That’s right, Warhawk is getting trophies. Oh, you knew that? Well it’s getting much more than that. The next downloadable pack will bring jetpacks.

On the 27th August, Warhawk will be patched up to v1.5, not only bringing 56 trophies but also tutorials to train new players and the ability to create custom soundtracks.

The trophies are an amalgamation of original accomplishments, where some will be retroactively rewarded. These contain trophies to encourage participating in the community, those specific to certain game modes, vehicle trophies, and weapon trophies. There’ll also be a collection for each map pack, including the third untitled and unannounced pack (white feather?). Here’s a small selection of what to expect:

Secret Daredevil – Get 100 feet off the ground in a ground vehicle. Does not count if the vehicle is being carried by a Dropship.
Invincible -- While on foot, take at least 250 damage within 10 seconds without dying.
Porcupine – Destroy an enemy Warhawk with the APC’s E-POD shield.
Taxi Driver – Help a teammate capture the flag (in CTF) or cogs (in Collection) by transporting him back to the base, using any vehicle.

The full selection can be found at this link.  Many of the specific trophies are unconfirmed, but some have already been mentioned by Sony. We have little doubt that such a lengthy and detailed list is accurate – who would have the time to make it up?

If you’re particularly savvy, you should notice descriptions referring to jetpacks, wearable by individual players who can still use their weapons mid-flight:

Aerial Ballet – While flying a jetpack, kill an enemy (who is also flying a jetpack) with any weapon other than the Rocket Launcher.
Are You Aim-Botting? — Snipe an enemy who is flying a jetpack.
That Was Some Bug – Kill an enemy who is flying a jetpack by hitting him with any vehicle or aircraft.

There is also mention of a new map, called Tau Crater, which will feature a “salvage crane.” Don’t tell anyone, but we expect the pack to release close to the release of the patch. The game that never stops giving will give us a whole lot more on August 27th.  Scratch the date into your Warhawk, soldiers.

It’s rather inconspicuously called v1.4, but this update is anything but pedestrian. It boasts two new game modes, a quick-join system, and more tweaks than you are probably willing to read about in one sitting. All for free too.

Warhawk game director Dylan Jobe revealed that the first of these new modes is Hero. This sees one member of each team transformed into a 500% health, double-damage dealing hard-ass. Expect bloodbaths, because you will also be glowing and pin-pointed on the mini-map. This mode does sound like the red and blue heroes will just end up in a one-on-one slog that will leave you both wondering why the other git won’t die.

The second mode sounds more exciting – an extension of CTF called Collection, where the flag is replaced with four energy cores. A nice touch is the progressive scoring. You can carry more than one core at a time, and even pass them on to someone else if you are about to be annihilated – so the more you collect in one run, the more points you’ll get.

Also of note – the quick-join system. You can now set your preferences for the type of game you want, and it will automatically join games of that criteria. There’s also an avalanche of minor improvements and changes to rank and award requirements. Check out the PlayStation Blog for the full list.

The update will be available for download on 16 July at 10am GMT.

After the successful launch of the new Playstation Store, there’s a feast of content to get your teeth into this week.

The Metal Gear Online Beta makes its presence known on the European Store, but will be hidden in the US for those that were lucky enough to acquire a Beta code.  Then again, don’t be too excited since many are having trouble setting up their Konami Game ID’s.

With Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and the Warhawk Pack to tide us over until the MGO Beta’s April 21st launch, it’ll be easy for us to forget about the content we might have been expecting. Yes, the Resistance 2 trailer won’t be gracing your PS3 this week, but we hope it jumps onto the Store in the near future.

