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Review: God of War III
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/08/god-of-war-3-review/'; You know how Kratos' battle against the gods of Olympus is known for its massive, insane action sequences spread throughout? Well, some genius (or likely several geniuses) at Sony's Santa Monica Studio had the brilliant idea of making a whole game just out of those incredible moments. It was rare that I went 15 minutes without my jaw dropping at the immense size, stunning beauty or sheer creativity of the set piece I was now scaling or destroying. I'm willing to agree that God of War III is just "God of War HD," provided that "HD" stands for "Holy Shit." %Gallery-44594%
Kratos' Blade of Chaos up for sale, some strings attached
We know that there are a few cutlery enthusiasts out there who read that headline and immediately clicked the source link to purchase Kratos' Blade of Chaos from retailer BUDK. Before you do so, you should take into account a few facts: Kratos' weapons are being sold piecemeal on the site, so that $123.99 price tag only represents the cost of a single Blade. What's the point of having a single Blade of Chaos? Unless you're ironically cosplaying as Amputee Kratos, you're going to need two, so you should mentally jack that price up to $247.98. Replica swords are dangerous. Replica swords that you attach to your wrists with chains and then swing around like a madman are extremely dangerous.
Interview: John Hight, God of War III director of product development
John Hight runs Sony's Santa Monica studio and oversees the entire God of War 3 team. He makes sure that everyone is happy, that the game is going to ship on time, and that it's going to be something you'll want to play. Read on to learn more from him about the the future of the franchise, the possibility of multiplayer, the God of War movie and why he hasn't played Dante's Inferno (yet).
Interview: Adam Puhl, God of War III's combat designer
As lead combat designer of God of War III, Adam Puhl has the enviable position of creating an arsenal of weapons and abilities fit to take down the gods. I recently spoke with Adam about the design process for such a titanic task and the pressures of surpassing the first two God of War games. Additionally, Adam offered his gameplay reactions to Dante's Inferno and Darksiders, two recent action-adventures that owe a lot to the God of War series. Read on after the break for the full interview. %Gallery-44594%
Hands-on: God of War III (well, the first boss battle at least)
A common refrain from many (including us!) about God of War III is: "It's God of War ... in HD." And, as our last preview attested, that's not such a bad thing. In fact, while the demo was impressive in its own right, the game's director tells us they've added depth of field, motion blur, and high dynamic range lighting to the finished product. Too technical, right? We'll just use our fallback word: awesome. For this hands-on, we went all the way up to the first boss and beat him ... err, after several tries. It's none other than a certain God of the Sea, and he's pretty moody on account of Kratos and a bunch of Titans trying to scale Mount Olympus. In fact, there's a gathering of the gods up there and they're all pretty miffed: Zeus, Helios, Hermes, Poseidon, Hades, and a mysterious someone else. Based on this preview, they're going to do everything they can to try and make sure Kratos doesn't play king of the hill on their precious mountain. Read on for our experience with the opening of God of War III up to, and including, the first boss battle. If you're hoping to go into this game spoiler-free next month, you might want to stop here; otherwise, press on! %Gallery-44594%
God of War 3 won't sacrifice your time with HDD install
We can only imagine that if Kratos were a real person (wait -- he's not?), the idea of having to wait for God of War 3 to install a portion of itself onto the PS3's hard disk wouldn't sit too well with the rage-filled Spartan. Heck, even we don't dig mandatory installs. It's a good thing, then, that God of War 3 won't have one -- this according to Sony Santa Monica director of technology, Christer Ericson. Ericson stated via Twitter that, "God of War 3 does NOT do a HD install. The 5MB listed on box back is for save game only." This is in stark contrast to other games (yes, we're talking about you, Devil May Cry 4) that require -- nay, demand! -- multi-gigabyte mandatory installations. Of course, for some, the ability to install an entire game to the PS3 hard disk, potentially cutting down on loading time is a welcome option -- but it won't be for GOW3. "No there is no HD install option," Ericson replied when asked if the game will allow for it. Given that the final back cover of the God of War 3's box only lists the 5MB space requirement, this pretty much rules out the game secretly carving out HDD space for caching data -- data that would eventually translate into images of Kratos carving up enemies on-screen. [Via Eurogamer] Source -- Twitter Source -- Twitter
God of War 3 trailer will boulder you over
Are all those Xbox 360 megatons getting a bit monotonous? Here, try something in PS3 flavor. Specifically, a brand new God of War 3 trailer. In it, Kratos proves that, for him, carrying around a big boulder is no Sisyphean task. In fact, it becomes somewhat of an improbable method of propulsion. The game also puts a giant monster on an even bigger giant so Kratos can fight while he fights. It's a festival of excess, tied loosely into Greek myth. Total God of War stuff, essentially.
