Resistance 2 Is "Just About Finished"

Resistance 2 drops early this November. Good thing developer Insomniac is almost finished. Whew! Insomniac's Ted Price brings the good news:

The game is just about finished as I write this. Yet the three to four weeks before we deliver a final disc to the factory are always the most difficult. This is when we're fixing bugs, adding tons of polish, making tuning tweaks, and trying to keep our builds stable for the testing team. What's great is that all of our features are in, and the game is looking, sounding, and playing fantastic. Resistance 2 has become everything we hoped it would be.

Great news. Always nice to get things done on time. Fingers crossed its up to par.

Playstation teams up with design school for LittleBigPlanet design event

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) and the prestigious Parsons The New School For Design today announced its partnership in hosting a 24-hour LittleBigPlanet(TM) Game Jam. The event will take place September 21-22 in New York City at Parsons and will consist of a 24-hour video game design competition featuring more than 120 students from disciplines such as technology, music, fashion design, illustration and photography. Participants in the Game Jam will be tasked with creating the most inventive and challenging game levels within a 24-hour period for the highly anticipated PLAYSTATION(R)3 title, LittleBigPlanet.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with some of the most imaginative talents in the world at Parsons The New School For Design," said Scott Rohde, vice president of Product Development, Worldwide Studios America. "The LittleBigPlanet Game Jam is the perfect way to showcase the original and innovative aspects of LittleBigPlanet as well as the exceptional design abilities of the students at Parsons."

During the Game Jam, students will break off into teams of five. Each team will demonstrate their distinctive artistic talents by creating levels utilizing LittleBigPlanet's easy-to-use creation tools over the course of one day. At the end of the 24-hour period, teams will present their levels, which will be judged by a panel consisting of Media Molecule, the award-winning development team responsible for LittleBigPlanet, various Parsons faculty, and members of the media. The winning Game Jam levels will be featured in a specially branded Parsons section within LittleBigPlanet when it launches this October.

LittleBigPlanet is a community-based game for the PLAYSTATION(R)3 that allows players to play, create and share the levels they build with other users throughout the world via PLAYSTATION(R)Network. Playing as customizable SackBoy(TM) characters, players have the power to move anything in the game's glued and stitched-together 3D landscape; they have the power to design, shape and build both objects and entire locations for others to view and play. Once the level has been completed, players can invite anyone within the LittleBigPlanet community to come and explore their world - or can go and explore everybody else's. LittleBigPlanet was recently awarded several prominent accolades from its showing at the 2008 Electronic Entertainment Expo and is launching exclusively on the PLAYSTATION(R)3 in October.

What Does the PS3 Have This Holiday Season?

One of the things I remember from this year’s E3 is when Jack Tretton said that the year 2008 is the year where the Playstation 3 will rise up to its competitiors With the launching of the Playstation Video Store this year, and LittleBigPlanet finally approaching by the end of the year, is 2008 really the year of the Playstation 3?

The Playstation 3 has lost a lot of third party exclusive games this year such as Devil May Cry 4, Grand Theft Auto IV, Ace Combat 6, Tales of Vesperia, and Star Ocean 4, but this doesn’t stop Sony from going. Even though Sony has lost the faith of its third party developers, they have big studios all around the world to bring you first party exclusive titles that we await this year, such as Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet. Will these first party titles of Sony be enough to sustain the glory that the Playstation brand once had? Will this year’s Holiday titles be enough?

With 111 days left before year 2009 kicks in, let’s take a look of the exclusive games Sony has this fall:

NBA 09: The Inside
Release Date: 10/7/2008

For the first time on PS3, NBA 09 The Inside includes “The Life”, providing fans with a completely unique and inside experience of life in the league. This year The life starts fresh, allowing players to control the paths of three different characters while guiding them through all-new challenges and storylines in the quest to go from development league to the NBA. In addition to The Life, NBA 09 The Inside delivers a full featured Franchise Mode, allowing players to experience every facet of running their own NBA team.

Socom: Confontation
Release Date: 10/14/2008

With the power of the PS3, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation will deliver the most intense and authentic high definition modern combat action. The title’s focus is on online play and the global community and clans that support it. With an emphasis on Tournaments, Clan Ladders, Leader Boards, the latest title in the multi-million unit selling franchise is exactly what SOCOM fans have been clamoring for.

LittleBigPlanet
Release Date: 10/21/2008

The LittleBigPlanet experience starts with players learning about their character’s powers to interact physically with the environment. There are obstacles to explore, bits and pieces to collect and puzzles to solve – requiring a combination of brains and collaborative teamwork. As players begin to explore, their creative skills will grow and they will be ready to start creating and modifying their surroundings – the first step to sharing them with the whole community.

Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Release Date: 10/28/2008

The most brutal offroad racing festival is back, with players once again descending on the wild and alternative MotorStorm Festival. However, this time the location has changed dramatically, with players attempting to tackle the diversity and unpredictability of a remote Pacific island environment. Developed by Evolution Studios exclusively for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™), MotorStorm™ Pacific Rift revisits the intense racing action introduced in last year’s MotorStorm™, this time allowing players to navigate a radically different tropical environment chock full of lush jungle, towering peaks, and crystal-clear water.

