The list of January PS+ content is here and this is a very good month to jump in in case you haven’t decided yet! You’ll get Swords & Soldiers (a very, very, very fun game) AND the full season for Back to the Future – The Game! PSN Game: Back to the Future The Game – Full Series – 1/3 Sword & Soldiers – 1/3 minis: Stick Man Rescue – 1/10 PS one Classics: Syphon Filter – 1/3 Syphon Filter 2 – 1/3 Syphon Filter 3 – 1/3 Full Game Trials: Toy Story 3: The Video Game – 1/10 Cars 2 – 1/17 Media: Qore Episode 44 – January – 1/10 Avatars and Themes: Monster Hunter Freedom Unite Felyne Fighter Avatar – 1/10 Monster Hunter Freedom Unite Lance Avatar – 1/10 Monster Hunter Freedom Unite Poogie Avatar – 1/10 Monster Hunter Freedom Unite Avatar Bundle 3 – 1/10 (PS+ Price $0.99) Abstract Art Dynamic Theme – 1/17 Assassin’s Creed Revelation Dynamic Theme – 1/24 PSN Games: Rocket Knight – 50% off – 1/3 (PS+ Price $7.50) Burnout Crash! – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $4.89) Crysis – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $10.49) Deathspank – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $6.99) Fancy Pants Adventure – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $4.89) Gatling Gears – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $4.89) Risk Factions – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $4.89) Capcom Super Pack Discount – 75% off – 1/24 (PS+ Price $10.00) Add-Ons: Dante’s Inferno DLC Bundle – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $10.49) Dead Space 2 DLC Bundle – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $10.49) Dragon Age 2 – Legacy Pack – 20% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $6.39) Dungeon Defenders: Quest for the Lost Enternia Shards: Part 1 – 75% off – 1/17 (PS+ Price $1.00) Need For Speed Hot Pursuit DLC Bundle – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $20.99) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 – Birdie Pack – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $7.69) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 – Eagle Pack – 30% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $17.49) PS3 Full Games: Dante’s Inferno Super Bundle – 25% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $14.99) Darksiders – 20% off – 1/3 (PS+ Price $15.99) Dead Space 2 Super Bundle – 20% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $35.99) Shift 2 Unleashed Bundle – 20% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $39.99) Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Super Bundle – 20% off – 1/10 (PS+ Price $39.99) Out of that I’d get the Dante’s Inferno Super Bundle since it’s the game and all the DLC (or at least that would seem to be the case) and Darksiders (which is a great option for all you Zelda fans out there). I already bought Rocket Knight last night and will probably get Crysis and Gatling Gears as well. We’re also getting an extra discount on 12 PSN games that will be revealed on January 17, and those will be at 50% off.

Original post:
Playstation Plus Subscribers: Your January Content is Partially Here!

