One last post from Criterion Games, before we disappear for our Christmas break, but don’t panic! We’re back on January 9th with a big update on what 2009 has in store for everybody’s favorite driving game!

2008’s been an awesome year. We shipped the award-winning Burnout Paradise – Spike TV and IGN PS3’s Driving Game of the Year. We dragged Burnout kicking and screaming onto the next generation and a new era of open world freedom, social play and MASSIVE scale support.

That support started with 3 new online game modes, new cars and designs, 70 new challenges, a live news page, custom soundtracks and stacks more – this was our FREE “Cagney” Pack.

We followed it with the biggest change to Burnout since Takedowns – motorcycles!

The FREE Bike Pack blazed onto the scene in September along with day-night gameplay, 70 more challenges and dynamic weather.

We delivered trophy support and became one of the first full games to appear on the PlayStation Store – you can head there now and buy it, if you haven’t already!

Next year, we’ll be back on PlayStation 3 with a truck-load of premium paid content. We hope you’ll join in the fun with the Legendary Cars, the Party Pack, our Boost Special Cars, Big Surf Island and of course the cute and cuddly Toy Cars!

It feels like the Paradise City Party’s in full swing now, and with the launch of The Ultimate Box, there’s never been a better time to get in on the action.

But above all else, this year’s been about you guys – Burnout and PlayStation fans all over the world! Our goal was to get to know you through 2008. We’ve built a blog, an awesome website and Crash TV – our video podcast. We’ve been Freeburning with you and reading your comments here on the PlayStation blog.

Thanks for joining us, thanks for all the incredible feedback and thanks for playing – it’s been a blast! See you in 2009.

BTW – we just uploaded our Christmas Show with a glimpse of the 88 Special – the first footage seen outside the studio. Hope you like it!

Hello,

Today’s “How To” video has some helpful tips on surfing the web. Once your PS3 is hooked up to the internet, you can access all of your favorite web pages via the web browser on your PS3. It brings the web to the bring screen… so take a look at the video and check out some of your favorite sites!

Happy holidays! This is Bryan Intihar from Insomniac Games and I hope some of you are celebrating the last few days of 2008 just like me: catching up on some necessary game-playing. Even though I try to check out as many games as possible throughout the year, I always find myself with quite a large stack left to play (some refer to it as their personal “pile of shame”). So aside from buying a new computer, heading to Disneyland, and seeing some friends, I’ll be spending the majority of the holiday break comfortably seated on my couch with a PS3 controller in hand. It sounds like a lot of Insomniacs will be doing the same, as well.

Now if you’re still in the need for some gaming recommendations, here’s my personal “Must Play” list of 2008:

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots — I known around these parts as one of the biggest MGS fans, and you’ll quickly know why once you play Kojima Productions’ latest stealth-action game. From the revamped controls to the epic boss fights to the unbelievable visuals, MGS4 is truly one of the PS3’s crown jewels.

Dead Space — EA’s survival-horror entry is hands-down my surprise title of the year. While dismembering grotesque creatures with ultimate precision will please gamers with an itchy trigger finger, Dead Space features more than enough freaky moments for those who enjoy a good scare.

LittleBigPlanet — The word “groundbreaking” always comes to mind when I think of Media Molecule’s do-it-yourself platformer. It’s also as cute as it is creative, and it seems like every week I watch a new clip of some fantastic user-made level. I can’t wait to see what the highly imaginative LBP community dreams up over the coming months. Oh, and don’t forget to download this li’l guy from the PlayStation Store:

Prince of Persia — I’m a total sucker for a cool art style, and the Prince’s latest adventure delivers that and then some. The development team took some design risks with the combat system and “no death” mechanic, but I believe both worked out extremely well.

NHL 09 — It’s an absolute requirement for any true sporto to lace up the skates and check out this virtual frozen pond. Thanks to NHL 09’s killer online leagues and innovative “Be a Pro” mode, EA’s hockey franchise earns my vote for the best sports title for a second straight year.

Before you return to your regularly scheduled programming (playing games), on behalf of all Insomniacs I’d like to thank you for your support in 2008. This year proved to be one of the busiest and most successful years in the studio’s history with the launch of both Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty and Resistance 2. Seriously, your comments and feedback went a long way in making our games even better. And I can’t wait to share with you what’s in store for 2009! Until then, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Hello,

Today is kind of a big deal because Remote Play is arguably one of the coolest features available on the PLAYSTATION 3…and my personal favorite. This video will teach you how to set up Remote Play between your PS3 and PSP. I love being able to show off all of my photos, movies and music saved on my PS3’s hard drive on my PSP…and it’s a feature completely unique to PlayStation. Enjoy!

Season’s Greetings from everyone at Guerrilla! I hope you’re having a fun and relaxing holiday. The team here are currently taking a short but welcome break from finishing the game, having gone without sleep for almost three months straight. Killzone 2 is so close to completion now, I can almost taste it! (Sometimes I can literally taste it, but that’s probably due to the insomnia or the Christmas turkey leftovers).

Aside from catching up on much-needed sleep, I’ll also be catching up on the back log of games that’s been accumulating since fall. And I’ll be making up for lost time with my friends and family, of course! Come to think of it - I should probably choose my social commitments very carefully, considering the amount of wonderful games that’s come out this season.

Oh, great. Now I’m going to have to start scheduling my holiday activities.

Anyway, here’s my top five favorite PlayStation games from 2008:

1. LittleBigPlanet (PS3, Media Molecule/SCEA)
2. WipeOut HD (PS3, Studio Liverpool/SCEA)
3. GRID (PS3, Codemasters)
4. God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP, Ready at Dawn/SCEA)
5. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3, Kojima Productions/Konami)

Hi everyone,

I’m sure your friends and family members were seriously impressed with your photo slideshow skills you learned on Friday. Similar to that, today we will learn how to import a CD and create a playlist using your favorite music. It’s a little special today because we have two videos instead of one. So now you will be ready in case you want to put together a mix for your New Year’s Eve party or create a soundtrack for your photo slideshow. Have fun!