PS3 Fanboy

The classic board game, Catan, is set to arrive on the PlayStation Network soon. This will be an original version of the game (not a port of the XBLA title), and is helmed by Game Republic, developers of Genji and Folklore. The download is scheduled to hit Japan on December 18th for 1200 yen. The game will expand to other territories, although a release date has not been set.

Although only one player will be supported offline, the online multiplayer mode will allow for four players to go against each other. Surprisingly, the board game will feature both 1080p graphics and 5.1 surround sound.

[Thanks, Geb B.!]

We're in two minds, then, about what we can expect to see coming in 2010. Game Republic is a great developer who, ignoring Genji II, has a great PS3 legacy. On the other hand, what was the last good movie-based game you played? We cautiously look forward to hearing more.

The downloadable Japanese PSN title Dark Mist is getting an expansion: Dark Mist: The Depths of Darkness. Priced at ¥500 ($4.75), this update adds three new characters and a four-player online mode. The download is 148MB large.

Dark Mist is an action adventure game that was supposed to hit the EU PSN, but has not yet made it's way over there. A North American release had never even been mentioned; however, we're hoping this interest in making new content for the game might somehow spark an interest in bringing it over our way. Optimistically hopeful much? Yes.

Downloadable content for games released a few months ago is cool. Folklore has taken this idea and sprinted through a marathon -- it's had so much extra stuff available since the game launched! This is something much cooler though. Imagine designing your own monster and having it featured in the game as a free download. Yep, it's like the old Mega Man days where you designed the bosses and the developers mostly ignored you, except the opposite. The PlayStation Blog interviewed the person who created Folklore's newest folk named Quasarilli -- here's what "Uridicy" said about the situation.

"Art and games have always been a hobby of mine and as an aspiring game artist it is very exciting for me to see a professional 3D model of my creature Quasarilli." Uridicy goes on to express gratitude about and how the design was originally thought up. "I tried to incorporate some tribal elements with the mask like face, feathers, and horns." As for the skill set, Uridicy decided that stealing items would prove a useful skill for the game. This is true, since the game does require you to get a ton of items to level your other critters. We're glad stuff like this exists. It really brings gaming to a different level and will welcome with open arms any other similar contests in the future.

Not much has been shown of Game Republic's Dark Mist, despite it being released on the Japanese PlayStation Network early last month. However, this new gameplay video really shows what we can expect. As Artemis, the warrior of light, you're tasked with traveling through dangerous dungeons to stop the demon king in shrouding the world in darkness.

To do that, you'll use such amazingly named powers as Split Star, Meteor Flare and the awe-inspiring Lightning Comet! The game is supposed to be released in Europe sometime this month, but we still haven't heard of a U.S. release as of yet. Stay tuned!

European fans of Folklore were asked to draw new creatures for Game Republic's PS3 adventure. The Malion emerged victorious, and will appear in a future downloadable expansion for the game. The Malion is certainly far more attractive than the winner of the American contest, the Quasarilli. However, it'll certainly be interesting to see how these two creatures are brought to life by Game Republic and implemented in the game.

While most of yesterday's giant PSN list has been eagerly awaited (or is at least recognisable) one item had us scratching our heads. What is Dark Mist? Sony have usually been quite vocal about their PSN downloadable titles but this has had very little said about it - until now. The official Japanese webpage for the game is up and reveals Dark Mist as an action game developed by Game Republic (Folklore, Toy Home and Genji 2).

The game will weigh in at 447mb and will sell for 800 yen when it arrives on the PSN Store in Japan on the 8th of November. Europeans can expect the game to be available on the EU PSN Store sometime in December, though there's no word yet on when it will be released in America. Visit the website to see some (very small) screenshots of the game and some Amano-esque concept art.

We didn't know it was supposed to be a mystery, but apparently the developers behind PS3's new racer, Toy Home, weren't announced at TGS. The game was held in some high acclaim, so the lack of knowing who was behind the title was disorienting for some. Sony has finally revealed who's to blame for making another winning game and it's none other than Game Republic -- the group behind Folklore and Genji.

The game, planned as a Japanese-exclusive download for now, has Sixaxis support for steering the cars, but also will include support for rumble. This will be the first downloadable title to support rumble, we think. There's not much else to know about the game. You race, it's cute and fun, and it's probably going to stick around in Japan only. If you've got a Japanese account, though, good for you as you'll get a neat game to play this Winter.