A PSN version of Jonathan Blow's critically-acclaimed indie platformer, Braid, was revealed a couple of months ago when some eagle-eyed observers noticed a PS3 listing for it on the German USK. Today, Hothead Games announced that PS3 owners will finally be able to play the game next week.

Like Castle Crashers, Jonathan Blow's poignantly beautiful platformer Braid made waves when it hit the Xbox Live Arcade last year. Again just like Castle Crashers, it's now heading to the Sony PlayStation 3 console.

If the current listing by the USK board - that'd be Germany's counterpart for ESRB - is to anything to take from, it looks like GameLoft is moving up the pace of mobile development and seeking out bigger markets. Brain Challenge, a pretty popular game that started out on mobile platforms and eventually hit the iPod, DS, and Xbox 360 (via XBLA), has just been rated on the USK as games headed for the PSP, PS3, and Wii.

German fans have reason to rejoice. Electronic Arts has clarified with Eurogamer.de that the initially reported news on Dead Space (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) being banned in Germany is not true. Read up at the full article.

Here are some new screenshots for the upcoming horror-themed FPS Clive Barker's Jericho straight from Codemasters. The game will be hitting retail stores on October 26 for platforms Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

A demo for each build of the title was recently released. Anyway, we believe that one of the most important things FPS titles should have is a good background story and Clive Barker's Jericho is certainly not lacking in that department.

The game features God's first creation before Adam and Eve, the Firstborn. These creatures are neither light nor dark and they are both terrible and beautiful to look at. God then banished them into the Abyss because of their imperfection.

Since then, a secret order has always trained seven warriors to prevent the Firstborn from escaping. This is where players come in as they step into the shoes of the leader of the Jericho Squad. Each member of the team possesses uncanny abilities such as clairvoyance, alchemy, and exorcism among others.

It was recently reported that Germany's rating board USK is not going to rate Clive Barker's Jericho meaning that it's not going to be advertised, displayed, and sold in the said country.

Buy: [Clive Barker's Jericho (PC)]
Buy: [Clive Barker's Jericho (PS3)]
Buy: [Clive Barker's Jericho (Xbox 360)]

News surfaced yesterday that the USK has refused to give Codemasters' Clive Barker's Jericho (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) a rating. Without a rating, the game cannot be sold to minors and cannot be displayed or openly advertised.

In response to the USK decision, Codemasters has announced that it will not be releasing the console versions of the game in Germany. Instead, only the PC version of Clive Barker's Jericho will be released in that particular territory. Here's a snippet off Codemasters' announcement:

Codemasters respects Mr Barker's creative ideas, despite the German distribution and marketing consequences for the title. Therefore Codemasters will release only the PC version of Clive Barker's Jericho in its original form for adult gamers and Clive Barker fans.

Clive Barker's Jericho is currently scheduled for an October 26 European release. Demos for all three versions of the game are coming this week.


Buy: [Clive Barker's Jericho (PC)]
Buy: [Clive Barker's Jericho (PS3)]
Buy: [Clive Barker's Jericho (Xbox 360)]

German site Heise Online reports of how the USK has denied giving Clive Barker's Jericho a rating. In Germany, for a game to not have a rating by the USK means that it cannot be sold to minors and isn't allowed to be put on display or openly advertised. So it's kind of like porn?

Moving on, some might remember that this is also what happened to Gears of War in the same region. And while Stranglehold got banned altogether, at least Jericho's still up for sale - albeit a bit restricted.

This affects all platform releases of the game: PC, PS3, Xbox 360. Now it's also interesting to note that Sony and Microsoft have signed contracts that they won't be releasing games if they didn't get a USK rating. Does this mean that the PS3 and 360 version won't be sold in Germany? If so, only the PC version could be made available. Made available for those over 18, to be specific.

Looks like the recent deluge of media flak that Take-Two Interactive has been getting won't be slowing it down. They have just announced a sequel to their mobster game Mafia and will be unveiling a trailer during the Leipzig Games Convention.

However, as of yet there's no real info on the game aside from the trailer being rated for 16 years or older by Germany's USK.

As it stands, Mafia 2 has been in development since 2003 and was first thought to to be released for the Xbox and the PS2, but it could be making a beeline for the next-gen series. No platforms have been confirmed yet though, so all we have to do is wait in anticipation.

If the new game trailer entries added in the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (or USK, the German game ratings board) site listed to be shown in Leipzig are to be taken into consideration, we're going to see Castlevania: Aria or Sorrow making a comeback, and a game named Silent Hill Orphan coming our way.

There's no other news regarding the upcoming Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow trailer, not even what platform the remake (assuming that it is indeed a remake, and not a typographical error in USK's part) will be released on, but we can just let our imagination fly and guess that Castlevania: AoS will be released for the Nintendo DS, the platform of its direct sequel, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.

As for Silent Hill Orphan, it may very well be Silent Hill 5's final name, but there's no concrete news to prove it. However, think about this: since Silent Hill sequels on the consoles are usually titled with their corresponding number - with the exception of the handheld PSP's Silent Hill: Origins - it's entirely possible that there's yet another Silent Hill video game for the handheld, for the Nintendo DS perhaps?

Other noteworthy entries that were listed in the USK are Tekken: Dark Resurrection Online and Metal Gear Solid 4 - Camp Trailer. Since the trailers are listed in the German USK game ratings board, it looks like some bombshells are going to be dropped in the upcoming Leipzig Games Convention.

A ratings post on the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle or ESRB">USK, the German entertainment software ratings organization, has spawned a rumor regarding three "upcoming" PlayStation Network video games.

So what are they? Aqua Vita, Operation Creature Feature, and Trials of Topoq. According to the list by ASK, the said video games have been tested last July 26 and have been given the white diamond icon. We won't trouble you the long German name for that rating, instead, we'll just say that it is equivalent to ESRB's "Everyone" rating.

Now, USK listed the three games with the prefix "PSN net curtain title", and some speculate that the titles are going to be shown at the Leipzig Games Convention (G|C) since they have already been rated.

Hmm... Interesting, eh? It's always good to get more downloadable games on the PlayStation 3, plus, the game titles sound a bit viral. We'll wait and see what happens at the Games Convention, or wait for official confirmation from Sony, but for now, this bit of news will stay in the Rumors bin.