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God of War III Ultimate Edition to rip apart your wallet

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 30th 2009 at 10:45AM }

You'd think that with a box as obnoxiously large as this, the God of War III "Ultimate Edition" would be overflowing with goodies. However, don't expect an abundance of physical goods in this 8.3" wide x 10.5" long x 5.9" tall "High-End Sculpted Replica of Pandora's Box." With the exception of the God of War III art book, all the bonuses packaged into this collector's edition are downloads:

God of War Combat Arena containing an exclusive environment and seven challenges
Premium Kratos Skin – Dominus
God of War: Unearthing the Legend Franchise Documentary – a full-length movie documentary depicting the history of the God of War franchise
God of War Trilogy Soundtrack – God of War, II, and III scores from the game (mp3 digital download).
God of War: Blood and Metal EP – a heavy metal homage featuring original music inspired by God of War (mp3 download).

So how much will this big box o' digital goodies cost you? $100!

Of course, a big-budget game isn't complete without a requisite pre-order bonus. God of War III's pre-order bonus is none too surprising: a downloadable demo of the game you just put a deposit on! With the same demo releasing via the God of War Collection and the District 9 Blu-ray, chances are good you'll end up with more than one access code to the GoW demo before it ships next year -- heck you might even see a code pop up in your e-mail this weekend!

God of War III demo included on District 9 Blu-ray

by JC Fletcher { Oct 28th 2009 at 10:30AM }

If you're interested in checking out God of War 3 early, but don't want to play the first two God of Wars again, Sony corporate synergy has a solution for you! The Blu-Ray release of District 9, due December 29 (a bit later than the God of War Collection), will include a playable demo of God of War 3. Once you've played through the demo, a making-of featurette will be unlocked (for the game, not the movie).

While District 9 and God of War 3 are united in that they're both things that people presumably want to see, it strikes us as odd that this rather random collection is the first Blu-ray/game demo pairing for SCEA. The Watchmen movie and game actually related to one another in some way, and they came on separate discs.

Trivium to rock God of War III with exclusive tune

by David Hinkle { Oct 21st 2009 at 7:45PM }

We can all admit the God of War series is pretty metal -- it's about a dude killing gods and tearing apart most of the Greek mythos' bestiary with his bare hands! And even though all of the orchestral tunes playing Kratos along his rampages have certainly been nice so far, Sony has seen fit to spice it up a bit and tap metal band Trivium for an exclusive track for God of War III.

The news was revealed by Trivium guitarist/vocalist, Matt Heafy, during an interview with Baltimore rock station 98Rock's Kid Christoff. It's definitely an "original song," Heafy said -- don't expect a tune lifted from one of the band's previous albums. If you're looking for a sneak preview, we suggest you crank this and watch this.

[Via G4]

God of War 3 director considering downloadable challenge rooms

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 20th 2009 at 1:30PM }

God of War 3's director Stig Asmussen thinks a good way to keep players involved beyond the single-player campaign is through downloadable challenge maps. Speaking with GamePro, he acknowledges the game will ship with a certain amount of challenge rooms, with a possibility of adding more, via DLC, at a later stage. He mentions a challenge in which players have to ride a Cyclops and kill a certain number of enemies in a time limit, possibly using "the Cyclops to get through a certain type of hazard or area or something like that."

Asmussen notes that creating challenge maps occurs late in the development process, but hopes that things move beyond the planning phase within "the next two months."

Europeans won't get God of War III demo before 2010

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 16th 2009 at 3:15PM }

While Americans who purchase the God of War Blu-ray Collection and the Japanese gamers who pick up Infamous will be spending the harsh winter of 2009 behind the helm of a demo for God of War III, our European pals won't be so lucky. Sony recently confirmed to Eurogamer that the sneak preview of the Grecian action title wouldn't appear in the region until 2010.

Yes, unless you check out God of War III at the Eurogamer Expo in late October (or import one of the two games listed above), you'll have to do without this holiday season. Don't worry, you should be able to live vicariously through our highly exuberant tweets.

God of War III pitched as FPS; struck down

by James Ransom-Wiley { Oct 2nd 2009 at 12:42PM }

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

by Randy Nelson { Sep 23rd 2009 at 3:57PM }

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.

Uncharted 2 plundering Europe October 16

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 22nd 2009 at 1:13PM }

The time is almost upon us to saunter back into ancient ruins and murder hundreds upon hundreds of mercenaries in Naughty Dog's upcoming quarter-tucked adventure, Uncharted 2. Stateside Nathan Drake enthusiasts have known the date their bread would be buttered on for quite some time (October 13) -- now, Sony's confirmed to Eurogamer that the title will be hitting European store shelves just three days later. (Whoa, don't hurt yourself. That's October 16.)

If you're on the fence about your Uncharted 2 purchase, you'll be able to check out the game -- along with MAG, Heavy Rain and God of War III -- at the Eurogamer Expo, which runs October 27–28 in Leeds and October 30–31 in London. Tickets to the event are only £6, which we're fairly certain translates to about $0.16 in real currency. What a steal!

Halo 3: ODST buyers surveyed about their next purchases

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 22nd 2009 at 11:52AM }

Halo fans are strange, otherworldly creatures whose behaviors are difficult to analyze. A consulting firm named OTX recently tried to tap into this demographic's collective hivemind the only way it knew how -- by asking Halo 3: ODST purchasers what title they'll likely pick up next. The firm found that the average Bungie buyer plans to acquire a total of three games within the next few months, with Modern Warfare 2, Assassins Creed 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 being the most desired titles. We're not sure if that means this group enjoys blockbusters, or if they're addicted to games with numerical suffixes.

