PixelJunk SideScroller is not far from your hands! Yes, it has kind of crept up upon us, but the release date is 2nd of November in Europe. I really can’t emphasize enough how really, really good old school fun SideScroller has turned out to be. I’m sure some of you have played the “bonus” stage in PixelJunk Shooter 2 called “The Road to Dawn”, well that is what gave us the urge to make an entire side scrolling shoot-em-up game! Back in the day I used to love games such as R-Type and Darius, and going even further back there were games such as Scramble and Defender that inspired me as a child. So… we decided to dip our toes in and see what PixelJunk could bring to the side-scroller world.

We used the same engine as for the two Shooter titles, but the game itself is entirely different. To begin with this is a single-stick controlled game rather than the dual-stick control we had in Shooter, which makes it even more addictive and easy to control. And of course, you can only face to the right as you fly your craft! The only similarity really is that a handful of enemies from Shooter have been “re-imagined” for SideScroller, but to add to them we created a whole slew of new enemies and bosses for you to try to destroy also.

The back-story of the game is that SideScroller is the game the pilot of PixelJunk Shooter is playing on his old computer console in his ship on the way home to Earth after the ending of Shooter 2. This explains the cool “retro” look we have designed with the curved CRT (cathode ray tube) screen and the monochrome look of the interface. However, during its orbit of Apoxus Prime perhaps the computer has been infected.. a little?

Some people reckon PixelJunk games are a little tough, and well.. yes, they are a little because I think games should be a challenge. However, what we’ve done this time is scattered loads of checkpoints so even if you do die you’ll restart really close, and we also give you the option to downgrade your difficulty setting if you get a Game Over too. We’ve created 4 difficulty levels so everyone is catered for (I hope!).

Oh and did I mention, the bosses are AWESOME! Maybe I should mention that again…

I’ve got to head off and start finishing off PixelJunk 4am, so I’m going to leave you with this really cool trailer for SideScroller we created. Definitely check it out, because you might be able to spot one of the AWESOME bosses in there!

Remember everyone – Oct 26th!

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With trying to keep up with this hectic game release period, I’ve not been able to source any codes to give away this week; rest assured, I’ll have something juicy for you to sink your fangs into next week…

However, I did receive this interesting video from our UK office. With the release of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception excruciatingly close, they met with Naughty Dog and a group of Hollywood actors and directors to ask what defines a hero and what makes heroic people and characters so alluring. Here it is:

With that food for thought, let’s continue the discussion in the comments. What actions and personal attributes do you consider heroic, and which people or game characters possess them?

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You may have already practiced some cheeky dance moves in the last few weeks by playing the demo from the PlayStation Store but now the time has come to get your party started for real because DanceStar Party is out now!

But what actually went into making the game and what different elements did the team need to tackle to bring you the ultimate dancing experience?

Key members from Sony’s London Studio talk us through their areas of speciality, the challenges they faced and the fun they had making DanceStar Party in the video below. Enjoy!

Check out www.dancestarparty.com for more news, useful tips and generally everything you need to know about DanceStar Party plus don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @DanceStarHQ!

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Episode 5 of Access is now online and available right here for your viewing pleasure. Pleasure being the operative word, because heading the line-up this week is EA’s eye-meltingly beautiful first-person destruct ‘em up, Battlefield 3.

The rest of the show is also stuffed with hi-def excellence, including an inside look at the recent Access Live event in Bristol, a round up of the latest news and all the best content from the PlayStation Store, including hot servings of DLC for both Resistance 3 and Dragon Age 2.

There’s also a sneak-peak at upcoming short film, The Hero’s Journey – directed by Blood Diamond’s Ed Zwick and featuring Naughty Dog‘s Amy Hennig, and Uncharted star, Nolan North.

To watch Access before anyone else, UK users can download each episode for free every Wednesday from the PlayStation Store, with every show then uploaded to YouTube every Friday.

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This is Tommy Rydling on behalf of the entire team at DICE, saying thanks to everyone who played and participated in the Battlefield 3 Open Beta. The information that we’ve gathered from your play time is invaluable and will help to make Battlefield 3 even better!

But it’s not all network load balancing and matchmaking algorithms; When it comes to data the real star is you! Just look at these killer numbers we pulled down from all of you PlayStation 3 players!

Crazy numbers and we couldn’t have done it without you! Just a few more days now before the game launches on the 28th, and as you may know already, PlayStation 3 players will get access to the expansion pack Back to Karkand one week early (please link to our earlier PS3 blog post outlining these details).

But before I leave you, here is a short selection of just some of the hundreds of changes and additions we are making to the game before launch, as a direct result of your feedback in the Open Beta:

Improved Squad Functionality
There will be improved squad functionality in the retail game (including but not limited to): the ability to create squads prior to launching into a game, sticking with your squad when joining a game and continuing together through future games (if team balance on the server allows it), inviting friends to a squad, and changing squads once in game.

More Accessible Settings Menu
The ability to modify your settings via the deploy screen has been added into the retail game.

Improved Kill Cam
In the Open Beta, the Kill Cam would sometimes behave erratically. This has been fixed for the launch of the retail game.

Netcode Optimization
The netcode is one of the many things that we tested as part of the Open Beta and it was not necessarily reflective of the final retail game. The DICE team appreciates, and has heard, the feedback you’ve provided and is further optimizing online play.

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