Just stopping by today with a quick reminder that Zeus and Isaac Clarke are live today for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, along with our new stage “Graveyard”!

Graveyard mashes up MediEvil’s zombies, mausoleums, and gargoyles with elements from The Unfinished Swan, revealed via ink splats after a mid-game whiteout. It looks great and keeps the fighting honest, with a medium-width playfield and zombies that will earn you AP when destroyed.

Zeus plays as a legendary heavyweight, making each strike feel epic. He’s got limited range, but with the ability to power up every attack merely by holding down the button, he can crush a cowardly opponent’s guard and build AP faster than anyone. Many of his triangle lightning attacks are also excellent at catching multiple opponents for an even faster ride towards his truly Olympian level 3 super.

Isaac Clarke is at his best harassing opponents from mid-range, with a wide variety of projectiles powered up by his unique Stasis and Kinesis powers. He’s no slouch at close range either, with some mighty melee attacks and the short-range force gun, but he shines brightest harassing more distant opponents with the grenade launcher, bouncing bola, and his Plasma Cutter.

Both characters come with full single-player story modes, including intros, outros, and rival scenes, as well as exclusive unlockable minions, a second unlockable costume, and all the unique customizable taunts, themes, etc. you’ve come to expect.

In addition to today’s launch of Zeus and Isaac, we’ve also done a new balance patch, which modifies every existing character in some way (and fixes some pesky glitches), as well as adding some new bells and whistles to familiar items. The hardcore players can check out the details here in the official PlayStation All-Stars forums.

Isaac and Zeus both come free for anyone that purchased a retail copy of God of War: Ascension (it’ll be in your box as a pack-in code). For anyone else, you can pick them up on PSN for $4.99 each. The Graveyard stage is available for free in online ranked matches and is $1.99 to own it. Both of these new All-Stars add some very unique angles to the game. I’ll see you online.

Happy to be back to tell you about some new surprises from PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. More costumes? More minions? Well, okay, yes. But also more new characters!

Our newest challengers are Isaac Clarke from Electronic Arts’ Dead Space, and Zeus from… well, from some of the foundational myths of Western society, but also from a little PlayStation game you might know called God of War by SCEA Santa Monica Studio.

How did these two emerge as All-Stars from the vast PlayStation multiverse? Synchronicity. We were talking with some friends over at EA who were hard at work on Dead Space 3, and with a lot of Dead Space fans on our team and all the cool tools at Isaac’s disposal, some quick concepts emerged and we knew he’d be a great addition. We’ve also wanted to add another “heavy,” hard-hitting character into All-Stars (Big Daddy was getting lonely), and with all the work on God of War: Ascension around Sony Santa Monica, Zeus emerged as a perfect fit.

As you might remember, Zeus is kind of an arrogant jerk, but one thing you can say for him is that he does not mess around. As King of the Gods, he’s a big guy, used to getting his way, and he hits HARD. Of course he’s got some cool combos, but his primary offense is centered around fewer, but more powerful strikes that generate a ton of AP and send enemies flying. He can power up virtually all of his attacks into a “charged” version with all kinds of new effects, giving him one of the biggest move lists in the game. Super-armored rushing punches, a clone move, teleports, and lightning bolts–lots and lots of lightning bolts. Your best bet against Zeus is to stay on his good side (aka behind him), or far away.

His level 1 is a giant Lightning Clap that lacks range but has a great area of effect. Level 2 lets Zeus take to the skies and fly anywhere before exploding in a deadly lightning storm. His level 3 “Wrath of Zeus” takes you to Olympus to fight a godlike 100-foot tall Zeus, and in true boss-fight form, he can wipe out half the screen with a single strike.

Through a combination of playtesting and staying true to his original series, Isaac emerged over the course of development as a strong mid-range fighter using the unique weapons and Kinesis/Stasis abilities you’ll recognize from the Dead Space series (think somewhere between Drake and Jak, with a lot of twists). He has some very interesting long-range options (the Bouncing Bola acts like sniper rifle that bounces off of walls, getting more powerful with each bounce) and he’s got some great moves up close, but just as in Dead Space, he’s at his best keeping foes safely out of his face. He can advance or retreat while firing his trusty Plasma Cutter, toss proximity mines, use Stasis attacks to freeze opponents, or spin slowly moving Ripper blades at enemies with a blast of Kinesis torque.

His level 1 super fires a supercharged stasis burst and then overloads his Plasma Cutter, which can be aimed anywhere, even at very long range. His level 2 super overloads his Kinesis module creating a bubble that launches nearby enemies away at “terminal” velocity, and Isaac’s level 3 takes you into space where he blows the airlock, sucking everyone into space for a quick game of something like “Asteroids” where Isaac flies around blasting opponents and space debris into dust.

