Again, I could call these posts “na na na na na” but really they just show what we get to play with before reviewing, especially at this time of year!

PAYDAY: THE HEIST

Platforms: PlayStation®3 and PC
Price: TBD

PAYDAY: The Heist is an action filled first person shooter game for the PlayStation®Network and PC that lets players take on the role of a hardened career criminal executing intense, dynamic heists in constant pursuit of the next “big score”. Navigate diverse urban settings with three partners in crime—controlled by either AI or your best buddies in co-op multiplayer. Load out with an array of weaponry and equipment as you embark on a spectacular crime spree through six high-stake heists, including banks robberies, prisoner extractions and armoured car hijackings.
Time for a PAYDAY – so don your masks and launch the heist!

KEY FEATURES
Six High-Intensity Heists: Whether you’re blowing the roof off a building to extract a safe via helicopter or emptying the vault at the First World Bank, these action-packed heists will have players on edge and always checking their six.

Interactive Co-op Gameplay: Whether AI or live, your crew of four must operate as one to bring get the “big score.” Sharing extra ammo and med kits, helping regen wounded partners, guarding key positions, taking civilian hostages or cracking through various security measures — it’s all for one and one for all.

Endless Replayability: Dynamic environments, adaptive enemy behaviour, shifting entry points, FBI agents repelling down on ropes through the skylights, SWAT teams crashing through the windows and special units crawling through the ventilation shafts makes each play-through of every heist a unique fight.

Massive Character Progression Tree: Players choose a specialty — assault, sharpshooter or support — to gain weapons and equipment that fit their preferred form of violence. Unlock trip mines, silenced pistols, machine guns and much, much more.

Shout Out Button: Players need to be vocal and shout commands and directions to the co-op crew, as well as hostages and the police if they want to survive to spend their cut of the take.

Hostage Trading: Hostages can be a lifeline. If anyone in the crew is taken into custody, trade hostages to get crew members back and increase the odds of completing your objectives.

PlayStation® or PC: For keyboard and mouse marksman, as well as handheld controller snipers, PAYDAY is the uber-FPS for a high intensity shooter fix.

More DLC: Additional heists, weapons and equipment means PAYDAY — a digitally distributed AAA quality title for less than half the price of a retail game — is total OVERKILL.

DC UNIVERSE ONLINE WANTS YOU
FOR THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS!

The first Downloadable Content (DLC) pack for DC Universe Online (DCUO), “Fight for the Light.” Featuring DC Comics favourite The Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and the introduction of the game’s seventh power set – Light, the new downloadable content will be available this summer for both PC and PlayStation 3.

“The Green Lantern has been a mainstay for DC Comics fans for more than 60 years, and is a fan favourite among our players,” said Mark Anderson, Game Director of DC Universe Online. “We’ve listened to the feedback, and fans can now create their own Lantern-inspired characters including the use of light powers.”

In addition to the new light power set, players will also be able to interact with Green Lantern based characters and content in DC Universe Online in these all-new gameplay scenarios:

S.T.A.R. Labs – Deep within S.T.A.R Labs, Brainiac seeks to control experimental devices that will allow him to harness the power source behind the Lantern Corps’ rings. This attack throws the Lantern Corps into chaos, and players must join a fragile truce between the Green and Yellow Lantern Corps to bring the powerful devices back under STAR Labs control.

Coast City – Players must battle their way through the “City Without Fear” to Ferris Aircraft, the home of fighter ace Hal Jordan. Here they face the unbridled rage of the Red Lantern Corps in a showdown to save the city and the Universe.

Sciencells Prison – On the Green Lantern Corp’s home planet Oa, heroes will join with Guy Gardner to stop a prison break that threatens to release the most feared prisoners of the Green Lantern Corps. Villains will fight alongside Sinestro as he attempts to release the Green Lantern Corps’ greatest foes and retrieve the evil Lyssa Drak from her emerald powered prison cell.

Green Lantern offers another exciting superhero for PC and PS3 players to join forces with in their epic battles online, following DCUO’s ongoing combat missions featuring other DC Comics legends such as, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Joker and Lex Luthor.

