Weekend Essentials 42

Catch up with exciting gamescom news, hang out with gangsters and race your way to victory this weekend.

Miss anything from gamescom?

If you missed any of the action, news and excitement from gamescom 2010 in Cologne, Gemany last week, be sure to keep your eyes on PlayStation Blog. Fresh videos have been added, including interviews with the developers of Killzone 3, LittleBigPlanet 2 and MotorStorm Apocalypse.

Also on PlayStation Blog this week is the Friday Debate, prompting you to discuss the optimal length of a game. Do you like to indulge in hours on end in role playing games or prefer a quick blast on a minis title?

Make yourself heard at blog.eu.playstation.

"How am I funny?"

Take a trip to 1950s America in Mafia II as petty criminal Vito, the son of a poor immigrant who wants to make his name on the streets and leave his poverty-stricken childhood behind. Along with your friend Joe, you have to prove yourself worthy of the notorious mafia as you take part in daring robberies, life-threatening shootings and fierce car chases. Climb the mafia ladder and see if you can hack it as a top American gangster.

If you're not an experienced videogame mobster, check out the Mafia II demo guide for some tips on how to handle yourself in the world of organised crime, and download the demo from PlayStation Store for a taster of this adult-themed game.

Get your hands on Mafia II now, and find out how it feels to be a made man.

Kill or be killed

Play as two violently disturbed criminals, desperate to escape from Shanghai's gritty underworld in the 18 rated Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days. Former mercenary Kane and psychopathic, self-medicated Lynch are marked men: the police are on their tails, former allies and violent gangsters are hunting them down and someone has abducted Lynch's girlfriend.

Experience impressive documentary-like visuals, furious action and extreme tension when you begin your mission in Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days.

Revenge cuts deep

Staying with the themes of gangs and vengeance, PlayStation Network has a brutal arcade title releasing this weekend. Strictly for adults, Shank sees you take revenge on the only family that you have ever known after the death of your beloved, in a classic tale of gangland betrayal.

Utilise your knowledge of gang warfare and string together endless combos of mayhem to battle your way through the ruthless criminal circuit.

Download Shank from PlayStation Store and start reaping some retribution.

Tear up some tracks

Racing junkies, get set. There are two great titles for you to download from PlayStation Store this weekend.

In pole position is PixelJunk Racers: 2nd Lap. Speed into the action and take part in 30 challenges and multiplayer tournaments over ten different tracks. Can't get enough? We thought so. You'll also find a PixelJunk Racers: 2nd Lap theme, wallpaper and trailer to download from PlayStation Store.

If brutal off-road racing is more your style, why not take MotorStorm 3D Rift for a spin? Put the pedal to the metal across ten dangerous circuits including Beachcomber, Kanaloa Bay and Colossus Canyon, and take the MotorStorm Festival to a whole new dimension in amazing stereoscopic 3D.

Start revving your engines at PlayStation Store now.

Oscar's Lobster Mania

Roll up, roll up! There is something fishy going down in PlayStation Home this weekend and you're invited!

Oscar's Lobster Mania is a wonderfully bizarre mini game where you aim your lobster at the target, judge the distance and then catapult it through the air. The more lobsters on target, the higher your score, meaning you'll progress further through the weird and wacky levels of shellfish fun.

You can find Oscar's Lobster Mania in the shopping centre situated on the waterfront in PlayStation Home, and play the first level absolutely free. You can then purchase yourself a rather snazzy lobster outfit, and be in with a chance of winning 14 rewards for your PlayStation Home apartment.

Check out PlayStation Home for some snappy seaside shenanigans!

Keep an eye on PlayStation Blog at blog.eu.playstation.com for the latest PlayStation news as it happens.

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