US Playstation Store Update:

Games/Demos:
- Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – $39.99
- Metal Gear Online beta (for those who have beta codes)
- UEFA EURO 2008 Demo

Downloadable Content:
- LAIR – Dragons and Control Pack – free
- Super Stardust HD – Solo Add-on Pack – $4.99
- WarHawk – Operation: Broken Mirror Add-on – $7.99
- Warhawk Booster Combo – $11.99 (Contains “Omega Dawn” and “Broken Mirror” Packs)
- Rock Band Songs:
* “Still Alive” – GLaDOS and Jonathan Coulton (free)
* “Sprode” – Freezepop ($0.99)
* “Shake” – Count Zero ($0.99)
* “Rock Rebellion” – Bang Camaro ($0.99)
* Harmonix Pack 1 ($2.99) – (Includes “Rock Rebellion”, “Shake”, and “Sprode”)
* “Call Me” – Blondie ($1.99)
* “Simple Man” – Lynyrd Skynyrd ($1.99)
* “Message In A Bottle” – The Police ($1.99)
* Classic Rock Pack 1 ($5.49) – (Includes “Call Me”, “Simple Man”, and “Message In A Bottle”)

Trailers:
- Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – “Beyond the Apex”
- Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – “Friendly Fires”
- Warhawk Broken Mirror Trailer
- Condemned 2: Bloodshot Making Of The TV Spot
- HAZE Mantel Corporate Vision
- This is Vegas Annoucement Trailer
- Pineapple Express Blu-ray Trailer

Other:
- Warhawk Theme (x2)
- Lair Mokai Theme

European Playstation Store Update:

Games/Demos:
- Metal Gear Online beta (open to all of Europe/PAL, won’t work for non-PAL users due to IP restrictions)
- SEGA Superstars Tennis demo

Downloadable Content:
- Super Stardust HD – Solo Add-on Pack – £2.99
- Guitar Hero III – Dropkick Murphys pack – free
- WarHawk – Operation: Broken Mirror Add-on – £££/€7.99

Trailers:
- Bionic Commando Rearmed
- GTA IV Trailer 4
- Lost Planet Trailer 2
- SEGA Superstars Tennis

Oh, and if you’re clever enough to have a Hong Kong PSN account as opposed to a Japan one, you’ll be able to get your mits on a Lair demo. Yes, Lair.

When we reported on the PSN Release Schedule leak story and the possible truth behind it, the dates and content listed were still only speculation. After recent revelations, it’s now clear that the schedule is in fact true.

The leaked European document was always potentially credible due to the correct date given to Warhawk: Operation Broken Mirror. Thanks to our very own Kelsey Hart’s digging into the Ratchet: Quest for Booty item on the list, further concrete reliability was added to the basket.

There were, however, some unlikely candidates – such as a Resistance 2 trailer, and a Lair Pack. These two have since been confirmed. The former was revealed to be making an appearance on GT:TV this Friday, and today Sony Japan provided the first details of the Lair update. The update will include the option to use much needed analogue controls, a new targeting icon, and rumble support. The release date for this update? April 17th.

(Click to Enlarge)

Even though the schedule lists the 15th as the date for these items, the April 17th relaunch of the Playstation Store accounts for the recalculation. Nonetheless, April 15th won’t be empty, since Playstation 3 firmware v2.30 will go live on that date – nicely slotting all the pieces together to create one hell of a Playstation Store relaunch next week.

Among other features, firmware v2.30 will include DTS-HD Master Audio output for Blu-ray videos, meaning the high-definition visuals of Blu-ray will now be matched with the highest quality audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio is literally bit-for-bit identical to the studio master recording and makes movie soundtracks and sound effects truly come to life. The technology delivers audio at the incredibly high rate of 24.5 mega-bits per second (Mbps) on Blu-ray disc, which is significantly higher than standard DVDs.

DTS-HD Master Audio also offers 7.1 audio channels at 96k sampling frequency/24 bit depths, so you’ll be totally immersed in the sound.

The firmware update will add DTS-HD High Resolution Audio as well, which is a similar output technology that requires less disc space. You can read more about both codecs here.

