The original echochrome ticked many of the boxes of what I look for in a game: it was original, visually striking and it got me using the corners of my brain that sometimes go neglected, particularly the ones in charge of logic and common sense. So I thought I’d share these details about echochrome ii from Kumi Yuasa, in conjunction with the US PlayStation Blog, along with an interview by my trans-Atlantic alter-ego, Jeff Rubenstein.

Hi everyone! As most of you have already heard, we will be coming out with echochrome ii later this year. It was announced at E3 and we’ve received a lot of positive feedback. For those of you who don’t know what echochrome ii is, here is an interview and demo with our team to show you exactly what everyone has been talking about.

Remember all the fun you used to have playing with shadows as a kid? Now you can bring back those exciting feelings of shadow art by utilizing the PlayStation Move motion controller and the PlayStation Eye camera! With its unique way of using Move controller as a flashlight, you will control light and shadows, rotate levels and change the way objects are viewed and the shadows they cast. The ultimate goal is to lead your character, that can only walk on the shadow, through the path from beginning to end. Beware, as there are hidden goals, jumping pads, holes, transporting elevators, and so on. Rotate the level itself to create a specific shadow – the possibilities are infinite and there is always more than meets the eye as every person can view each puzzle differently.

Also, echochrome ii features an artistic presentation style that fans of the franchise will recognize, however, this time with bold colors and lively music to put any player in the gaming mood. Players can also look forward to the new use of color, which gives hints to help players through the puzzles.

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The Midway Carnival – available Thursday, July 1st – launches with 10 games, over a hundred rewards (including the Darla’s Den personal space), and plenty of secrets that you will have to uncover for yourself as you progress through this massive new game space. Simply collect your tickets from the kiosk at the entrance to the Midway Carnival and embark on a journey where a new reward is unlocked for every level of every game you master. Hang out in the space for long enough and you can even be rewarded with more plays for your favourite games (or the ultimate bragging rights at the Meet Darla photo booth). You can even collect exclusive arcade-style games like Trigger Happy-in-a-Box for the Darla’s Den personal space!

If you’ve not been to the Audi Space for a while, drop by this week! Audi are celebrating their victory at Le Mans 2010 with their latest update. Headlining the updates, Vertical Run is revised with all-new – and more challenging! – boost and hazard placement, new reward for expert drivers, and a new car based on the Detroit Motor Show version of the e-tron.

Hot on the heels of the Darts board released last week, VEEMEE bring us not just one, but two pool tables! Head to Stuff to pick up the pool table bundle, priced at 2.49 € / £1.99 (discount applies for owners of the London Pub). These stylish tables look great when not in use. Step up to the table and you’ll find three rules variants available: English on one table, American and 9-ball on the other.

For those enjoying the ‘80’s themed Playground space, this week sees the next in our releases of clothing and furniture. Check out the screenshot below for a sampling of what will be available this Thursday! Once you’re done checking out the ‘80’s costumes, why not browse through the new Fantasy Fashion available at Alter Ego. There’s Demon and Angel wings available for male and female, along with male Barbarian and Minotaur outfits.

Creative community member Agamer2006 recently developed rules for creating custom board games within Home personal spaces. This week we release a board game construction pack, featuring special new animated dance floor tiles. Build a custom dance floor, or get creative and create a game for you and your friends!

Have you heard of the Virtual Costume Convention (VCon)? Community member Dacrates has put together a full weekend of costume convention madness in PS Home this weekend. There will be plenty to see and do during the weekend, so check out the schedule of events to see what you can get involved with. There will be costume contests, quiz night and board game session and more! See you there.

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Get ready for another head-to-head tournament this 4 July weekend. This time around, test your skills on the expansion pack map ‘Fallen Star’ and in the free update mode ‘Collection’ (see rules below). Ten Grand Prizes will be chosen between SCEE and SCEA. These top Warheads will receive a 90 day Subscription Voucher for PlayStation Plus* and a Warhawk Champion’s Blade.

*Voucher can be used to extend your current service or to create a new one.

This tournament is short so be ready to go!

And for those of you that don’t already have Fallen Star, from 23 June to 5 July you can pick up this explosive expansion pack for €1.99 (original price: € 5.99).

