Tis a joyous time. Summer is here. The birds are singing. The Bees are buzzing. Flowers flowering. However… we don’t care about that nonsense. Oh no. What we say is: Draw your curtains. Turn on your PS3. Grab a pair of super friction thumb protectors… and a spare joypad… or four. Make sure you have 5 quid / 6 Euros in your store account come July 6th… and prepare yourself for one of the most ridiculously intense shoot-em-ups ever… or at least since PomPom made their last Playstation game.

But first, a dash of history. Last year PomPom made Alien Zombie Death on PSP minis. Heralded as “pacy, mean-spirited, and delightful.” By EDGE magazine. It was a simple, extremely focused platform shooter. We loved making it. Anybody with the required skill set loved playing it. Those who didn’t clearly play too much backgammon.

Now, on PS3, we have the official sequel to Alien Zombie Death! We’ve taken the original game, pulled out a big jar of MEGA, and gratuitously poured it all over. The result? Alien Zombie Mega Death!

List of loveliness:

• Levels? … 70 of them!
• It’s a platform game, with a lot of shooting and explode-y stuff… and we mean, A LOT!
• Multiplayer? … Oh yes!
• Game types? … Survival levels. One-shot levels. Decoy pods. Jetpacks. Bomb disposal. Space baby rescue.
• Beasties? … A whole menagerie of cute yet ugly little blighters to feed with laser death!
• Fancy a new space suit? Plain white doesn’t do it for you? We have a catalogue of snazzy threads available as well as some fancy suits tucked away, waiting to be unlocked.
• A medal award system with over 280 unique medals to earn spread over all the levels.
• Weapon power-ups, for those sticky moments.
• Online leaderboards.
• Guaranteed thumb blisters.
• All wrapped up in our Super PomTech Mega X Engine of Doom.

… and finally, It’s made by proper, salt of the earth, independent game developers. In other words,
just two dudes sitting in dark caves somewhere in the UK. All by ourselves. No help from no one… apart from a sound engineer we keep locked in the shed.

Buy it! Its cheap! It’s mad! It’ll make your fingers fall off.

Peace.

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If you’re into new survival-horror experiences, this post is for you! After recently releasing Red Johnson’s Chronicles on PSN, we’re excited to be publishing Amy on PSN later in 2011. Amy is the upcoming game from Paul Cuisset, who may be a familiar name for some of you; In the early 90s Paul created Flashback, a classic game that is credited today as a great source of inspiration by respected game designers.

With Amy, we’re now bringing Paul’s innovative concepts to PS3 owners with a new development philosophy that bridges the gap between innovative indie PSN games and very ambitious Blu-ray titles.

Dark Days

The story begins on a rainy December day in 2034. Global warming is in full swing, spreading diseases and natural disasters all around the world. You play as Lana, a character who regains consciousness following a comet impact in the small town of Silver City. Upon awakening, you discover that Silver City has descended into chaos. Violence, fury, rage, wreckage and death: the world you knew has been torn to Hell.

Struck by a mysterious virus, most of the townspeople have transformed into gruesome creatures and now prowl the streets as a wild horde. You’re wounded and you know you must escape, but you’re infected and the viral process has already begun: Hell is now pumping through your veins. There are only two ways to survive the infection. One is by locating special medical equipment found on the corpses of soldiers who have invaded Silver City. The other lies with Amy.

(more…)

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This time last week I was travelling back from E3 and too airborne to put the recap post together. Therefore, this week it’s a bumper recap covering everything from the past fortnight. Not all of you have the time to be checking the blog regularly and E3 always provides a relentless stream of content, so rub your eyes over this list and you’ll more than likely find something you missed.

Now that the dust has settled, I’d be interested to hear what you thought of the blog coverage this year. We tried new things, and your feedback will be invaluable going into gamescom, which isn’t as far away as you’d think. Here’s your jumbo recap.

