How often in life do you get a second chance? If you’re an online Call of Duty player, well, that’s pretty simple – you get one every time you press Square to respawn. But the concepts of return, reinvigoration, and redemption all play into Uprising, the second map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which is available today on PlayStation Network.

To start, Uprising features four new maps for Black Ops II multiplayer matches:
Vertigo, the top of a Tacitus mega-structure that’s so tall, it breaks the cloud layer; Magma, a small Japanese village that has been engulfed by the lava of a nearby erupting volcano; Encore, the performance stage and surrounding grounds following a London music festival; and Studio, a re-imagining of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Firing Range, offering chaotic combat over several movie sets on a Hollywood backlot.

Studio is a particular point of pride here, as it’s a re-imagining of Firing Range, which fans of the original Black Ops still eagerly choose in multiplayer lobbies. Its compact design and varied lines of sight – sniper perches, blind corners, tight alleyways – make it popular, but thematically, the original level is a bunch of plywood targets, purpose-built for training soldiers. Not only does the level look a lot more colorful now with the addition of crashed spaceships, animatronic dinosaurs, a pirate harbor, and a miniature monster-movie set, but these visual landmarks make it even easier to communicate. When a teammate calls out “there’s two in the pirate cove” or “I’m heading to the saloon,” there’s no confusion in the sitreps. And when you work together as team, you’ll find you don’t need second chances quite so often.

For Mob of the Dead, the question isn’t so much “how often in life do you get a second chance” but “how often in death?” Alcatraz is the setting for this star-studded adventure, as four gangsters – played by Ray Liotta, Michael Madsen, Chazz Palminteri, and Joe Pantoliano – seek to escape one of the world’s most infamous prisons. But as you might expect, the bars and cells aren’t the only things standing in their way. Zombies – the ultimate benefactors of a second chance! — have taken over the island prison, so these wiseguys will have to battle the undead if they’re going to make it out. New perks like the wittily named Electric Cherry offer players some shocking new gameplay mechanics, as does the new Afterlife Mode, which lets interact with your environment and solve puzzles despite having just had your existence expire. But like I said…a second chance is something you should never take for granted.

Uprising is available now on PSN for $14.99, but if you are the owner of a Black Ops II Season Pass, you already own it – just download it from the in-game Store menu.

When we became aware of The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct opportunity with Activision and AMC, we leapt on it. We devised a first-person survival-horror strategy approach and pitched it. Our game was planned as a labor of love: an endeavor to create a relatively intimate The Walking Dead game experience for fans like us… as well as players new to the series who were looking for a different type of zombie game. Our goal was to create an authentic and compelling experience worthy of the name.

Since then, of course, Telltale has released all the amazing episodes of their deserved Game of the Year, and AMC’s series has consistently shattered broadcast television records! So while ‘pressure’ may be an understatement, we’ve stayed the course. And Activision and AMC have been steadfast, wonderful partners in us making the game we set out to make in the first place: a new type of zombie game experience for players that want to take on The Walking Dead’s world for a while!

Here are some of the lessons the team learned while developing The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, which is out today on PS3!

If you didn’t preorder the game, don’t worry, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct will be getting a DLC pack containing a Herd mode and backpack full of new weapons on April 18th!

When we first decided that The Walking Dead videogame would be built around a single-player action-adventure prequel to AMC’s insanely popular series, there’s only one character that checked every “must have” slot. We needed somebody who was rugged and capable of surviving alone in the ruins of civilization, but also sympathetic to the needs of others in a world where it only makes sense to help yourself. We needed a protagonist who is tough enough to take on a swarm of raging walkers, but smart enough to know that there are probably safer alternatives. Finally, we wanted a fan-favorite character who you can’t wait to learn more about.

Welcome to the stand, Mr. Daryl Dixon. Really, who else would you want to play as in The Walking Dead? We’ve spent a lot of time with Daryl recently, really getting to know him. We’ve reviewed every scrap of his series footage, pored over interviews, and most importantly, gotten insight and guidance—but still no Season 3 spoilers–from the ultimate authority, actor Norman Reedus.