In regards to the new and improved Playstation Store, we can now present to you a video walk-through:

From Crackle: PlayStation Store video walkthrough

We can only hazard a guess as to what else is awaiting us next week, though we can provide a list of items when taking the validated release schedule into account: Super Stardust Pack, Lair Pack, Resistance 2 Trailer, Pain Add-on: Nigel, Dark Mist, Metal Gear Online Beta, Rock Band Song Packs, and Warhawk: Operation Broken Mirror. Oh and don’t forget, the US will be meeting Gran Turismo 5: Prologue!

Note: Although the leaked Release Schedule has been validated, all dates are subject to change. Let’s hope Playstation Home comes out before July.

*Update* -  Sony have since confirmed that the new Playstation Store will launch on April 15th, with content to follow on April 17th:

 To accompany the launch, the PLAYSTATION Store will see an exciting selection of content available from 17th April, consisting of the launch of the Metal Gear Online Premiere Beta, building up to the launch of the next chapter in one of PlayStation’s most loved franchises, Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots.

Also available will be Warhawk™: Operation Broken Mirror, a great new addition to the hugely popular Warhawk experience and Lair™: Diabolical Dragons Pack and Skyguard Upgrade pack, offering new and exciting features and functions. There will also be a collection of trailers including the latest for GTA IV, as well as a Sega Superstars tennis demo.

Over the next couple of weeks things will function as usual on the PlayStation Store, but no new downloads will be made available as Sony is in the middle of updating the store’s interface.

Due to arrive in mid-April, the store’s new design is intended to make navigation of content easier by adding more categories and allowing more space per page to list items.

In addition, the store will lose its previous web interface, embedding itself into the Playstation 3 for faster loading. Noel Silvia lets us in on some other goodies on the Playstation Blog, telling us that the store will dynamically change each time you enter, though the background will currently remain the same.  Moreover, the mouse pointer is on its way out. Navigating the new store will now be more like scrolling through a menu.

The downside to new design is that no new content will be made available for the next two weeks while changes are being made.

When the store re-opens it will be accompanied by firmware update 2.30 that will allow users to access the new store, and the Thursday content releases will be resumed. 

What can we expect on the day the new store arrives?  Warhawk: Operation Broken Mirror, the Metal Gear Online Beta, and if this is to be believed, a new Lair pack and the first trailer of Resistance 2.

The PlayStation.Blog promises a closer look at the new design soon, including a video walkthrough.  For now we have these four images:

You’ll be able to buy the new Warhawk Pack very soon – in April actually (adding more evidence to the leaked release schedule) and we can provide you with some nouveaux screenshots.  Sadly importers of the game will once again find it hard to buy the pack. At least there’s a free patch.

Operation: Broken Mirror will reach the Playstation Store next month with the same price as the previous pack (£3.99/$7.99).  You’ll not only get a whole new map, including 10 different layouts, but a new vehicle: the Armoured Personnel Carrier.

Designed for rapid infiltration, the tough and swift APC allows six passengers to fire weapons through its side hatches and features a ‘speed boost’ to charge through enemy lines more effectively. Once the APC reaches its destination, it acts as a forward spawn point for swarms of reinforcements.

There’s also a driver-activated E-POD (Electrostatic Plasma Ordinance Disrupter) that emits a burst of energy that absorbs enemy fire to provide a temporary shield for your troops. It is also a hazard for enemies, who are damaged when they enter it.  The APC is a spiffing piece of equipment, that’s for sure!

The new icy map is an Eucadian stronghold, where snowy conditions blanket an intricate network of freeways and towns, the hub of which is the war torn Radial Village. What’s exciting is that it’s the biggest map so far, even bigger than the massive Omega Dawn.  Incognito’s Dylan Jobe lets a Playstation blogger know just how big it will be:

That is a very good question cause I know that we got a lot of feedback from Omega Dawn that its layouts were too big!

