Pre-Orders

Crysis 3 ($59.99)

Crysis 3 puts players in the role of Prophet, on a lone mission to save mankind. Wield the unique power of the Nanosuit and your signature Predator Bow to fight through human forces and devastating alien invaders. Master the unique sandbox environments of rainforest New York City. Featuring an extensive campaign and exciting multiplayer action.
ESRB: M

PS3 Full Games

Bayonetta ($19.99)

Caught in the middle of an age-old rivalry, Bayonetta uses her demon-summoning powers to fight off legions of angelic enemies. As she uncovers the astounding truth of her origins, she discovers she alone may hold the key to saving all of creation.
ESRB: T // File Size: 7.1 GB

Call of Duty: Black Ops II ($59.99)

UPDATE: Call of Duty: Black Ops II is now available on PSN.

Pushing the boundaries of what fans have come to expect from the record-setting entertainment franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops II propels players into a near future, 21st Century Cold War, where technology and weapons have converged to create a new generation of warfare.
ESRB: M // File Size: 12.8 GB

Air Conflicts: Secret Wars ($19.99)

49 action-packed missions place you in real World War I and World War II scenarios. Fight enemies in hair-racing dogfights, bomb targets on the ground and use missiles to wipe out enemy troops and vehicles. Battle online and fight against up to 7 players in various modes. Take to the skies in the most popular planes from World War I and II.
ESRB: T // File Size: 2.3 GB

Everyone Sing ($19.99)

Everyone Sing is the ULTIMATE party game where everyone can sing!
ESRB: T // File Size: 7 GB

Zone of the Enders HD Collection ($34.99)

Relive the adventure for the first time in HD! Experience thrilling high-flying robot combat unlike anything you’ve felt before. Includes the European Special Edition version of ZOE: The 2nd Runner. Beautiful new opening animations from legendary animation studio Sunrise.
ESRB: T // File Size: 8 GB

PSN

Hitman: Blood Money HD ($16.99)

Hitman’s back, drawing you closer than ever into his deadly world where staying anonymous, being smart and totally ruthless are the key to a perfect execution. Lucrative contracts on the rich and powerful in high profile locations make killing for money good business. But when a rival agency enters the scene it’s war and only the best man will be left standing.
ESRB: M //File Size: 4.5 GB

Hitman: Contracts HD ($16.99)

Delve into the mind of Agent 47 and complete the work that made him so brutally efficient and shaped him as an assassin. YOU must eliminate your targets by any means necessary. There are no rules… only the contract, signed in blood. The game features 12 levels set in various locations where you must come face to face with some of the world’s most dangerous criminals and high profile targets.
ESRB: M //File Size: 2.4 GB

Hitman: Silent Assassin HD ($16.99)

Agent 47 is an assassin for-hire who is trying to distance himself from his violent past and discover his true identity. Lured back into a global ring of deception, he must kill not only to make a living, but to continue living.
ESRB: M //File Size: 1.1 GB

PS Vita

Let’s Fish! Hooked On ($19.99)

Cast-off on a fun fishing adventure with Let’s Fish! Hooked On, the first full-scale fishing game on PlayStation Vita handheld entertainment system. Select your favorite character, unlock the latest lures and enhance your skills as you progress through Amateur, Professional and Master Class tournaments in your bid to win!
ESRB: E //File Size: 1.4 GB

PS3 Beta

Crysis 3 (Free)

The Crysis 3 Open Beta lets you experience hands-on Crysis 3′s unique sandbox Multiplayer action before the game’s official release in February 2013. Set in the 7 Wonders of New York’s Liberty Dome play both Crash Site and the brand new Hunter game modes on two unique maps, Museum and Airport.

PS2 Classics

GTA: Vice City ($9.99)

Continuing in the theme and feel of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City offers the setting and feel of the early 80′s crime drama Miami Vice. Players may now play and carry out missions with in the setting of palm tree lined streets bustling with traffic, bikini babes, and pastel-color suits around every corner.
ESRB: M //File Size: 3.6 GB

Free PS Mobile Game (Starting Wednesday)

Cubixx (Free)

Use your laser to cut away the surfaces of a mysterious cube and free the energy within. Cutting longer lines and crossing multiple cube surfaces gives you bigger combos, but at far greater risk. Can you brave this hazardous environment and complete all 20 levels? Old-school, highscore-chasing gameplay with a modern twist. Get this PS Mobile title for free on the PS Vita Store and your PS Mobile certified devices tomorrow, when PS Mobile updates, through February 6th. For more information, click here.

