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The Last of Us Revisited: Hearts of darkness
If you're experienced, playing The Last of Us again is not easy. For any PlayStation 3 owners who already marched through the dark recesses of Naughty Dog's post-civilization adventure, you know just how hard it is to play. Ellie and Joel's journey across America, chasing a faint hope for a cure to a decades-old mushroom-zombie epidemic, cannot be described as happy fun times. The peaks and valleys of their friendship are Naughty Dog's most affecting story beats, its desperation-inflected combat and exploration expert lessons in linear game making, but all its many pleasures don't change the fact that The Last of Us is relentlessly grim. Darkness, ugliness, and authentic brutality haunt every hour of the game Joystiq dubbed its favorite of 2013. If you've already played The Last of Us and its downloadable chapter "Left Behind," it's not an essential purchase on PlayStation 4, though it does have its merits. If, however, you're among those newfound PS4 owners who skipped out on PS3 and you're willing to brave an emotional abyss in search of catharsis: The Last of Us: Remastered is the best game playable on the console for a variety of reasons.
Hohokum launch trailer is just the right amount of weird
The arrival of Honeyslug's cheerful Hohokum is mere weeks away, and it's still impossible to classify. The game received a new trailer to celebrate its August 12 launch date (August 13 in Europe), showing the meditating hermit-like star of the game in addition to the squiggly, flying worm that players control. Devised by artist Richard Hogg, Hohokum became a 2011 IGF finalist before Sony Santa Monica began working with the Hogg and Honeyslug in May 2013 to bring the game to PlayStation platforms. It will be Cross-Buy-enabled as well, so the $14.99 price will give players access to the PS4, PS3 and Vita versions. Hohokum is part of the PlayStation Store Play event Sony announced just yesterday, in which players that pick up four games in August will receive $10 of in-store credit. Additionally, pre-orders for the four games are 20 percent off each for PlayStation Plus members. Joining Hohokum in the deal are Rogue Legacy, The Swapper and CounterSpy. [Image: Sony]
Adam Boyes would like to give Early Access to the PS4
Sony Computer Entertainment of America VP of Developer and Publisher Relations Adam Boyes (man that business card must be long) is interested in making an Early Access-style program for PS4 developers, according to a recent interview with Gamasutra. When asked if Sony was considering making a game available while said game was still in development, Boyes responded, "That's one of the massive conversations we have internally; that, at what point does [a game meet standards of release]? We still at some point ensure that we're being mindful of the consumer. We don't want somebody to stumble across that title and expect a full product, and have a negative experience." "We're figuring out what's ok," Boyes added. "We obviously have our tech requirement checklist that people have to adhere to. So we're internally discussing, what does that list look like? What are the caveats? Stuff like this. So it's still a project that a lot of minds are considering. No details yet, but it's something on the top of my mind every day." In other words: no early access for Boyes' vision of early access on PS4. At least for now. [Image: Sony]
PS4 pre-loading starts soon with prominent pre-orders
The PlayStation 4 will soon support pre-loading via the PlayStation Store, starting with Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, due on June 24. As will be the case with all pre-orders going live after May 20, Sony says, you'll be able to download the game's files a few days in advance of its release date (even from standby mode), after which it will become unlocked on your console. While this is a convenient feature for those who prefer not to buy discs at retail, it also acts as an incentive for pre-orders made through PlayStation. Each pre-order page on the American PlayStation store comes with a clear all-caps warning: "CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS ARE NOT AVAILABLE EXCEPT WHERE REQUIRED BY LAW." The PlayStation Store is opening up pre-orders for most major games, including new PS3 games and PS4 exclusives like Bloodborne and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End – both fresh out of E3 and still without release dates. [Image: SCEA]
Sony's PlayStation 4 ships in white this September, comes with 'Destiny' and 500GB for $450
Not only did Sony just announce that the beta of Bungie's next title, Destiny, is coming as a beta next month, but it also let the cat out of the bag that you'll be able to get the game bundled with a "glacier white" PlayStation 4 on September 9th. The new-hued console will come with 500GB of storage and a free 30-day membership to PlayStation Plus. Accompanying peripherals include a matching controller and stand available for purchase separately, and a grey/white "urban camouflage" DualShock 4. The cost for the bundle pack? A tidy $450/€439, while Europeans can pick up the system solo for €399. Follow our liveblog at Sony's E3 2014 conference for the latest updates!
