On behalf of everyone at Insomniac Games and Sony I’m very excited to announce Resistance 3’s Brutality Pack, available today for download from the PlayStation Store! This new DLC, priced at $3.99, features a vicious survival mode where you face off against an army of ravenous Grims as they try to take you and your friends down. And yup, it’s co-op – both online and offline. Plus, you get a special Mick Cutler skin AND the sledgehammer unlocked for all of the game’s modes, as well as a special Warden Static PS3 Theme.

But what has me most stoked personally is that the Brutality Pack fittingly features the music of the incomparable, Grammy nominated, Mastodon. We’re featuring seven tracks, including three songs from their just-released album The Hunter, two instrumental versions of Blood Mountain tracks and two special bonus songs from the deluxe version of The Hunter. Check out the brand new trailer that we’re releasing today to see the new gameplay mode in action set to one of Mastodon’s latest singles, “Spectrelight”.

I have to admit that I’ve been a longtime Mastodon fan. But it wasn’t until I saw them open for Queens of the Stone Age that I became a true uberfan. These guys are masters of their craft and when you see them play live its mind blowing. They bring raw intensity and incredible energy to everything they do. Their chugging roar is a perfect fit for Resistance and especially for the Brutality Pack where it’s you, a sledgehammer and some very, very hungry Chimera. To learn more about Mastodon and their music you can check out their latest music video on YouTube or visit their official site at http://www.mastodonrocks.com/.

We’re sincerely honored that Mastodon is now a part of the Resistance universe. Prepare to get brutal!

As you may have seen this morning, Insomniac is launching a new studio in the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina. It will focus on developing both current and new intellectual property, and will open its doors in January 2009. The North Carolina group, which will also be known as Insomniac Games, will receive administrative and engine, tools and technology support from the team here in southern California.

Veteran Insomniac Art Director Chad Dezern will serve as the North Carolina studio director, while Resistance 2 single player Lead Programmer Shaun McCabe will act as the studio’s production director. However, both will continue to work on Resistance 2 until it launches this Fall. We’re focused on making R2 amazing – that’s our top priority right now.

The move to North Carolina allows Insomniac to keep our size at a level we like in Burbank, while also giving us an opportunity to grow and attract some of the top talent that resides on the East Coast. We’re already beginning the process of looking for good people to join us in Raleigh-Durham, so if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail us at info@insomniacgames.com.

We are all incredibly excited about this news, and we’re looking forward to bringing you more great games. And for those Resistance fans that are dying for more R2 information, make sure that you tune into Spike TV for Gametrailers TV with Geoff Keighley on June 13th. The show will reveal the first Resistance 2 gameplay footage in an episode shot here at Insomniac Games.

As always, thanks for all of your continued support!