Puzzle-platformers are no rare breed on PSN, but one upcoming title, Papo & Yo, is looking to revitalize the genre in a number of intriguing ways. Papo & Yo tells the story of Quico, a young boy who has an unlikely best friend: a giant hulking beast named, appropriately, Monster. Together, the duo must navigate an ethereal world that’s reminiscent of a South American town but is set entirely in Quico’s imagination. The world itself is made up of dream-like neighborhoods to roam and populated with puzzles to solve.

After getting my hands on the game at E3, it didn’t take long to notice the unique approach developer Minority is taking when it comes to navigation and puzzle solving. Controlling Quico from a third-person perspective, I wandered a bit around Papo & Yo’s surreal world. Players can easily run and jump around the expansive environments, and also use visual cues to direct Monster (as well as a cute little flying robot named Lula) to points of interest. Utilizing all three characters to solve puzzles is key to progressing in the game, and once you learn a few basics—Monster is good at moving heavy objects, for example, and Lula can reach high areas inaccessible to Quico—the gameplay becomes surprisingly intuitive.

What really impressed me while playing is how the world changes according to Quico’s actions. Picking up a series of unassuming boxes near a line of houses causes the actual individual houses to lift off the ground and move according to where Quico places the boxes. Placing the boxes inside a nearby chalk outline causes the houses to create a rooftop bridge for Quico to cross. The entire segment really helped highlight the dream-like nature of Papo & Yo’s world.

There is, however, a dark side to Papo & Yo. If Monster happens to come across a poisonous frog (his favorite snack) and eat it, he’ll be thrown into a frenzied rage that puts Quico’s life in danger. Papo & Yo creative director Vander Caballero explained that Monster’s addiction to poisonous frogs is meant as an analogy to his own father’s substance abuse, which greatly affected the developer when he was a young boy (like Quico). Preventing Monster from eating the frogs, or hightailing Quico away from him if he does, is key to survival throughout the game.

There’s still plenty more of Papo & Yo that I can’t wait to see, but the game is already looking and playing wonderfully. Keep your eyes on the EU PlayStation.Blog for more news down the line.

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I’m sure you’re all already aware of this, but today marks a very special occasion for us here at SEGA: Sonic the Hedgehog – the world’s fastest spinning hero – is celebrating 20 unstoppable years.

Back in 1991 you would have probably been sat there in your stone-washed jeans and LA Gear trainers listening to the Jazzy Jeff/Fresh Prince classic ‘Summertime’ (if you were cool enough that is), wondering if life could have gotten any better. Little did you know that you were about to meet a true gaming icon, and hero for a generation, in the shape of a blue hedgehog; a certain Sonic the Hedgehog.

From the day Sonic the Hedgehog was released on the SEGA Mega Drive back in June 1991, Sonic has celebrated some major milestones. Defined by his startling super-fast speed, in the twenty years since Sonic first graced our consoles, Sonic has starred in more than 65 games and notched up over 70 million sales worldwide – becoming a global phenomenon in the process. That’s quite some achievement and one that the team here at SEGA are all extremely proud of.

To help celebrate this momentous occasion we have released a celebratory Sonic 20th Anniversary Bundle on PlayStation Store. This bundle collects the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic Adventure (and the DX Upgrade pack), Sonic 4: Episode 1 and a beautiful dynamic theme taken from the world of Sonic 4. This bundle will only be available for 20 days and represents a 50% saving against buying all these titles individually. Pricing for this time-limited bundle is £13.99/€17.99/AU$27.95 and, like Sonic, you’ve got to be quick to take advantage of this offer.

That’s not the only thing we have available to celebrate though – from today we have the Sonic Generations demo available for download, and as this blog post is sponsored by the number twenty, you can probably guess how long this demo will be available for. Once we hit July 12th this demo will no longer be available, so to experience the next step in Sonic’s evolution visit PlayStation Store to download and experience the 2D mode of Green Hill Zone today.

We have also created three free static themes to celebrate Sonic’s 20th Anniversary and these should be available for you to download next week; there’s nothing like eeking out the moment out for as long as possible, is there?

To end, I thought I’d leave you on a slightly educational note, and help fill in some of the gaps in your ‘history of gaming’ knowledge. Did you know the origins of our blue friend? He was actually born from a contest to create a new SEGA mascot and Sonic’s first humble appearance was as a toy hanging from the rear-view mirror in the little-known arcade racing game Rad Mobile. It’s been a meteoric rise to global superstardom since though!

So, here’s to twenty years of our blue friend, and here’s to another twenty more.

