UPDATE: Due to a technical error, the Impact Mode DLC was not included in this Super Stardust HD DLC sale bundle. Any users who purchased the sale bundle will be receiving a message within the next week or so with a voucher code for the Impact Mode DLC. We will also correct the error for next Tuesday’s Store publish. We apologize for the inconvenience!

It’s amazing that we’ve come this far since Super Stardust HD first came on the scene. Five years ago, the top-selling and award-winning PS3 game blasted you on a breathtaking tour through the galaxy full of epic sights and scenes. Everyone here at Housemarque has been honored to be a part of the journey in creating five years of action-packed entertainment on PSN. From Super Stardust HD to Super Stardust Portable to Super Stardust Delta on PS Vita, we’ve always pushed ourselves to deliver the best possible arcade experience.

To celebrate the game’s fifth anniversary, and to thank you all for your support, we’ve launched a spectacular offer – Super Stardust HD + all three DLC add-ons, including last year’s stellar new “Impact” game mode, in one cosmic bundle for only $7.99. This deal won’t last forever though – the offer will only be valid from August 8th to September 5th.

With each new DLC pack, we’ve aimed to dazzle by adding even more fun and innovative features to the core Super Stardust HD experience. Here are four features that we are most proud of implementing since the game’s launch in 2007:

1. Super Stardust HD is one of the first and only games to provide a 60 fps 1080p 3D experience, creating 120 unique frames per second in order to do so
2. The DLC expansions add numerous game modes and co-op play for up to four players.
3. Better yet, you can experience the co-op modes in true 3D SimulView where each player sees their own view of the action, provided you own the 3D Display
4. Last but not least, Super Stardust HD was the first ever game to feature Trophies!

We here at Housemarque hope that you take advantage of the special anniversary offer and join the thousands of people who have enjoyed our games over these last five years.

Attention Dead Nation recruits worldwide! We’re excited to announce a brand new game mode for Road of Devastation (the expansion pack to Dead Nation) called Arcade, which is a brand new way to experience Road of Devastation! Everyone who’s taken the Road knows of the Egogate experiment – to find the perfect zombie killer who can survive longest against ever-increasing odds (the fallen heroes’ DNA are allegedly used to clone and breed the perfect soldier).

The new Arcade mode may actually see you survive the ordeal and get out alive! You can choose your difficulty level, and checkpoints will revive (or is that clone?) you.

Completing Arcade mode on different difficulty levels will also unlock new Road of Devastation concept art. If you’ve never experienced Road of Devastation before, now’s the perfect time! Think you’ve got what it takes to get out alive? Download Arcade mode today and find out!

From the ashes of the apocalypse, an organization has worked in the shadows, tampering with the human gene to engineer the perfect zombie killing machine… you! Continuing from the events of the original game (or is that preceding…?), Road of Devastation puts your skills to the ultimate test. You find yourself at a crossroads leading to three different choices with each road featuring its own challenges and enemies but also different weapons and tools you’ll need if you’re to survive.

Before long, you’ll find your choices have great meaning, you just might find yourself at the crossroads again, but, that time the road you took has been closed, so you’ll make a new decision based on the new weapons, items, money and armor (or perhaps score) you’ll have by then. In order to become the ultimate zombie killing machine you must also master the arts of death completely – you will be rewarded for pulling off different levels of multi-kills, and making constant tactical decisions based on new money, score and other collectible mechanics.

Each road introduces new environments with elements that can work either for or against you. As you wade through areas with heavily overgrown plant life, you can make your way through by destroying the overgrowth blocking your progress. This affects the zombies’ paths as well. Navigating through flooded streets, you might find pools of water with zombies in them that you can electrocute. Flames burst out of buildings on fire, but time your movements right and it might be the zombies who get burned, not you.

Road of Devastation gives you several new ways to dispose of enemies. Trigger electric fences to fry everything nearby or turn zombie masses into mince meat with heavy-duty industrial saws. The latest technology even enable you to deploy an automated sentry gun called the “Auto-Turret” onto the battlefield – watch that ammo counter go. In the local hospital area you’ll find a new type of health pack – a medikit you can carry with you and use when you need it most. It restores full health, but you can only carry one at a time (or stomp it to gain lots of cash).

As the virus evolves, the enemies evolve. You’ll find enemy waves start to grow in numbers and get more and more aggressive. Zombies can now also burst forth from every conceivable angle. See a manhole cover moving? Zombies might literally ooze out at any moment. There’s a crack in a wall? You might want to keep your distance. No place is safe anymore. Even the ground you walk on might turn inside out when some of the new enemy types reveal themselves. And forget what you thought you knew about common zombies – Road of Devastation presents new enemy traits to several common zombie types. Low on ammo? Cop zombies usually drop some. Low on health? Doctor and nurse zombies might carry health packs. Need money? Tourist zombies tend to carry pocket change. See if you can discover them all.

