A snippet from the latest issue of GamePro claims that Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus dev Ready at Dawn has ditched PSP development in favor of producing Wii-only titles. Joystiq contacted RAD (pretty cool acronym, huh?) president Didier Malenfant, who was quick to squash the report (although we can't be sure he didn't thwap it with a Wii remote left over from porting Okami to Nintendo's console).

Malenfant further tells Joystiq that his company "[doesn't] have any Wii titles currently in development." RAD had previously hinted at plans to create games for current-gen consoles after finishing Okami Wii, and just today confirmed that it has two all-new games underway. So, two new games in development, none for Wii ... rumorong!

When it comes to developer Ready at Dawn, creating games for the PSP is just so last week. But while the company has closed the book on any PSP aspirations, going so far as to mail its entire stock of dev kits back to Sony, the developer of both Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus has played the reason for abandoning PSP development close to its chest.

It's a mystery, but mysteries give us headaches, so we tracked down Ready At Dawn's president, Didier Malenfant, to find out why exactly the studio has turned up its nose at developing for Sony's sexed-up portable. "We feel like we've done everything we wanted to do with the PSP," admitted the exec. "We have new projects on other platforms and we like to focus on one thing at a time."

Even so, Didier championed the state of PSP development, stating matter-of-factly "Good games sell. Who would have thought?"

Developer Ready at Dawn has turned its back on Sony's handheld, with a short post on the company's website confirming that the studio is "now officially done with PSP development." Ready at Dawn is best recognized for two of the PSP's more landmark titles, namely Daxter and last year's God of War: Chains of Olympus, though the company's recent success in bringing Capcom's Okami to the Wii may have more than a little to do with the dev's shifting priorities.

Calling the decision "the end of an era," the move has an air of finality about it, with Ready at Dawn packing up all of its PSP dev kits and sending them back from whence they came. The news echoes comments from Ready at Dawn's Ru Weerasuriya earlier this year, with the Chains of Olympus director noting back in March that "our work on the PSP has come to an end." As for what the devs have in store for us next, your guess is as good as ours, though we've dispatched Joystiq ninjas to the Santa Ana-based studio for more information.

[Via Aeropause]

"Chains of Olympus doesn't quite live up to the other God of War games." (4) "Ready at Dawn didn't mess with the franchise's proven formula whatsoever, which is ... one of our ... gripes for the game." (3) "Gameplay-wise, nothing much has changed ... You still run around and beat the beejezus [sic] out of enemies and then meet up with the occasional boss fight." (5) "I wish that Ready at Dawn had added something new the canon rather than just re-using what's been done in the past." (7)

"The game feels a bit too familiar ... [and] at times you do feel like you've played the game before." (7) That said, "the game is missing some of the features from other God of War games. ... you won't find the ability to use your blades on grappling points, the Icarus Wings, Rage of the Gods, rope traversal, rope swinging, a fourth magic, etc." (4) "I find myself disappointed ... that the game doesn't quite have the same feeling of showing you something new around every corner that the previous games did." (4)

"The game is also brutally linear: you're constantly running from point A to point B, stopping to administer the occasional beatdown." (5) It could also be described as "a very linear experience, (3) that "may be a touch linear." (9) "Toward the end, combat got pretty repetitious, relying really heavily on the mechanic of blocking you into a room and not letting you out until you finished taking down the waves of enemies." (1) "It would have been nice to have seen a little experimentation here or there to mix things up. (3) "Altogether, ... the game feels like a bit less of an adventure and more of a straightforward action game." (4)

We know that most of you haven't read an instruction manual since the days of Gyromite -- not that we can judge you. Aside from the occasional steamy Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction, we try to avoid video game literature as well. Lucky for us, IGN recently cracked the narrow spine of the God of War: Chains of Olympus instruction manual and discovered this treat on the back cover -- an advertisement for a new God of War game for the PS3, presumably the third chapter in the series.

While the series' tremendous sales success and God of War II's cliffhanger ending didn't leave much room for doubt that the threequel was on it's way, we didn't think we'd be hearing from our good pal Kratos so "soon" after the release of Chains. Ah, well; no rest for the familicidal, as they say.

• IGN (94/100): "God of War: Chains of Olympus is a stellar achievement on the PSP. It plays perfectly into the franchise's storyline and offers up the same level of intense action as its console counterparts. It's also the best looking title on the system, without question."
• Gaming Nexus (90/100): "God of War:Chains of Olympus is a must have for PSP owners. There are a few slow parts to the game towards the end of the game but the strong start and finish to the game make this worth the $40 price tag as long as you don't expect anything new from the game."
• PSXextreme (98/100): "To have a game as epic as God of War in the palm of your hands is absolute bliss. This game alone makes purchasing a PSP worthy - no fan of the series, or the action genre, should be without it."

