Arriving tomorrow is the next round of Killzone 2 DLC available for PlayStation 3 gamers. The latest paid content, dubbed "Napalm & Cordite," will include two new multiplayer maps and two fan-favorite weapons from the single player campaign. The new maps are Suljeva Cliffside and Arctower Landing, which will bring you to the rocky outskirts of a mining village and an Arctower defense post respectively.

Rounding out the package are the VC1 Flamethrower and the Boltgun 4400 from the campaign. Here are the full details on the new weapons:

Napalm: The VC1 Flamethrower
Found in the Suljeva Cliffside map, the VC1 Flamethrower projects an ignited stream of flammable liquid at high pressure. Consisting of low-octane gasoline and an unidentified component indigenous to Helghan, this form of Napalm is extremely effective for clearing out enemy trenches and bunkers.

Cordite: The Boltgun 4400
Also known as “The Handyman”, the semi-automatic Boltgun 4400 can be picked up in the Arctower Landing map. It uses Cordite to propel metal bolts at an extremely high velocity, often pinning its targets to walls and other objects. In addition, each round contains a time-delayed explosive charge – so if impalement doesn’t finish the target off, the ensuing explosion will.

The price for the standalone "Napalm & Cordite" package has still not been announced, but if history holds true, it will run $5.99 to purchase. In addition to "Napalm & Cordite," the previous DLC releases for Killzone 2 are being bundled together in a "two-for-one" deal. You'll be able to grab a bundle that will include "Steel & Titanium," "Flash & Thunder" and "Napalm & Cordite" for $11.99.

Not a bad deal if you haven't previously purchased them.

As rumors have suggested, it appears Sony is itching to deplete its stock of 80GB PS3 models to make way for a slimmed down version of the original hardware. According to a Kotaku report, citing numerous retail store employees, Best Buy will begin offering a 80GB PS3 bundle containing Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 as pack-ins next Sunday.

While most bundles come with a premium price tag to justify their additions, this particular one will cost $399.99, the same price as a standalone 80GB unit. Seeing as Killzone 2 is still sold at full price, that’s a savings of around $90. If you’ve been in the market for a PS3, now might be the time to jump on one. Then again, if rumors pan out, the PS3 Slim may be right around the corner as well, which makes waiting it out a couple more months another option for prospective purchasers. It’s your choice.

PS3 Value Bundle With Killzone 2, MGS 4 As Pack-Ins Hitting Best Buy - [eXophase.com]

Evidently Sony was pleased with the success of the Steel and Titanium map pack for Killzone 2, as they have went ahead and announced another set of maps, dubbed Flash and Thunder.

The map pack aims to give players a blast from the past with fully remade renditions of Beach Head and Southern Hills, both of which will be recognized by fans as locations from the original PS2 Killzone.

Set to hit PSN on June 11, more details on the content can be found past the break. No price was announced, but expect it to cost $5.99, if the previously released DLC pack was any indication.

Second downloadable Killzone®2 Map Pack announced

Fight your way down memory lane with the Flash and Thunder Pack: two original Killzone® maps remade for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™)

London, 20th May 2009: The next wave of downloadable content for Killzone®2 on PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) has now been announced. Prepare for a literal blast-from-the-past in the form of the Flash and Thunder Pack: a download from PlayStation®Store featuring the Beach Head and Southern Hills maps. They’re two of the best maps from the original Killzone® for PlayStation®2 – now completely remade for PS3, overflowing with brutal combat between the ISA and the merciless Helghast and offering gamers even more ways to play the first-person shooter that everyone’s talking about.

The Beach Head map sees the ISA tasked with defending a coastal stronghold against a Helghast landing force. This rain-lashed and windswept battlefield is limited in size – which means more action, more hand-to-hand combat, plenty of sneaking up on the enemy and melee kills galore. The Southern Hills map sees the ISA attempting to storm a Helghast compound on top of a hill. A mixture of built-up terrain and wide open spaces – perfect for headshot sniper kills – this map is full of hiding places and offers the perfect battlefield for a large-scale game with lots of players.

The Flash and Thunder Pack is the second awesome instalment of downloadable extra content for Killzone 2 on PS3 and will arrive in PlayStation®Store on (11th of June 2009). To find out more, please contact your local PR manager.

Surprise, surprise: Sony has confirmed that the Killzone 2 Steel and Titanium map pack will set purchasers back $5.99. Five dollars and ninety-nine cents.

Whether that price is worth it for two maps based on environments from the single player campaign or not is ultimately up to you. Likely, avid fans won’t mind shelling out the dough. But for those undecided, Sony has provided a video clip showcasing cinematic gunfights played out on both theaters of war, in an attempt to sway your final decision. See it all above.

