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Kat, Emmett join PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Feb. 12
Gravity Rush's Kat and Starhawk's Emmett Graves will be joining the fray as PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale's first DLC characters on February 12, Sony has announced. Both characters will be free for their first two weeks of availability, though their price point after the fact remains unknown.As we learned during their initial reveal last December, both characters make heavy usage of the abilities their own games are based on, with Kat (above) manipulating gravity and Emmett summoning mining equipment, as seen after the break. Both characters sport the same amenities as the original cast: extra costumes, full arcade stories and trial modes, etc.The previously announced Heavenly Sword/Wipeout stage has also been slated for February, though a specific release date or price was not provided. We're still holding out for a ship from Wipeout as a playable character.
Gravity Rush, Starhawk characters join PlayStation All-Stars as free DLC
A couple more all-stars are joining the PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale lineup after launch. Kat, also known as "Gravity Rush girl," and "Starhawk guy," whose real name is Emmett Graves apparently, will be released as DLC for the fighting game early next year.Even better, upon their arrival, the two characters will be free for the first two weeks, meaning there's no reason you shouldn't make Emmett beat up on Parappa except for common decency. And best of all, perhaps the appearance of Kat in this game will prompt at least one person to pick up the wonderful Gravity Rush.
Starhawk dev lays off 24, 'much smaller studio' to focus on first iOS title [Update]
Update: Lightbox Interactive President Dylan Jobe has told Joystiq his company will see "a sizable reduction in staff." Twenty-four staff members have been informed that Friday will be their final day at the Texas-based developer. Jobe added that "all 24 of them are getting a severance package.""Lay-offs always suck but they are an unfortunate reality of business sometimes. The best we can do is try and treat our people with respect during the shocking transition of a lay-off," he said.Jobe says Lightbox will become a "much smaller studio" after the cuts as it focuses efforts on the development of its first game for iOS.Original Story: There are rumblings that LightBox Interactive, the developer behind the PS3 exclusive Starhawk, will lay off most of its staff by Friday. 3D Realms founder (and previous layoff predictor) George Broussard tweets, "Good luck to my buddies at LightBox in Austin. Layoffs and rumors of near whole studio gone by Friday."Yesterday LightBox Interactive president Dylan Jobe sent out an ominous tweet, reading, "And yeah, its time for another drink...." LightBox artist Jonathan Lindblom tweeted early this morning, "I feel like my brain has been taken out and passed around, I can't think straight, everything is muddled." Associate producer and community manager Pete MacKay tweeted his thoughts today as well: "And so another chapter closes on my life. Let's see where I go next! (taking suggestions)."We've contacted LightBox Interactive for clarification.
Starhawk campaign free, Tokyo Jungle and Hell Yeah discounted on PS Plus
Are any games discounted on PlayStation Plus this week? Hell Yeah!That's one of them, anyway. It'll be $11.99 for Plus users when it comes out tomorrow, and $14.99 for everyone else. Tokyo Jungle will be subject to the same discount, while Starhawk's single-player component will be subject to an even more significant discount.Along with the single-player DLC, the Starhawk campaign is free on PSN for Plus members. Now you know what to play next after your surprise downloads of Borderlands, Scott Pilgrim, and Double Dragon Neon.
Grand Theft Auto 3 PSN release confirmed for tomorrow
As suspected, Grand Theft Auto 3 is one of this week's PlayStation Network releases. The game first appeared on the Asia PlayStation site last week, scheduled to come to PSN on September 25, and lo, Sony made it so. Sony actually intended to release Rockstar's 2001 classic earlier this year, but hit a delay after a licensing issue with the soundtrack.Mirror's Edge is also doubly confirmed for release tomorrow, after Sony dropped news of its arrival via last week's PlayStation Blogcast. Neither game has a price yet. Also on the way are One Piece: Pirate Warriors, Tokyo Jungle, Marvel vs. Capcom: Origins, Starhawk, Realms of Ancient War, (the brilliantly named) Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit, Table Ice Hockey (for Vita), Turnabout (PSOne), and Final Fantasy III (for PSP.)If you like your anthologies digital and downloadable, prepare for smiles tomorrow at the prospect of the Infamous and Ratchet and Clank collections becoming available on PSN, because they will. If not so much, why not prepare for smiles anyway?
