After my article about Episode 2 was published, I received answers to interview questions I had sent out to Asuukaa and Reality Palez. So I decided to write a second installment just for their testimonials.

This first testimonial is from Reality Palez, one of the winners from Episode 2 as well as the winner from Episode 1.

BossSolidSnake: Why was it that the whole house went from being mad at Egoraptor to being mad at Suzkaiden?

Reality Palez: It’s odd, because during our time there, we all adored Ego! His comedic timing was impeccable and we all enjoyed being in his presence. So the transition (if there ever really was one) of anger from him to Suzkaiden was almost immediate for most in the loft. As for me, I got along with both of them extremely well. I spent almost 100% of my off-camera time with Ego and on-camera I was supporting Suz when nobody else would – but for more sinister reasons than she probably anticipated. Nevertheless, I had a genuine soft spot for her because while she may be loud and obnoxious, nobody should be alone in trying times.

BossSolidSnake: What went through your mind when teams were being picked for the challenge?

Reality Palez: I didn’t have much time to think since I was picked first! Joke! But to be honest, I didn’t care. I got along with everyone and would have been happy with any arrangement. I love ‘em all!

BossSolidSnake: What was it like getting to play the new Twisted Metal game?

Reality Palez: Twisted Metal was rad! The last time I had played a TM religiously was the TM2 back on PS1, but I’ve dabbled in the series since with Head-On for PSP when the system launched and Black on the PS2. I’d be lying if I said wanting to play the new TM didn’t play a huge factor in deciding to go head-to-head with Krysti for the team advantage.

BossSolidSnake: What were you thinking and feeling while representing your team against Krysti Pryde to decide who got the disadvantage?

Reality Palez: SCARED! I successfully kept my poker face intact, but I was secretly peeing myself! I underestimated Krysti! She was clearly well-versed in TM and posed a huge threat. If you pay attention to the Brothers Grim health bars during that scene, you’ll notice she’s ahead of me for the majority of the match. The only reason I won was due to some last-minute improvisation by prioritizing my secondary fire. Oh, and I didn’t actually pee myself! 

BossSolidSnake: During the challenge, what made you assume the role that you did on your team?

Reality Palez: Honestly, during the actual challenge I was pretty much irrelevant! I was just sorta along for the ride. But I found solace in knowing that I won our team the advantage, so I didn’t feel too bad about the lack of contribution on my end.

BossSolidSnake: Who did you feel was most responsible for your team winning the challenge?

Reality Palez: I think we all pulled through! Ninja and Diddy built the truck, which was undoubtedly the more difficult task – and I totally commend them for volunteering themselves for it. Poor Kwaja had to hit those three targets with a crappy, inaccurate Nerf gun AND steer the truck simultaneously. And as for Akilleez, he did all the pulling. Everyone had a role and they excelled at it. I couldn’t be more proud of every one of ‘em!

BossSolidSnake: What were your thoughts when Asuukaa was eliminated?

Reality Palez: Asuukaa’s essentially the female version of me. She knows the industry like the back of her hand and she games hardcore – she’s got the trophies to prove it. Seeing her go was hard to swallow, but keep in mind that I had an alliance with Suzkaiden and I had every intention of seeing that through.

BossSolidSnake: Anything else you’d like to add or any shout-outs you’d like to make?

Reality Palez: If SCEA decides to do a Season 4 of The Tester, which seems like a no-brainer given the show’s success – DON’T’ BE AFRAID TO AUDITION! Making my video submission was quite possibly the best decision I’ve ever made. A short 3 minute clip that I made one Sunday afternoon allowed me to take part in one of the most pivotal moments I’ll probably ever experience. I got to meet industry titans who I’ve looked up to for the majority of my life and acquaint myself with 11 others who I would subsequently call my family. 

It certainly doesn’t hurt seeing yourself on the PlayStation Network every Tuesday night either!

The following testimonial is from Asuukaa, the contestant that was eliminated on Episode 2.

BossSolidSnake: Why was it that the whole house went from being mad at Egoraptor to being mad at Suzkaiden?

Asuukaa: We were never mad at Egoraptor. On the contrary – we all think he’s a great guy to meet and hang out with! Many of us disagreed with the panel’s decision to keep him for the specific reasons they gave. If they would’ve said that they’re keeping him because he defended himself that would’ve been fine. But when they said that they’re keeping him for his fans, that reasoning irked some people.

