With the SCEE press conference covered yesterday, today and tomorrow are all about checking out as many games as we can in order to have lots of content to keep the blog ticking over well into next week.

My first port of call this morning at 9am sharp was the gentlemen of Guerrilla Games. We had a short presentation about Killzone 3’s multiplayer, followed by an opportunity to jump on for a game. Eight journalists faced off against eight of the game’s developers back in Amsterdam; hopefully you’ve read my hands-on piece by now and have an idea of what’s in store for the blockbuster FPS.

Next stop was another gent of the game development community, Alex Evans of Media Molecule. We shot a short video interview which is being edited as we speak and that you can look forward to seeing either at the end of this week or the beginning of next. He gave me an insight into LittleBigPlanet 2’s story and shed details of the incredible sounding music creation, which should give a new lease of life to those LBP musicians out there. Here’s the trailer for a sneak preview:

Next stop was the sausage tent. Seriously, have you guys ever eaten currywurst? It has been the biggest revelation of the day for me and I can no longer bear to eat ‘normal foods’ not drenched in curry sauce.

The afternoon consisted of presentations offering the latest on Gran Turismo 5, Sorcery, The Fight and DC Universe Online. Again, I’ll be writing posts on all of those games later in the week.

Meanwhile, my esteemed colleague Corey managed to get an interview with Ed Boon, the creator of Mortal Kombat, which we’ll be bringing to you very soon.

Tomorrow is another hectic one, on paper at least. I’ll be interviewing the lads from Evolution Studios about MotorStorm Apocolypse first thing in the morning and then we have a live chat at noon, local time, with some of the leading experts behind PlayStation Move and Stereoscopic 3D gaming on PS3. It should be really informative so get your questions in and we’ll whip through as many as we can.

That’s about it for another day. Time to hunt down some kind of curried sausage …

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Ever since I first got my hands on Killzone 3 back at the launch event in Amsterdam, I’ve been itching to try its multiplayer.

Last night at the SCEE gamescom press conference I saw the trailer below and my anticipation maxed out; this morning, my first port of call had to be my friends from Guerrilla Games. Luckily, a handful of games journalists had the same idea and there was a gang of the game’s developers sitting in Amsterdam staring us down from the other side of the online battlefield.

Before that, we were introduced to two brand new game modes. The first is Guerrilla Warfare, which is essentially team deathmatch with a greater emphasis on close quarters combat and dynamic spawn points that ensure you always revive close to the action but out of the line of fire.

Operations is another brand new multiplayer mode. It is objective based and story driven, with the ISA team aiming to complete a mission, such as blowing up a blast door, and the Helghast defending. The individual players that complete certain objectives appear in cut-scenes for everyone else in the game to see.

We also learnt that vehicles are going to be a big part of multiplayer, with Exoskeletons (remember them from towards the end of Killzone 2’s single player?) playable today and jet-packs shown in a gameplay video. The multiplayer will also support Stereoscopic 3D and PlayStation Move motion control.

With all of that frantically noted down, it was time to pick up a DUALSHOCK and jump into a game of Warzone. The first thing I noticed is that the XP system has been tweaked to offer greater rewards for completing objectives and performing difficult skills, such as headshots, explosive kills and melee attacks. Speaking of which, the Brutal Melee attacks already shown in the single player mode are also in multiplayer and it’s truly satisfying twisting a blade into those red Helghan eyes.

The level playable here is Phyrrus City; the Helghan capital and a ruined urban arena offering a mixture of open roads, where the Exoskeletons can roam free, and a second level of wrecked pipes and tight corridors where the shotgun is king. I played as a Field Medic, choosing an assault rifle and a portable sentry robot called a Minidrone.

There are five career paths to choose from, each with six weapons and six unique abilities. The version we played had everything unlocked but, in the full game, these guns and abilities are unlocked with skill points awarded each time you progress through one of the game’s 45 ranks.

Hopefully this gives you some idea of what Killzone 3’s multiplayer is going to be like; look out for a video interview with Steven Ter Heide of Guerrilla Games here on the Playstation Blog later in the week and feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments.

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The big event this week is in Germany, where the Koelnmesse in the stunning city of Cologne plays host to gamescom! Can’t make it there in person? Then attend virtually with PlayStation Home! Bringing the spirit of the booth to your home, the colourful gamescom event space takes its styling queues from the gamescom booth itself. The gamescom event space will be available for two weeks.

Our gamescom event space will bring you the latest games trailers for upcoming titles, all set in a space perfect for mingling with the community and discussing all the latest news. Gather up a team of four to play our oversized slot machine game to win some great rewards. Finally, stay tuned for news of exclusive gig footage from up and coming Sony Music group Locnville showing in the virtual booth!

Play M.A.G.? Whether you’ve aligned yourself with SVER, Raven or Valor, this week the Estates store has a personal space just for you! There’s a selection of furniture available for each faction to help deck out your new personal space just right and show your allegiance.

