Hoard’s gameplay is simple on its surface, but strategic to its core. In classic dual-stick shooter style, the left analog stick maneuvers your dragon while the right stick activates your fire breath. The goal is to accumulate as much gold as your dragon can carry by burning structures and enemies, then returning to your treasure hoard to safely deposit your loot for big points (with multiplier bonuses if you’re on a spree). Collect enough gold and, in an RPG-style twist, you’ll be able to level up your dragon’s speed, gold carrying capacity, armor, or fire breath power via a quick tap of the D-pad. In a competitive match, choosing the right upgrade path is a key to besting your opponents. If an enemy dragon is using a Hoard Thief power-up to steal your gold, for instance, you can counter by pumping up your speed rating and chasing him down.

So far, so good. But playing Hoard reveals subtleties that are easy to miss at a glance. The surrounding kingdom for instance, is teeming with details: tiny wagons carrying grain from the mill to town, carriages shuttling princesses from building to building, and stealthy thieves scrambling around your treasure pile. What’s more, the surrounding kingdom continually evolves around you, with defensive structures such as Wizard Towers that erect in response to your destruction. In fact, it pays to allow the kingdom to grow and thrive before swooping in to collect your ill-gotten gains.

Hoard is packed with play modes, including Treasure (collect as much gold as possible in single-player or co-op), Princess Rush (a competitive mode where the only goal is to capture 15 princesses), and a classic survival mode where you try to outlast ever-increasing waves of enemies. Both couch and online co-op play are supported as well, in any combination of up to four players, with some competitive modes for good measure.

Hoard will land on the PS3 this fall, and a separate, handheld-optimized version will also appear on the PSP. What do you think of Big Sandwich Games’ debut PSN title? Leave your questions and comments below.

Online Beta Update

For those of you paying attention, you’ve probably heard that LittleBigPlanet 2 beta codes are being distributed. Here’s the skinny: Yes, beta codes are going out. But globally, we’re taking steps to best test our server environment, so we’re distributing beta codes in phases. The first phase of testing started earlier this week with our European LBP community. In a few weeks, we’ll be growing the participant base with US and other countries. More news to come…

Start Featurettes

With so many new features in LittleBigPlanet 2, its impossible to discuss all the new things in one sitting. So we’re introducing a series of LittleBigPlanet 2 Featurettes that highlight some of the many new things you can do in LBP2, such as the new Grappling Hook and the revamped SHARE experience. Stay tuned to the PlayStation.Blog for continuing episodes of LBP2’s Featurettes.

PAX Ends

The dust is still settling from this past weekend’s PAX 2010, and we had a blast seeing all our fans. From watching all the four-player fun, community corner activity (stay tuned next week when we start our “Bloggie” reports), the feverish lines for free Sackboy T-shirts, and the extremely sought after Sackboy plushies. Thanks to all our fans in making PAX 2010 our most memorable yet! And thanks to comphermc, confusedcartman, jaeyden, and morgana25 for hosting our Community Corner.

Here’s a quick glimpse of the fun we had over the weekend:

Mm’s Tom & Spaff right before the doors open

Sackboy plushies for sale!!!….before we sold out

Four-player goodness

And EPIC music sequencer usage

Tweet, Tweet!

We recently “officially” obtained the @LittleBigPlanet Twitter account, and our community managers at Media Molecule have been great at keeping our fans up-to-date on all things LBP. Follow us! (I have a wager that we can get over 100k followers by the end of the month, so please tell your friends and help me win!!!)

LittleBigChallenge

And finally: here’s a glimpse of the fun drawings from the previous artwork challenge. Great stuff guys, thanks for putting your links in our comments section!

This week, the challenge is to show us a picture of your in-game Sackboy. We’d love to see how creative you guys have been with the different outfits (I’m still working on my football outfit, but can’t seem to get it right). Add your link to the comments below and we’ll be sure to check it out.

Among Nariko and Sackboy cosplayers, you’ll also spot The Fight: Lights Out, Gran Turismo 5, LittleBigPlanet 2, Dead Nation and MotorStorm: Apocalypse on the show floor. Instead of sitting There and attempting to conjure an image in your head of Helghast soldiers patrolling endless lines of fans patiently waiting hours for PlayStation gaming — I’ll show it to you.

Hey everyone, James Stevenson from Insomniac Games here. We’re very excited to see you at PAX this weekend, where we have a couple of panels that we are very excited about. This will be your first opportunity to get a look at the never-before-seen extended demo of Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One:

Saturday, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, Serpent Theatre
Insomniac Games: Behind the Scenes on Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One Insomniac Games, the development team behind the critically-acclaimed Ratchet & Clank and Resistance franchises, discuss their next Playstation 3 project, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.
Attendees will be treated to the first official U.S. demo of Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One and will also have the opportunity to ask questions during a Q&A with Insomniac.

