July 17th PlayStation Plus Update

Dyad – 20% Off: Dyad is an abstract game that is influenced by many genres, including racing games, fighting games, puzzle games and classic arcade shooters. Each of the game’s 27 different levels utilizes a variety of mechanics and present unique challenges: forming long combos, racing, surviving as long as possible, hitting certain top speeds, and more. Releasing as part of the 7/17 PlayStation Store Update, we’re proud to present this highly-anticipated game to all Plus members at a 20% discount on day one! Want more info? Check out all the coverage from the PlayStation Blog on this title, or hop into the PlayStation Forums thread to discuss it with the community.

The Games (PlayStation Store Promotion): Start Your Training. Once again four years have gone by in a flash, and the world is getting together to compete in The Games. To celebrate, snag two bonus sporty PS one Classics free: International Track & Field and Hot Shots Golf 2. International Track and Field is a 3D update to the classic Track & Field series and offers fun competition in over 11 different Olympic Events. Hot Shots Golf 2’s gameplay still shines as well, with easy to pick up and play golf action. If you own a PSP and have a Plus subscription through your PS3, you’ll be able to activate these free Plus downloads on your PSP, as well as your PS3. In addition, the sale will feature 50% discounts on select titles for Plus members too.

July 24th & 31st PlayStation Plus Update

PSN PLAY – 20% off: This legendary PlayStation Store event returns with a killer lineup of new releases and special incentives. PlayStation Plus members get the edge though as each of these highly anticipated new releases will have a 20% discount for all members during the first week! By participating in this event, you’ll not only get discounts on each week of a game’s release (including the pre-order week), but the more you buy, the more actual dollars will end up back in your wallet! So watch out for the pre-order of Expendables 2, starting 7/24 and game release on 7/31.

Sound Shapes, Papo & Yo, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive are also in the wings to rock your PSN world in PSN PLAY, which continues into August. Want more info? Read more about the PSN PLAY event right here or discuss it in the PlayStation Community forums.

Malicious – 20% off: In Malicious, you’ll take control of a “Spirit Vessel” awakened by prophets to defeat Holders, evil giants bent on destroying The Kingdom. You’re armed with the Mantle of Cinders, a magical artifact that takes the form of weapons or a shield. This awesome new PSN title sports a 20% discount in its debut week on the PlayStation Store on 7/24!

That’s it for now, but keep your feedback coming in by posting your thoughts on this update in the comments section. We got some great feedback from the questions posed in the update earlier this month, so thank you for making your voice heard. What games will you be picking up this month? Thanks, and see you in the comments!

Break out the fireworks for the July 3rd PlayStation Store update, where PlayStation Plus members will be able to download Gotham City Impostors, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX, and Renegade Ops for FREE!

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July 3rd PlayStation Plus Update

Gotham City Impostors: Previously announced as 50% off in Plus as part of the PSN Summer Sale, we’ve got a surprise for Plus members as Gotham City Impostors will be free for the month of July! Hatched from the twisted minds at Monolith Productions, Gotham City Impostors is a download-only multiplayer FPS that pits violent vigilantes (dressed up like Batman) against craven criminals (dressed up as the Joker) in open warfare on the streets of Gotham City. Since its release, there have been a ton of new additions to the game, including more customization options, thousands of player unlocks and upgrades, and more. Check out Giant Bomb’s review praising its gameplay and outstanding humor. Add this phenomenal multiplayer FPS to your collection this July – free with your PlayStation Plus membership.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX: This edition of one of gaming’s most beloved franchises takes the series in a bold, and incredibly addictive direction. With fast-paced gameplay, countless twists on the classic Pac-Man experience, awesome head-bumping music, and crazy-good leaderboard integration, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is a title that no gamer should miss — IGN gave it a 10 out 10! And now, with your PlayStation Plus membership, you won’t have to!

Renegade Ops: Last year’s PSN PLAY promotion introduced 4 amazing PSN games to heat up the last days of summer. Renegade Ops was one of those titles and deservedly so. The critically-acclaimed PSN game boasts 4 player co-op, destructible environments (using the Just Cause 2 engine), addictive gameplay, and lots of fun add-ons. This title will spice up your PlayStation Plus game collection with firepower on the back of co-op gameplay, and is a true must-download for all members. Check out 1up.com’s Renegade Ops review, where it scored a perfect “A” grade.

Click here to visit the Official PSN Summer Sale page

PSN Summer Sale: If you saw the PlayStation Store’s Summer Sale news this morning, you know that you’ll be able to heat up your PSN games collection by taking advantage of some deep discounts on major PS3 Full Game titles: Shadow of the Colossus, Killzone 3 Multiplayer, and more are all on sale this week with 50% off deals for PlayStation Plus members!