After offending the easily offendable with slightly off-screen sex in God of War and God of War II, it seemed like a no-brainer that the somewhat adult mini-game would making a return for the PSP's Chains of Olympus. Well, that mini-game has now been revealed through an NSFW video posted of GameTrailers.

This time around, the urn and peeing statue that maintained the camera's focus in games past have been replaced with a deliciously suggestive candle (pictured above), which we have to say is an improvement. We can't help but wonder, though, where they'll go next for their suggestive imagery. Rock formations? Vegetables? A lighthouse? Hmmm, they'll probably be OK.

Warning: The below video contains adult content.

We typically don't do posts when games go gold, but Ready at Dawn's declaration that God of War: Chains of Olympus is ready to print on UMDs has two things going for it. First, GoW: Chains of Olympus is arguably the most high-profile PSP release outside Japan EVAR. Second, well, there are just some awesomely fun photos of the team's celebration after the game was finally done.

Ready at Dawn's jamboree also means that Chains of Olympus should most definitely make its March 4 release date. Don't have a PSP and still need to get your Kratos on? If the rumor mill holds true the game will see its day on the PS2 at some point in the future. Congrats to the team at Ready at Dawn, may your hangovers be kind and gentle.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

Although EGM's Quarterman rumor column in the March issue whispers sweet nothings about Dead Rising 2 and a PS2 Wiimote, the most credible rumor is that God of War: Chains of Olympus may be heading to PS2. EGM's resident man of mystery writes that Chains of Olympus may head to the PS2 later down the line, sometime after its release on PSP. It's worth wondering how much of this is rumor reporting, as opposed to "common expectation" at this point.

Many high-profile PSP games have made the jump to PS2 in recent years, and GoW: Chains of Olympus could certainly fit that category. Just recently, Silent Hill Origins and Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters made the leap from portable to big screen. We'll be sure to welcome Kratos from a safe distance if he ever decides to make the jump.

We got a chance to try an updated version of the upcoming PSP-exclusive God of War: Chains of Olympus and walked away impressed, yet again. Somehow, the tech team at Ready at Dawn has managed to make the game look even more stunning than the demo disc version earlier this year. We can't pinpoint it exactly, but it appears the framerate has improved, as has the lighting and anti-aliasing. (Maybe it's due to the developer's access to PSP's full power?)

Of course, impressive visuals are only a small part of what makes the God of War experience so much fun. Ready at Dawn has managed to capture the feel of the PS2 originals by adapting the controls quite smartly to the PSP. We tried swimming, and found it remarkably easy to get used to. To perform Kratos' underwater dash, players must hold the L and R shoulder buttons together and release. Because it's mapped the same way the dodge move is, it feels rather intuitive.

We also got a chance to use some of Kratos' later moves. As in God of War II, Kratos will now be able to reflect enemy attacks by pressing L (block) right before an enemy strikes. We don't know if its our experience with the PS2 game, but we found returning enemy projectiles to be quite easy. Maybe the timing is more generous in this handheld iteration? Regardless, it was easy to catch projectiles and throw them back -- even without a second analog stick.

With work on God of War: Chains of Olympus coming to an end in March, developer Ready at Dawn is already planning an excursion beyond the PSP's portable realm. In a lengthy interview with 1UP, the studio discusses how easily the Greek-on-the-go got the green light thanks to the hard work put into the well-received Daxter. "The first meeting just went like 'we should make a God of War PSP game' and they were like 'yeah you should.' And that was pretty much it," quipped the game's director, Ru Weerasuriya.

Once Kratos is out of the way, Ready at Dawn hopes to put on a similarly impressive show on that system you currently have chained to your television. "This team is ready to move onto something pretty big, and we've [been] planning it for quite a while, and this team needs to show what they're capable of doing on next-gen or current-gen." Expect to hear more about Something Pretty Big as soon as the team gives Okami its deserved second chance on the Wii.

[Via PSP Fanboy]

The wait is finally over ... for your demo. As promised, God of War: Chains of Olympus - Special Edition: Battle of Attica Demo Disc -- or simply, 'GoWCoOSEBoADD' -- has been pressed, printed, and popped in the mail. In just a matter of days you'll be tearing off the plastic seal and enjoying a full fifteen minutes of gameplay! But don't rush it -- you gotta make this one last. March 4th is still 158 days away.