I remember the day my copy of Arkham Asylum arrived at the office because I hadn’t followed the game’s development too closely and, when I took it home just to check out what my colleagues had been raving about, I finished it that same weekend.

As a result, I’ve had a keen eye on Arkham City, so yesterday I swooped over to the Warner Brothers gamescom area and watched a demo of the new challenge maps, which offer a high-score chasing, combo-stringing alternative to the meat and drink of the story campaign. Compeered by Dax Ginn, marketing game manager at Rocksteady Studios, two members of the dev team played through identical challenge maps on different TVs – one as Batman and one as Catwoman – in a face-off as a small group of journalists watched the stereoscopic 3D beatdown.

Afterwards, I caught up with Dax to discuss the gamescom build of Arkham City and their approach to character development with this sequel.

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There are some people out there that will tell you modern games are too easy, that they hold your hand for ten hours of story and then wave goodbye until next year’s sequel. However, there is growing number of titles, such as the upcoming Dark Souls, that are looking to punish you like a Victorian headmaster.

The Ninja Gaiden series has always been a renowned controller clencher and the third instalment in the series, coming to PS3 next year, includes PlayStation Move support. Here’s the latest trailer:

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Hey there Bloggers,

In the midst of all this Gamescom madness (did you see the Starhawk interview with Dylan Jobe? Jetpacks, “Strap it on and go!”) I’ve got some very exciting news for all you UK people. PlayStation Access Live is back, and we’re touring the country.

For those who just pulled a confused face – PlayStation Access Live is your chance to get hands on with unreleased PlayStation software and hardware. It’s also your chance to meet up and socialise with fellow gamers, listen to live acts, eat and drink lots, meet some PlayStation staff and generally have a fantastic PlayStation experience. If you haven’t gotten involved with our Facebook fan page yet, you can redeem yourself by clicking here.

Right now I want to talk to you about our first 2 Access events. One in Birmingham and another in London. Read on…

Access Live Birmingham

Access Live hits the Rainbow Rooms in Birmingham on Thursday 25th August and won’t be leaving until Saturday 27th August.

With your first chance to get hands on with Resistance 3, Journey, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus HD, LittleBigPlanet Move Edition, DanceStar Party, Medieval Moves, After Hours Athletes AND jam to a live performance from Yasmin (she’s worked with the likes of N.E.R.D and Taio Cruz, more about Yasmin here) on Friday and Saturday; this is one hell of a PlayStation experience and you do not want to miss out. We’re still waiting for a couple of games to confirm their attendance too – so keep an eye on the PlayStation Access Facebook page for any last minute news.

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Ever since the PS Vita was unveiled in January, the handheld’s dual analog sticks have held the promise of a proper first-person shooter experience on the go. The reveal of Resistance: Burning Skies at PlayStation’s gamescom press conference showed that the future of portable shooters will be bright from the outset.

Immediately after the conference ended, I met up with Rob Heubner from developer Nihilistic, who detailed some of what we can expect from the Vita‘s first FPS foray.

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A few weeks ago, Sid Shuman, SCEA, Senior Social Media Specialist, delivered an in-depth report on LittleBigPlanet 2‘s upcoming Move Pack, and how it makes level design even more intuitive.

This morning in Cologne, Germany we ran into a couple of Media Molecule members at breakfast (the pastries were delicious). We asked if they’d be interested in running us through the new tools on camera. Media Molecule Level Design Lead Kengo Kurimoto stepped forward with a quick demo.

How cool was that cel-shaded Sackboy? That’s one of six new costumes based on iconic art, and it’s included when the Move Pack drops next month.

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