Tonight in London the BAFTA Video Games Awards 2010 will be taking place. This year we’re well represented, with a first party, exclusive game in almost every category! Of course, Uncharted 2 can be found in the majority of these, but you’ll also see nominations for inFamous, Flower, EyePet and LittleBigPlanet PSP, among others. For all of our first party nominations, check out the list below — you can find the full list at the BAFTA Video Games website, where you can also watch the awards ceremony live at 8:45pm GMT.

Action
inFAMOUS
Sony Computer Entertainment/Sucker Punch Productions & SCE Foster City Studio

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog and SCE Foster City Studio

Artistic Achievement
Flower
Sony Computer Entertainment/ThatGameCompany and SCE Santa Monica Studio

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio

Best Game
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio

Family & Social
Buzz! Quiz World
Sony Computer Entertainment/Relentless Software & XDEV Studio Europe

EyePet
Sony Computer Entertainment/SCE London Studio

Gameplay
PixelJunk Shooter
Sony Computer Entertainment/Q-Games & SCE Santa Monica Studio

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio

Handheld
Gran Turismo
Sony Computer Entertainment/Polphony Digital Inc

LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
Sony Computer Entertainment/SCE Cambridge & xev Studio Europe

LocoRoco Midnight Carnival
Sony Computer Entertainment/SCE Japan Studio

Multiplayer
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog and SCE Foster City Studio

Original Score
PixelJunk Shooter
Sony Computer Entertainment/Q-Games and SCE Santa Monica Studio

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio

Story
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio

Use of Audio
Flower
Sony Computer Entertainment/ThatGameCompany and SCE Santa Monica Studios

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog and SCE Foster City Studio

Use of Online
LIttleBigPlanet (PSP)
Sony Computer Entertainment/SCE Cambridge & XEV Studio Europe

Singstar TakeThat
Sony Computer Entertainment/SCE London Studio

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog and SCE Foster City Studio

GAME Award of 2009 (The only award to be voted for by the public)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Sony Computer Entertainment/Naughty Dog & SCE Foster City Studio

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Hi everyone – following last month’s launch, it’s been fantastic to see Heavy Rain getting such a good reception – lots of positive feedback, and great sales too! Thanks to all of you out there who’ve supported this innovative game with your comments and enthusiasm.

Firstly, the development team has been working hard to quickly identify and resolve the problems that a small percentage of players have been reporting over the last few weeks. I’m pleased to confirm that a patch will be released today addressing a number of issues – thanks to everyone for their patience.

Those of you who got your hands on a copy of the Collector’s Edition have already had the chance to play Heavy Rain: Chronicle 1 – The Taxidermist. But those of you that didn’t will soon get your chance – this additional playable scene will be available to download through the PlayStation Store from Thursday, April 1st 2010, and it will be priced at €3.99 / £3.19.

Chronicle 1 – The Taxidermist provides additional backstory to Heavy Rain, and focuses on Madison Paige as she investigates a lead that turns unexpectedly perilous. The episode is an expansion and update of the original ‘Taxidermist’ demo that received such a positive response when shown at E3 and gamescom to unveil Heavy Rain back in 2008.

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Mat Thomas from United Front Games has very kindly taken some time to present some of the studio’s design philosophies whilst making ModNation Racers, as well as a look at the newest trailer. Take it away, Mat!

Mat from UFG here to end your week on a high note with our latest trailer and a peek into some of the thought behind the sweet racing action we’ve built into ModNation Racers!

First and foremost when developing a racer, the key thing to outline is what the experience needs to be. As I have mentioned in my previous blog post, we worked through how we wanted the core driving experience to feel. Many development team members here at United Front Games have worked on several different racing games. Our focus is quite simple – we wanted the handling to be tight and fun but allow the power of the PS3 to take kart handling to the next level with a more physical driving model. While we appreciate the simple arcade handling, we soon understood that if we were going to deliver the best race experience with our Track Studio tools, then we had to give the player a deeper handling model.

Drive Well & Get BOOST
While we developed our core handling model we also realized we needed to offer other race mechanics that were familiar with all types of racing fans, but offered something deeper than what we had seen previously in the genre. We decided to go with a player controlled boost meter, which in turn is filled by driving well.

Drifting
The major skill the player needs to perfect is the ability to drift – a staple for most kart racers. Our mechanic is simple in the sense that the better the drift, the more the player is rewarded with boost. We also added a few nuances, such as the longer you drift, the player will actually slowly speed up over time, which rewards the user with an overall better speed but comes with consequences too.

At higher speeds, it is hard to avoid objects so maintaining the drift becomes a game in itself. The other key element with our drift is the ability to still steer and influence the direction of the drift. The player can do this with the basic steering controls, giving them full control over the drift. Finally, one of the coolest features with our drift is the ability to maintain the same drift even when the player jumps into the air. If the player drifts off a ramp, as long as they continue to hold the drift button, they will continue the drift when landing. This makes for some amazingly satisfying race moments on even the most challenging race tracks!

