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Who we'd like to see in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, a crazy, mashed-up spin on Smash Bros. starring several characters from Sony platforms, was announced last week. We've got six confirmed participants so far: God of War's Kratos, Sly Cooper, Twisted Metal's Sweet Tooth, Killzone 2's Colonel Radec, Parappa the Rapper, and Fat Princess.We can name a few more that we'd love to see appear in the game, and we've gathered them for your consideration just beyond the break.
Uncharted lead Lemarchand exits Naughty Dog to become more like Indiana Jones
Uncharted series lead Richard Lemarchand has apparently had enough with crafting an Indiana Jones-esque protagonist, and is now taking steps toward becoming that hero himself. Speaking with Gamasutra, Lemarchand said he's leaving his current job (of eight years) at Naughty Dog – creators of Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted, and The Last of Us – in order to take on new challenges at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California."In other words, I'll be surrounded by awesome people, talking craft and philosophy, and building strange new things," Lemarchand said of his new role as professor at the Interactive Media Division at UC. "It seems like a natural transition point," he added. "I was involved with the development of the Uncharted series not quite from the beginning, but almost ... and even though the Uncharted series isn't intended to be viewed as a trilogy, maybe there's something about the number three that felt ... there is a certain amount of completeness for me."But when will the next transition happen, from daring professor to daring professor slash extreme archaeologist? Sooner than we imagined, it seems. Lemarchand's first order of business is a three-month backpacking excursion that'll take him around the globe. After that, he'll begin work on a "series of experiment games," aimed at exploring "procedural narrative," among other things. After that, we're hoping he takes on the Nazis in their own zeppelin.
God of War: Ascension takes godslaying online with multiplayer focus
A familiar face appears on the screen, moments before a demo for God of War: Ascension begins. Zoomed in, the angry mug resembles angry anti-hero Kratos, but as the camera pans away it becomes obvious: this is someone completely different.Suddenly, a Cyclops bursts through a wooden door near the new character and the demo begins. The new character, decked out in armor inspired by the Greek God Poseidon, moves with the swiftness of Kratos. His sword pierces the monster's skin. Suddenly, another character leaps into frame, attacking the Cyclops with a giant hammer. The pair of soldiers mercilessly cut the Cyclops down, working together to mount the creature and slice its belly apart. As blood and guts slide out of the monster's midsection, the surrounding area explodes into a set of orbs. Multiplayer has come to God of War.Without a moment of hesitation, the pair walk through the newly opened structure before them, coming to the mouth of a large canyon. In the distance, a giant one-eyed cyclops based on Polyphemus, son of Poseidon and Thoosa, engages a large group of soldiers fierce battle. But it isn't a battle between A.I.; Ascension's multiplayer mode is grander than we first thought.%Gallery-154327%
Creating the world of Starhawk with music
What do an orchestra, heavy metal guitars, harmonicas, Chinese flutes and dobros have in common? The Starhawk soundtrack, of course!
God of War: Ascension officially revealed [update: director is Todd Papy]
After the teaser trailer leaked last night, Sony has officially announced God of War Ascension. Unfortunately, we don't have much more info beyond the teaser trailer (above), though Sony will be hosting a live streaming event on PlayStation Blog on Monday, April 30 at 8am Pacific (11am Eastern) that promises "a glimpse of what's in store."In the meantime, the PlayStation Twitter account will accept questions about the game – using the hashtag #godofwarascension – until this Friday at 3pm Pacific. Those whose questions are chosen for the live stream will receive a signed God of War Ascension poster. Poster or not, we'll definitely be watching the stream and reporting any news as soon as we get it.Update: Ascension's director is Todd Papy, who previously served as design director for God of War 3.
'God of War: Ascension' art leaks [update: teaser trailer too!]
Update: Teaser trailer after the break!And here comes the (non-final) box art for "God of War: Ascension." Sony has yet to formally announce a new God of War game for PlayStation 3, but retailers and composers seem to be doing a fine job of making it known.Based on cover art pulled from Amazon's servers, it seems the upcoming game has ditched the Roman numerals in favor of a succinct subtitle. Of course, the important number is the Greek one -- as in where will Kratos find the ancient gods to up his already extravagant body count? (Update: It looks like the game is a prequel, so there should be some hitherto unknown bodies to skewer.)We'll let you know as soon as we learn more about God of War: Ascension.
