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?
It's actually really well done. At first I thought it was part of the game. That studio has got to be one of the biggest success stories of this generation.
Wow it looks great. I played god of war 1 and 2 not long ago on my ps3 and it was really really shady. After looking at the HD version it makes me want to just throw away my ps2 god of wars O.O
I'd rather have a completely new HD remake for Shadow of the Colossus on the PS4 or something instead of an HD re-release. I think this games deserves it and since Ueda has said the game wasn't completely finished (there were some unused area's and concepts) they could expand the game and make it even better.
I'm playing through Shadow of the Colossus on my PS3 right now and it does look much better than it would on a PS2. Smoothing helps the game look much better in HD.
I hate when people say this game or that game needs to be remade etc etc just play the game the way it was meant to, you'll enjoy just as much even if it doesnt have current gen graphics and tech. remakes are fine but seems like people are going overboard with it now.
Same here but this release looks great, remastered in HD, anti-aliasing, 60fps, and trophies. I already played the first 2 games (and they were awesome) back on PS2 and not gonna buy them again even though this looks good.
My year end gaming is looking like this: Uncharted 2, Demon's Souls, and maybe Modern Warfare 2.
Seconded. Ico could use the graphics bump and publicity the most, but I'd really, REALLY like to play Shadow of the Colossus in glorious 1080p. Can't WAIT for Last Guardian...
ICO and SoTC don't even look PS2 good. Rendering the same low-res textures in HD won't make much difference. It might fix the frame rate though, which would be nice.
Both Ico and SOTC look fantastic in HD (I've seen them going on an emulator at a friends house, although SOTC didn't run very well at that resolution, even on his gaming rig). I wouldn't mind seeing both of them on one Blu-Ray disc, especially considering how hard it is to find Ico at a reasonable price (SOTC is still available at Amazon, among other places).
If this God of War bundle sells well, we'll be seeing more in the future. It wouldn't be a shock to see a Metal Gear Solid Blu-Ray bundle, or a Final Fantasy Blu-Ray bundle, etc. I love this trend, because 3D games really are only limited by the power of the console they are released on, and if the textures are suitably large, they look great when rendered at a higher resolution, and with added AA.
ICO and SoTC do not look fantastic in HD, I played them both in my BC PS3 with upscaling in the last 6 months. They look like garbage because the textures are very low res even for a PS2 game.
Emulators and upscaling cannot make textures look better, it's just an inherent limitation. It can make the edges (by being truly HD res and antialiased) look better. It can anti-alias textures a bit too, but generally, due to how the aliasing happens to textures that are being used at max res already like the ones in ICO and SotC (instead of being oversized in case you run at a higher res or with AA like PC games often are).
Redoing these games with new art could make a huge difference, but if Sony didn't do it for GoW, they aren't going to do it for ICO/SotC.
@whynot - Look at the textures in an emulator (on either SOTC or Ico), and you'll find that they look a heck of a lot better in HD than they do when played on a PS3 with upscaling. It's the difference between a true HD resolution being rendered, and a 480p resolution being stretched. Are the textures as nice as those you'd see on a new PS3 or 360 game? No, but they were obviously never designed to be. For Ico in particular, we're talking the difference between a crystal clear image, and a muddy image that really doesn't do the game justice. For SOTC, it's like taking a layer of blur off, and making everything much sharper (faces in particular. The same goes for Ico).
For reference, I've got both games and a PS3. I've played both upscaled (through the PS3) on a 1080p TV, and I can say with certainty that the true 1080p offered by an emulator blows the 1080p upscaled image out of the water. As I said though, my friends beefy gaming rig can't do SOTC at more than maybe 10fps at 1080p, so it isn't likely that they could do it on a PS3 without a ton of work, but Ico shouldn't be much of a problem at that resolution.
I'm not sure why GOW is still receiving heaps of praise. It was OK but it wasn't THAT fun.