Bundles

Hitman Trilogy HD (PS3, $39.99)

Experience Agent 47’s classic hits now in HD. Enter the mind of Agent 47, the world’s most deadly assassin. Staying anonymous, being smart and totally ruthless is the key to a perfect execution. Includes Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money.
ESRB: M //File Size: 8 GB

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier Ultimate Edition (PS3, $49.99, on sale for $37.99)

The Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Ultimate Edition not only gives you the complete game, but all 3 pieces of the game’s downloadable content. This includes all-new playable maps and game modes, extra weapons for Ghosts and Bodark units, additional Uplay achievements, and more!
ESRB: M //File Size: 11.3 GB

Dead or Alive 5 Game + Swimsuit DLC Bundle (PS3, $44.99)

The hottest fighters in gaming are back. Crazy action, technical fighting & blockbuster stages! This is fighting entertainment! This is Dead or Alive! Get the entire Hotties Swimwear Set in one pack with this game & DLC bundle! Twelve costumes in all!
ESRB: M //File Size: 5.6 GB

Farm Frenzy 2 (PSP, $4.99)

Get ready to harvest a bumper crop of fun when you purchase this action-packed bundle of farming games! For one low price, you can enjoy the very best of the Farm Frenzy series!
ESRB: E //File Size: 62.1 MB

Run For Your Life (PSP, $4.49)

Two best endless running games in the single bundle! Jetpack Joyride: Join Barry as he breaks in to a secret laboratory to commandeer the experimental jetpacks from the clutches of science evildoers. Comes with 150k coins. Canabalt, the genre defining fast paced running game: outrun the demolition of your city with just one button!
ESRB: E //File Size: 32.1 MB

PlayStation Store Highlights

The Store is jam-packed this week with a pre-order for Crysis 3 and full game releases like Bayonetta and the Hitman HD Trilogy (each game is also sold separately). There’s also Air Conflicts: Secret Wars, Everyone Sing and Zone of the Enders HD, and GTA: Vice City joins the PS2 Classics.

A few bundles are also hitting the PS Store, so be sure to check them out if you enjoy great deals. Speaking of great deals, there’s a new free PS Mobile game this week – Cubixx. Grab it tomorrow when PS Mobile updates. And don’t miss the Madden 13 Sale starting today — just in time for the big game. Check out all the details above!

As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments below. You can also chat about this update in the PlayStation Community Forums.

PlayStation Plus

Click here to learn more and purchase online or go to the PlayStation Store to activate instantly.

PS3 Demos (Free)

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Get your hands on the Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time demo today! Check out the Prologue for the game and step into the shoes of the Master Thief himself as he pulls off his latest heist, and stumbles into more than he was looking for.

PS Vita Demos (Free)

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Get your hands on the Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time demo today! Check out the Prologue for the game and step into the shoes of the Master Thief himself as he pulls off his latest heist, and stumbles into more than he was looking for.

Price Change

• Dead or Alive 5 – PS3 Game (now: $39.99 original price: $59.99)
• SSX – PS3 Game (now: $19.99 original price: $39.99)

Sales

• Madden 13 – PS3 Game (now: $41.99, original price: $59.99)
• Madden 13 – PS Vita Game (now: $27.99, original price: $39.99)
• Game of Thrones – PS3 Game (now: $24.99 original price: $49.99)
• Gatling Gears – PS3 Game (now: $4.99 original price: $9.99)
• Greed Corp – PS3 Game (now: $4.99 original price: $9.99)
• Section 8 – PS3 Game (now: $9.99 original price: $14.99)
• Section 8: Prejudice – PS3 Game (now: $9.99 original price: $14.99)
• The Cursed Crusade – PS3 Game (now: $14.99 original price: $19.99)

Ultimate Editions

• Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Ultimate Edition – PS3 Game (now: $13.99 original price: $27.99)
• Assassin’s Creed II Ultimate Edition – PS3 Game (now: $9.99 original price: $19.99)
• Assassin’s Creed Revelations Ultimate Edition – PS3 Game (now: $24.99 original price: $49.99)
• Far Cry 2 Ultimate Edition – PS3 Game (now: $14.99 original price: $19.99)
• Prince of Persia Ultimate Edition – PS3 Game (now: $14.99 original price: $19.99)
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier Ultimate Edition – PS3 Game (now: $37.99 original price: $49.99)

