Spelunker may be fondly remembered (or hated) for its unforgiving difficulty; you'll need to perform very precise jumps and memorize level patterns to survive. Falling even a few feet means certain death for your cave explorer.

Spelunker pits you against a wide variety of underground dangers, including rolling boulders and deadly bat shit. Thankfully, you can avoid those guano storms with a flares you'll find scattered throughout the caves. You'll drop bombs to clear obstacles and collect color-coded keys to bypass doors, all the while on the hunt for treasure. It's straightforward stuff, to be sure, with limited appeal. Masochists with a streak of Spelunker nostalgia will probably adore it.

Irem has updated the graphics, sometimes for the worse. The titular spelunker looks nowhere near as endearing as his 8-bit ancestor. However, some aspects, like the creeping purple ghosts, look spectacular. It's a tad hit-or-miss, but serviceable and on par with Irem's other recently announced 8-bit remake, R-Type Dimensions.

The TGS floor demo was pretty brief. Burning through it took about three minutes, a bit longer if it was your first go at the game. It feels very much like a relic, but polished up and lovingly released upon the Spelunker-loving masses. We don't really expect it to appeal to too many PlayStation 3 owners because of its severe difficulty and dated mechanics. That said, we didn't have the opportunity to experience four-miner multiplayer. There's a possibility that that could be slightly enjoyable.

Joining the Punisher in his quest to shoot people in the face include Marvel B-listers Silver Sable, Barracuda, Jigsaw, and Bushwacker, we learn. While the whole thing sounds like a straightforward arena-style shooter, my fondness for the Punisher may warrant a sale. Read on to see if you agree.

Oh, and speaking of sales, anyone want to buy my copy of Amazing Spider-Man #129? First appearance of the Punisher! Reasonable offers will not be refused!

The Punisher: No Mercy Exclusive Q&A - First Details [Gamespot]

Blockbuster and Meijer stores already have 'em, but we may be able to add one more retailer to the list. A Best Buy retail employee passed down word from corporate today that the company will be stocking them within two weeks.

SCEA reps, when asked for clarification, told us "we'll soon be updating everyone with the retailers who will begin stocking PSN cards beginning in October." They didn't speak to Best Buy's situation, but noted "the roll out continues."

No more, as the PlayStation.blog writes today that brick and mortar Blockbuster stores will be carrying PSN cards as of, well, before today. And they'll be in $20 and $50 denominations, not that crazy "yen" value you see in the pic above.

PSN Cards now available at Blockbuster [PlayStation.blog]

The official announcement features loose talk of "outlandish new creatures, fearsome new attacks, devious new strategies and thrilling new gameplay" as well as new "bonus material [...] along with many more game-enriching features." Sounds vaguely fascinating!

THE EYE OF JUDGMENT: SET.3 expansion pack arrives this October 16th [EOJ Manager Forums]

The game features multiple choice question-answers, not text input or voice recognition, something that will likely turn off Jeopardy! purists. Plans for its game show compatriot, Wheel of Fortune, also appear to be in the works.

Jeopardy! Coming to PSN [PlayStation.blog]

Cube – September 18, 2008 for $9.99.
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords – September 18, 2008 for $14.99.
WTF: work time fun – October 2, 2008 for $9.99.
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient – October 2, 2008 for $9.99.
PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 – October 16, 2008 for $14.99.
Dead Head Fred - October 16, 2008 for $14.99.

You know, for ten bucks, I could maybe see some PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient in my life.

D3Publisher to Bring Classic PSP (PlayStation Portable) System Games to the PLAYSTATION Store for the PC for Download in North America

PSP System Gamers Will Now Have Access to Favorite D3P Titles Including the Original and Wildly Popular Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Critically-Acclaimed Dead Head Fred and more—no UMD Required!

Premier publisher of interactive entertainment software, D3Publisher (D3P), will bring its classic PSP (PlayStation Portable) system titles to gamers for download via the PLAYSTATION Store in North America beginning this September. PSP system owners will no longer need a UMD to play critically-acclaimed PSP system titles such as WTF: work time fun, a crazy collection of fun and addictive mini-games, the original Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, 2007's multiple award-winning cult hit that blends match-three puzzle gameplay with strategy, character-building elements and a persistent storyline, Dead Head Fred, a head-swapping, third person-action game and more.

"D3Publisher is always looking to make fun and original gaming experiences easily accessible to everyone," said Yoji Takenaka, president and chief executive officer, North America and Europe, D3P. "We believe that making these classic PSP system titles available via digital distribution gives the games a new opportunity for discovery and the gamers a second chance at hours of enjoyment."