DC Universe Online’s “Fight for the Light” DLC pack will be available for download for $9.99 USD (no euro price given) this summer for PC and PlayStation 3 players.

PlanetSide 2

Platforms: PC

GAME DESCRIPTION
PlanetSide 2 takes all the groundbreaking features from the original game – massive multiplayer battles, distinct empires to rally around, and enormous continents where intense ground and air combat unfolds – and adds features that modern gamers have come to expect out of the FPS and MMO genres. With advanced technology, years of gamer feedback, and a new SOE proprietary MMO game engine called Forgelight™, PlanetSide 2 offers a truly competitive and visceral FPS experience with massive warfare, massive customization and massive community.

Across the continents of Auraxis, thousands of players will come together in enormous battles to win control of critical territories and key resources for their empire. With a an extensive skill tree and free-form class-based system, players will be able to customize their soldier, weapons and vehicles to match their play-style, as well as the needs of their squad, outfit or empire. Battles can last for days or weeks, so players will need to build alliances and specialized combat outfits to take on long-term strategic and tactical initiatives. With air, ground and seaborne combat, the battles will be larger and more intense than ever.

KEY FEATURES:
MASSIVE WARFARE: Battles will take place not between dozens of troops, but hundreds; with air and ground vehicles slugging it out alongside squads of troops. Whether in open fields, tightly-packed urban centers or enormous structures, winning will require strategic teamwork and a quick trigger finger in the massive battles.

THREE EMPIRES: Players will have their choice to join three different empires:

o Terran Republic – With a militaristic government, the Terran Republic uses its Imperial authoritarian might to impel humanity to peaceful coexistence through any means necessary.

o New Conglomerate – A loosely connected group of rebel factions and idealistic freedom fighters, the New Conglomerate fights against the hegemony of the Terran.

o Vanu Sovereignty – A technocratic faction that believes humanity can only evolve by rediscovering and tapping the lost technology of the Vanu.

BATTLE FOR TERRITORIES & RESOURCES: The core gameplay of PlanetSide 2 is about holding key territories and controlling valuable resources. Each battleground holds valuable resources and key positions, and the empire that can conquer (and manage to hold) these territories will be rewarded with fuel bonuses, ammo bonuses, tech bonuses, and more.

PERSISTENCE: In Planetside 2 battles will last longer than a match timer. Battles will last for days or weeks, and finally taking control of the base means it’s yours until someone can take it back. Working strategically as a team to capture key tactical positions such as power plants and ammo depots will have long-lasting effects that can shift the tide of battle.

ENORMOUS MAPS: PlanetSide 2 will launch with several continent maps; every inch of which will be contestable space. With the new territorial control meta-game, landmass will have intrinsic value even without notable installations or major features.

FREE-FORM CLASS-BASED SYSTEM: Players will be able to unlock diverse combat roles by advancing through the skill tree, including several classic roles from PlanetSide. As players unlock new roles, they will be able to switch between them at will.

MISSION SYSTEM: Both SOE and players will be able to drive content, easing new players into the game and allowing veterans to feed content to players.

SKILL TREES: Players will be able to build their soldier to match their play-style, or to match the needs of their squad, outfit or empire. Each combat role, vehicle and weapon will have extensive skill trees. These cert trees will allow players to grow characters laterally, unlocking weapons, attachments, equipment, specialized skills, and more.

OUTFITS: Outfits (guilds) will also be able to customize themselves – allowing outfits to have their own identity, reputation and role in the ongoing war.

WEAPONS: Players will be able to access more than 20 basic weapons, which can be customized to players’ preference or purpose.

VEHICLES: More than 20 vehicles with two unique vehicles per empire. Players will be able to customize each vehicle, unlocking new skills and features

VIVOX INTEGRATION: Players will be able to communicate with their squads both through keyboard and voice chat.

What’s more is this video shows off some of the other capabilities of the device, like the front & rear touch interface, the ability to tilt to control (much like SIXAXIS) and the camera.

While this just focuses on Wipeout, it’s interesting to note that the video points out that one of the Wipeout HD (the PS3 game) tracks was ported over entirely and worked just fine on a device that’s in your hands!