It’s been surprising for some of us to dive deeper into a character we thought we knew from the show. Did you know that even though Daryl has pulled a gun (and crossbow, and knife) more times than you can count, the only living person he’s actually killed is Dale, in a very clear-cut mercy killing? That’s the kind of attribute we’re interested in exposing beneath the leather-tough exterior.

I traveled to Atlanta recently with our Audio Director Kyle Richards in order to work with Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl on the show. He recorded Daryl’s in-game dialogue during a pair of recording sessions. We’re big fans of the series, but once you work with an actor in the flesh you really get to know him. Norman is super-cool, generous, and a real joy to work with. And man, does that guy deliver! He gets the scene, the line, and what you’re going for instantly and then doubles down on it, effortlessly ‘Darylizing’ lines for maximum punch. He’s the kind of actor that really makes writers look good. When you finally hear the lines you’ve been shaping and reshaping in your head for months spoken in that voice – and sounding way better than you even hoped? Well, that makes for a pretty good day. And he really got into the game, which is especially gratifying.

Kyle, our audio director, wanted to chime in here as well:

“Norman’s a badass. One second you’re talking to this cool, laid-back guy, and then he clears his throat, and there’s Daryl, larger than life. You’re suddenly checking your back to make sure walkers aren’t creeping up on you. This is actually the first video game he’s ever worked on, but you’d think he’d been doing it for years! Also, he has excellent taste in motorcycles.”

Our goal is to shape Daryl authentically, chronicling everything that happens to him from the initial Wildfire Global Outbreak until he joins with Rick Grimes’ group at that quarry near Atlanta. And on the way, we’ll reveal a couple of our own interesting backstory surprises that fans haven’t already gleaned from the series.

As a bonus, we get to recreate that original dark blot of violence on mankind, Merle Dixon. The relationship between the Dixon brothers is complicated, to say the least. We get to illustrate from Daryl’s point of view the conflict created when the toughest, most capable-of-surviving-zombie-apocalypse person you know is also the most volatile, uncontainable force of nature left on the planet. Also: he’s your older brother. All fun all the time!

What I find fascinating about AMC’s The Walking Dead is the way that they’ve been able to take an epic, global story and focus it on the human equation. The main story arc involves the outbreak of walkers, but the show is really about morality and the choices people are forced to make in unusual circumstances. How far would you go to protect your family? Is life still worth living and protecting? Who do you trust and how much is that trust worth? These are all questions that drive the story and while there is a visceral thrill in watching the interaction with the walkers, there is an emotional connection with the characters that really forms the heart of the show.

We’re really looking forward to letting everyone see how we’ve taken our appreciation for the series (and Daryl in particular) and turned it into an interactive experience. Players will have the opportunity to meet some interesting characters and have a hand in deciding their fate.

Oh, and there are some really cool zombies.

As huge Family Guy fans, when the opportunity came to make a game based on the hilarious TV show, with Heavy Iron Studios at the helm, it was impossible to pass up. But there was one giant hurdle we had to get over in order to make a good Family Guy game – we don’t work at Fuzzy Door, Seth MacFarlane’s production company, and we aren’t involved in any way with the Family Guy TV show. And it wouldn’t matter how much effort we put into the graphics, or the level design, or the action. If it didn’t feel like Family Guy — if it wasn’t funny, or if Stewie shouted “Blast!” and it was clear we’d just hired some actor to do a mediocre Stewie impression – fans would hate it. WE would hate it.

We knew that if we were going to do this, we had to do it right. Everything from the script to the presentation to the way it will make you feel playing on your couch at home had to feel like Seth MacFarlane took a coding class and made it himself. If we wanted to create a genuine Family Guy experience, we needed to be faithful to the show’s spirit, and we needed the people who make Family Guy to be involved from the ground up.

So that’s what we did. Building the story that would become Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse was a tremendous challenge. The show has done so much already — where do you even start trying to translate that into a game? Then the writers started talking about the Season 8 premiere episode, “Road to the Multiverse,” in which Brian and Stewie get lost travelling to parallel universes. It was perfect. Of course, in one episode they could only do so much; but the possibilities were endless, and we could explore them even further. Our imaginations just started running wild.

