With just over a month until our May 8th release, the time to fully experience the virtual glory that is Starhawk is rapidly approaching. We figured what better way to raise the excitement level than to give you a first-hand look at some of the different vehicle options you’ll have at your disposal when this innovative third-person shooter hits stores next month. We’ve said from the very beginning that Starhawk will have a broad range of intense air, ground, and vehicular combat so I think our new Ride, Die, and Fly trailer will certainly drive that point home.

First up is the Sidewinder JetBike – basically a quick-strike hoverbike that’s very fast, perfect for crazy jumps and a lot of fun to drive. Next, the Razorback, which is similar to a buggy vehicle, a sturdy 4×4 that carries up to three players and comes with a mounted gun on the back, perfect for picking off Outcast scum in a hurry.

The Ox Heavy Tank is one of my favorites. The name basically says it all, right? It’s a burly vehicle that’s great for bombarding bases. It’s not the fastest vehicle in your garage, but it’s easily maneuverable and man, is it powerful! It carries up to two players. And last but certainly not least is the Hawk, which is a transforming mech that can change into a flying jet instantaneously. Well, you’ve heard me talk about these awesome vehicles, but talk is cheap. Have a look at our brand new (and I have to say epic) Ride, Die, and Fly trailer and you’ll see what I mean.

Sports fans -

It’s that time of year again – the winter frost has thawed and your favorite team is ready to get rolling. With MLB opening day just a week out, it’s time for you to put together your fantasy squad. For those of you looking for advice on which players to target in your fantasy baseball drafts, we simulated the 2012 season using MLB 12 The Show to offer a bit of guidance.

In the AL, there are plenty of guys you can build a team around – Adrian Gonzalez, Evan Longoria, Jose Bautista, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and Prince Fielder all come to mind, just to name a few sluggers. For strong pitching, the NL East is a great place to start as the Braves and Phillies will have deep rotations yet again, while the Nationals may be ready to move up to the big time with the one-two punch of Stephen Strasburg and the newly acquired Gio Gonzalez. The NL has their fair share of hitters, too, with Joey Votto, Matt Kemp, and Justin Upton, while Carlos Beltran could be a sleeper in St. Louis, an organization with a track record of rejuvenating player’s careers.

For the rest of our picks courtesy of MLB 12 The Show, check out our latest predictions trailer above. You can also view it on ESPN.com or Operation Sports.

Welcome to The Show!

Sports fans! We’re less than 24 hours away from the release of MLB 12 The Show and as you know, the game will be available on PS3 and PS Vita. This year, in addition to our cover athlete, we have multiple athletes who will be partnering with The Show to serve as ambassadors for the game. One of these players is New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia, a proclaimed gamer who takes his PS3 on the road with him during the season. He recently helped us promote MLB 12 in New York City, and you can see the event notes and pics on ESPN.com (check out that sweet custom PS3!). Here’s also a look at our Sabathia gameplay trailer on ESPN.com.

So, now that PS Vita is out in the wild, CC has a console-like experience that he can take with him anytime, anywhere, and with the cross functionality between PS3 and PS Vita, he can now take his Franchise, Season, and Road to The Show save files up to the cloud where he can then access those files on either platform. CC recently sat down with us to talk about his impressions of MLB 12 The Show for PS Vita — see what he thinks in the video above.

Welcome to The Show!

Be sure to keep an eye on the PlayStation.Blog and TheShowNation.com for more information in the coming days and weeks on this year’s game.

Welcome to The Show!

Baseball’s Fall Classic may be over, but that doesn’t mean the action on the virtual diamond has to slow down. Last month on the PlayStation.Blog we announced that Boston Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez will be our cover athlete for MLB 12 The Show. Now, I’m thrilled to show you our first MLB 12 in-game screenshots. These images feature the newly unveiled uniforms that fans can expect the Orioles, Blue Jays, Padres, and Marlins to sport next season. Players seen here include: Adam Jones (Orioles outfielder), Mark Reynolds (Orioles third baseman), José Bautista (Blue Jays outfielder), Chase Headley (Padres third baseman), Mat Latos (Padres starting pitcher), and Hanley Ramirez (Marlins shortstop). Our good friends at ESPN.com just recently posted up the screens as well. Have a look below.

Details on MLB 12 The Show’s new features (PS3 & Vita) will be coming very soon so keep an eye on the PlayStation.Blog and TheShowNation.

Welcome to The Show!

The first overall pick by the Florida Marlins in the 2000 MLB Draft, Gonzalez has really come in his own, both on the field and at the plate. A little history on him…in 2010 while playing for the San Diego Padres, he was named team MVP for the third consecutive year and fourth time overall. Then after the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Boston Red Sox last offseason, he enjoyed one of his best professional seasons to date, which included his 1,000 career hit, fourth consecutive All-Star selection, third Gold Glove, first Silver Slugger Award, and a top five finish in batting average (.338) and RBI (117) in all of baseball—not too bad!

I also want to stress that MLB 12 The Show will be coming to PlayStation Vita and will utilize all of the core gameplay features found in the PS3 version. So, players will be able to take the same big league baseball experience on the road with them, anytime, anywhere. We’ll have more info to share soon, but trust me when I tell you that MLB 12 will have a ton of new features (PS3 & Vita) that we’ll be detailing over the course of the campaign so keep an eye on the PlayStation.Blog, TheShowNation, and our MLB The Show Facebook page for more info as we get closer to launch.

