“Battle routine, set! Execute!!”

Hello PlayStation players, pleased to meet you. I’m Mr. Famous! I’m glad to announce that Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection will be released on April 14, 2023. I’m also excited to bring you a new trailer and tell you that you can pre-order Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection starting today!

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In this blog post, I’ll walk you through the latest information regarding the recently announced online gameplay features and additional bonuses included in Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection. Before that, allow me to introduce the Mega Man Battle Network series.

The Mega Man Battle Network series takes place in Network Society, where advanced network technology connects and powers everything from household devices to the infrastructure of cities. This system is typically referred to as “the Cyberworld” and has become a part of everyday life for the citizens of Network Society. 

People carry Personal Terminals, or PETs – mobile devices equipped with sentient programs called NetNavis. PETs and NetNavis allow people to enjoy the many benefits the network provides by “jacking in,” a process of connecting their PET to various devices.

Although advanced network technology has improved everyday life for many people around the world, it has also brought with it new opportunities for cybercrime. The protagonist, Lan Hikari, and his NetNavi, MegaMan.EXE, must work together to solve a recent wave of cybercrime incidents.

Battles ensue when you encounter sentient viruses in the Cyberworld. The player can move MegaMan.EXE freely within the red 3×3 grid while enemies move around in and attack from the blue area. MegaMan.EXE can use Battle Chips to his advantage when facing enemy programs as well! Battle Chips have several uses, including recovering HP, inflicting damage on enemies in unique ways, and much more. Jack in to the action of Battle Network and strategize when and how to use the diverse Battle Chips that are available to you.

The Battle Network Legacy Collection contains 10 classic games, including the different versions of the mainline games in the series, from Mega Man Battle Network to Mega Man Battle Network 6. 

At CD Projekt Red, we’ve long said that the next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will harness the full capabilities of next-gen hardware. But what does that mean for the PlayStation 5? Let’s break down some of the features gamers can expect to see when the update comes out on December 14th.

There’s nowhere better to start than with the unique haptics available on the PlayStation 5! Engineering Director for Management and Audio Colin Walder wanted to ensure that the DualSense Controller’s capabilities were used to their full potential. According to Walder, “One way we were able to do that is by transforming specific elements of our audio into detailed shapes and textures of vibration that are perfectly synchronized with action in the game.” In practice, this meant combing through the game for relevant actions — not only those of Geralt, but the wider world as well to make sure players receive tactile feedback during their next journey through the Continent. Now, going underwater, picking herbs, winning (or losing!) a game of cards, and mounting a horse (to name a few) will all feel more realistic than ever.

“The developers approached this task in a way that would give the player a visceral connection to not only Geralt, but also throughout the wider Witcher world using the fantastic DualSense 5 technology,” Walder said. “Feeling every swing and strike, every casted Sign, and the earth under your boots is a real joy and coupling this with new immersive 3D Audio creates those added layers of immersion in ways we were never able to integrate before.”

For those encountering the game for the first time, we’ve got something for you! Or, well — if it’s been a while since you last booted up The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, you might find this handy, too. Players can now make use of PlayStation 5’s Game Help to view quest hints! Release Manager Artur Kepen, who worked closely with Sony to create the system, promised, “PlayStation Game Help will provide useful tips and tricks to both new and existing players! Should you get lost on your adventure, you’ll often find a video showcasing what has to be done to complete a quest or a screenshot of the area to properly mark your quest objective.” The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt features a sprawling open world, and this is one additional way of keeping track of where to go next.

Don’t forget about Activity Cards! Tracking your game’s progress has never been easier with the help of this handy PlayStation 5 feature. Jump straight back into the game with minimal loading times, and keep track of your journey as you and Geralt make your way through the Continent in search of Ciri.

Of course, bringing the game up to the standards of contemporary gamers also means introducing two new modes: Performance and Ray Tracing. Performance Mode prioritizes frame rate at 60FPS, while Ray Tracing aims for 30FPS and includes Ray Traced Global Illumination, enabling more realistic lighting, as well as Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion, enabling more accurate and effective surface lighting. To further bolster these graphic improvements, you can expect a host of fully-integrated community-made mods including 4K textures and models, immersion enhancements, and visual bug fixes. On top of that, we’ve added our own gameplay and graphical improvements. And of course, Photo Mode is now available to show off the beauty of the Continent. (Pro tip: Ray Tracing Mode is perfect for some truly breathtaking shots!)