Though the list of top 20 games charted in this manner is primarily composed of Xbox 360 titles, God of War III was also a popular response; with 18 percent of participants claiming it to be their next purchase. We're beginning to see a pattern develop. A manly, manly pattern.

PS3 sales up 300% for first week following price cut in US

by Randy Nelson { Sep 10th 2009 at 6:28PM }

Sony Computer Entertainment America has some good news and some bad news to share. The good: Sales of PS3 hardware at its "top retailers" jumped 300% for the first week of September versus the week before the system's price was cut to $299 for the 120GB "slim" unit. The bad: Um, well ... okay, we lied. Everything's pretty good for a change at SCEA HQ, considering people are actually buying its console. (Although 300% pales in comparison to Europe's totally legit 999% increase ... or Japan's 7,350% increase).

The hardware maker also noted that, as of August, five of consumers' top 10 most-wanted games (as surveyed by OTX's GamePlan Insights) -- Gran Turismo 5, Final Fantasy XIII, God of War III, Assassin's Creed 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 -- are on PS3, in case you somehow didn't know this. We would like to note (mainly for Sony's information) that Modern Warfare 2 is also on Xbox 360, and that version was No. 2 in OTX's survey results, whereas the PS3 version placed 10th. (Assassin's Creed 2 for 360 is No. 3 and No. 8 for PS3.) In fact, if you calculate the "purchase intent index" for the top three (all Xbox 360 games) and the lower five (all PS3 games) they're nearly identical. But still, we'll give it to them.

Maybe it's more worthwhile, though, to point out that Uncharted 2 didn't even make the top 25. What's up with that?

Source -- GamePlan Insights Survey Data [PDF file]

It's not concept art: New God of War III pics are that pretty

by Randy Nelson { Aug 18th 2009 at 9:32PM }

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: God of War 3 (GamesCom 2009)

Sony, EA and Activision reveal Gamescom lineups

by JC Fletcher { Aug 5th 2009 at 9:29PM }

For those of you headed to Gamescom and wondering what you'll be waiting in line to play (or standing on tip-toes to watch as a trailer), VG247 has posted the announced lineups for three major publishers: Sony, EA and Activision. Square Enix hs also reiterated its lineup.

Sony will be showing the PSP Go, of course, along with Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, and more on PSP, and God of War III, Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain, MAG, and lots of other big stuff on PS3. Activision will have a pile of plastic-instrument (and skateboard) games, as well as Modern Warfare 2, Blur, and Bakugan. EA's bringing basically everything ever. Head past the break for a full list.

Continued →

Sideshow Collectibles releasing 'premium format' Kratos figure, God of War dioramas

by Randy Nelson { Jul 29th 2009 at 3:01AM }

The show may be over, but more video game related news continues to emerge from this year's San Diego Comic-Con. This time it's word that Sideshow Collectibles has secured the rights to produce one of its trademark premium format figures based on God of War's Kratos. For those not familiar with them, Sideshow'sPremium Figures -- like these Star Wars ones -- are prized by collectors, stand more than 15" tall in most cases and usually sell in the $300-400 range. If the same holds true for Sony's property, that's a lot of money -- but also a whole lot of Kratos.

Sideshow is also working on God of War dioramas -- sculpted multi-character scenes, such as this upcoming offering based on The Clone Wars. They're typically priced in line with the Premium Figures. Specific details on these have not been announced, nor has a time frame within which to expect any of Sideshow's God of War items. Given that God of War III hits next March, we can only imagine that Sideshow would want to ride the massive anticipation for the title and time its lineup accordingly.

[Via Shogun Gamer]

God of War III playable at Comic-Con, replica Blades of Chaos available to pre-order

by Jem Alexander { Jul 22nd 2009 at 9:30PM }

Kratos will be out in full force at Comic-Con this week. Not only will attendees be able to get hands on with God of War III, but they'll also be able to grab a signed poster featuring artwork from the upcoming God of War III comic book series. Check out the PlayStation Blog to find out when and where the signings will be taking place.

In other non-Comic-Con-but-still-God-Of-War news, that blade you see above is a real piece of merchandising. It's a replica Blade of Chaos -- as if you didn't already know -- and it's being manufactured by United Cutlery. The blade section alone is longer than a 30cm ruler and you can pre-order one at BUDK. It's pretty reasonably priced (you know, for a sword) at $124, and it even comes with the snazzy display stand. Only problem is it's pretty useless without a second Blade of Chaos to make a pair. That's how they getcha.

Del Ray announces first God of War novel for March 2010

by Jem Alexander { Jul 13th 2009 at 8:50PM }

Sure, Kratos isn't exactly the most eloquent of game characters, but, much like the Greek heroes on which he's based, his exploits will soon be chronicled using the written word. Del Ray has announced more video game novels, this time based on the God of War games. With a film -- whose story is rumored to be uncannily similar to that of the first game -- in the works, it makes sense for Sony to attempt to suck more money out of the franchise with a few books.

Matthew Stover will pen the first 320-page novel, which will be available on March 23, 2010 for $15, according to the pre-order website. That's just in time for the release of the third game. What impeccable timing! We're always happy to be taken deeper into our favorite gaming universes through new media, so we're hoping it's only a matter of time before an Uncharted novel is announced (to be released alongside the movie, of course).