D3Publisher's Line-Up Includes:

Cube – Offering highly addictive puzzle solving action, Cube challenges players in single or multiplayer modes to make their way through suspended 3D worlds of platforms and mazes jam-packed with collectible items and obstacles. Cube will be available for download on September 18, 2008 for $9.99.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords – The genre-bending title that took the gaming community by storm at the top of 2007 incorporates strategy, role-playing elements and a persistent storyline into a match-three puzzle board setting, has received numerous awards including Best Downloadable Game at the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, a Best Puzzle Game of E3 2007 Award from IGN.com and the esteemed iParenting Media Excellent Product Award for 2007. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is designed specifically to entertain both casual and hardcore gamers-on-the-go with its deep immersion, five to fifteen minute play sessions and turn-based play style. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords will be available for download on September 18, 2008 for $14.99.

WTF: work time fun – A crazy collection of fun and addictive mini-games, WTF drives players to perform sometimes trivial, sometimes mind-bending, but always fun jobs in pursuit of the almighty dollar. WTF will be available for download on October 2, 2008 for $9.99.

PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient – Using a measuring system that was created under the guidance of Professor Masuo Koyasu of Kyoto University in Japan that determines players' ‘Practical Intelligence Quotient' or PQ, players move blocks, avoid walls and lasers, pull switches and maneuver with maps to reach their goal to solve more than 100 3D logic puzzles. As players solve the puzzle within a shorter time frame and with fewer moves, their PQ scores improve. PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient will be available for download on October 2, 2008 for $9.99.

PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 – A follow-up to PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient, the critically acclaimed PQ2 calculates players' intelligence by using the PQ scoring system as they solve more than 250 mind-bending puzzles. PQ2 will be available for download on October 16, 2008 for $14.99.

Dead Head Fred - In Dead Head Fred, players will adventure as Fred Neuman, a private detective savagely murdered and then resurrected in a bizarre scientific experiment without his memory or his head. Players will embark on a quest for vengeance as they solve their own murder by using the severed heads of enemies to battle their way through challenging but bizarre environments. Dead Head Fred will be available for download on October 16, 2008 for $14.99.

PS3 store

Game
Buzz!™ Junior Jungle Party, £3.49
The Last Guy, £4.99

Demo
The Last Guy Asakusa Level, FREE
NHL 09, FREE

Packs
Warhawk - Operation Fallen Star Pack, £3.99

Videos
HAWX Trailer, FREE
Far Cry 2 - E3 trailer, FREE
The Last Guy Launch Trailer, FREE
PS3 Platinum TV Ad, FREE
Super Stardust HD top tips solo trailer, FREE
Super Stardust HD™ top tips arcade trailer, FREE

Wallpapers
The Last Guy, FREE

Theme
Graffiti, FREE

PSP content available to download via PS3 Console store

Game
Medal of Honor Heros 2, £14.99

Demo
Pipe Mania, FREE

PSP STORE

Game
Medal of Honor Heroes 2, £14.99

Demo
Pipe Mania, FREE

In Game
Fallen Star Booster Pack, £3.99

PSN Store Update [Three Speech]

Downloadable Games

The Last Guy ($9.99)

Add-on Game Content

Warhawk Fallen Star Pack ($7.99)

Warhawk Booster Combo ($15.99)

Rock Band

* “She Does” - Locksley ($0.99)
* “Don’t Make Me Wait” - Locksley ($0.99)
* “Don’t Make Me Wait” - Locksley ($0.99)
* “All Over Again” - Locksley ($0.99)
* Locksley Pack 1 ($2.99) - includes: “All Over Again,” “Don’t Make Me Wait,” and “She Does” by Locksley.

Game Demos

NHL 09 Demo

SOULCALIBUR IV Demo

Game Videos

SOCOM Confrontation Extraction trailer
LittleBigPlanet Leipzig “Sackzilla” Trailer
Motorstorm Pacific Rift Leipzig Trailer
PAIN Trauma Mode Trailer
GT5 Prologue Play the Pros with Tanner Foust!
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway Machine Gun & Bazooka Video
Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway Squad Gameplay Video
Facebreaker Audition Video #1
Facebreaker Audition Video #2
Facebreaker Audition Video #3
Madden NFL 09 Gameplay Trailer
Madden NFL 09 Madden Moments Trailer
Madden NFL 09 Play Call Trailer
Top Spin 3 Player Creator Trailer

Movie and Blu-ray Trailers

Quantum Of Solace Trailer
Prom Night Trailer

PS3 Wallpaper

The Last Guy Wallpaper (x2)

PSP STORE

PSP Themes

Cake Mania: Baker’s Challenge theme

PSP Wallpaper

PSP Wallpapers Series 1 wallpaper (x3)
Hot Shots Golf Open Tee 2 wallpaper (x2)
Cake Mania: Baker’s Challenge wallpaper (x3)

So, happy anniversary Wipeout HD! We got you the traditional gift — hands-on impressions!