I'd rather have a MGS3 done over with MGS4 controls and Fallout3 type free-roaming in the jungle. Now that...that would be deserving of a re-do in hi-def.
i would love to see an ICO/SoTC HD remake like this since i actually missed both of those games. i passed ICO like a million times in the bargain bin and never knew what it was back then, and then when i wanted it, i couldn't find it. and just never bought SoTC for some reason.
Sly 1 is barely worth playing. Maybe if they fixed the camera so it can be tilted vertically. 2 and 3 are good. I missed the bottle collection stuff in Sly 3.
@MRLN It's Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing. And nothing could be as bad as that game. Everytime I need a good laugh I go to the gamespot site and watch that video review.
Nothing is better at being bad as that game. I'm not sure anyone could intentionally make a game as bad.
Can't wait...for some reason I never played the first or second on PS2, they look amazing and the graphics don't look bad at all. GoW III demo will be a nice extra.
so your going to spend $40 and not even play or replay through the original two games just for a demo which will be made available free eventually? wow that's the dumbest shit I've heard in a long time.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
skyzbig @ Oct 16th 2009 5:00PM
Love Santa Monica's new ident...
SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Oct 16th 2009 5:20PM
It's actually really well done. At first I thought it was part of the game.
That studio has got to be one of the biggest success stories of this generation.
TypeF @ Oct 16th 2009 6:34PM
Wow it looks great. I played god of war 1 and 2 not long ago on my ps3 and it was really really shady. After looking at the HD version it makes me want to just throw away my ps2 god of wars O.O
copa @ Oct 16th 2009 5:02PM
I'd rather have an ICO/Shadow of the Colossus re-release. With demo for The Last Guardian.
Sly @ Oct 16th 2009 5:15PM
i'd love a remastered sly 1/2/3 release with a surprise demo for sly 4. that would rock my world.
Solace @ Oct 16th 2009 5:17PM
ok what does that have to do with GoW?
SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Oct 16th 2009 5:18PM
I would rather have a re-release of God of War/God of War II with a demo of God of War III.
Oh, nevermind..
Finito (PSN: Wretched_Walrus) @ Oct 16th 2009 5:26PM
I'd rather have a completely new HD remake for Shadow of the Colossus on the PS4 or something instead of an HD re-release. I think this games deserves it and since Ueda has said the game wasn't completely finished (there were some unused area's and concepts) they could expand the game and make it even better.
Solace @ Oct 16th 2009 5:26PM
I'm playing through Shadow of the Colossus on my PS3 right now and it does look much better than it would on a PS2. Smoothing helps the game look much better in HD.
Alton Brown [ XBL: LordToastington] @ Oct 16th 2009 5:27PM
I want an SMT collection so bad it hurts.
Autobot @ Oct 16th 2009 5:28PM
I'd rather have an ICO/Shadow of the Colossus re-release. With The Last Guardian full game.
Solace @ Oct 16th 2009 5:29PM
I hate when people say this game or that game needs to be remade etc etc just play the game the way it was meant to, you'll enjoy just as much even if it doesnt have current gen graphics and tech. remakes are fine but seems like people are going overboard with it now.
phinnvr6 @ Oct 16th 2009 5:35PM
Same here but this release looks great, remastered in HD, anti-aliasing, 60fps, and trophies. I already played the first 2 games (and they were awesome) back on PS2 and not gonna buy them again even though this looks good.
My year end gaming is looking like this: Uncharted 2, Demon's Souls, and maybe Modern Warfare 2.
daliminator2000 @ Oct 16th 2009 5:36PM
I'd rather have a remake of Final Fantasy VII.
Alton Brown [ XBL: LordToastington] @ Oct 16th 2009 5:43PM
It's REALLY hard to find the first two SMT games on the SNES. I can't play it the way it was meant to without spending a lot of money.
CH3BURASHKA @ Oct 16th 2009 5:48PM
Seconded. Ico could use the graphics bump and publicity the most, but I'd really, REALLY like to play Shadow of the Colossus in glorious 1080p. Can't WAIT for Last Guardian...