A date with Kratos: God of War III hits the US on March 16
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/28/a-date-with-kratos-god-of-war-iii-hits-the-us-on-march-16/'; click to titan-size Sony has announced (via PlayStation.Blog) that God of War III will launch domestically on March 16. That's just 47 days away (which is exactly 47 days too many). In addition to firming up the date, SCEA released the final box art (it's rated M!) and revealed that a new trailer for the game -- hopefully showcasing the considerable upgrades it has received since the playable demo hit -- will debut on February 11. A box shot of the Ultimate Edition has also been released -- a package within which ultimate collectors will find a replica Pandora's Box containing the game (shocking, we know) along with collectibles and DLC (it's digital and physical!). Personally, we find a paltry cardboard box rather unbefitting of such a powerful artifact, so we'll be holding out for a "Supreme Ultimate Edition," which will obviously come in a replica Pandora's Temple on the back of a replica Cronos. You can see the current, less "Grr! Extreme!" packaging after the break.
Interview: God of War III ends trilogy, but not franchise, Sony's John Hight says
While God of War III will conclude the trilogy, it won't spell the end of the franchise, Sony Santa Monica's John Hight reveals in a recent interview with Joystiq. With the third game "capping off what we started with God of War," Hight says we should expect more God of War games to follow, but the decision on where to take the franchise after the initial trilogy (and portable prequel) won't be taken lightly. "We're going to be really careful about what we do next," he assures. The full interview can be viewed in its entirety above. Select portions of the interview can be read in the following transcription: Can you explain the new technology that you're showing off today? So what we've kept under wraps until this time is dynamic environments. It means we can take literally anything in the game, including creatures and in this case, extremely large thousand foot plus creatures, and turn them into an environment that Kratos can now navigate, battle on, engage other creatures on, find treasures, you name it. Even since the very first God of War, we keep a running list of features that we'd like to have. So you're in the middle of making something ... some of them make it into the game, and some of them get moved to the next game. And this was the case of definitely a feature that the team has thought about for a while, but God of War 3 and the technology of PS3 enabled us to actually build it.
This is what the God of War Collection will look like on your PS3
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest games this holiday for PS3 users will be the enhanced HD ports of the original God of War and God of War II. Considering these two games were among the finest looking titles of the last generation, it should come as no surprise that the visuals have held up quite nicely. The added resolution is appreciated -- but even better than that is the smooth quality of the anti-aliasing. Included with the Blu-ray disc will be a voucher for a PSN download of the E3 God of War III demo, y'know the one we called "God of War in HD." We suppose that assessment is kind of ironic now, right? DOWNLOAD 1080P VIDEO from BigDownload %Gallery-75756%
Broodworks: new Santa Monica studio with focus on Sony handhelds
Santa Monica-based development studios interested in "medium casual video game development" for Sony handhelds, watch out! There's a new cat in town and, even though it lacks opposable thumbs, this kitten can code. Enter: Broodworks, a new independent studio headed by former Sony Santa Monica executive producer and director of internet development Shannon Studstill. Given Studstill's previous position with Sony and the location of Broodworks, superannuation surmises that Broodworks is a second-party studio working closely with SCEA. We'll keep you posted as the story (and the company's website) develops. [Via superannuation]
God of War III pitched as FPS; struck down
Okay, picture this: Ripping off Helios' head ... but from Kratos' perspective. Pretty gripping, right? "Genius" even! At least, that's how art director Ken Feldman described his failed pitch for God of War III as an FPS to game director Stig Asmussen. "I tried unsuccessfully to convince Stig to make God of War III a first-person shooter," recounted Feldman in an interview with CGSociety. "Unfortunately, he didn't see the genius in the idea."You know Ken, we're not really seeing it either. But then, true genius is often only recognized in hindsight by us casual thinkers. Now ... if next year's sequel had been "God of War Resort" -- bundled with the Motion Controller? ... Brilliant![Via MCV]
God of War Collection to include God of War III demo
As if having the first two God of War games remastered in HD for PS3 wasn't reason enough to pick up the God of War Collection, Sony has announced via the PlayStation blog that the title -- due to hit in November -- will include a download voucher for the E3 demo of God of War III. This isn't a promotion limited to specific retailers: all copies of the game will contain the code, and the demo will be available via the PlayStation Store on the day the collection is released.Now, before you say, "Hey, isn't an E3 demo kind of old?," you should know that the slice of the game we played at the show was pretty robust, lasting nearly 20 minutes and showcasing a good variety of locations and many of the new moves at Kratos' disposal. So there's that ... and the fact that you'll get to play God of War III before 2010.
