"This year it's all about bite-size, full-fat fun. Perfectly-formed games that don't trouble your wallet. Mini-delights. You might think Metal Gear Solid 4 or Grand Theft Auto IV will stand out as the pinnacles of gaming in 2008, but the real stars of these 12 months are the 12 games we've listed below. And not one of them should cost more than a console joypad.

RED LYNX TRIALS 2
On PC | Out Now

A great example of how being cheap doesn't cheapen a game, Red Lynx Trials 2 initially cost ..."

"Hello again, PlayStation.Blog readers. I’m back with another echochrome extra-level update. Twenty free, new puzzles are making their way to your PS3 over the next two weeks.

The first ten will appear beginning tomorrow, and the second set of ten will debut in another week. So if you haven’t played through the last set of free levels – now is the time! And if you haven’t downloaded this crazy perspective puzzle game from the PLAYSTATION Store yet, what are you waiting for?

Once again, t..."

"echochrome’s Associate Producer Kumi Yuasa revealed on the Official Playstation Blog that demos of the game will be available for download starting tomorrow on the PS Network for both PS3 and PSP. The demos will take you through a brief tutorial and give you the basic idea of how to progress through the puzzles.

Yuasa also said that each of the PS3 and PSP final versions of echochrome (preview + video) will feature 56 exclusive levels and that players will be able to create their own puzzl..."

"The strong lineup of games doesn’t stop there. Many of you have been hearing rumblings about a video service that will allow you to download full-length TV shows and movies via PLAYSTATION Network for North America. While I don’t have any new announcements here for the PlayStation Nation, it’s already been confirmed that we’ll be offering a video service for PS3 in a way that separates the service from others you’ve seen or used. Ultimately the goal of the PLAYSTATION Network service will be ..."

"01. Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage (DS) - 242,000 / NEW
02. Deca Sports (Wii) - 65,000 / NEW
03. Armored Core: For Answer (PS3) - 54,000 / NEW
04. SimCity DS 2: Kodaikara Mirai e Tsudzukumachi (DS) - 49,000 / NEW
05. Wii Fit (Wii) - 48,000 / 1,752,000
06. Tales of Rebirth (PSP) - 47,000 / NEW
07. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) - 41,000 / 1,490,000
08. Crayon Shin-Chan: Arashi o Yobu Cinema Land (DS) - 35,000 / NEW
09. DS Bimoji Training (DS) - 35,000 / 101,000
10. Time Hollow: Uwareta Kako..."

"If you're intent on getting an early run of Echochrome, then you may want to keep an eye out on the region's PlayStation Network. SCEJ has recently announced that they will be releasing a demo of this puzzle title for both the PSP and PlayStation 3 on March 6 (Thursday) next week. That's 13 days before the full game's release.

The Echochrome demo for the PSP is expected to be downloadable from Japan's PlayStation Spot locations, and the PlayStation Store (either PSP or PC). The demo's Play..."

"Echochrome, the elegant black and white puzzle game coming to the Playstation 3 next year, has five simple rules to advance through each stage. We can reveal them for the first time here at Ripten.com

In Echochrome you don’t control the mannequin figure, you control the canvas itself. By changing the perspective, tilting and turning the level you can guide the mannequin safely through the levels, aided by shadow guides which act as progress points on your path.

Before we reveal the fiv..."

"We'll be getting our hands on echochrome tomorrow. However, early previews suggest that the Escher-inspired puzzle game includes a level editor, so that players can craft their own diabolical designs. The interface, we assume, is similar to the original PC program that this upcoming game is based on. (Check it out here.)

While the game will hit both PSP and PS3 in Japan, MTV has learned that the game is only confirmed as a PSN (for PS3) download in the US. Hopefully, the kind folks at Sony..."

"Meet the Object Locative Environment Coordinate System: the heart of Echochrome.

Developed by Japanese designer Jun Fujiki, his OLE Coordinate System is directly inspired by the famous paintings of M.C. Escher, going on to say that his program allows users to "create and experience their own Escher-esque worlds." The concept of eye tricks is the fundamental core of the OLE Coordinate System, making it so objects drawn at one angle have one meaning, while looking at it from another view ca..."