There was a time – when he was working at Capcom, creating the likes of Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, and Viewtiful Joe – that Hideki Kamiya didn't say much. In fact, he hated doing interviews. Something's changed, because now that he's at Platinum Games, the historically low-key director is letting his true feelings out – about action games, at least.
Speaking to EGM, Kamiya said that, "I've never played Ninja Gaiden, and to be honest, I'm not that interested." Itagaki could not be reached for comment on whether or not he felt that epic burn.
So, what does the master designer actually like? God of War. "There's one game that I am paying really close attention to, that I think is a rival game, a good game, which is called God of War 3," he revealed, boasting, "I want to make a game that exceeds God of War's sequel." That game, he hopes, is his next: Bayonetta. In particular, Kamiya credits Sony's series with being "Very carefully made," saying, "Devil May Cry was a bit rough, but I think that there's no roughness in God of War." Pretty nice words, eh, Mr. Jaffe?
The PlayStation Blog announced today that the God of War himself will be available tomorrow as a downloadable character for PS3's Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds. Kratos, sporting the "clubs of chaos," is taking some time off from battling the gods of Olympus to try and sink a couple putts.
The Kratos DLC will cost $2, but this isn't just a fancy new character model for the game. We give Sony props for bringing in T.C. Carson, the voice of Kratos, to record some new lines for the Ghost of Sparta to use in the game. Don't expect any of Kratos's trademark rage, though, as the game will continue to be rated "E."
MTV Multiplayer has been the host for a lively discussion of box art credits recently (as has the delightful David Jaffe), and a new post may add fuel to both sides' fires. The site has created some mock-ups of what your favorite game boxes may look like if the dev team got credit on the cover.
The immediate reaction as we perused boxes like God of War and Halo 3 was one of revulsion, but the more we think about it, it might be kind of cool to see boxes used to portray games as a team effort rather than just touting the IP within. What do you think?
We always think it's so bizarre when fanboys and girls start filling up our tips box with vitriol about the latest unpopular decision made by Sega, Square, Microsoft or practically anyone involved in the gaming industry. "Where do they get all that hate?" we wonder aloud, before going to donate more hugs down at the clinic. They would be a complete mystery to us were it not for Brett Ratner, who, according to a passing mention in a recent press release from MGM, has been tapped to direct the God of War film.
See, we hate Brett Ratner. Well, no, we don't hate the person. We're sure he's a perfectly nice man. But we hate everything he's ever put on film from Money Talks to X3 aka Brett Ratner's First-Person Theatrical Abortion. ... You know what? Forget what we said, we do hate Brett Ratner as a person. And if he directs God of War, it'll be awful, because all of his movies are awful and we don't know why he keeps being allowed to make them.The end.
We always appreciate the sort of video game trailer that can take time out of its self-absorbed, snappily edited posturing to teach us something valuable. Take this brief God of War III announcement trailer, for instance, which handily sums up the entirety of history in just a few seconds, bookending thousands of years with sheer, unrelenting chaos. Thanks for the lesson, Kratos.
Kratos is going to kick some Ancient Greek ass on the PS3. Sony just showed a CGI trailer confirming that its popular action series is coming to the monolithic console. God of War 3 will be released sometime "after this holiday season," so don't expect it until at least next year.
Don't get too excited -- even if the rumor is true, it doesn't mean GoW III will unleash bloody vengeance against the Titans this year. Although a release date is pure speculation at this point, some rumors report the launch to be next Christmas, while certain retailers have given it a placeholder release of next March.
We heart you, Dave, and it's not just because you created God of War. No, it's due to your unwavering frankness when it comes to the sheer silliness of the games industry. Case in point: game names. For those of you listening in on this virtual cheek pinch, we're talking about Jaffe's latest blog post about how sometimes it's not the quality of the game, but the cleverness of its name which determines if it'll sell.
Jaffe breaks it down for us, then divulges some names that might have been slapped on a couple of his games in an alternate universe. Twisted Metal? Try Cars and Rockets. Oh, and God of War was at one time Dark Odyssey. Hit his own little slice of the net for more genuine Jaffe, sure to make you all ... laughy.
