Paul Brownlee

We’re back with another look at R-Type Dimensions on PS3 (available today for only $9.99). Before you rush off to buy it, I wanted to give future R-9A Arrowhead pilots a few tips and a closer look at R-Type Dimensions’ new features.

First off, R-Type Dimensions features a newly arranged soundtrack by Kenichiro Iwasaki that is pure audio bliss, and is a perfect matchup to the game’s new HD graphics.

Speaking of new audio and graphics brings me to the option to swap back and forth between the new and the old. In R-Type Dimensions players can swap between the new versions of R-Type and R-Type II on the fly, directly in the midst of the action, simply by pressing the Triangle button on DualShock 3, or on an arcade stick. It’s awesome to see and hear the changes right there on the spot without having to back out of the game, return to the menu, and start the game all over again. And if a player prefers to map any of the controls to another button, R-Type Dimensions features full controller customization, too!

Another new feature which I am in love with is the slow-motion feature. At any point during the game, players can hold down the L2 Button (by default) and enter a super slowed down mode that brings the action to a crawl, and allows players to better analyze their surroundings to make calculated shots and maneuvers. It’s key for those looking to 1CC either game! At least it is for me. I honestly don’t remember R-Type being so challenging.

Growing up in the 80s, way before the days of PlayStation Network and other online gaming services, we would have to take our games or systems to our friends’ house if we wanted to play the same game together. And with R-Type Dimensions, players can reignite that feeling — to a certain degree — with local two-Player “couch” co-op.

There are plenty of other new features like Infinite Mode that grants players unlimited lives, a Stage Select, Leaderboards, full player statistics, Trophies, and more, but rather than hold you up any longer, how about we start chargin’ our beams and start blasting away, ‘eh?

See you on the leaderboards. More info here: www.rtypedimensions.com/ps3.

Rad 1001 Spikes multiplayer trailer ⊟

Every time someone mentions this game, or I see footage, I get excited. OH YEAH this is coming out! I want to play this!

The 3DS and Vita versions won’t have this multiplayer, but I’m pretty confident they’ll still be fun. Maybe it’ll be one of those situations where you play a portable version for “practice” and then play a console version with other people…

Man, and look at Curly Brace jetpacking around!

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Puppeteer is a stunning adventure starring a boy named Kutaro, who unfortunately gets turned into a puppet and then has his head removed. Tough break. As you make your way home, you’ll collect heads from other sources (not sure why there are a bunch of heads lying around, but y’know), which serve as collectibles and your health bar.

Color-match games can be quite addictive, and Surge Deluxe on PS Vita is no exception. As you clear out blocks of the same color by dragging your finger across Vita’s touchscreen, you’ll also be racing against the pressure building in the surrounding pipes. If you don’t vent the pipes by clearing out blocks, it’s game over. Don’t worry though, you can always try again. ;)

You can download Puppeteer and Surge Deluxe after the PlayStation Store updates tomorrow, May 20th.

If you’ve got feedback on today’s Plus update, make sure to vote in the poll and leave a comment below. To discuss all things PlayStation, including this update, you can also head over to the PlayStation Community Forums where you’ll find topics you can contribute your thoughts to, or start one for yourself.

Here’s what’s going on in The Denpa Men 3 ⊟

Quirky, small eShop games like this need all the attention/sales they can get. I hope the eproctophilia community catches wind (huhuhu) of these images and runs out to buy the RPG. You can watch the scene and the video where I got these shots from at Balrog’s Nintendo Game Room.

Side note, while looking up the term eproctophilia, I found this Yahoo! Answers thread. I… I can’t. I just can’t right now. What is even going on.

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Are you telling me that there is a video game where I will be able to play as Kim Jung-un and it accurately demonstrates all of his glory and majesty?! AND, if I actually had a friend, a second person could join in as player two and control Kim Jung-un's lifelong best friend, Dennis Rodman? You're going to have to give me a second. This is a little too much for me to take in all at once.