So first off, let me say that yes, the new battlefield is very large. In fact, it is bigger than Omega Dawn — But Wait !!! This was done very intentionally so that we could provide more variety with the layouts in this new Booster-Pack than any other previously released level.

There are way more small layouts and medium sized layouts — including some asymmetrical ones. There are 10 layouts in the new battlefield so you guys will have more control over the games your setting up.

We were very aware that we needed to give you smaller layouts with this booster pack so hopefully you’re happy with the increased variety of small to medium layouts.

It sounds splendid, but all this tempting might be putting some unfortunate people through agony.  Yes, those forgotten importers. There was a significant problem with the Omega Dawn Pack – those who imported Warhawk from the US couldn’t download the pack.  You see, Playstation 3 games are region free, but Playstaiton Downloadable Content is not.  An odd decision, but one that has left many burnt. 

Dylan Jobe finally answered our calls recentley, letting us know exactly what’s being done with the problem importers are having:

I have looked into this and there is unfortunately not a whole lot I can do for you or the other players that have contacted me.

Not sure what your specific circumstances are but I know that some players around the world have imported Warhawk from SCEA and they don’t have access to a PS Store in their region or in some cases, don’t have a credit card that will work on the US store.

Again, I wish there was something that I could do to directly help this but it is totally out of my control :-(

Oh well.  Of course we can all access any store we like, but not all of us have a US credit card to buy the content.  Furthermore, the Warhawk packs are tied to the country/region the disc was bought from. The only way a UK resident with the US disc can play Operation: Broken Mirror, is to get the pack off of an American friend.  If we’re lucky enough to have a friend who will share the US pack with us, Sony and Incognito will miss out on our monies.

Nonetheless, the v1.3 patch can be downloaded with ease early next month. Among a bunch of new fixes, it’ll include two new troop weapons: the wrench and the Bio Field Generator.

The wrench pickup replaces the knife and can be used in the same way, but can also repair your team’s vehicles. The Bio Field Generator also replaces the knife and is deployed like a proximity mine, sticking to walls and vehicles. It generates a nanite cloud of your team’s colour – allied troops standing within the cloud experience rapid health regeneration with the opposite occurring to the enemy.

Bring it on!

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Playstation Home is getting more appealing by the second and the way in which Resistance: Fall of Man, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and Warhawk will utilize it is nothing short of awesome.

The Playstation Home portal for Resistance will function like some sort of museum, allowing players to use their avatars to explore some unforeseen areas from the game and experience bonus content such as back story. This is an absolutely ingenious way to further flesh out the game’s story while keeping the experience on the console.

The folks over at Naughty Dog will be allowing you to explore Uncharted’s world with your Home avatar without any fear of being shot, in addition to providing you with a supplementary Uncharted mini-game. It’s a 2D side-scroller that’s been described as “reminiscent of both Contra and Out of This World.”

Finally, the features that Warhawk will utilize with Home are by far the most exciting. The Home lobby for the game will act as a military war room in which players can get together and discuss battle plans, to the extent of even using a 3D map of the level and little army men avatars to lay out their tactics in 3D. This brings to my mind the scene in Star Wars Episode IV in which the Rebel Alliance discuss their strategy to bring down the Death Star. My heart just skipped a beat due to all this excitement.

According to Kotaku, Sony is pitching ideas like these to developers to get more out of their games. If these three titles are any indication, we have a lot to look forward to with Home.

What does the Warhawk v1.3 free update bring? Along with two new troop weapons, there’s an easier way to set up matches with your friends, trash talk with your enemy, and oh, just a little thing called Home integration…

Yes, you heard me right. Home integration will be coming with v1.3 and the game’s creator, Dylan Jobe, tells us how this will exactly work. With the release of v1.3 patch, players will be able to form groups, meet in their Home apartments, discuss tactics, and then launch a game of Warhawk…all together!

This is the most detailed information we’ve had about game integrations with Home, and the ability to launch into a game with your friends straight from your apartment is just the type of integration we want.