We’ve even

Hello everyone, I am Matthieu Richez, CEO and Creative Director of Ishtar Games. I am extremely pleased to announce The Last Spell, our tactical roguelite game, will be available on PS5 and PS4 in early 2023!

But first, allow me to introduce you to the world of this dark, painful and gritty game we created…

A few years back, The Last Spell was just an idea I had in my head, which I gave to Jacques Dedeken, the Art Director: an asymmetrical tactical game with a few heroes fighting off hundreds of monsters. This resulted in this first ever concept art of the game:

Now in 2022 the game has been polished a lot, especially during our Early Access which started in 2021. With this amount of time, care and help of our players, we have been able to bring the best game to every user, with more maps, more ideas and more possibilities.

Tactical & roguelite

The Last Spell didn’t change much from the original idea given to Jacques: you have to defend your Haven with your Heroes against a lot of monsters. At day, you can patch up your Heroes, buy weapons and create buildings, but at Night, you will have to fight.

Each map has a different number of Nights and your only goal is to stay alive as long as you can. The longer your Heroes live and fight, the more you unlock new weapons, armors, passives and bonuses for your next run.

During the Night, we want you to feel overwhelmed by the monsters, to live on the edge at each moment of your run. This feeling is increased by the work of our Composer, Rémi Gallego (The Algorithm), who made an incredible metal soundtrack for The Last Spell.

The Last Spell being a tactical, each Hero has their own action points, movement and mana, which means you need to be careful with each move you aim to do. One mistake, and your Hero may be in immediate danger of death… And this is speaking from experience.

We took a lot of time to design the control scheme for The Last Spell because we’ve tried to find the best way possible to play the game with a PlayStation controller. For example, we’ve designed a system to help you navigate quickly in the interface by using the Right Stick. We also made sure the combat phase can be played quickly and smoothly. Another important point for us was to have a dedicated button to display tooltips, because it’s our main way to give players information about something.

One Last Spell to save the world

The world of The Last Spell is a hard and painful one. The magical war destroyed everything and only a few Havens are still standing up among the ruins. As if it wasn’t enough, a dangerous Mist arises every Night, bringing dreadful monsters to your walls.

Hopefully, you’ve got a way to save the world. Or well, humanity has one: casting The Last Spell, a powerful incantation to banish all magic

2022 brought us plenty of new adventures, lands to explore, and friends and foes to meet. Whether you spent the most time exploring the nine realms with Kratos and Atreus or navigating a unique dystopian world as a stray cat, relive these gaming moments and celebrate your year with PlayStation’s 2022 Wrap-Up.

Starting today through January 13, 2023, PS4 and PS5 console users* can access and share their 2022 Wrap-Up highlights, including number of earned trophies, number of games played, total hours played across PS4 and PS5 games, and number of PlayStation Plus monthly games downloaded if they are a PlayStation Plus member. Stats will continue to update through the end of 2022, so be sure to check back in the new year.

You can also view the monumental stats achieved collectively by the global PlayStation community in 2022, including the number of Thunderjaws felled in Horizon Forbidden West, total miles driven in Gran Turismo 7, and the total number of axes thrown in God of War Ragnarök.

At the end of the 2022 Wrap-Up experience, you’ll receive a Summary Card that you can share and compare with other players – my 2022 highlights are below. As you can see, I took up temporary residence swinging mammoth swords in the Lands Between of Elden Ring for a big chunk of 2022 (and loved every minute of it). What was your most played game?

PS5 and PS4 console users* who click through all of the 2022 Wrap-Up sections can also receive a voucher code to redeem one of six Astro Bot avatars that reflects their PlayStation gaming achievements this year. Each avatar voucher code can be redeemed by other players within their region, meaning users can share the code with friends and keep an eye out for the different avatar codes that are available to redeem.

For more details, visit the 2022 Wrap-Up page here.

Feel free to share your most-played game in 2022 or any other fun stats in the comments below.