The game is littered with countless references, in-jokes, and tributes to the show’s great moments. We knew we were on the right track when Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm-Flailing Tube Man became an in-game item.

We’ve had an incredible amount of access to the Family Guy production crew throughout the entire development process, and that collaboration has made all the difference in giving the game its authentic feel. Writers Mike Desilets and Anthony Blasucci have penned a hilarious script for us, and more than just creating dialogue, they’ve been instrumental in helping us shape the game around the story. And having Seth MacFarlane and the Family Guy show talent in the recording booth to bring those characters to life brought it all together. This is unmistakably Family Guy, from top to bottom.

Family Guy has always been such a communal experience. After all, it was fans buying the original DVD sets and sharing them with friends and family in their living rooms and dorms that helped put the show back on the air. For that reason, offering a local co-operative play option in Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse, where you can drop in or out at any time, was a big deal for us. Local co-op has sort of fallen to the wayside nowadays, but both comedy and games are more fun when other people are around. We wanted this to be an experience you can share.

And when you get down to it, Brian and Stewie are the ultimate co-op team. Their adventures make up some of my all-time favorite Family Guy episodes, and their relationship is arguably the strongest on the show (actually, Mayor West and taffy might have the strongest relationship on the show….but Brian and Stewie are definitely second!). So being able to give players the chance to finally team up as this great duo is a nice bit of wish fulfillment for us.

We’re very proud of the game we’ve put together — not just as its creators, but as gamers and fans of the show. We’ve put so much energy into crafting an experience that looks and feels like Family Guy. The result is something both fun and funny. We hope you join us when Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse hits the PS3 on November 20.

Two months later, Activision and developer Nihilistic are shedding new details on this fall’s PS Vita punisher. We caught up with Robert Huebner, the developer’s studio head, for the latest intel drop.

PlayStation.Blog: How is the game progressing since we last saw it at Gamescom?

Robert Huebner, Studio Head, Nihilistic: Gamescom seems so long ago. I think the most noticeable thing is a significant visual upgrade; a richer color palette, more detailed models, and better lighting overall. Also we implemented an entirely new animation blending system that allows us to capture a lot of nuanced animation that Call of Duty players are accustomed to.

PSB: What do you consider to be the most crucial elements to nail when adapting Call of Duty to PS Vita?
RH: Two things really come to mind. The feel of the controls and weapons is a top priority, because that’s a lot of what makes Call of Duty work so well on other platforms. We got a lot of great insight and advice from the franchise veterans on this, but also adapted things for the specific controls on the PS Vita.

The second thing probably were animations. You don’t notice it all the time while you’re playing, but when you drill down, Call of Duty has an insane number of animations for each enemy and every little transition and move feels really accurate and intelligent. So we invested a lot of time in trying to capture that same feeling in Declassified.

PSB: Tell us about these new maps you’ve revealed, Nukehouse and Range. Nukehouse clearly seems inspired by the fan-favorite map Nuketown.
RH: Yeah, Nuketown is obviously a fan favorite so we wanted to really do an homage to that map. Nukehouse is a tighter level overall but tries to capture the unique look and feel of the original.

PSB: Here’s a question fans have been wondering about: How deep will the weapon modding system be?
RH: Weapons retain many of the attachments from previous games, with fan favorites such as suppressors, extended mags,underaction grenade launchers, and different optics. New additions also appear like improved grip, which improves hip fire accuracy, and adjustable stock, which gives full movement speed while using Aim Down the Sight.

In multiplayer, you’ll unlock these attachments by leveling up your weapons. You’ll be able to use up to two attachments with each primary weapon, and one attachment with secondary weapons.

PSB: How many Perks will be in the game, and what will they be? Anything new?
RH: There are a total of 12 Perks in Black Ops Declassified, with a mix of returning and new abilities. Hardline, Marksman, Sleight of Hand, and Lightweight are all back, but new perks like Surplus (extra starting ammo and grenades), Hardwired (immune to Counter Spy Plane) and Toughness (reduced flinching when shot) are also important to remember when creating classes.