Resistance 2
Release Date: 11/4/2008

On the brink of annihilation, mankind resumes the fight against the unstoppable Chimera on the shores of the United States. And thus the stage is set for Resistance 2™, the highly anticipated follow-up to Insomniac Games’ best-selling PS3 launch title, developed exclusively for the PLAYSTATION®3 system. Players will once again step into the war-torn boots of Nathan Hale, who not only faces near impossible odds on the battlefield, but also constantly struggles with the Chimeran virus raging inside his own body. In addition to an epic single-player campaign, Resistance 2 will offer a truly unprecedented eight-player, class-based online co-op campaign with a separate, parallel storyline and 60-player online competitive multiplayer built upon a ‘massive battles, greater intimacy’ mantra. Players can also expect a re-designed MyResistance.net featuring social networking tools designed to enhance a user’s gameplay experience whether they’re engaged in single, co-op or competitive combat

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
Release Date: 11/4/2008

The No.1 Head-to-Head Fighting game franchise based on Naruto arrives on PS3 for the first time to reign supreme in the next generation of video gaming. Armed with gorgeous cinematic quality HD graphics, a revolutionary next-gen battle system, interactive multi-dimensional battle grounds and seamlessly explorable world of Naruto, Naruto Ultimate Ninja STORM will capture the heart of any Naruto fan! Your dream to LIVE AND BREATHE THE SHOW will come true!

Valkryia Chronicles
Release Date: 11/11/2008

Valkyria Chronicles is set in a fictitious continent reminiscent of 1930s, Europe divided in two and ruled by the Empire and the Federation. The Empire has set its sights on invading a small neutral country called Gallia, which is situated in the middle of the two great empires. The game follows a hero named Welkin and his fellow soldiers of the Federation’s 7th Platoon that are fighting against the Empire, who is intent on unifying the continent under its power. The Federation discovers that the Empire possesses a secret weapon, known as the “Valkyria”- an ancient race with special powers thought to exist only in legends. With this new discovery, the fate of the Federation’s ability to win the war and a hope for a better future hangs in the balance.

Starting October until the end of the year, 7 PS3 games worth owning for the Playstation 3 will be coming out. Due to games such as Resistance 2 and Naruto: Ninja Storm, the Playstation 3 will indeed have a great end-of-year sales, not to mention the other multiplatform games such as Fallout 3, Saints Row 2, Bioshock, and Far Cry 2. Don’t also forget the Playstation Network titles arriving every Thursday, such as Jeopardy and Fat Princess!

Even though with the recent price drop of the XBOX 360, the Playstation 3 should be able to do good this year with its blockbuster hits arriving this year. The only fanbase Playstation 3 will probably lose are RPG gamers, as AAA RPG titles such as Star Ocean 4 and Last Remnant are going to the XBOX 360.

Let’s hope 2009 will be another year for the Playstation 3… or will it?

PAIN patch adds trophies and more ... if you pay for it

The long-awaited PAIN trophy patch is now available to download. Simply load up the game and you will be prompted to download the 325MB patch. Don't forget, PAIN's trophies have been retooled, to make them a bit easier than originally intended. The patch also adds a bunch of content to the game -- but only if you pay for it. Three new characters are available to purchase, along with the new "Abusement Park" (though none of these are available on any region's PSN Store as of yet). There are also new game modes which, we assume, come with the Amusement Park expansion.

There is one free addition to the feature roster, however. Each week a new mini-level will be made available. Each of these "PAINlabs" will be an experimental concept that Idol Minds are playing with and are releasing for you, the players, to test out. An interesting idea -- and best of all? It's free. Though, having said that, we doubt anyone would pay any money for these, judging from the first one.

MK Vs. DC Character List Outed By Achievements

Up until now Midway has been revealing new characters in their upcoming unholy union, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, in a rather dramatic fashion. Flashing pictures on the screen after a press conference in Germany, in front of a room full of comic book fans at Comic Con, or through the old standard, magazine exclusives. How sad is it then that the entire 22 character roster should then be revealed by a list of Xbox 360 achievements? Xbox360Achievements.Org has just posted such a list, which includes 22 character-specific achievements, such as Shazam Expert: Complete Shazam's expert combos.

So who's on the full roster? Saving that for after the jump, just in case anyone wishes to be surprised. Surely some of you would like to preserve the dramatic tension? No? Okay, here we go...

Baraka
Batman
Catwoman
Darkseid
Deathstroke
Flash
Green Lantern
Jax
Joker
Kano
Kitana
Lex Luthor
Liu Kang
Raiden
Scorpion
Shang Tsung
Shao Khan
Shazam
Sonya
Sub Zero
Superman
Wonderwoman

No really big surprises here, aside from maybe the glaring omission of Johnny Cage, though creator Ed Boon did mention at Comic Con that DC Comic's Jimmy Palmiotti would be a hidden character with a rather cagey-looking character model, so don't rule out Goro's sack-smasher just yet.

LittleBigPlanet: SackBoys in the Wild

With little over a month until LittleBigPlanet hits store shelves, the SackBoys are “stuffed” with joy, because the fans have had so much fun the past few weeks. From Pre-order activity, LittleBigBillboards, LittleBigChallenge 003 (SackBoy costume contest) to tons of community activity on fansites everywhere, like Libipl.com & LittleBigPlanetGuide – it puts a big smile on SackBoys.

But how much do you really know about SackBoy? What type of environment do they live it? What can they do? What do they do? If these questions ever crossed your mind….”roll video”

Resistance 2 Public Beta Applications Now Available

The application process for the Resistance 2 Beta has officially begun. The application consists of standard online gaming related questions, pertaining to the shooter genre.

" Please fill out the following information to apply for the Resistance 2 Public Beta. Remember, to qualify, you must:

* Have access to a PLAYSTATON®3 system that is connected to the internet via a broadband connection.
* Have an active PLAYSTATON®3 Network Account.
* Be 18 years or older.

We'll notify you via e-mail if you are accepted into the Public Beta. Space is limited. So, if you want to get a chance to try out all the new multiplayer features in Resistance 2, such as the 8-player co-op and up to 60-player competitive multiplayer, apply now! Good luck!"