Finally, what better to welcome new characters than with a new stage? The new “Graveyard” level mashes up MediEvil‘s Graveyard opening with… The Unfinished Swan. While we start in recognizable MediEvil territory (complete with pop-up zombies and a wisecracking gargoyle), the “Swan” elements are shown off with a mid-match whiteout and ink splatters that slowly reveal the emerging structures. There are lots of little Swan touches throughout the stage, from the hidden labyrinth, to a balloon, the King, and of course the Unfinished Swan itself makes a cameo.

So how do All-Stars fans get their hands on the new stuff? The new DLC pack hits the PlayStation Store on March 19th. As before with the recently released “Fearless” stage, the new “Graveyard” stage will be free in online ranked matches and $1.99 if you want to own it. As for Zeus and Isaac, I’m very happy to announce they will come to North America FREE as a redeemable downloadable voucher code packed in with the new God of War: Ascension, which launches on March 12th. When Zeus and Isaac Clarke go live in All-Stars on March 19th (one week later), you can use your code to redeem them any time after they are live. For anybody who doesn’t pick up God of War: Ascension (but of course that’s only crazy people–it’s got what I think is the most epic final battle in the series’ history), the characters will also be for sale in the PSN Store for $4.99 each.

I’ll have some more details coming on the new challengers in the coming weeks — until then, see you online!

Hey everyone,

We’re happy to follow up PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale‘s win for “Best Fighting Game” at the DICE Awards (the awards where all of the voting is done by other games industry pros), with a gift to all the players that have supported the project from the start.

I hear from a lot of you guys, and I know you’ve been waiting patiently… but that wait ends today! We’ve got two new PlayStation All-Stars joining the Battle Royale: Kat from Gravity Rush, and Emmett Graves from Starhawk. Any fighting fan will tell you how much it means to have new characters joining a game, but it’s even better because — as promised — these DLC characters are totally free for two weeks!

Wait, “free for two weeks” sounds funny… Does that mean if I download them, after two weeks is up I have to pay? Nope. You have a two week window to download the DLC. If you do, the characters are yours free, forever and ever. You can play them online, offline, upside down, or however you want.

After the two week window ends, the characters will still be available on PSN, but as paid DLC. Latecomers can still get Kat and Emmett for $4.99 each, but if you download them in the next two weeks, they are yours free forever. The only way you would have to pay is if you missed this free offer, but you’re reading this now, so you won’t have to be that person.

Okay, so free is cool, but what are these characters are all about anyway?

Just like he did on out on the frontier on Dust, Emmett Graves depends on his tools to survive. Easily one of the most unique additions to the cast, Emmett brings Starhawk’s “Build & Battle” style to the fight, dropping down weapons and structures to help him out. He can drop shotguns, rocket launchers, new grenades, an AP-building Rift Extractor, or even an automated turret that tracks and blasts at opponents. If he powers up for a level 3 super, Emmett pilots a deadly Hawk mech, blasting opponents with machine guns, planting aerial mines, or crushing opponents under the Hawk’s feet, all leading up to a super-ending flying strafe run that lays waste to the entire stage and sends everyone running desperately for cover.

Kat is great for combos and prefers close combat, with more inspired ways to zip around the arenas than anyone in the cast. In addition to the kicks you’ll remember from Gravity Rush, she also has some crazy gravity attacks, like creating a small black hole to draw in opponents, or a burst to push everyone away, and of course one of the deadliest level 3s in the game. Kat teams up with her mysterious feline companion Dusty, uniting their powers to attack with frenzied claw slashes, a deadly lunge you can aim in different directions, and a massive black hole that kills anyone unlucky enough to touch its center.

Both characters come with everything that was included with the original launch characters, including a full arcade mode with intro, ending, and rival scenes, a second unlockable costume, an unlockable minion, custom backings and icons, taunts, intro/outros, theme music, and more.

In addition to the characters, there is also a new stage called “Fearless.” The fight begins atop a giant rock spire you’ll remember from Heavenly Sword, before crashing down into the second part of our mashup, where it literally collides with an electrified track from Wipeout. Keep your eyes peeled for cameo character appearances in Heavenly Sword’s scaffolding, as well as for the Wipeout racers that will send you flying on impact. You can play this stage for free in ranked online matches, but to play it offline or in player matches, it’s $1.99.

Coinciding with these new characters, we’re also proud to announce the PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale $6,000 tournament powered by Major League Gaming. For more information on how to enter the tournament, please visit the tournament site.

So, to sum up:

Characters? Free, and yours forever! But only if you hurry and get them before the two-week window (that starts today) expires.

What? Me again? Wasn’t I just here to let you know that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale had gone gold?

Have you ever wondered what dev teams do after a game goes gold? If all is going well, often times they get down to business with DLC. And in fact that’s exactly what we have begun. I’m here today to announce the first DLC characters that will be joining the All-Stars roster: Kat from Gravity Rush, and Starhawk‘s Emmett Graves!