July 10th PlayStation Plus Update

Rainbow Moon: This PSN exclusive strategy role-playing game comes packed with strong emphasis on exploration, character development and turn-based battles. And the best part is that PlayStation Plus members will receive a 20% discount when it releases on July 10th! With a classic isometric open world, six playable main characters, more than 20 dungeons, around 100 special skills, fully customizable weapons, armor and accessories; Rainbow Moon is a massive game that offers all the features that you want from a traditional RPG… and a lot more!

That’s it for now! We’ll have another update for you midway through the month with more great Plus content, including offers on a psychedelic racing game, exclusive access to an action-packed beta, and amazing deals on anticipated new PSN releases. Keep an eye on the PlayStation Store Update posts every Tuesday to stay current with all the offerings made available to PlayStation Plus members.

Also, please share your feedback regarding this month’s PlayStation Plus update in the comments. Some of the burning questions we have for you include: Do you prefer monthly Plus free games updates all at once, or more of a steady feed of content arriving through the month? On a scale of 1-10, what would you score the current Instant Game Collection lineup?

Want Plus? Click here to purchase online, or activate on the PlayStation Store.

(Please note that Virtua Fighter 5, Hard Corp: Uprising, and Zombie Apocalypse will be rotated out of the PlayStation Plus catalog on 7/3. However, you can still download them prior to the 7/3 PlayStation Store Update hits, and will be able to keep them in your collection as long as you are a PlayStation Plus member – so if you haven’t added these awesome games to your queue then we suggest you do so now! )

We pitched the concept for Gotham City Impostors several times before it was greenlit. Each time, people laughed. The first time, they laughed appreciatively because they assumed we were joking. “A downloadable multiplayer shooter set in the Batman universe featuring guns, killing, and a distinct lack of Batman? Good one!”

As they began to suspect we were serious, the laughter became strained. “You know there’s no way this will ever get approved, right!? Do you realize how many people would have to sign off on this crazy idea!? It’s impossible!”

Once we were able to communicate the vision for the game with imagery and audio, everyone was back to laughing sincerely again because they finally got it. No, it wasn’t going to be a traditional Batman game, but it was absolutely going to be an unabashed love letter to Batman.

But selling an idea to executives is different from selling it to other Batman fans. Let’s just say there was some skepticism when the game was first announced. Let’s also concede that there’s probably still some out there. I even had the opportunity to talk to some skeptics directly at PAX Prime and found there were three questions that kept coming up.

“Why a multiplayer-only downloadable game?”

The answer to this is simple. By the end of F.E.A.R., there was only a small group of us left on the project, fixing bugs and polishing the game. Once we got it out the door, we transitioned to what started as a modest multiplayer support plan but gradually and organically metamorphosed into F.E.A.R. Combat, a freely available release of the entire multiplayer portion of F.E.A.R. with additional modes and maps.

F.E.A.R. Combat was easily the most fun I’d ever had working on a game. The team was small and enthusiastic. Our development process was extremely flexible and highly efficient. And the game played well from day one and only got better as we refined it.

So when we found ourselves between projects with a team too small to create a full-fledged title, I immediately latched onto the idea of another multiplayer game. We had a solid, multiplatform tech base to work with, meaning we could be up and running right away. And we had access to one of the coolest franchises around. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

“Why impostors instead of the real Batman and Joker?”

One obvious problem is that in a match with 16 12 players, only one person gets to be Batman. While nobody gets to be THE Batman in our game, everybody gets to be A Batman Impostor. And that’s exactly what I personally love about Batman: he’s just like the rest of us… except with way more money and a much nobler moral code. In other words, there’s nothing stopping any of us from stepping up and becoming an “Almost Batman” except having the will to do so.

Another reason we were attracted to the idea of impostors is that the real world is already brimming with people who love to dress up like Batman knowing he’s a fictitious character. Imagine if he were real. You wouldn’t have to go to a comic book convention to see copycats. They’d be everywhere. Obviously, Batman wouldn’t tolerate imitators who went around killing bad guys, but as badass as he may be, he can only be in one place at a time, which leaves plenty of room in the city for impostors to rampage until he shows up to chase them away.

“Why use the Batman license at all if you aren’t making a Batman game?”

The simple fact is that it was specifically because of the Batman license that we were even interested in making the game. Not only does the impostor concept stand out in a marketplace teeming with military and sci-fi shooters, but we believed that the combination of Batman-inspired gadgetry with the ability to completely customize your loadouts however you see fit would result in a furiously paced, gravity defying, tactically diverse game experience unlike anything else out there. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of similarities to other games, but it’s all about how the elements come together as a whole. To use an arbitrary food metaphor: Just because lettuce shows up in a lot of salads doesn’t mean you can’t make a standout salad with lettuce.

In the end, we hope that Gotham City Impostors makes you laugh heartily as you skewer opponents with an arrow to the face or watch them get zapped out the sky by an Airspace Denier gnome. We also hope that even though we don’t let you become the Dark Knight himself, that you still feel a little closer to him simply by dressing up in a tacky, homemade approximation of his totally sweet costume and engaging in a crass, morally suspect approximation of his vigilante cause.