Dean Nation has a unique online component which we call the metagame. It means that every time you kill a zombie we know about it and so does the game. The metagame uses that information to track many things. So, every single zombie kill counts!

Every single dirt ridden, disgusting sack of flesh you kill will count towards clearing the virus in your country. The more zombies you and your countrymen kill, the quicker the virus will be cleared.

Below is a snapshot of part of the Metagame:

1. Currently selected country.
2. Player’s statistics.
3. Statistics about the currently selected country.
4. Ticker texts which displays various information about the global status, player’s country status, player’s friends and about the player.
5. Access to more in-depth detailed statistics.

The metagame features an interactive map of the world, which can be used to access all the information. For example if you want to see who the best player in Japan is, you would select the country on the map to get that information. You can also easily check if any of your PSN friends live in that country and how well they are doing compared to their fellow countrymen. Can you be the best in your country?

The metagame also informs you which player is currently the best zombie killer in the world; best in your country of origin; and best amongst your friends.

On a higher level the metagame tracks which country is the best in eradicating the zombie threat. This aspect can be seen as “Zombie killing World Championships”. It will be interesting to see which country will come on top and if they are able to hold that position.

Every country is ranked, so that you’ll be able to see how your homeland is progressing against your nearest ally or foe; and as you progress through the virus cycles it is worth keeping an eye out. Who knows when things might change?

Although the basic premise of the metagame is to see how your nation is progressing, it really does much more than that, and will take on a game of its own as it organically grows over the months and years after release. We’ll be keeping a close eye on it and are most definitely planning on supporting the Dead Nation community!

We’re pleased to present the Dead Nation launch trailer below. Be sure to check a few new treats revealed such as the Molotov Cocktail, Shocker weapon, and Cutter special zombie.

The molotov cocktail is an important tactical item in your arsenal as it creates a wall of fire protecting you from the undead hordes coming to eat you alive. The incredibly powerful Shocker can take out waves of the undead hungry for warm flesh. Just like the other Special Zombies, the Cutter is force to be feared. It won’t take more than one swipe of its huge blade arms to cut you in half!

Fight through the campaign on your own in Dead Nation or join a friend (on the couch or online) to eradicate the infection. With features like the twin-stick shooting style, use of recharging rush and point multipliers, it is clear that Dead Nation is built on the DNA of Housemarque’s last breakthrough PSN hit, Super Stardust HD.

Dead Nation will be available on the PlayStation Store on Wednesday 1 December. Download the game and fight the zombie virus.

If you happen to be visiting Gamescom this week you will also get the chance to try out the very latest version of the game on the PlayStation stand. Since the game was last shown publicly at E3 we’ve started to polish the game to get it in its best possible shape ready for launch and as you can see from the video, it’s starting to look the business.

Following on from the Dead Nation’s latest showing at E3, we thought it might be nice to show off a little bit more of the game before the gamescom event in Cologne. And after plenty of discussions with the team, we decided to show how the undead weren’t always that way. As you’ll see from the trailer below, when the transformation from human to zombie occurs, the dirt-ridden, shambling corpses still retain some essence of humanity.

Now that you have seen baseball zombies you might be wondering what other varieties of flesh eater Dead Nation has to offer and, while there are plenty more, you’re going to have to wait until Gamescom to find out.

We’ve got a lot more to show off over the coming weeks and months so keep your eyes peeled and stock up on water and canned goods, because you never know when you might need to secure your position and fight off the Dead Nation.

Firstly on the 19th of May at around 5pm a new patch will be made available which contains the following features and changes:

• Improved Breaking : the pack has now been adjusted so that instead of the rack being perfectly spaced every time, a very slight variance has been introduced between the balls which causes almost every break to be different
• You can now replay the shots that are played in attract mode
• Even more stats during loading screens
• Game options can be modified in online rooms
• Watch other people’s matches in the all new Spectator Mode!
• Plus a new loading icon, viewing player’s profiles during an online match and more

But that’s not all, there is a brand new chalk coming to the in-game store. Second Sight allows you to see the path of an additional ball… really helpful on those tough trickshots and plants.

Finally (and the best bit in my opinion) is that the Hustle Kings Snooker pack will be launched on the 2nd of June. Included in this great pack is a brand new environment, new ball set, with the full snooker rules and scoring. As well as normal snooker if you get this pack you will also get an offline tournament mode, more music and a brand new game mode called Snooker6 where there are only 6 red balls allowing for a much quicker game.

