Ratchet: Quest for Booty? Lair: Diabolical Dragons? The Last Guy? A Resistance 2 trailer next month? Those releases are rumored to be hitting the PlayStation Store this spring and summer, according to the above pic going 'round the internet today. It's all based on a allegedly leaked PlayStation Network release list from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, which lays out the planned PSN releases for the next four months, including a July release date for Home.

As you can see, according to the list, April is a big month. These releases may be bundled together to help promote the PlayStation Store revamp, also rumored to hit on April 15. So what is all this stuff?

With the PlayStation 2 port of High Impact's excellent PSP take on the Ratchet & Clank series just a week away, the official PlayStation Blog posts some details about the game's multiplayer. PS2 Size Matters takes the same amusing multiplayer functionality from the PSP version and splits it in two for split-screen goodness between you and a friend. You get four maps - Island Escape, Danger Valley, Mega Cannons, and Moon Cow Disease - complete with the Iron Lombax special challenges for each map. Personally I miss my R&C online multiplayer, but how much can you really expect from a $29.99 port of a PSP game?

Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters PS2 Multiplayer Details [PlayStation Blog]

Now that Insomniac has found success with both the Ratchet & Clank and Resistance franchises, you might expect them to simply sequel the IP as long as the checks come in, staggering each title's two-year development cycle to release one game a year. But Insomniac's president Ted Price explained that such a schedule ping ponging Ratchet and Resistance wasn't the plan. Instead they intend to, "continue to produce new IP, there's no question about that."

So a new IP is coming from Insomniac in the semi far to far future? Sounds good to us.

Insomniac's Ted Price Talks 'Ratchet' Sales Surprises, New IPs [MTVmultiplayer]

Today, in between our sprinting between Moscone centers to cover all of Microsoft's news, we had a chance to sit down with High Impact Games' Lesley Mathieson. She was the Lead Designer on Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, worked a bit on its PS2 port and is now Design Director on the second Ratchet & Clank minus the Ratchet title to hit the PSP: Secret Agent Clank.

And, between my heavy pants of hyperventilation at meeting the brains behind the PSP's best game to date, I was able to sputter out a few questions regarding the direction of the franchise and what sweet features we could expect in the new game.

Looks like Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters appearance on the PlayStation 2 isn't just a well-founded rumor. A recent PlayStation Underground e-mail update shows the former PSP-only game will get the PS2-port treatment, but provides nothing in the way of upgrade details or specific release date. Gamestop says we'll get it in March, Amazon says February. So far, no release date from Sony themselves.

The guest editor is a new thing around here at Kotaku. Maybe Crecente got the idea from Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, who is the king of getting others to contribute to his blog. His newest series, Make or Break, has a game industry veteran weigh in on the five things they look for in a game from another developer. First up is Insomniac's Brian Allgeier, who seems to have a big crush on God of War II, Portal, Bioshock, and yes, even Heavenly Sword. Read why Brian thinks a good opening sequence is key to a game, as is a strong main character and a good pace of progression. What is he forgetting?

Level Up Blog: Make or Break

You already know the game is awesome. Because McWhertor and I proclaimed it as such. And we did about a hundred hands on impressions with the game—none of them wasted, mind you. But now that Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction has been officially poked and prodded by the perverted scientists that are game reviewers, you can have numerical confirmation for what we already suspected.

So hit the jump for our Frankenreview; this week we did something special and only included reviewers that had "game" or some amalgamation of such in the title. That's for you, Insomniac. Live it up.

After hearing news of a one-week delay that would cause Insomniac Games to ship its first retail release later than promised, I was crushed. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction was a shining beacon of awesome on a PlayStation 3 release list that left me cold, searching in the darkness for something original, exclusive, platform-filled and fun. Fortunately, for those of us deeply impacted by having to wait an extra seven days for the next-gen Ratchet & Clank, it looks like it will indeed make its original street date in North America. The PlayStation.blog brings good word of speedy manufacturing and early shipment of the game, surely a product of divine intervention.

Officially, it's still October 30. But I'm expecting a very happy birthday to me next Tuesday. Woo!

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Coming Soon(er) [PlayStation.blog]

We now know the date of "the future." It's when Insomniac Games' Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will be released in demo form via the PlayStation Network. According to IGN, we'll all be wearing silver jumpsuits, issuing commands to our personal sex robots and tossing back food pills while playing the PLAYSTATION 3 demo of Ratchet & Clank Future on October 4th, 2007. The demo will feature a playable version of the game's first level, the city of Metropolis, and, I presume, redefine awesome.

See you in the future!

Ratchet & Clank PSN Demo on October 4 [IGN]