God Of War 3
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Watch a boss battle from 'God of War III Remastered' for PS4
I knew you would be back, Spartan. Did you miss me?
God of War 3 director, Infamous: Second Son lead designer leave Sony [Update]
God of War 3 creative director Stig Asmussen is no longer at Sony Santa Monica, following the recent round of layoffs at the studio and the purported cancellation of his new project. IGN confirmed Asmussen's departure with Sony this week, although it's not known if the 11-year veteran of the studio left of his own accord or not. Asmussen joined Sony Santa Monica from Midway in 2003, serving as a lead environment artist on the first God of War and art director on God of War 2. He stepped up to creative director on God of War 3, and it's speculated he then began work on a new, unannounced AAA project with a sci-fi theme. According to ex-lead level designer Jonathan Hawkins, who lost his job in the layoffs, that project is now canceled after several years of development. Asmussen isn't Sony's only high-profile departure of the week, after Infamous: Second Son lead designer Jaime Griesemer revealed he's no longer working for Sucker Punch. He joined the Seattle-based studio back in 2011, having previously worked at Bungie for twelve years where he was involved with all the Halo games, and served as a lead game designer on Destiny between 2008 and 2010. Griesemer didn't give any reasons for the move, simply tweeting he's "Not really talking about it yet, tho." Update: Griesemer provided Joystiq with a statement regarding his leaving Sucker Punch, assuring fans the timing is not a "cause for concern" about Infamous: Second Son. The full statement follows: "I appreciate all the well-wishes on the news that I am leaving Sucker Punch, but please don't take the timing as cause for concern about Second Son – it's a great game that I am proud to have on my resume and I can't wait for everyone to play it – or Sucker Punch – a studio on the rise with a bright future – or Sony – a great organization with some of the savviest, most pro-gamer executives in the business. And while I am honored to be mentioned in the same articles as legendary designers like Amy Hennig and Stig Asmussen, please don't look too hard for some sinister pattern. The truth is that any creative, vibrant industry is necessarily volatile; the only sure bet is that the next few years will not look the same as the last. Change is part of the job, but along with the upheaval and uncertainty, there's opportunity and new challenges. It's an exciting time to be a free agent and I'm going to go see what's out there. Simple as that..." [Image: Sony]
Beat and shoot-em-up in former Titanfall, God of War devs' To The Death
Indie developers Scary Mostro and Section Studios launched their Kickstarter campaign for To The Death today. The game combines beat-em-up and arcade shooter elements together, as players control one of two warriors that are dashing towards one another, hacking away at everything in their path. As To The Death's story goes, the warriors killed each other and are now stuck in The Crawl, a purgatory-like world between life and death. The two studios are led by developers with a deep history in the industry, with To The Death's game design and engineering coming from Scary Mostro's Todd Alderman and Francesco Gigliotti. Both Alderman and Gigliotti are credited as lead designer and engineer respectively at Infinity Ward on the Call of Duty series, and later worked on Titanfall for Respawn Entertainment. Likewise, To The Death's art direction comes from Section Studios Creative Director Cecil Kim, visual development lead for God of War 3. To The Death is in development for PC, Mac and Linux with early access tentatively planned for August. Scary Mostro and Section Studios are seeking $400,000 by February 19 to fund its development.
God of War Master Collection 'currently' only for Germany
As much as we love writing about video games here at Joystiq, it pales in comparison to our real hobby: crushing hopes and dreams. If you were looking forward to playing through every single God of War game in the God of War Master Collection that was spotted on Amazon's German site, and you don't actually live in Germany, you're out of luck. When asked about the listing, Sony informed Joystiq that the Master Collection is "currently only slated for the German market." It seems a bit unlikely that such a collection would be exclusive to a single region, so we wouldn't be surprised to see it announced for other regions as well. Of course, we'll take all the dream crushing we can get, even if it is only temporary.
God of War 'Master Collection' spotted on Amazon.de
If God of War Collection didn't collect game well enough for you, we just might have some good news. A listing for "God of War Master Collection" has been spotted on Amazon Germany. The listing has no image or description, though it clearly states that the PS3 collection includes every single God of War title -- well, except for God of War: Betrayal. In case you've lost track, that's God of War 1, God of War 2, God of War 3, Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta. Given Sony's penchant for fancy collections these days, a new, complete God of War compilation certainly makes sense. We've contacted Sony for confirmation on the Master Collection. [Thanks, Josh]
Rumor: New God of War coming September 2012, PSM3 says
Look, PSM3, can't you just be happy with the crowded slate of titles we're already expecting in 2011? Do you really need to start stoking the fires for 2012? Whether we want it to or not, the UK-based magazine is fanning the flames on rumors of a new God of War for PS3 early, citing a source who claims the game will be out in September of 2012. Sure, we've heard murmurs about another installment in the franchise, and Sony Santa Monica is supposedly looking into online functionality in a future title, but who says the studio has to make another God of War? It's not like the last one sold that well or anything. What? Oh.