PS4 launch a 'great redemption' to Tretton
Former Sony Computer Entertainment America President - and upcoming co-host of Spike's E3 coverage - Jack Tretton told GamesIndustry International that part of the reason for his departure from Sony earlier this year was that he wanted to "go out on top." Calling the PlayStation 4 a "great redemption" from the financial woes that plagued the PlayStation 3, Tretton said he was ready to break out of the platform and company-specific boxes he had previously been defined by. "Figuring everything out and making that platform such a success quite frankly contributed to me being more comfortable with getting on to the rest of my career," he said. Since April, he's been pursuing other interests. "I really see myself more in a free agent role and really trying to branch out and smell the fresh air of being able to be platform agnostic and not just dedicated to console gaming," Tretton said. "I've really been spending more of my time during the last couple months looking into mobile gaming and other forms of entertainment that I haven't had the time or ability to focus on." Last Wednesday, it was announced that Tretton had joined the advisory board for a startup company called Genotaur, which researches artificial intelligence and human-computer interfaces. [Image: Sony]
Video preview: Strategic use of a flare gun in The Order: 1886
After delivering a set of solid God of War PSP titles, developer Ready At Dawn is poised to unleash its first new intellectual property on the world. Set in an alt-history Victorian London filled with half-breed humans and monsters, naturally, The Order: 1886 spins a new yarn featuring King Arthur's Knights of the Round. While the game features a standard arsenal, it was the strategic use of a weapon that fired a cloud of thermite that we found the most invigorating. Painting a target with the flammable cloud and firing a flare into the dust made for some satisfying explosions of fire, raining terror onto Sir Galahad's enemies. Originally scheduled to arrive this fall, The Order: 1886 is now expected to launch for the PlayStation 4 sometime in 2015.
Video preview: Socialized racing in PS4's Driveclub
After deciding to go a few more laps to ensure its social features functioned as envisioned, Evolution Studios is ready to unleash its delayed PS4-exclusive racer Driveclub onto the world. Launching on October 7 in North America, the racing game finds its place between the hardcore simulation style of a Gran Turismo and the arcade action of a Need for Speed. In our video preview, we discuss the game's look and tactility, marvelous sound design, microtransaction concerns and where the game's PS Plus version fits into the mix.
Save your Borderlands 2 progress across Vita and PS3 'shortly'
Borderlands 2 on Vita will support cross-save capabilities with PS3, but that feature isn't live just yet. A patch to add cross-saves is heading to PS3 "shortly," a Gearbox representative said in the Borderlands 2 forums. Borderlands 2 launched in a bundle with the new, slimmer Vita on May 6, and the standalone Vita game hits on May 13. The Vita game includes six DLC packs: Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate's Booty, Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage, the Psycho and Mechromancer Character Classes, the Ultimate Vault Hunter's Upgrade Pack, and the Collector's Edition pack. The Vita version of Borderlands 2 supports a maximum of two co-op players, though the SCEA Third Party Production team "strived to include four-player co-op," Sony said. [Image: Gearbox]
Gran Turismo 5 kicks off final online event; free GT6 rides up for grabs
On May 31, online services for Gran Turismo 5 will come to an end. To celebrate the 2010 PlayStation 3 release, developer Polyphony Digital will host a special online event. The celebration will consist of two stages: first with a focus on the Mazda Roadster Touring Car '11 and Top Gear Test Track and ending with the Nissan GT-R N24 Schulze Motorsports '11 and Nurburgring 24h. Gran Turismo 5's "Online Event Finale" begins today, April 30, at 8pm Pacific and will run through May 30, according to GT Planet. Participating in the event will reward players with five free vehicles in Gran Turismo 6, if players sign in using the same PlayStation Network ID from GT5. For joining in on the goodbye players will earn the Abarth Grande Punto '09, Renault Sport Megane R.S. Trophy '11, Nissan Fairlady Z (Z34) '08, Tesla Motors Model S Signature Performance '12 and Subaru S206 NBR Challenge Package '12. [Photo credit: Frank Filipponio; GIF source: jockamo]
The Guilty Pleasures of Infamous: Second Son