PSB: Will there be different grenade types, and will any use PS Vita’s touchscreen in interesting ways?
RH: Definitely. We’re trying to bring back the most popular grenade and tactical weapons that fit the time period of our story, and there’s a lot of variety. The Bouncing Betty is one of the most popular around the office for multiplayer; there’s something very satisfying about getting a kill with one. And flash-bangs are also fun, the reaction of your opponents over Party voice chat is always entertaining. The front touchscreen is used to toss grenades as well as optionally to aim your throw.

PSB: What kinds of missions are planned for single-player?
RH: The single-player campaign consists of intense and replayable objective-based missions that allow you to get better and better over time to improve your performance. The goal is to give the player the experience of striving for the “perfect run” through each mission.

PSB: There are Survival missions in the game as well — what can you share?
RH: These “Hostiles” missions as we call them now are the classic “survive infinite waves” sort of challenge. The player has to survive wave after wave of different enemy types, but also receives “care package” drops during play to keep them supplied.

Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified is real, and we’ve played it. I think the highest compliment I can pay it is to say that, well, it looks and plays like Call of Duty. The running and gunning, the aiming down the sights, the familiar Bank Gothic notices popping up when you land a long-range shot or end an opponent’s killstreak, the weapon loadouts and multiplayer modes — they’re all here, rendered on PS Vita’s luscious OLED screen and playable with dual analog sticks in a mobile setting for the first time.

Activision Product Manager Ryan Scott’s gamescom presentation cut straight to the heart of the matter, starting with the game’s multiplayer offering — a key consideration for any self-respecting CoD title. Multiplayer in Black Ops Declassified supports up to eight players via WiFi across six maps, encompassing essential play modes such as Free for all, Team Deathmatch, and Kill Confirmed, with other “classic Call of Duty modes” promised. Other trademark Call of Duty mechanics such as Create-a-Class, Killstreaks, XP, Perks, and Prestige were all present and accounted for.

So how is developer Nihilistic adapting Call of Duty to PS Vita? After playing a round on the new “Shatter” map, it’s clear their goals were to change as little as possible. In fact, after inverting the Y-axis, I didn’t bother asking the devs on hand about the controls – everything was where I expected it to be.

Access to the knife, flashbang, and frag grenade that are assigned to L2/R2 or L3/R3 on PS3 are easily accessible on the front touchscreen. To hurl a grenade, you simply drag the grenade icon to the area of the screen where you want to throw it, or hold it to cook the fuse before you lob it. The ability to independently aim your grenade throw while shooting in another direction is a new tactical wrinkle for the series, and one that will surely be leveraged by experienced players. The knife is even quicker to use because you can tap any part of the screen not already assigned to something else to swipe your blade. That’s a highly practical implementation of the touchscreen, as players won’t have to fumble to tap a small icon during a heated CQC encounter, and we found it was quick and responsive.

Those all-important Killstreaks work the way you’d expect. Once you’ve unlocked a killstreak, the icon pops up on the left side of the screen and you can tap to trigger it. The mortar strike killstreak was blessedly simple: tap the icon to open the map, touch the target, and launch a volley of fiery death to annihilate the opposition.

That leaves sprinting, which is executed by pressing down on the directional pad. The left stick and D-pad are placed closely enough on PS Vita that you can place the tip of your thumb on the D-pad while keeping your left thumb on the left stick for quick recovery. The only use of the rear touchscreen we saw was to hold your breath while peering down the sniper’s scope – not something you’re likely to accidentally trigger.

Create-a-Class is fully supported with custom loadouts and Perks Black Ops: Declassified will also leverage PS Vita’s geo-social “near” functionality with Share-a-Class, enabling players to transmit a character class via WiFi using “near,” and will allow your friends access to load-outs they haven’t yet unlocked through regular progression. Prestige levels are also confirmed.

Visually, the multiplayer map “Shattered” looked sharp, with swirling dust motes, flapping bits of cloth, crumbled architecture, and a steady framerate.

Single-player content wasn’t shown, though Activision confirmed that it will consist of objective-based missions, along with survival and time trial missions, to keep the experience tuned for mobile play. They’ll be wrapped within an original story taking place between Call of Duty: Black Ops and the forthcoming Black Ops 2. Want to know what happened to Hudson, Mason, and Woods before this fall’s Black Ops 2? You know what to do.

