PS3 Home Goes Cyberpunk With Sodium One
It's a shame Sony didn't have something like Sodium One ready to go when it first launched the Home beta, because it definitely looks like one of those online experiences that will be even more fun and addicting with more in-Home buddies.
That is, the launch of Sodium One looks to finally fulfill the promise of Home as blending a social environment with addictive gaming in a persistent space. The idea being that users take their Home avatars to a high-tech city on a vast salt desert, where the appropriately sassy AI, VICKIE, gives them objectives and missions similar to any MMO. These objectives revolve around the minigames being developed by the world's developers, Outso (who are responsible for the Uncharted, Infamous, and Warhawk in-Home environments), the first of which features hover-tanking fun in "Salt Shooter."
The Sodium One space seems to be easy to explore, but with the (increasingly popular) model of having extra content as pay-to-play. For example, "Salt Shooter" seems to allow just anyone to play the first five levels free, but additional levels and certain tank-customizing parts will require a PSN purchase.
However, Sony notes that 150 random users per day for at least the next week will be receiving a full unlock of "Salt Shooter" just for entering the space and saying hi to VICKIE. So if you want your free game, starting chatting up those androids! (Note: Mandroid presence not yet confirmed as of press time.)
Hit the jump for the full press release and a link to the Sodium One trailer, featuring "Salt Shooter!"
Today marks the next evolutionary step of the PlayStation Home platform, as we release a massive 50 level vehicle combat game wrapped inside a highly-interactive and expansive social gaming environment known as Sodium One- a truly revolutionary gaming experience developed by Outso Ltd. and published by Lockwood Publishing Ltd. This entertainment event, set in a future of advanced technology where man and machine meet on a vast salt plain to turn deadly battle into extreme sport, resides only in the ever-growing world of PlayStation Home. And come opening day, you will want to be the first person in. That is, of course, if you want to be the last person standing.A new benchmark for social gaming in PlayStation Home, Sodium One will launch with an explosive game known as Salt Shooter - a 50 level combat challenge where players can collect items to level up gameplay and strategically customize hovertanks with weapons, armor, and countermeasures. These level-ups can be obtained in a variety of ways, including meeting in-game objectives, trading resources collected in the Sodium world, and purchasing items that unlock upgrades in the Sodium environment (such as the tank pilot jackets, which grant access to additional levels of the game, leaderboards, and the pilots' VIP lounge). All of this is built upon an MMO framework that includes additional games like Desert Quench and Scorpion Stomp, associated rewards and collectibles, and personal questing adventures, all of which are tracked by the Sodium AI Information Android known as VICKIE. The above games make for a truly next-level PlayStation Home space that centers on the concept of offering persistent objectives and long-term rewards to the PlayStation Home community, so users may work together to reach score targets and unlock future content and continuously upgrade their personal gaming experiences.
A dynamic and immersive gaming environment that will continue to expand over time by offering new games, community events, and virtual items, Sodium One is an experience unique to the PlayStation Home platform. By leveraging the computing power of the PS3, Outso Ltd. has succeeded in creating a graphically-rich, community-based game that is leaps ahead of anything offered on other consoles. To celebrate this momentous event, we will be making a limited number of unique voucher codes - good for a full unlock of the entire Salt Shooter combat game - available to 1,050 PlayStation Home community members that explore the space during the first 7 days (150 users per day). All you have to do is log in to PlayStation Home, enter the Sodium One space and interact with VICKIE for your chance to unlock the full game.
We are proud to join you, the PlayStation Home community, as we embark on a journey to the next level of social gaming on the PS3. So make sure you log into PlayStation Home today to take part in all that this amazing new gaming world known as Sodium One has to offer. And, as always, stay tuned to the official PlayStation.Blog for updates regarding the Sodium One space and all other events and content scheduled to appear in PlayStation Home throughout what is sure to be an incredibly exciting new year.
Introducing Sodium One: The Next Evolution of PlayStation Home [PlayStation Blog US]
faePuck
Posted to Video Games on 17 December 2009
Other stuff like this: home, mmo, outso, ps3, salt shooter, scea, social gaming, sodium one