A few entirely new enemies will also require your attention. Be extra careful when treading plant-infested environments – the virus has now also begun to infect even plant life. Beneath the ground, masses of buried corpses, all but decomposed have now fused with infected plant life. When these monstrous atrocities burst forth from amidst the plants, you’ll notice they have no problem treading the infested terrain as they make their way toward you. And the original game’s “Mouth” enemy makes a deadly comeback – evolved into “Big Mouth”, it now summons its minions straight from hell, from right below your very feet!

Prepare to experience Dead Nation in a brand new way in Road of Devastation, out today for $3.99. This time, it’s war!

We hereby announce exciting news for Dead Nation players around the globe! We’ve been hard at work creating a new downloadable expansion called “Road of Devastation”! Before we say more, we’ll take this moment to acknowledge an epic milestone in the number of zombies killed worldwide: over 11,700,000,000 – and counting! To put that number in perspective, that’s more than 1.5 times the entire world’s population of today (though the game takes place in the near future where Earth’s population has grown much bigger…so don’t worry, there’s still plenty of zombies left).

Also, our worldwide recruit count has risen to over 3.8 million! We wish to humbly thank all the people who have supported the game.

Now, onto Road of Devastation:

From the ashes of the apocalypse, an organization has worked in the shadows, tampering with the human gene, modifying and improving upon it to create the perfect soldier, the ultimate zombie-killing machine – you! Continuing from the events where the original game left off (or, is it actually the other way around…), Road of Devastation will put your skills to the ultimate test. You’ll find yourself waking up in a laboratory with only one way out. Outside the door you’re presented with a choice – a crossroads leading to three different paths, each with their own unique environments, challenges and enemies waiting for you. If you manage to overcome the challenges, just when you think it’s over, you’ll make a startling revelation…

In addition to the range of enemies and weapons you’re already familiar with from the original game, Road of Devastation will present you with a variety of new tools and equipment to dispose of enemies with, while also introducing new enemies and obstacles you’ll encounter in unique new environments.

Stay tuned as we reveal more info and details on the blog soon. Keep up the fight, your country needs you!

The idea of the game is simple: you are following in the footsteps of an ancient hero looking to prevent the destruction of the world at the hands of the goddesses of chaos. However, mix in the polarity switching and you have one amazingly challenging game.

Housemarque, known for their work on Dead Nation and Super Stardust HD, has been receiving a ton of praise on Outland, including 1UP calling it “one of the best downloadable games this year”. Let’s take a deeper dive into the development of Outland:

Be sure to check out Outland now on the PlayStation Store. For $9.99, you can pick up a critically acclaimed platformer with epic boss battles and online co-op. Let us know what you think once you get your hands on our game!

At the very beginning I had an idea on creating an action adventure platforming game that would give the player similar emotions and encounters I experienced when playing some of my favorite platforming games in the 80’s (Pitfall II, Jumpman Jr., Rick Dangerous etc. – see, I never had a NES). Early versions of Outland had a guy jumping, shooting and sliding around in a jungle environment. We expanded that basic gameplay by adding a special spirit mode that made the character move faster and cause more damage.

Our spirit mode, which we called the “Flow” mode, was one where you turned from a normal guy into a superhero; blue energy surrounded you and you were nearly invincible. We toyed around different variations of the concept, from having an additional boost mode, to having Flow sources/springs in the levels that would activate the spirit. Somehow the one-dimensional approach of the special power didn’t feel like enough. We decided on having some brainstorming sessions to further enhance the concept, but initially nothing caught on. Finally, during a weeklong meeting between Housemarque and Ubisoft, we started discussing applying Ikaruga’s mechanics to our 2D platforming, and Outland’s final concept was born!

Once we set ourselves on changing the spirit power to be binary, we had a very good feeling about it. Even if there hadn’t been many platformers with a similar feature (Silhouette Mirage, we know of you), we knew we could get it working. Just after a few weeks of development we had a prototype running and it confirmed our beliefs. Now the task was to fit this polarity mechanic into our existing concept.

Before coming up with the binary concept, we had had concerns about shooting working with fast, acrobatic movement. Now, on top of that, we had the environment and enemies shooting complex volleys of bullets at you, and you were supposed to make sense of what you were avoiding and where you were going while aiming at enemies. In addition, shooting required us to use the second stick, which made switching between aiming and jumping quite cumbersome. And that wasn’t all. Animating a human character who can jump around walls and point his arm to any and all directions at the same time proved to be especially hard.

