PlayStation News, Articles and Information for the UK and Europe

There are several official PS3 accessories on the market now and some are better than others . Want to know which ones are right for you? PlayStation Future brings you an exclusive rundown of the main accessories to help you find out which ones might be worth buying…

Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller

The Official Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller is the replacement for the original Sixaxis controller that was shipped with all UK PS3s up until the 80GB model released in 2008. Essentially the only significant difference between the two is added rumble support - a feature notoriously absent from the PS3 on release.

As virtually every PS3 owner already has at least one controller, is it really worth buying an Official Dualshock 3 Controller? If you want to play a lot of split-screen games then the answer is yes. At £35 each, there are are clearly cheaper alternatives but in reality they are often very cheaply made so in the long-term it’s a better deal spending £35 on a controller that you won’t have to replace in 12 months. If you only own one Sixaxis controller and nothing else there’s the extra reason to buy a Dualshock 3 for the rumble feature – just keep your Sixaxis for two-player split-screen. Read more

A brand new trailer for Just Cause 2 has been released by Eidos to show off the ‘new level of freedom’ that the game has to offer. Set for UK release on 23rd March 2010, Just Cause 2 features spectacular open-world gameplay set on the fictional island of Panau, with over 400 square miles of white sand beaches, scorching deserts and snow-capped peaks. If you pre-order Just Cause 2 you will be able to get the limited edition version for no extra cost, with the Agency Hovercraft, Rico’s Signature Gun, Bull’s Eye Assault Rifle, Chevalier Classic, Chaos Parachute and a fold-out Panauan Intel map all coming as bonus items.

 See the freedom for yourself in the new trailer…

With the game formally announced just days ago, you can now check out the new trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 4, courtesy of CVG. Returning to the series’ roots as a fast, sidescrolling platformer, Sonic 4 will be released on PSN (and Xbox Live/WiiWare) this summer. Enjoy…

The team behind Heavy Rain sent out an email this morning with a link to a Heavy Rain promotional website, where you will be able to obtain a code to download the Heavy Rain demo from the PSN Store. The website can be found at www.precinct52.com/case1117_briefing - according to PSNLife.nl, there are four pieces of evidence you will need to discover if you want to get a code. If you want to do the detective work yourself, look away now! Otherwise, scroll down to below the image to find the right evidence:

• Short cigarette (117b)
• Origami bird
• C coffee shop (it says “dinner”)
• 1117h (tire tracks).

The artwork for the long awaited re-release of Resident Evil 5 has just been released by Capcom. Known as the ‘Gold Edition’, this update to the acclaimed 2009 zombie-shooter contains the original game plus all the existing DLC as well as two new ‘episodes’ called “Lost in Nightmares” and “Desperate Escape”. Long-standing fans of the Resident Evil series will be particuarly looking forward to the “Lost in Nightmares” episode as it is a playable flashback to the original Mansion from the first Resident Evil game.

The PS3 version will be on a Blu-ray disc so will contain all the data ‘out of the box’, as opposed to the Xbox 360 version which will require the addtional content to be downloaded, due to the limitations of the DVD format. Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition is currently slated for an EU release date of 12th March 2010.

The debut trailer for the forthcoming Fallout: New Vegas has just been released on G4TV.com. Check it out:

It’s clear that the current console war between Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 at least partially hinges on exclusive content. With such evenly matched hardware and a heavy reliance on 3rd party development of games, often the decision on which console to buy simply comes down to which one has the better games.

One of the main critcisms of the PlayStation 3 at launch was that it barely had any good games, whereas the Xbox 360, with its 12 month headstart, had plenty, with even more in the pipeline. Fortunately for Sony, the tide may be turning and developers are starting to take the PS3 seriously. Long-standing Microsoft-friendly developers like Bioware are starting to realise the potential to make money by releasing new games on both platforms. But what about older games that were originally Microsoft exclusive? Well, games that are actually published by Microsoft are going nowhere and likewise there are some games that the PS3 simply doesn’t need. Those aside, here are our suggestions of which console-exclusive games should get ported across:

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As we get closer to the highly anticipated Bioshock 2 release in the UK (9th February), you may be wondering exactly what’s in store for fans of the original Bioshock game. Well, the guys from the Official US PlayStation Blog got a chance to chat to the developers – you find out what they had to say in the interview below.

What will be the ‘Game of Year’ in 2010 for the Playstation 3 platform? At this early stage it’s anyone’s guess, but here’s our pre-release guide to some of the favourites so far:

5 – Red Dead Redemption 

• At number five we have Rockstar’s upcoming ‘sandbox’ western game, Red Dead Redemption. For those of you who don’t remember, this is the sequel to the Playstation 2/Xbox game Red Dead Revolver which, back in  2004, had some pretty good reviews and was very popular with fans. Six years later and it looks like we’ll finally get the long-awaited sequel. As far as sandbox (free roaming, do whatever you want) games go, Rockstar practically invented the genre with the release of Grand Theft Auto 3 back in 2001, so there are very high hopes for Red Dead Redemption. Early previews indicate that Rockstar have had some serious problems with the development but providing these can be ironed out, Red Dead Redemption has a moderate chance of being the GOTY 2010.

  Read more

These are taken from the Spanish PSN Store’s Facebook page, so they’re not definitive for the UK yet but probably a very good estimate of what to expect. Of particular interest for many will be the long-awaited arrival of Final Fantasy VIII (PSOne Classics) – it came out on the US Store a few months ago but now finally it looks like UK players will be able to get it too.

Demos

• Alien vs. Predator
• Battlefield Bad Company 2
• Half Minute Hero (PSP)
• Heavy Rain

PSone

• Final Fantasy 8

Minis

• Spaceball: Revolution

PSP Games

• Ben10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks

Add-ons

• Age Of Booty – Map Pack 1- 9
• Dante’s Inferno - Free Soul Pack
• Dante’s Inferno – Small Soul Pack
• Dante’s Inferno – Medium Soul Pack
• Dante’s Inferno – Large Soul Pack
• Dragon Ball Raging Blast
• Revived Warriors Pack
• Eye Pet – Lucky Dip Pack 11
• Fairytale Fights: Treasure Pack 01
• Guitar Hero 5 – 30 Seconds To Mars Track Pack
• Infamous – Gigawatt Blades Pack
• LittleBigPlanet PSP – The Savannah Costume Pack
• LittleBigPlanet PSP – The Gardens Costume Pack
• Rock Band – Going Country Pack 03
• Topatoi Episode 2 – Pillar of the Skies

Videos

• After Burner Climax Trailer
• Army of Two: The 40th Day
• Mask Creator Trailer
• Dante’s Inferno
• Fraud Dev Diary
• Family Game Night Trailer

PS3 Themes

• Army Of Two Theme 2