This is how it will work. When you’re in your Home apartment, all you need to do is get out your virtual PSP, select ‘Create Game’ and pick Warhawk. From there, you can start your own player server, pick a game rotation, set server options and then launch Warhawk with all of your friends.

You can also choose to not make your game viewable to the other Warhawk players around the world, or you can make it a ‘public’ game to allow other Warhawker’s to join. Games launched from HOME show up in the global games list in an attractive gold color.

Now this isn’t the end of Home integration for Warhawk, and Dylan Jobe sounds a tad excited about what they have planned.

Now this is just the beginning of what we’re gonna to be doing with HOME and there’s some really neat stuff on the horizon. I’d love to show you more of the cool HOME stuff that we’re working on but I suspect I’d get a PR-shank to the spine…or possibly a lung.

So I gotta say that I’m actually super relieved that we’re putting in *REAL* legit value for players and *NOT* making HOME a portal for SONY to jam branding and marketing schwag down player’s throats!

As a gamer, I’m excited *and* relieved to see the direction HOME is taking.

Since the patch has been in testing for a while now, it does not appear to be a very long way off. Dylan even says they are thinking of implementing other server options, which they may not ship because they need “more play testing”. This must put a release for patch v1.3 sooner rather than later, even though now official release date has been given. What can be presumed is that the patch will be released after the release of Home, and so Home may be closer than we think.

We know there will be big Home announcements at GDC’08, but what could be a bigger announcement than “it will be available to PS3 owners in March”? Furthermore, another Warhawk downloadable pack called “Broken Mirror” is rumoured to release on March 20th, so perhaps this date can be put in your diaries for Home’s release also? We’ll keep you posted.

To find out about all of the features in this Warhawk patch, including two new weapons, new VOIP options and paint jobs, please visit the Playstation Blog.

Oh, and on your PS3 for that matter. We reported the listing of an ESRB rating for Warhawk on the PSP not long ago. Though we dreamt of an original PSP game, the reality was that the original PS1 Warhawk was released over the PSN network to be played on the PS3 and PSP.

Now the same ratings have been afforded by the ESRB for Street Fighter Alpha and Rayman for the PSP and PS3. From our experience this is a clear confirmation of both of these titles coming to the Playstation Store very soon.

So if you can’t wait for Street Fighetr IV, have a dabble with it’s big ole dad, and reminisce on the days when 2d graphics actually meant 2d.

Source: ESRB Ratings

Heavenly Sword has been updated to 1.10 and only one feature can be confirmed. Rumble.

Some impatient souls were complaining that Heavenly Sword had not joined the rumbling ranks. Ninja Theory’s PS3 offering now has (along with Warhawk which joined last week) and update 1.10 can be downloaded on start up of the game.

Other than rumbling, there are rumors that loading after death is faster and some framerate problems have been improved. I believe that this is just a placebo effect, and the problems were never that bad in the first place.

With the US Playstation Store update, which can be found here, came the 1995 original and classic Warhawk. Nice to see it joining the Warhawk Omega Dawn Booster pack that some of us can’t yet download sadly.

The original game has a Gamesranking.com average of 88%, which is a tad spectacular considering it was born in an era when games weren’t given out 10’s left, right and centre. It can now be yours to play upscaled on your PS3 and on your PSP for $5.99

Unsure of whether you want to fly back to the past? Have a look at the trailer:

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However, when you go to download Snakeball, the purchase will be confirmed but the store will not prompt you to download.

What’s going on Sony, you’ve gone a bit ga ga. These sorts of mistakes sometimes happen early on in a store update, and I don’t think any of us should be complaining if we might get some freebies.

*Update* – Snakeball was only on the Australian store, and the “offer” was soon solved with a price of AU$12.95. It has since disappeared, and whether it will return is unknown. It hasn’t made the UK update, but there is still a chance that it might appear.