Street Fighter X Tekken

• DLC Char Alternate Costume Complete Pack – PS3 Add-On (now: $4.49 original price: $5.99)
• SF/TK Alternate Costume Complete Pack – PS3 Add-On (now: $13.49 original price: $17.99)
• SF/TK Additional Characters Pack– PS3 Add-On (now: $14.99 original price: $19.99)
• SF/TK DLC Char Swap Costume Complete Pack– PS3 Add-On (now: $2.99 original price: $3.99)
• SF/TK Swap Costume Complete Pack – PS3 Add-On (now: $8.99 original price: $12.99)
• DLC Char Alternate Costume Complete Pack – PS Vita Add-On (now: $4.49 original price: $5.99)
• SF/TK Alternate Costume Complete Pack – PS Vita Add-On (now: $13.49 original price: $17.99)
• SF/TK DLC Char Swap Costume Complete Pack– PS Vita Add-On (now: $2.99 original price: $3.99)
• SF/TK Swap Costume Complete Pack – PS Vita Add-On (now: $8.99 original price: $12.99)

PS Vita Add-ons

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita

• Groundhog Day Costume (Free) – The Groundhog Day costume specially made for Groundhog Day.

Street Fighter X Tekken

• Combo Editor Expansion ($0.99) – Adds more options to the Combo Editor for even more new and original combos!
• Special Color Palette 4 (Free) – A special color pack (4-color set) for character color customization. This pack features a special version of warm and sparkly colors!

PS3 Add-ons

DC Universe Online

• Home Turf Pack ($9.99) – Buy Home Turf now and give your character their own Base! Plot adventures in your own customizable, themed Lair and use the new Mainframe to employ powerful combat tactics such as Orbital Strikes and Sidekicks.

DMC Devil May Cry

• Costume Pack ($3.99) – Purchase the Dante Costume pack and get three alternative outfits to ensure you are Demon slaying in the latest Limbo attire, including one inspired by previous Devil May Crys.

LittleBigPlanet 2

• Groundhog Day Costume (Free) – The Groundhog Day costume specially made for Groundhog Day.

Resident Evil 6

• Stage Map Pack B ($1.99) – This will add the stages Rooftop Mission and Creature Workshop to The Mercenaries in Resident Evil 6.

Rock Band 3

• Back in the Saddle ($1.99) – Aerosmith
• Dream On ($1.99) – Aerosmith
• Legendary Child ($1.99) – Aerosmith
• Lover Alot ($1.99) – Aerosmith
• Sweet Emotion ($1.99) – Aerosmith
• Walk This Way ($1.99) – Aerosmith
• Aerosmith Greatest Dimension Pack ($9.99) – Includes ‘Back in the Saddle,’ ‘Dream On (Live),’ ‘Legendary Child,’ ‘Lover Alot,’ ‘Sweet Emotion,’ and ‘Walk This Way’
• Don’t Tell Me What To Dream ($1.99) – God Forbid
• Gold Teeth on a Bum ($1.99) – The Dillinger Escape Plan
• No Surrender ($1.99) – Taproot
• People of the Deer ($1.99) – The Trews
• Werewolf Grandma With Knives (Part Two: Don’t Die) ($1.99) – Giraffes? Giraffes!

RockSmith

• American Woman ($7.99) – The Guess Who
• Born To Be Wild ($2.99) – Steppenwolf
• Surrender ($2.99) – Cheap Trick

Sleeping Dogs

• Movie Masters Pack ($1.99) – Three new combat-themed outfits brought together in one pack. Become your own kung fu legend.

Street Fighter X Tekken

• Combo Editor Expansion ($0.99) – Adds more options to the Combo Editor for even more new and original combos!
• Special Color Palette 4 (Free) – A special color pack (4-color set) for character color customization. This pack features a special version of warm and sparkly colors!

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier

• DLC Bundle ($19.99) — Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier DLC Bundle brings you access to all 3 pieces of the game’s downloadable content. This includes all-new playable maps and game modes, extra weapons for Ghosts and Bodark units, additional Uplay achievements, and more!

