Last week saw the launch of a PlayStation Mobile promotion that will offer six free games over six weeks, starting with Samurai Beatdown. This week, the free PlayStation Mobile game is Beats Slider. Master the puzzle gameplay by sliding different note blocks into sequences to create catchy electro tunes and compete for the best times online!

Recently, we invited FuturLab’s Managing Director James Marsden to explain the ins and outs of the game on PlayStation.Blog. Here’s what separates Beats Slider from its contemporaries:

Find out for yourself starting today – and at no cost! PS Vita owners will be able to download Beats Slider for free on the PS Mobile section of PlayStation Store; Owners of PlayStation-certified devices (see the full list here) can obtain it through PlayStation Mobile Store – click here for full instructions. Check back next Wednesday to learn what new free game you’ll download next!

Need more information on PlayStation Mobile? Want to know more about supported tablets and phones? Head here.

Hello folks! Earlier this year we were shouting about shouting about Velocity, and now we’ve got some new things to be excited about. We’ve been hard at work coming up with more simple, elegant and clever ideas, and crafting them into fun and addictive games.

The first of these games is called Beats Slider, and it’s called that because you slide beats around. It’s simple, rather elegant, and pretty clever too…

Beats Slider – Conquer Those Blasted Slider Puzzles!

Each block of the sliding puzzle represents MIDI data, which is basically musical notation that computers can read. MIDI data can be used to play back any instrument, synthesizer, drum loop or whatever you throw at it, just by changing the instruments or samples that are triggered by it.

So what we’ve done is allow the player to push a drum loop MIDI pattern into a synthesizer slot, or a melody pattern into a bass line track, and every combination you could think of within the limits of each level. It was quite the brain teaser to write music that can be rearranged in this way whilst still sounding good, but we managed it.

What we’re also doing is teaching people how to solve those blasted slider puzzles. Some people are just able to solve them, but people like you (and me) are often left frowning with frustration. No more. If you play Beats Slider, you will learn how to solve every slider puzzle that will ever be made, whilst also listening to catchy music like this.

Fuel Tiracas – Twitch-On-Touch Done Properly

Hot on the heels of Beats Slider is Fuel Tiracas, which is our attempt at bringing hardcore twitch gaming to touch-based mobile devices!

As with all our games, Fuel Tiracas is simple, elegant and a little bit clever, and it takes everything we’ve learned about addictive mechanics from Coconut Dodge and Velocity, and boils them down to their absolute core essence, building the simplest game possible that adequately challenges the following faculties:

• Use manual dexterity to create fast paced action
• Use memory to take ownership of repeated patterns
• Make fast decisions in response to random events
• Look really cool doing all of the above competently

These are the things that make Coconut Dodge and Velocity fun and addictive, and it’s these things that we have literally put right at the player’s fingertips – in their purest form – in Fuel Tiracas.

The game takes place on Planet Tiracas, which currently has no atmosphere, and it’s the player’s job to use Tiracas’ natural resources as Fuel to power giant atmosphere processors!

Fusing together ‘Whack-A-Mole’, ‘Spinning Plates’ and ‘Simon Says’ gameplay, the player must quickly collect fuel (in the form of colored circles) as it appears in one of the six fuel pods to raise the fuel level in a selected fuel gauge, making sure to balance each gauge within its threshold for long enough to generate 100% power to the atmosphere processor. This would all be really easy if the fuel didn’t slowly deplete over time, and that’s the kicker…

It’s simple, fast-paced action with a resource/time management slant, and it’s addictive as hell because, as with Coconut Dodge, the combination of random and predictable elements gives the player the opportunity to memorize and master the patterns that appear, whilst being kept on their toes by random events, leading to Bishop-level exhibitions of skill and speed; and people looking and feeling cool while playing.

Fuel Tiracas has 12 levels that slowly introduce players to the various Fuel Types included in the game, and the real value is in the huge amount of replayability as players learn the patterns and improve their best times, competing for the top spot on global high scores!

And… it costs $0.49.

A PlayStation Vita game for 49 cents.

Hello PlayStation Mobile!

Need more information on PlayStation Mobile? Want to know more about supported tablets and phones? Head here.

As you may remember from our previous post about PlayStation Mobile, PlayStation’s brand new mobile games platform for select mobile devices has been in the works, and you can try it out yourselves starting today! PlayStation Mobile allows you to get PlayStation-like experiences on a variety of platforms such as PS Vita and PlayStation Certified devices such as select Android phones and a variety of tablets. Downloading content, including games, on PlayStation Mobile is easy for gamers with a SEN account. Simply use your PSN Wallet to purchase PlayStation Mobile content.

While we’ll be constantly expanding our content offerings for the platform, we’re excited for you to check out our initial line-up of launch titles, including Loot The Land, Beats Slider, and Super Crate Box. Let us know which titles are your favorites.

For PS Vita users, as long as you have Internet access, you can use your PSN Wallet to download the full range of PlayStation Mobile content. Simply visit the PlayStation Mobile section within the PlayStation Store on PS Vita and take your pick from the list of available titles. If you purchased PlayStation Mobile content on another PlayStation Certified device, go to [Options] > [Download List] to select the title and download it directly to your PS Vita. With PlayStation Mobile, PS Vita owners are getting yet another way to access PlayStation content on the go!

For owners of select PlayStation Certified Sony smartphones and tablets powered by Android, you can find instructions to access PlayStation Mobile content here.

Here at PlayStation, we’re always looking for ways to improve your PlayStation gaming experiences, and we can’t wait for you to get up and running on PlayStation Mobile so we can hear your feedback. Be sure to check out PlayStation Mobile starting today, and let us know what you think in the comments and in the official PlayStation community forums.