Based on what we saw and played, Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified looks and feels much as you’d expect it to – only now it can take the experience with you on PS Vita. For CoD fans, that’s right on target.

Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified arrives this November. Are there any specifics you’d like to know? We’ll be speaking with developer Nihilistic soon, and will do our best to get your questions answered. Leave ‘em in the comments below!

If you want to watch it again, I’ll wait. There was a lot to see in there.

Developed by the team at Nihilistic Software, Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified is what Call of Duty fans have been waiting for: the game they know and love, authentically translated to handheld. “One of Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified’s compelling features is the fact that you can take the established gameplay everyone knows and loves and bring it to the PS Vita,” says the game’s producer at Activision, Neven Dravinski. That means you can look forward to familiar elements like Create-a-Class, Perks, Prestige Levels, and of course, dual analog stick controls.

Black Ops Declassified’s single-player campaign offers covert missions that help bridge the story gap between the original Call of Duty: Black Ops and the soon to be released Call of Duty: Black Ops II, while the multiplayer offers mayhem for up to eight players over Wi-Fi connections. “We’ll have a variety of game modes and maps, including some that are custom made for PS Vita and others that leverage fan favorites from the Black Ops series, but tailor made for PS Vita,” explains Dravinski. Multiplayer game modes include 4v4 Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, and Drop Zone, but Dravinski says there will be other modes as well.

The dev team is making sure that Declassified takes advantage of key PS Vita features, too. The game will use the touchscreen for melee attacks, and for chucking grenades at your foes, and will even let you share loadouts with your friends via Near technology.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified is due out this November, so you don’t have too long to wait to try it yourself. We’re working on a limited-edition PS Vita hardware bundle that comes with the game as well — keep an eye out for details on that! In the meantime, watch the PlayStation.Blog for more info – a deeper look at the game is coming soon.

Check out all the news coming out of Gamescom 2012 on PlayStation.Blog

Media Molecule’s New Project Revealed: Tearaway for PS Vita

PlayStation All-Stars Gamescom Reveal: Dante, Sackboy, Spike, Ratchet and Clank

Gamescom: New The Last of Us Trailer

Watch the GamesCom Trailer for Killzone: Mercenary

PSone Classics Coming to PS Vita via the latest System Software Update (v1.80)

Until Dawn — New PS Move Horror Game — Announced for PS3

The Curtain is Raised on Puppeteer, a New PS3 Adventure

PlayStation Plus Coming to PS Vita, Online Game Save Storage Getting Upgraded

Are You Ready for the God of War: Ascension Multiplayer Beta?

A Walker grabs you and leans in for a taste of flesh! You struggle against his weight but can’t quite fight him off. His rancid breath is thick in the air between you as his mouth opens for a bite. Mustering all of your strength you push just hard enough to get a few inches of separation and then… You jam the blade of your knife through his temple and he slumps to the ground at your feet amid an explosion of blood and brain! After taking a final look around, you see that no others Walkers realize you’re there. You slip out of the store and continue toward your destination.

This is the world of The Walking Dead, a world where you can never feel safe because any moment may be your last. This is life, dealing with the constant threat of the Walker invasion.

When Activision approached us to help them make The Walking Dead game based off the AMC’s TV series, the whole team went crazy. We are all fans of the show and couldn’t wait to get our hands on it. Immediately the team knew that an FPS game based on The Walking Dead was something we wanted to help bring the fans.

What we love about the show is how people must learn to survive in this new world while still trying to keep a sense of normalcy. Some people are prepared to keep holding onto the values that society has taught them while others are prepared to do whatever it takes to survive. There are even characters that are changing for what is perceived to be the better and we are excited to try and bring that into our game and let players experience it firsthand.

Fans of the TV show will immediately connect with our The Walking Dead video game. You will get the opportunity to put yourself into the shoes of Daryl Dixon himself and be shown how he first experienced this new world changing around him. The journey will show how he and his brother survived those early weeks and ended up with Dale’s group in the show. The Dixons are survivors and Daryl is one of the best. Through FPS gameplay and resource management the players will assist Daryl in making the right decisions to help guarantee he and his brother survive.