Sony then went on to show more goods. Afterwards they pointed out that the hardware is not finished, and is certainly not up to the standard the company wants from the PlayStation brand in terms of the level of quality. They also show more software, detailing an incredible looking iteration of Uncharted.

The above video demonstrates that the design process for the NGP involved Sony going directly to developers and asking what they want from a PSP sequel. Below demonstrates that it wasn’t simply the big guns developing Uncharted or Wipeout that were involved, and in fact this device will have enough pull from indie developers to help Sony at least attempt to get in on the iOS development craze (i.e. expect angry birds and Minecraft)…

Sony’s online infrastructure (including PSN) were temporarily crippled while the DDoS attacks began in earnest, but it seems Sony have recruited some DDoS experts to hold off the attacks. Namely a firm specialising itself in this field called Prolexic.

Playstation Lifestyle got a hold of transcripts from Anonymous’ chat room (i.e. they probably just went to the chat and sat there)…

prolexic is holding up

…i doubt we can ddos prolexic

…you wont kill prolexic with l**c

…it’s getting harder to ddos store.ps.com

its be easier to deface their site lol

and that would still be hard

…they slipped up somewhere i bet

Things could get interesting, but as is typical with this kind of event, it’ll probably just whittle out fairly quickly.

Sony filed a lawsuit against Hotz and, naturally, the defense went on the notion that Hotz didn’t break any rules. Unfortunately Sony and their lawyers are probably in the right here, in that Hotz most certainly broke the user agreement and other laws when releasing the codes that allow unsigned (i.e. downloaded) code to run on the PS3.

Hotz decided that, instead of going along with judicial process and letting his name get cleared in a normal way, he would go down the snakey route. SCEA wrote,

Though the evidence establishing personal jurisdiction is already overwhelming, SCEA has little doubt that there is much more. However, over the last several weeks. Hotz has engaged in a campaign to thwart jurisdictional discovery at every turn –regardless of whether the Court has ordered such discovery or not. Most seriously, after Magistrate Judge Spero ordered an inspection of Hotz’s devices and ordered Hotz to appear at a deposition in California, SCEA learned that Hotz had deliberately removed integral components of his impounded hard drives prior to delivering them to a third party neutral and that Hotz is now in South America, an excuse for why he will not immediately provide the components of his hard drives as requested by the neutral. Hotz’s attempts to dodge this Court’s authority raise very serious questions.

When SCEA echoed TIG’s request that the components of the hard drives be delivered immediately, Hotz’s counsel responded that Hotz was in South America.

Basically, when Sony made a legal claim to have Hotz’s electronics (computers, hard disks, etc.) removed from his possession to be assessed by legal eagles and tech people, he legged it to South America where the US government cannot get at him.

That’s outlandish enough, but Sony also requested details of his PSN account. To which Hotz said he had none… apparently that was a lie too.

On January 12, 2011, Hotz submitted a declaration to the Court (Docket No. 19-1) in which he made unequivocal statements on a number of topics. However, when it came to discussing the PSN account, Hotz equivocated, stating: “To the best of my knowledge and belief, I do not have a PlayStation Network account.” Hotz also provided interrogatory responses that he has refused to verify, stating that he has not accessed the PSN. Bricker Decl. ¶4.Hotz identified four PS3 Systems in his possession. Bricker Decl., ¶4, Exh. C. He explained that he had purchased one of these consoles new in February 2010 and provided the serial number for that console. Id. SCEA used that serial number to determine that on February 25, 2010, Hotz purchased the PS3 System at a Gamestop store just miles from his home. Law Decl., ¶6; Bricker Decl., ¶6, Exh. E. SCEA’s records show that the same PS3 System was used on March 10, 2010 to create a PSN account under the user name “blickmanic.” Law Decl., ¶6, Exh. A. The IP address associated with the registration is located in Glen Rock, New Jersey, where Hotz lives.