Here’s the full European update:

Games/Demos:
- Toy Home (£4.99)
- Populous: The Beginning (£3.49) (An EA PS1 Game)
- Timeshift MP demo

DLC:
Warhawk
- Omega Dawn Expansion Pack (£3.99)
Guitar Hero III
- Boss Battle Pack (free)
Motorstorm
- Holiday Paint Job (free)

Trailers:
- Sky Diving trailer
- Devil May Cry 4 TGS 2007 trailer
- Sega Rally trailers (Canyon trailer, Arctic trailer)
- Kane and Lynch trailers x5
- Assassin’s Creed TV Spot trailer
- Grand Theft Auto IV trailer

Movie trailers:
- CJ7

Others
- High Stakes Poker wallpaper
- Uncharted wallpaper
- Pain wallpapers x4
- Retro theme
- Nature theme
- Manga theme
- Pixels theme

And here is the full US Playstation Store update:

Games
- Toy Home ($9.99)
- Warhawk PS1 ($5.99)
- Trials of Topoq ($4.99)
- Mesmerize: Distort ($1.99)
-Snakeball ($9.99) (Full game can be bought in the demo)

Demos
- Snakeball
- Blacksite: Area 51

DLC
Warhawk
- Omega Dawn Booster Pack: ($7.99)
Folklore
- Holiday Add-On (free)
Motorstorm
- Holiday skin (free)
High Stakes Poker
- Add-on 1 (free)
- Add-on 2 (free)
Guitar Hero III
- “We Three Kings” – Steve Ouimette (free)
Rock Band
- “My Iron Lung” by Radiohead: ($1.99)
- “Buddy Holly” by Weezer: ($1.99)
- “Brass in Pocket” a cover of The Pretenders: ($1.99)

Videos
- GT5 Prologue – “Sizzle Trailer”
- DMC4 – “Final Trailer”
- Warhawk – “Omega Dawn Trailer”
- PS3 TV spots – “Only On”; “Universe”
- THPG – “Mike V’s Skater Story”
- Turok – “Dino Mauling”
- PSP Feature video
- Uncharted – Animation video
- Strange Wilderness Trailer
- Oral Fixation Tour Trailer

Other
- Warhawk theme
- PAIN: Santa theme
- PAIN: Cookie theme

In a reply to the question “Will the downloadable content be region coded?”on the Official Playstation Blog, Dylan Jobe of Incognito responded with:

More or less yes…it’s not based on hardware region code, but based on the region where you purchased the game Warhawk. USA, Europe, Japan, etc.

This presumably means that Warhawk importers need to buy the US Omega Dawn Pack, which isn’t possible since foreigners can’t buy content from the US Playstation Store.

There may be a get around, since there is an online Warhawk store which will prompt you to buy the pack. The store might recognise that you have a US copy of Warhawk and thus forward the US pack to you. However, this would make the region-coding slightly pointless.

I for one am not willing to buy the pack with my hard earned monies to discover if this does indeed work, even though the pack appears to be up early. I should have grabbed it when it was free.

Leave us a comment if you’re in the same situation.

Along with the v1.2 update released today came an in-game store, where the new Omega Dawn Booster pack could be bought from. However, Europeans were treated to the pack for 0.00 Euro’s – that’s right it was free and now some lucky buggers are flying in the new map right now.

This news was unfortunately posted on the Official Playstation forums and is now unavailable. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to buy the pack for $7.99 or £3.99.

Dylan Jobe also revealed yesterday that new booster packs will likely follow if the demand is there.

*Update 1* – Some are reporting that The Booster Pack is available for download right now, but you’ll have to pay.

*Update 2* - Dylan Jobe has confirmed the Booster pack is on the US Store and that they are working on bringing it back to Europe (it was taken down after some lucky peeps were getting it for free.)

Could it be that like Lair, there is going to be some remote play between the PS3 version of Warhawk and the PSP? Imagine playing Warhawk at work on your PSP, or even on the train! However, this possibility sounds slightly unlikely, since PSP players going against couch dwellers seems a tad unfair.