Over at eu.playstation.com we’ve asked a group of game developers and industry figures to share their first memories of Sonic; join in and let us know in the comments where you first saw him flash before your eyes.

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Sony Corporation issued the following press release today:

J.K. Rowling announces Pottermore
www.pottermore.com

J.K. Rowling today, Thursday 23rd June, answered mounting speculation about the nature of her new project and announced Pottermore, a unique and free-to-use website which builds an exciting online experience around the reading of her hugely successful Harry Potter books, and is partnered by Sony.

The announcement today was heralded by the revealing of the website’s name via an online search for its letters, and a ‘coming soon’ holding page which received over a million visits within 36 hours of launching.

For this groundbreaking collaborative project, J.K. Rowling has written extensive new material about the characters, places and objects in the much-loved stories, which will inform, inspire and entertain readers as they journey through the storylines of the books. Pottermore will later incorporate an online shop where people can purchase exclusively the long-awaited Harry Potter eBooks, in partnership with her publishers worldwide, and is ultimately intended to become an online reading experience, extending the relevance of Harry Potter to new generations of readers, while still appealing to existing fans. As the Pottermore Shop develops, it is intended that it should include further products designed specifically for Harry Potter fans, offering a potential outlet for Sony products and services related to Pottermore. In keeping with Harry Potter’s international appeal, the site will launch in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish, with more languages to follow.

In the new website, which launches in Beta on 31st July, the storylines will be brought to life with sumptuous newly-commissioned illustrations and interactive ‘Moments’ through which you can navigate, starting with the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone. On entering, you choose a magic username and begin your experience. As you move through the chapters, you can read and share exclusive writing from J.K. Rowling, and, just as Harry joins Hogwarts, so can you. You visit Diagon Alley, get sorted into a house, and cast spells and mix potions to help your house compete for the House Cup.

At a press conference at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Rowling revealed some key features of the website. In an announcement which will thrill fans, she described how she hasbrought to life both the Sorting Hat and Ollivanders experiences from her books for the first time on Pottermore, by revealing the questions asked by the Sorting Hat – which places newcomers into their Hogwarts houses according to their characteristics – and the magic behind the Wand Chooser – which finds the right wand for each user from over 33,000 possible combinations. She also revealed glimpses of the new information she has provided on some of the best-loved characters.

J.K. Rowling’s announcement on YouTube and sony.com today revealed that Pottermore (along with the Pottermore Shop) will be open to all users in October 2011. From today, 23rd June, fans can submit their email addresses on Pottermore.com in order to be contacted by the site following the opening of registration on 31st July, Harry’s birthday. Also on that date, an online challenge will be launched, whereby the first million people to complete their registration will gain early entry into the website, and help put final touches to the experience.

J.K. Rowling commented, “I wanted to give something back to the fans that have followed Harry so devotedly over the years, and to bring the stories to a new digital generation. I hope fans and those new to Harry will have as much fun helping to shape Pottermore as I have. To add to my input into the website, everyone will be able to join in by submitting their own comments, drawings and other content in a safe and friendly environment – Pottermore has been designed as a place to share the stories with your friends as you journey through the site.”

Pottermore has been made possible with the support and partnership of Sony.

Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Sony Corporation, commented: “Sony’s association with J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore brings together one of the world’s most innovative brands with the most successful book series in history, in a pioneering partnership that will help shape the future of story-telling. We are proud to be a part of it, both at this momentous announcement, and as we collaborate on its development over the coming years.”

On Sony’s partnership of Pottermore, J.K. Rowling commented: “As I think people know, I am very protective of Harry and have always been very selective with any new initiatives, but I am totally committed to making this partnership with Sony and this wonderful new website a success. There are many companies I could have worked with on this ultimate digital expression of Harry Potter’s universe, but it is Sony’s unique philosophy of creativity in harmony with technology that made them my first choice. The spirit behind Sony’s make.believe philosophy is one that rings true with Pottermore’s own values.”

The detailed creative execution has been led by TH_NK, a leading UK digital agency, under the supervision of J.K. Rowling and the Pottermore management team, in co-operation with Sony. J.K. Rowling’s publishers, Bloomsbury in the UK and Scholastic in the USA, as well as her international publishers worldwide, have been active supporters in the creation of pottermore.com and the Pottermore Shop. Warner Bros, the makers of the hugely successful Harry Potter film franchise, is also one of the partners who have worked to support the launch of Pottermore through a variety of marketing, promotional and other efforts and will continue to collaborate as the project grows.

