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PSN Tuesday: Sound Shapes, The Walking Dead
It's a great week for PlayStation Plus subscribers, who can grab the first two episodes of Telltale's The Walking Dead adventure game for free on the PlayStation Store today. As we noted earlier, Sound Shapes ($15) also launched today, and those that buy the PS3 version of the game get the Vita version for free. Oh, and PS Plus subscribers also get that game 20% off.Joining Sound Shapes are Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 ($50) and The King of Fighters XIII ($30). Payday: The Heist's Wolfpack DLC is out this week for $10 as well, and can be purchased with the game in a bundle for $20. Sound Shapes launches as part of the PSN Play promotion, which includes a bonus theme for those that pre-order Papo & Yo ($15), next week's PSN Play game. What's more, PS Plus members can do just that for 20% off.
The Walking Dead's first 2 episodes free to PS Plus members on Aug. 7
PlayStation Plus members get a pair of games gratis in August – well, a pair of episodes for one game, anyway. On August 7, PS Plus members can snag the first two episodes of Telltale's The Walking Dead, the PlayStation Blog reports.The Walking Dead will have a total of five episodes, the first two of which have received excellent reviews – you can read ours here and here. Each additional episode in the five-episode arc will cost $4.99.
Rumor: PS Plus getting revamped, coming to PS Vita
Sony may be prepping a new and improved version of PlayStation Plus for E3 – one that PS Vita owners will be able to sign up for. Sources close to Eurogamer have said it will be one of the surprises announced during Sony's E3 press conference.The new version will supposedly offer free top-tier titles to subscribers in addition to PS Vita functionality. PS Vita users will also get platform-specific perks, apparently – exclusive games, DLC and cloud functionality. Sony's press conference kicks off on Monday, June 4 at 9pm ET.
PSN throws down some Ultimate Editions, slaps a sale on them
The PlayStation Network Ultimate Editions bundle games with all their existing DLC packs, and nine of these titles will be on sale today, May 29, through June 4. The Ultimate Editions are 30 percent off for normal PSN users, and 50 percent off for Plus members.Titles on sale, bundled and ready to roll, include Red Dead Redemption for $28 ($20 for Plus members), L.A. Noire and BioShock 2 for the same price, Mortal Kombat for $35 ($25 for Plus members) and Black Ops for $66 ($48 for Plus members). Check out the Ultimate sale list on the PlayStation Blog.
Trine 2 hits PSN in Europe after delay
You can finally download Frozenbyte's well-received sequel, Trine 2, from the European PlayStation Store. Since SCEE took longer than expected to get the game through QA, it will initially be offered at a 30 percent discount for €7.99. After two weeks, Trine 2's price will be set at €11.25.European PS Plus members can download Trine 2 for free right now. Here on the other side of the Atlantic we're getting some free Sly Cooper.
Journey travels to PS Plus members one week early
Reviews for Journey are already sprinkling the vast wasteland of the web, but the full game doesn't officially launch until March 13, giving the hype plenty of time to blow away like sand in the wind. Sony is looking to fix that by launching Journey one week early for PS Plus members, at the standard $15 price point.Journey will be available next week for PS Plus members, along with a bonus dynamic theme. The bonus theme is also available to PS Normal users by pre-ordering Journey from the PlayStation Store.
PS Plus free Minis don't work on Vita, Sony is on the case
PlayStation Plus members are receiving error codes when trying to play their free, downloadable Minis on the Vita, according to a thread on the Vita discussion forum. Sony is focused on fixing this. "We are aware of the issue, and will resolve it as quickly as possible," a Sony spokesperson told Edge.It appears Minis purchased outside from the PS Plus free-game deal work fine on the Vita, according to the thread. So, uh, take that, PS Plus members. We bet you're really regretting buying into that awesome exclusivity deal with Sony right about now, because you can't play your Minis and the problem will probably be fixed really soon. Yeah.
The Simpsons Arcade is free in February for PS Plusers, feel the love
The Simpsons Arcade is headlining February's PlayStation Plus bonuses. Sony offers an HD adaptation of the classic 1991 game free, for Plus members, through the end of the month. This is the Simpsons' first official launch confirmation, with previous sightings exclusive to XBLA, including this set of Xbox achievements spotted earlier this month.Sony is handing out a special Valentine's Day present for Plus members as well, with a free download of the complete Far Cry 2 game, the week of February 14.The Simpsons Arcade will include four-player online co-op and will be available at no cost to Plus members from February 7-29 -- and yes, that's a whole extra day this year, probably to contain all of our nostalgic Simpsons love.
