Sony is making yet another one of its multiplayer games "free-to-play." Next week, the PlayStation Store will feature a free trial of Killzone 3's multiplayer mode. Released as a standalone app, the PSN download will include "all the maps" from Guerrilla's shooter, and will be playable up until an undisclosed level cap.

Read more: $14.99 for the full multiplayer experience »

If your expanded belt notch wasn’t indication enough, we live in a land of plenty, and Thanksgiving is a celebration of that. The day after Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is a celebration of finishing up that cold turkey and stuffing before it develops a growth. Just like we need to clear out the fridge today, the long weekend makes a good time to clear out our gaming back-log.

We’re in the midst of a bountiful game harvest, and everyone wants to play the latest and greatest to be part of the zeitgeist. But don’t forget, the calendar year has twelve full months, and finishing a game is gratifying in a way few activities are.

We’ve compiled a list of games that might have been overlooked, passed by, or left unfinished this year.

Read more: Six great videogame leftovers of 2011 »

While it’s become impossible to ignore the dwindling size of the Tokyo Game Show, it hasn’t lost its ability to spark my enthusiasm for video games. During day one of the show I found a couple of games up to the task, and picked up a few new tidbits of information on the Vita, which the tech geek in me more excited for every time I see it. Here are the highlights.

Read more: Project Draco, Steel Battalion, and more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

After a long hiatus, the Daily Filter has returned to Shacknews. For its revival we've decided to bring out the big guns, including trailers for new Killzone 3 DLC, and new videos for Shadows of the Damned, the Kinect-enabled title Rise of Nightmares, Lord of the Rings: War in the North, NCAA Football 12, Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, the horror title Amy, the third-person action game The Cursed Crusade, and screens for the downloadable title Aero-Cross. Read more »

Four new maps are being added to Killzone 3 next week via the next DLC pack, "From the Ashes." Players will get two Guerrilla Warfare maps and two Warzone maps. The third downloadable add-on to Killzone 3 will be available on the PlayStation Store on June 21st for $4.99.

If you haven't purchased any of the DLC so far, you might be interested in a new bundle that will also be available on June 21st. The DLC Bundle Pack combines "From the Ashes" with the two previously-released map packs--"Retro" and "Steel Rain"--into one package that costs $9.99. It's a rather reasonable price for eight new maps. Read more »

A new week is almost upon us and, with it, a new round of video game releases shall arrive. Next week's goodies include weather-altering RTS Elements of War, tower defense-FPS Sanctum, Patapon 3, the PS3 and 360 editions of ghoulish dance 'em up Michael Jackson: The Experience, and Magicka's 'Vietnam' downloadable content.

Here's the list: Read more »

Killzone 3 is getting a bit of downloadable content soon, along with a patch to boot. The official blog announced that the 'Steel Rain' pack will be available today for European fans for €4,99, and on April 12 in the US for $4.99. In Europe, PlayStation Plus users will get it free if they grab it in the first month. Read more »

Video game fans! You manly, manly men, who sprout great bristling men's beards overnight, which you must shave with men's razors held in your man's hands. Yes, all of you reading this with your man's eyes. You, gentlemen, can get free downloadable content for several Playstation 3 games through a promotion with Edge and Schick shaving products. Read more »

The market research firm NPD Group released its retail-only video game industry data for February 2011 last night. Call of Duty: Black Ops took the top spot yet again, making it the top-selling game in history at 13.7 million units in the U.S. alone (via IndustryGamers). Marvel vs. Capcom 3 took second place, followed by the strangely ubiquitous Just Dance 2.

Also notably, Dead Space 2 hung onto a decent slot, while newcomers Bulletstorm and Killzone 3 made respectable debuts considering they were launched late in the reporting cycle. Read more »

Getting to the third game in a trilogy stands as quite an accomplishment. For Killzone, though, it's been an unusual story. The original game feels like a lifetime ago, and it stands out in my memory mostly for trying to do more than the PS2 hardware could handle, resulting in a game that didn't play all that well. The PlayStation 3 cured that problem for Killzone 2, but its release timing left it in the shadow of Resistance 2; a situation made all the more ironic when it turned out to be the better of the two.

Everything seems to finally align for Killzone 3.The developers have the hardware to match their aspirations, and with the added benefit of one game already on the PS3, they know how to really use it. It is the game of the moment and won't face an in-house rival for players, particularly of importance for multiplayer. Killzone 3 takes advantage of the situation with a single-player campaign that while campy sci-fi never lacks for excitement and a well-developed multiplayer suite that should become an online staple for PS3 players. Read more »

The Killzone 3 beta period has ended, and with it Guerrilla Games has issued a list of features that will be coming to the final game in patches after it has launched.

"Shortly after" release, we should see patches for unranked custom games for private and clan matches, a bevy of new custom game options, clan options, balance adjustments and color-blind support, among others. We particularly like the note claiming that "overly enthusiastic death screams will be toned down." Come on, a guy can't die enthusiastically anymore? Read more »

Killzone 2 multiplayer maps 'Salamun Market' and 'Blood Gracht' are the two arenas that have been "thoroughly updated and reworked" for Killzone 3's 'Retro Map Pack' DLC, developer Guerrilla Games has revealed.

Read more »

We hate to be the bearers of bad news but it appears that shooter fans will have to wait a full 24 hours longer than they expected to participate in the Killzone 3 multiplayer beta.

"The open beta was originally set to begin on Wednesday, February 2nd, but will now be available on Thursday, February 3rd at 10:00 AM Pacific Standard Time," SCEA Product Marketing Manager TJ Consunji wrote on the PlayStation Blog. To make up for the horrific snafu, Sony's official source of all things PlayStation is going to be giving away 60 Killzone 3 Limited Helghast Edition sets. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today's Filter is short but sweet, packing new media for Killzone 3, The 3rd Birthday, Homefront, and Total War: Shogun 2. Read more »

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.

Today's Filter features media for Bulletstorm, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, Killzone 3, Trials HD, Dead or Alive Dimensions, Dive to the Titanic, Breach, Guild Wars 2, Crusader Kings II, Swarm, Shift 2 Unleashed, and Rift. Read more »