It's not concept art: New God of War III pics are that pretty
click for bigger pretty God of War creator David Jaffe once said that the third game in the series looks "like a painting come to life." After seeing the new screens of the game Sony delivered at Gamescom, we're more inclined than ever to agree. The image above may look like a conceptual painting, but one click and you'll see a larger version that you can just tell is in-game. The rest of the batch show off a new helmet-wearing miniboss that Kratos will battle in his war against the gods. Seems a shame to destroy something so fantastic looking, doesn't it?%Gallery-70388%
Sony asking if God of War III CE should include first two games
It's no surprise that God of War III will most likely be receiving collector's edition treatment. What's surprising is one of the bonus items Sony is considering: a Blu-ray disc containing -- it would seem -- PS3 compatible versions of God of War and God of War II.In a survey sent to registered PlayStation 3 owners, Sony asks recipients to rate their interest in several possible bonus items on a scale of 1-10. Among the standard fare of "full game soundtrack" and "art book" is "God of War and God of War II on Blu-ray disc." That's a "10" in our book, not to mention a great way to make these games available to those who either never played them on PS2 or no longer have the system and whose PS3's lack backwards-compatibility.Now we'll take a survey. Would this bonus be of interest to you? Let us know in comments. You can find a full list of the proposed collector's edition extras after the break.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
GDC09: God of War III footage conveys massive battles, dynamic camera
We've seen the expertly edited trailer, but today we got our first look at some raw gameplay from Sony's Titan-ic sequel, God of War III. Sony Santa Monica programmers JIm Tilander and Vassily Filippov ended their highly technical discussion of optimizing code for PS3's multiple cores, a.k.a. its SPUs, with a brief 20-second clip.In it, Kratos squared off against dozens of enemies in a smaller area than was seen in the trailer. These guys, with their tall, blue coffin-shaped shields looked nothing like we've seen in the series to date. In order to dispatch them all, Kratos weakened a cyclops who'd arrived on the scene, triggering a familiar "kill" minigame. Here's where we got to see the creature-riding aspect of the game in an actual gameplay setting. Kratos pearched on the monster's neck while it struggled to throw him off, swinging wildly at anything and everything in its path. And that was it. The level wasn't paticularly noteworthy, but the sheer amount of enemies on-screen was. The new camera system also came into play, starting off up close to the amazingly detailed Kratos and pulling back as more enemies flooded onscreen. The action itself was fast and smooth. Filippov noted that, when the scene complexity allows it, God of War III will run at 60 frames per second, but it's not locked there. More complex scenes will run slower, but never below 30FPS. So, when's E3 again? Right -- not soon enough.
God of War III official site is now live
The God of War III official website is now up and running. While at first glance it looks like the site doesn't offer anything new, it does feature downloadable HD versions (720p, 1080p) of the trailer revealed just last week and the one from last year's E3. So much for waiting on the PSN to host it this Thursday [Update: Okay, so it's already out on the PSN]. Go grab it now and watch the carnage in glorious 1080p!Also, may we remind you of our massive GoW III coverage blowout? That includes impressions on Kratos' last adventure and two brand-new interviews. [Via PlayStation Lifestyle]
Joystiq interview: God of War 3's Ken Feldman, art director
Ken Feldman was one of the original three people who came up with the God of War concept and worked as a lead environment designer on the first game. David Jaffe and Tim Moss were the other members of that trinity. During the sequel's development, Feldman worked behind the scenes on future technology and is currently the art director of God of War III.We chatted with Ken at the God of War III preview event in Los Angeles this week, where he detailed the overhauled game engine, Kratos' new PS2-busting polygon count, and inspiration for the God of War style.%Gallery-44594%
Joystiq interview: God of War 3 director Stig Asmussen
After working on games like Dr. Muto and Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, Stig Asmussen worked as lead environmental artist on God of War before moving on to God of War II, where he was promoted to art director. He's now game director for God of War III, which means he's reached the pinnacle of Mount Olympus, so to speak. Despite shouldering an Altas-like workload, including organizing a team of more than 100 employees, Asmussen was in high spirits when we sat down with him this week at the God of War III preview event.Continue on to learn more about PlayStation Home and DLC plans, the handling of motion controls, and how the team's bringing newcomers up to speed on the story -- plus many more previously unknown details!%Gallery-44594%
God of War 3 Game Informer cover story leaked
Game Informer's March 2009 effort is quite an issue: Resident Evil 5, GTA IV: The Lost and Damned, Brütal Legend, and, of course, God of War 3. Did you hear? (Spoiler alert!) It's kinda like the first two, only bigger, badder and more badass -- er, wait, maybe that's the description for the other G-to-the-W sequel ...But we digress, as is fated any juicy magazine preview, Game Informer's God of War 3 cover story has been scanned and posted in its digitized entirety; this time, on the PS3Chat.com forums (and elsewhere, we assume). If you want to dig through such compelling reveals as game director Stig Asmussen's progress report on God of War 3's obligatory sex minigame, then you're just a few clicks away. (Side note: has anyone else noticed that the designers' names get more ridiculous as this series progresses?) But, a word of advice, if we may: These are dire times for print, and, if you appreciate the work that Game Informer has put in for the new issue, then don't forget to show your support (read: buy the crinkly thing).<shameless plug> Besides, Joystiq will publish our "online-only" God of War 3 preview in just two days! (That's, uh, this Friday, by the way.) </shameless plug>[Thanks, Chris]
