God of War 2 posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Sony explains God of War's dead goat antics
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Apr 30th 2007 at 5:45PM }
Then again, so is the story revolving around Sony's European God of War II event. It seems somewhere between the Daily Mail's spin and the Official PlayStation Magazine's (now recalled) retelling of the Greek-themed costume party, things... goat a little out of hand. Sony's senior director of corporate communications, Dave Karakker, told Joystiq that the reporter responsible for the OPSM article didn't even bother to attend the event. The basis of his article was the invitational pamphlet, "which employed a degree of hyperbole in order to encourage attendance."
Furthermore, the infamous goat was thoroughly dead upon arrival. It was procured from a qualified butcher, was returned after the event and was never allowed to be touched by journalists (no kidding around). The goat was filled with "a meat soup, made to a traditional Greek recipe and served to attendees in china bowls direct from the caterers," leaving claims of "offal" as someone likely mishearing a complaint about the actual taste of the dish. No soup came directly from the goat.
"We recognise that the use of a dead goat was in poor taste and fell below the high standards of conduct we set ourselves. We are conducting an enquiry to establish the circumstances behind the event in order to ensure this does not happen again. We also apologise to anyone offended by the article in the OPSM (subscription copies were sent out ahead of street date)." It was undeniably tacky, but hardly the "Phil Harrison bites the head off a chimp and mows down the audience using a Tommy Gun" debacle you may have envisioned before.
(They're saving that one for The Getaway 3.)
Today's spoilerest game video: God of War 2 ending
by Zack Stern { Mar 18th 2007 at 12:00AM }
If you're the sort who reads the last page of a book before its beginning, bask in the various recordings of the God of War 2 ending that have found their way to YouTube. We picked the extra-long seven-minute cut; witness several missteps by Kratos in addition to the finale.Need we say "spoiler alert?" Watch the video after the break.
God of War 3 dependent on you buying God of War 2!
by Nick Doerr { Mar 1st 2007 at 2:30PM }
We're not going to go over the angle that God of War may make an appearance on the PSP sometime in the future. That's great and all, but we'd really rather see a PlayStation 3 adventure involving Kratos and some pretty intense fighting. If you want a God of War 3, it seems David Jaffe and company will respond to sales and reception of the second game.Cory Barlog, game director for GoW2, had this to say about the production of the third title: "...it's really early; it's not like, "Yes, we're going forward." It's more like, "If this goes well on the second one, what would we do on the third one?" It will really be dependent on sales and fan response to GoW II." Sweet. We hope that the team doesn't have a lot of trouble working with the PS3 -- we'd like them to do the best they can and they wouldn't settle for anything less, would they? So, guys, buy God of War 2! It'll be awesome and we'll get a third. What's to lose, except $50 or so?
[fixed spelling errors... lovely how people try so hard to find something to yell at.]
God of War 2 videos are hack-a-licious
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 31st 2007 at 5:25AM }
Showing that she isn't done yet, the PS2 shines in these videos for God of War II, expected to release in March. The first God of War was one of the most thrilling and action packed titles in memory, an amazing game in presentation and execution. After watching these videos of the demo for God of War II, which looks to bring us more of the same gameplay and fantastic boss battles, it reminds us why the PS2 was last generation's winner -- this game looks amazing! The first video sets the scene and introduces another larger than life boss for Kratos to take down. The continuation of the video can be found after the break. God of War II is expected to release March 13 and it looks like fans of the original game are in for a treat with this sequel.
God of War II nears completion
by James Ransom-Wiley { Jan 29th 2007 at 9:15PM }
Sleep deprived and rambling a bit, God of War II director Cory Barlog updates us on the status of Sony's sequel. Yesterday, Barlog blogged, "it is safe to say that all of the primary work for God of War 2 has been completed." What's left is the final QA testing, suggesting that Kratos is on schedule for his projected March return -- what's being billed as PlayStation 2's swan song.Barlog also spends a few words defending God of War II's quick weapon-switch, which has apparently been targeted by Devil May Cry faithful. "Some call it stealing; I call it realizing when something works," argues Barlog. Hey, if it ain't patented, trademarked, or copyrighted, it's fair game.
God of War 2 demo soon
by James Ransom-Wiley { Jan 12th 2007 at 6:24AM }
God of War 2 director Cory Barlog, using gentler language than tends his predecessor David Jaffe, has revealed that the game demo is nearly complete. "We are going to be breaking off the demo code pretty soon and tuning the final tuning pass on the demo level so that is pretty damn exciting. It means that those of you who emailed earlier about the demo will soon be holding your sweet copy of the God of War 2 Demo," Barlog wrote on his blog Wednesday.Barlog failed to cite an exact release date or means of distribution for the demo, which will feature a single level. By his own declaration, the entire game will be finished 60 days from now, suggesting a late-March to early-April release window for God of War 2. Our guess: demo in February. Will a version land on PlayStation 3's PlayStation Store?