PS3 Themes

• Let It Snow Dynamic Theme $2.99
• Mech Assault Canyon Run Dynamic Theme $2.99
• Mech Assault Cavern Hunter Dynamic Theme $2.99
• Mech Assault Reloading Dynamic Theme $2.99
• Midwinter Night Dynamic Theme $2.99
• Sony Network Entertainment PS3 Themes Going for a Drive $2.99

PS3 Avatars

• Disgaea 3: Almaz Avatar $0.49
• Disgaea 3: Clergy Avatar $0.49
• Disgaea 3: Geoffery Avatar $0.49
• Disgaea 3: Gunslingers Avatar $0.49
• Disgaea 3: Lady Samurai Avatar $0.49
• Disgaea 3: Master Big Star Avatar $0.49
• Disgaea 3: Mr. Champloo Avatar $0.49
• Disgaea 3: Rangers Avatar $0.49
• Disgaea 3: Salvatore Avatar $0.49
• Disgaea 3: Sapphire Avatar $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry – Kat $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry – Raptor $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry – Vergil $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry – Virility $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry – Weapons $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry -Dante 1 $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry -Dante 2 $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry -Dante 3 $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry -Dante 4 $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry -Order $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: Cfw Brave Avatar $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: Cfw Judge Avatar $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: Cfw Magic Avatar $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: Cfw Trick Avatar $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: Cfw Underling Avatar $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: Chika Avatar $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: J.K. Avatar $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: Mina Avatar $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: Pirachu Avatar $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: White Sister (Ram) $0.49
• Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2: White Sister (Rom) $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Altis Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Alys Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Dees Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Elka Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Marina Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Ryuto Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Shampuru Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Sharuru Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Shirogane Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Tsukika Avatar $0.49
• Mugen Souls: Welsh Avatar $0.49
• The Cave – The Adventurer $0.49
• The Cave – The Cave $0.49
• The Cave – The Hillbilly $0.49
• The Cave – The Knight $0.49
• The Cave – The Monk $0.49
• The Cave – The Scientist $0.49
• The Cave – The Time Traveler $0.49
• The Cave – The Twins $0.49
• DmC Devil May Cry Avatar Bundle $0.99
• Dokuro: Hero Pack $0.49

PS3 Wallpapers (Free)

• Knytt Underground Wallpaper 3

Game Videos (Free)

• DmC Devil May Cry: Cinematic Trailer
• Most Wanted DLC Trailer: Ultimate Speed Pack
• NBA 2K13 All-Star Trailer
• Pua Gameplay Video 2
• Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time Pulling The Heist Video

Available In-Game Only (Not on PlayStation Store)

DC Universe Online

• Ancient Lair $9.99
• Bunker Lair $9.99
• Cave Lair $9.99
• Deed $2.99
• Industrial Lair $9.99

Dead Space 3

• Bot Capacity Upgrade $4.99
• Bot Personality Pack $4.99
• First Contact Pack Free
• Marauder Pack $4.99
• Sharpshooter Pack $4.99
• Tundra Recon Pack $4.99
• Witness the Truth Pack $4.99
• Bot Accelerator $4.99
• Epic Weapon & Resource Pack $2.99
• Online Pass $9.99
• Ultra Weapon & Resource Pack $1.99
• Resource Pack $0.99

Rock Band 3

• Sweet Emotion ($0.99) – Pro Guitar – Aerosmith
• Dream On ($0.99) – Pro Guitar – Aerosmith

If you have yet to try this iconic action game from the mind of director Hideki Kamiya, your time has come as Bayonetta is debuting at $19.99. Of course, Bayonetta truly shines when you see it in action. So here’s a trip back to the year 2010, when a certain Launch Trailer was just arriving…

Bayonetta is the story of the last remaining member of an ancient clan called the Umbra Witches, a group that has kept the balance between light, dark, and chaos for hundreds of years. Bayonetta awakens after 500 years of sleep to find herself in a world she no longer recognizes, with no clues to her past or how she got where she is.

Her awakening sparks a chain of events that soon reaches cataclysmic proportions. And with a 500 year-old war setting the background of the game and the lines of good and evil blurring fast, Bayonetta needs to discover the secrets of her past and work towards securing her future.

At the core of the game is an amazingly deep combat system, and Bayonetta comes well equipped for battle: wielding four pistols (collectively known as Scarborough Fair) and utilising her infamous fighting style – the ‘bullet arts’ – she’s one big, bad witch you don’t want to make angry.

If you haven’t played Bayonetta and you like action games, I implore you: don’t miss this one. Of course, since I work at SEGA my opinion may be a bit biased, so I’ll leave it to the tried and true fans in the comments to back me up on this.

Hit me up with any questions you have in the comments, and I’ll do my best (as always) to respond to as many as possible. Thanks as always, loyal PlayStation.Blog readers – we hope you’ll enjoy your trip back to Vigrid!