When referencing the show, one of the things that stood out to us was how the Walkers reacted to sound; they were suspicious of gunfire. Seeming to know that only humans were able to wield weapons, the Walkers instinctively moved toward the sounds people made. They are also attracted to other sounds, so someone moving through that world needs to be aware of the amount and type of noise they make at all times.

We’re crafting our Walkers to react the same way. In the game, you’ll need to carefully sneak into and out of some dangerous situations and you may meet a few Walkers along the way. If you show up with guns blazing, you’ll quickly find yourself dealing with a much larger crowd and you could easily become overwhelmed.

Walkers also have the ability to tell the living from the dead by their sense of smell. Humans give off a scent that the Walkers can detect, and the longer we stand still (like when we are looking at a shelf for supplies) the larger the radius of that scent becomes. Stand still for too long and a Walker shambling down the street looking for a meal might just discover you standing inside a store.

Our goal in creating our Walkers is to make them as living (or, actually, as undead) as they are portrayed in the series. They see you, smell you, and hear you, and they won’t stop until they find you.

We hope you enjoyed this first peek at The Walking Dead Video Game; we’ll return with more insights on this new take on the series before it shambles onto PlayStation 3 systems in 2013.

Hello True Believers and PlayStation.Blog readers! Good news — The Amazing Spider-Man video game comes to PS3 today with PlayStation Move support. The game’s story picks up right where this summer’s blockbuster movie, The Amazing Spider-Man, leaves off in a new tale crafted by acclaimed Hollywood writer Seamus Kevin Fahey and voiced by veteran talent such as Nolan North, Sam Riegel, and Bruce Campbell (and even Stan Lee, for those of you who pre-ordered the game from Amazon!)

The Amazing Spider-Man has been developed by the veteran webheads over at Beenox (creators of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions) and the team has been hard at work over the last two years to bring Spider-Man back home to an open-world Manhattan teeming with side missions and playable content. In addition to bringing back free-roaming gameplay, the team has dramatically improved the combat system and added an entirely new feature called Web Rush. Stick with me and I will explain why this is the best Spider-Man game yet!

In The Amazing Spider-Man, you’ll swing all over Manhattan stopping car chases, subduing armed thugs, and protecting the innocent. But now, the camera provides a much more visceral swinging experience: As you plummet from the rooftops, descending on the denizens of Manhattan, you will get a true sense of vertigo and a real rush as you swing out of your fall at the last nanosecond.

You can also find and collect many suits throughout the game. For the PS3 folks, we are offering up the exclusive Vigilante Spider-Man suit from the upcoming movie that you can win by participating in the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s sweepstakes. You just need to purchase a super large beverage (i.e. the one with the game on the front of the cup), peel back the tab, and input the code online for the chance to win a PSN download code. You can also win other prizes such as the game itself, a PS3, and a PlayStation Move.

Speaking of PlayStation Move, The Amazing Spider-Man fully supports the PlayStation Move in all its glory for everything from Web Rushing around the city to engaging in frenetic combat. For motion control fans this implementation really brings a lot to the table.

Beenox has even added in one of the coolest collectibles in gaming for you Marvel fans out there. As you collect comic pages scattered throughout Manhattan, you will progressively unlock full Spider-Man digital comics that you can read through an in-game viewer!

Gone are the past ‘dial-a-combo’ combat systems, because The Amazing Spider-Man employs an entirely new free-flowing combat style that plays to Spider-Man’s strengths as an agile and dexterous combatant. His attack style is easy to learn but hard to master, and will enable you to build combo streaks while countering and dodging incoming blows. As the combo streaks build, you’ll unleash new and more powerful moves upon your foes, culminating with jaw-dropping signature moves. Of course, there are also Spidey’s all-important web shooters that you can use to bind enemies, blast them onto walls, or grab and twirl them into their companions like a morning star.

Players will be rewarded with experience and tech pieces based on how well they perform in combat. These experience points can then be used to purchase upgrades to Spidey’s suit, web shooters, and attacks, and can even unlock entirely new abilities.