[Via 1UP]
David Jaffe despises action/adventure, Kratos cries
by Nick Doerr { Jul 18th 2006 at 1:00PM }
God of War director David Jaffe recently posted on his blog and 1up.com covered the important points for us. An interesting pair of quotes are where Jaffe says "I find myself enjoying single player action adventure games more than I have since I was a kid," but also says that after designing an action/adventure game with an epic story he has "lost interest in the genre of single player action/adventure games." He likes playin' 'em, but doesn't like makin' 'em. He doesn't want to tell stories with his games anymore?Jaffe believes, apparently, that most games today don't really feed on the raw emotions that a game could, and should, evoke from the player. What, then, will Project HL be? If he doesn't want to make a story, what could it be? A very hard, annoying puzzle game that makes us cry because it's so ridiculous? What about God of War 2, or God of War 3? Will the story taper off and the third try to evoke raw emotions from us with nothing other than blood and mayhem? This may worry some, but as 1up.com concluded, it does appear he is suffering from burnout due to rough development schedules. Buck up, Jaffe! We believe in you.
Watch the entire God of War 2 E3 demo; get frustrated
by Christopher Grant { Jun 26th 2006 at 8:55PM }
GameVideos has a direct feed of the entire E3 God of War 2 demo being played through. Problem is, it's like watching your friends playing a video game; thankfully, the physical limitations of reality preclude us from reaching into the video and showing this nubcake how it's done. But if we could, dear reader, rest comfortable knowing it would take us far shorter than the twenty-four brutality-soaked minutes seen here.
So, while you're exercising self control, sit back and drink in the beautiful scenery. Yup, this is the PS2 looking its finest, folks. For the SAT prep students in the house, God of War II:PS2::Resident Evil 4:Gamecube. Don't believe us? The entire video is embedded after the break, or download the enormous 430Mb .mov (or .wmv) file for filing away, right next to those Kratos-cosplay videos you've been hoarding. For shame!
See also:
PS2 impressions: God of War 2
God of War 2 GDC video leaked online
Sony confirms God of War 2 worldwide Q1 2007
SCEI's Barlog on God of War 2
by Alan Rose { May 19th 2006 at 5:22PM }
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.
Hands-on with God of War II
by Dan Choi { May 8th 2006 at 6:24PM }
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.
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Warhawk, MotorStorm, & other bootleg GDC PS3 videos
by Dan Choi { Apr 2nd 2006 at 2:08AM }
So, are you tired of bootleg stills from the upcoming PS3 titles featured at GDC? (Or bootleg videos from current-gen titles like God of War 2?) Well, it looks like you're in luck, as we've got a few fuzzy PS3 videos from Phil Harrison's speech, courtesy of the embargo-ignorin' folks at Multiplayer.it.
What we have above is a clip from the developer demo of Warhawk for the PS3. A voiceover describes the "ambient warfare" to be used in the air-combat simulation game, as well as the innovative mix of "Cell-based software rendering with RSX-based hardware rendering" to produce the graphics. For all you coders out there, it was also interesting to note that the programs running on the Cell's SPUs were not written in low-level assembly (easing development, but possibly degrading performance).
While we wait until E3, when a playable version of Warhawk was promised to be delivered, here are a few more PS3 videos from GDC that you might find interesting (with a few unfortunately quite incomplete):
- Streamed video
of MotorStorm GDC footage, also with a voiceover.
- Streamed speeded-up video clips (no audio) of Warhawk, Getaway 3, Lair, the Havoc physics demo from Heavenly Sword, the bullet-ridden car model demo, and even that video concerning Rachet & Clank.
- Streamed (basically) audio-only video from Resistance: Fall of Man.
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Xbox retail confidence sags; PS2 powers on
by Dan Choi { Mar 27th 2006 at 1:39PM }
An executive VP with Vivendi Europe feels that retail confidence in the
original Xbox is flagging with MS needing to work with publishers "to help generate some impetus."With Microsoft's primary and first-party focus squarely set on the next generation, the 360's predecessor may be feeling some neglect since saves aren't transferable and exclusive titles are elusive.
The Vivendi VP also noted that the PS2 still has a lot of life left in it, which we're inclined to believe with all the triple-A games still to come to the West, including Kingdom Hearts II, Okami, Final Fantasy XII, and God of War 2. You gotta love the PS3's 100% backward compatibility (or 99.9% BC, give or take a couple of titles). Emulation profiles can only do so much.
[Via Evil Avatar]
God of War 2 GDC video leaked online
by Dan Choi { Mar 23rd 2006 at 10:16PM }
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]
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Unreal Engine 3 and other PS3 tech demos from GDC floor
by Dan Choi { Mar 23rd 2006 at 9:57AM }
Sony may have prevented pics of God
of War 2, MotorStorm, and Resistance: Fall of Man from being taken during Phil Harrison's keynote
speech yesterday, but they did let folks take video footage of the other PS3 tech demos on the GDC floor.So here you have not only the "Lots of Ducks" tech demo all the way from last year's E3 presentation, but you've also got a user-manipulated look at Unreal Engine 3 (which will purportedly power Unreal Tournament 2007 on PS3 next year), a performance-analysis app that flips a face around, and the underwater fish demo also seen during Phil's address.
Of course, there's only so much nudging around of heavy barrels with the Unreal engine that you can take without wondering what juicy UT tidbits will turn up at E3 2006. What's nice, though, is if you're sick and tired of seeing more rubber duckies in Sony's bathtub, you can watch for them in that fishy underwater video resting at the bottom of the sea. Wow, those ducks went down... permanently! Just remember that these technical demos are not representative of final playable games. (Darn.)
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