Bye Bye 2011, you were truly amazing in terms of first party exclusives and surprisingly good titles. It was a none-stop party till the very end. I’ve battled Helghasts in planet Helghan, jumped off a plane in Rub’ al Khali, journeyed through the Mississippi river to New York city looking for a way to save humanity, undergone augmentation to survive a vicious attack, base jumped off a cliff in Damavand Peak and climbed 600 stairs to the top of a mountain called the Throat of the World searching for my destiny. I salute you 2011, but times have come for a new year and new games to look forward to. Bioshock Infinite Release Date 8/1/2012 BioShock Infinite is an upcoming first-person shooter video game, and the third game in the BioShock series. Previously known as “Project Icarus”, it is being developed by Irrational Games. BioShock Infinite is not a direct sequel or prequel to previous BioShock games, taking place in an earlier period and different setting, though it features similar gameplay concepts and themes. The player controls a former Pinkerton agent, Booker DeWitt, as he attempts to rescue a woman named Elizabeth trapped aboard the collapsing air-city Columbia in 1912. Twisted Metal Release Date 2/14/2012 Twisted Metal is an upcoming vehicle combat video game developed by Eat Sleep Play and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 3. It is the eighth installment in the series of the same name. It was recently confirmed by David Jaffe that Twisted Metal Black would be included for free. It is not a High-definition remake, however, it is simply a port of the original PlayStation 2 version; lacking the multiplayer function that was added in a later re-release. The Last of us Release Date TBA The Last of Us is an upcoming third-person survival horror action-adventure video game developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 3. It was officially revealed on December 10, 2011 during the Spike TV Video Game Awards. The roles of both main characters in the game, Ellie and Joel, are played by Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker. Joel is a survivor and anti-hero, and Ellie is a 14 year-old girl with no memory of the world pre-apocalypse Ni No Kuni Release Date Early 2012 in NA Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is an epic tale of a young boy, Oliver, who embarks on a journey to become a master magician and bring back his dead mother from the parallel world of Ni no Kuni. Along the way he encounters some extraordinary characters, many of whom become helpful allies. They guide Oliver as he explores the vast world and learns the magical skills that will make him strong enough to face his most deadly foes, and ultimately survive an encounter with the White Witch herself. The Last Guardian Release Date TBA The Last Guardian is an upcoming video game developed by Team Ico, to be published exclusively for the PlayStation 3 video game console by Sony Computer Entertainment. The title is being designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, and is expected to share stylistic, thematic, and gameplay elements with his previous titles, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, though it is unknown whether it will be directly related to either. In May 2009, a purported proof of concept trailer became publicly available online, weeks before an updated version was formally revealed at E3 2009. The Last Guardian was originally given a late 2011 release date internationally at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show, but was pushed back to 2012 on April 20, 2011. God of War 4 Release Date TBA What we know so far is merely rumors. Respected magazine PSM3 claimed through a reliable source that the new God of War installment will be released in September 2012. Metal Gear Rising Release Date TBA Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is an upcoming action video game under development by Platinum Games and produced by Kojima Productions as part of the Metal Gear series, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 . The game was originally announced and developed by Kojima Productions as Metal Gear Solid: Rising an interquel action game set between the events of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, before being reannounced as Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance under the development of Platinum Games. The game is now set to take place several years after Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and is a spinoff that is “not part of the Metal Gear Solid series”. Tomb Rider Release Date Third quarter of 2012 Tomb Raider is an upcoming action-adventure video game and the ninth instalment of the Tomb Raider series, published by Square Enix and developed by Crystal Dynamics as their fifth franchise-related title. The first in a third continuation, the game is set to provide no correlation to the entirety of the previous entries in the series; a reboot that emphasizes the reconstructed origins of the culturally influential lead character, Lara Croft. Grand Theft Auto 5 Release Date TBA Grand Theft Auto V is an upcoming open world action-adventure video game being developed by games developer Rockstar North in the United Kingdom and published by Rockstar Games. The game will be the first major title in the Grand Theft Auto series since Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), which started the fourth “era” in the series, and the fifteenth game overall. The game is to be set in fictional Los Santos in the state of San Andreas and its surrounding areas, based on modern-day Los Angeles and Southern California. A rendition of Los Santos was previously featured as one of three cities in 2004′s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, from the series’ third era. Starhawk Release Date 6/1/2012 Starhawk is a third-person shooter video game to be released exclusively for the PlayStation 3 system in 2012. It is the spiritual successor to 2007′s Warhawk. The most notable change from Warhawk is the addition of a single-player story mode, which was intended to be included in Warhawk but was eventually removed. The gameplay is similar to Warhawk. A new system called “Build n’ Battle” allows players to build structures such as bunkers, defenses, and armories in the midst of battle, giving the game a real-time strategy (RTS) feel while remaining a third-person shooter. The game also includes flying mechs. There are also 32 player online battles. Journey Release Date TBA Journey is an upcoming video game developed by Thatgamecompany for the PlayStation 3 and which will be distributed on the PlayStation Network. The game will feature the player as a robed figure in a vast desert, journeying towards a mountain in the distance. Along the way the player can meet other players on the same journey; the two players can assist each other, but cannot communicate via speech or text and are not shown each others’ name. The game is expected to be released in Spring 2012. Mass Effect 3 Release Date 3/6/2012 Mass Effect 3 is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game is scheduled for a March 6, 2012 release and will mark the final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy of video games, completing the story of Commander Shepard. Gameplay in Mass Effect 3 will be influenced by decisions from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and have settings throughout the galaxy, including Earth and Mars. Combat has been changed and refined; in particular, the cover system has been improved, there will be more options for moving around the battlefield, instant melee kills and more conventional grenades will be introduced as well as improved artificial intelligence. A four player multiplayer co-op mode will also be available. BorderLands 2 Release Date 9/1/2012 Borderlands 2 furthers the distinct blending of First Person Shooter and Role Playing genres to create the true evolution of the Role Playing Shooter. Team up with up to three other players for four-player online goodness or go old-school with two-player split-screen couch sharing mayhem as you spend hours leveling up your character and equipping them with one of the millions of badass weapons. Borderlands 2 features a new visually stunning array of procedurally generated guns, shields, grenades, artifacts, enemies and more. Choose one of the four new character classes to be taken through a carefully crafted and connected story to all new and surprising environments across the living planet of Pandora. Make new friends, arm them to the teeth and fight alongside them on your relentless quest for revenge and redemption. Final Fantasy XIII-2 Release Date 1/31/2012 Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is being produced by Square Enix’s 1st Production Department, with help from external developer tri-Ace. It is a direct sequel to the 2009 role playing game, Final Fantasy XIII. The game takes place three years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII, Lightning, the protagonist of the original game, has disappeared into an unknown world. Her younger sister Serah Farron, a returning character, and a boy named Noel Kreiss attempt to find Lightning. Max Payne 3 Release Date 3/6/2012 Max Payne 3 is an upcoming third-person shooter video game in the Max Payne franchise published by Rockstar Games. Development is led by Rockstar Vancouver in collaboration with the New England, London and Toronto studios. This is the first game in the series not to be developed by Finnish game developer Remedy Entertainment and not being written by series creator Sam Lake. The lead writer of Max Payne 3 is Dan Houser, who was also the writer of most games in the Grand Theft Auto series, and of Red Dead Redemption. Hitman: Absolution Release Date TBA Hitman: Absolution is a stealth game being developed by IO Interactive and will be published by Square Enix. It is the upcoming fifth entry in the Hitman game series. The game will run on IO Interactive’s proprietary Glacier 2 game engine, fusing classic Hitman game mechanics with brand new gameplay features. See? 2012 doesn’t look that bad after all Mayans! Well, that’s a big list to say the least. I am quite sure I left some games out, but trust me when I say that I’ve consumed a healthy amount of alcohol last night and I could certainly use a potion. Leave us a comment below, lets us know what games you are mostly excited about in 2012. Cheers and I wish you and your families a happy new year. *Runs back to Skyrim*