• When: 1 July at 5am PST until 5 July, 5am PST.
  Where: Warhawk Fallen Star, Collection Tourney servers (look for the blue Tourny-FallenStar # servers).
• Modes: 32 player Fallen Star, Collection Mode, Team Game only
• What you need to win: be a part of your match’s winning team and you will get one point. You get zero points for losses and draws.
• Where to find your rank: just like last time, your stats will be posted on warhawk.com, in the Leaderboard area.
• What you can win: the top 10 players from North America and Europe will all win the fabled Champion’s Blade. Also, they’ll win a 90 day subscription to PlayStation Plus.

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Hello everyone! How did you like last week’s super update? Hope you enjoyed it because there’s plenty more this week!

To start with, here is another large serving of fantastic DC comics! Pick up your free copy of the Wonder Woman #600 10-page preview, written by none other than J. Michael Straczynski. Or you could go with #1 of DMZ and follow Matty Roth, an aspiring reporter trapped in a Manhattan ravaged by America’s Second Civil War… Down in Texas it’s all about werewolves though, as you’ll see in High Moon #1. Former detective Matthew Macgregor investigates strange happenings in a desolate town… Werewolf western drawn by Steve Ellis – you know it’s worth a look.

But there’s more superhero action for you. Marvel’s Black Panther makes his solo debut this week! So, who is Black Panther? R. Hudlin is here to answer this question – in cinematic scope, no less. He famously said that his influences for the Black Panther were another mighty superhero (can you guess who?), Spike Lee, and Sean Combs. That’s quite something.

Last, but not least, another great series by IDW: Mystery Society. Charismatic duo Nick Hammond and Anastasia Collins bring their own justice to the world’s underbellies – and it’s not an easy task. Written by Steve Niles, with art by amazing Ashley Wood (Tank Girl, Zombie vs Robots, and many many others) – another one really worth a try.

Anyway, because we can’t blog about every single good comic we publish, here’s the full list for you:
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Hello everyone and welcome to another ‘Heads Up’ post courtesy of PSN Store Management. Once again I hold the fort while Mike takes a couple of days to enjoy the sunshine (ie; playing Alpha Protocol in a darkened room somewhere).

Exciting times with the launch of our premium service, PlayStation Plus – keep your eyes peeled for some genuinely spanking offers and additions over the coming months, and for those of you who get on board the Plus train right now with a year’s subscription, you can snag yourself a digital copy of LittleBigPlanet for the princely sum of absolutely nothing. No more getting off the sofa to pop in a Blu-ray, you’ll have to get your physical exercise some other way. I suggest powering your PS3 by exercise bike, but when it doesn’t work you can’t blame me, okay?

Some of you observant types might also have noticed another update yesterday to the ‘All Games A-Z’ section of the store. You spoke (at length) and we listened so now you can find Games, Demos and specific Add-ons for each platform listed alphabetically in one handy area. Of course, if you want to see EVERYTHING that’s available for one title, you can still hit up the PS3 Games and PSP Games sections. We’re working on a few more little tweaks for the Store so keep an eye out in the coming weeks.

So on to the update – For you handheld heroes we’ve got Everybody’s Tennis for your PSP – cracking good fun just like its golf-based predecessors. Also for those of you who are lucky enough to already have Toy Story 3 launch in your country, we’ve got the second round of DLC in the form of Woody’s Round up for you to enjoy. Throw in the latest Buzz! Quiz World pack, two new minis (also for PS3, as usual) and a free level kit for LittleBigPlanet and we’re all set.

All you PS3 types have it pretty good this week too – we’ve got the LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 demo and if you missed Death Track: Resurrection or the criminally under-rated Aqua Panic HD when they released, you can now try these out for free too. We have enormous amounts of DLC for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 for you budding golfers to browse, the Sacktue of Liberty returns for one week only and if you’re not already a Fat Princess convert, we’ve slashed the price just in time for the launch of the Fat Roles expansion pack. Yes, we’re bringing those old Internet favourites, Pirates and Ninjas (and Giants) to the fray. So now you don’t need to debate which is better, just get stuck in and fight it out!

Avatars, Wallpapers and some really awesome new videos for you too this week – don’t forget to check out the new Brink trailers, that one’s looking pretty special.

That’s all from me this week, Mike will be back as usual next time – I’ll reply to comments throughout the afternoon if you promise to be good. Bye for now!
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