The decision to drop the projectile weapons and stick with a melee attack proved to be the right one. Controlling the character became easier and more straight-forward, and now the experience started to be more about player skill than the controls handicapping the game. The final debate we had before going into full production was to decide which way the player’s energies worked against enemies and items.

The development team was torn half between the same color hurting enemies versus the opposite color doing so. To me, it felt more natural to use the same color (for everything), but two specific things convinced us decide on the opposite. First, we realized we could get more diversity from players having to switch between modes when fighting enemies, jumping on colored platforms and absorbing bullets; also, all of those items being of alternate color looked better. Second, Ikaruga had also gone the ‘opposite’ route and that was good enough final confirmation for us.

One major thing we did differently from Ikaruga was the inability to hurt enemies of the same color. We tested different damage ratios between half damage and one sixth, but none of them made it clear enough that the player should switch alignments for stronger attacks. Ultimately, going full-on binary clarified gameplay and enabled us to create encounters where the intent was clean. Once we had that final thing settled, we had all of our core mechanics nailed down and moved from prototyping onto full-on production.

The end result you can all judge by yourselves. I and the rest of the team truly hope you enjoy Outland when it hits the PlayStation Store on June 14.

Last fall I was introduced to Outland, a side-scrolling PSN action game that casts you as an urban nobody turned spiritual warrior. The dreamlike visuals, acrobatic platforming and sharp swordplay showed plenty of promise. Since then, developer Housemarque (creators of Dead Nation and Super Stardust HD) has fleshed out the game with a more fluid feel and gameplay depth that will make fans of the classic 2D side-scroller Castlevania: Symphony of the Night beam with delight.

A gorgeous introductory cinematic introduces you to the protagonist’s plight. As a nameless, faceless modern-day city dweller, you’re haunted by visions of a vast wheel endlessly turning. Maddened by the hallucinations, you seek out a shaman who guides you on a path of spiritual awakening and an uncomfortable truth: You’ve been chosen to fight in a timeless, cyclical battle with a pair of god-like Sisters who created the world and now seek to destroy it. Lucky you! “The Sisters are the final bosses in the game,” Producer Adam Sarasohn confirms. “They are the ones causing this conflict.” You’ll learn this firsthand in the opening moments of the game when you dive into a playable vision set 30,000 years in the past. Re-living the conflict as an ancient hero, your spiritual predecessor, this short flashback sets up the final struggle against the Sisters but cuts away just as the ominous battle begins.

Outland’s sword-based action, fluid acrobatics and free-roaming exploration will strike a chord with fans of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but there’s a twist: You can shift between blue and red energy alignments with a quick tap of the L2 button. In the blue form, you’re immune to blue projectiles and enemies but vulnerable to red threats, and vice-versa. You’ll need sharp eyes and keen timing to best Outland’s most challenging moments, which flood the screen with dizzying color-coded projectile patterns complete with enemies and platforms to negotiate.

Luckily, your protagonist runs, jumps, and climbs with limber grace and swings a sword like he means it. Over time, his abilities evolve to include a sliding attack (also useful for accessing secret crawlspaces), a stone-shattering stomp, extended wall-hanging stamina and and more. These skills will be especially valuable during the game’s massive boss battles, such as one epic encounter that pits you against a telekinetic High Priestess who attacks by hurling pieces of the surrounding environment at you. “After a while,” Sarasohn teases, “the entire room breaks apart and starts falling, and you’re jumping up pieces of rubble while you fight her in mid-air.”

In addition to its single-player quest, Outland includes an Arcade mode that challenges experts to speed-run through scenarios with the highest score possible. But at PAX East, Sarasohn also revealed that Outland includes online two-player cooperative play that comes in two distinct flavors: Story Co-op and Co-op Challenge rooms. While playing the Story mode with a friend, you’ll occasionally find and unlock a Co-op Challenge room that warps the established gameplay rules. One example tasks you with controlling the color of your partner and yourself — a tall order when the air is thick with red-and-blue projectiles and you’re only worried about saving your own skin. Then, in a sadistic twist halfway through this particular Co-op Challenge, your partner assumes color control. Gulp!

If you’re wondering why Outland’s co-op modes are limited to online play, Sarasohn says it’s for a good reason. Split-screen co-op was definitely not an option. “We wanted each player to have a full screen so they can see all the puzzles and not have to make blind jumps.” And though developer Housemarque had experimented with a co-op mode that constrained both players to one screen, they ultimately abandoned the concept because it proved too frustrating.