More here:
Games You Should Look Forward To In 2012

Gamestop is offering you a fancy new gun and armor for pre-ordering Mass Effect 3 with them. Add in the collectors edition and you have yourself a fancy collection of Mass Effect goodness. The collectors edition includes the following for your $80. Premium metal case featuring male and female Commander Shepard 70-page hardbound art book Limited edition Mass Effect comic by Dark Horse Comics Fabric N7 patch. Exclusive 4×6 lithographic print of the SR-2 Alliance Normandy Additional in-game content including N7 Arsenal Pack – Bring the firepower with the N7 Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, SMG, and Pistol. Squad alternate appearance pack Robotic Dog for on board the Normandy Mass Effect 3 digital soundtrack. Gamestop appears to be the only retailer at this time offering a pre-order bonus making the decision that much easier. Source: Gamestop

Read the original post: 
Mass Effect 3 pre-order bonus

Year of the Puzzle Game?: There are lots of puzzlers every year, but this year the lineup was unusually good. A handful are worthy of special mention: Catherine, Portal 2, Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes, and Cubixx HD. Catherine had a perfectly integrated narrative. Portal 2 had amazing production values and the best co-op play. Clash of Heroes and Cubixx were hugely addicting. Biggest Disappointment of the Year and Generation: Sony pushes C#/Mono for hobbyist development. As a programmer, this is heartbreaking. With such a vibrant landscape of new languages and runtimes, why would Sony, arguably the biggest competitor to Microsoft, mandate the ultimate in conformist Microsoft only tools on the development community? How about tools like Fantom , Scala (for type theory purists), Google Go (a cleaned up version of C++ for high performance applications), LLVM (adopted by Apple), OpenGL/OpenCL, or the upcoming Kotlin (from JetBrains who create the world’s best IDEs)? The following is a must-watch video regarding Java and .NET: Most Overlooked: Motorstorm Apocalypse. The action racing in this game is the best, the tracks are brilliantly creative and packed with fun art and content, yet most people didn’t even realize that this title existed. Worst Products: Sony’s smartphones and tablets. The Android space is exploding with amazing products. The bar for quality is just so high when you see budget entries like the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet and super Tablet products like the Transformer Prime (wow!!!), or premium superphones from HTC, Samsung, and Motorola. Then, Sony and Dell, seem to be making the worst Android products on the market that are both overpriced and using old hardware and software. I can’t imagine why anyone would buy them or what Sony and Dell are thinking. I was chatting with some Dell employees and they definitely didn’t “get it”. They were telling me about Android products have such a low ROI (return on investment), but they really just didn’t fully understand how far behind the competition their Android products really were and how significant that is if you want to have a hot product. Biggest Trend: Rise of the smartphones and tablets. I’m surprised to hear so many predictions for the end of dedicated handheld gaming devices as I see the home-console market at more of a risk. Personal Favorite Game: LittleBigPlanet 2 . The provided levels are the most fun I’ve had all year, they are extremely co-op friendly, and perfect for playing with kids. The level editing tools are a joy to tool around with, and the Move pack is the most fun I’ve had with the Move controller.

