Great news hockey fans: the NHL lockout seems to have been resolved! To get you back into the skating and ice-based brawling spirit, we’re pleased to present Table Ice Hockey — exclusively for PlayStation Vita.

We’ve aimed for an easy-to-play arcade feel that anyone can pick up and get into, coupled with a great visual look.

Play against the computer in Solo mode, or in a 16-team international tournament to take on the very best in the world. Alternatively, challenge your friends and play ad-hoc multiplayer on two PS Vitas, for that ultimate clash of sticks feel.

Spend time in the locker room editing your team’s kits, names, numbers, logos and player names to create your very own team to take on friends, family and those tournament bruisers. And speaking of bruising, Ice Hockey wouldn’t be Ice Hockey without some knuckle shredding, tooth loosening punch-ups and Table Ice Hockey sees plenty of those as teams use tactics fair and foul to win.

Using PS Vita’s AR technology, you become the cameraman — zooming in to get so close to the action you can almost feel the ice splinters coming off the skates. When the gloves come off and the teeth start flying, you can get up close and personal in more ways than one with your opponent. This same AR technology lets you watch as your table top changes before your eyes into a crowded Ice Hockey arena, full of fans waiting to share the action with you.

All this and lightning fast gameplay for only $1.99, available for a smooth as ice download right now!

With Smart As, our goal was to create a cool compilation of puzzle games that let you have a blast while testing your skills at the four key areas of Logic, Arithmetic, Language and Observation. We also wanted to create a truly social experience letting you compete and prove that you are smarter than your friends, family, your city, country and ultimately the entire world via our online leaderboards. You can also share and compare all your stats with other Smart As fans and brag about how smart you are on your favorite social networks like Facebook and Twitter, all without leaving the game.

We designed Smart As from the ground up for PS Vita, so the game utilizes all of the system’s features, which means you can take on the world with never-before-seen brain twisters. We’ve had a great time trying to get the very last smidgen of functionality from the PS Vita so you can use the camera, touch screen and motion sensors to achieve the highest brain power scores in the most interactive way possible.

As we’ve previously announced, John Cleese provides the voice of Smart As; guiding you through the game and keeping you amused as you show the world how smart you are. As a special treat, we’ve created a cool behind-the-scenes video which will let you find out all about his role as Narrator in Smart As and who in the world he would like to be proved smarter than…

We hope that you enjoy the video! If it whets your quizzing appetite, be sure to check out the full Smart As experience which is now available at your local retailers and on PlayStation Store. You can also get a taste of the brain training fun by testing out our free trial of Smart As on PSN which lets you try a basic Daily Training session.

Thanks for watching and please stay tuned to PlayStation.Blog for the latest Smart As news.

My name is Ian Pickles and I am the Producer from XDev Studio Europe working on PlayStation Vita’s all-new social brain training experience, Smart As. I’m here with some exciting news to share. I am delighted to confirm that John Cleese, the English actor, comedian, writer and film producer is injecting his unique personality and sophisticated sense of humor into the game as the voice of Smart As.

Best known for his hilarious antics as a member of the Monty Python comedy troupe, it’s great to be able to confirm the comedy legend’s participation in the game. His instantly recognizable voice and distinctive style deliver intelligent and witty narration during the game, always encouraging and sometimes teasing you to improve every time you play. Regardless of how smart you are, John’s creative and comedic dialogue will keep you hooked as you play to improve your Brain Power score and pursue your goal to outsmart the world.

The decision to approach John to work on the game came about a couple of months ago. We were incredibly happy with the game – the looks, presentation and gameplay are second to none, but we felt we needed to bring in someone as the voice whose personality would instantly bring the competitive and fun nature of the game to the forefront. John was immediately a popular choice with all of us on the team and we were over the moon when he agreed to join us working on the game.

It was an absolute pleasure working with John who brings a level of humor and encouragement to the game as he becomes your guide, showing you around, prompting you to do your best and share your score to outsmart players around world. It’s been fantastic seeing people playing the game and laughing along to John’s lines and John himself is no under achiever when it comes to playing the game too. Lost Letter proved no match for John’s puzzle solving prowess and we were surprised to see a naturally strong logic game ability on display as John obtained a perfect 3 star rating while playing Chain Reaction for the first time.

Coming this fall for PS Vita, Smart As will put your brain to the test in 20 unique, engaging, tactile puzzle games and location-based challenges. Stay tuned to the PlayStation.Blog for the latest Smart As news!

Launching this fall, Smart As is a social brain-training experience that will put your brain to the test with 20 unique, engaging, tactile and highly interactive puzzle games. This next-gen puzzle game will also enable you to share your stats with players from around the world using a robust set of social and connective features.

Produced by XDev Europe, Smart As takes full advantage of PS Vita’s touchscreens, cameras and Augmented Reality capabilities to deliver Daily Training challenges featuring fun arithmetic, logic, language and observation-based puzzles. Your scores from each puzzle are used to calculate your overall Brain Power and anybody at any skill level can get in on the fun. The more you play, the better your chances are of increasing your Brain Power score and unlocking new puzzle games.

The best part about Smart As is that it’s not just a brain training game; it’s a social experience. Once you’ve earned your daily Brain Power score, you can go online to see how smart you are compared to your friends, people that you’ve met through “near,” players in your city, country, continent and the entire world using the Smart As leaderboards. You can even post your Brain Power scores to Facebook to boast about your cerebral superiority. Using PS Vita’s “near” feature, you can also drop off puzzles for nearby users and pick up new challenges left by other players.

When you play Smart As on the go using PS Vita’s Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, you’ll have the opportunity to unlock even more challenges in different regions with the Street Smart mode. Simply by competing in as many regional challenges as you can, you will get to prove that you are smarter, more travelled and better connected than your friends.

Watch on the video above for an exclusive sneak peek at Smart As in action, and check back soon for more Smart As news.