*Users need to have: a registered PSN account in their region, be age 18 years or over and, have played games on a PS4 or PS5 console for at least 10 hours between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022.
Users who have not consented to the collection of “Full Data” from their PlayStation 5 system settings in 2022, will not be able to participate in the Wrap-Up campaign.
Users located in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australasia, India, and Russia, who have not consented to the collection of “Additional Data” from their PlayStation 4 system settings in 2022, will not be able to participate in the Wrap-Up campaign.

In the story of One Piece Odyssey, Luffy and the Straw Hat pirates find themselves in a huge storm at sea and shipwreck on the mysterious island known as Waford.  One Piece Odyssey is a brand-new turn-based RPG featuring new characters and monster designs produced by Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece.

At our recent preview event One Piece Odyssey producer Katsuaki Tsuzuki framed the main theme of the game as a “Story of bonds, spun by memories”. It was also important to the developer team to create an “RPG that allows players to explore and adventure in the world of One Piece”.

Today, we’re excited to share ways that players will be able to strengthen bonds in the game and harness each characters’ unique skills as they immerse themselves in the One Piece world Tsuzuki and the rest of the team have created.

(Be warned, pirates, minor story spoilers ahead!)

Battle system

To start, we’ll cover the battle systems in the game and how the unbreakable bonds forged in battle are essential to beat your enemies. 

Tsuzuki: “In action games, it is necessary to focus and understand how to control a single character in each battle, to get that sense of satisfaction. However, One Piece as an IP has plenty of fascinating characters already in the “Straw Hat Crew”, so for our players to enjoy the unique charms of each and every one of them, we adopted a turn-based command battle as the battle system of our choice.”

Generally, RPG turn-based games have players set up all characters and locked in before executing the turn. However, One Piece Odyssey takes a different approach.

Tsuzuki: “We adapted a rock-paper-scissors element as its basic tactics, while also randomly positioning the characters into multiple areas. This is so that players can switch between various registered characters—and challenge them to make full use of each character’s unique abilities and skills to defeat the enemies at hand. This system provides a variety of situations they will face each time, which brings a fresh perspective on the combats they’ll endure along the way.”

In most combat encounters, the Straw Hats will scramble into different combat areas with the enemies, and up to four crew members will engage the enemy while the rest remain in reserve. Straw hats can be called in from reserve and may reposition freely as long as they have an action remaining. At times, the positioning of enemies may be challenging for your line up if more support-oriented crew members are rushed and surrounded by elite marines.  Since you’ll have the ability to switch between characters on your roster, you’ll be empowered to consider combat positioning, effectiveness type, Bond Arts, and potential secondary objectives in any combat encounter.

Effectiveness type

The Straw Hat crew and enemy NPCs are categorized into effectiveness types: Power, Speed, and Technique. Where Power is more effective against Speed type enemies and less effectiv

After taking a deeper look at the magic parkour , combat , and things to do in Athia, we’re excited to present the Forspoken Gameplay Showcase.

Ella Balinska, the actor who performs as Forspoken’s protagonist, Frey Holland, reveals new gameplay content showcasing Frey’s high-intensity battle with Tanta Sila, an encounter with a very powerful Breakbeast, and an ominous introduction to a never-before-seen character, Tanta Olas.

Additionally, we receive an exciting look at the next-gen immersion experience provided by playing Forspoken on PlayStation 5.

Want to see this new content for yourself? Check out The Forspoken Gameplay Showcase below:

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Read on to discover more details on the amazing Forspoken Gameplay Showcase content, but please note this article contains minor spoilers for Forspoken’s story.

Frey’s journey & battle with Tanta Sila

After being mysteriously transported into the mystical land of Athia, Frey has little else on her mind outside of surviving in her corrupted, dangerous new surroundings and returning home to New York City.

However, her motivations to return to her hometown are quickly pushed aside after Frey discovers that Olevia, a little girl she developed a special bond with during her time in Athia, has been murdered in an attack by Tanta Sila, a once benevolent matriarch of Athia turned maddened and cruel.

Frey is heartbroken, enraged, and finds herself driven to avenge Olevia’s death and defeat Tanta Sila once and for all.

To describe this magical showdown as intense would be an understatement – Frey’s conviction and mastery of her new abilities are tested against Sila’s overwhelming strength in a fight reminiscent of a gorgeous fireworks show.