Here is the original post: 
Darrin’s 2011: Year in Review

Now through January 13th, 2012, Rockstar is offering their Twitter followers an “opportunity to be immortalized as one of eight Max Payne 3 multiplayer gang characters, just by using the #MaxPayne3 hashtag on Twitter.” Read below for all the details! Every week from now until January 13th, we’ll be selecting ten people at random that we’ve spotted using the #MaxPayne3 hashtag. If you’re one of those chosen, we’ll contact you either via tweet or direct message to request a picture of you for consideration. We’ll then pick two people from each group each week (eight people in total) who will have their likeness appear as a multiplayer gang character in our upcoming action shooter Max Payne 3. Make sure you’re following @RockstarGames on Twitter. Make sure you’re using the hashtag #MaxPayne3 when you talk about the game. Keep an eye on your twitter replies and direct messages for us to contact you through January 13th, 2012. All fans that we contact will only have 48 hours to respond. Visit the casting page for all of the details, and the official rules .

More: 
Win a Chance to Be Immortalized as a Max Payne 3 Multiplayer Character

A big ‘oops’ happened over the weekend, with a bunch of folks receiving automated calls from GameStop letting people who placed orders know that ‘The Last Guardian’ has been cancelled. Don’t fret, though, as the game is still in development. GameStop just removed it from their list pending an official release date before opening the game back up for preorders. As for previously placed orders? Those are now invalid, so those people should get a refund. GameStop has since apologized . Source

See more here: 
GameStop Sends Out Robo Calls for ‘Cancellation’ of The Last Guardian

Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima is currently developing a new project that will eclipse his previous works in terms of game design. The above image is a teaser shot of the game recently shared by Kojima on Twitter. In a new interview with CNN the 48 year old game developer disclosed a small bit of information regarding one of his current projects. Codenamed “Project Ogre”, Kojima stated that the mystery title will be set in a “very open world” with at least 100 hours of gameplay. Don’t get too excited though. During the interview Kojima stated that “Project Ogre” won’t be ready for some time.

