UPDATE: Thanks John and Chris, and thanks to everyone for all the great questions and feedback. Don’t forget, you can replay the whole live chat in its entirely below. We’ll see you next time!

Resistance: Retribution has only been available for mere hours, but we hope you’ve been practicing! Starting today, there’s more than James Grayson’s life on the line – try $25,000 in Sony prizes.

Global Gaming and SCEA have teamed up to offer fans the Road to Retribution Tournament, where Resistance Retribution players go head-to-head on the new PSP-exclusive third person shooter.

Registration for the 2v2 and 4v4 ladders kicks off today, and runs through May 10, 2009. The top players from the ladders will move up to compete in the bracket playoffs from May 13, 2009 to May 31, 2009 and battle it out for SonyStyle gear from PlayStation, PSP system prize packs, and Resistance: Retribution inspired leather bomber jackets.

To join the open ladder, participants can head over the the Road to Retribution GGL site to complete the online registration form. All players must be legal residents of the U.S. or Canada and at least 13 years of age.

For additional information on the tournament, go to www.RoadToRetribution.GGL.com.

Good luck!

First, reviews have begun appearing. Below is a selection of a few that have shown up over the last week including three which have given it Editors Choice Awards!

• “Resistance: Retribution goes toe to toe with it’s big brothers on the PLAYSTATION 3 and it’s a must play for fans of the series or those looking for a shooter for the road.” 9.4 out of 10 GameTrailers
• “PSP owners don’t want to miss out on this one.” 9.0 out of 10 – GameZone (Editors Choice)
• “Resistance: Retribution is excellent.” 9.2 out of 10 – IGN (Editors Choice)
• “Resistance: Retribution is easily one of the best looking PSP games available.” 9.5 out of 10 – PGNX (Editors Choice)
• ASK MEN: 9.2 out of 10
• GAME PRO: 4 out of 5
• SPIKE.com

Additionally, the soundtrack is set to appear on iTunes beginning today. Composed by Garry Schyman the soundtrack he created really evokes the action and suspense of Resistance: Retribution. Here’s a sample of one of the tracks called “Chimera Attack.”

Last week, Bryan Intihar at Insomniac Games wrapped up their feature stories on Resistance: Retribution at MyResistance.net. With topics ranging from The Story to The Weapons, the feature ended with information about Resistance: Retribution Connect. Check them all out here.

Finally, the Bend Studio is going to participate in a live chat tomorrow, here on the PlayStation Blog. John Garvin and Chris Reese will be on hand to answer your questions about making the game, the story, working with Insomniac, etc. Come back by the blog on March 18th at 12:00 Noon PDT and check it out.

And check out the Resistance: Retribution Facebook fan page!

I told you there was a lot of stuff!

As many of you already know, Insomniac didn’t work directly on this title. Instead, it comes from the folks at Sony Bend, the studio best known for their fantastic work on the Syphon Filter series. And from what we’ve seen of Retribution, Sony Bend has delivered yet again.

To help prepare you (and even us Insomniacs) for the launch, we’ve put together a feature on MyResistance.net called “The Road to Retribution.” Over the two next weeks on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we’ll be posting a story that covers a different aspect of the game.

Today we sit down with John Garvin, Sony Bend’s director of development, to learn all about who you’ll be playing in this upcoming Resistance installment. You’ll find out why James Grayson is so ticked off at the Chimera, how he compares to Lt. Nathan Hale, and which members of Resistance: Fall of Man’s supporting cast return to the fight. Check it out here. And don’t forget to keep coming back to MyResistance.net over the next two weeks for even more info and screenshots of Retribution.

But before you’ll get your hands on LittleBigPlanet for PSP, or Assassin’s Creed, or MotorStorm: Arctic Edge… this is one of the games that’s going to be keeping you busy – Resistance: Retribution.