ModNation Racers
My choice would have to be ModNation Racers. I played that game all night long, collected all the outfits, stickers, and whatnot, and made a ton of characters. I also posted a few tracks online – “A Night On Bald Mountain” and “Alice In Wonderland.”
-Giac Veltri, Engine Programmer

Rock Band 3
I really enjoy the challenge of playing songs in pro mode. The new keyboard, cymbals, and pro guitar are great additions to a game that was already amazingly fun.
-Herman Miller, Senior Programmer

MineCraft
The experience it gives you, you can’t get anywhere else.
-Joe Valenzuela, Engine Programmer

Super Meat Boy
It is unforgiving, unrelenting and unapologetic. It’ll grind your nose to the ground and make you feel insignificant. It does all this while staying fair to the player, no cheap deaths, and the feedback system showing the player where they jumped, landed and were mutilated by massive-death-blades(TM) creates a comforting and addicting “no, I can do this” feeling in the player.

It not only revels in a past era of super hard games, it refines it to near perfection. Super Meat Boy is everything anyone could ask for from a pure run-and-jump platformer.
-Chaz Wilke, Scripter

Starcraft II
I’m kind of embarrassed that it’s so mainstream, but Starcraft II. This was a surprise for me, since I’d always considered myself no good at RTS games, but apparently that’s all changed as I continue to charge through the Platinum 2v2 league 6 months after its release. It’s definitely an intense yet enjoyable challenge for me, and I love playing Zerg! (I chose to play Zerg for a highly strategic reason: they are adorable.)
-Lisa Brown, Designer

Bejeweled Blitz
My favorite game of 2010 was Bejewelled Blitz on Facebook. Despite a weekly @$$ kicking by my wife I keep coming back for more. (Lead Designer Jake) Biegel bows before me.
-John Fiorito, Chief Operating Officer

Bayonetta
Bayonetta, easily. The game really surprised me with its amazingly fast combat and unique (and kickass) soundtrack. It also had some of the best boss battles I’ve seen this entire generation.
-Scott Michalek, Engine Support Technician

Heavy Rain
Although other games like Mass Effect 2 and Red Dead Redemption captured me for longer periods of time this year, Heavy Rain is the game that most stands out in my mind. I really loved its depiction of fatherhood, a rarity in games. Heavy Rain gave me a new type of experience I hadn’t had before in any other game, and it made me really excited about the possibilities for interactive fiction in future games.
-Joel Bartley, Gameplay Programmer

If you guessed that our writer’s favorite game from 2010 would be the game where you played a writer… well, you’d be right:

Alan Wake
My favorite game of 2010 was Alan Wake. It was dark, atmospheric, with a compelling narrative and a really unique combat mechanic. It also satisfied my insatiable hunger for lumber mill-centric gameplay. As an added bonus, Alan Wake brought to light the gritty truth about writers: that we are all badass action heroes you want to align yourself with should possessed beings ever invade your tranquil summer burg. Unless you’re married to one of us – then you should probably run.
-TJ Fixman, Senior Writer

Sometimes we don’t get to play new games during the holidays, and they slip to the next year. That’s the case with the next couple of selections:

Uncharted 2
I liked the platform/parkour aspects of the level design. If Uncharted 3 has more of the platforming and jumping around I’ll be calling in sick until I complete it.
-Frank Lafuente, Lead Programmer

Dragon Age: Origins
Primary reason is that on my list of favorite game titles it was one of the only new titles, the others being sequels/new installments of a previous franchise.

I think that Dragon Age is an excellent example of bringing old school DnD style RPGs into the current generation. It was refreshing to see them revamp many of the traditional RPG standards while maintaining many of the same themes. It’s also one of few games that really delivers on content and epic story telling.
-Josue Benavidez, Associate Designer

Despite the wide variety of selections, as the response continued to flow in, it was clear that a vast number of Insomniac’s favored one game above all others during 2010: Red Dead Redemption. As our own (in?)famous cos-playing Senior Animator Ben Van Dyken writes:

• It was an emotional experience. You had real empathy for the character over the course of the game…. And not just in the main storyline, but I also got very attached to my horse, and when he died, I felt real loss…had to go through almost a mourning period before getting another. And these were never ‘canned’ experiences either…they usually happened so dynamically, that it never felt like an event ‘forced’ upon me by the designer….which gave it that much more impact.
• I also remember back when the game came out, each morning people would gather in the kitchen and tell their “RDR stories” from the night before. “…and right after that, I was wrestling this bear with only my bare hands…when all of a sudden, a cougar jumped out and mauled my horse…” It was great.

