Last month we added some flair to the world of HVB with the release of the two characters — Foxy Powers and Chastity Falls – as well as the All Hallow’s Eve Bowling Ball Pack. Last week, we released the new Gearhead Ball Pack, which is currently available on the Playstation Store for just $.99. Inspired by the American Hot Rod culture, players can now get ready to tear up the lanes in style with six new bowling ball designs, including two new showcase balls!

Well, this week, we are continuing to expand the HVB universe, with two new characters, Darryl “Stringbean” Johnson and Gage Mason. Like the new Gearhead Ball Pack, both Darryl and Gage are available for download TODAY for just $.99 each! Here’s a little bit of background info about the two:

Darryl “Stringbean” Johnson

Darryl is a long-haul trucker from Memphis, Tennessee. After his recent divorce, Darryl spent many lonely nights perfecting his hook down at his favorite bowling alley, Loading Dock Lanes. It’s about the only place on earth where a trucker with a passion for bowling can feel right at home amongst the oil, flatbed trailers and shipping containers. Darryl also loves fresh produce, which is the only thing he hauls these days. It just seemed natural for him to find a perfectly round watermelon and turn it into his favorite bowling ball, the melonballer.

Gage Mason

Gage grew up in Washington, D.C. as the only child in his family. Years of playing video games has helped his hand eye coordination, which has allowed him to perfect his bowling accuracy. Gage spends most of his time hanging out at the Dark Carnival. It’s a place to bowl a few games, reflect on his thoughts, and get into the perfect state of mind to write new lyrics for his band Pain Magnet.

Oh, and that’s not all in our sack of HVB goodies. As our gift from us to you, we will be giving away Tiff’s Big Zero Trick Shot Pack, as well Bea’s Holiday Spirit and Carl’s Season’s Greetings costumes – ALL FOR FREE!!!

AND, next week (12/23/08) we will be releasing more new FREE packs — the new Gutterbird Ball and Patches Pack One Trick Shot Pack.

So, there you have it – lots of cool new add-on content for all you HVB fans to enjoy!

But, before we sign off today, I wanted to address the handful of users who have been unable to connect with other players online. We haven’t forgotten you, and have been working hard to determine the cause of your connectivity issues. We recently discovered a problem that might prevent users from playing head-to-head when they are connected to the internet using a router that has a DNS caching feature enabled on it. We have made the fix and the patch is available now, all you have to do is log into the PlayStation Network and start up High Velocity Bowling.

Team RamRod would to thank everyone for their continued support and enthusiasm for HVB. For those of you who have never played the game before, we invite you to pick it up this holiday season. It’s a great game to play with your family and friends, whether they are with you at home, or if you want to play with them online.

Happy Holidays!

Team RamRod!

Anyone that has played HVB knows that it is filled with an eccentric mix of characters and bowling alleys. Joe and Jill might be your average family playing in a common setting, but it’s not everyday you can mix it up on the lanes with a biker who wants to be a Viking. Most of you know that HVB hasn’t had any new faces in the neighborhood for quite a while, so without further delay, I am proud to introduce everyone to our newest bowlers, Foxy Powers and Chastity Falls!

Foxy Powers
Foxy Powers is a retro revolutionary, who hails from Oakland, California. She spends her time challenging one sucker after another in her cool, dark den. Foxy has a powerful shot with a good spin. Downloading Foxy also nets you her special ball, “The Revolution” and her new lane “Foxy’s Den” which is styled with funky 70′s disco ambiance and music.

Chastity Falls
Chastity is a talented and enthusiastic dancer born and raised in South Carolina. Her bowling style is to smash the pins using a heavy ball with a decent hook. When you download Chastity you’ll also receive access to her lane, “Redneck Mansion,” as well as her ball, “Spare Change.”

All Hallow’s Eve Ball Pack
Finally, for the first time in HVB, we are able to offer ball packs! The first one is the All Hallows Eve Ball Pack Add-On! This download gives you access to six different Halloween styled balls including two of our special see-through “showcase” balls.