Hotz’s ownership of the “blickmanic” account is further supported by the fact that an Internet search of the user name “blickmanic” reveals a posting discussing the jailbreaking of cellular phones – Hotz’s original “claim to fame.” Bricker Decl., ¶7, Exh. F (“Just curious what people would pay for exclusive rights to this solution. [Motorola] Tracfone W175g unlocked and debranded. PM me.”) As discussed above, to create his PSN account, Hotz was required to first agree to the terms of the PSN User Agreement and thus he is clearly subject to personal jurisdiction in California. It is well established that a valid and enforceable forum selection clause operates as consent to personal jurisdiction in a designated forum.

However, ignoring the PSN account Sony reckon they have enough damning evidence to convict and they also claim that they potentially can get much, much more evidence. Unfortunately for them, not much can be done while Hotz hangs out in South America!

In that time we had GT HD, which was released near the launch of the PS3. That title simply took GT4′s engine and made it HD. It looked pretty at the time, but it wasn’t until Prologue came some time later that we got a real taste of what’s to come. But prologue, usually released a year before the ‘big brother’ GT game, felt too much like GT HD to really wow the audience. Again, it had polished graphics and a lovely physics engine, but it wasn’t a huge departure.

GT5′s release comes amidst promises of fleshed out online modes, more cars becoming ‘premium’ with patches (just yesterday Polyphony released a 600mb update) and basically, more! The games engine is fantastic, but the team clearly bit off more then they can chew when it comes to cramming more then 1100 cars and around 30 tracks (not including the same track reversed or split up into smaller sections) into a game that promised dynamic shading for night time racing, interior views and damage models on cars.

One of the issues is that the game, like all GT games, launches into mediocrity almost from the get-go. My first car was a Toyota Prius, and I had to go through the usual routine of doing license tests in order to have enough driving points to enter particular competitions with my terrible car – which was not a premium one. So, after 6 years of working on this game I finally pop it into my PS3 and all I get to do is slowly crawl around in a car whose noise strongly resembles a hairdryer.

Once you get into the meaty bits, though, it becomes a different beast. Even upgrading to a manual gearbox Citroen C4 or Volvo C30 brings a rush of excitement I never got from Forza. Moving up gears feels solid, exactly as it should. Doing special events in cars ranging from go-karts to rally cars whets your appetite for when you’ll have those exact cars in your garage. This is where GT5 fans get their kicks. Relentlessly upgrading a Ford Focus to get the maximum amount of BHP out of it until it’s actually beating Ferrari’s down the straights at Daytona. Driving ludicrously cool old school Mercedes SL’s around the daunting and wonderfully blisslike petrol-heaven that is Nurnburgring.

The AI is improved, like most things in the game. Some reviews have slated the AI, calling it dumb or predictable – but I disagree. The AI in the Prius will always come last in a race with a Focus or Dodge Viper because the Prius is slow and useless – not because the AI is predictable. The AI also won’t react well to you smashing around the track like a nut job. This is because GT5 is meant to provide refined racing experiences, not mario kart. When you drive with some decorum and finesse, the game will reward you, not only with lush graphics and magic physics, the AI around you will feel more like a real driving experience. Bashing into someone on a track isn’t going to get you that refined, upper-class experience Polyphony are going for. Driving a car to it’s outer limits with intelligence and experience, however, will reward you with one of the finest racing experiences you’re ever going to get on any computer.

To add variety, NASCAR, Kart and Rally modes are added to the game, with the cars to boot. NASCAR is something I’ve never really enjoyed, and GT5 enforces my lack of enjoyment in the sport. It really does do nothing to excite. Going in a circle for hours on end is as boring as it sounds. Often the NASCAR vehicles feel light and under-powered compared to using the same track with an American muscle car. The cars ‘snap’ into line like a truck, and sound horrid. With GT5′s lack of real damage modeling (though there is some damage models with fairly impressive particle physics) there isn’t the benefit of watching a huge NASCAR flip-and-roll crash.

Karting is a lot of fun as the cars completely oversteer into each corner, which seems scary at first for a refined experience, but as someone who spent some time karting years ago, this is a lot of fun and quite like the real deal. Once you figure out how these cars work, it’s a lot of fun to dump the cart around the track as if you were playing mario kart (ironic given one of my previous statements).