Once you get the Snooker Pack there will also be a batch of new trophies, for you to try and unlock, to help with this we have included a free pack of Eagle Eye chalk if you purchase the Snooker pack! Overall I have really enjoyed the time I have spent playing snooker and can’t wait to get online to pit my wits against the rest of the community!

Your mission: Unleash your imagination on Gravity Crash through your PS3! Using the games inclusive Editor, create a mesmerizing and enjoyable level for would be space-cadets to explore, enjoy and conquer!

Your bounty: If your stellar design is one of 5 community creations hand-picked by the developers, it will be featured in Gravity Crash Portable! And, because we think that it’s important that you’re able to admire (and show off) the fruits of your creative imagination, you will receive a PSPgo and a copy of the game, too.

How to enter:

Create a level using the Level Editor in Gravity Crash and publish it to the community in the game (from your PSN connected PS3).

When you’ve published your level, submit the details in a message on the forum (in the competition entry thread on the forum), making sure to include the following information in your message:

- Your PSN Online ID (ID must match the account used to publish the level and the account used to enter the level)

- Name of your level

The closing date for all entries is 23:59 BST on 15/04/2010.

Competition info:

All entered creations will be judged after the closing date for their creative flair, level of functionality and innovativeness. The 5 winners will be selected by the developers, Just Add Water. Winners will be contacted by email and an announcement will be made on the Blog once the winners have been contacted.

An add-on pack for Gravity Crash Portable will be released featuring the 5 winning levels.

Make sure to read the full terms and conditions of the competition prior to entry and may the best levels win!

• General improvements to game stability
• In game Voice Chat
• In game Video Chat
• Home Game Launching
• More stats for the loading screens
• The sound effect for the chalk has been turned down
• Chalk can now be used by pressing the R3 button as well as shaking your SIXAXIS
• Polish Language support
• Free Play mode
• Blue chalk only online rooms
• Online: Opponents are now allowed to change view whilst watching the player at the table
• Online: The player that breaks is now randomly chosen
• A new minimal aim line
• Damping effect on the pockets, to stop accurate high powered shots from always bouncing out of the pockets
• Small adjustments to the fine tune aiming to make it easier to use

Once this update is out and you’ve got to grips with the changes we’ve more features coming via the PSN Store. First up will be the Time Saver Pack which is aimed at the Hustle Kings player who wants to experience everything the game has to offer but doesn’t have the time to unlock all the items. This pack unlocks all the cues, avatars, balls and the unlock packs from the in game Hustle Kings store. If that weren’t enough, we’ve then got not one but two awesome freebies to give away! Two bizarre and challenging Crazy Tables are heading your way soon, adding a whole new dimension to your game when you want a break from regular pool. To whet your appetite check out these pics of the tables.

Crazy Tables are coming soon and they’ll be absolutely free, and even that doesn’t mark the end of Hustle Kings. We’re already hard at work with a lot of extra features for the game which we’ll be introducing later on this year.

By the way, before I forgot ….If you haven’t visited the Hustle Kings Home event space yet, go and have some fun taking the Hustle Kings Ball Dodge Challenge. You could win a very funny Hustle Kings cape and crown!

Over the last year VooFoo studios and Sony have been combining their skills with some good old fashioned elbow grease to help make Hustle Kings the best. We have been packing in as many features as possible, whilst at the same time adding so much polish that you can almost see your own face! Check out these balls if don’t believe me.

There has been a lot of discussion internally about how we can do something a little different with the trophy system and we finally decided to make one of the silver trophies a little bit different from the rest… This trophy can only be unlocked by playing online and beating someone else who already has it – Sounds simply enough? Now the best part is that the developers are the only ones who will start with it and that means the only way to get it is by beating them at their own game!

Now to bit that I hope you’ve all been waiting for… (Drum roll please)

Release date: 22nd of December 2009 (That’s today!)
Price: £6.29 (€7.99)

If you’re a fan of turning your skills into (virtual) cash, then Hustle Kings is for you. With graphics, a physics engine, a whole host of offline game modes including (but not limited to) career, trick shots, local tournaments, as well as an online hustle mode and topped off with an intuitive control method. Sometimes when I’m at the pub playing pool, I think to myself… “I wish I could be playing Hustle Kings right now!”