Big fat update this week. For starters, it's time for PS3 owners to jump in the pool and try out the Civilization Revolution demo. So far, our thoughts are positive, but conflicted. PC Civilization players will jump right in and notice some major changes, but will console gamers find joy in the methodical (yet incredibly streamlined) Civ gameplay?
Enough thinking, what about some twitch action? The free God of War theme for GH III is available today, along with the PSN's first game self-published by a developer, Novastrike. Also, storming out of left field is Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3. There's also a couple other nice additions in this week's update, so check it out after the break.
The PS3 Fanboy's got your European PSN update on their site, but be sure to bring chocolates. They like chocolates.
Having mastered every single one of Guitar Hero III's songs (including that one), perhaps you and your freakish, mutant fingers are yearning for some new notes to enliven those increasingly soporific shredding sessions. If you've got a PlayStation 3 copy of Activision's guitar 'em up, why not grab the promisedGod of War track, "The End Begins (to Rock)," from the PSN later today? It's epic, it's free and it sounds like this.
With Xbox 360 players getting a Halo 3 musical number for free last Thanksgiving, the gods of rock have now smiled down on PS3 owners as well. Tucked away in the latest PlayStation Underground newsletter comes word that PS3 armchair rockers will be able to download a free God of War-themed track for Guitar Hero III to rock out to on Thursday, June 5.
No other details have been revealed, including what selection exactly will be released. Even so, free is free, though honestly we're racking our brains trying to come up with a single piece of God of War music that's memorable enough to warrant a living room encore.
Update: It has a name! "The End Begins (to Rock)." [Thanks, Dan; via Guitar Hero Community]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Mega64 has begun a six-part weekly series dubbed Marcus' Corner. All you need to know is in the first 30 seconds of the video. Following the stellar intro, Marcus interviews God of War II developer David JaffeCory Barlog. Here's a snippet.
Barlog: "I used to work for Sony, but now I work for myself."
Marcus: "You quit Sony? ... What other bad decisions have you made lately?"
Video embedded after the break. Stay tuned for more next Friday.
Zero Punctuation's Yahtzee isn't content with taking on just God of War: Chains of Olympus this week. No, he takes on the whole bloody franchise. What we end up getting is almost four minutes of Yahtzee admitting that he's nitpicking and that the series helps give us relief from our 9 8:30 to 5 6 (with a half-hour lunch break) lives. The trademark Yahtzee anger just isn't there in this review, but considering it was overflowing in last week's Smash Bros. piece, an easing of tension might be good for a week.
This week's NSFW review eviscerating God of War: Chains of Olympus can be found after the break.
A job posting for an Online Gameplay Programmer to join "the team behind the critically acclaimed AAA titles God of War and God of War II" (oh, just say it: the team developing God of War III) suggests that Kratos' next romp in Neverland may require some expertise in networking protocols and architectures. You know, give the ol' Ghost of Sparta a playable sidekick, some comic relief. Recall that at the God of War II launch, Cory Balrog (this was before he bounced from SCEA) said co-op was being considered for the third console game, at least, in theory: "If we can do something unique with [co-op], yeah, but it is really an early exploration of that in my head really. It's not even a discussion with the team." Obviously, Barlog got around to planting that seed before he departed.
The listing does include a rather ambiguous disclaimer though, which potentially disavows the job altogether: "Please be advised that the following job description may not reflect a position that is currently available. This job description may exist to simply gather interest, and may or may not ever become an approved open position." Whatever, we all know that next-gen AAA ain't "next-gen AAA" without online co-op, right?
We consider packaging to be quite effective when you can tell at a glance just what awaits you inside of it. Take this God of War Entertainment Pack, for example. There's the "Deep Red" PSP, the Superbad UMD, the critically praisedGod of War: Chains of Olympus and ... well, there's also a PSN voucher for Syphon Filter: Combat Ops, which isn't pictured. To be fair, that's simply due to the lack of excitement incurred by a piece of paper with some obscure code on it.
Also not pictured is the price tag of $199.99 and, perhaps most importantly, a disappointing label which reads, "Not for sale until June."
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