Everything will be available beginning today, Thursday, October 23 and will be priced at $0.99 per item. We hope that you’re all enjoying HVB as much as we are. It’s been great playing against you online!

See you online…

Team RamRod

To give you some background on the HVB development team, we are a small team who works on several projects. As some of you know, Big Ern has left our neck of the woods (we still miss him). But, the team has since picked up the reins and is now leading a new charge for HVB.

A lot of you have been asking about HVB, and we are here to deliver great news. We are pleased to announce that we putting the finishing touches on a new update for HVB, which will hit the PlayStation Network TOMORROW! Excited? Well, the best part of this is that the new update – all new features included – is FREE! For our brothers and sisters in the north, that means FREE for you, too.

HEAD-TO-HEAD ONLINE PLAY! VOICE CHAT COMMUNICATION! WEEKLY ONLINE LEADERBOARDS!

We can hear you now … “Wait, what? Really? I get online play in the update? Will it support my Playstation Friends List?” YES to all of the above. You will now be able to play with your friends online AND be able to chat with them using a PS3 headset or microphone. Feel free to chat and talk smack after comparing your stats and rankings on the online leaderboards that will be updated weekly.

PSN TROPHIES!

Yup! PSN Trophies – 12 new shiny and purty trophies (7 bronze, 4 silver and 1 gold trophy). The only way to earn these is to play online (fortunately, we added that too, ‘cause we’re awesome!). If you’re worried you don’t have the skills, don’t stress — if you’re persistent enough, you will still be able to earn most, if not all, of these as well. Here’s the list:

BRONZE:

• Score 180 or higher in an online game.
• Achieve an online rating of 1600 or more.
• Knock down a total of 500 pins in online games.
• Get 10 strikes in online games.
• Get 15 spares in online games.
• Win an online game.
• Play 3 online games.

SILVER:

• Score 250 or higher in an online game.
• Knock down a total of 5000 pins in online games.
• Get 25 wins in online games.
• Get 75 strikes in online games.

GOLD:

• Get 150 strikes in online games.

PLAYLISTS WITH IMPROVED AUDIO!

You can access the XMB while in-game for your own custom soundtracks, with support for playlists. We had custom music before, but were not able to incorporate playlists. Now with the new XMB custom music feature, you can bowl while listening to a mix of Beethoven, Frank Zappa, Britney Spears, Weird Al Yankovic, Gregorian Chants and Nirvana! And with the improved audio options, you’ll be able to crank up your tunes, character voices, and ambient sounds, OR turn them off altogether!

MORE TRICK SHOTS!

That’s right, we’ve included a section on the menu to start posting additional trick shot challenges. You’ll be given two new challenges with your update, and additional trick shots will be created for download in the future. These challenges will not only help you earn patches that you missed out on during your normal gameplay, but get you more stars for the leaderboards!

NEW BALL BAGS!

We’ve added a new and more realistic Ball Bag system in HVB. You can only bring four balls with you onto the lane in each bag, so you’ll have to choose wisely. You can name and save up to 24 different ball bags so you don’t have to individually choose four balls every time that you want to play. Be sure to mix and match so that there are some good hooking balls and some good straight rollers in your bag. This way, you’ll be prepared for any oil pattern or pin leave!

ALLEY SELECTION!

You can now choose which lane to play on (as long as you’re not in a tournament). This means that you can play in Spider’s Garage, Tiffany’s Toybox, the Zen Garden, or wherever you want!

NEW ADD-ON CONTENT

We are going to continue to provide new content for HVB. This content will include more sinister Trick Shots, more wacky characters, cool bowling balls and quirkier costumes.

Anxious to get your game on and strike it up? These exciting new features for HVB will truly make your bowling experience fun. We made the extra efforts to make sure we delivered a lot of fun into a whole lot of FREE for our devoted fans! Please make sure you continue to check back here for future updates on HVB. You’ve all waited so patiently for more – we’ll be sure to make it worth your wait!

Until next time!

Team RamRod