The presentation has received a noticeable amount of polish over the past year, with a more informative heads up display, slick new menus, a feature rich photo mode and additional graphical effects. Lighting and shadows look softer and more realistic, with ships more layered in sci-fi eye-candy than before.

When we played Wipeout HD at the previous Games Convention, we were limited to just a few racing teams and tracks. This year, we had access to the first portion of the campaign mode, with a broader selection of vehicles and paint jobs.

The campaign is stuffed with opportunities to win medals, with challenges based on lonely time trials — full race or a single lap — and competitive races against a line-up of CPU opponents.

Splitscreen is also in, with both horizontal and vertical layouts that should make every Wipeout fan happy.

Gameplay was largely the same, given that the Wipeout HD is a remake. That said, the game feels like more of a full-fledged release, now that it's been given additional time in the incubator. It's looking like it's going to be worth the wait.

The pack comes with ten new battle maps set in the forested Tau Crater as well as the Icarus M. 1 Rocket Pack, which allows soldiers to fly about and take on both ground troops and Warhawks up close. Hit the jump for the full release and a fancy gallery.

The war between Eucadian and Chernovan forces has just got even bigger with the advent of a new expansion pack for Warhawk.

Warhawk has expanded again with Operation Fallen Star, a new pack that adds even more to the massive online vehicular combat title.

Available to download from PLAYSTATION Store (PS3), Operation Fallen Star gives you a new battlefield with ten fresh battle maps and a brand new "vehicle". This third addition to the Warhawk expansion pack family introduces the remote, forested Tau Crater – the site of a crashed Chernovan experimental warship containing invaluable experimental technology.

While the Chernovans try desperately to salvage their stricken ship, the Eucadians arrive to claim it for themselves. The landscape is littered with parts of the warship and the Chernovans have brought heavy duty salvaging equipment and a huge crane to lift large pieces of the wreckage – an ideal target for the Eucadians to capture, setting the scene for some epic battles for you to engage in.

This pack expands the player’s overall Warhawk experience with ten new Tau Crater battlefields – as well as the Icarus Mk. 1 Rocket Pack: a personal rocket pack that allows soldiers to soar above the fray, escape ground troops, enter the aerial realm of the Warhawks themselves and engage in radically new combat tactics. Use this new mode of transport for a fresh take on aerial combat in all new and existing Warhawk maps.

With thousands of online gamers playing Warhawk every day, Operation Fallen Star marks the perfect time to leave the comfort zone and join the battle in the air or on the ground.

High on the list are such stand-outs from E3 as Flower, PixelJunk Eden and The Last Guy Standing, but there's also a nice selection of some newer titles like old-school side-scroller Crash Commando, tower strategy game Savage Moon and Warhawk's Operation Fallen Star expansion pack which includes, yes, jet packs.

Full list and descriptions on the jump.

PLAYSTATION®Network showcases major releases including Flower™, Fat Princess™, The Last Guy™, Rag Doll Kung Fu™ and Ratchet & Clank™: Quest For Booty – while Super Stardust™ HD goes portable

Leipzig Games Convention, 20th August 2008: PLAYSTATION®Network is the premier source of downloadable games content, with a huge offering of fun, innovative new games as well as classic PlayStation® titles. Already boasting huge successes with the likes of PixelJunk™ Monsters, Super Stardust HD™ and echochrome™, PLAYSTATION Network is ushering in a new generation of top titles from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) with the following on show at Games Convention 2008.

Flower™
A true escape from the modern world, Flower challenges traditional gaming conventions with a lush, vivid environment in which players control the wind, using petals to reshape and revive their game surroundings. Using simple SIXAXIS™ wireless controllers, play involves flight and exploration, as you guide a petal across the landscape. Collecting additional petals and feel the gameplay change from serene to chaotic as you collect more and more. With more than 200,000 individually animated blades of grass, Flower is a game only possible thanks to the power of PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™).

Fat Princess™
In modern life, obesity is a social concern but, in medieval times, it was a key battle tactic! The Fat Princess of the title is your own over-fed royal that you must rescue from your enemy’s dungeon – if you can carry the porky madam to safety, that is. Choose the role of a warrior, archer, mage, worker or priest; your most important weapon here is teamwork as you work alongside up to 15 other players online to defeat the enemy team across ten individual maps and over numerous gameplay modes. Bringing countless players together on PLAYSTATION Network, Fat Princess™ is a blast of hilarious, furious multiplayer fun.

