PS Vita

Sony has officially released the promised PlayStation Vita Skype app in the PS Store, a press release confirms. While it's officially out as of today, April 24, 2012, you might not see it listed yet among the store's downloadable offerings. Give it some time; the release notes that it could take as long as 48 hours for the app to spread across the entire network.

For those who have been living under a technology-warding rock, Skype is the Internet's premiere VoIP phone service. For a few dollars a month, you get to place phone calls using your Internet connection. The Vita app offers both voice-only and video chat capabilities, over both Wi-Fi and 3G. The app will run in the background, meaning you'll be able to get calls while you're gaming, switch out to take the call, and then go back to whatever you were playing. 

Resistance: Burning Skies will be the first PlayStation Vita title to deliver FPS gameplay, and now Sony has revealed the details of the third and final multiplayer mode featured in the game: Survival. The third mode had been revealed in name only so far, joining more standard Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch options.

A typical Survival match starts off with six players fighting as humans against a pair of Chimera; Burning Skies features an eight player limit on multiplayer showdowns. It basically works like the Zombie mode game variant in Halo; every time a human is down by a Chimera, the balance shifts as the downed player is respawned on the opposing team. The last player standing is the winner.

So no co-op mode, as many had originally presumed based on the mode's "Survival" name. You can learn more about the game's online component right now in our Resistance: Burning Skies hands-on multiplayer preview.

Source: PlayStation Blog

Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz for the PS Vita will contain an "adult" themed level centering on Japanese swimsuit model Yukie Kawamura.  This is for all those people who like Super Monkey Ball, but wish it was sexier.

The adult Monkey Ball level will only be available in Japan, and will be included as extra content available to people who buy the first run of the game. Basically, pick it up early and you'll get a code that lets you download the T and/or A for your Vita. No word on when the extra level is coming to the U.S., but my guess is "never." It's just too Japanese.

I've embedded a YouTube video under the "Read More" tag that shows off Kawamura playing the level and giggling. It's a little weird to watch a woman roll a ball filled with a monkey over representations of her own breasts, I think you will agree. But weird in a good way.

Read More »

In the video below, NetherRealms Studios teases their next live action trailer featuring the sexy, but deadly Mileena for Mortal Kombat on the PS Vita. Be the first on your block to check out Mileena in action while you wait for the full length Mortal Kombat for Vita trailer coming next week.

CheapyD at CheapAssGamer.com scours both the online and offline world for the best deals on video games, and to help out your wallets, we're bringing his weekly recap to you!

Best Buy drops Mass Effect 3 to $39.99, Darksiders to $9.99, and Borderlands GOTY to $19.99. Buy $25 in Skylanders merchandise, get a free Best Buy exclusive Volcanic Vault.

GameStop discounts Star Wars: The Old Republic to $39.99, Rayman Origins to $19.99 and is holding a
buy 2, get 1 free sale on Ubisoft Vita games.

Target has Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 $39.99, but keep an eye out for the Collector's Edition which has been clearanced at $29.99. Buy 1 Sims game, get 1 Sims game free.

Toys R Us throws in $25 gift cards with the Xbox 360 4GB Kinect Bundle and the PS3 160GB console. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is priced at $29.99, and Gears of War 3 drops to $24.99.

Amazon matches deals on Mass Effect 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Rayman Origins and more.

Visit CAG for more details and the rest of this week's Sunday ad deals.

Best of the Rest
Battlefield PC Download Deals at Amazon
Max Payne 3 with free Max Payne 2 and More at Amazon
Diablo III Limited Edition Guide$21.75 at Amazon
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings $44.99 at Toys R Us

Follow Cheap Ass Gamer on Twitter at videogamedeals and ukgamedeals.

Three free PlayStation Vita apps, Paint Park, Treasure Park, and Wake Up Club are all coming to the handheld. Paint Park is available now, while the other two will be out soon.

Paint Park is a sketching app where players can doodle drawings and share them with friends. The app also makes use of the Vita's front and rear camera so you can take pictures of things and then manipulate them. Treasure Park on the other hand is a puzzle app. You can create your own puzzles to play with friends, set traps for them, earn high-scores, all on the go.

Wake Up Club isn't exactly a game, it's more of a way for you to interact with other Vita owners. Essentially, Wake Up Club is an expansion of the Vita's alarm clock, and with it you'll be able to see other Vita owners who set their alarm clock for the same time. I'm not sure why you'd want to know when your friend's alarm clock goes off, but to each their own.

All three apps will be available for free in the PlayStation Store.

Source: PlayStation Blog

There's an action game called Soul Sacrifice coming to the PlayStation Vita at some point, a fact confirmed by a multi-page ad in the latest issue of Famitsu (via Andriasang). There isn't any associated article so what you see here in the images above and after the jump is pretty much the extent of what's out there.

Some Internet digging turns up a NeoGAF post that offers a few additional hints. Japanese blogger Sinobi is reporting that Sony will be holding a press conference for the game at the Tokyo International Forum on May 10, 2012. The GAF post also notes that the game's story puts players in the role of magicians fighting "evolved co-op battles" in a "realistic fantasy world" with "high-spec graphics." The prevailing theory seems to be that Soul Sacrifice is some kind of Monster Hunter-styled game.

Take a peek at the images and let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Read More »

G4 is giving away two PlayStation Vitas with Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, and we want you to have one. The amazing prize pack includes a PlayStation Vita with a 4GB memory card, a copy of Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus and a copy of Dynasty Warriors Next. 