Instead I hazard the guess that it will be the original PS1 Warhawk released onto the Playstation Network, that can be played on the both the PS3 and PSP.

Then again it could be a Warhawk game created especially for the PSP. But a single-player Warhawk game would rub it right in for those who hoped to see such a thing on the PS3.

Via Neogaf

Warhawk is set to get even more intense this month with the arrival of the Operation: Omega Dawn downloadable booster pack. It will feature an entirey new map called the Omega Factory, which will have 5 map configuration. This is the largest map to date and is set at the eery dark of early dawn, even including sections of the map that can only be accessed via flight – increasing the vertical nature of Warhawk battles.

To add to this Warhawk will be getting a new vehicle – the KT-424 Combat Dropship. This can transport upto 7 soldiers and 1 vehicle, and is lined with powerful turrets so nobody is left out. Furthermore, it has a new deadly weapon – the MBEC-3 Heavy Support Cannon.

The original maps have also been modified in order to incorporate this new vehicle, completely turning Warhawk’s multiplayer experience on its head for Christmas.

So how does all of this play? A member of Neogaf has got his hands on a review copy of the update and expresses his thoughts on the dropship in Warhawk’s first expansion pack:

- The dropship has two flight modes, similar the Warhawks. However, the dropships two flight modes are similar in that the both ask you to maneuver the beast in hover mode. Let’s call them Cruise mode and Combat mode.

- In Cruise mode you are fairly fast. Not as fast as a Warhawk of course, but more than a jeep on the ground. It take some time to get to max speed though (slow acceleration). In Combat mode, you still hover, but move much much slower and have the 6 cannos out; 3 canons per side.

- When using the right stick you can move the crosshair 360 degrees around the Dropship. If you shoot while you are already pointing the crosshairs to one side, the 3 canons on that side shoot. But if you are pointing forward and then shoot, the Dropship will drift in the air, so that it rotates 90degrees to start shooting with side cannons in the direction your crosshair is pointing

- Whatever the flight mode, you can pick up tanks or jeeps by just hovering over them and pressing Circle. You release them by pressing Circle again. However, you cannot toss them down from the stratosphere. You need to be at a dismount altitude to be allowed to release (similar to dismounting from a warhawk).

- Now this is interesting. In order to change position within the Dropship, pilot or one of the 6 side turrets, you have to press Square + D-pad direction as usual, but you cannot do this mid-air. You have to be close to the ground to move around the ship.

- Missile launchers can rotate 360 degrees, as well as almost 90 degrees up and down. They can basically cover the Dropship from enemies coming from whatever direction. Turrets cannot be operated if Dropship is in Combat mode (canons out).

- OMFG is the sound of this beast awesome. It’s makes some kind of whom-whom-whom like an alien anti-grav engine. And the rhythm of that beat gets faster as you accelerate. It’s really scary just to pilot it.

- There are no Chernovan or Eucadian Dropships per se, but the livery of the Dropship changes depending on the faction of the pilot on it. For example, it’s black and red when manned by Chernovans, or green and brown when manned by Eucadians.

- The dropships hull is very strong. It took 15 Warhawk missiles and plenty of gun shooting to destroy a parked Dropship.

- In addition, Dropships come equipped with 3 Chaffs. These and machine guns are are the only weapons the pilot can use – you cannot collect any weapons like you can in warhawks. Just energy and more chaffs.

We can’t wait for this update and Ripten.  And low and behold some videos f the update in action have arrived from Gamersyde, so go and have a dabble at them here.

Source: Neogaf

Game Director Dylan Jobe’s updated Playstation.blog with an announcement that the Warhawk Booster Pack, entitled “Omega Dawn,” is finished, save for some last minute testing. In the post, he gushes like a mother proud of her straight-A child over the expansion and let’s slip just how much it will cost you.