Outland is scheduled to hit PSN in late April or May. Have questions about the play style? Confused by the co-op features? Shocked by Housemarque’s departure from dual-stick shooters? Let us know in the comments.

Hi everyone! Housemarque is extremely pleased to report that Dead Nation received the Editor’s Choice award by Gaming Nexus, Just Push Start, Playstation Lifestyle, ZTGD, and Gamingbolt!

Not only that, but the game was also chosen as PSN game of the year 2010 by PS Nation, Gamingbolt, and PlayStation Lifestyle! We’re most honored for these awards, we wish to thank everyone who voted, this means a lot!

Now, we’re excited to report that our upcoming patch is only days away (coming Monday, March 7th) and will provide players with not only online co-op Voice Chat, but also Checkpoint saves, the ability to copy saves, and some even further surprises for all the Dead Nation players out there!

And finally, for those interested in seeing behind-the-scenes of the game’s development, we made a small development diary last year that shows just how the whole zombie pandemic really got started…

We want to thank all the Dead Nation players out there and let them know that they’re appreciated! Keep your eyes peeled and your wits about you, the apocalypse has only begun!

Dead Nation has a unique online component which we call the metagame. It means that every time you kill a zombie, we know about it and so does the game. The metagame uses that information to track many things. So, every single zombie kill counts!

Every single dirt-ridden, disgusting sack of flesh you kill will count towards clearing the virus in your country. The more zombies you and your countrymen kill, the quicker the virus will be cleared.

Below is a snapshot of part of the Metagame:

1. Currently selected country.
2. Player’s statistics.
3. Statistics about the currently selected country.
4. Ticker texts which displays various information about the global status, player’s country status, player’s friends and about the player.
5. Access to more in-depth detailed statistics.

The metagame features an interactive map of the world, which can be used to access all the information. For example if you want to see who the best player in Japan is, you would select the country on the map to get that information. You can also easily check if any of your PSN friends live in that country and how well they are doing compared to their fellow countrymen. Can you be the best in your country?

The metagame also informs you which player is currently the best zombie killer in the world; best in your country of origin; and best amongst your friends.

On a higher level, the metagame tracks which country is the best in eradicating the zombie threat. This aspect can be seen as “Zombie killing World Championships.” It will be interesting to see which country will come on top and if they are able to hold that position.

Every country is ranked, so that you’ll be able to see how your homeland is progressing against your nearest ally or foe; and as you progress through the virus cycles it is worth keeping an eye out. Who knows when things might change?

Although the basic premise of the metagame is to see how your nation is progressing, it really does much more than that, and will take on a game of its own as it organically grows over the months and years after release. We’ll be keeping a close eye on it and are most definitely planning on supporting the Dead Nation community!

Mob Rules

• Rush makes you (briefly) invincible. Pressing L2 grants you a burst of speed that makes you untouchable for a nanosecond. Use it to dodge angry Bombies, power through a zombie crowd, or sprint over flames. But even the Rush won’t save you from the dreaded Cutter…
• Master the Melee. Melee attacks (R2) knock away all zombies, even those lurking behind you, so it’s a must for crowd control. To be a real melee monster, collect fashionable ExoGear armor pieces hidden throughout the game and equip them at the Weapon Shop.
• Melee while reloading. Stuck in a reload animation just as a mob is closing in? Jam on the melee button (R2) to fend off the onrushing zombies — it won’t interrupt your reload progress. So no excuses: Reload at every opportunity!
• Learn to love car alarms. That telltale red warning light is your cue to open fire — the resulting racket will bring every nearby zombie running, giving you time to slink away before the ensuing explosion.
• Trick the Jumper into smashing other zombies. When you hear its distinctive shriek, Rush away. With practice, you can use this technique to direct the Jumper right into a zombie crowd with lethal results.
• Listen to the music. Dead Nation’s dynamic soundtrack gets the blood pumping. But, more importantly, it can give you clues about the next threat. If you hear the music kick into overdrive, ready a powerful weapon!
• When all else fails, throw a grenade. It’s tempting to solve every problem with bullets, but equipment like flares and mines are absolute lifesavers. Use them regularly or suffer the consequences!

Cash is King

• Keep your enemies close. Those gold and red orbs that gush from defeated zombies? They boost your cash and score multiplier, respectively, but their value decreases rapidly over distance. For maximum cash, stay as close as possible to the carnage.
• It pays to wait. Glowing blue boxes always carry ammo; all other boxes alternate between red (score multiplayer) and gold (money for weapons and upgrades). If you’re strapped for cash, wait for each box to turn gold before opening it.
• Cash 4 Health. Topped off on life? Don’t let that health kit go to waste. Tap R2 — you’ll squash it and gain bonus cash. Protip: This doesn’t work in real life.
• Junk in the trunk. Car trunks always contain gold, so be sure to loot them at every opportunity.
• Leave no gravestone unturned. Take some time to venture off the main path. Dead Nation is riddled with secret nooks and crannies loaded with item boxes and cash, and you’ll need every last dollar if you want to max out all of your gear.
• Ammo comes first! Remember to buy ammunition and items before spending all your cash on upgrades and new weapons.