Here's how to get your own Vita prize-pack from G4:

• Have a twitter account.
• Click on the link to our Vita contest page.
• Click on "Enter Now" and follow instructions.
• Cross fingers and wait to see if you're chosen!

In Resistance: Burning Skies for the PlayStation Vita you'll be able to play with up to eight friends in three modes across six different maps. Check out the gameplay trailer below, showing the fast-paced title in action. We also have a Resistance: Burning Skies preview for you to check out as well, after you watch the video of course.

StarDrone Extreme is coming to the PlayStation Vita by way of the PS Store next week, on April 17, 2012, a PlayStation Blog post confirms. It's an expanded version of the Move-powered PlayStation 3 title that came to PSN in 2011, adding both new and more finely tuned levels (60 in all) as well as some much-needed touch screen support.

Think of StarDrone Extreme as a cross between pinball and Angry Birds Space. You launch your rocket at the start of each round and then direct its non-stop movement by tapping gravity beacons scattered around each arena. You're basically playing with gravity to push and pull the ship in different directions, picking up points as you go.

The PS Store release will cost a very reasonable $3.99. What's more, the PS3 version of the game is getting an update that will allow players to take advantage of cross-platform save sharing.

Sony today announced it is axing 10,000 jobs as part of a plan to pull out of a historically dismal financial spiral. The good news for gamers: Sony name-checked its gaming division as a key part of its strategy for recovery.

• NEWS: Sony Predicts Huge Losses

"As CEO, I take this very seriously. But at the same time, it strengthened my resolve to transform Sony," Kaz Hirai told  journalists at a press event. "Employees too want to restore Sony to its former glory and go beyond."

• VIDEO: Sessler's Soapbox: Sony's Financial Troubles

That glory will be restored by the company focusing on the company's electronics division, which included game systems, cameras and phones. Sony will be concentrating investment and technological development in its electronics division.

Personally, I'm curious what Sony's plans are for future handheld gaming systems. I wonder if that entire market isn't going to shrink drastically as smart phones become better and better gaming platforms.

Source: USA Today

Sony is cooking up a surprise reveal for April 19, 2012, with a newly added teaser image on the PlayStation Facebook page listing the date beneath the following phrase: "Will vengeance bring redemption?" Revenge is not an uncommon theme in the land of video games, but there's one Sony protagonist in particular who has fine-tuned it into an art: God of War's Kratos.

There's no confirmation one way or another from the PlayStation maker, but a quick look at the image's comments section shows that most fans seem to be thinking along the God of War lines as well. Sony Santa Monica is already known to have been recently staffing up its God of War team. Assuming this is indeed another Kratos adventure, which platform do you think we're looking at?God of War 4 on PS3 seems likely, but there IS that shiny, new Vita that Sony would no doubt like to release a killer app for.

The PlayStation Vita version of Mortal Kombat officially has a release date . You'll be able to jump in to the brutal fighting game on May 1, 2012.

"The ability to utilize the numerous new features available on PS Vita was a very gratifying mission, and we are delivering the best possible on-the-go fighting experience for fans," said NetherRealm Studios, the developer of Mortal Kombat vita.

Mortal Kombat Vita will include 150 new missions for the Challenge Tower, brand new costumes, two exclusive modes: Test Your Balance and Test Your Slice, as well as both ad-hoc and WiFi Versus mode options.

If you're a MK fan, are you going to be picking up Mortal Kombat for the PlayStation Vita?

Zen Studios is going to be boarding the Sony cross-platform train in spring 2012 when it launches Zen Pinball 2 on PSN for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. Anyone who already owns Zen Pinball or Marvel Pinball will get to watch in awe as their software is automatically updated (at no cost) to transform into Zen Pinball 2. What's more, you'll only need to own one copy to play on both your PS3 and Vita.

Releasing alongside Zen Pinball 2 is Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles. It's a four-table download pack that, as you probably gathered from the name, has a Marvel Comics theme. You get a table based on the upcoming Avengers movie, plus tables for the World War Hulk, Fear Itself and The Infinity Gauntlet comic book arcs. In addition to the new content, the upgrade to Zen Pinball 2 will also introduce newly tweaked ball physics, Trophies, and social features like Facebook integration.

Capcom's PS Vita version of Street Fighter X Tekken is going to bring in some hefty cross-platform support for the portable game in the form of PS3 vs. Vita online matchups (over 3G as well as local and Wi-Fi connections), data sharing, and free DLC with the new fighters on the console side for those who own both versions. Not too shabby. The fall 2012 Vita release will be adding 12 new fighters to the roster, six apiece for each franchise.

Kevin "the Conquerer" Kelly recently had the opportunity to go hands-on with the upcoming game at Captivate, and he formed those experiences into words for you to read in his Street Fighter X Tekken hands-on preview. You'll learn all about how the cross-platform play feels, who the new characters are, and what other surprises you can expect to find this fall. Here's a snippet:

"Street Fighter X Tekken on the Vita is…Street Fighter X Tekken. The game is identical to its console counterpart, but with the addition of 12 new playable characters: Blanka, Cody, Dudley, Elena, Guy, and Sakura from the Street Fighter side, and Alisa Bosconovitch, Bryan Fury, Christie Monteiro, Jack, Lars Alexandersson, and Lei Wulong from the Tekken side. As a bonus, if you own both the PS3 and the Vita versions of the game, you’ll get those 12 new characters on your PS3 version as well."

Read the rest of our Street Fighter X Tekken for PS Vita preview. For more coverage, be sure to check out Capcom's latest helping of Street Fighter X Tekken trailers and a new batch of screens in our Street Fighter X Tekken gallery.