We FINALLY got the invite up to 2K Games Marin to talk to the BioShock 2 team, and what better timing than a week away from the game’s release on Feb. 9. We certainly gathered by your abundance of Tweets that excitement for BioShock 2 is crazy high. So on Monday, I sat down with Senior Producer Melissa Miller and Lead Environment Artist Hogarth de la Plante (with a chillingly lifelike Little Sister standing eerily behind us) who answered a heap of your questions – so many in fact that we had to split the video into two parts.

So today, you’ll see part one that focuses primarily on BioShock 2’s single-player campaign, including details on story development, philosophical influence, plasmids and much more. And head on back tomorrow for part two, which delves deep into the much-anticipated multiplayer mode.

Last week we called for your questions (via Twitter) on SEGA’s upcoming PS3 shooter Aliens vs. Predator. And as usual, you delivered some good ones, covering off on all areas off the game’s single and multplayer modes, the special Hunter edition and more. Tim Jones from AvP developer Rebellion was on hand to field as I fired a list full of inquiries.

*And literally as I’m typing this, we just received word that an AvP online multiplayer demo is hitting the PlayStation Store tomorrow! So at around the 6:00 mark in the video when Tim mentions the demo, add your own mental voiceover with Thursday, Feb. 4. The demo will feature Deathmatch mode in the Refinery map, and will allow all three species to battle it out online.

What you probably didn’t know is that earlier in the week, I sat down to a solid two hours of multiplayer inside SEGA HQ, taking a shot at each of three species: human and alien primarily, with a short stint as a Predator. Going in fresh (I hadn’t seen the game in action), I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of actual multiplayer gameplay, but I knew the competitive mode would most likely vary depending on what character I chose. My first instinct was to draw Marine (hard to turn down a gun), but instead I went alien. Feeling overwhelmed by a short controls brief, I quickly settled down and learned some alien-specific moves that turned out to be incredibly devastating, including a lightning-fast lock-on “pounce” maneuver and a deadly stealth attack. It seems you really get the most out of playing as an alien if you stick to the walls and ceilings, and virtually out of other species’ sight.

As a Marine, firepower is your main offense/defense, and a handy sprint helps keep you out of harm’s way. I really enjoyed Alien Infestation, a mode where every player starts as a Marine, and soon after, one randomly selected player becomes an Alien. From there it’s only a matter of time before another Marine is killed by an alien, thus re-spawning as alien. And this continues until there’s one Marine left standing…and then it’s only a matter of time.

I think Rebellion’s done a great job of balancing the multiplayer gameplay, and the sense of Marine claustrophobia is a nice nod to the films. Can’t wait to jump into the single-player campaign when AvP releases on February 16.

This week brings a massive update to the ever-expanding world of PlayStation Home, with a mountain of virtual items and an awe-inspiring personal space (complete with built-in mini-games) being released just this Thursday alone. It’s an update that Home fanatics absolutely cannot miss out on, which is why I’m dropping in to invite each and every one of you to come check out the veritable boatload of new content we have in store for you, the PlayStation Home community.

To start, let’s look at the brand new Villain’s Lair personal space – one of the most highly interactive personal spaces to ever be published on the PlayStation Home platform. The perfect spot to indulge in your nefarious tendencies, the Villain’s Lair is an enormous environment that includes everything from a shark-infested aquarium (because even the most scoundrelly of scoundrels needs a little companionship from time to time) to a laser-guarded private museum where you can display the fruits of your detestable labor (such as all the treasure you are planning to plunder from the vaults of private collectors from across the globe).

The most intriguing aspects of the Villain’s Lair are the TWO games that are baked in to the space, available to you for no additional cost. From the deliciously ignoble strategy game (where you can plot the course for total world domination and subvert, divert, and destroy the forces of good one movement at a time) to the hilariously heinous village ruination game (where you can call upon various forces of nature to wreak havoc on the poor citizens that dwell therein), the Villain’s Lair is the place to be if you like to partake in your fair share of iniquity. Check out the video below for a thorough fly-through of this awesome new personal space.

As mentioned earlier, we will be releasing a heap of new virtual items in PlayStation Home this Thursday. From the slew of Villain’s Lair items that will aid you in constructing an appropriately evil atmosphere in your new abode to Samurai wigs and bundles of the ever-popular animated items, there’s truly something new for everyone this week in PlayStation Home. Check the Latest Updates tab (accessible while in-world via your PDA by pressing Start > Community > Latest Updates) for a list of all new items and other new content each Thursday.