Here is Moneyhorse Games description for this upcoming release:

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea commands you to know that the capitalistic pigs at Moneyhorse LLC, are developing Glorious Leader!, an epic tale about the triumph of Kim Jong-un over the entire American army. Battle through seven unique levels as you defeat waves of imperialists, combat over-the-top bosses, and ride unicorns!

This is the video game that I have been waiting my whole life for to play. Are you as sexually aroused about this as I am? Doubtful.



See more: Glorious Leader! the Video Game

After watching this video, all I can think is that someone will believe this is a good idea. Not a huge publishing house, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of the titles in a future Humble Bundle will have Gilbert Gottfried either voicing a main character or narrating. And I don't mean a new Disney's Aladdin game, either.



See more: Gilbert Gottfried Voices Popular Video Games

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan and Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl are on discount sale on the Nintendo eShop.

Read Etrian Odyssey Untold And Etrian Odyssey IV On Discount Sale In North America on Siliconera!

Swiss public TV was first to report that surrealist science fiction illustrator H.R. Giger has died at 74. Giger created the designs for the Alien movies, the notorious poster included with the Dead Kennedys' Frankenchrist, and many other iconic works. Read the rest

Omori by Omocat ⊟

Well, this looks great, an RPG by artist OMOCAT. Best of all, it’s already funded on Kickstarter! Omori is “a surreal psychological horror RPGmaker game” taking place across two worlds.”

Not only is it created, written, etc. by OMOCAT, it features music by Space Boyfriend and Slime Girls! This is going to be cool.

In other news about cool Kickstarters, Renegade Kid’s Cult County looks cool and is not nearly funded yet…

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On May 20th — that’s exactly two weeks from today — Transistor will be available on PlayStation 4! We have a bunch of new details to share, starting with the fact that you can preorder the game starting today, as soon as PlayStation Store updates.

Now that the game is almost ready, I wanted to get into some more nitty-gritty details about some of its features.

For starters, Transistor features lots and lots of hand-painted 2D artwork, and thanks to PlayStation 4′s raw power, you’ll get to experience it just as we intended in full HD 1080p resolution. That’s a first for us on console.

Some months ago I also told you a little about how we’re using DualShock 4′s light bar in sync with the voiceover in the game. At the end I hinted we were also looking into using the controller’s built-in speaker. Turns out it works great, so we’re pleased to offer a Controller Speaker option for a more personal feel. With the light bar and controller speaker working in unison, DualShock 4 becomes a direct analog for Red’s mysterious, talkative weapon. We think this is a unique way of playing through the game, and we hope players will enjoy it.

Lastly (for now), let’s talk about Trophies. Transistor has more than 30 Trophies, including a Platinum Trophy if you manage to unlock all the others. Our philosophy around Trophy design is we want players to discover the breadth, depth, and content of the game, and feel rewarded for it. Some of our Trophies concern hidden aspects of the game that we’ve purposely said nothing about, so we encourage you to discover these for yourself as you play! Though if you want look them all up and aren’t worried about spoiling bits of it for yourself, that’s cool too.

As May 20th fast approaches, we’ll have more to share about the game right here. For now, be sure to catch my recent interview with PlayStation’s Justin Massongill on the PlayStation Blogcast! Until next week!

Hola, PlayStation.Blog readers. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I hope everyone is having a splendid week thus far, and that you all had an awesome weekend. May is one of my favorite months. It starts off early with Star Wars “May the 4th” festivities, and then jumps immediately into Cinco de Mayo, without a break in between the two days. It’s like one big 48-hour celebration, and I love it!

But now that the party is over you may find yourselves asking “Well, what else do we have to look forward to this month?” Oh, I don’t know… how about Tozai Games bringing R-Type Dimensions to PS3 on May 20th! Yup, that’s right, the PS3 shoot ‘em up library is about to explode with not only one, but two fully-remastered R-Type games with new HD graphics, music, and features!

Tozai is going at this one with their lasers-a’-blazing, bringing both R-Type and R-Type II together as R-Type Dimensions. Players will be getting R-Type, featuring all 8 original R-Type levels, and R-Type II, featuring all 6 original levels. But wait, hold the phones, there’s more! Tozai isn’t just releasing some dusty old arcade ports, no way. They’re giving this legendary series the special treatment it so rightfully deserves.