Rallying has always been a weak spot of Gran Turismo. It never feels as refined as the rest of the experience, and always fell short of ‘official’ WRC games, or even Colin McRea. Here isn’t really much different. It does feel better then previous efforts, but it by no means can ever replace a ‘proper’ rally game, which sadly dilutes some of the experience because driving a Sebastian Loeb’s C4 on a road feels fantastic, but on dirt or gravel it feels misplaced. This, again, falls under the general umbrella in GT5 of inconsistent gameplay.

The experience is refined for the most part, once you treat it with respect. The graphics will keep anyone entertained for hours, but it’s only those die-hards who will love the experience of upgrading their cars, only to sell them for slightly better models and race them for hours on end in endurance races to be gifted a new Ferrari, building a collection to a point where eventually you own a Bugatti Veyron. Feeling like you’re the stig in the top gear test track or feeling like Senna in Monza in an old school Ferrari or Merc is an incredible achievement for Polyphony. It falls down in places, but with the promise of persistent, and consistent patching and updating, GT5 – which is already outstanding compared to the competition – will absolutely dominate the driving world.

Now, engadget (and other) outlets have posted shots of a proposed PlayStation phone under the Sony Ericcsson brand. It has analogue buttons and multi-touch trackpad functions for gaming, which pits itself directly at the iPhone and DS.

All of this plays neatly into the notion that 2011 will be a year of much PSP love, as yesterday we reported on a supposed PSP 2 in the works.

DVD.co.uk are offering select titles on all consoles for 2 for £25 and 2 for £30, while handheld games are 2 for £18 and 2 for £30. They are also offering  up to 70% off select titles on all platforms. The gmaes most worth of mention are Left 4 Dead 2 for £12, The Witcher Enhanced Edition for £12 and Bad Company 2 for  £14.

PS3 2 for £25 list can be found here. PS3 2 for £30 can be found here. PS3 deals can befound here.

XBox 2 for £25 can be found here. XBox 2 for £30 can be found here. XBox  deals can be found here.

Wii 2 for £25 can be found here. Wii 2 for £30 can be found here. Wii deals can be found here.

DS 2 for £18 can be found here. DS 2 for £30 can be found here. DS deals can be found here.

PSP 2 for £18 can be found here. PSP deals can be found here.

PC deals can be found here.

Gamestop.ie are offering the Multi-Threat armour and a Halo Reach hoodie when you purchase the Halo Reach Standard Edition, online only. Get a free Mario Wii Skin with any Wii Mario game you purchase or you can get a free Gamestop NDS bundle pack if you purchase any Mario game for the DS. Get a free copy of Sports Champions when you purchase the Playstation Move, online only. Preorder FIFA 11 for €25 if you buy a 3PAY mobile phone.

CD WOW currently have a sale of up to 85% off select titles. List can be found here. They also have games for sale on clearance, list can be found here.

GAME.co.uk’s weekly sale can be found here.

Smyths.ie are having a weekly sale. Sale can be found here. Enter this competition while on their site to win a voucher for €250 to spend on your gaming goodies. (ROI only)

Argos.ie are having a clearance sale on some games and older models of current gen consoles. List available here.

Xtravision are offering a free copy of Scarface on dvd and the Vegas DLC when you purchase Mafia II (PS3 & 360 only). Also if you preorder Halo: Reach, you get 800 MS Points, downloadable Spartan Recon Helment, Variant and UA Multi-Threat Mjolnir Mark VI Armour. Deals only available instores and not online.

Game.ie are offering free one month dvd rental with any purchase.

Mighty Ape’s New Zealand store are having a large sale on 336 games. List of games can be found here.

Mighty Ape Australia are also having a large sale on 500 games. List can be found here.

Play.com are offering up to 20% off all console bundles and up to 15% off of all preorders. Up to 50% off their Hot Picks of the week.

Gamesnash.ie are currently having a sale on select titles. List can be found here.

HMV are having a sale on over 200 games. List can be found here.

Rollercoaster Tycoon  3 Deluxe is currently 30% off at gamesload.ie.

Direct 2 Drive are offering 75% off 2 different games every day until the end of the month.

Steams mid-week sale can be found here.

Youda Safari is currently 50% off at Boonty.

