IslandofRhodes.org hides God of War 2' 'HD Mode' and countdown

We admit it. We were disappointed to learn there wasn't an announcement attached to the super-secret God of War-themed IslandofRhodes.org viral site we first spotted last month. Turns out, first impressions can be deceiving. Through beating the site's puzzles, dedicated gamers (like the ones at GameFAQs) can find out how to enable the ditched-at-the-last-minute "HD mode" on God of War 2. Note: "this is NOT 720p. Its actually 480p with FULL SIZE buffers, in other words 640*448 resolution." We're not really sure what "full size buffers" are either, but a brief test using a PS3 and an HD monitor didn't provide a very noticeable increase (except in page tearing). If you want to test for yourself, follow the instructions pasted after the break.

Also hidden at the site was yet another countdown! This one is set to go off in just over eleven days time. What's going to happen then? We imagine it'll be something besides a developer commentary site and the little sliver above seems to hint at a phrase beginning with "G." Gout of War, anybody?

[Thanks, Wreckhart & ranova; via Kotaku]

"As the game boots up, before even the white text 'SCEA Presents' Legal screen comes up. Hold down L1 + L2 + L3 (thumbstick button) + Square + Circle simultaneously. If you did it right the legal screen will show up in a nice shade of purple. If you want to run in 480p you are still going to need to set that up through the menus as you do normally. This cheat will work on the PS2 and also the PS3. If you are doing this on the PS3 you may need to plug the controller in using the USB cable, as the controller is a little slow to come to life when the game boots."