Crash Commando™
Old school gameplay meets next generation technology in Crash Commando™, mixing classic side-scrolling action with intense multiplayer fun in the ultimate slapstick shooter. Up to 12 players slug it out online or offline in frenzied death-matches, taking control of jetpacks, jeeps and tanks on two gameplay layers which can be moved between seamlessly via portals. Sign up with either the Jarheads or the Grunts in all-out warfare for world supremacy on a battlefield strewn with exaggerated gore and special effects. Track your victories with online leaderboards, rankings and trophy support.

Rachet & Clank™: Quest For Booty
Ratchet and Clank make their return in a bite-sized mini-adventure filled with their trademark crazy weaponry, side-splitting comedy and dazzling 3D animation in this treasure-hunting adventure. Help Ratchet sail solo into a world of galleons, parrots and cutlasses in his quest to uncover booty and his missing mate Clank. Journey through the dark caves of Hoolefar Island, navigate the treacherous Viper Caverns and take on foul-tempered buccaneer and new nemesis Captain Darkwater. Beware: danger lurks around every corner.

The Last Guy™
Set in the aftermath of a strange event that has caused many people to turn into fierce monsters, this fast-paced and fun game challenges players to save humanity by leading everybody else through the streets of world cities to safety. With a focus on gameplay rather than gore, The Last Guy is a game that’ll keep you coming back for more monster mayhem every time. Gather the survivors into lines and lead them through the streets of 14 world cities - all recreated with stunning aerial photography. Each city has an escape zone which you must lead your lines of people into while avoiding the enemy at all costs...

Savage Moon™
Classic tower strategy gameplay heads into outer space in Savage Moon™, as players attempt to protect an isolated planetary outpost from rampaging hordes of gigantic, ravenous space bugs. Position your towers in the best position possible to beat the bugs and convert your victory points into weapons that suit your preferred tactics. Classic strategy gaming meets interstellar gameplay with endless strategic possibilities – can you beat the bugs and save the moon?

PixelJunk Eden™
Prepare to be stunned by PixelJunk Eden™, the game that challenges you to help alien plants flower and bloom in a psychedelic, hypnotic Garden of Eden. Smash into enemies to release batches of pollen, making your flowers grow. Swing higher and higher through your growing paradise, climbing up iridescent stems, swinging from twirling branches, swaying on psychedelic flowers and searching the undergrowth for hidden treasures – with mesmerising graphics and electronic soundtrack created by Japanese artist Baiyon.

Rag Doll Kung Fu™
Rag Doll Kung Fu is a party fighting game based on the ancient principles of kung fu and rag-doll physics. Fast-paced combat, exaggerated action and unique visuals come together in a game that is easy for beginners but has enough depth in its combat system to keep hardcore fighters coming back for more. Using simple SIXAXIS motions to pull off special moves and combat sequences, players compete in matches with up to four other players either online or offline. The perfect party game for experts and beginners alike.

Warhawk™: Operation: Fallen Star expansion pack
The third expansion pack for mighty online warfare title Warhawk, Operation: Fallen Star introduces the remote, forested Tau Crater – the site of a crashed Chernovan warship containing invaluable experimental technology. With the Chernovans trying desperately to salvage the ship, the Eucadians have arrived with a view to stealing it for themselves. This pack brings ten new battlefields to the Warhawk experience – as well as the Infantry Jetpack – a personal rocket pack that allows soldiers to soar above the fray of battle into the aerial realm of the Warhawks themselves.

WipEout™HD
The arrival of WipEout® HD on PLAYSTATION®3 marks the dawning of a new era for the iconic racer, so strap yourself in for anti-gravity combat racing in full 1080p High Definition. Choose a futuristic craft then speed into the thick of the action in adrenaline-fuelled races across eight reversible tracks full of smooth loops, sharp bends and sheer drops. Master the ultra-realistic motion sensitive controls; unleash high-tech weapons to blast your opponents off the track. Take part in global online racing for up to eight players, compete for trophies and test your skills against the best pilots on the planet.

Super Stardust™ Portable for PSP™
One of the most popular PLAYSTATION Network titles arrives on PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable), making outer-space action mobile, so wherever you go, a blast of furious intergalactic shooter fun is close at hand. Retaining all the aspects that made Super Stardust a hit on PS3, Super Stardust Portable is sure to follow in the successful footsteps of its home system counterpart.

All of these titles will be on show at Leipzig 2008, so make you check out the future of PLAYSTATION Network gaming with these incredible, inventive downloadable titles.

Ratchet & Clank Continue the Quest in Fall 2009 [1Up]

Quest for Booty will take about four hours to play through, we're told, and doesn't require that you own the retail game Ratchet & Clank Future, although it does continue the storyline.