Starhawk 1.02 update adds free 'Cypress' map pack
LightBox Interactive's PS3-exclusive shooter Starhawk has received, among other things, two new free maps as part of the game's recently applied 1.02 update. As seen in the video above, both maps take place on the planet Cypress, which is where the game's plot-vital "Rift Energy" was originally discovered long, long ago.The two new maps maps, "Cypress: Collider" and "Cypress: Origin," both feature more locations for troops to use as cover, as well as pre-built structures with interiors -- two features fans have asking for, according to a post by LightBox Interactive president Dylan Jobe on the PlayStation Blog. The 1.02 update also includes a multitude of other tweaks, fixes and adjustments, such as the addition of "Prestige" levels (Alpha through Omega, specifically) for players able to rank beyond Level 50. Other changes/additions include a new Homeworld called "Waypoint," as well a revamped voice chat system and the ability to eject from in-flight jet packs. Complete patch notes can be found at the source link below.
Starhawk 'Uplink' companion app now available for iOS, Android
A leader without information is an ineffectual leader at best, and a liability to the fate of his/her entire team at worst. When everyone you've ever known or loved is dead, their horrified faces burned into your retinas for the rest of your traumatized existence, will you have enough strength left to curse your own name for being so poorly prepared for battle?Hopefully you'll never have to find out, as a free Starhawk companion app has been released to help you stay on top of things. The app, compatible with iOS devices and Android devices running Gingerbread or newer, lets players access leaderboard information, view individual player and clan statistics, as well as access an encyclopedia of weapon and battle structure data.
Starhawk review: Drop in, blast off
Decked out with garish signs and weatherworn workers, the refueling platform looks more like a truck stop than a sophisticated piece of engineering. That is, until I walk to the edge of the platform and see an entire desert planet looming below. There's no time, however, to drink in the view. My comrades need help, so I call in a landing pad drop. A capsule screams in from the sky, smashing into the ground as the landing pad installs itself. I climb atop the pad and hop into a Hawk. The massive mech leaps into the air and, in a flash of whirring metal, transforms into a jet and rockets into the sky – at which point my beautiful flying machine is summarily obliterated by a more skilled pilot.The setting changes – different planets, different platforms – but I've repeated the above exercise more often than I'd like to admit. I could do something else. I could call down a supply bunker or a tank. I could concentrate on building defenses, dropping down turrets and walls. Starhawk offers those options, but me, I've got to fly.%Gallery-125574%
Starhawk online pass grants free Warhawk download in Europe
There's a good chance a lot of Starhawk players haven't experienced the game that started it all, let alone for free. Every new copy of Starhawk comes bundled with a free copy of Warhawk (PSOne) in Europe.It's part of the online pass voucher, which is visible on the back of the instruction booklet for Starhawk. Once you input the code and unlock online functionality, the original Warhawk will be added to your download list. Here in The States, however, you need to grab one of the first-run "limited editions" available exclusively at GameStop.
All Starhawk map packs free in response to divisive Warhawk content
All of Starhawk's future downloadable map packs will be free, Dylan Jobe, president of Lightbox Interactive, has announced. Writing on PlayStation Blog, Jobe noted that the paid downloadable content divided the Warhawk community with every expansion, and "after we released three expansions, our player community was pretty fractured."Lightbox hopes to remedy that this time around by making all map packs free. Jobe added that there is still paid DLC in the works, though Lightbox is "still playing around with what that will be." The studio is already working on the first map pack, which will include the planet Cypress, pictured in the early concept art above.
Starhawk beta participants get extra cosmetic options for their service
The Hand of the Founder is a glowing glove you can affix to your right or left hand, provided you played in the Starhawk beta. If you played Warhawk and the beta, you'll also get some exclusive paint schemes for all of your rides.
