For just $4.99 you can live like a celebrity in a two-story mansion perched atop the Hollywood Hills. Invite up to 11 friends at a time into one of your two home theaters and watch clips from some of your favorite movies, trailers, Minisodes and exclusive content from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Releasing and Crackle. Throw a party by the sprawling infinity pool, lounge in the Jacuzzi, and take in the million-dollar views – all in the Hollywood Hills House, available this Thursday from the Estates Store in PlayStation Home.

Music lovers rejoice! This Thursday the London Pub Radio (LPR) takes to the airwaves – a free update to all London Pub owners. Every month LPR will be pumping tunes courtesy of a hand-selected group of featured artists into a radio placed in the London Pub personal space (first up from LPR are four tracks from RedderStare – an up and coming four-piece band from London, UK).

That’s not all – LPR is also launching a website where independent musicians from our community will be able to submit original music for a chance to have their tracks broadcast into London Pubs all around PlayStation Home. Head to www.veemee.com/thelondonpub/radio to upload tracks and learn more about this exciting new program!

The PlayStation Home Mall receives a large update this Thursday with items from Capcom’s Lost Planet 2 (look for the Jungle Pirate and Nevec Soldier costumes), nDreams’ “Party Props” and “Black Robe” items, and a some truly awesome additions to our line of original costumes (check out the pics below for a taste of what is in store this week).

“Scion’s “Take on the Machine” activity returns to the Central Plaza this week. Log in to PlayStation Home this Thursday to join the challenge and unlock special rewards. Then head to TakeOnTheMachine.com for additional information on the all new Scion tC and to find a dealer near you.”

Finally, we’ll debut a new series this week in the mega-popular PlayStation Home Community Theater. Come out and watch the premier of Replay with Doc. In episode 1, the Tester star interviews Brett Norton, lead designer of TimeGate Studios, and they discuss the upcoming Section 8: Prejudice as well as digital distribution in the gaming industry. After you watch Replay with Doc, stick around for GamerIndepth’s “Shoutouts” and learn how not to appear “N00Bish” in Central Plaza and catch an interview with the team behind Lair.

See you in Home!

But wait, there is more! Downloading the demo does more than just let you get a first taste at Lost Planet 2. Capcom has started an exciting charity campaign called, “Kill Big for Charity”. We are partnering with Music for Relief, a non-profit organization dedicated to disaster relief and disaster risk mitigation, to contribute $20,000 to charity if one million demos are downloaded across both PSN and XBL before May 5, 2010. An additional $5,000 will be added to the pot if an extra 500,000 demo downloads can be achieved.

To celebrate the launch of Lost Planet 2, we will be throwing a tournament on May 6 in Los Angeles. Select members of our community, Capcom Unity, will compete in the tournament with celebrities and press members. For information and how to enter, visit the details page on Capcom Unity.

The winning team in the tournament will choose which Music for Relief program will receive the donation. Help us achieve our goal by downloading the demo and spreading the word to your friends today!

This week we dropped by Capcom HQ to test out multiplayer on the PS3 version of Lost Planet 2, as well as get some of your questions answered. There’s a video featuring exclusive footage and your answers below.

We also found out that Capcom is doing something pretty cool: if 1.5 million of you gamers download the upcoming multiplayer demo (available April 22nd), they’ll donate $25K to charity. Easy enough, right?

So why are we telling you this today, when the demo won’t be live for 3 weeks? Because Capcom is giving some gamers a headstart on that download (which means you may be able to start playing it now).

Head over to lostplanetcommunity.com, where you can enter to win early access to the demo. Strike out there? Stay tuned to our Twitter account; we’ll be giving out some more download codes later today.

With Final Fantasy XIII just released, Qore’s got an in-depth walk-through of this stunning title. Get the real story on the story, characters, and fascinating insights provided by exclusive interviews with creators Motumu Toriyama, Yoshinori Kitase and Yuji Abe. There’s also an interactive gallery of gameplay tips, and a look back at the launch day in Japan.

For you God of War fans eagerly awating next week’s release, we’ve got an exclusive digital preview of the upcoming graphic novel from legendary comic scribe Marv Wolfman. Audrey Cleo meets the man to discuss his approach to taking Kratos to print and using Qore’s interactive digital gallery, preview of the comic book narrated by Marv himself.

Qore also visits Volatile games in the UK for a preview of the noir action/shooter—Dead to Rights Retribution. Grant City is a dark and dangerous place, even when playing as a cop on the edge, so it’s a good thing you’ve got a trusty (and deadly) canine companion by your side to help you sink your teeth into the action.