Uncharted 3 'Multiplayer Experience' live for PS Plus members in EMEA, AU/NZ this week
It seems that Subway and Naughty Dog's bizarre "Taste for Adventure" campaign doesn't extend past US borders, as Uncharted 3's "Multiplayer Experience" heads to other parts of the world this Wednesday without help from the sandwich chain. The only caveat? You must have a subscription to PlayStation Plus to join in. Sony's EU blog announced as much this morning, detailing the "Multiplayer Experience" as a chance for gamers in "Europe, South Africa, The Middle East, Australia and New Zealand" to check out U3's multiplayer -- post-beta -- for a full month before the game's early November launch. Don't fret, frugal non-PS Plus subscriber, as the announce additionally teases "other ways to gain access" to the multiplayer... thing via the PS blog and community forums. Like the US version, participants will be able to carry over "key aspects" of their multiplayer experience to the retail version, such as XP. Other details are unfortunately scant, but Sony promises more soon.%Gallery-121445%
Assassin's Creed: Revelations beta arrives exclusively for PS3 Sept. 3
An Assassin's Creed: Revelations multiplayer beta will kick off on September 3 exclusively on the PS3, available in the first week only to PlayStation Plus and UPlay members. According to Ubisoft, nine characters will be available in the beta across three maps, with four gameplay modes each. You'll find them all listed after the break and depicted visually in the gallery below. With Assassin's Creed: Revelations just a few months away from launch, now's also the time to refresh your memory of the franchise's many outings thus far. Check out the stylish little recap clip above if you don't know your Ezios from your Altairs.%Gallery-130355%
PS3 firmware update v3.60 live, adds cloud storage and turns off controllers at intervals of your choice
If you're rocking a PlayStation Plus subscription and can't wait to boot your savegames into the cloud, you'll be happy to hear that the System Update enabling that -- firmware v3.60 -- is available for download right now. If you aren't paying $50 a year for PS Plus, what good is it to you? Well, it'll let you set how long you'd like the system to wait before it tells your DualShock and Sixaxis controllers to shut down, hopefully conserving battery life without intermittent annoyance. Enjoy! [Thanks, Tim and Colin]
Hulu Plus on PS3, hands-on (update: video)
Sure, we already told you what Hulu Plus looked like on iPhone, iPad and a Samsung TV, and not much has changed since that juncture, but we expect a number of you care quite a bit about how it will operate on PlayStation 3, especially considering you'll (presently) have to cough up an additional $50 annually for the privilege. The good news is it's absolutely nothing like the PS3's disc-based Netflix solution -- here, you're looking at a responsive experience through and through, and the interface is about as simple and full-featured as we'd hoped. After a 28MB download, we were invited to either log in with an email/password combination or link our console at Hulu's website, both of which launched the program nigh instantly from the hard drive. The interface afterwards is a dead-ringer for the Samsung TV version, except optimized for console control, with the analog stick and shoulder buttons smartly seeking through programs at high speed, or tapped to jump ahead in fifteen-second increments. You can similarly adjust video quality (and thus, bandwidth usage) with a press of the R1 button, watch picture-in-picture programs while you browse, and the search function admirably narrows down Hulu's content as quickly as you can type the letters in. It does have its bugs, like when we tried to watch High Fidelity and were asked if we wanted to subscribe to the show, and there was the time we got caught in an unending advertising loop for body wash, but that time we think the app was just trying to tell us something. Yeah, we'd better run out to the store, but don't go away -- hit the gallery below for a brief tour. Update: Our friends at Joystiq have a video walkthrough; check it after the break! %Gallery-97526%
PlayStation Plus coming via PS3 firmware 3.40 (update: now available)
At last, the first post-E3 firmware update for the PlayStation 3, and as you might've suspected, this one's got PlayStation Plus packed into the mix. We've talked about the service a bit so far, but to recap, $50 annual nets you a 50 percent discount on PSN titles, early access to betas, and one hour of demo time on select full titles (among other benefits). If you're not willing to shell out the Ulysses S Grant, however, however, there's a few other treats in the software patch, including five-star ratings for content purchased on the Store, video editor and uploader for Facebook and YouTube (note: not a video capture service, gotta use what the HDD already has), and expanded integration into Picasa and Facebook photo galleries. Speaking of Facebook, a new app will appear on the social site for showing off your PSN profile and befriending others. As usual, no exact date for the firmware is given, but if history's any indication, it won't be very long at all. Update: We just checked our consoles and, sure enough, the update is live. We're downloading now and will let you know if there's anything peculiar. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] %Gallery-96494%
