So here we are creeping up onto yet another Tokyo Game Show and we have a big announcement to make, and an unusual one at that! We are announcing a name change – I’m sure many of you have seen information about PixelJunk Lifelike over the past year or so, including some live demo performances we did during E3, and a few of you might have noticed how much the core concept of Lifelike expanded and shifted since it was first announced as we explored more and more ideas. Well, after long deliberation we are changing the name to “PixelJunk 4am” to better match the atmosphere we are trying to create… and for more information about that I have asked some questions and translated Baiyon’s answers for you:

Why the name change?

Baiyon: PixelJunk lifelike was originally conceived as an extension of the PixelJunk Eden world. Our idea was to create a kind of living speaker for people to play their music through, using natural imagery and taking strong visual cues from Eden. There wasn’t even the concept of a “player”. We’ve since moved far beyond that simple idea to new and uncharted waters both visually and musically. The style has evolved now into something that is really quite different from anything we’ve ever made before. It was only natural we’d want to chase this new concept and capture it with a new title.

Why 4am?

Baiyon: 4am represents the exact mood and feeling we’ve captured. 4am is that deep night hour. In clubs, the music drifts to a new level entering a deepened state that often seems removed from reality. Whether you’re in a club or not, 4am always feels like the night has gone on forever, where there’s still a little time left before dawn. This late night feel better represents our current visual and musical style.

So what can we expect now?

Baiyon: PixelJunk 4am is something unique that has never been tried before, so we’re treading in new territory. We’re using the PlayStation Move in truly experimental ways to give people control of making their own style of music. Being able to stream your music live on PSN also gives people the chance to broadcast a new kind of online performance. We can’t wait to see people playing 4am deep into the early morning hours.

So there you have it, from the horse’s mouth so to speak, and to get an even better sense of this “4am” atmosphere Baiyon is talking about check out the brand new trailer we made below and see Baiyon himself creating an awesome track.

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It’s been many, many months in the making, but as you’ll have noticed yesterday, we’ve unleashed Renegade Ops onto PSN as part of the PSN PLAY promotion. We’re incredibly pleased to be part of this new promotion, and hope that you are ready to help General Bryant and the Renegades defeat the tyrannical Inferno and thwart his dastardly plans.

Hopefully you already have a good idea of what the game is about, you may remember I did ramble at length in previous blog posts such as Meet the Team, and Let’s talk about upgrades, but if not allow me to give you a quick reminder; Inferno is threatening to detonate bombs in capital cities around the world, unless his demands are met, and it is in the hands of the Renegade Ops team that the safety of the world now rests. General Bryant and his crack team are taking their range of vehicles, weapons and various specialities to the battlefields to destroy the Inferno threat once and for all.

If you haven’t had the chance to try the game yet, then please help yourself to the trial that is now available via PlayStation Store; we’re confident that once you’ve had this game in your hands for a couple of minutes that you’ll be converted. Not only does the game have a lengthy single-player campaign, but you can also play co-operatively via local split-screen, and you and up to three friends can tackle the Inferno menace online. This is where the game truly excels, as there’s nothing quite like teaming up with your friends and laying waste to countless enemies, destructible buildings and racing each other to upgrade drops and objectives. The game is about teamwork, but you don’t always have be the nice guy or gal.

There isn’t much more to say that I haven’t already, other than I hope you give this game a chance, we’ve enjoyed working on it, and the incredibly talented team at Avalanche have created a truly epic, explosively fun digital title!

It’s out now for £9.99/€12.99 (20% discount for PS Plus users) and below I’ve listed the trophies you can expect to be earning – if you’re good enough that is.

Trophy List:

[Bronze] Goody Two Shoes – Bring 20 Prisoners to the Church
[Bronze] Airbourn – Pilot a Helicopter
[Bronze] Sergeant Slaughter – Kill Inferno’s Sergeants
[Bronze] Jonesing for Relics – Return all the relics to the Museum
[Bronze] From Cold Dead Hands – Steal all Inferno’s Weapons Crates
[Bronze] Supply Problems – Destroy all Mining Carts in the Kaabe Mountains
[Bronze] Inferno’s Briefs – Steal all the Document Briefs
[Bronze] To Hell and Back – Complete Mission 9 on any Difficulty
[Bronze] The Daily Grind – Get a Character to max level
[Silver] Tough Stuff – Complete all Levels on Hardcore Difficulty
[Silver] Lord Master of Great Skill – Get “Skill Rank – Omnipotent” in a match
[Gold] Mega Kill Combo – Get a 100x Damage Streak in a match

Renegades out!

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Hello Everyone -

We kick off the final week of PLAY today with the release of the highly anticipated Renegade Ops from SEGA.

In Renegade Ops you must defeat Inferno, a madman intent on global domination. Destroy enemies across a range of stunning environments using a wide variety of vehicles. Players have the choice to fight alone in single player mode, team up offline with two-player split screen or join the dynamic 4-player online co-op experience. Blast your way through enemy lines by working together, or compete for achievements as you and your friends aim to top the online leader boards.

With the release of Renegade Ops, you now have only one week left to purchase all four PLAY titles to be eligible for a free copy of PAYDAY: The Heist upon its release – make sure you purchase all the PLAY titles before 11.59pm on September 20th to receive your copy.

I am also very pleased that this week we can bring you Ubisoft’s From Dust to the Store with a one-week only discount of 20% for Plus subscribers, so be sure to take advantage of this offer.

Speaking of limited time offers, the PSP Power Sale will only be around for one more week, so make sure you take the opportunity to grab yourself a bargain before they’re gone.

We also have some other great titles for you this week, including the fantastic God of War Collection Volume II and the unashamedly ridiculous Bulletstorm (a personal favourite of mine).

So here’s the offering, please do snap up anything that takes your fancy – I am out of the office and Mr. Stewart has been granted a small break for all his hard work leaving us a little short-handed, so comments will commence from tomorrow morning this time around (I’ve blocked out a good couple of hours from my diary specifically for this).

So I’ll see you then!

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New on the PlayStation Store

Tomorrow is going to be and an epic day!  The LittleBigPlanet 2 Move Pack will be available on the PlayStation Store with tomorrow’s store refresh.  The amazing downloadable pack includes tons of new gadgets and tools, giving you the power to CREATE awesome new levels for your Move controller (this eventually means tons of free user-generated “Move” games available to everyone for free).  But most importantly, the Move Pack contains an epic new storyline titled “Rise of the Cakeling”

The LittleBigPlanet 2: Rise of the Cakeling Move Pack (add-on) will be available for €7.99 in Europe.  Note – you must have LittleBigPlanet 2 to play.
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Just a reminder that God of War Collection Volume II will be available this week from Wednesday 14th September onwards! (Retail and PSN)

For those that missed the previous posts, you get to experience two legendary PSP titles; Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta totally revamped for the PS3.

I hope you will agree the guys at Ready At Dawn have done an amazing job revamping these titles and the following clip really does show the effort and time in making sure the PS3 version benefits from 1080p visuals running at a rock solid 60fps.

In addition to trophy support the game is also playable in full 3D which really does look great if you are lucky enough to own a 3D TV. If you haven’t yet experienced the chaos of Kratos make sure you download the demo from PSN store.

That’s all from me and hope you enjoy playing the game!

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