As previously mentioned, these are fully-remastered games. Players are going see, hear, and experience R-Type and R-Type II like never before. Both games have been given updated HD graphics, pulsing new audio tracks, and to top it off, players can even switch between new hi-res 2D/3D graphics, or play the classic versions with the push of a button. Tozai is also adding all-new features like Infinite Mode and Level Select that will allow players to learn the levels inside and out so they can shoot for those perfect, 1CC runs.

And if that wasn’t enough, they’re also including local couch co-op — because it’s more fun to blast Bydo Empire baddies with a friend — a slow motion play function, controller key configuration, worldwide leaderboards, player statistics, and of course, Trophies!

We can’t wait to see you guys lighting up the worldwide leaderboards on May 20th. Shmup fans never cease to blow my mind with their insanely high scores, nail-biting near misses, and jaw-droppingly perfect runs. You guys leave me totally speechless with how awesome you are.

We’re a little under two weeks out from take-off, but in the meantime we invite you all to visit the R-Type Dimensions site.

The moral of the story is: Play it safe. Always knock first.



See more: The Birds and the BMOs

According to the game’s developer, Batterystaple Games, Echoes of Eridu is “built to play like Mega Man X and replay like your favorite roguelikes”.

Read Echoes of Eridu: Part Mega Man X, Part Roguelike on Siliconera!

Hey everyone! I’m excited to announce we’re celebrating acclaimed Japanese games on PS3 and PS Vita as part of the Golden Week Sale starting tomorrow and running through May 5th. In Japan, Golden Week encompasses four national holidays, and doubles as the biggest travel and shopping season of the year. This week, we pay homage to this tradition with a golden (wink) opportunity to pick up some awesome games at up to 50% off. PlayStation Plus members get an added bonus, receiving up to 75% off.

Get Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, rain, Persona 4 Golden, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Soulcalibur V, and more fantastic Japanese-developed PS3 and PS Vita games at some sweet discounts. Check out the full line-up below:

 

Title	PS Plus Sale Price	Sale Price	Original Price
Armored Core: Verdict Day (PS3)	$5.00	$9.99	$19.99
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk (PS3)	$24.49	$34.99	$49.99
Atelier Meruru Plus: The Apprentice of Arland (PS Vita)	$19.59	$27.99	$39.99
Atelier Totori Plus: The Adventurer of Arland (PS Vita)	$19.59	$27.99	$39.99
Chrono Cross (PS3/PSP/PS Vita)	$3.49	$4.99	$9.99
Chrono Trigger (PS3/PSP/PS Vita)	$3.49	$4.99	$9.99
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (PS Vita)	$32.39	$35.99	$39.99
Devil May Cry HD Collection (PS3)	$8.99	$14.99	$29.99
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (PS3)	$15.00	$29.99	$59.99
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (PS Vita)	$10.00	$19.99	$39.99
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (PS3)	$5.00	$9.99	$19.99
Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory (PS3)	$14.69	$20.99	$29.99
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3)	$14.99	$24.99	$49.99
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PS3)	$11.99	$19.99	$39.99
Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection (PS Vita)	$8.99	$14.99	$29.99
Muramasa Rebirth (PS Vita)	$7.49	$12.49	$24.99
Persona 4 Golden (PS Vita)	$14.62	$19.49	$29.99
rain (PS3)	$3.75	$7.49	$14.99
Saint Seiya: Brave Soldiers (PS3)	$15.00	$29.99	$59.99
SoulCalibur V (PS3)	$5.00	$9.99	$19.99
Tales of Symphonia Chronicles (PS3)	$10.00	$19.99	$39.99
Time and Eternity (PS3)	$9.79	$13.99	$19.99
Ys: Memories of Celceta (PS Vita)	$19.59	$27.99	$39.99
Zone of the Enders HD Collection (PS3)	$10.49	$17.49	$34.99

 

Remember to visit PlayStation Store tomorrow to snag these games while they are on sale. Which games are you planning on picking up?