As for Suzkaiden, she was rubbing people the wrong way from the get-go. We tried to be friendly with her, but she would end up doing something that put one or more of us off in some way. What bugged the majority of us at the very beginning was how she was latched onto Reality’s hip. It got to the point that he eventually asked me to keep her away from him (though considering his “alliance” with her, I don’t know if he said that to me because he thought I was weak too or because he actually meant it). Things like that here and there were annoying to all of us…and it went downhill from there.

BossSolidSnake: What went through your mind when teams were being picked for the challenge?

Asuukaa: “Don’t be last” was the main thought. After that, I just wanted to know what the next challenge was.

BossSolidSnake: What was it like getting to check out the new Twisted Metal game?

Asuukaa: *chuckles* Twisted Metal never really interested me, so I was indifferent to checking it out. I mean, I knew we’d be playing it at some point from the mass amount of TM propaganda within the loft…but I was hoping for something I could enjoy while kicking some ass at it. Like anything with the word “Killzone” in the title.

BossSolidSnake: What were you thinking and feeling while Krysti Pryde represented your team against Reality Palez to decide who got the disadvantage?

Asuukaa: She was kicking some serious ass. Her and Reality were neck and neck the majority of the battle and I was impressed with both, to say the least. Even when she lost, I was still very proud of her with how well she did. As for Reality, he decided to celebrate by finishing the Brothers Grimm battle…a little over-the-top on the cocky side of things, but whatever. >_<

BossSolidSnake: What were your thoughts during the challenge?

Asuukaa: I wanted to take the “slow and steady” approach, but by the time I told Suzkaiden that she’d already thrown up two panels without properly fastening them on the chassis. As the challenge was going on, I was trying to keep my frustrations in check. Hell – I was the last person of the four of us building to try to hammer the bolt in, and I did it partly to vent for a few seconds. I refused to give up, even though we were getting smoked. After we lost, I went over to the other team and congratulated them for doing an awesome job.

BossSolidSnake: Who did you feel was most responsible for your team losing the challenge?

Asuukaa: We both suffered a breakdown in communication, but Suzkaiden held more of the fault. What’s frustrating is that with how the episode is edited, all of the validity in my arguments (and the language issue was only one small facet to my argument) was removed. Like Suzkaiden actually admitting she said “houses” – even though she said she meant birdhouses. Although we both didn’t listen to our teammates for some time (and I agree that that’s one thing that cost us), when I finally did I found that she’d put a bolt into a hole much bigger that said bolt. Immediately after, I fixed the issue and we finished our cart. It was that bolt that held us up and she was the one that put it there.

BossSolidSnake: What were your thoughts when you found out that you were being eliminated?

Asuukaa: There was a comment Jaffe made early into elimination that made it quite clear Suzkaiden was staying and I was going home. After explaining that I need to understand my teammate at all times during a team challenge (and reiterating that I’m unfortunately not bilingual), he said, “Well, if you were from around here (here being California) that wouldn’t be an issue.” That was the actual comment that brought about my “No offense, David Jaffe…” reply.

When Brent told me I was eliminated, I was in complete shock. She was caught lying to the panel by the panel more than once and yet I was the one going home…I couldn’t even begin to comprehend it. Yes, we all have “passion” and passion is what Jaffe loved about Suzkaiden…but people demonstrate their passions in different ways. Her passion is loud, obnoxious, in-your-face; mine is reserved, focused, determined. Hers is extroverted; mine is introverted…and the panel thought she had passion and I didn’t. Knowing how long I’ve been an active member of the Playstation community, that was very hard to hear.

BossSolidSnake: Anything else you’d like to add or any shout-outs you’d like to make?

Asuukaa: For those that think of me as some crazy b***h (and that’s a nice version of what many are now calling me), I ask that you get to know me; you’ll find out very quickly that the kind of person I am isn’t what the show paints me to look like. Although it sickens me to see that episode (I still can’t watch it in its entirety), the awesome family I walked out with makes my experience a little better.

