As a friend of mine once said:

“Spring is sprung, the grass is ris’ – I wonder where the birdies is?”

He was a terrible poet. Absolutely none of which leads me to the announcement of our SCEE Spring Sale. Unless you’re in Australia or New Zealand, in which case this is, somewhat confusingly for the rest of us, an Autumn Sale.

Before you browse the full list I’ll fling some highlights your way, such as one-third off Digital BD titles, Borderlands, Assassin’s Creed II and God of War Collection.

We’ve got all manner of deals on PSN titles, ranging from 25-50% off, including some even better deals on content that was available in the Festive and January Sales, like Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, Ferrari: The Race Experience and Worms 2: Armageddon. But if you’ve already snagged those then don’t despair; we’ve got offers on content we’ve never discounted before too – Blade Kitten, Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts One & Two and the sublime, side-scrolling Söldner-X games.

If you’ve yet to unravel the mysteries of Little Riddle, Relentless have made the first episode of Blue Toad Murder Files absolutely free for the next two weeks. If you find you’re having the time of your life with it, you can also grab the Full Season Upgrade (episodes 2-6) for less than €9.

Alongside some other great PSP titles you won’t want to miss, we’ve got LittleBigPlanet PSP at 50% off regular store price. But that’s only half the story. In keeping with our pals over at SCEA, you’ll find all the premium LittleBigPlanet PSP DLC has now been permanently reduced to £0.79/€0.99 per pack – add that to all those free costume packs and you will agree that now’s the time to sample the delights of LBP on your handheld.

And we’ve handpicked a few choice minis as well, including 50% off Angry Birds.

Third-party special offers will be available from tomorrow when the Store updates, and first-party products will go on offer from Thursday morning.

Enjoy everyone, we now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.
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Hello all,

Not many mags come with a free friend. In this month’s issue you’ll find a Portal 2 Companion Cube papercraft to keep you company as you turn the pages. You have to build it as GLaDOS says, “Regulations do not allow the Companion Cube to remain alone and companionless”. And she’s a psychopathic AI so you’d best stay on her good side.

Why, yes, that is Nathan Drake’s rugged man-chin on the cover. He’s heading up our Hot List: 25 of the biggest games heading to PS3 this year. As well as Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, there’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Alice: Madness Returns, Shadows Of The Damned, LA Noire, Skyrim and loads more. If it’s worth playing it’s in The Hot List.

We’ve also got a massive interview with Ray Maguire, the recently departed Sony UK MD. We chatted with Ray days before he hung up his PlayStation crown and, as one of the men that built Sony’s games division, his words are a must read.

Reviews wise we’ve the Operation Flashpoint: Red River exclusive. Bored of linear, shouty shooters like COD or Homefront? Think you have what it takes to lead a team into battle? Then you need to check out this tactical FPS where giving orders and taking command is just as important as pulling the trigger. I liked it loads if that’s any recommendation.

And there’s plenty more in the mag. We visit the dev working on Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, get the latest on the new Hitman game, reveal Saints Row: The Third (yes, it really is called that) and find out the hottest leaks and teases surrounding GTA V. Plus OPM Rachel gets turned into Alma and unleashed on Oxford Street. Trust me, she looks terrifying.

And that’s just in our Big 10 news stories. We’ve also got previews on Red Faction: Armageddon, From Dust and Brink. Reviews of Shift 2: Unleashed, WWE All Stars, Catherine and The Tomb Raider HD Trilogy. Basically it is all going on in this issue and it’s on sale now. Enjoy!

Don’t forget, you can talk to the team directly through our Facebook page where we’ll feed you all the latest info, pics and videos as we get them. Plus we’ll answer questions and generally hang out on Twitter, too, at Twitter.com/OPM_UK. You can also email us directly at OPM@Futurenet.com.

The issue’s on sale now for £5.99 with a playable demo disk. Or you can save up 35% if you subscribe.

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I’m back to give you a heads up on what’s coming in this week’s FirstPlay, which as usual is up on the Store from Wednesday.

