40w ago - Take Two Europe Digital Sales Manager Ross McGrath has announced today that Borderlands 2 is getting a simultaneous PSN digital release.

To quote: By now you'll probably be aware that Borderlands 2 is just one short week from release. That means it'll soon be time for you and up to three friends to return to Pandora and wreak some havoc on Handsome Jack and his nefarious cohorts.

If you want to be among the first to return to the wastes and start your campaign against the Hyperion Corporation then there's still time to head over to PlayStation Store and pre-order ahead of the release on 21st September - the game will be launching at the same time on PSN as in retail stores.

"But why? Tell us why, oh why we should pre-order!" I hear you all shout. Probably.

To become a Borderlands 2 Premiere Club member of course! Not only will becoming a Premiere Club member give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, but also conveys the following benefits:

• A brand new character class!
• Come 16th October, Gaige the Mechromancer will be joining Axton, Maya, Salvador and Zer0 on Pandora, bringing a new style of play - commanding a mech named D374-TP (that's Deathtrap to you). Gaige will be available absolutely free to all Premiere Club members once...

42w ago - Sony PlayStation Digital Platforms Community Manager Morgan Haro has announced today that Borderlands is coming to the PSN Instant Game Collection on September 4th as part of the PlayStation Plus update.

Below are the details, to quote: It's been quite a week for PlayStation Plus since the last time we chatted. Earlier we announced that Plus will be coming to PS Vita and that it will also be getting an upgrade in Online Game Save storage (from 150MB to a beefy 1GB).

We'll have news for you on when these will hit and what these updates will be all about soon enough; until then, let's take a look at some of the great discounts coming in at the end of the month, and let's welcome PS3 Full Game Borderlands into the Instant Game Collection in September!

It's a lot to take in so without further ado, let's get into the preview for the August 28th and September 4th PlayStation Plus updates.
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August 28th PlayStation Plus Update

Lights, Camera, Party!
50% off for PlayStation Plus Members (Regular Price: $29.99, PS Plus Price: $15.00)

The essential party game for PlayStation Move owners is getting a giant discount for PlayStation Plus members. Fast-paced, funny, quick to set up, social and full of a variety of mini-games,...

43w ago - Social Media Manager Sid Shuman is here with a fresh hands-on video showcasing KickBeat for PlayStation Vita below today.

To quote: At first blush, you could be forgiven for thinking that KickBeat is a new riff on Beats, that seminal PSP downloadable gem that transformed your MP3 collection into an engaging button-tapping rhythm challenge.

Much like Beats, KickBeat awards you points for accurately tapping combinations of the four face buttons (or four quadrants on the front touchscreen) in time to the music and subtle visual cues.

But KickBeat is a far more ambitious game, both mechanically and aesthetically. Abandoning the abstract icons that clutter the interfaces of many music games, KickBeat reimagines the rhythm game as a chop-socky fighting scene with an agile protagonist battling hordes of incoming goons in a circular arena.

Each successive hit you land yields a bigger bonus multiplayer and more points, while missing an incoming attack diminishes your life meter. The game ramps up slowly but surely.

Smacking down the most basic yellow enemy type is easy enough, but the action quickly accelerates as new enemies types are introduced - red enemies attack from two places at once, while blue aggressors come in with a tricky one-two combo.

Before...

44w ago - Sony Senior Social Media Manager Jeff Rubenstein has shared a hands-on look at Assassin's Creed III Liberation for PS Vita from Gamescom 2012 today.

To quote: Here at gamescom 2012, Ubisoft finally granted hands-on access to its newest assassin, Aveline, star of Assassin's Creed III Liberation.

In this video, story writer Richard Farrese walks us through some of the new features found in PS Vita's first entry in the series.

Liberation takes full advantage of the new Assassin's Creed III game engine and its simplified control scheme. Gone are the days of leaning on the shoulder button and playing defense during encounters.

Press Square for melee attacks, hold and release Triangle to aim and fire ranged weapons, Circle counters, X is used for block-breakers and other moves. It's a bit of an adjustment to begin thinking offense first in an Assassin's Creed game, but ultimately it's likely to be seen as an improvement.

Ubisoft is taking advantage of PS Vita's touchscreen in logical ways: tapping the screen brings up a split weapon wheel where you can select melee weapons (machete, hidden blades) on the left and ranged weapons (blowgun, whip) on the right.

44w ago - Sony Senior Social Media Manager Jeff Rubenstein has posted up a new video today from Gamescom 2012 spotlighting a hands-on look at Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch for PS3 below.

To quote: While waiting to get hands-on with Dishonored here at gamescom (impressions shared in this week's PlayStation Blogcast), I ran into an acquaintance from Namco Bandai.

He invited me to their booth to experience the two new demos for Ni no kuni: Wrath of the White Witch being shown.

I didn't pass on the opportunity, if nothing else, as an excuse to share beautiful new screens and video with you.

When launching the first demo, the demonstrator made a point of showing that the game features a Japanese language voiceover selection option. This is a frequent request from JRPG fans, so rest assured that matter is settled.

Parts of what I saw are showcased in this new gamescom trailer, so do your eyes a favor and roll the video:





The first demo, "An Errand for Father Oak," takes place very early in the game as diminutive hero-in-training Oliver is trying to get to the Ding Dong Dell, the Cat King's Castle. When the downtrodden gate guard won't let you in,...