Some other race skills implemented in the game include drafting and air play. Drafting opponents is incredibly easy – simply drive in behind an opponent and try to maintain your position behind them. In addition to gaining a speed increase, the longer the player stays there, the more points they will accumulate. When a draft ends, those points are tallied and converted into boost. When in the air, the player will be rewarded in two ways. Firstly, the longer the player stays in the air, they will automatically be rewarded points and the larger jumps such as drops from launchers will give the player points. When the user lands, these points are tallied and then converted to boost.

When in the air, the player can also attempt spins. Using the right stick, the player can spin their vehicle. Every successful rotation will be rewarded with additional boost on the landing. The key thing to note however is that in order to be rewarded the player has to land the spin and face in the direction of travel. It is always fun to try and squeeze in one last spin to bag more points! What does the player do with all this boost when they have it? Well, obviously the player can simply press the L1 button and start boosting. The system is fully analogue meaning that the player can tap the boost for small bursts or hold it for long periods of sustained boosting. For some really hard advanced driving, players can try drifting and boosting at the same time!

We have created what I consider a racing experience that can appeal to everyone. You can pick up the game and enjoy the frantic gameplay but if you spend time with ModNation Racers you will become an expert by using all the strategies the systems bring. We feel very proud of the ModNation race experience and look forward to our fans playing it!

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Word up. We were rushing around for the whole of last week trying to get you the Lady Gaga video ready on Friday. Big respect to Alex, Scott and Tom for staying late on Friday to get the Gagalicious one live for you viewing pleasure over the weekend. You better all watch the video if you haven’t already done so… and if you have… watch it again!… please?

FIRST OF ALL

We have the new Lady Gaga ft Beyoncé video “Telephone” live… Hold on… didn’t I just tell you that? Oh well, then, maybe you weren’t paying attention. It is a monster epic 9 minute video which was directed by the same guy that did The Prodigy’s “Smack My Bi**h Up” so it has something for everyone. Ok… no more about Gaga now…

We also have interviews from Paloma Faith, Crookers, LMFAO, Miike Snow all coming up over the next 2 weeks! Plus lots more over the next month including Passion Pit, Bashy, Bullet For My Valentine and Craig David!

HOMEPAGE FEATURES

This Week

One To Watch – Two Door Cinema Club (UK, Ireland)

Check out Northern Irish electropopindierockers Two Door Cinema Club signed to the uber cool French label Kitsuné with all their videos including their new single ‘Undercover Martyn’.

One To Watch – Ellie Goulding (Excluding UK, Ireland)

With everyone singing her praises, a brilliant album and a string of (in my opinion) even better remixes of her singles. Ellie is definitely one to watch. Featuring new video “Starry Eyed”.

Beverley Knight Exclusive Interview

Artist Of The Week – Black Eyed Peas (Selected Countries)

Can I get that… Can I get that… Homepage Black Eyed Peas Artist of the Week feature, not as catchy really is it? Including new video for ‘Imma Be Rocking that Body’.

Artist Of The Week – The Fray (Selected Countries)

The Colorado four piece have a new single ‘Syndicate’ and making of video ready for your viewing pleasure. This is an official invite to be pleased by this viewing.

Hot New Videos

Warmer than a toaster… hotter than an oven… Featuring new videos from Ke$ha – ‘Blah Blah Blah’, Shakira – ‘Gypsy’ and Jimi Hendrix – ‘Bleeding Heart’.

DnB Hits

Drum and Bass fans unite, rejoice and praise the lords of the dance for bringing you such a bubbling dance floor DnB playlist. Including tracks by Mistabishi, London Elektricity, High Contrast and Pendulum… Plus more tbc.

Next Week

Exclusive Interview with Meat Loaf

We gave you the exclusive to his new video and now… See what the man… the legend… the bat that resides in hell has to say for himself.

Kids Pop Party

Keep the little ones entertained over the Easter Holidays with songs from Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers and Take That…Plus more tbc

RECOMMENDED PLAYLISTS

This Week

Latest Additions

If you have watched all the videos on the whole service… then here is all new videos added this week so you don’t miss one single video. Simple.… Plus more tbc

Next Week

Mad About The 80’s

I am… It’s when I was born so it’s got to be good… ok, that’s one of the smallest reasons that make it great but whatever. We have a selection box of our favourite 80s videos…. Plus more tbc

Nothing more this week… I don’t want to overload your brains with too much now do I?

Peace be with you.
Ben

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If, in the coming weeks, you see drivers with wide open eyes on the European highways, there are two likely explanations: either Europe was hit with (another!) severe snowstorm and spring is nowhere in sight, or they have just seen Kratos, the one and only God of War cruising on the road using his massive truck!

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PlayStation Czech Republic and Slovakia is paying a tribute to this great franchise which is breaking review scores highs and sales records with an epic God of War III truck. Branded from both sides, it projects a 3D image of Kratos literally jumping out of the truck and into the traffic.

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It would be a shame to keep it only to Czech Republic and Slovakia so through a cooperation with a Slovak truck company, the truck will be hitting the roads of mainland Europe until the end of summer, visiting also Austria, Netherlands, Croatia, Ukraine, Poland and Hungary so keep your eyes open for the one and only God of War!

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