Impulse are having a sale of up to 50% off  select titles. List of available games can be found here.

GamersGate are having a sale of up to 60% off  select titles. List of games available can be found here.

Purchase an Intel Solid-State Drive and get a free Ubisoft PC game worth up to $49.99.

Located on South Williams Street, number 50, it’s a convenient location for anyone working, studying or just hanging around town.

The whole place is decorated like a cool bedroom, with various areas to emphasise what Sony have in store for Christmas. The opening section of consoles is laid out with a bunch of Playstation Move games available to try out far before the launch in Irish stores.

Towards the back area is a “chill out” area, with nice big comfy sofa’s and padded stools to sit down and play an amazing set of games. Not only can you try out Killzone 3 (yes, Killzone THREE), you can also check out Gran Turismo 5 and Motorstorm 3. Motorstorm is the main title to push 3D gaming to people.

The space is beautiful and very inviting. It can hold about 30 people, but Sony are keen to keep footfall flowing so everyone gets a chance to have a go. It opens up tomorrow afternoon at midday and will remain open during ‘normal business hours’ until mid-November. It wil not be open on Mondays though. Some people have hang-overs to tend to! You can check out all of the details on Sony Ireland’s new Facebook page.

You can also check out my photos of the space via Flickr. Maybe we’ll see you down there sometime!

Mighty Ape are having a large sale on over 300 games. List of games can be found here. Loki for $19.99 is an absolute bargain. The New Zealand $ is worth roughly half that of the €, so you’ll get some good bargains there.

Mighty Ape Australia are also having a large sale on over 400 games. List can be found here.

CD WOW currently have a sale of up to 85% off select titles. List can be found here. They also have games for sale on clearance, list can be found here.

GAME.co.uk’s weekly sale can be found here. Some excellent deals to be found on all platforms.

Smyths.ie are having a weekly sale. Sale can be found here. A Nintendo DS Lite + Nintendogs for €99.99.

Argos.ie are having a clearance sale on some games and older models of current gen consoles. List available here.

Xtravision are offering a free copy of Scarface on dvd and the Vegas DLC when you purchase Mafia II (PS3 & 360 only). Also if you preorder Halo: Reach, you get 800 MS Points, downloadable Spartan Recon Helment, Variant and UA Multi-Threat Mjolnir Mark VI Armour. Deals only available instores and not online.

GamersGate are having a sale of up to 75% off of 22 select titles. List of games available can be found here.

Impulse are having a 50% off sale on select titles. List of available games can be found here.

Go-Go Gourmet is currently 50% off at Boonty.

Steams mid-week sale can be found here.

Preorder RUSE at Direct2Drive US Store and you get 2 free Challenge Maps and 10% off your next Ubisoft purchase (at D2D).

Preorder Civilization V at Direct2Drive UK Store and you get the 1st DLC for free and a free copy of Civilization III.

Preorder Red Faction Armageddon to get a free glow in the dark Red Faction Armageddon t-shirt. Preorder WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 to get a free Smackdown vs RAW t-shirt. Applies only to the Xbox 360 versions of the game. Available through THQ’s online store. (North America only I believe)

Game.ie are offering free one month dvd rental with any purchase.

Play.com are offering up to 15% off of all preorders. Up to 50% off their Hot Picks of the week. List can be found here.

Napoleon Total War is currently 20% off at gamesload.ie.

DVD.co.uk are offering select titles on all platforms for 2 for £25 and 2 for £30. They are also offering  up to 70% off select titles on all platforms.

PS3 2 for £25 list can be found here. PS3 2 for £30 can be found here. PS3 deals can befound here.

XBox 2 for £25 can be found here. XBox 2 for £30 can be found here. XBox  deals can be found here.

Wii 2 for £25 can be found here. Wii 2 for £30 can be found here. Wii deals can be found here.

DS 2 for £18 can be found here. DS 2 for £30 can be found here. DS deals can be found here.

PSP 2 for £18 can be found here. PSP deals can be found here.

PC deals can be found here.

HMV are having a sale on over 200 games. List can be found here.

Gamesnash.ie are currently having a sale on select titles. List can be found here.