nDreams now has an official HQ in the form of Aurora, a beautiful floating archipelago. It will be constantly evolving with new games and attractions and, at launch, you can help power the islands by taking part in OrbRunner, or check out the Aurora Defence preview for some stunning views.

Players can gain experience every day and climb from level to level, with secret rewards and bonus items given out along the way. Also available is the Aurora Island apartment which includes an action-packed playable combat game (which also provides experience points) as players help defend the skies of Aurora from a range of lethal enemies.

Meanwhile, there’s a bumper update from Lockwood this week, starting with the Iron Fusion and Cucumber ranges, following the success of Fool Throttle and Figment. Cucumber is as cool as its typically refrigerated namesake and seeks to take the stress out of interior design with a range of furniture to suit all tastes, from the modern to the traditional.

The Bayonne sofas and armchairs come in bright and dark shades. Or, perhaps for a little touch of French elegance, pick up a Chaise Longue, available in a wacky cow print or a sunny shade of yellow.

In contrast, Iron Fusion provides the latest in cybernetic fashion, melding man with machine with The Menace, Fractal and Rosko Full Body Suits which include a powerful back flip.

Two pets from Dragon’s Lair have found their way from the mysterious wizard’s castle to PlayStation Home. Singe, the villainous dragon, will now follow you around as your loyal friend and protector. He might still have a nasty habit of kidnapping princesses, but that is mostly kept in check. You can also take a giddy goon with you on your travels through PlayStation Home. Domesticated giddy goons will bounce around and practice their swordsmanship when you’re not looking.

Everyone’s favourite Blob is now available IN SHIRT FORM. Stand strong while displaying a “Can of Awesum Sauce” on your chest. Proudly wear our take on your favourite internet memes including the Double Rainbow, and Ceiling Cat. Or, simply go with the classic Blob himself. Be the life of the party with this knock out collection of great About a Blob T-shirts, available from Threads.

Elsewhere, we have some tennis clothing and a companion from Top Spin 4; Hard Corps Uprising items, including Bahamut and Krystal costumes; and, Last but not least, be sure to stop by Home Square and paparazzi the PlayStation Move Heroes. Enter your favourite photos on the forums and the best heroes and villains will be uploaded to our facebook page, with a prize for the winner.

PlayStation Home will be updated at the usual time on Thursday.

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The SOCOM franchise is no stranger to intense online competition, the sort of frantic rivalries that bring out plenty of gloating for the victors. Fans know that the series has catered to these sorts of moments with built-in victory dances, and the soldiers of SOCOM: Special Forces sure do know their way around the dance floor!

Available in online competitive matches, SOCOM Special Forces victory dances are triggered by pressing the Circle button while standing over a fallen enemy. There are more than a dozen dances in the game, including:

The Chicken

Sure to be a hit with fans of Arrested Development, your soldier makes chicken wings with his arms and waves them up and down, bobs his head forward and backward and digs at the dirt with his foot.

The Robot

Essentially an over-exaggerated version of what it looks like every time C3PO talks.

The Crane

Exactly like Daniel-san’s finishing move from The Karate Kid, the soldier raises both hands into the air, lefts one knee up slowly and then quickly high kicks with the other leg.

So make sure you download the PlayStation Plus Beta next week: 23rd April to the 5th April, and for those on general PSN 6th April onwards, have fun finding those victory dances!

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Today we launch two new characters as DLC for Marvel Vs Capcom 3. Jill Valentine, of Resident Evil fame, and Shuma-Gorath, the “Lord of Chaos, Master of the Great Old Ones, Ruler of a Hundred Dimensions”. So definitely not just a big scary octopus.

Jill has appeared in many Resident Evil games over the years, but it’s her most recent appearance in Resident Evil 5 that defines her as a fighting games character. Which means that she’s FAST, and scary, because she’s being controlled by the device that Wesker has put in her chest. That pesky Wesker! It wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate to say that Jill sits somewhere between Wesker and X-23 in terms of playing style, but I’ll let you discover that for yourself.

Shuma-Gorath is, well, special. A little-known fact about Shuma-Gorath is that for quite a long time, Marvel didn’t want Shuma-Gorath in the game at all. We did, though, so the producer fought relentlessly and eventually Marvel conceded that he’d be allowed to appear, but only as DLC and not as part of the main roster. And so here he is, in all his glory.

And finally, I’d like to take this opportunity to say thanks to all of you who have expressed concern for Capcom staff based in Osaka and Tokyo following last week’s earthquake, and also for your patience and understanding for any possible delay that this DLC might have suffered. I’m pleased to say that all of our Japanese employees are safe and well. Our thoughts go out to the people of Japan and everyone who has been affected by this tragedy.

Thank you.

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Hello dear readers, here’s your comic update with 62 cool new comics this week and a bonus treat for DC’s Bayou fans.

In Batman Black & White, DC proudly pays tribute to the past, recapturing the classic spirit of black & white comic book storytelling. Centered around the Dark Knight, this series features a stellar line-up of creators contributing 8-page stories to each issue in a rich variety of styles, tones and textures, all with an innate pulp fiction feel. Issue #1, featuring a cover by Jim Lee, includes the work of Jose Muñoz, Joe Kubert, Ted McKeever, Howard Chaykin, and Bruce Timm. I cannot recommend this stunning comic enough!

IDW’s brilliant Infestation series continues with Infestation: Transformers #2. Zombies are the latest show on the Vegas Strip, and it’s going to be an action-packed battle of machine and mayhem to get this town cleaned up!