The game will include new wrench mechanics, light and dark illumination and pirate-themed puzzles. The game will also include four locations: Planet Merdegraw: Pirate Fleet, Hoolefar Island, Morrow Caverns and Darkwater Cove and a bunch of pirate enemies including Skull Walkers, Hot Heads, Giant Vipers (Pythors) and Undead Robotic Pirates.

I'm not sure what to make of this stand-alone download for $15, but it's an interesting way to release a smallish game and I kind of like the idea that they're not forcing gamers to go buy the original title to play it.

STREET FIGHTER - SURPRISE! [Capcom]

You'll be able to (attempt to) pick up chicks (or dudes) in Japanese, French or Italian using Talkman Travel, as well as find places to eat, relieve yourself legally, and haggle for chintzy souvenirs. At only $6 a pop, I don't think I can heed Crecente's advice that Talkman's "sorta shit."

Parlez-vous Talkman Travel? Interactive Travel Guide Coming to PSP [PlayStation.blog]

It’s a wonder how Insomniac finds the time to make Resistance 2 and sprinkle on a little Ratchet and Clank in the same year. But they did, and boy you really have to hand it to them. Sure Quest for Booty is a short game, around 4 to 5 hours, but it still looks as good as any other game out there. It uses the same engine as Tools of Destruction, which Insomniac knows like the back of their hand, and that allowed the team to add some new lighting and environmental effects for new areas of the game.

Something I didn’t really love about the later Ratchet titles was the focus on weapons. I like more platform-y games. So I was excited to find out there is less emphasis on weapons this time and more placed on platforming and puzzle solving. Ratchet doesn’t even start with a weapon; you have to wack stuff with your wrench early on until you find one.

The level I saw didn’t showcase it, but the theme of the game is about pirates and swashbuckling, so that’s pretty exciting. I mean, pirates are awesome, right?

The gameplay itself is straight-up Ratchet, though. If you know the series, you’ll feel right at home. I was told Insomniac wanted to release this to get people to try Ratchet who didn’t before and who are new to the series. How that translates into the overall difficulty of the game remains to be seen.

Also, there are no trophies in this game, at the time of launch anyway. There’s nothing stopping them from adding them in down the road, however. No saved data info from Tools of Destruction will carry over into Quest for Booty, either. They wanted to make this a completely separate experience.

One little hint was dropped to me about the ending. I had asked if the storyline for Quest for Booty would carry over into the next Ratchet game. I was told you’re going to have to beat the game and find out and that there may be something interesting. Don’t take that as any kind of confirmation, though.

The SOCOM folks broke down the bundle options on their site a bit earlier today and it looks an awful lot like the options Warhawk gamers were given. While they haven't yet nailed it down, the team hopes to have the game hit the rest of the world at the same time.

And now for your choices:

$59.99 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation (Bundle Version)
Includes SOCOM Confrontation, a newly designed Bluetooth® Headset for the PLAYSTATION®3 system and exclusive Behind the Scenes videos.

$39.99 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation (Stand Alone Version)
For all of the people who want SOCOM: Confrontation on a disc. Does not include the headset or the Behind the Scenes videos.

$39.99 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation on the PlayStation Network
SOCOM Confrontation downloadable from the PSN without ever leaving you couch. Does not include the headset or the Behind the Scenes videos.

I sure hope that headset is SOCOM-themed. If you're going to buy the game, which option do you think you will be picking up.

More headset pics here

Games and Demos
PixelJunk Eden ($9.99)
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures demo
Madden NFL 09 demo
Facebreaker demo

Expansions and Add-ons
Soul Calibur IV: Customization Equipment 1 ($1.49)
Rock Band tracks
* “Yomp” - thenewno2 ($0.99)
* “This is It” - Staind ($1.99)
* “They Say” - Scars on Broadway ($1.99)
* “Electric Crown” - Testament ($1.99)

Game Videos
The Last Guy trailer
Vampire Rain: Altered Species trailer
Beijing 2008 Aquatics trailer
Beijing 2008 Track trailer
Bionic Commando Rearmed "The Making Of Part 2" video
AST Dew Tour BMX Progression video
AST Dew Tour BMX Rewind video
AST Dew Tour FMX Unleashed video
AST Dew Tour Skate Highlights video

Game Music
Soulcalibur IV: Downloadable Music ($0.99 each, $14.99 for the full set)

Wallpapers and Themes
Killzone 2 theme
PixelJunk Eden theme
Siren: Blood Curse wallpapers
Soulcalibur IV wallpapers
Street Fighter IV wallpaper

The reason Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One was so long in coming to the Playstation Network had nothing to do with favoritism, and everything to do with technology.

"Everyone seemed to come up with their own rumors," Ceraldi said. "They thought there was exclusivity or that Penny Arcade doesn’t like the Playstation 3 but that wasn’t it at all."