Our third and final release of 30th anniversary Empire Strikes Back content arrives tomorrow, with some of the best furniture and ornaments I’ve seen for a while. There are AT-AT and AT-ST tables, a Slave 1 sofa … and Han Solo in Carbonite. LucasArts are also making available an amazing value bundle pack including all of the Empire Strikes Back content released during the anniversary celebrations.

Also releasing this week there’s a Solitaire table in the Stuff store, Audi furniture items, and some shirts in the V-Store. There’s plenty to see and do this week, so we’ll see you in Home!

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Fellow Patapon fans and fans-to-be,

Yes, it’s this time of the year again… gamescom is here again and we’ve all travelled to Cologne in Germany to be part of one of the coolest events this year and to present Patapon 3.

If you have a chance to be there, come see us at the PlayStation booth and march your Patapon army to the beat of your divine drums. Play with us or against us or other visitors for the ultimate ad-hoc multiplayer adventure.

Gamescom Show PlayStation Booth
Koelnmesse, Messeplatz 1, 50679 Cologne
Halle 7 (Booth Number: A011/A021/B011/B021)

In the meantime, for those of you who cannot be there with us (but everyone else, too, of course) we have a new trailer which we’d like to share with you:

Pata-pata-pata-pon!

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Hi everybody – another Wednesday brings another fine selection of Digital Comics for your PSP, including more epic Cap, another bottle of True Blood, more Sonic, the fabulous Street Code….and the legendary Bum Bum the Painter. So what are you waiting for?

STREET CODE is the tale of Jack, a native New York bruiser, fed up with living in the dregs of a drug-addled Alphabet City. After escaping to a fresh start in Brooklyn, Jack must now negotiate a new strain of street logic–where most everything he encounters is not as it seems. With Street Code, creator Dean Haspiel returns to his semi-autobiographical roots and explores the emotional truths between prime and primate. Issue one is now available on your PSP – oh, and it’s FREE, so check it out. (To compliment the reading experience, why not shake your rump to Dean Haspiel’s Street Code music mix here – a list of music he grew up listening to, including Public Enemy, Run DMC, Daft Punk and 2-Tone’s finest, The Specials)

Elsewhere, the stunning Brubaker/Epting Captain America saga continues with “The Man Who Bought America”, where the Red Skull makes an unexpected move for the very soul of America.

Back in sun-drenched Bon Temps, True Blood continues with another fine adaptation of the hit TV show. In issue #2 , psychic waitress and vampire fetishist Sookie Stackhouse is forced to reveal her deepest, most shameful secret to save the lives of Bill and her friends. If you haven’t already done so, download the preview episode. It’s totally FREE.

A new Sonic The Hedgehog series launches this week from Archie Comics. Alongside everyone’s favourite blue anthropomorphic hedgehog, Sonic Universe stars Blaze the Cat, Marine the Raccoon, Rouge the Bat, Metal Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles and many more mischievous oiks up to no good. The “Living Weapons” arc kicks things off with a bang in issue #1.

Here’s the complete list:

• 2000AD Prog #1693 2000AD
• A Question of Pride Disney Digicomics
• The Authority #6 DC Comics
• Beauty and the Beast Disney Digicomics
• Captain America (2004) #37-#42 Marvel
• Deadly #3 DC Comics
• DMZ #18 DC Comics
• Donald Duck and Bum Bum the Painter Disney Digicomics
• Doubleduck #7 Disney Digicomics
• Ducklings Go Adrift Disney Digicomics
• Ex Machina #5 DC Comics
• Fables #20 DC Comics
• Gen13 #26 DC Comics
• Green Lantern: No Fear #2 DC Comics
• High Moon #7 DC Comics
• Jonah Hex #18 DC Comics
• The Lexian Chronicles #11 Markosia
• Planetary #7 DC Comics
• Safe Inside #2 DC Comics
• Scrooge McDuck and the Billionaires go Camping Disney Digicomics
• Sonic Universe #1 & #2 Archie Comics
• Stormwatch PHD #18 DC Comics
• STREET CODE #1 (FREE!) DC Comics
• Transformers: Ironhide #3 IDW
• True Blood #2 IDW
• Wildcats #6 DC Comics
• Y: The Last Man #3 DC Comics

You can buy comics from PlayStation Store using an internet-enabled PSP – just fire it up and hit the “Comics” tab at the top of the Store. Alternatively, Digital Comics can be purchased through Media Go using a PC (top tip – with the latest version of Media Go you can add star ratings – a great way to sort your comic collection. Donald Duck and Bum Bum the Painter gets 5 stars from me for its title alone).

While you’re finished browsing the new additions to the Store, check out our new Bundles section for a great way to build your Digital Comics collection. Enjoy complete uninterrupted stories featuring Tank Girl, Fantastic Four, Star Trek, Zombies vs Robots and many more – all in one easy download, at great value for money too.

Please visit www.playstationcomics.com for prices or to see the whole catalogue.

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