Searching for the subtleties in a superhero game is like straining your ears to find the bright ting of a triangle buried somewhere in a bombastic marching band. It adds a pleasant touch of finesse, even if you're just there to feel the drums pushing you back. Infamous: Second Son has its own little triangle in the unfettered actions of Delsin Rowe, a one-man superband imbued with corrosive powers of smoke, ember and neon. He's essentially a weaponized e-cigarette, lobbing vaporous projectiles and rocketing through Seattle's rooftop vents like a wispy snake. It's almost exactly as fun as it sounds, thanks to rapid movement tuned to the environment's ups and downs. That relentless pursuit of locomotion and non-stop enjoyment, however, may be the one thing that prevents Infamous from growing into something more. Putting flash and excitement first is a perfectly valid decision from the developers at Sucker Punch, and most reviews will argue that it's a great one. It's not entirely compatible with the game's tests of morality, though, and I'm not convinced it ever will be.
PlayStation 4 sales exceed 7 million so far
Sales of Sony's PlayStation 4 have exceeded 7 million worldwide, the manufacturer announced today. Games are going along with them, according to internal estimates from Sony Computer Entertainment, selling to the tune of over 20.5 million copies as of early April. This figure includes retail sales in addition to those made online. Major releases on PlayStation 4 ($399.99) and its competitor, Xbox One ($499.99), are still sporadic, roughly six months after their November launches. However, both are beefing up their portfolios with independent games, and both are coming off well-received flagships: Titanfall and Infamous: Second Son. The PlayStation 4 is also pursuing a virtual reality component in Project Morpheus, while Microsoft is lining up Xbox One with the likes of Steven Spielberg in its television spinoff, Xbox Entertainment Studios. [Image: Sony]
Killzone Mercenary DLC adds offline multiplayer
Today, developer Guerrilla Cambridge will unleash a new DLC pack for Killzone Mercenary, which adds offline multiplayer to the Vita shooter. "With the purchase of the Botzone Soldier Training Pack, all of our multiplayer maps can be played offline in Mercenary or Guerrilla Warfare modes," a post on the PlayStation Blog from Guerrilla Cambridge' Tech Director, Matt Porter, revealed. With the new content, players can face off against up to seven AI soldiers. Porter notes that, with the offline mode, players will have a chance to collect some of the portable game's "harder-to-obtain" multiplayer trophies. Additionally, the content brings with it a mandatory update, which tackles some longer standing collision issues reported in the game's multiplayer maps. The free update will be available today. The BotZone DLC will be available to purchase on the PlayStation Store, but at the time of publishing, no price was made available for the content. [Image: Guerrilla Cambridge]
First MLB 14: The Show roster update misses opening day, set for April 8
Those looking to play along with the baseball season using up-to-date rosters this week on PS3 and Vita should take note: The first live roster update for MLB 14: The Show will arrive on April 8, Sony's San Diego Studio noted yesterday on the game's forums. The first roster update for the game traditionally arrives in time for opening day, the first day of Major League Baseball's regular season (which was yesterday). "Please understand that if we could have offered the live roster on April 1st, without jeopardizing other critical responsibilities we would have," the developer wrote. The game launched today on PS3 and Vita, and will arrive on PS4 on May 6. [Image: Sony]
Infamous: Second Son ships with major day-one patch
Sucker Punch's PlayStation 4-exclusive action game Infamous: Second Son will serve up a day-one patch when players pop the disc in for the first time, bolstering the game's simulated Seattle with a number of added features and balance tweaks. Second Son's post-release patch introduces support for the Cole's Legacy pre-order content pack and the ARG-like Paper Trail missions, which add an estimated five hours of campaign playtime over six weeks of planned content updates. Paper Trail challenges players to seek out clues released online to continue a 19-mission side-story within Second Son that supplements the core campaign. Version 1.01 of Second Son also tweaks in-game difficulty, making Normal mode slightly more challenging while fine-tuning boss fights and pedestrian behavior. After applying the patch, players who complete Second Son's campaign will also have new post-game content available in the form of expanded Karma progression and continued enemy presence. The patch was available for Joystiq's review of Second Son, ensuring that the version we played offers the same experience players will see at launch. [Image: Sony]