We have tried to take advantage of everything the PS3 has to offer, so we’ve included XMB music (although I’d questions anyone’s taste who doesn’t like the eclectic mix we have on offer), uploading videos to you tube (to show off your greatest jump and swerve shots) and much more. Are your ready for the total pool experience?

Hustle Kings will be available exclusively on the PlayStation Store, so if you haven’t already signed up to for a PSN ID, you’d better do so now!

Those loveable little Lemmings are back once again giving you another chance to play one of the greatest puzzlers of all time, exclusively on PS3. This classic has been remade in High Definition and now includes both trophies and rumble support!

Only the most skilled players will be able to achieve all the trophies, and for those of you that are struggling to get the most coveted golden Lemming Leader, here are a few tips to make sure you save the maximum number of those gorgeous green haired critters. Four levels in particular need quick wits to save as many Lemmings as possible and here are my top tips for those levels:

• Fun – Down and down we go! : Start off by giving all your Lemmings umbrellas and sit back and watch as they fall to the penultimate ledge. It should be plain sailing from there!
• Fun – Total Eclipse of the Lem : Make the first Lemming a climber and the split second he illuminates the first lamp set him off as a digger. Then quickly set the second Lemming to a blocker before he walks off the left edge into a fatal peril! Whilst the first Lemming is digging give him an umbrella, then once he lands, set him off digging again until he gets almost all the way through the brick, at which point make him a builder. You’ll still have a bit left to do from there. Are you up to the challenge?
• Taxing – Bomb not bash : The crucial part of the this level is setting off the first Lemming as a digger at the very first opportunity and making sure he’s a digger as soon as he lands after the long fall.
• Mayhem – Burning Bridges : 99 Lemmings is what you need here. Just use one of the blockers and be sure to take the most efficient route. One extra tip, use the digger very wisely. Best make sure the whole of the spade doesn’t go into the concrete!

As well as classic puzzles, this HD re-imagining of Lemmings introduces some new challenges to stretch the sharpest of minds – do you think you can cope with teleporters, cloning machines or playing in the dark ?

Lemmings is exclusively available from the PlayStation Store and at only £3.49

Still very early in its development, we only showed one of Hustle Kings’ environments and let people play two of the game modes: US 8 ball and 9 ball. Most people chose to play the classic 8 ball game, and almost everyone commented on how beautiful the game was (particularly the lighting and the detail of the reflections in the balls). The part that impressed people the most, however, was how realistically the game plays. We were showing off some of the more advanced shots and techniques – screwing, bending, spinning and chipping the ball – and people were literally staring in amazement, astounded by the realism and eager to have a go and see if they could pull off those shots themselves!

We were really pleased and excited by how positive people’s reaction to the game was, especially as we only showed a very small portion of the game at E3. Much more content, including more game types (Killer, Cutthroat and 14.1 continuous, to name just 3), game modes (Hustle mode and a rather large career mode), other environments, customisation features, a rewards system and plenty more besides will be included in Hustle Kings when it’s released later in the year. Yet, even without all of this content, many people were really getting into it.

When the doors closed after the first day at E3, I challenged Simon Livesey, producer on Gravity Crash, to a game of US 8 ball. I expected to win easily, so I was going for the difficult shots and showing off. Before I knew it, I was a long way behind and I stepped up my game and began to take it seriously. Immersed in the game, falling further behind and trying to mount a pride-saving comeback, I hadn’t realised that a large group of producers and developers had gathered behind us… watching me get trounced! On the second day, I was shocked to see that an underground movement of after hours Hustling was developing. Everybody wanted to be in on the action, and I was being approached left, right and centre by people asking for hints and tips, and to practise playing, ahead of a ‘big game’ they had planned for that night!

It really kicked off on the last day, when Heavy Rain producer Scott Johnson and Invizimals producer John McLaughlin went head to head in a high-stakes, big-money match… unfortunately I can’t reveal who won – I’ve been sworn to secrecy; “what happens at E3 stays at E3!” – but I will tell you that, after an intense and closely fought match, it rained pretty heavily for one of them, that night. The Hustle Kings offering at E3 was only a taster of what is still to come. There’s plenty more in store for Hustle Kings, and in the next blog post (and the next trailer) you will get to see the Hustle King Credit reward system and the Hustle online mode. Make sure to stay up to date with the PlayStation.Blog so that you don’t miss anything. Until the next time, I’ll be playing Hustle mode with the guys at VooFoo, fluttering away my hard earned credits.