We’ve talked about PSP Connect, Infected Mode, and the storyline of R:R – but multiplayer is the mode you’ll be coming back to time and again. On Monday night, SCEA and Bend Studios invited gaming media to go hands-on with R:R’s multiplayer modes for the first time, and I chatted with Lead Multiplayer Engineer Darren Chisum. Lots of gameplay video inside:

Here’s a bit more info on the various multiplayer modes:

• Team Deathmatch: Eliminate the players on the opposing team. The team with the highest score wins.
• Capture The Flag: Grab the opposing team’s flag and deliver it to your base to score the capture. You flag is required at your base to score.
• Containment: Capture coolant nodes to overheat and destroy the opposing teams reactor. Controlling both coolant nodes increases the overheat time
• Assimilation: The Cloven must eliminate the Maquis forces and assimilate them to their team. The last Maquis to be eliminated ends the round. The player with the highest individual score wins.
• Free For All: All players are out for themselves. Eliminate the opposition and the player with the highest score wins.

Also, check out IGN’s coverage of the event here. Note: Greg Miller never played me head to head, or he’d not be so smug!

In other video news. For the past week, IGN has been running a series of Behind the Scenes videos for Resistance: Retribution with topics that focus on the storyline, the motion capture sessions, the music, and voices behind the characters. Head over there and see how much work we’ve been putting into this game.

Don’t forget, Resistance: Retribution is coming exclusively to PSP on March 17th!

We’re pleased to let you PlayStation.Blog readers know that right now, customers who pre-order Resistance: Retribution from Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, or Game Crazy will receive a voucher code granting them access to the Resistance: Retribution demo almost two months early! The demo features single player gameplay and the option to try Resistance Connect with both the Infected mode and Resistance: Retribution Plus.

With the exception of Game Crazy (you’ll have to pre-order in-store) below are links to pre-order at your favorite retailer. Keep an eye out for the BestBuy.com pre-order page that will be coming up at the end of January.

Direct to pre-order pages:

• Amazon
• GameStop

Pre-order in store only availability

• GameCrazy

And now some eye candy for you: some screenshots from the opening cutscene of the demo. Enjoy!

Update: How to Activate Resistance Connect!

1. Insert and load Resistance: Retribution on the PSP.
2. Insert and load Resistance 2 on the PS3.
3. Connect PSP to PS3 via USB Cable.
4. From “Start” menu on the Resistance 2 menu, select “Options”.
5. Scroll to “Connect PSP”.

From there, you can activate Infected Mode and Resistance: Retribution Plus!

That’s the day you’ll be able to take on the Chimera on the road, with Resistance Retribution for PSP. Want to liberate Europe from the comfort of your living room? Retribution packs a number of never-before-seen features that allow you to play bring the game home, playing on your home TV and with a DualShock 3 controller.

I caught up with SCEA Bend’s John Garvin right before his Consumer Electronics Show presentation, where he shared details on Resistance Retribution/Resistance 2 interoperability, and debuted the new trailer for the game.

Connect R:R to R2 using a USB cable. Go into the R2 options screen, and select “Infect your PSP!” That’s all it takes.

Infected mode lasts until you power down your PSP. So, what is “Infected mode”?

Infected mode provides an alternate story within our alternate history. While in prison for desertion, Grayson is recruited by Specter Lieutenant David LaSalle (from the R2 storyline) and is infected with a mutated version of the Chimeran virus … a different version of the virus that infects Nathan Hale.

While playing in “infected” mode, Grayson wears a Specter uniform and has glowing Chimeran eyes. He gets to use one of the new weapons from R2: the HE .44 Magnum, which fires explosive rounds that can be triggered remotely. He has regenerative health and no longer needs to look for health packs. He can breathe underwater, allowing him to reach hidden areas that he could not reach before. And we’ve added another whole class of Intel that are hidden throughout the levels. Collecting all of the “infected” intel will unlock another R2 weapon, the Plasma Grenades.

Another cool feature we’re including is something we call PSP Plus!

Activated from the R2 options screen, PSP Plus! allows you to play Resistance: Retribution using your Dualshock 3 wireless controller. We remove aim assist and increase the challenge level of the game. We even support the vibration function of the controller. If you’re playing at home and want to experience Resistance: Retribution in an all new way, this is it.

That’s it for this update. In the near future we’ll have some news on our multiplayer game. Stay tuned.