Touch trees in 'Datura' for PlayStation Move
If you're a hardcore adherent of weird, naturey motion-control games, maybe you remember the game teased by Linger in Shadows developer Plastic Studios last year. You know, the thing with the floating hand, and the door in the forest.Even if you haven't been following this thing, you can start now. On the PlayStation Blog, director Michal Staniszewski revealed Datura, coming to PSN (for PS3) later in 2012. Datura has an "experimental narrative" full of puzzles and choices designed to add an "element of anxiety." Luckily, you'll be able to use the Move to (pretend to) "actually touch trees, faces, and other objects."
The Last of Us screens showcase the rest of us
Beyond Jack and Ellie, there are clearly some other folks in Naughty Dog's upcoming post-pandemic project The Last of Us. Folks, it would seem from the images below, who are either about to get smashed with bricks or are about to hit someone else with a beam.
Retailer taking pre-orders for God of War 4
Though it still doesn't exist officially, God of War 4 is now available for pre-order at BT Games, a South African retailer. This is the same BT Games that leaked Mass Effect 3's multiplayer and the Jak and Daxter Collection's, so there's precedence for this being more than an ambitious placeholder. We've also confirmed that they operate based on information given by local distributors.The site gives "Feb 2013" as the game's expected ship date, but that's a bit more nebulous in its reliability at this point. Still, add this listing with Sony Santa Monica's search for a Senior Staff Concept Artist and Timothy Williams' affirmation that he is indeed working on God of War 4's orchestral score, and we feel confident in saying -- yes -- there may be yet another game in a super popular franchise.
Sony Santa Monica (and more) helping with The Last Guardian
Sony Senior VP Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed to Wired that Sony Santa Monica team members are contributing to The Last Guardian -- along with a few more. "Well, you know, it's not just Santa Monica," he says. "We have great tech people in Worldwide Studios. We have a central tech group in the U.S. and the U.K. so we are giving them whatever help they need. Technically, we have the best engineers in the U.S. and Europe, so these teams are helping them, giving advice."Progress on The Last Guardian may be slow right now, but Yoshida assures us the game is still coming. The departure of Fumito Ueda was exaggerated, he says, as the famed designer is still going to finish The Last Guardian on contract with Sony."At one point the progress was great, so we talked about the timing of the launch in the past. But now it's making progress, but still not to the level -- it's playable, but not to the point that we can talk about the timing of launch." But now, "the progress is slow," he says, and "sometimes the team has to go back and review things."The Last Guardian is still planned for 2012, but there seems to be little certainty over that time frame. "There's a vision that we want to realize but it's very very tough and technical issue that the team is tackling and some plans have to be made to evaluate and go through the process," Yoshida says.
Twisted Metal review: On cruise control
We all have guilty pleasures, those things we enjoy but are afraid to tell others about, because deep down we know how terrible we are for enjoying them. The Twisted Metal series has always been that way for me. As my prepubescent self might have exclaimed at the series' introduction so many years ago, "A clown with a perpetually flaming head drives around in an ice cream truck killing people? That is so cool."Imagine my stifled pleasure when a new installment of Twisted Metal was announced for the PS3. I envisioned how much the old arcade gameplay might benefit from some modern influence, and how much technology could augment the formula and push the series into exciting new territories.Too bad that isn't the case here. Instead, Twisted Metal does little to shake things up and takes the safe, careful approach with its PS3 debut.
Composer confirms work on 'God of War IV' [update]
The man behind the orchestral arrangements for Valve's upcoming Dota 2, as well as orchestration in films like the recent remake of Halloween, claims to be working on the music for "God of War IV." Timothy Williams lists the unannounced God of War entry in his resume under "Video Games," and he denotes it as an "upcoming" title. This isn't the first time we've seen news of another God of War title popping up; this development follows a pair of job listings calling for talent to work on an unannounced God of War title at Sony's Santa Monica studios. The word on the street - yes, we're from the streets - is that the next, still unannounced God of War entry will arrive in time for fall 2012. Sony, meanwhile, hasn't said a peep, though we've reached out for comment once more all the same. Update: Sony tells us, "We do not comment on rumors or speculation about our products." Update 2: Timothy Williams confirmed the listing as accurate to Joystiq and explained that he is, "working on it in the capacity of orchestrations and some additional music," but wanted to note that Tyler Bates is the "main composer" and should be listed as such. Bates had yet to return request for comment as of this update.