The DLC is slated to hit PSN on April 30.

Sony has confirmed that the first batch of Killzone 2 DLC, a set of two maps dubbed Steel and Titanium, will hit the PlayStation Network on April 30. While the price still remains an unknown quantity at this point, both maps are said to come packed with “new gameplay elements and strategic twists.”

In Wasteland Bullet, the action takes place on a fast-moving bullet train that cargoes goods from Pyrrhus and the Wasteland. With obstacles looming overhead, which can induce damage if not careful, players will need to stay aware of their surroundings when facing off against the enemy. The second map is Vekta Cruiser, which is set inside a Helghast-infested tanker ship.

Like we said, still no price. Wouldn’t expect it to cost more than $5, though. Might be free if Sony is feeling generous.

Download Killzone 2 Steel and Titanium April 30th [PS Blog]

Avid fans of Killzone 2’s multiplayer aspect may want to break out the caffeine and stay up tonight. Why? Sony is poised to unveil the first batch of DLC. By way of a just-posted PS blog entry, word comes that Guerrilla Games marketing head Hermen Hulst will make an appearance on GameTrailers TV to present a reveal of the content. The program goes live at 12:30 a.m. local time across North America.

While there’s no early word on what might be announced, new battlezones and gameplay modes seems a likely bet. We’ll find out soon enough, either way. Announcements of an announcement: gotta love them.

Seb Downie, a Producer at Guerrilla Games has announced what will be changed and updated in the Killzone 2 1.21 patch, as well as some items that will be considered for future patches. Here's the list for the 1.21 patch expected to be available early next week:

• Increase of the standard points settings for Bodycount. Should ensure longer mode on heavily populated games.
• The return of Online Bots. Adding bots to an online game renders it ‘unranked’.
• The option to create unranked games. Players will be made aware that a game is unranked upon joining.
• Fix to Game Search functionality so correct maps are displayed.
• Standardization of the Y-Axis controls on the HGH Scout when zoomed with the Sniper Rifle.
• Fix to Sensitivity setting where the weapon animation did not follow the reticule correctly.
• Fix for auto-aim exploit when rapidly tapping zoom/fire.
• Fix to infrequent collision issues with C4 Proximity mines.
• Fix to list of games displayed on search.
• Stability fix relating to disconnect.
• Fix to ‘Clan’ button functionality in custom game creation settings.

The upcoming updates list looks like this:

After the release of the NPD sales figures for February, Xbox 360 product management director Aaron Greenburn goes on the offensive and describes Sony as "hemorrhaging" at retail. Anchoring his argument in a very large 53 percent year-on-year Xbox 360 sales boost, Greenberg added, "What we're finding in our research is that a large portion of the volume we're driving with Xbox 360 purchasers is actually PS2 owners choosing Xbox for the next generation. We're switching people from the PlayStation brand over to the Xbox brand."

"You can't underestimate that we're half the price of the PS3 at a time when consumers were looking for great value," he said. "The PS3 was down in February two percent even with the launch of Killzone 2 -- that's months of year-over-year declines. Xbox continues to head north while the PS3 is heading south. We're gaining share."

"But what we hear from our partners is that it's not just PS3, it's also PS2 down 62 percent year over year," he continued. "With that business declining, and with the PS3 business declining, it's been described to me as hemorrhaging at retail right now, and it just keeps getting worse."

There’s been a flurry of mixed reactions on the controls in Killzone 2. Some folks have no issue with them, while others have labeled the control set as incredibly frustrating to use due to the lack of responsiveness. Fact of the matter is, developer Guerrilla is considering to do something about it. That’s right, the controls may be slightly changed, according to producer Seb Downie in a post on the official PlayStation forums:

* We have not decided if we are going to do anything to the controls. We are investigating.

* If we change them, we have not said how. No reason to get upset. We are not going to turn them on their head. It would not be sweeping changes.

* Any potential changes made will be carefully analyzed and tested to ensure they do not negatively affect players who do not experience any issues.

Guerrilla is obviously considering all angles here before making a final decision, so if you’re perfectly content with the control system in Killzone 2 - don’t freak out yet.

*Official* Upcoming Fixes [Sony]

Yep folks, you read that right. Invites to phase two of the ongoing Killzone 2 beta are being sent out today on a global basis, including North America and Europe. And we received one! The demo weighs in at a paltry 459MB and Sony has setup a forum asking for player feedback based on a wide range of gameplay aspects, namely controls, weapons and clan tournaments.

That’s all we can say right now. Testers have been asked to keep gameplay impressions to the Killzone 2 beta site only.