Ten minutes of co-op sneaking exposed in Peace Walker video

Though we don't possess the thorough comprehension of the Japanese language required to understand what's happening in the video posted above, we know that we like what we see. If you've got some time to kill, check out the ten minute co-op demonstration of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker at the top of this post. It shows of a few of the game's neat multiplayer tactics, including an invisibility gun and the increasingly iconic "four-legged tank maneuver." Judging by those two alone, it certainly looks like Peace Walker's capacity for hijinks is going to be near-limitless.

PSN Thursday: Sam & Max pre-order, Heavy Rain soundtrack

Max: Lissssten to my voice, you will pre-order Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse for $30.

We will pre-order Sam & Max

Max: You will also watch the next episode of The Tester.

We will also ... wait, do we have to?

Check out the full PSN update after the break.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

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PlayStation Move input latency analyzed by Digital Foundry

The amount of latency between a user's input on a game controller and the in-game reflection of that input is an incredibly important factor when comparing motion controllers. Sony has been boasting that the input latency for the PlayStation Move would be "under a frame" -- though Digital Foundry concluded otherwise during its brief tech demo with the sphere-tipped peripheral.

Digital Foundry conducted a fairly rudimentary experiment in which a person filmed himself sharply moving the controller, then counted how many milliseconds it takes for the screen to reflect his movement. Though there were a few variables to the experiment (such as the unknown, natural latency of the television display used in the demo), Digital Foundry estimates the device's latency to be in the ballpark of 133ms (around eight frames), which they claim is "fine for most of the applications you would want from such a controller." You can check out a video of Digital Foundry's simple latency experiment on Eurogamer.

PixelJunk Eden's Baiyon creating music visualizer for PS3

Q-Games is teaming up with Japanese artist Baiyon once again for another PSN collaboration. Baiyon, who created the visuals and sound for PixelJunk Eden and Encore, is directing an interactive music visualizer for the PS3, to be distributed via the PlayStation Network.

Unlike Q-Games' Earth visualizer, this upcoming project will not be built into the PS3 operating system. Instead, this will be a standalone application, akin to .deTuned. This is terrific news for Trophy hunters, as they should be familiar with how easy it is to get PSN XP with these standalone art applications.

Hands-on: PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap (PSN)

As the first PixelJunk game from Q-Games, Racers was largely misunderstood by most. Now, after the success of Monsters, Eden and Shooter, Q-Games is ready to go back to its first concept and give it a second chance. PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap isn't just an add-on to the original PSN game, but a new game (with new features like Trophies) that warrants a second look from fresh PixelJunk fans.

Like the original, 2nd Lap is a unique interpretation of classic top-down racers of yore. However, Q-Games' take on the genre makes it more of a puzzle or rhythm game, rather than a racing game -- an easy mistake for players to make, considering both the game's look and title. While some modes do require "winning" a race, most are about achieving rather specific goals. For example, you may need to complete a number of laps in a constantly-accelerating vehicle, while avoiding all the other cars on the road. "Sunday Drive" will have you trying to get past as many slow-driving cars as possible. It's a frustrating recreation of being stuck in traffic, yet it's oddly compelling.

In its second iteration, PixelJunk Racers remains essentially a collection of car-themed minigames, with the ultimate goal of scoring as high as possible on the leaderboards. Thankfully, 2nd Lap has been made considerably easier and more accessible than the first game, easing players into a much easier single-player experience. The addition of YouTube recording support should appease the show-offs, while the presence of PSN Trophies may make the overall package far more rewarding. (Don't worry Trophy hunters, Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert told us that they've learned from PixelJunk Eden and Monsters, and will make the Trophies much easier, akin to PixelJunk Shooter.)

GTA: Episodes From Liberty City for PC, PS3 delayed two weeks due to 'minor content changes'

If you've waited this long for Episodes from Liberty City, another two weeks shouldn't hurt, right? Rockstar Games has pushed back the PS3 and PC releases of the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto IV expansions by two weeks due to "a request by Sony Europe to make some minor content changes to the PAL PS3 version of the game." According to the press release, "the minor changes made to the game will not affect the gamers enjoyment of the games, these will not affect any gameplay elements and were not related to any local ratings requirements."

All versions of the add-ons -- including the downloadable episodes "The Lost & Damned" and "The Ballad of Gay Tony" -- have been delayed to April 13th for North America, and April 16th for all other countries. A Rockstar Games blog post further elaborated on the decision to do a global delay, ensuring that "everyone can experience multiplayer simultaneously, take part in online events together, be on level ground on leaderboards, etc."

God of War website teases 'Spartans Stand Tall'

Earning a Platinum Trophy in God of War III will give you an elusive reward: a link to a secret page, hidden on the God of War website. The "Spartans Stand Tall" website doesn't feature much right now, other than falling rain and a shield with an upside-down V, possibly a Lambda sign -- wait, does this mean we're finally getting the Half-Life/God of War crossover we've been waiting for?

This could simply be a placeholder website for upcoming God of War DLC. Or, this could be hinting at a new Ready at Dawn-developed PSP game we've heard murmurs about. In fact, Chains of Olympus was revealed in exactly the same way, via a website hidden in God of War II on PS2. Considering the franchise's penchant for announcing new installments alongside the latest releases, we wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being a brand new game in the God of War universe. Stay tuned.

