The question sprang to mind as I received my copy of Rock Band 3 today. I’m particularly intrigued by the Rock Band Pro mode because I play guitar in real life (whatever that is). I can play quite a few songs that are on the disc and I’m looking forward to giving them a try with the TV switched off and seeing what kind of score it gives me.

The flip side is that, theoretically, I should be able to master a new song using the game and then breeze through it on a real guitar.

It’s an exciting threshold where virtual and real life skills merge seamlessly and that strikes me as a first; if you beg to differ, then this is the place to do so.

We’re not just talking about practical skills here; did Broken Sword inspire you to read up on the Knight’s Templar? Did you learn to crochet just so you could make your own Sackboy? Did Metal Gear Solid teach you that smoking makes you a better sniper (to the detriment of your health)?

Share your learnings in the comments and feel free to shout out topics for future debates, either here or via our @PlayStationEU Twitter feed.

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As one of the founders of Rockstar Games, Jamie King has been in the videogame industry about as long has PlayStation has. He’s one of the people responsible for bringing us such series as Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and Midnight Club.

Now a resident of New York City, he is President and Chief Creative Officer of 4MM Games and will soon be launching Def Jam Rapstar in collaboration with Def Jam Records. I recently caught up with him in London to talk about the new venture.

How did the relationship with Def Jam Records come about?

Our EVP, Paul Coyne, came over from Warner Music and he already had a working relationship with Def Jam. They had an existing game deal but when that expired I got to go over and meet Kevin Liles – apparently I was one of the first people to ever dance in the Def Jam offices, weirdly enough.

I told them that I knew how to handle Def Jam in the game space and I took them through some of the potential that I saw, and we arrived at the idea to create a karaoke game based on Def Jam music.

We were very fortunate that they backed us and trusted us with their license.

How aware of the label were you before the deal was made?

Obviously the brand name is such a great cachet – I was around 16 when American hip hop started coming to Britain and I remember seeing acts like Public Enemy when they would come to play at Brixton Academy. And then later on, when I was working at Rockstar, you only have to look at some of our games of that time to see how much of an influence that music had been.

I see Def Jam representing a very important voice and set of opinions, which there’s a lot of room in the games industry for.

Why did you choose Terminal Reality to develop Def Jam Rapstar?

I originally met Terminal Reality back when I was at Rockstar and I have to say that I would never have thought then that we’d be working together on a rap game. But it turned out that they put in the best design pitch and they were the only developer we saw that seemed really interested in the online possibilities.

I’d always known that they were a very trustworthy team; Def Jam and I were handling the creative side so we needed reassurance that the technical side of the game was going to be done right and that the developer would never lie or overpromise.

How would you describe the core gameplay?

Phonic recognition is basically what’s helping this game. It’s been very important, for us, to make it so that you can’t hum or whistle your way through and get a perfect score. In Def Jam Rapstar you do have to rap the right words. Playing the game gives you a much deeper respect for the talent that you’re trying to emulate, with the complexity and the cleverness of the lyrics.

Difficulty is a complicated issue and you can base it broadly on things like words per minute; but we have also included easy, medium, hard and expert settings where our tolerance for your timing and rhythm vary. We also have Career Mode, which holds your hand at the beginning to get you up and running, moving all the way up to Twista by Busta Rhymes.

I can’t wait to see the videos of people playing on expert where there are no prompts on-screen and it really is just all down to talent.

How will you be supporting the community?

Probably the most exciting part of the game is that, with the Freestyle Mode, you can put your talent on the world stage and have people rate and rank you.

The thing that Kevin Liles and Russell Simmons over at Def Jam are most excited about is reaching out to the hip hop community and potentially uncovering an unknown talent through the game.

What state do you feel music games are in right now?

I see it as very exciting and not just because I have a game coming out! Back in the day, if you mentioned the word ‘peripheral’ to a retailer then they’d look at you blankly. A lot of us saw the value and the appeal of music games with plastic instruments but we were constantly told that it was a stupid idea and that it would fail. And then Guitar Hero came along and proved us all right.

Because there’s so much choice in the music game genre we had the problem of convincing people that we offer something different and with Def Jam Rapstar we’re bringing the swagger and the bravado associated with hop hop, as well as some of that important social commentary.

I’m not a rapper and I never will be, but to hold a mic and rap to Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang or someone like Kanye West – it’s awesome. There’s also a very competitive edge, in keeping with the style of music that is really driving the depth of gameplay.

We took a bit of a punt with the design in not going for the animated avatars and stages, and our reference for that was the very modern trend of people getting on their laptops and uploading videos of themselves rapping to YouTube. The emphasis these days is very much on you being the star.

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I’m excited to report that Time Crisis: Razing Storm will be released on Wednesday 3 November across mainland Europe and Friday 5 November in the UK and Ireland.

Time Crisis has come a long way indeed since it first appeared on the original PlayStation in 1997. Thirteen years and five successful sequels later, the latest incarnation is now fully playable with PlayStation Move and boasts completely destructible environments.