God of War development team hiring online programmer
Sony Santa Monica isn't really known for creating games with compelling online user experiences, or ... um, any online user experiences ... but that might be changing with the developer's next project. The God of War developer has posted a hiring notice for a senior online programmer with experience in "Designing and implementing systems and tools to support networking needs," specifically in-game chat systems, matchmaking and leaderboards. It would be irresponsible to jump the gun and say Sony Santa Monica's working on an online-enabled God of War game, but we'll be damned if that's going to keep us from coming up with a bunch of prospective titles. God of War: Kratos and the Gang. God of War: Massively Mythological RPG. God of War vs. Free Realms. Gods of Wars.
Uncharted 2 GOTY, God of War 3 and others become latest PS3 'Greatest Hits' for $30
Sony has promoted four of its favorites to PS3 "Greatest Hits," dropping the price of each to $30. The most significant addition to Sony's growing lineup of discounted bestsellers of yesteryear is the "Game of the Year" Edition of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which includes a plethora of extra content not included in the original release. God of War 3, Heavy Rain and ModNation Racers were the three other first-party titles to be made Hits. Additionally, THQ's UFC Undisputed 2010 was recognized as one of last year's best, representing the first third-party game to become part of the PS3's 2010 hall of fame class.
NPD: 2010's bestselling game releases by platform
Gamasutra has obtained NPD data that puts a new filter on last year's US box-copy software sales, ranking the top ten bestselling 2010 releases for each console and handheld platform (PC excluded). Like the monthly NPD breakdowns, these rankings don't include actual sales numbers, but they do reveal some interesting trends. By omitting Nintendo's so-called "evergreen" titles (i.e., games released before 2010), Gamasutra found that -- perhaps unsurprisingly -- Just Dance 2 was last year's top-selling 2010 release for Wii, and among six additional third-party games that made the top ten in sales for the platform. On DS, however, Nintendo games filled out half of the top ten, and Pokemon SoulSilver and HeartGold were the only titles to surpass sales of one million units each. At first glance, PSP software sales look even bleaker, with Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep on top and, according to Gamastura, the only PSP title to break 300K units sold; with the other top ten games each falling below 200K. Of course, these rankings don't include digital sales or box-copy games bundled with hardware, so it's unlikely that Birth by Sleep (which isn't available on the PlayStation Store) was the true #1 bestseller among 2010's PSP releases -- let alone the most pirated. What is certain is that Call of Duty: Black Ops dominated torrents, as well as the games legitimately sold for PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. Still, both Sony and Microsoft saw two first-party releases make their console's respective top ten sales charts for the year; though each publisher's most critically-acclaimed release of 2010 -- at least, from Joystiq's perspective -- was not present. Perhaps telling of the two console's core player bases, Madden 11 beat out God of War 3 for the #2 spot on the PS3 chart, but fell to #3 beneath Halo: Reach in the Xbox 360 ranking. Finally, we have to wonder just what were they thinking? They, of course, being all those Xbox 360 owners that purchased Fable 3 and Fallout: New Vegas instead of Mass Effect 2. Three and a half stars plus four still doesn't add up to the Game of the Year, people. Check out Gamastutra for the complete breakdown of 2010's bestselling releases by platform.
The (admittedly incomplete) history of gaming in 4 minutes
An (almost) one-shot video chronicling the evolution of console gaming by design students from Germany may be incomplete (they acknowledge as much), but it's the clever presentation that makes it worth watching. The piece hits major points by kicking off with the Oscilloscope from 1958, the NES from the 80s and then does its best to keep up after the 16-bit generation kicks in during the '90s. Remember, it's a student project that was assembled in a brief amount of time. However, if some souls out there think they can do a better, professional full-scale version, we'd love to see that -- heck, we bet everyone would.
Best of the Rest: Randy's picks of 2010
Super Mario Galaxy 2 This is my personal favorite game of 2010 for many reasons, all of which you can read in the review I wrote back in May. In a nutshell: It's the best Mario game ever -- in my opinion, but I've been told I'm not alone -- and can pretty much claim the title of best-ever platformer while it's at it. The experience is magical, the design is masterful and if there were one game I could be stranded on a desert island with ... well, this is it.
Best of the Rest: Griffin's picks of 2010
Cave Story I am mad at everyone I've ever known for not telling me to play Cave Story before I grabbed it late last year. Within two months, I had beaten it four times across two different platforms. It's arguably the most charming game I've ever played, with deep layers of Metroidvania-esque exploration and a level of difficulty which expertly straddles the line between challenging and frustrating. It's one of the most polished games I played during the year, and if you find yourself with an overabundance of virtual Nintendo currency, you absolutely need to own it. Twice, if you have the means.