Shout-outs? Here’s a few Home-specific ones:
 GlassWalls - you are my hero. The number of kind things you’ve done for me from my time as an HCV (inaugural class FTW!!) to now are innumerable. I can’t begin to thank you enough.
 HCVs old and new - you’re a part of an amazing family within Home. Keep working to make Home more enjoyable for everyone.
 Homeboy79, JoannaDark, Narde15, Jim777, pasufarin, Jersquall - you guys are awesome assets to the Home Community.
 NamelessOnes/GamerIndepth - yup, I invoked the original name…as I joined them at/near the very beginning of the N1s. Great group of people.
 Homelings/Nos - *bows*
 PSHG/PSTalent - two of my favorite Home-related sites to browse!
Anyone that has the Chamber Apartment - it’s my favorite personal space to this day, so I have to give it some love.
Anyone that has the Shark Hat - because I still wear it religiously.

Thank you for having this interview, and I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the season!

I would like to thank Asuukaa and Reality Palez for sharing their thoughts and insights. Be sure to stay tuned for the Episode 3 article, coming soon.

Not sure how many people actually know this but the Silent Hill series is actually based on a real place  in the world.  Centralia, PA was the inspiration to the games and the movies of Silent Hill.  Back in the 1960′s, Centralia was a major coal mining town in America until one fateful day. Over 1,000 people lived there at the time when a trash fire was lit near the entrance of a mine shaft.  The fire traveled down and ignited a vein of coal that today is still on fire.  There were many attempts to extinguish it with no results.  It is said that the fires will eventually burn themselves out…in around 100 years give or take a decade.

In 1982, a 12-year-old boy was playing in his backyard when a sinkhole opened up and almost swallowed him up.  Thankfully his father was nearby and was able to pull him to safety.  With more sinkholes and the fumes/carbon monoxide emissions, the local government bought most of the property, but some residents refused to sell.  Now most have moved with less than 10 people still living there regardless of the dangers.

Dangers aside you can actually visit Centralia.  There are warning signs everywhere mostly saying “Go onto at your own risk!”, but other than that there is no one guarding the area.  Videos of the area can be found on YouTube as well showing a short tour.  At fist glance it seems innocent enough until you see the fissures with smoke and noxious gasses emanating from them.  Sinkholes litter the landscape making traversing the town dangerous as the ground is mostly unstable.  These and many other reasons are why Centralia was a great inspiration for the Silent Hill game series and movies.

This coming March you can re-experience the glory of Silent Hill 2 and 3, or experience it for the first time if you are new to the series.  Konami remastered both titles in full HD and touched up the voice acting as well, to make it more enjoyable and just a little extra creepy.

Play as James Sunderland in Silent Hill 2 HD while he tries to both solve the mystery of Silent Hill and find his wife.  Who, by the way, is supposed to have died years ago but somehow managed to send him a letter from the town of Silent Hill.  She says that she’s waiting for him in their special place.  As it would anyone, he’s very creeped out but at the same time curious as to what is going on.

Have your nerves shaken as you cross paths with all the nightmarish creatures of Silent Hill as James confronts his personal demons he has been running from since his wife died.  With the help of Maria, a stripper you meet while exploring and looks a lot like Jame’s dead wife, certain questions will be answered while more disturbing ones arise. Explore, solve puzzles, meet other tormented souls and fight to survive as  you unravel the mystery of why James is there and what happened to his wife.

Silent Hill 2 was a slight deviation from the story of the first title, but was picked back up again in Silent Hill 3 HD.  In this story you play as Heather Mason, daughter of Harry Mason from Silent Hill 1 who has a kind of cameo in this title.  If you played SH1 you will remember that one of the good endings is where you are given a baby because your daughter died.  The baby, as you find out in SH3, is Heather and she is not Harry’s daughter.  In a way she is kind of clone of the girl Harry chases around, she used her power to make another her before she died and gave the baby to Harry to raise being he lost his daughter.

That said he raised the child as his own and that is where SH3 comes in.  Heather slowly finds out she is a copy of the original girl and that the cult from the town of Silent Hill is  after her.  They believe that she carries their “god” in her and her soul purpose is to give him life.  She encounters monsters of all sorts in both the creepy town and in the nightmare world as she seeks the truth of who she is.  All of which comes to a climatic ending and an epic battle of good and evil.

Also being released in early March is a brand new Silent Hill game called Downpour.  It is technically Silent Hill 8, even though the last title for PS3 was SH5, because there was a PSP game and a PS2 title that came out after as well.  Although the PS2 title was more of a remake of the first Silent Hill just told from a different perspective and the game play was very different.