Sony Santa Monica hiring for unannounced God of War title
A job listing for Sony Santa Monica notes the studio is working on a new God of War, confirming that the sun will rise tomorrow and that McDonalds' french fries are, indeed, the best. The job listing is for a "Senior Staff Concept Artist," so, if you're available, we look forward to seeing your work translated in-game sometime in the next couple years. In March, the studio was also on the hunt for a senior online programmer with experience in "designing and implementing systems and tools to support networking needs," which immediately got us thinking Gods of Wars, as in multiplayer. The rumors are the next installment in the God of War franchise will eviscerate demons of Greek legend in new and gory ways during the 2012 holiday season.
Additional footage from Plastic's Move game deepens the mystery
We still don't really know what the Move game is that's being made by Plastic and Sony Santa Monica, but we can now see a second video of it at Eurogamer. Like the previous video, the latest release consists of off-screen footage, mostly of a forest environment with a mysterious floating hand. There's an equally mysterious door in the forest, not connected to anything. Other footage shows that floating hand in a car, gripping the steering wheel. We're sure the hand is supposed to be some kind of on-screen avatar representing the Move controls, but the effect of being in a car driven by Thing is terrifying. A double image in the video suggests that whatever this is, it will display in 3D. The video actually consists on two variations of the same scenes, one in which the player-controlled car drives by a pig, and another in which it collides with said pig. "Comparing them will give you all the answers about our upcoming title," Plastic told Eurogamer when it sent the footage. So ... the game is like Quantum Leap, but with a disembodied hand going back in time to save a pig. That's our official guess. Oh boy.
God of War Origins Collection launch trailer shows Kratos' brutal beginnings
If you skipped Kratos' PSP adventures, you can fill the gaps of his mythos by picking up the God of War Origins Collection, the launch trailer for which is posted above. Or, you can read our handy summary: He used to be very angry, and now he is very, very angry, and he will always be so angry.
Mystery Move game in development, courtesy of Plastic and Sony Santa Monica
Sony Santa Monica, makers of the God of War series, and Plastic, a Polish demoscene group, are collaborating on a mysterious Move title that features a floating hand getting touchy-feely with statues and trees in a fog-filled forest. The above video shows the hand reverently touching its surroundings, and at the 1:07 mark presents a Move controller in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. NeoGAF's Toppot pointed out the connection to Linger in Shadows developer Plastic, who responded with a teasing affirmative: "We all at Plastic admire the speed and style of NeoGAF member Toppot, who managed to combine the hints and classify us as a developer of next Santa Monica Studio production." The developer hinted that it was "planting the seeds now" for the title, and "encouraged" fans to discover it.
Starhawk's brutal universe detailed in E3 2011 cinematic
There are, like, so, so many things in Starhawk to drive/pilot/murder with, and the latest cinematic teaser for the forthcoming sequel depicts nearly all of them doing what they do best. There's even a dude with glowing eyes! Talk about cinematic!
God of War: Origins E3 trailer is all angry and stuff
Combining both God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta is the God of War Origins Collection, an improved HD-enhanced version of the PSP titles for the PS3. Revealed during Sony's E3 2011 keynote, this two-for-one is coming this year and boasts full 3D support.
God of War Origins Collection announced, bringing PSP titles to PS3 with 3D support
He just. Can't. Be. Stopped. As hinted at last month, everyone's favorite furious blade-spinner will return to the PS3 in God of War Origins Collection, a 3D-enabled compilation of God of War: Ghost of Sparta and Chains of Olympus -- Ready at Dawn's two PSP entries into the franchise. Keep an eye out for Origins in September.
Starhawk multiplayer footage loosed from Sony Santa Monica
We have to imagine that editing the two and a half minutes of Starhawk multiplayer footage -- pulled from a Sony Santa Monica in-house tourney -- was extra difficult, given the ubiquity of expletives thrown around at tournaments; nonetheless, Sony persevered! Check it out after the break.