MLB 14: The Show arriving May 6 on PS4
The PS4 version of MLB 14: The Show will launch on May 6, Sony announced via Twitter today. Sony San Diego's baseball sim will land on the next-gen system just over a month after the PS3 and Vita versions arrive on April 1. MLB 14: The Show marks an introduction in career mode transfer options for the series, as players will be able to bring their created athlete and franchise data to future iterations of MLB: The Show. The baseball game also features an online franchise mode with draft, free agency, trading and scouting systems and community-created challenges. [Image: SCEA]
Gran Turismo 6 adds multi-monitor support in latest update
The latest update for Gran Turismo 6 gives players more to look at, as it adds multi-monitor support to the PS3 racing game. After updating the game, those with two or more connected screens simply need to hit the start button in the game, then select "options," then "display options" to enable the setting. Update 1.05 for Gran Turismo 6 also adds the ability to search for cars using a number of parameters in the game's car dealerships. Racing gear has seen a price shift, as players can now acquire individually-colored items as opposed to full color sets. The update also adds other features, such as the ability to select karts in one-make races on weather-enabled tracks and select time trial, drift trial and free run options in the "event settings" screen. [Image: Sony Computer Entertainment America]
Monster collector RPG Destiny of Spirits hits Vita on March 25 in US
Free-to-play, Vita-only strategy RPG Destiny of Spirits launches on March 25 in the US, with other regions launching "around the same time," SCEA Producer Kumi Yuasa writes on the PlayStation Blog. In Destiny of Spirits, players collect hordes of upgradable spirits to battle other groups in turn-based battles. Destiny of Spirits is location-based with social aspects that allow players to make friends and swap spirits. Each region gets a different set of creatures, and trading is the only way to snag those area-specific ones. The beta for Destiny of Spirits led the team to reduce load time, and increase gameplay speed, spirit levels and spirit slots, so the beasties can progress more and players can hold more of them.
PlayStation US head Jack Tretton parts ways with Sony
Or at least, he will have done so come April 1st, no foolin'. Sony just announced that the long time SCEA executive will be making way for his replacement Shawn Layden, current EVP and COO of Sony Network Entertainment International. According to the company, Tretton's parting is the result of a "mutual agreement," but naturally, neither side's saying how that agreement was reached. The move certainly comes as a surprise, as Tretton had been with SCEA for almost 20 years, and was a part of the PlayStation team from the very beginning -- most recently overseeing the successful launch of Sony's newest console, the PS4. Evidently, that wasn't enough to keep him around... time will tell if Layden's a worthy successor. Image Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
Killzone Shadow Fall drops new weapons and modes in April DLC
Killzone: Shadow Fall's first multiplayer expansion will launch in April with new weapons, abilities and game modes for the PS4 launch game. Titled "The Insurgent Pack," the expansion is headlined by the addition of the insurgent character class, which features hack and steal abilities. The assault, scout and support classes will also receive new abilities: Assault characters will gain access to a guard drone, scout players get an e-pulse emitter and support characters can send out a tactical echo emitter to stall infiltrating enemies. Insurgent Pack owners will also receive a single-player "elite mode," limiting them to three lives on hard difficulty in the Shadow Fall campaign, in addition to collectible crates that will spawn once per online match for a limited time. The DLC also includes the M82 assault rifle from Killzone 2 and Killzone 3, as well as the L512 SMG Pistol and Sta14 sniper rifle. Lastly, Sony announced that two of the free multiplayer maps for the game are now available to play on PSN. They arrive just as the game's multiplayer mode becomes free this week. [Image: Sony Computer Entertainment America]