[Thanks, Bryan!]

European PSN releases for March 18

Though there's not much on the "new game front" in this week's European PSN update, there's plenty of new stuff for the games you already know and love. There's the release of Dragon Age: Origins: Awakening, new cars for Need For Speed: Shift, some LittleBigPlanet PSP love, the arrival of Patchwork Heroes and, of course, the Gaga-ization of the Rock Band Music Store. Check out the full list of releases after the jump!

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:

(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Continued →

Free DLC for Echoshift available through April 1

Have you tried out Echoshift, the excellent new puzzle game for PSP? Whether or not you've bought the game, SCEA has a pretty sweet deal for you to take advantage of. Starting later today (once the PSN update is live), current owners and new purchasers will be able to get an additional set of seven levels absolutely free. For current owners of Echoshift, you'll be able to find it by searching for "Echoshift" in the PlayStation Store.

New purchasers will be able to take advantage of the promotion by simply buying a new bundle -- which includes both the original game and additional levels -- from the PlayStation Store for $14.99. This is a limited time offer, so if you want to take advantage of this deal, you'll need to act before April 1st.

Hands-on: Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake (PSP)

Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake is a great match for the PSP. The game's structure, its very nature, means it can be segmented in a very effective way on a handheld platform -- a quick match during your morning subway ride or while taking a break from work is when Fistful of Cake works best.

[Note: Be sure to check out our video preview, as well. We spent all night slaving over a hot stove to bake it just the way you like it!]

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Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 trailer shows off online team play

EA Sports' latest attempt to breathe new life into the Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise's eleventh installment is an online multiplayer mode, previewed in the "Ryder Cup" trailer posted above. Players will be able to align themselves into teams, and go head-to-head (to-head-to-head, and so on) in an attempt to dominate the lush, rolling greens.

The only question that remains is what team you'll choose to enlist in. Will it be team Tiger Woods, who's repeatedly proven his prowess for hitting golf balls into faraway holes? Or will it be team Rory McIlroy, who is exactly one vowel away from being totally awesome?

Do you want to become a PlayStation Home community volunteer?

Now that PlayStation Home is twelve million strong, Sony is looking for community volunteers to help newcomers ease their way into the PS3 virtual world. Applicants need to be "friendly and knowledgeable" as they help new users navigate the various community events available online. According to a recent call for applicants, the program "offers a great outlet to the most passionate Home users to help give back to the community."

To submit an application, you must be at least 18 years old, a resident of the US, and have "dependable access to email and Internet." Also, not only will you need to describe your most embarrassing PlayStation Home experience, you'll also have to answer this very telling question: "Do you have more friends in real life or in Home? Which do you prefer?" Don't worry, you should answer truthfully. We won't judge you.

Finally: Final Fight Double Impact arrives April 14 and 15

We've been waiting patiently for Capcom to release Final Fight yet again, this time in the form of the PSN/XBLA Final Fight: Double Impact set (which also includes Magic Sword). Capcom just let us know that the magical combination of classic brawling and online play will be available on Xbox Live April 14, and on the PlayStation Store April 15.

In case you haven't been keeping up with old game news, Double Impact features optional graphical filters, remixed soundtracks, and, most importantly, drop-in co-op. Capcom doesn't explicitly mention this, but each purchase also contributes to the Mike Haggar mayoral campaign fund.

Heavy Rain patch development complete, release 'very soon'

While the Joystiq staff hasn't experienced a game-ending Heavy Rain crash, there are a number of vocal members of the PlayStation forums that have reported some serious issues, most notably save file corruption. Quantic Dream is working on a new patch for the adventure game, one that "address a range of minor issues," but isn't "targeted purely at the issues reported." According to Sam_Protagonist, SCEE has had difficulty in reproducing the reported bugs, but hopes that the patch should fix various "contributing factors" that may be at the root of Heavy Rain's issues. "We're optimistic that this patch resolves your problems but cannot guarantee that this will be the case."

Development on the patch is now complete, and is undergoing the "final stages of testing." Let's hope the patch actually does its job -- otherwise, angry Heavy Rain owners will be left with nothing to play but Press X to Jason.

[Via VG247]

Lord of the Rings: War in the North announced by WBIE; Snowblind developing

If you've been nervously tapping your fuzzy Hobbit toes in anticipation of the project behind the trademarked "Lord of the Rings: War in the North," then prepare for a delicious second breakfast of information. Warner Bros. Interactive has officially announced the game which, as it turns out, is an RPG from Champions of Norrath / Justice League Heroes developer Snowblind Studios, due for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 in 2011.

It sounds like it will be familiar gameplay to fans of those games, as well. Snowblind head Ryan Geithman calls it "a natural evolution of the acclaimed RPG gameplay that Snowblind has consistently delivered over the past years." In this online co-op RPG, up to three players will take part in the War of the Ring, visiting areas and meeting characters from the films and uncovering "unseen lands, story elements and characters from Middle-earth."

The game will receive a full reveal in PlayStation: The Official Magazine's May issue, which will be on shelves April 6. Head past the break for a trailer.

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