This week we’ve got an exclusive behind the scenes look at the ork-tearing action of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine all the way from Relic Entertainment‘s studios in Vancouver. The game looks bigger and more brutal each time we see it, and their office is also packed with 40K miniatures showing off some pretty sweet drybrush work (+10 geek points if you know what I’m talking about).

We’re also catching up on a couple of recent releases which, for one reason or another come with a double helping of nostalgia. The first is Tomb Raider Trilogy HD, which reminds us that while Lara might not be as funny as Nathan Drake she’s way better to look at from behind for ten or more hours. And then there’s WWE All Stars, a royal rumble of wrestling heroes old and new featuring pumped supermen of our youth like Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart and, uh, The Honky Tonk Man.

Aside from that we’re reviewing The Tourist on Blu-ray, chatting to Lego games developer Travellers Tales and reeling off our top ten skill kills from the gloriously gruesome Bulletstorm. There’s also a round-up of downloadable content for the likes of Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow and Dead Space 2 and the latest screens from The Last Guardian, LA Noire and more.

All of this comes for the teeny price of 99p, which can be made even teenier if you buy a 12 week subscription at £8.99.

We always want to hear your thoughts and feedback, so get in touch on FirstPlay@futurenet.com, or we’re on Twitter at @firstplay_uk. I’m @nathanditum, producer Dave is @bodbod and assistant producer James is @James_Jarvis.

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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Today I can reveal our packs for the upcoming White Knight Chronicles II for PS3 and White Knight Chronicles: Origins for PSP.

I can also confirm that White Knight Chronicles II will include the original White Knight Chronicles on the same Blu-ray disc.

The original game has been fully remastered and was re-developed alongside its sequel, so it features many of the improvements from White Knight Chronicles II as a result. When you boot up White Knight Chronicles II, you’ll also be able to choose whether to start from the very beginning of the whole story or jump straight into the second installment.

I’ll be back with more WKC news soon.

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This week I have not been bowling, taken any hostesses on dates or even been victim of a mugging where my attacker ends up giving me money. I’ve been on a business trip so the trophy quest has fallen behind slightly but I’m getting back into it this weekend. The good part is that you can expect some exciting content on this very blog over the next week. Here’s your recap.

PlayStation.Blog.Europe Weekly Content Recap

• The Platinum Rush: To The Credits… And Beyond!
• Meet The Monsters Of Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon For PS3
• Might & Magic: Clash Of Heroes Has Battles, Adventures, Critter Crunch Connections
• Drifting With EA – A Community Report!
• FirstPlay Episode 52
• DC Universe Online: Heads Or Tails?
• Bring The Rain: Steel Rain DLC Coming Tomorrow
• The Biggest PlayStation Plus Month Yet
• ‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update 6th April 2011
• Digital Comics Store Update (6th April 2011)
• Virtua Tennis 4 Demos Are Only On PS3
• PlayStation Home: Take A New Look At The Sodium Hub
• Dungeon Siege III Brings Accessible Controls, Bountiful Co-op To PS3
• Behind The Scenes At The Q Music Unlimited Live Gig
• The Splinter Cell Trilogy Coming To PS3 On Blu-Ray Disc And PSN Download
• inFAMOUS 2: The Quest for Power
• EyePet Is Back, And This Time He’s Bringing A Friend…
• Resistance 3 Multiplayer Demo Coming To PlayStation Plus; Get In The Game Winners
• From EyeToy to NGP: PlayStation’s Augmented Reality Legacy

What we learned on eu.playstation.com this week:

• Minis Monthly 6 – A monster arrives in the minis section of PlayStation Store
• Demo Guide: Patapon 3 – The warriors are beating their drums for the Patapon 3 multiplayer demo
• Ask A Question About Dungeon Hunter: Alliance And Win – We want YOU …to ask Gameloft a question
• PlayStation Plus – A mammoth update for PlayStation Plus members, with no actual mammoths, sorry

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