Have a look at what God of War 3 left on the cutting room floor
Few would describe God of War 3 as an abridged action-adventure. "I would say we cut less" compared to the previous games, director Stig Asmussen told 1UP in a video interview covering the topic of the game's "deleted scenes." Still, cut they did. "There were a couple of big moments that we lost," Asmussen recounted. "We had a [water-based] puzzle with this guy named Ixion [...] He was a really cool character. The inspiration was -- I don't remember his name -- but he was the flying guy from The Road Warrior." The objective, of course, was to drown Ixion. "The big cut," Asmussen then revealed, "was the end of the game" -- an unpolished, three-way rumble between Gaia, Zeus and Kratos (pictured). "It was a tough cut, but it's something that needed to be done." Hear more from Asmussen and producer Steve Caterson and see alpha footage of the deleted scenes in the video embedded after the break.
Alan Wake, Epic Mickey among award-nominated video game scores
Set to be announced in advance of the Hollywood Music In Media Conference running November 18-20, 2010 in -- where else -- Hollywood, CA, the 2010 Hollywood Music In Media Awards nominees include nine video game scores under the category of Visual Media. The bombastic orchestral sounds of God of War 3 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood are joined by the more moody fare of Alan Wake and -- a bit out of left field -- the score to Disney Epic Mickey. The winning score will be revealed on November 11, 2010, and you can find the complete list of nominees after the break. Cue dramatic end-of-post theme.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta includes downloadable Deimos for GoW 3
It must be really, really hard being the brother of the God of War series' surly protagonist, Kratos. Not only was the ash-covered warrior probably a brutal roughhouser in his youth, but his siblings more than likely get pummeled with guilt at family reunions: "Why can't you be more like your brother? He's killed like, twenty gods, you know?" You'll get to suffer these slings and arrows if you pick up Ghost of Sparta, as early, specially-marked copies of the game will include a voucher to download a character skin modeled after Kratos' bro, Deimos, for use in God of War 3. Deimos, who bears a strong familial resemblance to the titular Ghost of Sparta, isn't just more hirsute than his brother, he also comes with "enhanced combat damage and the ability to receive 4x the amount of Health, Magic and God Orbs," according to PlayStation Blog. The voucher will be available in early copies of the game, in the hardware-bundled Entertainment Pack and for PSP Go users who purchase the title from November 2–9 on the PlayStation Store. Don't miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime experience to play through a God of War game with a full head of lustrous, waxen hair. Check out a new, extremely bald trailer for God of War: Ghost of Sparta after the jump.
GameFly selling God of War 3, Mass Effect 2 and more for under $20
GameFly is currently running a decidedly insane sale on used copies of a handful of 2010 blockbusters until this Friday, September 17. If you've got $20 to spare, you can grab Darksiders, God of War 3, Alpha Protocol, Mass Effect 2 or Dante's Inferno -- all with free shipping to boot.
160GB PS3 bundles appear on GameStop
A PlayStation 3 Slim with a 160GB hard drive has mysteriously shown up on GameStop's site, available right now for the same $300 price as the standard 120GB model. Previously, the 160GB model has only been available in Japan. Further adding to the mystery is an image on the GameStop front page touting this model of PS3 as "Just Announced," even though it hasn't been officially announced by Sony. "Just announced privately to GameStop," maybe. This new model is available through GameStop in a standard hardware bundle ($299.99), as part of a $404.97 God of War 3 bundle containing the game and two controllers, and in a $379.97 Accessory Bundle with two controllers and a Bluetooth remote. We're checking in with Sony about this (sort of) announcement, about its possible retail exclusivity, and about whether the 320GB model will also become available. [Thanks Maverick!]
Spoof God of War movie trailer is so indie
Whatever you may have imagined a God of War movie would be like, there's a very good chance it was nothing like this. Who would have thought Kratos was just an upper-crust prep school kid with real problems? Really, the only things missing from this trailer are Ellen Page and Jason Schwartzman.
Kmart instore deals next week include Mass Effect 2, BFBC2, Heavy Rain
Kmart is having some nice instore deals during E3 week, June 13-19. Although there are heavy discounts on Battlefield Bad Company 2, God of War 3 and Heavy Rain -- the real standout deal is Mass Effect 2 for $20. With those credits saved on the ME2 purchase, it's totally worth grabbing Kasumi's Stolen Memory and next week's Overlord DLC from the Cerberus Network. Check out all the discounts after the break.
God of War 3 for $37 on Amazon today
We'd like to imagine even a dude as angry as Kratos could stow his seething rage when stumbling upon a good deal. It's got to be tough to be upset with the Gods when you've just saved a bunch of money, right? Today Amazon is offering God of War 3 for a reduced price of $37 -- the equivalent of about 1,782 red orbs. And, frankly, it's easily worth that much.