The storyline of the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, will go live on the site in early 2012. The Pottermore Shop opens when the site opens to all in October, selling complete ranges of the eBooks and digital audiobooks in a selection of languages, exclusively.

Designed for fans of all ages, the website has been created with child safety in mind, employing best practice and compliance with internet codes of practice in the UK, Europe and USA, and elsewhere.

To watch J.K. Rowling’s exciting announcement go to sony.com

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Uh-oh, this looks dangerous. A fleet of UFOs have landed on Earth with hundreds of naughty monkeys on-board.

Together with their evil boss, Specter, they will use their time-travelling powers to take over the world.

That’s right – Ape Escape has finally hit the shelf and now it’s up to you to save the planet from those crazy monkeys.

Grab your trusty PlayStation Move motion controller to use incredible gadgets and try to catch them across time and space.

As you could see from the video, you have access to a number of awesome gadgets such as the Monkey Net, the Smasher, The Banana Zapper and more… will their power be enough to defeat that breed of cheeky chimps in a series of frantic levels?

If you want to take a well-deserved break from your pursuit of Specter, try one of the three mini-games or head over to the Goodies section. Here you can check how you’ve performed so far or browse through more than 700 apes in the Monkeypedia.

If you are still not sure this is the game for you, then try out the free Demo on the PSN Store.

And as a reward for your dangerous mission, we are giving away a PS3. Head over to http://eu.playstation.com/psn/competitions/ and… good luck!

Please check the T&Cs to make sure your country is actually taking part in the competition.

Now what are you waiting for?

Swing your PS Move and catch those monkeys!

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On behalf of the whole team here at Evolution Studios, I’m here to bring news of the biggest update to MotorStorm Apocalypse so far – so big, in fact, that we’ve named it!

Before I reveal what you can expect from the update, I’d like to take this opportunity to say that Wreckreation (as we lovingly call all things online in MotorStorm) is a huge part of Apocalypse, and we’ve been devoted to making it “the best that it can be” since we first started to design and develop it several years ago.

We’ve always known that feedback from players and continued development when the game is in your hands would be a key part of this, and we’re still committed to supporting this goal; to make it “the best it can be”. Cutting to the chase, here’s an overview of the After Party, which we hope will enhance and extend your enjoyment of the MotorStorm Apocalypse:

A new day and night track, The Rock…

The stage for this After Party is an abandoned prison island near the bay, known to the lunatic racers and ravers as The Rock. Multiple routes have been carved into the island’s varied terrain, so expect off-road racing action reminiscent of the legendary island in the Pacific Rift.

Expansion of ‘Special Events’…

A heap of fresh single-player races, hand-crafted by the design talent at Evolution Studios, are being introduced via Special Events Packs. Each pack sees you play as a distinguished character from the Festival, offering the grand sum of 120,000 chips if you can take 1st place in six unique events. The first pack (Stone: Jack of Clubs) is included in the update. Further Events Packs will be available in coming weeks via PlayStation Store, for free.

Weekly Challenges…

Weekly Challenges offer you a great opportunity to boost your chip total. There are 30,000 chips on the table every week and to claim them you’ll need to beat the specified target in a Rookie, Pro and Veteran challenge. Chips, if you didn’t already know, unlock new Ranks and rewards in the game, as well as several PlayStation Trophies.

The available races change at the same time every week (on a Wednesday), meaning that there are new challenges to take on and more chip rewards if you can beat them. Good luck!

Vehicle performance re-tuned…

Feedback from the MotorStorm racing community, along with the game data and statistics we’ve analysed since the first day of online racing, highlighted that a number of vehicle types would benefit from a slight performance re-tune.

In response to this, changes have been made to several vehicle types to support more evenly balanced and competitive races. Most noticeably improved are the Supercar, Dirt Bike and Superbike classes. The Racing Truck, Muscle Car and ATV types have also been tweaked.

Game, servers and connectivity improved…

The update includes many ‘behind the scenes’ changes to the game and the online servers, to make the overall experience more robust and reliable. Important improvements have been made to online matchmaking lobbies, player profile records and leaderboard browsing.

The After Party is a healthy update to the game, which we hope will keep you entertained while we continue to develop another big update – which will include the Game Mode Editor, steering wheel support and several other surprises we’ve yet to announce. In the mean-time, enjoy the After Party, look forward to the free Event Packs on PlayStation Store and watch out for a refreshing change to the Matchmaking playlists soon.

Keep tabs on these along with upcoming community events on motorstorm.com and follow @PhenomEvolution on twitter.com for all the latest on Apocalypse.

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