After announcing their game for the PC, Linux and Xbox 360 Hothead discovered they had to essentially build their own version of the Torque game engine to bring the Penny Arcade Adventures they wanted to consoles and it took much longer than they expected.

"At that point we were fully committed to getting the game done as soon as we could," Ceraldi said. "So we focused on PC, linux and what we had already announced, the Xbox."

"As soon as we finished and got approved we moved those developers to the playstation and they started working on it for the Playstation Network," he said. "Until we got it running the way we wanted to look, we weren't going to announce anything."

"As soon as we did a full play through of the game we announced."

Future episodes of the game—Ceraldi believes there will be a total of four for this particular adventure—will still not arrive at the same time for all platforms.

While their was a lengthy delay between the release of Penny Arcade Adventures on the Xbox 360 and it coming to the Playstation Network, the new episodes will likely hit within weeks of one another. The Playstation Network will likely still be the last platform the episodes are developed for, he added.

While Ceraldi wouldn't talk hard numbers, he said that the game has had "very very solid numbers" for a digitally distributed game with no retail.

"We are an indie company," he added.

The future of the budding franchise appears to be strong. Ceraldi said that they may even look into releasing a box set or special edition of all of the episodes for Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness at retailers or online.

While they would love to bring the episodic game to the Wii, the size limits for Wii Ware prevent them from going the digital distribution method, he said. But that doesn't mean it couldn't come out down the line as a boxed game for Nintendo's console.

"Id love to be on the platform," Ceraldi said. "It’s purely an issue of size limit. Our game is just too big. If they increase that limit or add a harddrive, anything like that we would revisit (Wii Ware)."

And what happens after the episodic game has run it's course?

"Our goal is to have those single episodes. have them part of an overarching story. We speced out a story arch for it and Tycho has said he would like to do four episodes.

"I think the plan is that we may do a different game. Different theme but still Penny Arcade. They’ve done many different storylines and settings. There is lots of work they would like to explore."

Yes we are aware of the episodes and seasons that are available. We are working closely with our studio partners to add movie content, individual TV episodes (for rounding out seasons) and also adding whole new seasons. We have already published new content twice since launch last week and will continue to add more on a regular basis.

In other words, they're adding the episodes as they go, not uploading them as a single block. I know, if you're up to Buffy episode 4 and episode 5 is missing this must be simply infuriating, but you're going to have to be patient.

Site Feminist Gamer writes that the Darkstar Industries developed title may "reinforce nasty stereotypes about women and the obese," calling the mechanic of excessively feeding the portly, titular princess "fat-bashing."

Friend of the site, Melissa "Shakes" McEwan is also pissed, implying that the game will spawn a "new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative assholes." Clearly, this is one powerful game!

As we tend not to be pre-offended by these types of things — probably due to caveman like ignorance — we were a bit surprised to see such a loud reaction. Just kidding, it's the internet. We were, however, genuinely surprised to be so disappointed by the results of a Google Image Search for "fat princess."

We won't make that mistake again.

As for the Fat Princess "controversy," we have little faith that the game will change its content in any way as to make it inoffensive for all interested parties.

Fat Princess [Feminist Gamers]

Nine Inch Nails 3-pack - $5.49 or 440 Microsoft Points
“Burn”
“Capital G”
“Last”

Shinedown - $1.99 or 160 Microsoft Points each
“Devour”
“Junkies For Fame”

Who's getting what?

Frantic and fun, Fat Princess pits two hordes of players against each other in comic medieval battle royale. Your goal is to rescue your beloved princess from the enemy dungeon. There’s a catch though: your adversary has been stuffing her with food to fatten her up and it’s going to take most of your army working together to carry her back across the battlefield.

Yes. It's 16v16, online carnage, as you fight over - and drag - a morbidly obese woman across the battlefield. There's 10 maps, five character classes, and one writer's captured heart.

Add-on Game Content

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - Gift Pack DLC (free)
As a thank you gift to our community, the team behind Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 brings you brand new Multiplayer content. This free map pack contains three maps to enhance your multiplayer experience: Calypso Casino, Murdertown – Dark and CQB Training – Dark. Experience your favorite game modes in a whole new way.
File size: 348 MB

Rock Band
Build your Rock Band library by purchasing these song game tracks. For song credits, visit www.RockBand.com.