PlayStation.Blog.Europe Weekly Content Recap

• Thank You Letter From The British Red Cross - A letter to thank you all for your generous contributions to the Japan Earthquake appeal on PSN.
• Heads-Up’ Game Store Update 6th June 2011 - Ross gets in early with the Store update.
• Watch The E3 Press Conference Live - Live coverage of the 2011 E3 PlayStation press conference (stream is now closed).
• Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – E3 2011 Preview - Naughty Dog brings a gorgeous new trailer to E3.
• Introducing DUST 514, A Persistent Shooter From CCP - First look of a PS3 exclusive shooter that feeds into the EVE Online universe.
• Resistance 3 E3 2011 Trailer Demos in L.A. - A new Resistance 3 demo is showcased at E3.
• Medieval Moves Coming To PlayStation Move Later This Year - A newly announced PlayStation Move title from the developer of Sports Champions.
• NGP Becomes PlayStation Vita At E3 2011 - The official name and pricing of our next generation portable are confirmed.
• ICO & Shadow Of The Colossus Classics HD Coming 28 September - Two masterpieces get a new release date.
• E3 2011 Live: Join us at the PlayStation Booth - We kick off our schedule of live interviews from the E3 booth (stream now closed).
• Starhawk: Watch The E3 2011 Trailer Here - Check out the new trailer for Build & Battle shooter, Starhawk.
• God Of War: Origins Collection Coming In 3D, Watch The Trailer - The PSP God of War games are coming to PS3 in HD and stereoscopic 3D.
• E3 Diary: Day One - Musings from an LA hotel.
• GT5 Update 1.10 - GT5 gets a software update with new functionality.
• Heads-Up’ Game Store Update 8th June 2011 - Ross makes his second appearance of the week.
• inFAMOUS 2 – Launching Across PAL This Week! - The launch post for inFamous 2 – how are you finding it?
• PlayStation Home: E3 Theatre - E3 comes to PlayStation Home – catch it while you can.
• E3 2011 Live: Join Us At The PlayStation Booth Day 2 - The second day of our live video coverage (stream is now closed).
• Hitman: Absolution Debuts At E3 2011 - The debut trailer for one of the most talked about games of the show.
• E3 Diary: Day Two - More late night hotel typing – with photos!
• Hands-On With Rochard, The Gravity Bending Platform Puzzler Coming Exclusively To PSN - I take a look at a great puzzle platformer from SOE, coming soon to PSN.
• E3 2011 Live: Join Us At The PlayStation Booth Day 3 - The closing day of the live coverage (stream now closed).
• DanceStar Party Gets E3 2011 Moving - I interview Dave Ranyard, game director of the upcoming PS Move dancing game from the team behind SingStar.
• Assassin’s Creed Revelations At E3 2011 - Gabe from Ubisoft updates us on all things Assassin’s Creed at E3.
• This week on the SingStore (15 June 2011) - Nina has some new tracks for the weekend.
• Under Siege Is Available From PlayStation Store Now - Check it out if you haven’t already.
• GT Academy Winner Gains Podium Finish At Le Mans - The original GT Academy winner pulls off an incredible feat – a podium at the world’s most famous endurance race.
• Ey3 Candy You Might Have Missed - A round-up of the E3 trailers that may have passed you by.
• Resistance 3 Dev Diary: Cold New World - The first in an exciting series of videos from Insomniac Games charting the development of Resistance 3.
• E3 Replays: Mick Hocking Shares Future Of 3D - We replay the live interviews from E3, starting with 3D expert Mick Hocking and I.
• ‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update 15th June 2011 - We get back to our regular Wednesday Store publishing schedule.
• Digital Comics Store Update (15th June 2011) - Some new comics to add to your PSP reading list.
• Music Unlimited App Now Available For Android Phones - Listen to tracks on your Android phone with this new app.
• Behind The Scenes Of Outland With Housemarque - We take a look at the stylish platformer recently released on PSN.
• PlayStation Home: Sodium 2 Project Velocity Is Here - The next iteration of the slick PlayStation Home racer is here.
• ModNation Racers PS Vita: Modding With Your Fingertips - Take a closer look at the play,create,share kart racer coming to PS Vita.
• MUBI Update: 16 June 2011 - Danny provides his regular MUBI update.
• Starhawk Single-Player Shines At E3, Next Stop: Comic-Con - We get up close and personal with Starhawk on the E3 show floor.
• VidZone Update: Exclusives, Newness And Katy Perry Coolness - Ben clocks in with his regular VidZone update.
• Red Johnson’s Chronicles Interview - An interesting interview with the developer of Red Johnson’s Chronicles where they outline their future PSN plans.
• E3 Replay: Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time - Another E3 replay, this time a live demo of the upcoming Sly PS3 game.
• Britain’s Jann Mardenborough Wins GT Academy 2011 - Hoping to follow in Lucas’ footsteps to Le Mans, Jann is our new GT Academy winner.
• LittleBigPlanet 2 + Move = Even Endless-er Possibilities - LBP creator Chimpanzee provides first-hand impressions of the PlayStation Move Pack coming to LBP 2.
• E3 Replay: Dragon’s Dogma - I speak with Mike from Capcom about Dragon’s Dogma.
• Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One Skin Design Contest Winners - We unveil the winners of the R&C design competition.
• Killzone 3 ‘From The Ashes’ Map Pack Launches Next Week - New Killzone 3 maps are heading your way next week.
• E3 Replay: Swords and Sorcery with Deadmund’s Quest - E3 replay, Jeremy Ray explains Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest while Colin O’Hara plays through an early level.
• E3 Replay: Little Deviants Rolling onto PS Vita - In this E3 replay, BigBig Studios introduces Little Deviant for PS Vita.
• E3 Replay: Twisted Metal’s Iron Maiden Demo, Comic-Con plans - In the next E3 replay, Twisted Metal creators reveal the Iron Maiden, the biggest and most complicated boss they’ve ever had in a Twisted Metal game.
• E3 Replay: The Indescribable PixelJunk lifelike - The final E3 replay for the week featured the new game in the PixelJunk series, PixelJunk lifelife.

