Including the famous “Marathon” mode was of course a must. We know, you purists out there, that the original versions didn’t have a hold button but you don’t need to use it if it makes you feel like you’re cheating – just know that you won’t be able to beat the insane scores laid down by the best players without doing so.

The 12 additional levels that can be unlocked are variants of the main mode with added features like gravity or a split. One of my favorite variants is “Flashlight”. Since most of the matrix is in the dark (you’ll quickly find out how good your memory is) it’s the perfect mode to play around Halloween. And yes, for you hard core fans out there, the ultimate level is “Radical” where Tetriminos drop on you like bombs. All I can say is:

Good luck!

The game records all your stats (for bragging rights of course) like lines cleared, Tetrises, back-to-backs etc. and the feats accomplished like Dodecadent (clearing 12 lines or more in one turn).

Think you’re a Tetris Champion? Then check out the master replays and watch the real Tetris masters at work. I tried beating Shawn’s score of 1’08” for the “Origin” mode. All I can say is that it was a humbling
experience.

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I am Luigi Fumero, the managing director and founder of Impressionware. We are an independent games developer based in Italy. We started by developing mobile games for some of the biggest mobile games publishers and then moved to hand held consoles. We are extremely excited to be able to release a minis title for PSP on launch day especially as this is our first self published title and it is based on a design we have been thinking about for quite some time.

Our game is called VEMPIRE (vampire + empire) and is much more than a match 3 puzzle game. For a start it is a match-4 game!

In VEMPIRE the player will help a young vampire in his quest to become the emperor of monster land. To do so he will have to beat 10 monster lords.

The game asks the player to rotate blocks to form rows or columns of 4 or more blocks of the same type. These get destroyed and give the player points, mana or gold. The player needs to destroy enough blocks before the time runs out. Mana is important because it allows the player to summon minions. It is a casual game so the summoning happens automatically, the player just needs to collect the mana in the right order. Minions are bought in the shop between the levels. At the start of the game the player has only one type of minion, 5 more can be bought later in the game. Minions give advantages to the player, like slowing down time, destroying blocks, transforming rock blocks into gold etc.

As said above each of the 10 game worlds has a boss monster. This monster will pop up every once in a while and will cast his nasty spell and make life harder for the player. Luckily every 3 levels there will be an optional one the player can try to beat to win an artifact. There are 9 artifacts in the game, but the player can only equip 4 at once, so a bit of strategy is needed here to choose the right artifact to beat one of the 40 games level.

VEMPIRE is an original title that has never been released on any other platform and we love everything of this game from the cartoon graphics to the gameplay. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do.

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Hello everyone, very excited to say that PSPgo is out today! Available in Piano Black and Pearl White it is the smallest and lightest PSP yet with 16GB of memory built-in to its pocket-sized frame. Perfect for gaming and entertainment on the go! PSPgo puts PlayStation world in your pocket and with the strongest software lineup ever available on the PSP platform in 2009, there’s no better time to pick-up the sleekest handheld entertainment device on the market. Check out Mike’s update for all great, new content available on the PlayStation Network today for PSP.

To celebrate the launch we have two great offers to help kick start your games collection on PSPgo! First up, you can get yourself a free copy of Gran Turismo if you buy a PSPgo and download the special Gran Turismo theme from the PlayStation store on to your PSPgo by the 10th October. For all the details click here.

Second, we have PSPgo Rewards. If you own a PSP-1000, 2000 or 3000 and a Universal Media Disc and own a PSPgo you can claim your choice of three free games from an all star list of titles including Killzone: Liberation, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, WipEout Pure, echochrome Buzz!: Brain Bender, LocoRoco and Patapon. Head over to www.eu.playstation.com/pspgorewards for more details and full terms and conditions. Just to let you know we currently have an incorrect message about the PSP Reward scheme on the Store. The message tells you to register a Universal Media Disc version of the game that you want to download however this is wrong and we are working on correcting it in the next update. All you have to do is register 1 Universal Media Disc to download 3 games from the list.

It is also launch day for minis on PSP! Minis are bite-sized games you can play on the move. Quick and easy to download and created by innovative developers from all over the world. The new minis category includes games like Fieldrunner, where you defend your tower against countless enemies, to and all-time favourites like Tetris. With a maximum of only 100MB there is room for plenty on PSPgo built-in memory with prices ranging from £2.49-£3.99. And it has never been easier to purchase content from the PlayStation Store with PlayStation Network Cards. Launching in £20 and £50 denominations, PlayStation Network Cards are a great way to add credit easily to your PlayStation Network wallet, without needing a credit card.

PSPgo comes bundled with Media Go, free PC software that lets you manage the games, movies, music and videos for your PSP. Earlier James announced Media Go v1.2 which introduces a new user interface of the Store which makes it much easier to use on your PC you’ll hopefully find it quicker and easier to find what ever it is your looking for. The latest version of Media Go is available now so get downloading!

