SCEA have taken the wraps off the “mystery game that [it] had up its sleeve.” Savage Moon is a downloadable PS3 title that will be coming exclusively to the PlayStation Network this fall.

Described as a “frantic, action-packed tower defense game in a gritty sci-fi setting,” Savage Moon tasks players with protecting mining facilities from space bugs. Not only will you need firepower to keep the bugs at bay, you will also need to use your best strategy to survive the onslaught.

Each level of the game is set on a living asteroid known as an Imoon. Humanity needs these Imoons to survive since they are rich in mineral deposits, however, deadly creatures known as Insectocytes will stop at nothing to end your mining endeavours.

Players start with machine gun towers but can expand their arsenal to various weapons and artillery to defend the mines. Your strategy will dictate when you upgrade, add new towers or save your money, ultimately deciding whether you survive the waves of bugs or if your mines will be destroyed.

Place your towers defenses optimally to kill the different kinds of Insectocytes most effectively, earning points as you kill which you can then use to upgrade the size and firepower of your defenses as well as develop new weapons and technologies.

According to SCEA’s Producer, Daimion Pinnock, “Savage Moon is addictive and the action is relentless, making it fun no matter what your skill level is. The action is intense, but you also have to think and have a solid strategy to survive. The best players can even post their scores to the online leader boards to see how they stack up.”

More details were promised soon.

Post continues, click to read more…

Sierra Online’s Red Baron Arcade will be released on the PlayStation Network on the 18th of September.

Red Baron Arcade is an arcade air combat game featuring online multiplayer capabilities. Set in WWI, the game sees players manning the gun turrets on an aircraft as they take on pilots in dogfights and seek to rise through the ranks of the Red Baron’s squadron.

Battle AI or pit yourself against up to seven players online in Deathmatch, Team-Deathmatch and Capture the Flag modes.

A free demo of Red Baron Squadron will be released on the PlayStation Network on the 18th of September. Download the demo and jump into the multiplayer action with up to eight players online in a special battle arena available in the game – a PlayStation Network first.

Quantic Dream, known for their previous thoughtful thriller, Fahrenheit, have released some footage to show off Heavy Rain, their new game in development.

Heavy Rain’s focus will be on mature storytelling, not only in terms of the subject matter, but trying to provide a mature storytelling technique for video games. In Heavy Rain, players play the story instead of experiencing it via cut-scenes, each action affecting the unfolding story, with repercussions both seen and unseen.

The trailer shows off the amazing in-game visuals while also revealing some of the game play mechanics. Heavy Rain is sure to set the graphics bar high and will attempt to do the same as far as story delivery is concerned. It has a tentative release date of 2009 on PS3.

Sony’s new iterations of their current consoles, the PSP and PS3, have had their UK pricing structure confirmed. The new PSP 3000 will retail for £149.99, launching on the 15th of October. The new 160 GB PS3, on the other hand, will go for £339.99 and will be out on October 31st.

You can find out more about the PSP 3000 and the PS3 160GB via the previous announcements.

It seems that compatibility is the word of the week. Earlier in the week Sony announced that all instruments for the PS3 versions of three upcoming music games (Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution) would be compatible. Microsoft soon followed suite, making clear that instruments for future Xbox 360 rhythm games will be compatible too.

Following on the announcement that SingStar PS3 Vol.2 will be making its way to the US this October, SCEA unveiled a new SingStar PS3 disc swap feature that incorporates the SingStar PS2 library.

According to the SingStar development team, SingStar track compatibility across PS2 and PS3 is enabled via the Disc Swap feature. “The feature has previously been available on SingStar games for both PlayStation 2 and PLAYSTATION 3, but for the first time owners of SingStar for PS3 will be able to play songs from PS2 discs in their collection.”

When you are playing a SingStar PS3 disc, simply choose ‘select’ at the song select screen to swap discs and play the songs from the inserted disc. Although the songs are not saved to the hard drive, this feature enables gamers to enjoy their SingStar PS2 collection on their PS3.

The disc swap feature will be delivered via a free game update later this year. It will work with all current PS3 system models and does not require a system software update. It will work with all current SingStar PS3 discs and will be included on future SingStar PS3 discs releasing next year.

Richard Bates clarified a few points in the comments section. Players will not be able to upload any saved media for PS2 songs due to licensing restrictions and trophy support will be coming early next year.

In response to whether the PS3 will be playing PS2 discs in emulation through the SingStar software, Bates replied “We added to the PS3 SingStar game ‘engine’ the ability to read and decode the tracks from a SingStar disc for PS2. Keeping it within the PS3 game also means you can still play your downloaded tracks.”

Tucked away in a press release detailing SCEE’s PS3 line-up was the release date of Media Molecule’s highly anticipated LittleBigPlanet.

LittleBigPlanet will be released across PAL territories on the 29th of October. Earlier in the month the community-based game’s Japanese website revealed that it would be released on the 30th of October in Japan.

Starring Sackboy, LittleBigPlanet gives players the power to move anything in the landscape. Players can design, shape and build objects and locations as well as share these with other players via PlayStation Network.

Apart from the new 160GB PS3 and updated PSP, Sony also revealed a new Wireless Keypad for the PS3. The Keypad will launch across North America in late November and will be introduced in Japan, Europe and Asia by the end of the year.

The price has yet to be announced but keep a look out because Sony promise that the release date and price will be announced later in each region.

Designed to make text communications and web browsing easier, the Wireless Keypad is a new peripheral that snaps on to the top of a SIXAXIS or DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller. It can be easily attached or removed and allows for easier text communication than the on-screen keyboard.