* “Working Man (Vault Edition)” - Rush ($1.99)
* “Closer to the Heart” - Rush ($1.99)
* “Snow (Hey Oh)” - Red Hot Chili Peppers ($1.99)
* “Tell Me Baby” - Red Hot Chili Peppers ($1.99)

File sizes: 16.2 MB - 45.2 MB
Game Demos (free)

Siren: Blood Curse Demo
Enter the world of Siren: Blood Curse with this exciting demo. An American TV crew has arrived in Japan to film an expose on the legend of the “vanished village,” only to find themselves caught in a deadly series of events. Controlling seven different playable characters, the player must uncover the mystery behind the curse that grips the eerie village of Hanuda.
ESRB Rated M
File size: 547 MB

Monster Madness: Grave Danger Demo
Monster Madness: Grave Danger is a next-gen four player, top down shooter, with tongue and cheek horror game fun. FULL Online co-op play, 100 NEW items and weapon upgrades, 25 NEW Challenge Mode mini-games, 18 Adventure Mode campaign levels with co-op play, and 9 Multiplayer Maps with Free For All Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag support for up to 12 players.
ESRB Rated T
File size: 707 MB

WALL-E Demo
Make Space for infinite action, astronomical fun and a mission that’s out of this world in Disney Pixar’s WALL-E the video game.
ESRB Rated E
File size: 1.02 GB

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Demo
The characters of C.S. Lewis’s timeless fantasy come to life in this newest installment of The Chronicles of Narnia series.
ESRB Rated T
File size: 564 MB
Game Videos (free)

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation - Assault Trailer
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation deploys you online into intense and unpredictable 32-player battles where it’s better to fight as a team than it is to be a hero. Battle teams across the world, earn your Community stripes and become the ultimate Spec Ops squad. Prepare yourself, the legendary squad-based online shooter is coming exclusively to the PLAYSTATION 3 system.
File size: 54 MB (HD)

Elefunk Official Trailer
Use your construction skills to save elephants from a dangerous fall! In the new puzzle game Elefunk, your elephants must traverse 20 levels of ravines, rivers, fire pits and swamps – and they’ll only get across if you strengthen the structures correctly with metal, wood and rope. It’s real construction with realistic physics and three different game modes: Time Attack, Puzzle, and Deconstruction. Download the trailer and learn more!
File size: 64 MB (HD)

Siren: Blood Curse Story Trailer
Enter the world of Siren: Blood Curse. An American TV crew has arrived in Japan to film an expose on the legend of the “vanished village,” only to find themselves caught in a deadly series of events. Controlling seven different playable characters, the player must uncover the mystery behind the curse that grips the eerie village of Hanuda. Download the latest trailer today and learn more about the gripping story.
File size: 50 MB (HD)

Super Stardust HD Add-on Intro
Super Stardust HD for the PLAYSTATION 3 system is a fully updated version of the classic game Stardust. Your mission is simple: destroy everything in sight! With five highly detailed 3D planets to save, hordes of enemies and asteroids to destroy, and various game play modes, Super Stardust HD presents super intense action. Learn about the exciting new gampelay modes featured in the Solo and Team add-ons in this exciting new trailer!
File size: 52 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour - PlayStation Pro Moments
A Compilation of the best tricks that were thrown down in the finals of BMX Vert, BMX Dirt, Skateboard Park, Skateboard Vert, FMX and BMX Park.
File size: 50 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour - Behind the Scenes with Spinner
BMX Park competitor Mike Spinner takes us Behind the Scenes in Baltimore, Maryland at the Panasonic Open.
File size: 92 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour - Bilko’s Road to Finals
After crashing in the finals last year in Baltimore, Top FMX Competitor Blake “Bilko” Williams had to make it through the Open Qualifiers and Prelims at the first stop of the AST Dew Tour.
File size: 94 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour - Burnquist Talks
Skateboard Vert Veteran Bob Burnquist is excited about competing at the first stop of the AST Dew Tour in Baltimore.
File size: 94 MB (HD)

Civilization Revolution Launch Trailer
When the world is in your hands, how will you rule? Download the launch trailer to Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution.

Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway Destructible Cover Gameplay Video
Download destructible cover video now to see how your weapons can damage, dent, scorch and destroy the world around you. Choose your cover wisely.
File size: 9 MB (SD), 32 MB (HD), 45 MB (1080)

Dead Space Dev Diary #1: Greenlight
This is the first video that goes behind the scenes and introduces the audience to the development team responsible for creating Dead Space.
File size: 314 MB (HD)
Movie and Blu-ray Trailers (free)

Quarantine
Television reporter Angela Vidal and her cameraman are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units.
File size: 20 MB (SD), 81 MB (HD), 95 MB (1080)
PLAYSTATION Store for PC

Here is this week’s content release for the PLAYSTATION Store for PC. To download these games to your PSP, navigate to http://store.playstation.com. There, you’ll find descriptions of the content and directions on how to get started. For more on the PLAYSTATION Store for PC, please click here.
Game Videos (free)

* SOCOM Confrontation Trailer

[thanks PlayStation.Blog]

What can we expect Sony to focus on this year? Home and first party PlayStation 3 games. SCE Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida recently voiced the importance of internally developed products, as third-party exclusives go the way of the dinosaur. Titles we're almost guaranteed to hear more about include LittleBigPlanet, Killzone 2, Resistance 2, inFamous, SIREN Blood Curse, SOE's The Agency, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, PixelJunk Eden, The Last Guy, Flower and SOCOM Confrontation.

