PlayStation Network is offline for scheduled maintenance from 14:00 on Monday 16 April 2012 until 02:00 on Tuesday 17 April 2012, BST.

During the maintenance, you will be unable to access the following services:

• PlayStation Store on PS3, PSP and PS Vita.
• PlayStation Network Account Management.
• PlayStation Network Account Registration.

In addition, you will not be able to sign in to PlayStation Network from eu.playstation.com. If you wish to play online during the maintenance, then you may be able to do so if you sign in to PSN before 14:00 on Monday 16 April 2012.

During this maintenance, you can continue to collect in-game trophies and these will be updated on your profile once PlayStation Network is back up and running.

If you have any questions about this down time, feel free to visit the official PlayStation Forums at community.eu.playstation.com where you can post your query and a member of the moderation team will get back to you.

For the latest maintenance updates, visit the PlayStation Blog at blog.eu.playstation.com, keep an eye on our Facebook page at facebook.com/SonyPlayStation and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/PLAYSTATIONEU.

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Recent weeks have been a little quiet as the games industry’s seasonal lull takes effect and there simply aren’t many games coming out. However, that’s about to change and, looking at next week’s schedule, there are a few stories you’re not going to want to miss. I couldn’t possibly lift the lid on what they are, but I can tell you that we’ve got a little bit of something everyone, whether you own PS3, PS Vita, PS Move and/or PSP.

Until then, here’s your recap.

• One Bullet Can Change History In Sniper Elite V2 – The game definitely isn’t ‘run and gun’, it’s much more of a thinking man’s shooter!
• Captivate 2012: Resident Evil 6 Details, SF X Tekken Vita Cross Play, DmC And Lost Planet 3 – An annual showcase of what’s in the pipeline for some Capcom game series.
• PlayStation Home: Mysterious Island Sighted – A mysterious island has been sighted off shore in the vicinity of Home Square this week.
• ‘Heads-Up’ Game Store Update 11th April 2012 – Episodes from Liberty City heads its way onto the PS Store this week, along with lots more content and great offers.
• StarDrone Extreme Launches For PS Vita Today – Your mission: pilot the always-in-motion spaceship through diverse cosmic environments in order to beat each of the game’s 60 levels’ goals.
• Mortal Kombat Hits PS Vita May 4th, Watch The New Trailer – This new trailer definitely captures the spirit of what the PS Vita game is all about!
• Grab Your PS Vita, Bakuki’s Lair Is Live! – The first DLC pack, Bakuki’s Lair, is a FREE level pack that adds 19 prequel-puzzle rooms to the adventures of Lil and Laarg.
• Resistance: Burning Skies, Multiplayer Details Revealed – In addition to its all new single player campaign, it features an online multiplayer in which you and up to seven friends can compete over PSN!
• The Weekend Debate – Unsung Heroes – What are your most underrated games of this generation and why do you think they are overlooked by many?
• Starhawk Campaign Hands-On: Wild West – The single-player campaign has remained stubbornly cloaked in shadow. Until now…

• Weekend Essentials 121 – Help Nathan Drake shoot his way out of trouble and challnge the finest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 players in new online missions with PlayStation this weekend.
• Happy birthday PS3 from the PlayStation Community – See some celebratory creations from the PlayStation Community to mark five years of PlayStation 3.
• First look: Resident Evil 6 – Capcom takes eu.playstation.com through this fantastically frightening game.
• Talking Easter Eggs with Naughty Dog – Yours are probably all gone, but the hidden extras in video games last far longer.

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This time of the year is traditionally quiet when it comes to game releases and, while for some it’s an opportunity to embrace the outside world and stock up on vitamin D, it’s also a great time to rummage through your game collection and dig out that title you’ve been meaning to play and not quite gotten around to.

With that in mind, let’s take the opportunity to pool our collective experience and recommend some of the sleeper hits of this generation – strong, original games that perhaps didn’t get the attention they deserve.

What are your most underrated games of this generation and why do you think they are overlooked by many?

My pick is Civilization Revolution – rarely does a month pass in which I don’t play at least once, more than three years after its release. I think that some may have been put off by other console strategy games and their awkward controls, or presumed it to be a dumbed down version of Civilization on PC, but I find the controls to work perfectly (thanks in part to the isometric viewpoint and the colourful, chunky characters) and I love that I can play through the history of humanity in around three hours.

Over to you.

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PlayStation Home will be offline from 8AM BST on Wednesday 11th April for routine maintenance. Here is what to expect after the update…

A mysterious island has been sighted off shore in the vicinity of Home Square this week. The island appears to be the site of a number of strange ruins from different eras, though there is no clue as to what has befallen them. The all new Adventure District is ideal for the intrepid adventurers among you, so be sure to check it out!

Calling all rock stars, leading ladies, big ballers, shot-callers and connoisseurs of all that is fine and all that is fun! This Wednesday 11th April you will finally get a chance to show the world your status as true members of the PlayStation Home elite when we release what is undoubtedly the ultimate gaming pad – the super-pimp and uber-posh Home Mansion. This epic estate is Home’s first expandable personal space (the ground floor releases this week; additional levels and rooms will be available soon) and comes complete with exclusive clothing items (check out the gold loungewear!), a built-in gifting machine (so you can spread the wealth and love amongst your friends), some of the finest furniture items money can buy (including a state-of-the-art Home TV), and even your own pet tiger (Markus – the head of the Home Mansion’s security team).

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Last week I was in Rome with some friends from Capcom to attend their Captivate event, an annual showcase of what’s in the pipeline for such game series as Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Lost Planet. While I could spend a couple of hundred words on fountains and pizza, there is a lot of game news to cover off so, without further ragout, here’s a handy digest of all the best bits.

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