In addition it supports text chat in PlayStation Home and enables gamers to enjoy interactivity playing online titles and enjoying entertainment content more smoothly. The Keypad includes a Touch Pad Button mode that turns the main key area into a touch pad where players simply slide their finger on this area to move the cursor on the screen and tap to enter.

PS3 owners will also be able to jump directly to pre-set features on XMB such as the “Friends” icon and the “Message Box” during game play thanks to two short cut buttons (a Communication Button and a Message Box button) on the Keypad. The Keypad features Bluetooth functionality and can be paired to the PS3 by connecting the keypad to the USB cable that is bundled with the PS3.

With games such as LittleBigPlanet featuring support text chat, PS3 owners will no doubt find the Wireless Keypad useful when it launches.

The new 160GB PS3 unveiled at Leipzig will be available across North America as part of a new limited edition Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune bundle. The bundle will be available in November for $499.99.

The bundle will include a copy of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, a PSN voucher for PAIN and a Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller. SCEA also confirmed that the previously announced 80GB PS3 has started shipping to retailers. It will be available for $399.99.

According to SCEA, PS3 momentum has soared in 2008 thanks to Blu-ray becoming the HD standard and the launch of key franchises including Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4. Sony anticipate that this momentum will continue into the holidays and beyond with their line-up including PS3 exclusives such as Buzz! Quiz TV, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, MotorStorm Pacific Rift and Killzone 2.

Post continues, click to read more…

SCEE today announced that the 160GB PS3 will launch across PAL territories on the 31st of October. It will retail for 449 Euros in a bundle including additional PlayStation Network content.

The 160GB PS3 boasts twice the storage capacity of current models, enabling gamers to download more games, demos and trailers from the PlayStation Network as well as store more videos, music and photos. With more games such as SingStar, Buzz! and LittleBigPlanet allowing gamers to download additional content, it looks like the extra storage space will be needed.

Bioshock on PS3, now in development at 2K Marin and Digital Extremes, with assistance from the original creators, 2K Boston and 2K Australia, is in extremely good hands. They’re also adding a bunch of new features that weren’t included in the Xbox 360 version, including support for PS3 Trophies, a Survivor difficulty mode (for all those that thought it was too easy) and downloadable Challenge Rooms which require players to push their acquired skills to the limit.

If you need a bit of a refresher, or have no idea what you’ll be getting yourself into, have a look at the debut trailer to get a feel for the failed utopian world.

Bioshock is to finally make its PS3 debut on the 24th of October in Europe and October 21st in the US.

Capcom has confirmed that there will be no cross platform play in Resident Evil 5.

A post on the Capcom-Unity blog states “No cross platform play with RE5. You’d have to convince both Sony and MS to make their servers place nice with each other…Which, unfortunately, may never happen.”

Resident Evil 5 is scheduled to be released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in March 2009. Check out the latest trailer for a closer look at how Chris and new partner Sheva are facing up against the Zombie hordes or head over to our preview for screenshots and more information about the game.

Another Ratchet and Clank game, another double entendre. The latest release, Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty, will see the tititular heroes in a mini-sized adventure, available on the UK PlayStation Network this Friday, for £9.99.

While it’s obviously expected to be much shorter than a full disc-release game, it’ll pack the same graphical detail and game play mechanics seen in the full PS3 release last year. Speaking of disc-based releases, Quest for Booty will also see a Blu-Ray release in September, also retailing for £9.99. If you’re not yet convinced, have a look at the debut trailer released during E3 for some confirmation of its wallet-worthiness.

Is this a good way to advertise your game? A Japanese advert for the upcoming PS3 game, Afrika, shows an aspect of the experience that PR may not want to represent to the world. Weird.

Not much information has been released regarding Afrika, except that it is trying to replicate the environments found on the African continent, allowing players to explore of their own volition using jeeps to get around and taking photographs to cherish the memories. It’s said to be slated for an August 28th release in Japan.

Ster-Kinekor, South Africa’s distributor for all things PlayStation, has recently announced their intention to launch the 80GB PS3 during the Really Awesome Gaming Event (rAge) in early October.

Ster-Kinekor/PlayStation marketing manager, Yvonne Truter, said, “During the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), in Los Angeles, PlayStation brought out an 80GB model and said there will be no more 60GB PS3s. We will be launching the 80GB model during rAge.”

An open and shut case, then? Not quite. Jacqui Jacobs, marketing and promotions manager at Tide Media, the organiser of rAge, says she’s unaware of any new consoles launching at the event, continuing to say, “yet we do not dictate to our exhibitors what to showcase. rAge is intended to grow the awareness and interest in gaming as a whole.”

In any case, rAge really will be an awesome gaming event this year. If you’re in the Northgate area around the 3rd to the 5th of October, drop by the Coca-Cola Dome to check out a huge showcase of the latest in gaming and technology.

El33tonline has contacted Ster-Kinekor and will let you know more information about pricing and dates soon.

Source: My Digital Life

The long-awaited, oft-rumoured PS3 peripheral and software package, PlayTV, is to be launched in September…in the UK, for a RRP of £69.99. The package allows PS3 owners to receive and record TV programmes through the console, using the hard-drive to store any soapies you may be missing during the day…maybe some cool action movies as well, but, whatever.

While it is also set to be released throughout Europe, it’s not yet clear whether or not PlayTV will work outside of that region, as it appears the service will not be compatible with signals in the US, Canada and Mexico.

You can visit the official PlayTV website for more information.