Read the original post:
Hideo Kojima Working On An Open Ended New Game

The PS3. You love it. Status updates and awkward pet photos would be looked forward to if your PS3 had a Facebook page. If it could tweet, you’d follow it. Smack it up and rub it down and gently ride that wave in, is what you’re thinking when Playstation is mentioned in passing conversation, website, or article. You would go on Maury and submit to a “baby daddy” paternity test for it. Now that we got that out of the way: Does anybody else think it needs a facelift? You know…in general? The XMB is tired. The obese XMB cow has grazed in the field long enough and needs to be harvested. This cow has also requested to be turned into a happy meal if at all possible. I digress though…it’s gotten a bit stale, hasn’t it? It’s been the same tired look for how many years now? Maybe something to liven up the whole experience would be nice? Add some more color to an over dark, stark and otherwise cold look. Now I know there’s jazzy themes and dynamic  whatnots to spruce up the whole overall outlook, but maybe a whole new design is needed? And maybe it’s just me, but I feel like I’m inundated  with advertisements and “look what we have here specials”? The XMB lately seems slow and sluggish and bogged down with extras I just don’t care for. How about a totally and fully personal customizable XMB would be the route to take for Sony? I’d be on board with that. And what’s with this safety message that pops up now every time I turn on my PS3? I know I need to take a break. Don’t get all preachy PS3, just load up Uncharted 3 and get me online. Do everyone a favor and leave the safety soapbox at home, gosh! Playstation friends. I’ve got them in spades. Almost too many. I engage in “friend spring cleaning” every other week to make room for the Foo Army hordes that join my ranks everyday. Seriously, we’re talking friend mudslide action. So why is it that I even have any friends at all  if I can’t effectively communicate with them? The keypad attachment for my controller stinks! My stupid, fat, troll-like fingers can’t press the right buttons and when I do – it looks like I just mashed all the buttons at the same time. Text chat is ok I guess, but who wants to type when they’re in the middle of a game? I think you know what I’m getting at here…currently there’s 84 friends on my list. 20 online as of now. 19 of them are playing a different game. Cross party chat. Party mode. Inter game awesomesauce. Whatever you want to call it, the PS3 needs it. Like a bloated double-double burger from In-N-Out with extra cheese (no onions) and a side of “animal style” fries – this is quite possibly the tastiest rumor this side of the mississippi. Can you imagine the increase in users alone? Not only is it free to game online – now we got party/cross game chat! Come on in and let’s get donkey!! Sony would have to go to home depot and buy the biggest money rake ever. Worlds would collide, mysteries would be solved. Roswell would be explained, the JFK assassination would have closure. So maybe it wouldn’t be that epic, but it would pretty newsworthy. Being able to connect with all your friend regardless of what game they’re playing would make the Playstation community and it’s console the clear and obvious choice for people who are on the fence, or possibly big toe dipping in the deep end – to go out and buy a Playstation. Now I know what you’re saying. Someone said it couldn’t be done, blah, blah, blah.  You mean to tell me out of all the thousands of employees who work at Sony/Playstation that there isn’t one egghead that can’t figure it out? They’re probably in the Playstation lab right now figuring out what they want to call it. It’s probably already done and they’re just waiting/testing it and making it ready for the masses. Sony has denied plenty of things in which have come true: Sony PSP: Then: Can’t use it as a remote. Now: you can use it as a remote via wifi to manage downloads. You can also use it as a rear view mirror in Grand Turismo. Or at least that’s what I heard (I don’t have the game) so that’s pretty cool. Sony Move: Then: “We’re not currently in development of any motion based games/peripherals.” Now: This of course was said when the Playstation Move was code named “Sphere”. Later on that year, the Move came out with a  limited amount of titles. Some developers have embraced it, even adding Move support to games post-release. And with games like “Sorcery” and other titles rumored to be in development, it’s an exciting to grab a Move bundle and get familiar with Sony’s motion gaming effort.  And the “Sports Champions” bundle average price at $60, it’s a deal and a half.  So grab one up kids! Sony of course never “comments on speculations and rumors”, so we many never know what Sony has up their sleeve. In this writers opinion it may time to release the cross chat monster as well as other little fixes in order to generate some new found interest in the Playstation community as a whole. While my opinions may not be reflective of this quality website, I think we can all agree that Sony needs to lead this endeavor with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind and firmly stake itself as a front runner once and for all as the superior gaming console. Oh yeah, to you and yours – Happy Holidays or whatever.

Read the original post:
With An Enthusiasm Unknown To Mankind

Hello fellas, Tonight I will be hosting a game night a bit earlier than usual. We are trying to give our none US readers a chance to join the action. Battlefield 3 will be our primary game for the night. I can arrange a Resistance 3, Uncharted 3 or Killzone 3 next week if you are interested, so leave us a comment below. When I invite you to the xmb text chat room. PLEASE JOIN IT! Makes it much easier to communicate quickly if we loose somebody. We will begin around 11 PM London Time, 6 pm EST ; I can play for at least 3 hours. If you’d like to join us, leave your PSN ID below. My PSN ID is Captain_Cheeto, but mention “PS3Blog.net Game Night” in your PSN friend request message or I will NOT add you. I’ll see you all on the Battlefield

View post:
[Game Night] Battlefield 3 | Dec 16, 2011

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sales have topped $1 billion just 16 days after the game released on November 8. Modern Warfare 3 broke the record for the fastest entertainment title to generate a billion dollars, Avatar previously held the record with $1 billion in 17 days in 2009. Call of Duty: Elite has

More here:
Modern Warfare 3 Reached $1 Billion Sales In 16 Days