As a follow up to an earlier look at Lost Planet 2, the Qore team’s produced a detailed preview with never-before-scene gameplay. The creatures are massive, the vital suits totally cool and Lost Planet 2’s lush, newly-defrosted environments are very enticing.

And finally, many of you have been asking for dynamic themes, and this month, all Qore subscribers can access a new Heavy Rain dynamic theme. For those of you familiar with the game, this dynamic theme takes place at the crime scene, complete with patrolling officers, police cars, and plenty of rain, of course. Even if you haven’t gotten into Heavy Rain yet, this dynamic theme is still pretty cool on its own.

Look for Episode 22 tomorrow.

Throughout the demo players will run into Akrid ranging from small (in Lost Planet terms) to enormous, as they fight to collect the precious thermal energy contained within the Akrids bodies in order to heal themselves, their friends, and power the armored Vital Suits. Utilizing a number of weapons from machine guns to missile pods and rocket launchers scattered throughout the environment, teams of four players can join up via the PlayStation Network and clear three mission objectives with friends, giving them a glimpse into the jungle of E.D.N III.

In order to promote cooperative gameplay, players can share life-giving thermal energy amongst injured members of their squad while new support weapons allow teammates to boost attack and defense capabilities. Additionally, the new dash feature allows players to sprint for short distances, bringing greater speed to combat.

The true firepower of Lost Planet comes from the heavily armed and armored robotic Vital Suits as they return in greater numbers and variety than the first game. Players now have the ability to hold up to three players as they make their way through varied environments in the game.

Lost Planet 2 is the first game to make use of Capcom’s updated proprietary game engine, MT Framework 2.0. Rendering dynamic lighting in beautiful massive environments, previous versions of MT Framework have been used on games like Resident Evil 5 and Devil May Cry 4.

For those new to the world of Lost Planet, Lost Planet 2 takes place on the planet of E.D.N. III, 10 years after the events of the first game. Terraforming efforts have melted the icy terrain of the first game and given way to revealing lush tropical jungles and harsh deserts. Players will enter this new environment and follow the exploits of their own customized snow pirate on their quest to seize control of the changing planet.

Capcom is also releasing the newest trailer on PSN the same day as the Lost Planet 2 demo. Previously only having shown the jungle and city environments, the new TGS trailer gives you a glimpse of the new desert environment and even bigger Akrid than seen before.

We hope you enjoy the demo and newest trailer! Make sure to look for more news and information about Lost Planet 2 coming over the next few months to the PlayStation Blog!

With many of our favorite franchises returning soon, the Qore team caught up with the folks responsible for these highly anticipated sequels in order to bring you the most recent developments.

Renaissance Man

The action/adventure game that focused on simulated ancestral memories now shifts locales to Italy in Assassin’s Creed 2. Audrey Cleo takes a look at the new tale of power, revenge and conspiracy that lets you put Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions to good use.

Special Ops

Acclaimed developer Infinity Ward returns to the Call of Duty franchise with a direct sequel to 2007’s Modern Warfare. So how do you make one of the most popular games of this current generation even better? Add snowmobiles, of course!

Hell, (Un)frozen Over

Ten years after the events of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, the ice and snow have finally melted—but that doesn’t make the planet any more hospitable! Capcom shows Veronica how players can team up to take down the enormous Akrid.

Sky, Land and Sea

The popular PC franchise is coming to the PlayStation Network in the form of Battlefield: 1943 – a fast-paced online shooter with multiple vehicles, 24 player combat, and environmental destruction in WWII Pacific Theatre locales.

Subscription Renewal Update

Initial subscribers from June 2008 can now take advantage of a special renewal offer. Please check your e-mail for details. You’ll need to visit the PlayStation Store and, under the Media category, find and select the special renewal ‘thumbnail’ to avoid missing an episode.

All annual subscribers and single episode purchasers will receive an exclusive Battlefield: 1943 theme this month, and don’t forget to look for a new mini-game in the Qore Arcade. Also, in celebration of Independence Day, check out your very own fireworks launcher built into the What’s Hot section where, of course, you’ll also find Audrey Cleo’s Blu-ray round up.

Look for Episode 14 tomorrow.

It definitely looks as if Capcom is set to wipe away the bad taste that the first Lost Planet left in some PS3 gamers’ mouths. 4-player co-op and visuals that seem to outstrip the already-impressive Resident Evil 5 are a good start.

I’ve extracted a promise from Mr. Filice to have more on this game as we get closer to its 2010 launch.