But Sony has far more than that to squeeze into its presentation, including what's coming for the PlayStation Network, PSP and PlayStation 2. While not guaranteed to make an appearance, there are a handful of "safe bets" that may come up during its E3 keynote.

These include the internally developed Afrika, Level 5's role-playing game White Knight Chronicles, and Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain. That last title is rumored to be the PS3 emotionally charged visual showcase that left the BBC "speechless" at a demo earlier this year. Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty, rumored to be an expansion to Insomniac Games' hit 3D action platformer, is also very, very likely to get a mention.

Those looking forward to Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII Versus have likely already come to terms with its apparent E3 no-show, but those two RPGs should at least show up in trailer form. We can at least hold out hope for a surprise appearance from Team ICO which is in the process of staffing up for its PS3 debut.

We've heard little about Sony's plans for NCSoft on the PlayStation 3, with whom it announced a partnership with last year and what exactly that Rockstar Games exclusive it has lined up remains to be seen.

Sony may also pull back the curtain on a number of new PlayStation Network titles, beyond things like Flower and Eden, as a quintet of trademarks — Ember, SkyBlue, Carriage Return, Race Day, and Strings Attached — have yet to materialize. We may also get a peek at Q-Games next PixelJunk title, Dungeons, but suspect that the company will focus on the tangible, ready-to-ship-soon stuff. Will SCEA be brave enough to localize Japanese gardening sim Shiki-tei?

With Home expected to ship later this year, Sony will more than likely bang the hype drum on its virtual world service. How? We suspect it will be by publicly showcasing how Home can make games we already own, titles like Warhawk, Resistance: Fall of Man and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, really, really cool. A peek into how future titles like MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and Killzone 2 will exploit Home, wouldn't surprise us, nor would a firm release date and further details on how Sony plans to monetize Home at the consumer level.

PlayStation 3 hardware could conceivably see a price drop alongside a revision, as marquee releases like Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 helped to spike console sales, but not kick them into overdrive. Curious talk about a slimmer, cheaper PS3 could be big news — and quite a shock to the system, as the hardware is but a few years young.

On the PSP side, we expect to see Patapon 2, LocoRoco 2 and... well, that's all we expect. Sony may surprise us with a few software announcements on the portable side, as Devil May Cry PSP rumors have begun popping up again recently, as has talk of a new portable Grand Theft Auto, but we're not holding our breath for Polyphony Digital to get around to the long-promised Gran Turismo Portable. Instead, we'll expect services style software revelations and maybe even a God of War: Chains of Olympus sequel.

It's doubtful that Sony will trot out new PSP hardware, as the device just received a model refresh later last year, news that was announced at E3 2006. Given that and the relatively young age of the hardware, we'd be surprised to see a PSP2 make an appearance next week.

Speaking of hardware, will Sony finally drop the price of the PlayStation 2 to $99?

What could potentially be most interesting is how the company plans to match Nintendo's offerings. Does Sony have its answer to Wii Fit ready? Can a rumored break-apart DualShock appeal to the masses? Will Life With PlayStation find a fan? Will it be the "Year of the PS3" or just another E3?

We'll find out next Tuesday, July 15 when Sony holds its press conference at The Shrine.

Read more E3 08 coverage right here.

We’re happy with what we’re doing right now and we’re going to stick with it. I think being free is always an advantage. The fact that it’s free is nice for consumers who want to try out the online experience, those who may be new to it and may not be ready to commit to spending dollars, and that’s a really good message for us.

Course, Eric then says that leaves you with money free for game subscriptions (and he doesn't mention Qore), but his basic point remains valid! Free stuff is nice.

INTERVIEW: Sony on PSN’s “Big Leap Forward” [Next-Gen]

While naturally we only want to keep quality titles on the network we do have room for a lot of them. I think if I look over at the competitors’ UI they may have some issues just displaying content, and scrolling up and down lists isn’t the easiest way to find things.

No, it certainly is not. And Microsoft may well be reading these words and sobbing gently into their morning coffees. Then again, they may be doing something about it.

INTERVIEW: Sony on PSN’s “Big Leap Forward” [Next-Gen]

Source: “There is Live-like stuff coming to PS3″ [VG247]

Scheduled PLAYSTATION®Network Maintenance [PlayStation.com, thanks Justin!]