In the fallout from HOUSE OF M a new mutant team is forged… X-Factor! X-Factor (2005) introduces the investigative mutant agency including Madrox—the Multiple Man, Guido—the Strong Guy, Wolfsbane—the shape-shifter, Siryn—the chorus girl, Rictor—the living earthquake, and GENERATION X’s Monet—the pompous witch. Drawn together in the heart of District X, this rag-tag band of heroes has a lot of answers to find, and fast!

Fearsome acrobatics, ingenuity and waffles are also on the menu in Devil’s Due Digital Ninja Town, Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales continue with a modern take on The Robber Bridegroom, and other highlights include more Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Silent Hill, Dungeons & Dragons and many more.

We are also very excited to bring you a Q&A session with Bayou creator Jeremy Lowe!

“The mind behind the hauntingly epic digital comic series, Bayou is ready to take your questions.”

Bayou has been tantalizing the PlayStation Network with each release from the acclaimed DC Digital series. Writer Jeremy Love weaves a eery tale of Lee Wagstaff traveling to a twisted version of her 1930′s, Mississippi town to find her friend before Lee’s father is wrongly lynched for kidnapping.

In this other world, Lee meets a blues-singing, swamp monster, named Bayou and the infamous Brer Rabbit who help her on her grave mission. The story of Bayou is an imaginative epic covering some sensitive issues, so the creator is taking questions before he heads to sunny San Francisco as a guest of WonderCon.

Just head over to the official PlayStation Forums here: http://community.eu.playstation.com/t5/Digital-Comics-General/Take-part-in-our-Bayou-Q-amp-A/td-p/12554268 to submit your query. It can be anything you like – we’re especially keen to see some really unusual questions. We’ll then pick the best ones, put them to the DC Digital creator and publish his answers right here on the PlayStation Blog.

Alternatively, Tweet your question using the Twitter hashtag #dcdigital.

Leave your questions at community.eu.playstation.com before 22nd March 2011.

Here is the full list for today:

• 2000AD Prog #1717-1718 2000AD
• Baby Boomers #3 Markosia
• Batman Beyond Vol.2 #5 DC Comics
• Batman Black & White #1-2 DC Comics
• Bayou #13 DC Comics
• Black Cherry Bombshells #4 DC Comics
• The Boy Who Made Silence #5 Markosia
• Cancertown BUNDLE Markosia
• Charmed #2 Zenescope
• Clive Barker’s Hellraiser #5 Devil’s Due Digital
• Danger Girl BUNDLE IDW Publishing
• DC Universe Online Legends #4 DC Comics
• Deadpool (1994) #1-4 Marvel
• The Dreaming #19 TOKYOPOP
• Dungeons & Dragons #4 IDW Publishing
• Ex Machina #34 DC Comics
• Fables #50 DC Comics
• Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1 #13 DC Comics
• Grimm Fairy Tales #6 Zenescope
• Hack/Slash #6 Devil’s Due Digital
• Hero Squared #6-10 BOOM! Studios
• I Luv Halloween #18 TOKYOPOP
• Infestation: Transformers #2 IDW Publishing
• JLA #42 DC Comics
• Legends of the Dark Crystal #12 TOKYOPOP
• Legends of the DC Universe #8 DC Comics
• Lily of the Valley #3 DC Comics
• Neverland #2 Zenescope
• Ninja Town #1-2 Devil’s Due Digital
• Promethea #5 DC Comics
• Return to Labyrinth #8 TOKYOPOP
• Return to Wonderland #2 Zenescope
• Sandman #26 DC Comics
• Silent Hill: Past Life #4 IDW Publishing
• Silent Hill: Past Life BUNDLE IDW Publishing
• Slaughterman’s Creed #3 Markosia
• Star Trek: The Manga #18 TOKYOPOP
• Superman/Batman #53 DC Comics
• Supernatural: Beginning’s End #5 DC Comics
• Tom Strong #5 DC Comics
• Transformers 3: Movie Prequel – Foundation #2 IDW Publishing
• Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) #13-17 TOKYOPOP
• Undertown #11 TOKYOPOP
• Van Von Hunter #9 TOKYOPOP
• The Waking #2 Zenescope
• Wonder Woman Vol. 3 #25 DC Comics
• X-Factor (2005) #1 Marvel
• Y: The Last Man #32 DC Comics

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

Have a good week!

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Hi all, it’s a ‘Head’s Up’date for you and it’s a relatively quiet week this week.

We’re launching a new round of Special Offers – this time with a special PlayStation Move focus to help you get the most out of your magic wands. We’ve got some great third party titles like Flight Control HD, DeadStorm Pirates, Planet Minigolf and Swords and Soldiers at as much as 50% off, and some of our great Move-enabled first party PSN games too. Take a look and see if anything grabs your attention.

In the field of new titles we’ve got Slambolt Scrappers from our friends at SOE – a game that combines Tetris, Tower Defence and maybe… Joust? Try it, you might well like it!

Demo-tastic today as well, with the Crysis 2 Multiplayer demo, Heroes demo and Tiger Woods, so plenty of options to choose from.

DLC today too – you can expand your roster in Marvel vs Capcom 3, expand your décor in The Sims 3 or expand your fish collection in My Aquarium. So go… expand!

You may have noticed that the PSone title we’ve got this week, while undeniably awesome, has slightly less in the way of the living-challenged, sinister mansions and poor voice acting than perhaps I had led you to believe last week. I’m sorry guys but it was out of my hands, but you’ll be pleased to know the delay is a short one.

Enjoy your content this week guys – I’ll catch you later!
(more…)

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