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SCEI's Barlog on God of War 2
No, Kratos won't be battling the Lord of the Rings' mythical beast from the mines of Moria in his next adventure (that's "Balrog", and that would rock!). The Barlog in question is God of War 2 director Cory Barlog, and he was on Eurogamer's hot seat last week during E3.In this extensive first impression write-up, Barlog discusses the modified puzzle designs, enhanced enemy AI, gruesome finishing moves, and new creatures that we can expect in this "expansion" to the original game (he prefers not to call it a "sequel").Be sure to read Joystiq's E3 impressions of God of War 2.
PS2 impressions: God of War 2
I scored some great hands on time with God of War 2, the sequel to one of the best games of 2005. It's hard not to have some expectations after initially picking up the controller, but like all things Kratos, the demo of God of War 2 delivered. Read on to get a short taste of how the warrior holds up.
Unlocking Sony's Memory Stick media kit
Following the Sony media briefing, we were so thoroughly underwhelmed by the company's PSP projections that we completely forgot about the tiny PSP-formatted media kit (32 MB Memory Stick) that was handed to us at the beginning of the event -- and promptly shoved deep into our pocket. Until now. The content includes:Trailers Gangs of London (2:16) - Comic book stylized intro followed by GTA clone in-game footage; promises: bonus strategy game; pub mini-games (darts, pool, etc.); and "gameshare levels" that are different on every PSP. God of War II (PS2) (2:08) - Tons of in-game footage. Like the first GOW, only more brutal. "The End Begins... February 2007" SOCOM: Combined Assault (PS2) (0:30) -Same old SOCOM. SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 (0:30) - See entry above.
Hands-on with God of War II
IGN got an early hands-on preview of God of War II, and they're lovin' what Sony's Santa Monica studio has come up with so far.Without revealing too much of the sequel's plot, our hairless hero now sports some new magical attacks and context-sensitive finishing moves. Needless to say, prominent Greek mythological figures will also be showing up to keep Kratos company, and there will certainly be a lot of flashy slashing-first-ask-questions-later kind of action to fill the hours.For more spoilers on "an early section of the sequel," simply follow the image link above or Read link below, where you can find a few more details on the new power-up system and annoying enemy combatants (otherwise known as smarter fodder for your sharper blades). A practical explanation goes into the reasons for keeping things on the PS2 rather than the PS3, and hopefully less frustrating puzzles are revealed as well. More will likely be revealed at Sony's big E3 press conference today.See also: New God of War 2 director speaks God of War's Jaffe inspired by Britney vs. Christina God of War 2 GDC video leaked online
New God of War 2 director speaks
With David Jaffe assuming creative director duties on God of War 2, Cory Barlog has taken over the director's chair for the anticipated sequel to last year's game of the year. Barlog gave 1UP a glimpse of what's to come at E3, when more details will be revealed about Kratos' next adventure.Barlog says the first priority is maintaining the balance between action and adventure elements that worked so well in the first game. He also suggests there was a "late start" on the mythology aspect during the creation of God of War, and they plan on spending more time in that department to give fans a wider variety of mythical enemies to vanquish. There are 26 new screens after the interview.Stay tuned for God of War 2 updates during our E3 coverage.
God of War's Jaffe inspired by Britney vs. Christina
Sure you knew that God of War was inspired by Clash of the Titans and Raiders of the Lost Ark, but did you know that Christina Aguilera influenced its development as well?In an interview conducted by Lorne Lanning for a session at GDC last week, David Jaffe revealed that thinking of (the workplace tension between him and) his lead programmer during a Christina Aguilera song about Britney Spears helped him get the game to work.So identifying with the arguably lesser end of the Christina-Britney rivalry helped Kratos make it out of development hell? Sounds like a surefire way to create a hit game! We also take it then that the song in question wasn't "Genie in a Bottle," 'cause that would've made for one interesting unlockable costume for our marked man. Cameo in the sequel, perhaps?[Britney 'n' Christina pic found via an old BBC MTV VMA story found here]See also: David Jaffe, blogger extraordinaire, WRU?!? God of War 2 GDC video leaked online Budget power from the Gods, under the hood
Budget power from the Gods, under the hood
In case you haven't seen the commercials over the past week, there are a couple of noteworthy PlayStation 2 titles from SCEI that have been relaunched in Greatest Hits format. The award-winning God of War and the popular driving sim Gran Turismo 4 can now be had for $20 each. And if you happen to live near a Circuit City, you can take them home for $17.88 this week.The PS2 Greatest Hits library now boasts 123 titles for quality gaming on the cheap.
MotorStorm, Resistance and more: pictures from Sony's GDC keynote
Despite Sony asking attendees not to take pictures during Phil Harrison's keynote speech at GDC, a member of a Spanish forum managed to sneakily snap pictures of the games that were shown and has now posted his roll online. The photos are blurry and from a skewed perspective, but they give us an early idea of what games like The Getaway, MotorStorm, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet & Clank and Warhawk will look like on PS3 hardware. We've cropped a selection of the best images, so click here to see more.[Thanks, hellmasterx]
God of War 2 GDC video leaked online
No one was supposed to be recording at the time, but it appears that the trailer for God of War 2 (from Phil Harrison's keynote at GDC) has managed to find its way onto the intarwebs and into our hearts.There you can observe good ol' Kratos jabbin' and choppin' and doin' his thing with his mythological Greek friends. Of course, if you haven't played (or finished) the first God of War game, be aware that a minor spoiler is revealed early on by the trailer's narrator. (Didn't see that one coming, didja?)But, yeah... who do we have to thank for breaking Sony's embargo on this footage? Apparently some guy named "Element" who helps out at playsyde.com. Will Sony act against YouTube for hosting such a video? We'll have to see now, won't we? Whatever the case, an official direct-feed version would certainly be appreciated if it can be managed.[Thanks, David; via digg]See also: Playsyde cam-footage post thanking "the great Element" for this clip Sony confirms God of War 2 worldwide Q1 2007 Unreal Engine 3 and other PS3 tech demos from GDC floor [no GoW?] GDC: The PS3 keynote blow by blow [a few GoW 2 details]
PS3 rumor: SOCOM 4 at E3, God of War shaping up
Not to be outdone, Computer and Video Games have their own PS3 inside man who gave them the scoop on some upcoming PlayStation 3 games. SOCOM 4 is not only "absolutely gorgeous looking" but is "confirmed" for E3, and is probably a launch title. A sequel to the award-winning God of War may not make it to E3 but--rest assured--is "well into development." They also revealed that (Ratchet and Clank creators) Insomiac's next-gen FPS, heretofore titled I-8, is now known as... Resistance. Really? Resistance?Perhaps most interesting is the claim that both SOCOM 4 and God of War (2?) will also see current-gen releases: "...Both [God of War] and SOCOM 4 will also be appearing on PS2, underlining Sony's commitment to its favoured current-gen son for the next few years." Sure, there's almost 100 million of the things out there, but those games are sure to be system sellers. Unless the next-gen variants provide more than just prettier graphics, a $X00 dollar PS3 with the same games will be a tough sell. Please apply salt liberally.