What we learned at eu.playstation.com this week

• Demo Guide: Ape Escape - Learn how to catch some cheeky chimps:
• GT Academy 2011 revs up for Race Camp: - Who made the final cut?
• The best games of E3 2011 - What was your favourite?
• 10 of the Best – Call of Duty: Black Ops famous faces - Check out some familiar faces in Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation
• Weekend Essentials 79 - What are your plans this weekend?

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While still recovering from last weeks E3, the PlayStation.Blog team wanted to share some of their favorite interviews with everyone who didn’t catch them when they aired live. Dylan Cuthbert, Ariel Angelotti and Baiyon (!) flew over from Kyoto, Japan to show us the latest titles in the PixelJunk series.

Here we have the interview in which Baiyon does a live performance of his new collaborative title: PixelJunk lifelike! This title garnered a lot of buzz during the show. It’s nearly impossible to explain what it is, so Baiyon and Dylan decided to show us what PixelJunk lifelike is all about. While it may not be a game, per se, it definitely is a game changer! Hope you enjoy the video and Baiyon’s performance.

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Hey ya’ll! In case you missed it last week, here’s a broadcast segment we did with the PlayStation.Blog live from the SCEA booth on the E3 show floor. I get into a little about the character stories as well as talk about gameplay balance and the pros and cons between the game’s 15+ vehicles. I also gab a bit about the reveal of Iron Maiden, the biggest and most complicated boss we’ve ever had in a Twisted Metal game!

E3 was a blast this year! It was really cool to connect with fans at the booth while they went tried out Twisted Metal‘s signature Nuke mode. It was also fun showing off our newest level: New York City during the holiday season. The very first Twisted Metal game – released back in 1995! – takes place at Christmas time as well and I guess we wanted to pay a little homage. Also, I just love the idea of chaos and destruction centered around what is usually one of the happiest, warmest, most fun times of the year! Does that make me bad?!? So check out the video- hope you dig it!

And next up is Comic-Con in San Diego July 21-24 so hope to see ya’ll there. Thank you again for the support, thanks so much for stopping by to play our game and say ‘hey’ at the show, and please stay tuned for more announcements about the game over the next few months!

P.S. In the video, I also explain why – for the campaign mode only – we’ve limited the selection to three playable human drivers (versus the usual 10-12). Campaign still lets you drive and battle in 15+ vehicles but we have limited the driver roles. I know focusing on just three character stories for the campaign has been a bit controversial for some of our Twisted fans and I’m curious to see – in the comment section below – if you agree or disagree with our decision after you hear me state our reasoning in the video.

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