Speaking of Team Ico games, the OCRemixes of the soundtracks are amazing. Help yourself.
http://ocremix.org/game/502/shadow-of-the-colossus-ps2
http://ocremix.org/game/372/ico-ps2
If you (yes, you!) have any musical abilities, please expand on the short list of remixes.
Space @ Oct 16th 2009 5:51PM
when do the remakes stop?15 years from now will you be asking for a 4th remake of FFVII or SotC
why not the LS2LS7? @ Oct 16th 2009 5:54PM
ICO and SoTC don't even look PS2 good. Rendering the same low-res textures in HD won't make much difference. It might fix the frame rate though, which would be nice.
5-Piece Chicken Dinner @ Oct 16th 2009 5:59PM
How about GTA: San Andreas in HD? I will cry the day Rockstar releases something like that
WREturns (Please buy and rate my iPhone game, Shape Tapper!) @ Oct 16th 2009 6:06PM
I would really like remakes of the first three Zelda games...
BananaBoat @ Oct 16th 2009 6:18PM
Both Ico and SOTC look fantastic in HD (I've seen them going on an emulator at a friends house, although SOTC didn't run very well at that resolution, even on his gaming rig). I wouldn't mind seeing both of them on one Blu-Ray disc, especially considering how hard it is to find Ico at a reasonable price (SOTC is still available at Amazon, among other places).
If this God of War bundle sells well, we'll be seeing more in the future. It wouldn't be a shock to see a Metal Gear Solid Blu-Ray bundle, or a Final Fantasy Blu-Ray bundle, etc. I love this trend, because 3D games really are only limited by the power of the console they are released on, and if the textures are suitably large, they look great when rendered at a higher resolution, and with added AA.
CheeziePotato (PSN: talic10 | XBL: InfiniteMovie) @ Oct 16th 2009 6:22PM
We need remakes of Zelda A Link To The Past and Links Awakening.
Omega_King @ Oct 17th 2009 1:18PM
Ico & Shadow of the collosus
Possibly with updated graphics and sounds
why not the LS2LS7? @ Oct 16th 2009 6:43PM
ICO and SoTC do not look fantastic in HD, I played them both in my BC PS3 with upscaling in the last 6 months. They look like garbage because the textures are very low res even for a PS2 game.
Emulators and upscaling cannot make textures look better, it's just an inherent limitation. It can make the edges (by being truly HD res and antialiased) look better. It can anti-alias textures a bit too, but generally, due to how the aliasing happens to textures that are being used at max res already like the ones in ICO and SotC (instead of being oversized in case you run at a higher res or with AA like PC games often are).
Redoing these games with new art could make a huge difference, but if Sony didn't do it for GoW, they aren't going to do it for ICO/SotC.
BananaBoat @ Oct 16th 2009 7:14PM
@whynot - Look at the textures in an emulator (on either SOTC or Ico), and you'll find that they look a heck of a lot better in HD than they do when played on a PS3 with upscaling. It's the difference between a true HD resolution being rendered, and a 480p resolution being stretched. Are the textures as nice as those you'd see on a new PS3 or 360 game? No, but they were obviously never designed to be. For Ico in particular, we're talking the difference between a crystal clear image, and a muddy image that really doesn't do the game justice. For SOTC, it's like taking a layer of blur off, and making everything much sharper (faces in particular. The same goes for Ico).
For reference, I've got both games and a PS3. I've played both upscaled (through the PS3) on a 1080p TV, and I can say with certainty that the true 1080p offered by an emulator blows the 1080p upscaled image out of the water. As I said though, my friends beefy gaming rig can't do SOTC at more than maybe 10fps at 1080p, so it isn't likely that they could do it on a PS3 without a ton of work, but Ico shouldn't be much of a problem at that resolution.
kentuckyfried @ Oct 16th 2009 7:48PM
*this
I'm not sure why GOW is still receiving heaps of praise. It was OK but it wasn't THAT fun.
