Downfall of the Playstation Network

Angry Birds on Playstation Network this week

Tetris headed to Playstation 3

   According to the brain-related research of Professor Osamu Shinohara of Tokyo University, playing Tetris stimulates the frontal lobe of the brain and may prevent dementia. This bit of information isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of Tetris since observing the mating ritual of the humpback whale is probably just as stimulating... in terms of the frontal lobe. In any case, Tetris is a ubiquitous game and gamers have played hundreds of variants, clones, public domain iterations, and sequels through the years. Our frontal lobes have been stimulated like the dickens.

   Just like Jello however, there's always room for Tetris and EA is planning a version for the Playstation 3 which is being developed by EA Mobile. Tetris fans can look forward to the single-player default "Marathon Mode" or get competitive with a multi-player option which allows up to six gamers to rotate blocks in "Shared," "Team Battle," and "Battle" modes. To see how your elite scores stack up against other players, a regional and global leaderboards list the scores of top players around the world. EA touts 1080p and 5.1 surround sound for a high-definition Tetris experience.

Playstation Network Down for Maintenance

   The PSN is down today from 11AM to 8PM EST for maintenance. Until the network is back again, here's a listing of what's new on the PSN for this week:

PSone Imports
Cho Aniki ($5.99)
Gaia Seed ($5.99)

Game Demos (free)
Blade Kitten Demo
Deathspank: Thongs of Virtue Demo
DJ Hero 2 Demo

Add-on Game Content
EyePet – Farm Animals DLC ($2.99)
Clash of the Titans – Zeus Challenge Quest Pack ($1.99)
Sonic Adventure DX Upgrade ($4.99)

   I already have the PS1 Cho Aniki game but for the hell of it, I'm going to download the file from the PSN for $5.99. The full listing of this week's PSN updates may be viewed on the following link: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/09/20/playstation-store-update-157/