Weekend Essentials - Issue 11

Celebrate Australia Day, plus Heavy Rain, MAG, Dark Void and more in this edition of Weekend Essentials.

Happy Australia Day

Celebrate Australia Day by creating your very own Australia Day party playlist, only on PlayStation®3 with VidZone. With a bunch of classic Aussie music videos to choose from, including clips by Powderfinger, Augie March, The Living End, The Presets, Jessica Mauboy and Josh Pyke, this is your chance to do your bit for the Oz music scene. And with Festival season well and truly rolling down under, keep an eye out for the Big Day Out special feature on VidZone. There'll be a selection of videos from artists playing at Big Day Out including Phrase, Ladyhawke, Hilltop Hoods and Dead Prez.

And if you want to get even more involved this Australia Day, why not sing your favourite Aussie tracks? The SingStore has heaps of Aussie tunes to download and sing along to in the comfort of your living room. From Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, The Angels, Empire of The Sun and The Triffids to our beloved Kylie, Shannon Noll and Delta Goodrem, SingStore has got all your Australia Day musical needs covered.

Then wrap-up your Australia Day celebrations with a game (or two) of Buzz! Know your Crowded House from your Sydney Opera House? Then quiz your mates with Buzz! Brain of Oz for PS3™, PS2™ and PSP™, or if you already own Buzz! on PS3, jump onto PlayStation®Store and download the Australian Culture quiz pack.

Now all that's left to do is throw a couple of shrimp on the barbie!

Blast off

From China to the Bermuda Triangle, Dark Void on PS3 straps you into the jetpack of William Augustus Grey as he is transported to a parallel universe and is caught up in a conflict between The Survivors and an alien race known as The Watchers. Expect high-octane action as you switch seamlessly between combat and graceful flight, thanks to your rocket pack.

Grab yourself a bargain

Pick up a PlayStation®Store bargain including Buzz! Master Quiz, LocoRoco, Super Stardust Portable, Cuboid, Interpol: The Trail of Dr Chaos, Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom, Digger HD, Elemental TD Portable and Smash Cars, at special prices. Check PlayStation Store for more details and be sure to get in before 4th February 2010 to make the most of these offers.

Load up on MAG

MAG is set to blow other online action shooters out of the water and Sony Computer Entertainment Australia this week confirmed that the game will be hosted locally, to support an optimal MAG online experience for Australian gamers when the game releases exclusively on PlayStation 3 on 11th February 2010.

Hunt in the rain

PlayStation 3 action thriller Heavy Rain is set to immerse you in a murky world of crime and mystery, and now you have the chance to dip in before its February release with the launch of heavyrainps3.com and the Four Days Challenge.

By registering at heavyrainps3.com you can enter the Four Days Challenge, which tests your ability to analyse documents for clues, delve into the mind of the potential Origami Killer and uncover surprises that will tantalise you in the run-up to Heavy Rain's launch. The first email from the Four Days Challenge starts on 26 January 2010, so keep checking your inbox.

Start your journey into the intense world of Heavy Rain now by heading over to heavyrainps3.com.