G4TV’s Adam Sessler will be moderating a panel featuring Insomniac Games North Carolina Studio Director Chad Dezern, and Production Director Shaun McCabe. In addition, you can look forward to hearing Insomniac Games Senior Writer TJ Fixman’s wit and Jersey-accent, as he discusses not only All 4 One, but the upcoming comic series as well!

For those of you who are fans of the Full Moon Show – please join us for a live taping of our next episode on Sunday:

Sunday, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM, Unicorn Theatre
The Insomniac Games Full Moon Show LIVE

One of gaming’s most beloved and long-time developer podcasts brings the show live to PAX Prime. Join host James Stevenson (Senior Community Manager, Insomniac Games) and key leaders from Insomniac Games as they record the next episode of the Full Moon Show. Also on tap will be a special mystery guest, and a new Behind the Scenes look at Insomniac Games. The live show will also feature a segment of “I Want Your Job!” as well as plenty of time for you to ask questions – and perhaps even win some rare swag!

We are very much looking forward to seeing you in Seattle this weekend, so please make sure to drop by and say hello!

JS

Hopefully that gives you an idea of what the game’s all about. Intense action, leaderboard score attack, crazy multiplayer duels, diabolical powerups, and over 100 badges to earn! Get ready for HOARD!

Stop by booth #3012 if you’ll be at PAX, and we’ll give ya a chocolate gold coin. If you won’t be there, don’t worry: the PlayStation.Blog will have a PAX report for you to feast upon.

If you are going to PAX this weekend, I wanted to let you know that inFAMOUS 2 will have its very own booth space at the show! Sucker Punch will be on hand and we’ll have 7 kiosks featuring a demo of the game that will feature Cole’s new melee weapon (the “Amp”) and a new power called the Ionic Vortex.

Our booth number is #122 so swing on by to get your inFAMOUS destruction on! We’ll also be giving away a limited number of t-shirts to players until we run out.

If that wasn’t awesome enough news, the inFAMOUS 2 team will also be holding a panel on the topic of “Creating Super Powers” and showing some new gameplay featuring a power called the Kinetic Pulse, and a new enemy, the Ravager. Details are below, so hope to see you there!

inFAMOUS 2 Panel “Creating Super Powers”
Seattle Sheraton, Pegasus Theater
Time: 6:30-7:30pm 7:00pm

inFAMOUS 2 PAX Booth #122

So be sure to visit the Killzone 3 booth at PAX 2010 (that’d be the one patrolled by Helghast Troopers), to get your first taste of the game’s single and multiplayer modes. And bring your buddies, because Brutal Melee is also part of the package. ;)

One last thing: keep your eyes out for collectible art cards we’re giving out at the Killzone 3 booth with the image above. We’ll have specific instructions on there letting you know how YOU can win a Killzone 3 Beta code!

Killzone 3 “Twitter Killzone 3 Feedback” Sweepstakes
Official Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER THE PROMOTION OR CLAIM PRIZE. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

Void outside the 50 United States and D.C. and where prohibited.

1. ELIGIBILITY. The Killzone 3 “Twitter Killzone 3 Feedback” Sweepstakes (the “Promotion”) is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are at least eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time of entry and are attending the Penny Arcade Expo (“PAX”) located at Washington State Convention & Trade Center, 800 Convention Place, Seattle, Washington 98101 and have visited the Killzone 3 booth; played the Killzone 3 video game and received a card with entry instructions. Employees and their immediate family members of Sponsor and their parent and affiliated companies, subsidiaries, advertising and promotional agencies and any and all other companies associated with this Promotion (“Promotion Entities”) and the employees, agents, officers, directors, and their immediate families (parent, siblings, children and spouse) and persons residing in the same household (whether related or not) of such employees are not eligible to enter or win. Void in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. Military installations in foreign countries, anywhere outside of the U.S and where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.

2. SPONSOR. Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC, 919 E. Hillsdale Blvd, Foster City, CA 94404 (the “Sponsor”).

3. TIMING. The Promotion begins on September 3, 2010 at 10:00a.m. Pacific Standard Time (“PST”) and ends on September 5, 2010 at 10:00p.m. PST (the “Promotion Period).