Like SH2, Downpour’s plot will be unrelated to other events in previous SH games.  Here you’ll follow a convict by the name of Murphy Pendleton after his prison transport veers off the road and crashes and finds himself stranded in the town of Silent Hill.  Konami went with a sightly different direction with this installment by having the story revolve around Murphy rather than the town and its history.  Also, another pleasant surprise is that the gameplay will take place in areas of Silent Hill that have never been explored before.

Other than that you can expect to see plenty of monsters, creepy environments, creepy music, both worlds of Silent Hill and of course the many puzzles you will encounter throughout the gameplay.   There will be plenty of new characters to meet and interact with, here is a short list of character names:

• Murphy Pendleton – The protagonist of the story.
• Anne Cunningham – A policewoman. Early in the game, she may fall from a cliff as a result of the player’s choices, but may return as the story progresses.
• J.P. - The ex-tour guide of Devil’s Pit. Asks Murphy if he’s been to Silent Hill before. He wears a violet jacket and appears in some places throughout the journey.
• A little girl in a red dress - bears some resemblance to Alessa Gillespie.
• Howard Blackwood - an African-American postman who also appears in the comic Silent Hill: Past Life. Seems to be quite friendly with Murphy.
• Ricks - An African-American DJ of a local radio station WLMN FM. He is seen having a conversation with Murphy.
• Unidentified boy – Appears briefly in the trailer. Might be a younger version of Murphy, though it hasn’t been confirmed.
• Jorge Munoz - Survives the bus crash and can be found later in the story. He is seen taunting Murphy during the bus trip, suggesting that the two are enemies. In one instance he is seen hanging from a noose, and in another he is violently killing a Screamer and insulting it in Spanish. Murphy interrupts thinking it to be a woman and the mustachioed inmate gets his throat slashed by the Screamer. It’s unknown if he really dies multiple times or if his deaths vary with Murphy’s actions.
• Nun – Can be found in an unknown church in the town. Murphy goes into the church at some point in the trailer.

If  you did not already know there is a second Silent Hill movie in the works that is due out sometime this year.  No actual date is set yet but the movie is in post production so maybe this summer.  The plot is going to be loosely based on SH3 with characters like Heather Mason making the big screen.  Here is a list of characters from the movie with who is playing them and a plot summary as well, provided from IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base):

Cast

Credited cast:
	Sean Bean	…	Harry Mason / Christopher Da Silva
	Malcolm McDowell	…	Leonard Wolf
	Carrie-Anne Moss	…	Claudia Wolf
	Radha Mitchell	…	Rose Da Silva
	Kit Harington	…	Vincent Carter
	Deborah Kara Unger	…	Dahlia Gillespie
	Martin Donovan	…	Douglas Cartland
	Adelaide Clemens	…	Heather Mason
	Heather Marks	…	Suki

Plot Summary

Heather Mason and her father have been on the run, always one step ahead of dangerous forces that she doesn’t fully understand, Now on the eve of her 18th birthday, plagued by horrific nightmares and the disappearance of her father, Heather discovers she’s not who she thinks she is. The revelation leads her deeper into a demonic world that threatens to trap her forever.

Winter Memory Quest

This is an easy one just accept the quest from the activity board then go to Pier Park and wait for the notification. Enjoy your animated picture frame.

RC Rally Quest

Head over to Pier Park and accept the quest then equip the RC controller. Follow the on screen notifications. Below is exactly where you need to go.

1. Go to the yacht. Its by the entrance.

2. Ride the Ferris wheel.

3. Go to Sportswalk and walk over to the bar.

4. Go to the Action District and walk over to the old house. Its on the right side of the porch.

5. Also in the Action District over by Bootlegers ’29. Go behind the cop car and to your right. Its in the corner.

6. Go to the RC Rally space. Go behind the objectives board. Its in the corner.

Congratulations you have finished the quest. You will get an RC car companion for your efforts.

Lockwood has been holding some very nice contests lately. I’m not sure if you have had a chance to be a part of one of them, but the competition is always fierce and the prizes are extraordinary. For Valentines Day, they challenged the Home community to create the perfect date. All the entries that were chosen for the final vote were perfect but unfortunately, only one can win the top prize. Congratulations Oldfragnman! visit Lockwood’s Competitions Page for more details.

