Here is a quick update for the UK Video Store.

There are lots of great new arrivals this week. Noel Clarke’s latest production is available to download. If you enjoyed Kidulthood and Adulthood, you will love 4.3.2.1 (4 Girls, 3 Days, 2 Cities and 1 Chance). It is a fast paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of the seat.

We also have another Deal of the Week offer for you to download some bargain classic movies for your collection.

New to Buy and Rent

• 4.3.2.1. (HD)
• Solitary Man (HD)
• Devils Playground (HD)
• The Heavy (HD)
• Streetdance
• Letters to Juliet

New to Buy

• The Losers
• Fanboys
• Kung Fu Panda
• Shrek the Third

Deal of the Week (Movies from £5.99 for 1 week only)

• Enemy of the State
• Tombstone
• The Village
• The Recruit
• The Ladykillers
• Reign of Fire
• Crimson Tide
• Cold Creek Manor
• Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
• Hot Chick
• Remember the Titans
• Scream 3
• Signs
• Gross Point Blank

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Hello everyone,

We’ve got another packed episode this week, with an exclusive PSN trial of the brilliantly bloodthirsty side-scrolling RTS Swords & Soldiers, and our last bit of PlayStation Home Top Gun attire – the one you’ve been waiting for, Maverick’s helmet. Show me the way home. Home! I’ve been waiting weeks to say that.

We’ve also got another strong line-up of games, with reviews of EA’s rebooted blockbuster Medal Of Honor, and muddy-as-hell puddle sim FIA World Rally Championship. We’ve also got a behind-the-scenes preview of EA Sports’ MMA, and a round-up of other releases featuring Jon Daly’s ProStroke Golf, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.

And there’s more – a huge hands-on multiplayer preview of Call Of Duty: Black Ops, including interviews with developer Treyarch, our top ten list of the best weapons you can build in Dead Rising 2, and a look at your latest skin-tearing Skate catastrophes.

On top of all that we’ve got a review of Swords & Soldiers – luckily, it’s not rubbish – and another round of screenshot galleries, this week featuring Batman Arkham City, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, F3AR and Yakuza 4.

Go on, admit it – that’s loads of stuff for just 99p. Over half an hour of HD gaming to watch, a game to play, and a special helmet to wear while you dance like a lunatic in the event space. And, if you subscribe for just £8.99 for 12 weeks, it’s even less. Less than hardly anything in the first place.

We really are keen to hear your thoughts, feedback, ideas for recurring jokes to go at the bottom of our blog posts, so please, please do get in touch with us. You can do so on on Twitter at @firstplay_uk, FirstPlay@futurenet.com, or the official EU forums. And don’t forget you can sign up for the FirstPlay newsletter at http://www.firstplay.co.uk/register to have regular news and content updates delivered directly.

See the Future of PS3. First.

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Greetings PlayStation.Blog! I’m here with two exciting announcements for PS3 players. First, I’m thrilled to confirm that we’re bringing our new title, Prejudice, to the PS3 in 2011! We’ve been working really hard to take our sci-fi shooter series to new heights; no easy task considering players literally drop into combat from 15,000 feet above the battlefield. Using all of the great feedback from our fans we’ve created a new experience that is guaranteed to blow you away.

Here are some new screenshots and our debut announcement trailer:

Prejudice comes with epic multiplayer maps, new game modes and missions, and a huge arsenal of weapons. The all-new single-player campaign follows the story of Captain Alex Corde and the 8th Armored Infantry–known as Section 8 for their willingness to take on extremely dangerous missions. Old hatreds run deep for the enemies of Section 8. A war of prejudice is coming…

Second, we are permanently slashing the price of the original Section 8 on PlayStation Network to just €12.99. The new price takes effect on October 13th in Europe, giving you lots of time to catch up on the story and practice your multiplayer skills before Prejudice drops onto the PlayStation 3. Not only is this the best price for a new copy of Section 8 on any platform, but the PlayStation Network version also includes three extra multiplayer maps at no additional cost.

To aid your advancement up the multiplayer ranks, we’ve placed a tutorial/strategy video just below. Even if you’re a Section 8 veteran, you’ll still want to watch this.

In addition to the lower price, there’s also a free trial of Section 8 and its 32-person multiplayer available through PlayStation Network, so download your free copy and stay tuned for more information on Prejudice. Until then, catch you in the comments!

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Jan Kuczynski here, European producer for No Heroes Allowed! We announced this game back at gamescom and I’m here today to give you some more nuggets of info.

Now, some of you might have had a sense of déjà-vu when you saw the Gamescom trailer and screenshots. Well you’re not going crazy – this is actually the third game in a series – prequels What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?! and What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?! 2 were released in Europe by our good friends at NIS and Tecmo Koei. Why the name change? Well there’s only so much space on the title screen and what can I say – I’m a lazy typist…

For those of you who haven’t played the previous games – where have you been? You’re missing out on one of the most unique strategy games on the PSP which has you digging out a dungeon full of monsters to defend the overlord of the underworld, Badman, from the disgusting goody-two-shoe heroes that seem intent to capture him and thwart his evil plans of world domination. How rude.