4. TO ENTER. Anytime during the Promotion Period Entrant may enter as many times as they like but may only win once. To enter Entrant should (1)have played the Killzone 3 game and received a card with entry instructions; (2) sign into their Twitter account (“Account”) or, if Entrant is not already a member become a member of Twitter.com and sign into their Account. Please note that Entrants must agree to comply with the Twitter Terms of Service in order to create a Twitter account visit http://twitter.com/tos. (3) tweet a message that contains feedback to the Killzone 3 game Entrant has just played as a targeted reply to @PlayStation using Twitter’s “@Reply” function along with exactly the following unique term (“Term”) in their tweet message “#Killzone3PAX” (collectively, “Entry”).

5. ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE. Sponsor, at its sole discretion, may accept a mis-typed Term or Entry. If Entrant’s Twitter account is set to “protected mode”, their updates/responses will not be visible in Sponsor’s @Reply inbox; and, therefore, will not be received by Sponsor, resulting in Entrant’s failure to enter the Promotion. Normal Internet access and usage charges imposed by Entrant’s online service will apply. If Entrant opts to receive Sponsor’s tweets via their wireless mobile device (which may only be available via participating wireless carriers), standard text messaging rates, airtime and carrier charges will apply for each text message sent or received from their handset according to the terms and conditions of Entrant’s service agreement with their wireless carrier. Entrant understands that by participation in this Sweepstakes via mobile phone or text message, if they are a potential winner, the Sponsor may contact Entrant via mobile phone or text message, which will be subject to the charges pursuant to their carrier’s rate plan. Entrant must have a mobile phone with text messaging capabilities to enter using Twitter. Sponsor is not responsible for technical, hardware or software failures, malfunctions, lost or unavailable network connections or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions or unforeseen schedule changes that may limit an Entrant’s ability to participate in the Promotion, even if caused by Sponsor’s negligence. Sponsor is not responsible for changes to Entrant’s contact information. Entries not satisfying these Official Rules are automatically disqualified. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion to modify, cancel or suspend this Promotion should virus, bugs unauthorized human intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control affect the administration, security or proper play of the Promotion or Sponsor otherwise becomes (as determined in its sole discretion) incapable of running the Promotion as planned. Entrants who violate these Official Rules, tamper with the operation of the Promotion or engage in any conduct that is detrimental or unfair to Sponsor, the Promotion or any other entrant (in each case as determined in Sponsor’s sole discretion) are subject to disqualification from entry into the Promotion. All entries become the sole property of Sponsor and receipt of entries will not be acknowledged or returned. Any individual who attempts or otherwise encourages, directly or indirectly, the entry of multiple or false contact information under multiple identities or uses any device or artifice to enter or encourage, directly or indirectly, multiple or false entries, as determined by the Sponsor, will be disqualified. In case of a dispute over the identity of an entrant, the authorized account holder of the Twitter account used to enter will be deemed to be the entrant. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the person who is assigned to a Twitter account by www.twitter.com.

6. RANDOM DRAWING. Ten (10) Winners will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received. Prize drawing will be conducted by Sponsor whose decisions shall be final and binding. Winners shall be notified via Twitter using the Direct Message function.

7. PRIZES. Each winner will receive an invitation to participate in the Killzone 3 Beta (“Beta”).

8. WINNERS: Potential winners will be notified on Twitter by Direct Message to the potential winner’s account which shall be revealed at a later time due to the time-sensitive nature of the information. Potential winners will receive a voucher code which will be redeemed via the PlayStation 3 XMB in order to download the Beta. Approximate retail value (“ARV”) of each prize is $0.00. No prize substitution or cash equivalent permitted. Each prize is non-transferable. Sponsor, in their sole discretion, may substitute a prize (or prize component) of equal or greater value due to unavailability of prize (or prize component) for any reason. Sponsor is not responsible for changes to the Twitter Direct Message function that may interfere with winner notification. At the sole discretion of the Sponsor, disqualification, forfeiture and the selection of an alternate winner may result from any of the following: (1) Failure of notification due to deactivation of the potential winner’s account prior to receipt of notification; or (2) a potential winner’s failure to become a follower of @PlayStation, resulting in the potential winner’s failure to receive a Direct Message from Sponsor; or (3) a potential winner’s account “protected mode” is set so that the potential winner’s updates/responses may not be visible in Sponsor’s @Reply inbox; or (4) a potential winner’s failure to include “#Killzone3PAX” and feedback regarding the Killzone 3 game or (5) any other non-compliance with the Official Rules.