Possibly the most innovative addition in The Amazing Spider-Man is the entirely new Web Rush feature. Meant to capture and convey the speed at which Spider-Man perceives the world around him, Web Rush allows the player to momentarily slow time to a crawl. While time is dilated, you can choose what you want to do: zip towards an enemy to open combat, for instance, or grab a dumpster and hurl it into your opponents. You could use Web Rush to drop from the ceiling and stealthily cocoon an unwitting foe, or just use it to precisely target where you want to move within the environment.

You don’t always have to slow down time, either. You can simply tap the button to Web Rush at whatever you are currently looking at. As you get better at using Web Rush you’ll find that it seamlessly integrates into the new combat system allowing you to zip from opponent to opponent, use objects in the environment, and perform stealth takedowns all without breaking your combo streak. Web Rush is immensely satisfying to use and really helps cement the feeling of being Spider-Man.

Thanks for sticking around, and I hope you enjoyed learning more about The Amazing Spider-Man, free-roam, combat, collectibles, and Web Rush. Beenox have really outdone themselves with this game and words just do not do it justice. Swing on down to your local game store or go online so you can experience it for yourself! Excelsior!

For more information, videos, bios, and other awesome assets on the game, visit the official website here.

Hey Call of Duty fans, we have new downloadable content heading your way on PSN today! Collection 2 is the latest addition to Modern Warfare 3, and we want to give you a quick rundown of what you’ll receive: three new multiplayer maps (also usable in Survival mode), two Special Ops missions, and two Face Off maps. You can grab Collection 2 now for $14.99.

Face Off

Face Off is a new multiplayer experience that challenges even the most talented Call of Duty players. It distills all the fun and intensity of multiplayer into a new breed of 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 close combat. Partner up with a few friends and challenge your team skills, or go head-to-head against your most challenging opponent. With the inclusion of two additional maps for free on PSN, Call of Duty veterans can get even more of this new experience.

Getaway
Close to the shore, this place once was a tropical beach getaway boasting exotic aquariums and oversized pools, but is now a haven for ruthless run-and-gun violence. The best method of attack is to throw down a portable radar in the middle of the house, and maneuver around your opponents. Alternatively, you can kick back behind the pool and pick off heads when they pop out of doorways and windows.

Lookout
Carved into a combat-worn mountainside, this new “Face Off” map pits you against your opposition in a forward observation base littered with chokepoints and tight corridors. There are several methods of attack for you and your partner(s). Stick to high ground, whether that’s on a hill or above a base, or run guns blazing through the bases to grab that quick kill.

Erosion: Free
Make your way through Mediterranean ruins and ancient aqueducts, using leftover Roman masonry for thousand-year-old cover. As my personal favorite Face Off map, I get a kick out of leveraging the SMGs’s rapid firing rate and maneuvering as fast as I can under the archways. Taking the low ground is one way to go, or you can be the first to take the center tower and snipe opponents from above.

Aground: Free

Head to Scotland’s Orkney Islands where treacherous cliff faces, cave networks, and the rusted and ruined remains of a grounded transport ship provide for constant combat. This is definitely a map where you’ll want to pick off enemies using long range weapons — I also suggest using the Marksman perk.

Multiplayer / Survival Maps

Sanctuary
Suspended a thousand feet in the air, you’ll find yourself battling on towering sandstone monasteries in Central Greece. There are plenty of windy paths and hidden locations in which to station yourself, or you can move quickly to flank the opposition.

Foundation
This decommissioned concrete factory is located in the heart of South Korea. After decades of constructing roads and buildings, the towering facility is now a perfectly-constructed combat zone for sniping, as well as fast-paced shootouts.

Oasis
Though once a picturesque escape for vacationers, the sprawling Hotel Oasis is now a multiplayer paradise, with multiple lanes of combat built atop an ancient fortress.

Special Ops

Iron Clad
With one player manning a tank and the other escorting it on foot, you’ll clear beaches and take cover in plane wreckage as you escape Hamburg from behind enemy lines in this all-new Special Ops Mission.

Kill Switch
Cripple a Russian carrier by detonating an electromagnetic pulse. Be the soldier on the ground, making your way to the detonation site, or play the sniper providing vital cover fire from a vantage point high above the city.