I'd rather have a MGS3 done over with MGS4 controls and Fallout3 type free-roaming in the jungle. Now that...that would be deserving of a re-do in hi-def.
MRLN (The Comment God) @ Oct 16th 2009 7:49PM
We need a remake of Big Rigs: Off Road Racing.
You're winner, btw.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) @ Oct 16th 2009 8:59PM
i would love to see an ICO/SoTC HD remake like this since i actually missed both of those games. i passed ICO like a million times in the bargain bin and never knew what it was back then, and then when i wanted it, i couldn't find it. and just never bought SoTC for some reason.
Gibbeynator @ Oct 16th 2009 9:07PM
Well I'd like to see a remake of Drake of the 99 Dragons.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Oct 16th 2009 9:42PM
Sly 1 is barely worth playing. Maybe if they fixed the camera so it can be tilted vertically. 2 and 3 are good. I missed the bottle collection stuff in Sly 3.
Maverick Saturn (Igor) @ Oct 16th 2009 11:01PM
I would rather have Jessica Alba remastered in my bedroom, all you guys can stick to your GOW, MGS and SOTC :P
Coogan @ Oct 16th 2009 11:21PM
@MRLN It's Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing. And nothing could be as bad as that game. Everytime I need a good laugh I go to the gamespot site and watch that video review.
Nothing is better at being bad as that game. I'm not sure anyone could intentionally make a game as bad.
context @ Oct 27th 2009 4:27PM
@5-Piece Chicken Dinner
Its called PC. Seriously probably any PC will run that nowadays in higher res
Jared @ Oct 16th 2009 5:05PM
Can't wait...for some reason I never played the first or second on PS2, they look amazing and the graphics don't look bad at all. GoW III demo will be a nice extra.
KVN @ Oct 16th 2009 5:05PM
Hmmm looking at this trailer makes me appreciate god of war 3 alot more.
Marius @ Oct 16th 2009 5:05PM
Im only buying it for the demo
Solace @ Oct 16th 2009 5:19PM
so your going to spend $40 and not even play or replay through the original two games just for a demo which will be made available free eventually? wow that's the dumbest shit I've heard in a long time.
Jack_Jackington @ Oct 16th 2009 5:33PM
Solace, how did you get all that out of the 1 sentence Marius said? What if he buys it, gets the voucher, then gives it to a family member as a gift?
Marius @ Oct 16th 2009 5:30PM
I have money to waste,
and I lost my original games, so "collection" fits this game perfectly
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 16th 2009 5:35PM
....Wanna give me the games you aren't gonna play? :/
Deadpool @ Oct 16th 2009 5:46PM
Can you waste some of that money on me? Help a guy out would ya? I got babies to support ya know!
*cradles Ps3 in his arms"
Do you want your Uncharted 2 now? Yes you do! Yes you do!
*beep*
Did you see that! It beeped at me! You're so cutest Ps3 in the whole wide world! Yes you are! You you are!
Sly @ Oct 16th 2009 6:22PM
why not play through the 2 games? they have trophies.
Marius @ Oct 16th 2009 8:24PM
yeah i dont understand were you people got that i wasnt going to play them,
my incentive to buy it is the demo
Fane [A-MF Brigade] @ Oct 17th 2009 7:16PM
(I just know this is going to be a double-post, but I waited ten minutes and the first hasn't appeared so...)
@ Marius
Probably because you wrote "only".
Randall Hopkins @ Oct 16th 2009 5:05PM
Day one buy.
Xist27 @ Oct 16th 2009 5:09PM
DAY ONE BUY FOR SURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Durden @ Oct 16th 2009 5:10PM
And...... I got man milk all over my keyboard.
Joseph @ Oct 18th 2009 10:57PM
Yeah... milk... right...
No Kill Tayler @ Oct 16th 2009 5:11PM
Whats that sound?
It's the sound of me going broke.
CH3BURASHKA @ Oct 16th 2009 5:49PM
http://by.audiko.net/ringtone/Mario+bros/Sound+Effects+-+Best+original+coin