level set feels very mechanical, with a lot of push-button puzzles, physics, and distinct binary choices….The Forest has a lot of organic-looking levels that don’t feel like they belong in a puzzle game. You have to almost abuse the game mechanics to find your way through, positioning lights to create platforms that allow you to move forward. The puzzles in The Forest are a little less cut-and-dried, there’s more freedom. Then there’s the Carnival, the weirdest set of levels. It has its own distinct feeling that’s tough to describe, and it’s heavy on attitude and atmosphere…and a lot of Easter eggs to uncover.
PSB: Does Closure have a story? How deep does it go?
TG: The story isn’t something I can really explain. You have to play through their level set and explore the levels to find hints and clues as to their story. It’s very open to interpretation.
PSB: What do you hope players take away from Closure when they finish it?
TG: I’m just hoping they enjoy it as a puzzle game. I played a lot of Portal and Braid during development and tried to figure out what I didn’t like, what they could have done better. My problem with Portal was that after it teaches you all the mechanics, it sort of just ends. That’s not the case with Closure, we have a large number of extremely challenging puzzles towards the end of the game…though they’re all pretty fair!
With Closure, I’m hoping people see how puzzle games can be: really challenging, replayable, and fun while at the same time being artistic and interesting to explore.
PlayStation Network
Warriors Orochi 3 (PS3) – Warriors Orochi 3 combines the much loved heroes of the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors series in an all new story that for the first time also features characters from Ninja Gaiden, Warriors: Legends of Troy, Bladestorm, Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll and Dead or Alive! The game also introduces the bond system, where the bonds between characters can be increased by interaction in banquets, fighting together as allies, rescuing struggling allies, and accepting then clearing missions in battles. Players can also customize existing scenarios and then share them online for all to enjoy, as well as rate those created by others.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (Full PS3 Game) – Space Marine is a fast-paced third person action-shooter from Relic Games allowing players to don the armor of one of the emperor’s chosen in this battle for the very survival of humanity. Players are dropped right into the action as they battle to defend an Imperial Forge World from an invasion by the savage and brutal Orks, using the most devastating weaponry mankind has at its disposal.
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc HD – In celebration of the return of Rayman in Rayman Origins, the fan favorite Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc gets an all-new high-definition makeover (with 60-frames-per-second gameplay and worldwide online leaderboards) with this downloadable version of the adventure hit!
Vita
Sumioni: Demon Arts (PS Vita) – Set in ancient Japan and presented in a classical Japanese “sumi-e” ink art style, Sumioni is literally translated from Japanese as “ink demon,” and puts players in control of Agura, a single Inkdemon who has been summoned from a long slumber to help rid the land of a sinister evil. During their adventure, players will experience epic boss battles and a branching story with diverging arcs and multiple endings.
PS3 Demos
Birds of Steel
Under Siege
Rayman 3 HD
minis
SAR: Search and Rescue
Last month was a big one for PlayStation Network games! Not only did we see a ton of great new downloadable PS3 titles, but the launch of PS Vita saw PSN flooded with new digital offerings. Starting this month, we’re introducing a new list to show what games topped the digital PS Vita charts.
On PS3, our hats are off to The Simpsons Arcade Game for debuting at the top spot! This long-awaited PS3 port of the coin-op co-op classic delivered nostalgic beat em’ up action peppered with obscure Simpsons references. In PS Vita’s world, Sony’s own Santa Monica Studio delivered a bonafide hit with the charming Escape Plan. And in the rest of the charts, Final Fantasy dominated PS3 Add-Ons, PS one Classics, and PSP categories…just in time for this week’s Spring Fever Final Fantasy franchise sale!
What games did you pick up in February? Did the PS Vita impact your PS3 playtime? What games do you think will top the charts in March? Share your thoughts and we’ll see you next month to break down the March PSN Top Sellers!
Top 20 PSN and PS3 Full Games
1) The Simpsons Arcade Game – Woo-hoo! This classic arcade game hit PSN in Feburary after decades in console gaming limbo.
2) Gotham City Impostors
3) The House of the Dead III
4) Shank 2 – The sequel to one of the craziest 2D action games ever won gamers over with hugely improved graphics, more responsive combat, and an addictive new co-op mode.
5) NFL Blitz
6) NBA JAM: On Fire Edition
7) inFAMOUS: Festival of Blood
8) Grand Theft Auto IV
9) Jak and Daxter Collection – Naughty Dog’s PS2 heroes arrived in style on the PS3 with three of the best 3D platformers ever made.
10) Real Steel
11) Sonic CD
12) Madden NFL 12
13) Resident Evil 4
14) Mass Effect 2 – Mass Effect 2’s resurgence on the Top 20 hints that players were busily preparing for Mass Effect 3’s PSN release on March 6th.
15) Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection
16) Shadow of the Colossus
17) Castle Crashers
18) Worms Ultimate Mayhem
19) PAYDAY: The Heist
20) Dungeon Defenders
Top 10 PS Vita Games
1) Escape Plan
2) Super Stardust Delta
3) Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack
4) Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
5) Plants vs. Zombies PS Vita
6) Rayman Origins
7) UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss
8) Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus
9) Hustle Kings PS Vita
10) Dynasty Warriors Next
Top 5 PS3 Add-Ons
1) Final Fantasy XIII-2 – Opponent: Lightning & Amodar
2) Battlefield 3 – Back to Karkand
3) FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 – Noel’s Outfit: Battle Attire
4) Battlefield 3 – SPECACT Kit & Dog Tag Bundle
5) Gran Turismo 5 – Car Pack 3
Top 5 PSone Classics
1) Final Fantasy VII (PS3/PSP)
2) Final Fantasy VI (PS3/PSP)
3) Twisted Metal 2 (PS3/PSP)
4) Final Fantasy IX (PS3/PSP)
5) Resident Evil 2 (PS3/PSP)
Top 5 PSP Games
1) Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions
2) Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
3) Mega Man Maverick Hunter X
4) NBA 2K12 PSP
5) Dissidia 012[duodecim] Final Fantasy