Omega Dawn’s key content consists of a new nighttime (technically early “dawn,” hence the pack name) map called “Omega Factory” (seen below) and the KT-424 Combat Dropship, a vehicle that apparently sprung out of the idea of having “multiplayer boss battles.” Like a flying tank, the new dropship sports some thick armor, enough gun turrets for all the infrantry riding inside, and the ability to carry ground vehicles across the map. I can already imagine some crazy broadside battles in the sky!

What’s great is that although the new map is tailored for dropship use (some areas can only be accessed by it), all of the other levels will feature a new, expanded layout to take advantage of it, as well.

Several other tweaks may also come along with the expansion, which Jobe says will run about $7.99. Since it hasn’t technically “gone gold” yet, he’s reluctant to give a firm date for its release on PSN, but cites that it’s still on track for some time in December.

Source: [Playstation.blog]

By now you have most likely heard that this game will be available in stores at $59.99 with a free Bluetooth headset and can also be downloaded online via the Playstation Online Network for $40.00 — headset not included of course. With five maps available upon release and four game modes to chose from, you may feel a bit limited at first, but the game offers a great mix of different gameplay experiences wrapped into one.

The development team behind Twisted Metal series is back with a PS3 exclusive that promises to feed your need for intense multiplayer action. Be it on the ground or in the air, this game is flat out fun to play and surprisingly addictive. There is something about running around and then hoping into a plane, flying, landing, and then running around some more that makes up for the games lack of additional maps. As hectic as all of that may sound, the game is very well balanced.

The key to Warhawk’s successful execution of organized chaos starts with the games extremely well thought out level design. This includes meticulous attention to detail and dynamic weapon placement that varies based on game mode and player count. Framrate is smooth and the overall look and feel is slightly stylized and esthetically pleasing.

If you are fan of nonstop action then this title will definitely float your boat. The game offers a good mix of weapons, aircraft, tanks, and other ground artillery. Each weapon has its pros and cons requiring gamers to think quickly and make timely decisions to counter their attackers.

Gamers enter each match equipped with a pistol, two grenades, and a knife. While other weapons are available and scattered about the map, the default items at your disposal upon spawning can still be very powerful if used properly. At close range the pistol and knife can prove to be extremely deadly, and who doesn’t love a good grenade kill?

If a more strategic experience is what you are after then Warhawk may have you pressing the eject button and pulling the cord on your schutte. This is not to say that the game lacks the strategic aspect completely. Warhawk has moments where you and your teammates will need to “hold down the fort” but for the most part it is balls to the wall arcade like action.

If you love to snipe (and who doesn’t) the days of complaining that there are no good spinning spots are over because one quick jump into an aircraft and that perfect spot is all yours. Air strikes are always fun and Warhawk delivers some of the best if you can manage to pull them off. The strike is called in binocular mode (similar to COD3) however that is where the similarities end. In Warhawk you will need to lock onto the enemy for a good three seconds. While that may not seem like a very long time, the giant yellow beam of light that connects your current location to the enemy screams “hey guys I am over here” and you really don’t want that kind of attention now do you.

The four game modes are far from vanilla. For example, one game mode revolves around capturing and controlling large zoned areas of land. In this mode, gamers must constantly monitor their borders, communicate with teammates, and play as a team in order to prevent enemies from capturing territories that compromise their own.

By default, capture the flag has a built in twist that requires your team wait twenty seconds before recapturing your own flag after killing the would be thief who stole it. Settings such as this can be altered, but are examples of the type of predicaments within the game that may call for situational strategy.

In short though, there is really are no severe penalties for death within the game and this aspect alone could be the games single biggest downfall as it makes strategy difficult to implement at times. The multiplayer exclusive game delivers an experience that is impressive and relatively lag free. Warhawk offers a unique gameplay experience that aims to keep you entertained, running late for work and calling in sick, for at least a few months.