9. GENERAL CONDITIONS AND RELEASES. By entering, all entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of the Sponsor, which shall be final and binding. By accepting prize, each winner grants to Sponsor the right to use his/her name, likeness, image, voice, hometown, and biographical information in advertising, trade and promotion, including on the Internet or via wireless application protocol, without further compensation or permission, except where prohibited by law. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. All prize claims are subject to verification by Sponsor. Participants agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor and parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, advertising and promotional agencies, wholesalers and retailers, and each of the foregoing entities’ employees, officers, directors, shareholders and agents (collectively the “Released Parties”), from and against any and all claims, actions and/or liability for any injuries or death, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with participation in the Promotion or acceptance or use of any prize. The Released Parties are not responsible or liable for any incorrect or inaccurate information, and assume no responsibility for (i) any error, omission, interruption, defect or delay in operation. By participating, entrants agree to comply with these rules. Any participant who attempts to tamper with this Promotion in any way shall be disqualified. Additional restrictions may apply.

10. ODDS OF WINNING. Odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries received.

11. PROMOTION RESULTS. You may request the names of winners by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope by October 31, 2009 to “Twitter Killzone 3 Feedback” Sweepstakes Winner’s List, 919 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, California 94404.

12. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION. The information necessary to operate the Promotion was collected by Sponsor at the time of entry, and without limiting Sponsor’s rights under its privacy policies with regards to its use of the information, will be used to contact you specifically for operation of the Promotion. Information collected in connection with the Promotion will otherwise be collected in accordance with Sponsor’s privacy policy, available at http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/PrivacyPolicy. By agreeing to these Official Rules, you are also agreeing to the terms of Sponsor’s privacy policy.

13. RESTRICTIONS. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

Packin’ for PAX

We’re neck deep in preparing for next week’s PAX (aka Penny Arcade Expo), a big gaming event in Seattle. While we’re at it, we wanted to send an early invite for you to come out and hang with us at PAX. We’ll have tons of activities, including:

• PLAY new Story mode levels
• CREATE in our hands-on Community Corner
• SHARE Central: Ask us any question and we’ll answer it!
• Sackboy PLUSHIES for sale!
• Photo ops with our larger-than-life Sackboy
• …and T-shirt GIVEAWAYS throughout the day.

Drop by during PAX (September 3 – 5) and look for us at booth #112. You can’t miss us!

Sackboy on the Web

• We owe our thanks to EatMyDst and SackRacer77, sorry we didn’t give you the props you deserved on the last post for the awesome cardboard POD!
• At the beach (by Rhyfelwr):

Keep a safe hold on your coffee…good stuff, Sarah!

Community Corner

Lots of community goodness from our ever-loving fans and fan sites.

• MUST-PLAY community level (seriously, this is amazing) = Dragon Slayer by Jaeyden and Centurion24
• More awesome LittleBigPlanet Contraptions from our EU sister community forum challenge…

• LittleBigLand.com’s LittleBigPlanet 2 FAQ update

And finally…

• Step-by-step instructions on how to draw your own Sackboy by Dawn at Dragoart.com

Let’s see YOUR drawings! Include a link in the comments below. Who knows? You might get some goodies from us…

In that moment, an idea was born.

A few days later, Greg asked if I was interested in getting a bunch of Peace Walker fans together to tackle the hardest levels – the ones that are best handled cooperatively. Sounded good to me. As we began to plan it, we realized that such a group is already going to assemble… next week at Penny Arcade Expo.

So here we are, doing this thing, and you’re invited. We’re renting out Top Pot Donuts in downtown Seattle next Thursday evening and will fill it with new and upcoming PSP games such as Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Valkyria Chronicles II, Split/Second, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

Also, we have ordered 34 dozen donuts. They’re tasty. Very tasty.

While it’ll no doubt be fun to try out those games, we also strongly encourage you to bring your own PSP for friendly competitive or cooperative matches in games like Hot Shots Tennis, SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3, and, of course, MGS: Peace Walker. We’ll even lend you a copy if you wanna jump in but don’t already have one.

Are you sold on this yet? Wait, there’s more!

As you sample the games, we’ll be keeping track of the best players, and the top performers will get a special behind-the-scenes tour of our media-only area, where you’ll be able to check out games that won’t be on the show floor like inFAMOUS 2 and the recently announced Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.

And every attendee will walk out with a voucher to download the demo for God of War: Ghost of Sparta – before anyone else gets to play it. Please tell me this is reason enough to attend.

Still want more? Ok, I’ll give: Greg Miller will autograph your bare chest if you ask politely.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Thursday, September 2, 2010
• Top Pot Donuts (2124 5th Ave., 
Seattle, WA 98121)


• Time: 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
• RSVP here

RSVP today, and don’t forget to bring your appetite for fried dough – we’ve got 408 donuts and we’re going to make Rey eat any leftovers.