The Slice range from Cucumber

Press Release from Lockwood Publishing

Slice, the latest range from Cucumber, is their most versatile yet, providing tables and sofas of slot-together shapes that can be combined to solve all your furnishing dilemmas in even the most irregularly shaped apartment!

Cucumber love bright colours and funky designs, but they also know the importance of function! Curve a sofa around a cylindrical table, use a square table to break up a row of rectangular sofas, or construct any combination you can imagine. The Slice range comes in three colours that mix and match well with each other too. Align and combine, then slice it up and start again!

Modular Segment (1 item): $0.99/€0.99/£0.79

Single Colour Set (4 items): $2.49/€2.49/£1.99

Multi Colour Set (12 items): $4.99/€4.99/£3.99

Coming up from Iron Fusion

Kojiro, Musashi, Ume and Matsu, powerful ancient robots of unknown origin arrive in PlayStation®Home next week.

Hi Everyone! Last week the EU received the PS Vita Lounge on the release of the Vita in Europe. The lounge itself is the US gamers lounge with a real nifty makeover in Vita themed colors. There is a simple game to get a Vita trophy for your Personal space as well as several spots to view videos on the Vita. Have a look at some pictures of the space.

The lounge is supposed to be updated in the future so if there are any new rewards I’ll be sure to post them.

New content this week has brought the Cutteridge Estate from Juggernaut games as well as their furniture, costumes and Thulu companion. VEEMEE debuted their War room club space and the Oscars lobster mania personal space, Saints Row costumes and clothing. Konami released secret agent costumes, Lockwood released Tembo the elephant companion and LOOT’s debuted their animal furnishings items for your personal space. No EU exclusive content was released this week.

Codeglue sponsored a photo competition of their own asking users to create a shot of the perfect Home couple, the winner has yet to be announced but here are a few pictures taken from the Home EU forums.

Next week the RC Rally game will be up and working so keep an eye out for the final quest in the winter space in case they decide to post it.

That’s all for this week, See you in Home!

I haven’t been on Home for very long but from what I can see, clubhouses are only recently starting to get attention.  It really hasn’t been that long at all since the Desert Haven was released. Desert Haven would have been a worthy personal space, much less clubhouse.  Even the furniture looked nice.

The War Room however, is a different entity. In contrast to the beauty and “style” of the Desert Haven, The War Room is all about functionality. Remember the opening scene in the 1^st Metal Gear Solid when you 1^st see the submarine where everyone is working and moving around?  It only lasts a second but that’s what I thought of when the space 1^st loaded.  It  looks like a plotting room, where the heroes (or villains) plan their next move; not too bright, moving screens with unreadable data on them (which the space actually has) and everything bathed in a red hue.

The 1^st floor is circular with a large red beam of light which contains a large, attractive and somewhat animated hologram (literally, you can see right through it) of the earth that is projected from the ground straight up into the ceiling. It makes a nice-looking centerpiece.

The walls are made up of the bulletin board and there are three ramps that lead to the 2^nd floor.  At the top of each ramp is an exit door that leads to the Hub. (Or the Aurora world, you’re prompted to pick which.) The 2^nd floor consists of a circular balcony that runs all the way around the room. It has lights (above your head) and three mini “balconies” at three even points directly across from and on either side of the podium (more on that in a moment) on the ground floor that stick out just a little bit towards the center of the room providing a clear view of the ground and podium below.

Returning to the 1^st floor there are also 9 red colored maps of the earth. There is some scrolling “writing” on some of them while others have some non moving “writing” on them, and a few have none. I’ll stop short of calling it gibberish but if you can recognize the writing as a language, drop me a line, I’m curious. They also have much smaller squares of “data” on them, all of which are designed to add to the ambiance of the space.

From the projector in the floor in the dead center of the room (which is on a slightly lower plane than the rest of the floor) the floor ramps up a bit moving towards the back of the room and on one section of this ramp lies the “commander’s podium”.

This is one of the main selling points, no that’s not right, it’s THE selling point. It’s an evolutionary leap socially for clubhouses and personal spaces. Simply put, when you use the podium, a close up (and I mean CLOSE) of your face is shown on the monitors and what you say (type) is displayed on the screens. It’s really amazing to me that this hasn’t been done before. Hopefully with the new attention being paid to clubhouses nowadays we’ll see more innovation like this in the future; in both club houses and spaces.

