New multiplayer game launches in Home

Sony has launched Sodium One, a new multiplayer online game space, in PlayStation Home.

Having accessed Sodium One from the World map, you'll be "transported to a futuristic, action-packed social gaming environment". Here interstellar travel, galactic colonisation, inexhaustible energy and advanced AI are par for the course, along with the ability to travel between quantum realities, apparently.

Your first mission is to check in with AI character Vickie. Then it's a matter of battling through multiplayer levels, earning rewards and credits to redeem within the game. Expect "objective-based meta-games, full arcade-style games and community events".

The first section of the game, titled Salt Shooter, sees you using tanks to hunt down self-replacing robots. The first five levels are free but extra levels and virtual items can be purchased, with prices ranging from €0.99 to €4.99.

If you'd rather just hang out there's the Sodium Hub, where you can "become a bartender and serve virtual drinks to friends". You can also customise your Home avatar with Sodium One gear.

"As we pass the one year anniversary of PlayStation Home, it is clear that the platform has evolved beyond recognition," said Sony marketing man Darren Cairns.

"Sodium One not only leverages the power of PS3 to deliver a truly unique, and visually stunning gaming experience, but is also a perfect example of how social interaction and gaming can combine in a way that cannot be replicated on any other platform."