PlayStation News, Articles and Information for the UK and Europe

F1 2010, the forthcoming Formula 1 racing simulator, will have the most advanced weather system “ever seen in a game”, according to the developers at Codemasters.

Speaking to TVGB, Andy Gray from Codemasters said, “We strongly believe that the dynamic weather system in F1 2010 is the most advanced ever seen in a game. Not only does it look great but it will also have an effect on the way your car handles, the AI and of course your race strategy.”

For more information see the whole article here. F1 2010 is scheduled for a September 2010 release for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC.

Mafia II, the sequel to the 2002 game Mafia: City of Lost Heaven, will be released on PS3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC on August 27th in the UK and Europe. Lucky North American gamers will get it a few days earlier, on August 24th.

Mafia II transports gamers into the dark and unforgiving world of the American Mafia set within an atmosphere that meticulously replicates the clothing, cars, music and advertising of 1940s and 1950s Americana. Mafia II is currently in development by 2K Czech, the same creative team behind the original game, which was a big hit with gamers and critics alike. If 2K Czech can iron out the kinks, Mafia II could be one of top games in an already crowded year of gaming.

For all you digital comics fans out there, here’s the full list of this week’s additions to the Digital Comics Store:

• 2000AD Prog #1672 2000AD 15+
• The Amazing Spider-Man (2003) #546-550 Marvel 9+
• Army of Two #3 IDW 17+
• Cancertown: An Inconvenient Tooth #3 Insomnia 18+
• The Dark #1-#4 Markosia 12+
• Dark Mists #1-#4 Markosia 17+
• Donald Duck and the Treasure Island Disney 3+
• DoubleDuck #4 Disney 3+
• The Ghoul #1 (with audio commentary) IDW 12+
• Gyro Gearloose and the Irresistible Multi-Magnet Disney 3+
• Kong: King of Skull Island (FREE!) Markosia 12+
• Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows #1 (with audio commentary) IDW 17+
• Miss Quackfaster and the Ill-Fated Infatuation Disney 3+
• We Kill Monsters #3 Red 5 Comics 12+
• Star Trek: Nero #4 IDW 9+
• Superduck #9: Great Hopes Disney 3+
• Transformers Movie Sequel: The Reign of Starscream #1 (with audio commentary) IDW 9+
• The X-Men (1963) #11-#15 Marvel 3+

The long-awaited Modern Warfare 2 Map pack is set to release on Xbox Live on March 30th and has been confirmed for the PlayStation Network at a later date. The now DLC, now know as the ‘Stimulus Package’ will contain five maps, two of which are the much loved ‘Crash’ and ‘Overgrown’ maps seen in Call of Duty 4. The other three are brand new and are called ‘Bailout’, ‘Storm’ and ‘Salvage’.

The PSN price for the new DLC has yet to be confirmed but is likely to be around £10.  After surpassing Grand Theft Auto IV as the biggest entertainment product launch in history, Modern Warfare 2′s commericial success could encourage Infinity Ward to set quite a high price for the DLC – something that a lot of gamers are concerned about. Looking back at the Call of Duty 5 Map Packs, they were priced at £7.99 each. If the ‘Stimulus Package’ ends up at £9.99, that’s an increase of 20%. What do you think? Will you buy DLC at any price or do you have a limit?

It’s that time again for another weekly PSN Store update for the UK/EU. This week sees quite a big chunk of DLC but not much in terms of new games, demos and PSOne Classics. The eagerly anticipated Sonic the Hedgehog costumes for Little Big Planet have finally arrived, allowing you to play through all those Sonic-style levels in fitting attire.  Fans of Heavy Rain may also be pleased to see a whole selection of Premium Avatars and the lovely looking ‘Forest Dynamic Theme’.

See the full list below: Read more

A future update for PlayStation Home will allow developers to include automatic Facebook and Twitter notifications be posted straight from PlayStation Home into the social networking sites, showing high scores, victories and other accomplishments.

As reported on IGN, another possible use for this technology could be on large scale turn-by-turn games, whereby a user gets sent a notification when it is time for their next turn, kind of like a more advanced version of chess by email. The only question is, with so much clutter from MafiaWars and Farmville already filling up people’s Facebook pages, will they want to see any more of it?

Despite the subtle hint of a third Killzone game left at the end of Killzone 2, we’ve heard preciousl little from Sony or Guerilla Games about the next installment of the franchise. However, that’s all changed with some new comments made by Sony’s Jack Tretton to Game Trailers TV:

“Well, we own Guerrilla Games and they did a great job on Killzone 1 and 2. I don’t know if you’ll see announcements about it, but I can promise you a Killzone 3″.

Rumours abound this morning after a screenshot has started circulating which shows a PS3 XMB with an icon for “GT5 Demo 2010″. Gran Turismo 5 is currrently scheduled for release this year but an exact date has not yet been set for the UK/EU. A downloadable ‘Time Trial Challenge’ for GT5 was released on the PSN store just before Christmas last year but contained just one track and one car (in two guises) and was never intended to be a full demo. Perhaps the appearance of this screenshot indicates that a demo may not be too far away – see for yourself below:

A good solid selection this week, with something for everyone. Some cool new movies in this update, including Twilight: New Moon and Michael Caine’s last feature film, Harry Brown. There’s also classic Schwarzenegger action from The Running Man and for families there’s Disney’s Dumbo and also Ratatouille. Check out the full list below: Read more

Eagerly awaited by God of War fans throughout Europe, the God of War Collection finally has a release date for the UK/EU. Comprising the first two God of War games from the PS2 remastered in HD, running at 60FPS and including Trophy Support, the God of War Collection has the following release dates:

• UK, Ireland, Germany & Austria: 30th April 2010
• Australia & New Zealand: 29th April 2010
• Rest of PAL: 28th April 2010

With an RRP of just €39.99/£24.99, whether you’re long-time fan or are new to the series it should be worth checking out. If you’ve not yet bought God of War 3, you will also be able to buy it in a special box set with the God of War Collection being released at the same time for €89.99/£64.99.