Creating the world of Starhawk with music
What do an orchestra, heavy metal guitars, harmonicas, Chinese flutes and dobros have in common? The Starhawk soundtrack, of course!
This Starhawk trailer sounds familiar
We're glad to hear Bastion's Logan Cunningham picking up more narration work for games. Alternately, if this isn't him, we're shocked to hear such a spot-on impression.
Axel free to all in Twisted Metal tomorrow, Sweet Tooth skin for Starhawk previewed
For those of you still firing missiles in Twisted Metal (but didn't think of pre-ordering it ahead of time), good news! Axel was formerly only available as a pre-order bonus, but as of tomorrow, April 18, his vehicle will be available to all. You too can run around on two wheels, pushing smaller vehicles around with your special moves. The PSBlog has also posted a video, embedded below, of the Sweet Tooth skin going to Starhawk when it launches early next month. Every (new) copy of Twisted Metal has a code for the Outcast skin, so you'll just have to punch that in when the Starhawk comes out.
Latest Starhawk trailer showcases jetbikes, mech-jets
Similar to how combining peanut butter and chocolate dramatically improves both, Starhawk has discovered that combining jets and bikes, or jets and mechs, exponentially increases the level of wickedness associated with each craft.
Starhawk shows off improved two-player splitscreen, more
Split-screen multiplayer used to be the norm, back before playing games on the Internet became so commonplace. But these days it's essentially a feature, and one the upcoming Starhawk is determined to do right. The game will make use of empty screen space to provide a bigger and more detailed radar map than Warhawk did.Starhawk will also let two players sign in on one PS3, which means you and your friend can both get permanent credit for rewards while in the same game. Four-player splitscreen is also supported, but Sony says it wasn't used as much as expected in Warhawk, so that will be more standard.The game is out on May 8. Meanwhile, you can browse through pictures of co-op action and a few other shots from various parts of the game below.%Gallery-151033%
Starhawk beta adds 32-player map, tanks, jetbikes
The Starhawk beta has been updated to version 1.3, and the update comes packing lots of new goodies. First up is the Sidewinder Jetbike, a vehicle focused on speed an maneuverability. Next is the Ox Heavy Tank, a vehicle focused on being a tank. Finally, the update adds a new map, Planet Dust. Did we mention Planet Dust can accommodate 32 players? Because it can. See the update in action in the video above.If that gets you all excited for some Starhawk, you might be interested in the limited edition trailer after the break.
PSA: Starhawk Beta open to all
The Starhawk public beta went live last night in North America and is available today across Europe. No more caveats or purchases required to get into the sci-fi shooter's beta. Just head on over to the PSN and download the thing.
Starhawk upgraded to limited edition at GameStop, free PSOne Warhawk included
Starhawk's Limited Edition isn't the "pay extra for a huge box" variety, it's the "automatic upgrade on first printing" variety, exclusive to GameStop. If you've pre-ordered it from that store already, congrats!This exclusive version comes with extra DLC, including the "Maw of Despair Outcast Pack" (wow, free despair!) with a co-op map and multiplayer skin, the "Echo Scrapyard Rifter Pack" with a new "Homeworld," and another multiplayer skin. You'll also get a PS3 theme featuring Starhawk concept art, a soundtrack and ... oh yeah, a PSOne Classics copy of Warhawk.If you were going to get this anyway, and especially if you were going to shop there anyway, this is a pretty great deal. If not, you still have until May to figure out whether it's worth jumping shop.
Starhawk lifts off on May 8, PS Plus beta starts today
Starhawk will engage in all-out war on May 8, the PlayStation Blog announced today. It also reiterated that the game's "public beta" begins today for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Those who purchased Uncharted 3 can fly into the beta January 31 in the US and February 1 in Europe. Normal ol' PSN accounts can try it out February 21, with Europe receiving access the following day. There are also opportunities to obtain beta codes from GameStop and IGN on February 7 and 14, respectively. Sony also reminds: "a Beta is a real world 'in the wild' test of the core game systems and gameplay. It is NOT a demo. Most of the final game features are not included."
