We are giving Ratchet & Clank fans everywhere the chance to design character costumes for the upcoming epic space adventure, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.

From April 19 to April 29 budding designers are invited to create an outfit for the self-obsessed Captain Qwark or bumbling super villain Dr. Nefarious. Two lucky winners will each see their creation feature in the game and also take home an original print of their winning entry, signed by the legendary Insomniac Games team.

To be in with a chance of winning simply head over to the competition page and download the character template. You will then need to create your own dastardly outfit designs. Once you’ve completed your masterpiece, send us your creation through the website. The winning two costumes will be hand-picked by a panel of judges from Insomniac Games. But hurry! The competition closes on 29 April 2011 – you’ll need to move at light speed. Terms and conditions apply. For more information visit eu.playstation.com/psn/competitions.

What about Ratchet and Clank? Just check the US PlayStation blog, where we’re giving our US fans the opportunity to jump in and submit their own designs as well. The entire skin pack will be made available as we get closer to the game release this Fall 2011.

Keep an eye out on the Blog as we’ll be announcing even more details in the coming weeks. For more information on Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One in the meantime, including the latest trailers, head to eu.playstation.com.

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It’s less than a week since the Killzone 3 Multiplayer Beta hit PlayStation Store, but already you’ve racked up some impressive numbers. There’s been a staggering 62 million – million! – kills, of which around ten per cent have been Brutal Melee kills. Some 400,000 games have been blitzed through, with well over half a million players appearing on the Killzone 3 leaderboards. And two of those players have stormed through the one million XP barrier already. The Helghast don’t know what’s hit them.

Your dedication to the cause hasn’t gone unnoticed over at developer Guerrilla Games. Far from it: the team has been working around the clock to analyse and act upon your feedback. Below you’ll find a round-up of issues discovered thanks to your hard work, and the solutions that Guerrilla is working on to refine your experience:

High level issues discovered:

• Connection problems
• High load caused the database to fall over
• Score posting
• Flickering screens
• Ribbon stats not updating
• Vulgarity filter

Solutions underway:

• Guerrilla has already released a patch, which is live at the time of writing.
• Guerrilla has made improvements for the server connection issues. The server was brought down and put back up for that on Monday, 7 February 2011.
• The problems with the filter should be fixed now.
• Guerrilla will continue to update the servers and patch the Beta if needed and are watching your feedback closely on Killzone.com

From Guerrilla: “We are happy that we are encountering these issues now, during a Beta, instead of after launch. This will help us get ready for the huge amount of people that are expected to go online at launch.”

“This Beta also gives us the opportunity to change Killzone 3 based on feedback that we get. Although we’ve already gone gold, we can and will make server side adjustment to things like weapon damage, balancing issues etc. So this is not a demo; it is a Beta for us to test the game.

“Thanks for your continued patience and help in getting this tested properly.”

So, keep playing – the more you experience the Killzone 3 Muliplayer Beta, the more you’ll contribute to an even more polished final game.

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Can’t wait for the official Killzone 3 launch? Multiplayer Open Beta still too far away? Don’t worry, we’ve got something to tide you over! Let this video guide you through Killzone 3‘s third multiplayer map, Bilgarsk Boulevard. Stick to the alleyways and building interiors, though, because the long sightlines make crossing the boulevard a dangerous proposition…

Killzone 3 features eight diverse multiplayer levels, including MP03 Bilgarsk Boulevard and the MP05 Frozen Dam map that comes with the Multiplayer Open Beta. For more details on Killzone 3′s multiplayer maps, check out the full briefing at Killzone.com.

We’ll unveil more details on the Killzone 3 Multiplayer Open Beta soon (along with some surprises), so stay tuned.

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It’s Friday and it is a good news day! Between the 3rd and the 15th of Feb you will be able to download and play the Killzone 3 Open Beta from the PlayStation Store.

This Beta will offer you exclusive early access to the MP05 ‘Frozen Dam’ multiplayer level from Killzone 3, including all three online multiplayer modes – Guerrilla Warfare, Warzone and Operations – as well as the offline multiplayer mode, Botzone. A sprawling asymmetrical map set in an old dam facility, the playing field in MP05 has been carefully tailored to fit each of the multiplayer modes.

These are the four multiplayer modes included with the Open Beta:

Guerrilla Warfare (16 players)
Guerrilla Warfare is a standalone multiplayer mode similar to classic Team Deathmatch: You and your teammates must try to kill as many of the opposing team as you can before the timer runs out. In this mode, only the downstream monitor houses and repair bay are accessible, giving the map a very frantic pace.

Warzone (24 players)
If you’ve played Killzone 2, you may already be familiar with Warzone. It’s a round-based multiplayer campaign that consists of five randomly ordered mini-missions. In this mode the power house and penstocks directly under the dam are accessible as well, so there’s more room to come up with different strategies and approaches to your goal.

Operations (16 players)
Operations is a new multiplayer campaign which aims to deliver a more cinematic, story-based gameplay experience, similar to that of Killzone 3′s single-player mode. It consists of a sequence of linear mini-missions, in which the ISA must try to secure the docks and destroy the dam, while the Helghast must try to protect the dam facility.

Botzone (one player and up to 15 bots)
Botzone is an offline multiplayer mode ideal for those looking to get to grips with the controls, the weapons or the map layout before going up against live players. Each of the aforementioned multiplayer modes can be played offline, against CPU-controlled opponents.

For details of all the maps in Killzone 3 see our feature on Killzone.com.

Over the next couple of weeks keep your eyes on the PlayStation Blog and Killzone.com for more information.

Have a good weekend.

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‘Going gold’ is a much-anticipated landmark in the development of any game – essentially, it means that the discs are ready to be pressed and the Champagne is chilling nicely. Happily, we’ve now reached that milestone with Killzone 3 and can confirm that you’ll be rejoining Sev, Rico, Narville and the rest of the surviving ISA on Helghan from 23 February, 2011 (launch dates vary by country).

Collector’s Edition

SteelBook Edition includes**

• Retro Map Pack – bringing two battlefields from Killzone 2 back into the fight.
• Exclusive Killzone 3 dynamic theme.
• Killzone 3 soundtrack.

Helghast Edition

Contents:

• Helghast helmet replica bust.
• Killzone 3 Collector’s SteelBook Edition.
• 100-page hardbound Killzone 3 art book.
• Exclusive DC Unlimited Helghast Marksman figurine.
• All weapons and abilities unlocked for your first 24 hours of multiplayer gameplay.
• Rise through the ranks faster by earning experience points at twice the normal rate for your first 24 hours of multiplayer gameplay.
• Retro Map Pack – bringing two battlefields from Killzone 2 back into the fight.
• Three unlock points to use on any weapon or ability.
• Exclusive Killzone 3 dynamic theme.
• Killzone 3 soundtrack.

Picking up right where Killzone 2 left off, you return to the role of ISA Sgt. “Sev” Sevchenko. Beaten, bloody but not broken you and your fellow ISA veterans find yourself outnumbered and isolated following the events of Killzone 2. New enemies, new environments and new threats wait for you as the story for survival unfolds.

Add in 3D support including online, split-screen co-op campaign, and full Move support, which can be be played with or without the new sharp shooter peripheral.

Also keep an eye out in your local retailers for a range of pre-order incentives.

Finally, if you haven’t seen it yet, check out our latest trailer:

Cheers

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