There’s not nearly as much room for decoration as its predecessors, and it’s not nearly as pretty as the Desert Haven but I think that’s the point. It’s drastically different and considering its only the third clubhouse ever released (at least here in the US)  it will sell very well.  Actually I think a lot of people will buy it just for the podium.

Maybe a sci-fi setting will be next, or perhaps fantasy, with only three choices at the moment there is a lot more room for variety. Lets hope we see more innovation like this, in clubs and personal spaces alike.  But for now, if its your style, I’d say nDreams has released a worthy addition to the clubhouse selection.

The Tester 3 Superfan Part 3

After accepting the quest from the activity board go to theater 2 and watch The Tester 3. Stay until the end to receive yet another hoodie. You are now one step closer to a golden trophy for your personal space.

Welcome back, it is now Week 2 of Season 3 of The Tester. Episode 2 begins with the contestants turning an apparent cold shoulder to Egoraptor, after the somewhat dubious circumstances behind him getting to stay for another week. However, a second contestant, Suzkaiden, was also getting on the nerves of the other contestants.

When Meredith showed up and announced that the theme of this week’s challenge would be Twisted Metal, the contestants were visibly excited. She then informed the contestants that Ninjanomyx and Burnnibelheim had been randomly selected as team captains and would pick their teams “school yard style”, meaning that as a result of last week’s decision to keep Egoraptor around there would be an extra person left over.

The teams were picked:

Team Sweet Tooth – Ninjanomyx, Reality Palez, Kwajamonster, Akilleezmight, and Skyd1ddy

Team Dollface – Burnnibelheim, J-Tight, Krysti Pryde, Asuukaa, and Egoraptor

Therefore, a one on one showdown would decide who would be forced to take Suzkaiden and have the disadvantage of a sixth person.

Meredith revealed that the showdown would be a Boss Battle on the brand new Twisted Metal game. Each team chose their representative, Reality Palez for Team Sweet Tooth and Krysti Pryde for Team Dollface. The two waged war against the Brothers Grimm, with Reality Palez edging out the win by mere seconds. Thus, Suzkaiden became part of Team Dollface.

Our friends at LOOT continue to out do themselves with every release.  LOOT was nice enough to provide some hands on time with their latest furniture creations.  These items, are of course coming very soon to the store near you.

First off, we got our hands on the LOOT space furniture.  These amazing items are a perfect complement to your LOOT Space Apartment. Perfectly suited to the harsh environment of space.  They also feature a complimentary color scheme to the Space Apartment.  In yet another showing of why LOOT is the best developer around they included this information in the press release: ”

Something we’d like to highlight is that, when these items are released in a few weeks, the following will be FREE to anyone that owns the Space Apartment:

Comfort Bundle – 10 items
Space Cubes (4) Bundle – 15 items
Sleek Space Bundle – 6 items
House Plant Bundle – 12 items
Space Apartment Bed
D.O.G. Red

Total = 45 items!”

That is definitely something for all of us to rejoice over.  LOOT should be commended for their unending loyalty to their customers.

We also got our hands on the pet furniture bundle.  I know what you’re thinking.  Why would you need pet furniture?  Have you ever wondered how your pet Dragosaur feels when you put him away? I  imagine he can’t be too happy with the black hole of our inventory.  These pieces definitely compliment the LOOT puppies which were released a few months ago.

The bundle features two food bowls, three dog bones, two dog houses, and four doggy beds.  Yes, the Dragosaur does enjoy the doggy bed!  All in all these LOOT products are top of the line.  These should definitely be on the top of your to purchase list along with the Space Apartment.

Welcome back to DeCode!  This special Home segment is provided courtesy of http://www.theplaystationgamers.com.  This week we discuss the latest Home update.  Including the secret agent outfits and the slew of Companions received this week.  We also discuss a glitch that occurs with the leather bikini.

Go to http://www.theplaystationgamers.com to hear the full show where we talk about,  Resident Evil 6.  Next, we discuss game of the year contenders.  Portal 2 <3.  And finally we do a brief talk about Batman: Arkham City.  We also discuss games we’d like to see in the future.