Lara Croft is back, and this time she’s joined by a fierce Mayan warrior named Totec. The Guardian of Light is a new, multiplayer co-op title coming to the PlayStation Network. Qore Host Veronica Belmont visited developer Crystal Dynamics to bring you up-to-date on Lara’s action-packed, puzzle-solving adventure…a departure from the Tomb Raider series.

It’s hard to believe 16 years ago Green Day achieved mainstream success with the release of Dookie, and today they’ve got a Broadway musical and their own version of Rock Band. Qore caught up with Billie Joe, Tre, and Mike in advance of the release of Harmonix’s Green Day Rock Band, which features — for the first time — new motion-capture technology of the power punk trio to bring their live stage performances to life.

Kyoto-based Q-Games is famous for its PixelJunk series of PSN exclusives, which includes PixelJunk Racers, PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, and PixelJunk Shooter. Veronica previews the upcoming PixelJunk Shooter 2 and PixelJunk Racers: 2nd Lap, and talks with company president Dylan Cuthbert about their special brand of 2D creative magic.

With Greek mythology popping up everywhere in pop culture, Audrey Cleo visits Game Republic in Japan for a preview of Clash of the Titans. This is the studio behind the PS3 games Folklore and Genji: Days of the Blade, and they’re looking to recreate the look and feel of the film while adding all-new creatures and environments.

All subscribers can download the demoscene title “detuned” for free, and all purchasers will have access to a Clash of the Titans PS3 theme. As usual, Audrey has a rundown of the latest Blu-ray releases, and this month we spotlight our first “Geek Hero”, Gary Whitta—a PC magazine editor turned Hollywood screenwriter. Green Day fans can test their knowledge in the “Name That Tune” mini-game, and don’t forget to try the Lara Croft-themed memory match puzzles to unlock Veronica’s outtake videos.

Look for Episode 25 tomorrow on the PlayStation Store update.

Folklore Add-on #5 “Nightmares”

Add to the original storyline as you discover what is causing O’Connell’s nightmares. Wake Charlotte from a deep sleep, undertake the mysterious quest to find out why Livane attacked a tree and complete the Faery Photo mission started in The Origin of Belgae Pack.

This pack also includes a suave top hat and tux for Keats and provides the opportunity to encounter Automata, a Large, robotic Fire Folk that fires a beam of hot magma.

Folklore Add-on #6 “Visions of the Tower”

Continue the awe-inspiring adventures of Ellen and Keats with this Add-On. Learn the reason behind the puzzling sightings of the tower, find out why so many faeries are becoming lost, receive a surprise letter and begin to understand the motives of the Faery Lord.

Also included are an additional Folk, and a new outfit for Ellen, fashioned in the Hell Realm.

Thank you once again.

This is just one of the many opportunities we try to give our fans to get involved with the PlayStation magic. You might remember such entries as “Cod of War” that made it into God of War II, courtesy of one of your dedicated Gamer Advisory Panel members, “chickenmeister.” In Folklore’s case, we ran a contest a few months ago with Underground members to see who could create a Folk worthy of being added to the game. Many entries were judged by the dev team and today we’re proud to bring you a new Folk for your collection, named Quasarilli. We hope all of you will get to enjoy Uridicy’s creation and that one day you might see one of your own designs become video game reality.

Here’s what Uridicy had to say about being the creator of the winning Folk:

Art and games have always been a hobby of mine and as an aspiring game artist it is very exciting for me to see a professional 3D model of my creature Quasarilli. I’ve worked on a few Unreal Tournament mods as a texture artist/modeler to develop on my skills as an artist so this is a real encouragement to me. When thinking of what kind of creature to make, I tried to incorporate some tribal elements with the mask like face, feathers, and horns. Of course, even the coolest looking character needs to useful, or the player isn’t going to want to get him. I tried to think of what skills I would want in a Folk other than just brute strength. Since I usually spend a lot of time in most games going after various items, I thought stealing items occasionally might be a nice skill. It’ll be interesting hearing what different people think about my Folk, Quasarilli.

Overall, my favorite thing about Folklore is all the different environments. The game seems to have a unique darker fantasy feeling than the typical fantasy-RPG games I normally play, and the story about Ellen’s mom was very touching. I look forward to going up against my Quasarilli and I hope other people have fun with it too.

Folklore Add-on #3

“The Alchemist Pack”

In this pack, Ellen heads for Undersea City in search of her mother, while other quests will find you collecting stones for a mysterious alchemy experiment and clearing away the Folks who are blocking the Elevator in Hell Realm.

Discover Scarab, a new Folk that will make sure you get the “point”, as well as a special Faery-inspired costume for Ellen.

Folklore Add-on #4

“The Origin of Belgae”

The doorway to the Netherworld remains open… enjoy four more trips into the unknown set during the original adventure.

The pack challenges you to undertake the ‘rites of the ancient messenger’, discover what’s responsible for making a terrible noise and use a photo of a faery to solve a mystery…

Ellen will be gifted with the “Cloak of the Deep” and collect an additional Folk called Radian, that spins to hit enemies multiple times with outreached arms.

These Folklore Add-On Packs are priced for download at $3.99 apiece, or bundled together for $5.99. Oh, and if you haven’t already downloaded the free Folklore holiday pack, now is the time! Details on more Folklore Add-On Packs coming soon.

The pack will come with 2 new winter outfits for our heroes Ellen and Keats, a new quest to play with Keats called “Holy Night Visitor”, and a brand new Folk for your collection called “Grab Bag” who you have got to play to believe.

Ellen is sure to get Mrs. Claus jealous with her sweet red snow-bunny outfit complete with the earmuffs.

Keats will sport a slick white trench, festive beanie, and if you can believe it, a holiday sweater. (Keats is the only person that could make a reindeer sweater look good.)

Keats will have his hands full this holiday in the new quest you can play.

The new Folk, Grab Bag, will take his enemies down by spreading holiday cheer!

This is a thank you from the developers at Game Republic and from us at SCEA for all you Folklore supporters out there. Be on the look out for more great Folklore content in 2008.

Have a happy holiday and a great New Year!

So, you’ve played through Folklore, been to Hell Realm and back, and you want MORE??? Well, you’re in luck! Starting this month, and only on the PLAYSTATION Network, you’ll be able to purchase new downloadable add-on packs – each to include a new costume for either Ellen OR Keats, a completely new Folk, and 4 additional quests that extend the Folklore story.

Check out the packs you can look forward to and be on the lookout for more Folklore “surprises” around the corner. Thanks again for your support!

Add-On Pack 1: “The Kidnapped Folk”

Set during the timeframe of the original story, this is your opportunity to return to Doolin – gateway to the Netherworld – and take Ellen and Keats’ extraordinary adventure a little bit further. The quests include a mission to recapture a kidnapped Folk and an attempt to regain the trust of Brumbear’s soldiers. The pack also includes a new look for Ellen and a Folk called Maximillian who has a mean cannonball attack.

Add-On Pack 2: “”Bottom of the Sea”

Search the seabed for a mysterious item requested by Damona, get to the bottom of an accident that takes place in the Endless Corridor and complete the Wandering Thoughts mission started in “The Kidnapped Folk” Add-On. For Anime fans, Keats gets a “familiar” body suit that appears when he is in his “trancenscion” state and can face Phutcampus, a new Folk to defeat.

These Folklore Add-On Packs are priced for download at $3.99 apiece, or bundled together for $5.99. Details on more Folklore Add-On Packs coming soon!