Loads of minis available for a pittance in PSN sale

Sales on the Playstation Store seem to be becoming a regular occurrence of late, but this one in particular seemed more remarkable than most. This week's PS Store update sees several minis, playable on PS3, PSP and PS Vita, heavily discounted to great prices, so now's the time to take the plunge if you haven't already.

Review: I Kill Zombies

Format: Playstation minis (PS3, PSP, PS Vita)
Price: £2.49
Developer: OpenEmotion Studios/Team Custard Pug

From the minute you see the title ‘I Kill Zombies’, it’s immediately clear that the game is going to involve a whole lot of zombie killing. If this is your sole concept for a game, you’d better make sure that killing the bloody things is at least fun. Unfortunately, this insufferably dull game fails to do so.

Mutant Mudds rejected by Steam, is simply one of many

Critically-acclaimed 3DS eShop title Mutant Mudds has been refused a Steam release by Valve. Developer Renegade Kid simply received a generic rejection message via email - 'Steam is not a good fit for distribution of this title'. There is a huge army of Valve fans who love the Steam service, and have been quick to defend the decision, suggesting that it was probably a harmless slip-up, an isolated incident which Valve will be quick to amend. Unfortunately, it is not merely a blip, this happens far too often - the Steam application for developers is a convoluted and arcane process, and there are many perfectly good indie games that are rejected by Steam for reasons nobody can understand. This is the side of Steam which few people know about, as it is not widely reported upon. Indeed, the only reason that the rejection of Mutant Mudds was reported about is that it is a prominent game that has already been released on another format and has a sizeable following of fans.

Fahrenheit is £1.52 on Good Old Games.

Not much to say here. Fahrenheit, known as Indigo Prophecy in the U.S, is an old game by that French bloke who did Heavy Rain and the upcoming Beyond: Two Souls. It's a good game, and it's cheap on gog.com right now. You should probably buy it if you're into barely-interactive, slightly clumsily delivered narrative. I am.

Curse the skies! Black Lab Games is no more.

Paul Turbett of Black Lab Games, creator of Star Hammer Tactics, has announced via Twitter that Black Lab Games is soon going to be a thing of the past, and that Star Hammer is going to be removed from all storefronts - Xbox Live, Desura, IndieCity, iOS and the Playstation Store. When asked to comment on the reasoning behind his decision, he replied with a simple and heartbreaking "nobody bought my game :(".

Haunts: The Manse Macabre - Another Intriguing Kickstarter Project.

I'll admit right from the off - I'm writing this post for partly selfish reasons. I've already backed Haunts: The Manse Macabre, and I really want to see it get made, so I'm going to promote it to the best of my ability in an attempt to ensure it is successfully funded and I actually get to play it. However, I also have valid, non-selfish reasons for posting this - Haunts looks like it could shape up to be a really interesting game, and so I think it's only fair that I should give you all a heads-up. I'm good to you, aren't I?

hermitgames releases Qrth-Phyl trailer

This happened a while ago, but I've been busy! Give me a break!

Last chance to grab Star Hammer Tactics for iPad

Paul Turbett of Black Lab Games has announced on Twitter that Star Hammer Tactics for iPad has been reduced to $0.99, and will remain at that price until it is shortly removed from the AppStore. A 'closing down sale', if you will. Not only is this an excellent deal for a fantastic bitesized turn-based strategy, it is also your last chance to get hold of the iPad version before it disappears forever. The first four missions are free, so you can try before you buy, and the rest of the missions can be unlocked with a $0.99 In-App purchase. If, like me, you don't own Apple's magic slate, the game is also available on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation minis.

Ubisoft's upcoming Wii U exclusive is set in London. Did you notice?

Did you see Ubisoft's E3 announcement of Wii U exclusive zombie game, ZombiU? If you did, you may have noticed that it's set in London. Just in case you didn't, I'll point out the subtle clues you missed.

Dishonoured also looks great!

Two posts in a day? Feeling a bit nippy there, Satan?
A new trailer for Dishonoured was released for E3 a few days ago, and oh my - it's another great-looking original IP!

It may feature the increasingly-cliché use of a young girl singing a public domain children's song (presumably in the Morrison's underground car park, judging by the incredibly echoey acoustics), but by god, it looks pretty great. Yeah, I've used the word 'great' three times. To be brutally honest, from this trailer alone, I can't really bring myself to throw interesting superlatives at it - the combat seems a bit Skyrimmy, it looks a bit repetetive (Person getting stabbed, person getting stabbed, person getting stabbed, awesome-looking psychic steampunk robot fight, person getting stabbed), and the graphics aren't really much to be wowed at (not that amazing graphics should ever be considered a major selling point). But I have no doubt that this is going to shape up to be a brilliant game.

Watch Dogs looks kick-arse!

Oh, hi. I wasn't expecting to make any E3-related posts - I figured that'd be more Matt's thing (and so far, as expected, he's done a pretty good job of highlighting the few things worth caring about). However, there's one thing that has slipped his notice (and/or interest), and that is Watch Dogs.

I'd been hardly paying any attention to E3 this year, mostly due to my ever-growing cynicism toward the 'big' game developers' competence to actually make a worthwhile game (With the exception of Naughty Dog, of course). And yet, through the gratuitous dubstep and unneeded sequels, a fair few glimmering beacons of hope shined through in the form of interesting new IPs.

Two New PS Vita Games Announced

Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified (that's right, two colons) and Assassin's Creed: Liberation have both been announced for Playstation Vita. Sony really need people to start buying Vitas, and so getting exclusive games in two of the world's biggest franchises seems a shrewd move. Online multiplayer in Black Ops: Declassified was confirmed, and Assassin's Creed Liberation stars a female assassin for the first time in the series' history. Both of these games will also be made part of a bundle with the brand new white PS Vita and a 4GB memory card.

Quantic Dream Reveal New Game

After having teased the fact that their new project would be announced at E3, Quantic Dream's new game has finally been revealed with an explosive trailer. It is called Beyond: Two Souls. The voice-acting appears to be a step-up from Heavy Rain, with Ellen Page taking the starring role, and the visuals also seem to have received an upgrade since Quantic Dream's last game, with what looks like L.A Noire levels of facial realism. The story this time has a strong supernatural element, with what appears to be a larger action focus than previous games. Have a look for yourself below.

'The Last of Us' Gameplay Footage Shown at E3

At the Sony E3 conference last night, the first gameplay footage of Naughty Dog's upcoming game, The Last of Us, was shown to an eager public. I was blown away by the environmental design on display, as everything about the world Naughty Dog have created is palpably unatural and fractured while still remaining aesthetically beautiful. The few brief moments of dialogue between protagonist Joel and his young companion Ellie were also promising. However, the main focus of the gameplay demo was the combat, and it is in this aspect that it really shines. Joel's combat style is satisfyingly brutal, but it is made absolutely clear that he is not comfortable in this situation; his attacks are clumsy and desperate, further highlighting his normality. He's no Nathan Drake, he's not an action hero. You can see the footage below.

Nintendo confirm tablet redesign, show off Miiverse and Wii U Pro Controller

In a recent pre-E3 Nintendo webcast, Nintendo has provided us with a splurge of new information regarding the upcoming Wii U. Firstly, the heavily rumoured tablet redesign has been confirmed, with clicky sticks replacing the original 'circle pads', as seen on the 3DS. The tablet controller is officially named the 'gamepad', and includes NFC functionality for use with games such as Skylanders.