-Ben Van Dyken, Senior Animator

Other praise for Red Dead Redemption:
As repetitive as many of the quests could be, they created a world I enjoyed being in. They nailed the visuals and sound design of the west, from the time crickets swap with grasshoppers as the primary insect noisemakers to the way dawn casts nearly white light over deserts. The Morricone-esque soundtrack made me feel like I was in a western movie; It just felt good to ride around and experience that world.

Add to that the sheer number of things to do (skill rankings, outfits, primary story missions, mini games, bounty quests, etc) and amazingly entertaining ambient behavior (watching people get mauled from their horses by mountain lions, hearing the prostitutes around town say things like, “I hate to see a dry pecker” and trying to line-up the perfect sniper shot when suddenly being attacked by a Grizzly…) and you had a game that truly defines an era. Would anyone even want to try to make another western game?

Oh, and their “Undead Nightmare” DLC kind of ruined DLC for the rest of us. Best $9.99 I’ve ever spent!
-Marcus Smith, Creative Director on Resistance 3

My love of Spaghetti Westerns was beautifully recreated in this game. I loved the story lines and the fire fights felt like a cross between the Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. John Marston, the main character is well defined and carries all the emotion needed to connect with him. Rockstar did an amazing job and they continue to set the bar for sandbox games.
-Carlos De La Torre Jr, Tester

From cattle rustling to coyote wrestling to bandit killing, this game really drew me into its world. Playing co-op with some fellow Insomniacs is also a blast.
-Chris Edwards, Engine Programmer

The level of difficulty in making a Western game of the year is epic – yet they managed to nail it. The level of immersion and gorgeous environments leaves me awestruck – it’s a world that I love just being in.
-Joel Goodsell, Senior Designer

My favorite game of 2010 would have to be Red Dead Redemption. I expected it to be GTA4 with horses, but it turned out to be a sprawling, profound, emotionally moving experience centered around one of the absolute best characters in video games (John Marston). Easily the greatest Western video game ever made, and possibly the greatest Western ever made, period.
-Josh Leman, Tester

Sounds trite, but I loved, loved, loved Red Dead Redemption. I love the desert. I love hiking in the desert, camping, and driving through it. I think the Red Dead team nailed the feeling of the lighting, the topography, and the natural plants and cacti. I’m also a huge fan of westerns, and to me, this was nothing less than the definitive western video game–besides Boot Hill, of course. :)

I’m not sure I’ve seen better looking horses in a game either. It’s the kind of game I like playing just so I can ride around watch the sunset… before I smoke some outlaw gang from their shack. It’s truly a world I feel like I can escape into.
-Steve Ratter, Environment Artist

I loved the openness and the fact that you could finally be a bad-ass gunslinger. First western game to really capture that and it was awesome. And let’s face it, who didn’t always want to skin a bunch of bears.
-Tim Salvitti, Web Developer

So Red Dead Redemption is definitely the favorite pick of Insomniac Games for 2010. Congrats to everyone at Rockstar: San Diego for making such a fantastic game, that sucked up so much of everyone’s time here at Insomniac Games. If you haven’t played it yet, we can’t highly recommend it enough.

Hell is the last place you want to be—unless you’re impatient for the mythical adventure of redemption found in Dante’s Inferno. Veronica Belmont circles around EA to experience how the developer plans to bring the epic 14th century poem to life. There’s also an interactive quiz built into this episode that will determine your degree of sinfulness.

We’ve been keeping an eye on Heavy Rain since the Qore team’s first visit back in 2008. And, as promised, Quantic Dream has crafted a film-noir world that is both graphically impressive and psychologically disturbing. As you play the part of four different characters whose lives intertwine on the trail of a serial killer, your every decision has an effect on the story around you. This extensive preview also includes an interactive cinema demonstration of the consequences of a few of the choices you can make.

BioShock is one of the most critically-acclaimed games of the past few years, putting pressure on the developer to outdo itself for the sequel. We head back to Rapture, ten years after the events of the original game, to find out if life under the sea is really better as a Big Daddy in BioShock 2.

With Tina Fey-esque librarian glasses and holsters in her killer heels, Bayonetta is no soft-spoken angel. In fact, she’s a shape-shifting witch who battles angels and other assorted creatures with style. There’s a lot of video out there about this game, but we’ve got a full HD preview of this fascinating title and nine reasons you’ve got to love Bayonetta.

Audrey’s also got a look at the latest and greatest Blu-ray movie releases coming your way in early 2010, and we’ve got exclusive Dante’s Inferno and Heavy Rain PS3 themes to go along with this month’s video features for both subscribers and single-episode purchasers.

Episode 20 debuts tomorrow.