Speaking of glorious b

Starting December 13, Los Santos Drug Wars injects a new psychoactive strain of chaos into Grand Theft Auto Online on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

Head straight to Blaine County and join up with old pal Nervous Ron and a new band of out-of-state misfits on a mission to put their stamp on the Los Santos psychedelics trade. Fight off an unlikely coalition of wealthy hippies and trigger-happy bikers while cooking up potent hallucinogenics — in elaborate labs or out of your own massive rolling chemistry set — in the opening chapter of an expansive new two-part story update for GTA Online.

Caution: Los Santos Drug Wars contains a range of wild side effects, including a new business enterprise to operate, new vehicles and missions, and experiential upgrades. And this is just the first dose — be prepared for lots more exciting events, including some jolly holiday hijinks, significant story and gameplay updates, and much more to come.

Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com!

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On this week’s show, the gang talks early Game of the Year predictions, shares a few of their gaming highlights from 2022, and says goodbye to one of the Podcasts’s regular hosts. Spoiler: It’s me. So long, and thanks for playing!

Stuff We Talked About

• Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Reunion
• Neon White
• God of War Ragnarök
• Destiny 2
• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Our predictions on Game of the Year

The Cast

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Los Angeles has fallen. The once glamorous hangout of the rich and the famous is now overrun with the undead, and the city is under strict military quarantine. Nothing gets in. Nothing gets out. 

You’re the new star in this treacherous tinsel town (which the locals have dubbed HELL-A), and everyone wants a piece of you — both alive and undead — so be prepared to fight an onslaught of zombified Los Angelinos as you attempt to get out of Dodge.

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Slay with total brutality

The good news? You’re a natural at this slaying gig. Get ready to decapitate, mutilate, eviscerate, and obliterate any zombie that dares get in your way. The combat system will have you chaining together attacks, blocks, dodges, and special abilities to suit your unique playstyle so that you can slay with maximum efficiency and in style.

You’ll also be utilising the environment to your advantage. Puncture a barrel full of caustic liquid and drop-kick a zombie into the spillage to watch the flesh melt and drop off their skeleton revealing their rotten innards. Nasty.

We sure didn’t skimp on the special effects budget: Dead Island 2’s unique gore tech, F.L.E.S.H (Fully Locational Evisceration System for Humanoids), makes the act of slaying a bloody beautiful affair. Whether it’s your first or 100^th time, you’ll be in awe of the level of disgusting detail on offer.

Should you ever need a break from sending the undead to their final resting place, there’s an entire city to explore with lots of sweet loot up for grabs, and if you look hard enough, you may just find some answers about the shady goings-on that have turned LA into a flesh feasting freak fest.

The prop department is packing heat

During these trying times, weapons are a slayer’s best friend. Whether you’re into slicing, dicing, battering, shattering, or even gouging your reanimated foes, you’ll be able to find the tool for the job somewhere in HELL-A. 

Swords, bear claws, sledgehammers, hunting knives, brass knuckles, and maces are just a fraction of the types of weaponry you’ll find littered throughout the city.

But if you don’t fancy getting brain and bone fragments on your outfit — or have had enough of stale zombie breath — you can pick those suckers off from afar with a whole arsenal of ranged weaponry: grab yourself a handgun, shotgun, ca

Last week, we asked you to travel to the far reaches of space to share celestial and exploratory shares using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: 

crisg_art shares Jacob peering out of his space suit in Callisto Protocol.

coalabr14 shares Cal approaching a ship on a red planet in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

DexM_ds shares a reaper ship approaching a damaged planet in Mass Effect Legendary Edition.

MostlyVp shares a ship that jets towards a blue planet, with lightstreams along the right side in No Man’s Sky.

justinphotomode shares Selene surrounded by blue glowing particles in Returnal.

Philt43_Yewone shares Ratchet staring out into a purple floating debris field with Clank on his back in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

THEME: God of War Ragnarök – Photo Mode
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on December 14, 2022

Next week, capture the beauty and danger of the Nine Realms using God of War Ragnarök’s newly released Photo Mode. Share Kratos and Atreus’ most epic moments using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.