We also have a new firmware update available for PSP (v6.10). Don’t forget to update your firmware upon purchase to ensure your system has full compatibility with MediaGo and with all PSP titles The updates include the new music application SenseMe, which builds music playlists based on your mood. Plus for PSPgo it introduces the ability to use a Bluetooth mobile device, such as a mobile phone, as a modem to connect your PSP system to the internet.

Hope you enjoy!

Thanks!
Adam

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Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for coming by. This is Scott Hyman, Director of Business Development at Creat Studios, and John Manuelian, Producer for our minis release on PSP, “Alien Havok”. (But… call him Lin. That’s what he likes. Don’t ask why… just call him Lin!) We are very excited about the three minis release from Creat Studios. “Alien Havok”, “Bubble Trubble” and “Freekscape” are all on their way to the PlayStation Store.

Below is the description for the games. But all you really need to know is this: Old-school, classic-style throwback to the 16-bit era, crazy new spin on the puzzle game genre, and a super fun platformer from the depths of Hades. They’re cool, they’re fun, and they’re part of the amazing new minis catalog. Does that cover it?

“Alien Havok” is available now. This throwback to classic games lets you play as an alien who must pluck cows from farms, load them onto his spaceship, and bring them back to his planet. Of course, the farmers won’t let their cows go easily.

Players must tackle wrapping level layouts, hide and sneak in the cover of tall grass, and throw veggies, rocks, or anything else they can at farmers so they can bring the livestock back to their space ship. Cows, too, will get angry when they are picked up. So, be sure to feed them on a regular basis. If you are a fan of the “old school”, you will love this sci-fi trip back in time.

“Bubble Trubble” will be coming in the near future our dynamic new twist to falling puzzle games lets players rotate and drop clusters of colored bubbles, as matching colors fuse together and grow until they burst. Be sure to combine matched colored bubbles together before running out of room. To avoid any Trubble, you’ve gotta burst your Bubble!

Three zany cartoon animal guides react to players performances as they present each level and its unique environment’s challenge. Be sure to watch out for the Power Bubbles that may enhance or impede your performance.

“Freekscape” was developed for Creat by our good friends at Abdução Studios in San Paulo, Brazil. The game introduces Freek, a cute little demon who found a holy trident which infused him with ideas of ascending to Heaven. Help Freek escape the fire and brimstone in this action platform adventure by attaching a variety of hellish creatures to his trident, turning it into different tools, depending on each enemy’s property. Run, jump, attack and solve puzzles to advance Freek through a twisted 3D netherworld.

Harness the power of the trident by capturing different enemies. While an elastic-bed-like enemy will transform the trident into a pogo stick, a sharp toothed enemy turns it into a cutting machine. Embrace or avoid the creatures, depending on their emotional state.

Everyone at Creat has thoroughly enjoyed developing for minis program, and taking advantage of the power and hardware of Sony’s PSP gaming system. All three of our new titles pack in the action and bring excitement that requires quick reflexes. The D-Pad and analog joystick of the PSP are key to bringing out such a great gaming experience.

We just know that you will enjoy “Alien Havok”, “Bubble Trubble” and “Freekscape”! Thanks to our fans and supporters that have enjoyed all of Creat Studios 2009 releases on the PlayStation Store. We love making games, and we couldn’t do it without you.

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Hello everyone! My name is Patrick Horne and I’m a Producer at Hands-On Mobile. Hands-On has made games for mobile phones for over 8 years, and we’re really excited that our first venture into hand-held consoles is going to be two games for the new PSP minis launching with PSPgo on October 1st. The minis really stood out to us as a great opportunity to make high quality games on a new platform. There were a lot of internal discussions on what our first games should be for this new platform and we eventually settled on two games, Brainpipe and Bloons.

Brainpipe is an exciting arcade style game that had previously been released online for the PC. It’s a unique spatial navigation game where you are flying through a moving and curving tunnel filled with a variety of deadly obstacles. The objective is to make it through the tunnels, avoiding the obstacles, and pick up the special glyphs and ultimately transcend your humanity.

One of the best things about Brainpipe is the combination of the visuals and the audio for the game. It has a really trippy audio track that goes perfect with the funky visuals of the tunnel and obstacles. It’s one of those games where after a few minutes of playing you realize how dry your eyes are because you haven’t blinked since you started playing. All of the levels are procedurally generated, so each time you play a level you’ll have a totally unique experience. We spent a lot of time tweaking the difficulty and tuning the controls to make sure it feels right for PSP, and we think people are really going to enjoy Brainpipe.

Bloons is a puzzle game based on the idea that popping balloons is just plain fun. Balloons are arranged in a variety of ways and you have to pop them with the darts that you are given in each level. This may sound simple, and some of the levels are pretty straight forward, but there are several twists in the game, like special balloons, that make the puzzles more challenging. It’s fun to spend some time and figure out what each of those special elements do and how they help you complete the puzzle. Bloons is a great game that you can pick up and play for a few minutes while you’re queued up at the store, or you can sit on the couch for hours as you work your way through the 70 levels included in the game. And as an added bonus, we’ve included a level editor where you can create your own balloon puzzles!

Everyone at Hands-On is really excited about minis on PSP, and we hope you all enjoy playing Brainpipe and Bloons.

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