(source)

Wii U is getting a little shooting love, but not from Triangle Service. Ubiquitous Entertainment made Gaiabreaker, a vertical shmup for Nintendo’s console.

 

Gaiabreaker is probably more notable for being one of the few games on Wii U that utilizes the enchant.js framework, a HTML5/JavaScript Engine.

 

The game was released in Japan last December and it looks like it’s heading West since Gaiabreaker was rated by Australia’s Classification Board.

Read Wii U Shmup Gaiabreaker Is Soaring To The West on Siliconera!

HBO and Amazon have announced a deal through which the cable TV network will offer reruns of many hit shows on Amazon's Prime Instant Video platform. The shows to be sold include "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," "The Wire," "Girls" and "Veep," as well as HBO miniseries like "Band of Brothers" and original features such as "Game Change."

The Los Angeles Times reports that "HBO's online streaming service HBO Go will also be available on Amazon's new Fire TV settop box the end of the year," as part of the arrangement. HBO shows will be available on Prime Instant starting May 21. Terms were not disclosed.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

The deal is a first for HBO as the premium service has kept past episodes of its programming inside its own walled universe on authenticated service HBO Go and its own on-demand platforms. HBO has been cautious about entering the SVOD [subscription video on demand] ecosystem in order to protect the lucrative fees customers pay cable providers for access to HBO's original content and Hollywood movies, which continue to be a significant driver of eyeballs to HBO. Licensing content to streaming services remains a balancing act for premium cable networks, where the bread-and-butter is still subscription fees.

Just in time for this Friday’s release, Darks Souls II for the PC is 25% off at GMG thanks to a 24-hour only coupon.  Buyers will enjoy a much better port than the first installment by From Software; Dark Souls II on the PC will feature higher frame rate, higher quality texture, larger resolution, and loads of configuration for input control (none of that crappy controller to keyboard/mouse port experience from before).

 

• Get Dark Souls II for $37.50 (PC Steam Key)
• Use coupon: GMG025-EASTER-024HRS

 

On the note of higher resolution, you’re also not limited to 1920 x 1080 — essentially whatever is supported by your system will render accordingly. So for those of you on a triple monitor setups, you can enjoy an even more compelling experience as your character dies again and again.

 

The coupon above expires tomorrow at 11 A.M. Eastern, so if you’re set on playing Dark Souls II this Friday, you might want to hop on this deal fast. Pre-order also gets you those digital bonuses we mentioned last month. This is a Steam key deal, so it’s as easy as it gets. Plug it into your library, free up 14GB of hard drive space, and enjoy playing for 5 minutes before you face death.

Read Dark Souls II PC Pre-Order 25% Off for 24 Hours Only on Siliconera!

New Monster Hunter 4G trailer ⊟

You, too, will be able to hunt huge dinosaur/crab-like monsters in the desert — and get your shit wrecked — when this hits the West in early 2015. Japan gets the 3DS game this fall.

BUY Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, upcoming games

An anonymous reader writes "A man named Jose Delgado was so used to using a $42,000 myoelectric prosthetic hand for the last year that he didn't realize that there were other options out there. Although Delgado, born without a left hand, was able to obtain the hand via his insurance, he found that a 3D printed 'Cyborg Beast,' an open source hand which costs just $50 to print, actually was more comfortable and performed better than the device which costs 840 times as much money."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Yes, there was a calculator for Game Boy ⊟

Long before iOS apps, or even DS “non-games,” the Infogenius series cornered the then-nonexistent market for productivity software on handheld game consoles. Seen above is Spell Checker and Calculator, but Frommer’s Travel Guide, Spanish Translator, French Translator, and Personal Organizer and Phone Book were also sold in 1991.

“The most remarkable InfoGenius cart is the Personal Organizer,” according to a ubiquitous column by Chip and Jonathan Carter (seriously, I’ve found it in like five different newspapers). “Simple Game Boy controls let you store names, addresses and phone numbers. You can keep track of appointments and events with the day planner and find dates through the year 2000 with a calendar.”

BUY Game Boy games, upcoming releases