Unembargoed!

Well after we left you in the lurch with our previous post on the status of the PlayStation magazine (right about here), I figured it was only fair to fill you in with what the world of paper holds for us this month.

The reason for the embargo delaying the release of the magazine to subscribers (like us) was probably the Uncharted 2 feature as we guessed. And the exclusive shots and deets sail in at number one of the magazines 'Big 10'. The preview fills in a bit about the story of the sequel - Drake is following Marco Polo's secret mission to supposedly find the utopian Shangri-La and the Cintamani Stone that resides there (probably what we saw in that first teased vid). Gameplay-wise, the new game is all about adding more to the already essential Uncharted experience. Grenades do now not require SIXAXIS control to throw, replaced with a simple button press, moving cover can be found in riot shields and the like, and Drake can now swing on monkey bars and indulge himself in a bit of free running here and there. There's also more stealth in this game: on top of the free-running, Drake has a series of stealth takedowns in his arsenal. But the most important thing? Elena appears to have been switched out for new girl Chloe Frazer (who is Australian, sigh), but the developers were coy on the possible return of Elena and Sully at some point in the game, which should be out sometime towards the end of next year.

Also in the magazine there's a little review of the year, a chat with a gamer who beat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy by building a custom gaming rig, a bit of a moan about the number of generic-looking PS3 characters, and a bit of a look behind the scenes at how a PSN game is made. Filed under rumours there are claims that IO is making the console versions of Dues Ex 3 as well as working on another three (?!) new games, LittleBigPlanet PSP is in development (told you) outside of Media Molecule and will be out next year, Smackdown vs Raw DLC will feature stupidly-named guys X, Y and Z (confirmed), EA is working on its own series of Rock Band-style games (wait, doesn't EA already publish Rock Band?), Sega has another licensed scifi shooter in development (lets just get Aliens out first), there will be a new 24 game, and, in nomination for vaguest rumour of the year award, "a renowned UK-based studio is working in a brand new, astonishing-looking urban crime game set for release in 2010". But if its Criterion (and it could be), that would be AWESOME.

In previews, there's new stuff on Overlord 2 (groan), SFIV (pretty), Dynasty Warriors 6 (this series is still going?), Killzone 2, HAWX (fugly), Bionic Commando (oh yes), UFC 2009 (more wrestling?), 50 Cent (yo), with an added brief mention of C&C Red Alert 3 brightening my day. Reviews include a 9 for The Game With An Acronym Longer Than Most Full Game Titles, a harsh 4 for Sonic, an 8 for Crash Commando, a 6 for the Prince of Persia Classic PSN game and new Spyro (noooooo!), a 7 for EndWar PSP (basically Clancy-themed Advance Wars), a 9 for SingStar Abba, a 7 for SingStar Volume 3, and a 5 for Disney's attempt Sing It, a happy-happy 8 for LocoRoco 2, 3 for Cabela's Shoot Animals in the Face 2009, 5 for the new Armoured Core, 6 for upcoming PSN zombie-em-up Burn Zombie Burn, *breathe* 5 for Novastrike, 3 for Spin Jam, 5 for NFS PSP, 5 for Crash 3: Warped, 3 for Theme Park, and 6 for the new Buzz on PSP. Jeezus. A month of mediocrity then.

Features include a retrospective of the Resident Evil series along with a new hands-on, but the main focus is Heavy Rain, the upcoming PS3 exclusive from the developers of the awesome Fahrenheit. There's a 12 page feature, that talks about the story, well, mentions it in passing - barely anything has been revealed so far, but there was discussion of the crime scene that makes up the game's opener, as well as lots of behind the scenes on the game's revolutionary mo-capping and intricate detail (plans are made, and then shipped off to outside studios who make up the millions of objects in the game - cars, trash cans etc in excruciating beautifulness - then it all goes back to the main developers to put together). There's also exclusive new shots!

But quit reading this brief overview, and head down to the shops yourself you lazy, cheap bastard; issue 27 (January 09) is available now and has the hairy face of a man from Heavy Rain on the front. Fly, my pretties, fly!

PS: In the 'how a PSN game is made' segment, PSN senior producer Phil Gaskell lets slip that he has been working on a new project with Stardust developers Housemarque. Yay!