In addition to the signature weapons you’ll remember from his duels with the Outcasts on Dust, Emmett’s playstyle will also utilize Starhawk’s unique “Build and Battle” system, calling down help from the sky.

Kat’s approach turns gravity on its head with some mind-bending new ways to move as she positions herself for her unique brand of aerial assault. Together, they make up one of the most original duos in All-Stars.

These DLC All-Stars still have a long way to go before they’re ready to be shown off, but we wanted to let you know what the team will be working on now that we’ve gone gold with the main game, and that you can look forward to playing them… for free!

Yes, you heard that right. We’re very happy to announce these first two DLC characters will be free to everyone for the first two weeks once they are available for download early next year.

That may sound a little tricky, so let me be clear: once Kat and Emmett are finished, we’ll put them up for download. They’ll be totally free for two weeks. The only limit is that you have a two-week window to claim the characters. Once you have Kat and Emmett, they are yours forever. That may sound like a lot to remember, so don’t worry, we’ll be back closer to their release to remind you of all these details.

Everyone at SuperBot, Bluepoint, and Santa Monica Studio has tried hard not only to make a great game, but also to keep the fans very firmly in mind, offering the most we can wherever we get the chance. So far we’ve offered exclusive free pre-order costumes, an amazing digital version for PS Vita at no cost when you buy the PS3 version, frame-accurate cross-play, and now Kat and Emmett coming soon for free!

We’ll have more information about these characters and more DLC news coming soon, so stay tuned here for more announcements, and thanks again to everyone that has supported us as we prepare to cross the finish line. Come join the party on November 20th as PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale launches, and I’ll see you online!

Stretching back from my roots as a tournament player to my current gig as lead game designer for Sony’s Santa Monica Studio, I’ve spent over two decades in fighting games, and have been thrilled to revisit so many great memories from my own PlayStation history with the characters and stages of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

I’m here today on behalf of SuperBot Entertainment, Bluepoint Games, and Santa Monica Studio to announce that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale has gone gold on PS3 and PS Vita! All of us are extremely grateful for the help from our beta players in testing our networking, and thrilled to see the amazing response from all of you that played the beta, which is just a small slice of the full game.

In celebration of this milestone, we wanted to share something special as a small “thank you!” to all the amazing PlayStation fans who have helped us come so far. Today we’re officially unveiling the opening cinematic sequence to the game. We’ve been pretty tight-lipped about our final boss, but if you hang in until the end you’ll get a glimpse of the villainous mastermind that’s returned from the depths of PlayStation history to pull the strings in All-Stars.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and if your interest is piqued, remember to pre-order All-Stars today! Pre-ordering scores you an exclusive costume for every character in the game, and with Cross-Buy, every PS3 copy comes with a download code for the PS Vita version at the low, low cost of zero!

Thanks again to PlayStation fans around the world for your incredible support, and come November 20th, I’ll see you online — just look for the unbeatable Drake player at the top of the leaderboards. :P

I was excited to join Santa Monica Studio in particular because of the chance to work with some great individuals, but also because of the incredible range of projects they take on. If you head out of my office and turn right, you’ll run into the “God of War: Ascension” team. If you turn left, you’ll find the Giant Sparrow crew working on “The Unfinished Swan.” There are other amazing studios in the world, but nowhere else that I know where you can find that kind of diversity combined with such a deep commitment to greatness–which also happens to sum up what’s so exciting to me about Sony overall.

The external group works with Sony’s outside studios — teams like Queasy Games (Sound Shapes), Fun Bits Interactive (Escape Plan), thatgamecompany (Flower, Journey), and… SuperBot Entertainment, makers of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale!

Fighting games are very close to my heart, and as someone that’s spent much of my life with traditional fighters, All-Stars has been a great opportunity to take a step back and rethink fighting fundamentals from the ground up. The entire team was put together from scratch to create this game, and they are loaded with fighting game superstars (including some impressive tournament credentials–I’m not even the first EVO finalist to join the team!) who love great combat just as much as I do.

All-Stars is also a total love-letter to Sony fans. From the characters, to their special moves, to the incredible level 3 supers, and the stages themselves, I’m not sure there’s ever been such a giant dose of fan-service in Sony history. Beyond great character designs or all the ingenious little ideas that make combat feel great, the real test of a great game to me is that “just *one* more game!” feeling. If it’s 3am and you have to work the next day, but you’ve still got the urge to play again, you know you’re doing something right. You only have to walk through SuperBot’s studio and see all the staff being scolded to stop playing their own game andget back to work to know that they’ve really got something special cooking.

You don’t have to take my word for it, however–we’ll be taking All-Stars on the road and making sure you guys have plenty of opportunities to go hands-on, starting with PlayStation’s first official presence at EVO this weekend. More details soon.

For everyone that’s already reached out, thank you so much for the kind welcome into PlayStation Nation, and for everyone else, I look forward to doing my absolute best to give PlayStation fans the great games they deserve.