In terms of weekend events, I want to invite all of you out for three nights of pure football fan boy-ism. We’ll be devoting this entire weekend – from Friday, February 5th through Super Bowl Sunday, February 7th – to playing Madden NFL 10 during our nightly Featured Game parties. So come out to Central Plaza between the hours of 6:00PM and 10:00PM PT (9:00PM and 1:00AM EST) and join up with your fellow Colts and Saints fans to launch into our own private Super Bowls. Be sure to don the corresponding team and player jerseys, available from the EA SPORTS Complex and the PlayStation Home Mall, so friends and foes know which team you are on. One word of warning: It’s sure to be intense, so you best bring your A-game….

Hello all! I hope everyone here is doing well!

NIS America will release Last Rebellion in a couple of weeks for the PlayStation 3!

Let me go over the basic story of Last Rebellion first. Then I will go on to the battle system. I will be showing our first battle footage, so don’t forget to check that out too!

It takes place in a world called Jonovald, which is governed by two gods: Meiktilia who presides over the death of all people and the destruction of all things, and Formival who presides over the birth of all people and the creation of all things. Meiktilia blesses two types of people with special powers; Blades and Sealers. Blades have the skills to destroy the physical structure of things, and Sealers use magical abilities to destroy the metaphysical, the spiritual structure of things. The two main characters are Nine who is a Blade, and Aisha who is a Sealer.

Formival’s power allows all things to revive and when they do, they become a stronger threat to others. These undead creatures are called Belzeds. In order to destroy them, the power of both a Blade and Sealer is required.

Since Nine’s homeland, Lorvin, was becoming a nesting ground for Belzeds, the king of Lorvin (Nine’s father) summons Nine and Aisha to save the land.

Now, you’ll play as these two main characters. You control both characters operating out of a single body. Well, in short, they are two souls in the same body. You can switch between these two characters just about anytime you want while you’re on the field, as well as in battle. As mentioned above, in order to destroy Belzeds, you will need both Nine’s and Aisha’s power. You’ll have to use them wisely and in the correct order to successfully destroy Belzeds.

The battle system of Last Rebellion is quite unique. You’ll be able to switch between Nine and Aisha on the battlefield, and you will be asked to decide what actions you will take for each character. You will fight in turn based battles, so you’ll have time to strategize your actions!

When you attack the Belzeds, you will see lists of the enemies’ body parts. There is a correct order to attack each part. You’ll have to decide which body part to attack first, and by using CP, you can attack as many body parts as you can. When you attack their body parts in the correct order, you’ll do much more damage, so you’ll want to figure out the correct order for each enemy as soon as possible. Well, there is some information about the strengths of their body parts in the list, so it won’t just be “guess” work.

Once you decide the order of attacks and which skills to use, then you execute. When the enemy has been knocked down, you will have to use Aisha’s Seal skill to completely destroy its body. Otherwise, they will revive with even more power! Also, if you use Nine’s Absorb skill before sealing the body, you can absorb MP from that monster. This skill will come in handy if you need to regain MP!

It’ll be easier to understand once you see it, rather than reading about it, so check out the battle footage!

Here is some random stuff about Last Rebellion.

• Nine and Aisha will share one body, so they will share HP and MP values as well. When you are using Nine to explore the field, MP will gradually recover, and when Aisha is on the field, HP will gradually recover. Switch between them as you need to.
• Nippon Ichi Software was able to get some awesome guest illustrators, such as Mr. Mikimoto, who worked on Macross. These illustrations will be shown on the loading screens!
• If you preorder Last Rebellion at RosenQueen.com you’ll receive a bonus double-sided poster, featuring some of the guest illustrators’ artwork! This is a pretty sweet deal, so I hope you are interested in it!
• Last Rebellion will be released on February 23! That’s just around the corner, so until then, learn more about it on the Official Last Rebellion Website!

Thank you for reading my post again! Have a great day!

Best regards,

Nao

The greatest value in family entertainment returns for the third time. Family Party 30 Great Games Winter Fun has 30 brand new games with a winter theme, offering hours of extreme winter sports competition and snow play for up to 4 players. Indulge in winter wonderland surroundings from the comfort of home.

• All time favorite winter sports includes snowboarding, skiing, skating and hockey.
• Classic winter playground games such as tubing, snowball fighting, and ice races.
• Winter mini games included.
• Medal based reward system for friendly competition.
• Play solo or in 4 player competition action.

Release Date:Wed, 03 Feb 2010