Tips for Healthy Living

• Rest a little. Your character automatically regenerates 20% of his or her life bar. If you’re low on life and facing long odds, grab that next health kit after you regenerate and you’ll come out ahead.
• Health-o-Matic. Soda machines are scattered throughout the environments, and can provide one of two effects. Shoot it to create a noisy diversion; Melee it (R2) to gain a quick health boost.
• Max out your Endurance. If you’re having trouble surviving, equip ArmoShell armor upgrades at the next Weapon Shop to boost your defense.
• Rush the flames away. Flames and poison goo will melt down your health bar in milliseconds. Rushing (L2) will slough off any harmful substances and get you back in the fight.

Weapon Tips

• Rifle: Limitless ammo makes this a handy fallback, and its charged “powershot” drills through a crowd like a hot knife through butter. The powershot can also snipe out a dangerous target in the middle of a crowd. Upgrade it early, but don’t rely on it.
• Shotgun: Upgrade early and upgrade often. Perhaps the single most useful weapon in Dead Nation, the Shotgun makes mincemeat out of the toughest zombies. Don’t get trigger happy, though: ammo is painfully limited.
• SMG: This rapid-fire weapon is best used against weaker zombies such as skeletons. On higher difficulties, the SMG will barely faze tougher enemies — use it with caution and upgrade it gradually over the course of the game.
• Flamethrower: This specialized weapon fits a niche role. You’ll need to top off every upgrade to reach its full potential — a pricey proposition. It’s best for crowd control, as flaming zombies move slower and tend to scatter.
• Blade Cannon: A keeper! The bladed projectile will carve through an entire horde, instantly killing all zombies — including the dreaded soldiers and fat men — with one well-placed shot. It’s also a one-hit kill against Bombies, though Jumpers and Cutters will barely shrug. It’s definitely worth upgrading.
• Launcher: This powerful rocket launcher is the ideal choice against Cutters and Jumpers, though it starts with only five shots. Upgrade the ammo capacity posthaste, and always fire from a safe distance!
• Shocker: This lightning gun can flash-fry a huge horde in seconds — if you have the cash to max out its upgrades. The Shocker will also immobilize lesser enemies, making it a powerful alternative to the Flamethrower.

Equipment Tips

• Flare: Invest in the Duration upgrade to keep zombie mobs distracted longer, then let loose with the Shotgun, Blade Cutter, or Shocker.
• Grenade: Zombies will lunge for the blinking light, making Grenades a great choice for redirecting rampaging mobs. Stay clear of the red explosive radius!
• Mine: Upgrade these bad boys as quickly as possible, especially to gain multiple Explosive Charges. Even though mines don’t attract special enemies like they do with zombies, you can still utilize them by standing behind mines and luring them in.
• Molotov: Handy in a pinch, but self immolation is a constant risk. Molotovs are perhaps most useful for creating a literal firewall between yourself and an angry horde. Use with caution!
• TNT: This screen-filling explosion inflicts the most damage of all, making it valuable against the rock-hard Cutters. As with the other items, zombies will be attracted to its blinking light.

Co-op and Community Tips

• Make sure to balance the weapon loadouts for co-op play, so you can handle all types of zombies (via @EGjonas)
• In co-op, play back-to-back to keep lights surrounding the area and you’ll have fun mowing down hundreds of the undead. (via @MeatRations)
• Pump the first few rounds into the cars BEFORE you need them to blow up. Prime ‘em. (via @BenKuchera)
• Always exploit the exploding cars AFTER you’ve looted them. (via @Geofortean)
• Use a charged shot to quickly set off a car alarm or a soda machine. (via @psnstores)
• Upgrade the default Rifle to max power, then use bottlenecks in the environment to line up the zombies. Boom! Multi-kill! (via @Essmithsd)
• Always be moving while engaged in combat. If you need breathing room, melee and rush are an effective way to buy precious seconds. (via @driftingdrafts)
• Reload, switch weapons, and switch back to the original. The weapon will be at full stock without the wasted time. (via @Taggart451)
• In co-op, stick side-by-side in a narrow alleyway and lure the zombies in while backing up. Using Molotovs for a line of fire and Mines (via @GameOnGreggy)