Welcome to The Show!

The 2011 World Series is about to get underway so we’re here to predict the winner of this year’s Fall Classic using the most realistic sports game around, MLB 11 The Show. We recently simulated the matchup between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals and judging by the results, you may want to fasten your seatbelts because it’s going to be a wild ride. Here’s a quick video rundown of the series:

As you can see, the Cards took the early series advantage, winning Game 1 behind the arm of their ace, Chris Carpenter, but the Rangers took back the momentum, and home field advantage, with an important win in Game 2. With the series back in Texas, the Cardinals fought hard behind their big bats, Matt Holiday and Lance Berkman, and retook the lead in the series with a surprising Game 3 victory. There was no panic in Texas, however, as Nelson Cruz continued his red hot postseason with home runs in Games 4 and 5 that propelled the Rangers to back-to-back victories and a 3-2 series lead as both teams returned to St. Louis. With their backs to the wall, the redbirds gave it there all in Game 6, but pitching and defense turned out to play the biggest part as neither team could break through offensively keeping the game scoreless into the late innings. Finally, a clutch, two-out hit by Josh Hamilton gave Texas the lead late in the game, and that was all the Rangers’ stellar bullpen would need, as they nailed down the victory and a World Series title.

A year ago the Rangers came up short in 2010 MLB finale, losing to the San Francisco Giants in five games, but this time around they would not be denied. With 2 home runs and 8 RBIs, Nelson Cruz was named the World Series MVP, helping the Texas Rangers bring home their first World Series crown in franchise history.

Here are the game-by-game scores:

• Game 1: St. Louis 2, Texas 1
• Game 2: Texas 5, St. Louis 2
• Game 3: St. Louis 7, Texas 5
• Game 4: Texas 8, St. Louis 4
• Game 5: Texas 4, St. Louis 3
• Game 6: Texas 1, St. Louis 0

Here are some of the top performers:

Texas Rangers:

• Nelson Cruz: 7-21, 2 HR, 2 2B, 8 RBI (World Series MVP)
• Josh Hamilton: 7-24, 1 HR, GW hit in Game 6
• Michael Young: 6-22, 3 2B, 5 RBI
• Mike Adams: 3 G, 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 K

St. Louis Cardinals:

• Lance Berkman: 5-20, 2 HR, 5 RBI
• Matt Holliday: 6-21, 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 4 RBI
• Chris Carpenter: 2 G, 15 IP, 3 ER, 12 K

How accurate is MLB 11 The Show? The World Series starts today — we’ll know soon!

Welcome to The Show!

Fellow Spartans -

The wait is over! Kratos storms store shelves everywhere in the form God of War: Origins Collection—the compilation of God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta on a single Blu-ray Disc, available today! Now fans and newcomers to the franchise can complete the God of War experience on their PS3 for the first time. And so far, members of the media have given God of War: Origins Collection a strong thumbs up. GameTrailers.com called the game “a gift worthy of Olympus,” while MTV.com said “God of War: Origins Collection is an absolute steal.” Other early reviews include IGN.com (9/10), GamesRadar.com (9/10), GamePro (4/5), Game Informer (9.5/10), 1UP.com (A-), Machinima.com (9/10), Complex.com (8/10), DigitalTrends.com (9/10), DualShockers.com (9/10), PlayStationLifestyle.com (9/10), CraveOnline.com, and the Arizona Republic—just to name a few.

In case you forgot, here’s a quick refresher on what this package includes:

-Two award-winning PSP classics (Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta) on PS3 for the first time
-Both games running in high-definition 1080p resolution with full stereoscopic 3D support
-Only $39.99, and just in time for the holidays making it a great gift option
-PSN Trophy support that will challenge even the best players
-Dolby 5.1 / DTS surround sound
-Full DualShock 3 Wireless Controller compatibility with rumble support

Bonus content includes the God of War Game Directors Live round table video, Legionnaire Kratos skin, and the Forest of the Forgotten combat arena—all on the same Blu-ray Disc

Last, but certainly not least, in honor of today’s God of War: Origins Collection release, we’re releasing a new launch trailer; Watch it above and let us know what you think!

Fellow Spartans! We are now just over two weeks away from the September 13th launch of God of War: Origins Collection—an epic compilation of two of the most critically acclaimed PSP titles of all time, God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta. Since I know many of you can’t wait to get your hands on this package, we’re going to sweeten the deal a bit and let you play God of War: Ghost of Sparta early. PlayStation Plus members will have access to the our demo starting tomorrow, August 30th, allowing you to play Ghost of Sparta on PlayStation 3 in HD and stereoscopic 3D for the very first time. This demo will then be available to the general public next week on September 6th. It’s a treat playing both games with the DualShock controller, and they look and feel like they were always intended for the big screen. If you missed our PSP vs PS3 comparison video, watch it now for a deeper look at how we’ve enhance the visuals.

I’d also like to take a moment to thank all of our friends in the media for their flattering impression thus far. If you pick up the September issue of Game Informer, there’s a great preview calling God of War: Origins Collection “a visual treat.” Here are links to a few other recent write ups and mentions about the collection: Wall Street Journal, Yahoo! News, Playboy.com, USA Today, CNET, IGN, Joystiq, Kotaku, Games Radar, and Game Informer.

Thanks, as always, for everyone’s support. Don’t forget: the war begins on September 13th!