Bodycount is back and I’m here to divulge all the juicy intel. The Codemasters Guildford studio has been tightly clammed since last year’s E3 so you’d be forgiven for asking, what is Bodycount?

Bodycount is an adrenaline-inducing, explosive torrent of action, destruction and gun ecstasy. It’s an FPS that puts the fun back into firepower. But these words can barely do it justice, so here’s our brand new gameplay trailer from E3.

Right off the bat you can see the explosive boom-stick that is the shotgun, and it really sums up what Bodycount is. This isn’t just another shooter; this is a gun centrefold that gives you amazingly satisfying guns that you will never forget. The mantra in the team has been ‘gun, bullet, world’ – everything is focussed on the experience of squeezing the trigger, hearing bullets tear through the air and watching them obliterate enemies and the environment. Every gun has been carefully crafted for your gaming pleasure. Bodycount has everything from a deadly pistol all the way up to super-charged futuristic weaponry used by your elusive enemies, ‘The Target’.

Bullets, naturally, are never in short supply but it’s their effect in the world that completes this glorious firing feedback loop as you shred through enemies and the environment. Whether it’s wood, glass, body armour… it rips up and splinters as you unleash the pain on the world around you. It doesn’t just look cool and make you feel great, but it gives you the opportunity to rip through your enemies cover, and they in turn yours. It makes for an unstoppable river of pyrotechnics as you travel the globe you get to tear through warzones in Africa, city streets in Asia and mysterious bases as you hunt the ‘Target’ across the globe.

There’s only so much we can fit into one blog post, so this is where we hand the reins over to you. Have you got a question for the developers? Who are the ‘Target’? Perhaps you want to know what multiplayer modes are up for grabs? Whatever your question just put it into the comments and we’ll pick it up for a Community Q&A in the following weeks.

If you want to keep tabs on all things Bodycount don’t forget that you can find us on Facebook, twitter, and YouTube. You can even speak directly to the Games Director, Andy Wilson (@andygwilson) and Andrew Parsons our Experienced Level Designer (@AP_Codies) on twitter.

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Earlier this week I posted an interview with the guys from IO Interactive about Hitman: Absolution. Well, Agent 47 isn’t the only Eidos game star returning to consoles – Lara Croft is also returning (albeit from a shorter absence) in a brand new Tomb Raider that takes the series in a grittier new direction. I recently caught up with Noah Hughes, creative director Crystal Dynamics, to explore this new adventure.

How does it feel to be bringing Lara back in a brand new take on the Tomb Raider series?

Noah Hughes: It’s an honour really, to be able to not only work with Lara Croft and Tomb Raider, but also to be able to reboot the franchise. I’ve been at [developer] Crystal Dynamics for a while now, and we’ve had the pleasure of making a few games starring Lara. We’ve learned a lot. To be able to distil everything we want to do with the franchise into an entirely fresh take is inspiring.

So it’s a totally new direction for the series?

NH: It is. It’s a reboot and not directly related to the timeline of Lara as such, but it will touch on familiar elements of her character. You’ll see her grow into the hero figure that fans know and love.

Is it going to reference the events of past games at all?

NH: It starts a whole different timeline. There’s not necessarily an assumption it will connect directly to past events. We are projecting our own Lara, taking this origins story, recreating and her launching her off into a new adventure. We love catering to some of the fan favourites, but we’re not beholden to all of the story points within the series. We like playing with the signature Tomb Raider themes from this new angle.

I saw the use of an Instinct system in the game, similar to [fellow Square Enix title] Hitman: Absolution. Is that the result of sharing between studios?

NH: We actually share a lot of assets between studios. The guys at [Hitman: Absolution developer] IO Interactive are such a talented bunch. Having said that, the idea of the Lara’s intuition, this detective-like ability, is something we’ve admired in a number of games, but what’s important to us is the way fans play through this tale of survival. We’re really going to be selling this idea of Lara fighting and scraping through the unknown.

Who’s the resident physics genius responsible for the grand puzzle set pieces?

NH: One of the great things about working on a game of this size is that you attract people with all kinds of different backgrounds. These people then step up and become champions of various disciplines. The environmental challenges that we present and the physics of any given situation determine how you interact with the world.

Devising these puzzles is one of the more complex level design problems that we tackle, so it is something that we will not only get our best minds on, but iterate a lot – that means we’ll put something in, play with the system, try to figure out what the players would do and go from there.

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Hi all – I’m very pleased to say it’s time for a sale!

We’ve got a range of DLC available for a selection of titles, including lots of content at 50% off – grab anything that takes your fancy. And if you took LittleBigPlanet as part of your Welcome Back, don’t fret – we’ll have a huge selection of LBP Costume and Level Packs at half price available from Wednesday, 29th to add to this selection of downloadable add-ons, so just hold your horses a little while longer.

Nothing sticking out as a must buy for you? This is by no means an exhaustive list and I want to know what you’d like to see in the next DLC sale – anything you suggest I’ll do my best to secure as part of a second DLC sale later on this year and all suggestions are welcome.

Not into DLC? Keep an eye out for more sales coming throughout the Summer months on all kinds of content.

Enjoy!

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Earlier this week we released the third DLC pack for Killzone 3, ‘From The Ashes’, as well as a DLC Bundle containing all three DLC packs which you can find here. Of course there’s only one way to celebrate this momentous occasion: organize a Triple XP Weekend!

You read that right – from Friday, June 24 at 17:00 PM UK time, until Monday, June 27 at 9:00 AM UK time, all XP earned in Killzone 3′s multiplayer matches will be tripled. So whether you’re exploring new DLC maps or just re-acquainting yourself with the stock maps, you’ll rank up faster than ever!

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Since we launched the first version of the PlayStation Official App back in January, we have consistently been keeping an eye on your feedback and ideas on the Blog, Twitter, Android Market and iTunes.

I’m pleased to announce that the next version (1.1) will include some of the most requested features. This new version will be available for download in a few weeks from iTunes and Android Market. Let’s take a look at the new features and improvements.

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