Malicious is an entirely original action game for the PS3. You are a “Spirit Vessel,” called into the world by the Prophets to vanquish evil. Armed with the “Mantle of Cinders,” a cloak that can absorb power from destroyed objects as well as shift form, you wage battle with the “Malicious.”

For this title, we focused on creating a simple action game that users did not have to dedicate themselves to, but could enjoy in short bursts. We’ve created stages that throw players into boss battles, and have allowed them to freely choose which stage they would like to begin with.

There is no lengthy dungeon crawling in Malicious, leaving it chock-full of boss battles only! The player is thrust into a battle royale as soon as he starts the stage! Every time you defeat a boss, you absorb the creature’s power and obtain a new ability. But what’s more is that you can choose whichever stage you want, in any order, giving you full control over your progress in the game!

And don’t forget the visuals. Oil painting-like colours and textures are used throughout the game and provide the player with a strong sense of fantasy, rooting them in the Malicious world.

Malicious will be released on the PlayStation Store on February 8th for £6.49/€7.99 with an additional 20% discount for PlayStation Plus subscribers for one week after launch. We hope you like it!

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PixelJunk SideScroller is finally out in the world! This retro-styled side-scrolling shooter plays like a love note to the arcade games I grew up with in my youth, and serves as a quasi-epilogue to the PixelJunk Shooter series. Before you pick it up on the PlayStation Store, get a closer look with this handy new Q&A. Q-Games President and Executive Producer Dylan Cuthbert took to Twitter to answer your most burning questions. Read closely and you might learn a few helpful secrets!

From @wildbillhickock
How many levels?
A: There are thirteen levels (called “Sectors”) total. This includes four absolutely amazing boss battles (Note: Expect an “old friend” from the Shooter-verse to make an appearance, but you’ll be seeing loads of new faces as well). One thing that’s so great about SideScroller is that it has four difficulty modes, and the experience will change depending on what difficulty mode you select. New enemies crop up in Hard difficulty mode, and expect certain encounters to get a whole lot more harrowing because of them. Bullets fly at you faster, the overall look of the game changes, and for those of you brave enough to venture onto Brutal difficulty mode, expect to get “revenge” bullets flung at your ship every time you kill an enemy. Needless to say, SideScroller is a game you can enjoy on many different levels by giving it a replay or two (or three, or four)! Also, the only way to unlock the “true” ending is to complete the game on Brutal. Good luck!

From @VofEscaflowne
Is there still an emphasis on exploring, or is it more “on-rails” than the PixelJunk Shooter series?
A: SideScroller is a complete departure from the Shooter series. Instead of exploring and puzzle solving – staples of the Shooter-verse -, you’ll be using upgradeable weapons to spray bullets in every direction possible! Yes, SideScroller is more of an “on rails” experience, because we’ll push the player onward into really tense situations at a brisk pace. It definitely ups the tension. There are also scenes in the game where the scrolling stops and you have to defeat mini-bosses and any other enemies we throw at you. Mark my words: just because the scrolling stops doesn’t mean the game becomes any less intense!

AuburnRDM
Any unlockables and cool things to work for?
A: There are hidden items scattered through the entire game. For any collectors out there, searching for these items and finding them will certainly be a rewarding experience. They also net you a hefty amount of bonus points, which will be a big help to you competitive players out there who absolutely NEED the #1 high score on the Online Leaderboards! Also, don’t forget to keep an eye on your combo count. The skilled players out there will be able to string together combos from the start of every Sector until the end, so play strategically. If you’re good enough, you might even get a Platinum Medal for your efforts!

From @bergasche
Will my eyes begin to bleed because of so much awesome?
A: A resounding YES! Okay, okay, your eyes may not actually bleed, explode, or otherwise become unusable, but SideScroller has a whole lot of awesome contained within its digital casing. It’s on the PSN now, so what are you waiting for? Go and buy it!

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Greetings! As you’ve seen lately, we’ve released some additional information here and there on Gravity Rush and I wanted to give you all a bit more info on this PS Vita exclusive.

First off, if you haven’t already, meet Kat:

You’ll be assuming the role of our cel-shaded heroine, who wakes in a strange city with no memory of how she got there. While exploring the town, she encounters a black cat (clever, huh?), who grants her the ability to control the gravity around her.
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As well as some great content this month, we have a bit of a special on Assassin’s Creed for you to enjoy some exclusive extras with Plus -

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Hi Guys, just a quick one to let you know about a few more Anniversary month treats we are adding to PlayStation Plus for you.

Firstly, you may know about a new game launching today called Section 8 Prejudice. We wanted to try and give you something a little extra for being a Plus subscriber, so we have worked with the guys at Timegate and you will be the only players that can access a specific type of armour, called “Hunter Armour”. The game will automatically recognise you’re a member and you will be able to get the armour.

Make sure you pick up this game quickly as there is another little treat for the quickest Plus subscribers – The first 1000* Plus members to buy the game from PlayStation Store will receive it’s predecessor, Section 8, completely free of charge and to keep forever. Even if you’ve played the original before, this is a great chance to re-live the game before you start on Prejudice.

*Please remember that you need to be opted in to receive marketing communications to receive this offer or we can’t send you the voucher for the free game. If you’d like to be one of the 1000 people to get section 8 for free, please firstly go into ‘Account Management’, ‘Account Information and ‘Notification Preferences’. Then make sure the top box is ticked to say that you agree to receive information on PlayStation products and services. You can also do this online at playstation.com (don’t worry, you can simply un-tick this after the promotion has finished if you don’t want t receive emails from us.

Please see full terms & conditions at playstation.com/legal

We know how much you like to receive full games as part of your Plus membership, so we thought we’d give you another one to make it a nice round four full PSN games this month. Later today you can download ‘Comet Crash‘ from the Plus section at no extra cost. Don’t miss out on this extra little treat!

I also wanted to give you a quick look at some of the content you can expect to see coming to Plus in August. You can expect to see, Comix Zone, 50% off Alien Zombie Mega Death and Worms 2: Armageddon. Plus a PSN game, minis, PS one Classics and plenty of day one discounts, loads of other great stuff, and also plenty of surprises along the way!

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