Time Crisis: Razing Storm also includes all new online play and two bonus titles: Deadstorm Pirates, in which you try to hold off monsters as you set sail in search of Poseidon’s breath, and the arcade version of Time Crisis 4.

To celebrate the upcoming launch of this cool game, we’re giving away exciting prizes in our Time Crisis: Razing Storm Competition. Just answer a simple question for the chance to win a PlayStation 3, a copy of the game and a PlayStation Move Shooting Attachment.

Also, look out for the playable Time Crisis: Razing Storm Demo on PlayStation Store from Wednesday 27 October.

Until then, show your support with a Time Crisis: Razing Storm Portable ID, available now at eu.playstation.com. See you next week!

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This winter sees the release of the latest game in our long running Worms series, Worms: Battle Islands, on PSP available from PlayStation Store. Worms: Battle Islands marks the third time that the series has made an appearance on the PSP, and the game is packed with content and great new features, some of which I’ll be talking about in this post.

Game overview:

The first thing to say about the game is that at its core it’s the traditional 2D Worms experience. It’s a turn based game where players use a mix of strategy and skill to move their army of worms about a landscape, and attack one another with a range of funny weapons (exploding sheep, deadly bananas, fully automatic sub machine guns, etc.) until the last team standing are declared the winners. The physics are much more solid in this version and the game features a sizable inventory of forty different weapons and utilities, leading to more complex strategies and a more rewarding experience.

Environments:

In this game the players can do battle in six different environments. Often in Worms games the game’s themes have taken a backseat to the gameplay, but in the previous PSP titles, the themes had scenes from wars at different stages of history, inspired partly by the number of first person shooters that had World War 2 as their setting at the time. During Worms: Battle Island’s development, the setting for these kinds of games shifted towards ‘modern’ conflicts, and again we were inspired by this, visually.

Multiplayer:

Worms: Battle Islands also features five multiplayer modes. Of course the classic way to play Worms is Deathmatch Mode, and that is backed up with the fan favourite Fort Mode. Introduced relatively recently to the series, the Racing Mode, which sees up to four players race their worms around a circuit-like map, also makes a return for this game.

Tactics mode:

Tactics Mode is where the game’s ‘Battle Islands’ name comes from. This new mode sees each player take possession of a secret island base. The player’s base has a number of smaller surrounding islands, each of which can be home to an item. These items allow you to implement a tactical plan before the game begins.

After these instructions are handed out, the round is played out like a standard round of Worms. If the player uses their abilities wisely, they should be able to lever an advantage, and when playing Tactics Mode online, the winning player gets to take something from their opponent’s island.

We included this new mode to add persistency, where there is something to play for and give some added meaning to the outcome of a match. In most cases, from one competitive match of Worms to the next, all the players are playing for enjoyment and perhaps a higher place on the leaderboard. When you play a Tactics Mode match your island, and by extension your achievements in the game, are at stake.

The game can be played by up to four players, either locally by sharing the same PSP, over a wireless ad-hoc network, or over the internet using an infrastructure network. The game has a lot of support for the latter option with a number of features such as leaderboards, friend lists, in-game messaging and downloadable content.

Hope this has got you excited about another round of Worms on PSP; we’ll be back on the PlayStation blog soon to talk about some of the customisation options in Worms: Battle Islands.

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Is PlayStation Home haunted? Not all of it, but there’s definitely something out of the ordinary occurring in Home Square this week as strange new manifestations take over and a murky dusk falls over the square. Gravestones, carved pumpkins and a crypt full of new seasonal items await you in Home Square this week as we get ready for the spookiest holiday of the year!

Helping you get into the spirit of things, there’s a wide range of costumes and other items available from the crypt in Home Square. If you’re scared of spooks, go looking for your mummy … the bandage wrapped and custom animated Mummy suit from Code Glue! If zombies are more your thing then check out the newest Burn Zombie Burn zombie outfit, with pumpkin hat. There’s a lot more to be had in the crypt store, including funky contact lenses from Lockwood and scary party props from nDreams.

The latest update to the Audi Home Terminal arrives tomorrow, and brings the Audi Wörthersee Tour 2010 to life in PS Home. Here’s a message from Audi sharing all the details on this update sure to excite car enthusiasts:

The Audi Home Terminal opens its doors to its own virtual Wörthersee collection. For the uninitiated the Wörthersee is a car extravaganza for GTI fans held each year in Austria, bringing together the great and the good of car customisation.

The new Audi A1 played a leading role at the 29th Wörthersee Tour. Innovative adhesive film designs, vibrant paint finishes as well as exterior add-on parts and a matching interior transformed a total of seven models of the new compact car into spectacular motto vehicles.

We’ve taken some of these designs from the real world and will be placing them in the Audi Home Terminal for you to experience over the coming months, along with some themed clothing to accompany the designs, available for free on entry to the Audi Home Terminal and in the Audi Shop.

Enjoy!

Finally, Alter Ego has taken delivery of the latest range of heroic fashion this week, including Magnetic Man (beware of kitchen products … oh, too late!) and Punk Chick outfits.

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