I did ask Badman himself to come and say a few words, but unfortunately he’s booked in for a pedicure… But don’t worry – I managed to get hold of the game’s director to give us some insider info.

Hi, my name’s Haruyuki Ohashi of Acquire Corp. and I worked as director on No Heroes Allowed.

With the third game in the ‘Badman’ trilogy we had two goals. Firstly, we wanted to add new features to make the game more fun. Secondly we wanted to make the game more accessible to a larger number of players.

On the gameplay side, we added water and water-based life forms. We’ve also added a bunch of new pickaxes to choose from, from the Snoozerator to the Snacker Whacker – each with its own weird and wonderful special power. These new features add a new strategic dimension to the game and allow you to come up with your own unique play style.

Something else we’ve worked on is the difficulty level. We had mixed feedback from fans regarding the difficulty of the last two games – some relished the challenge of the fiendish difficulty while others found it a bit too intense. This time we have three difficulty levels (n00b, Meh and l33t) so there’s a level of challenge for everyone.

Oh, and I nearly forgot the two-player mode! For the first time in the series you can team up and go dungeoneering with a friend using ad-hoc mode. It’s a whole new twist on the gameplay.

Now, it may seem at first glance that the main aim of the game is to defeat the pesky heroes who try to invade your dungeon. But actually, the underlying concept is about creating a “biotope”. To succeed, you need to create a healthy ecosystem by maintaining the right balance of monsters to support the dungeon food chain. Once you’ve done that, you have to make sure the delicate ecological balance isn’t disrupted by those annoying heroes.

In other words, it’s much like the real-life struggle between nature and human advancement – how we as humans are damaging the environment we live in. If everyone who plays our game reflects a little on this, the world will become a better place to live in. Well, that was our hope when we created this game.

So it’s nearly time for Badman to be unleashed on the world yet again. It’s up to you to use your judgment and skill to carve out a dungeon and help Badman and his minions in their goal of world domination. Consider it your duty!

As Badman would say, “May the world know no peace!”

Well that’s all for now but stay tuned for some more No Heroes Allowed! news very soon.

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TRON: Evolution is formally considered the second entry in the TRON trilogy, bridging the fiction between the 1982 film and the upcoming film TRON: Legacy. But in addition to its new single-player story, TRON: Evolution will also serve up a comprehensive multiplayer mode complete with a player progression system, upgradeable weapons, and driveable vehicles. The new video below will give you a taste of what’s in store.

I spoke with TRON: Evolution’s design director, Chris Whiteside, to learn more about the scope of multiplayer and how stereoscopic 3D support will add to the experience (and possibly improve your aim). And though details on PlayStation Move support are still scarce — sadly, it wasn’t playable at the event — I was able to tease out a few details about how it will work when the final game ships this December.

Sid Shuman: Visually, TRON: Evolution looks to be showing many new visual effects since its last appearance. What have you done to enhance the visuals?

Chris Whiteside, Design Director, Propaganda Games: Prior to E3, we didn’t have proper reflection maps. The lighting passes weren’t complete, the visual effects were revamped after E3, and the camera was completely redone after E3 based on feedback that it was too fast and wasn’t framing the action well enough. We’re very receptive to criticism and commentary, so we spent a lot of time getting it up to scratch. We’re making this game for the fans of TRON, so we want to make sure it’s tip-top.

SS: Why is stereoscopic 3D a good fit for TRON: Evolution?

CW: From a technical standpoint, the reason 3D works so well is the contrast of the colors in the environment, and the lines in the environment and the architecture style we use. It’s not a messy world, you know? There are no trees with leaves on them, that kind of thing. The environments are very angular, which creates an advantage with depth of field and super-advanced parallax effects when we render in 3D. We had to mess with the art style a bit. We went mental with the lighting to bring out the definition of the buildings, for instance.

SS: Will 3D be supported in both single-player and multiplayer?

CW: It totally does, yeah. 3D is awesome for combat because you get a sense of depth with the characters. The normal targeting system is based on the angle of the analog stick, and very minute aiming adjustments, so the 3D helps with targeting. We invested a lot of money in the 3D technology and we’re hoping that TRON: Evolution is the pinnacle 3D gaming experience this year.

SS: We’re seeing TRON: Evolution’s multiplayer for the first time today. What’s the scale of the multiplayer experience?

CW: For me, the multiplayer mode is the jewel in the crown. We’ve got four modes in all: Disintegration is a Deathmatch-style mode, we have Team Deathmatch, Power Monger in which you can take over sections and control them, and Bit Runner is our take on Capture the Flag. The difference is you don’t take the “flag” back to the base, you have to hold onto it while everyone else tries to de-rez (kill) you.

(more…)

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