PS3 Fanboy

Some of you were underwhelmed by God of War III's VGA debut ... including franchise creator David Jaffe. The outspoken developer did a little rant on his blog, indicating a small amount of disappointment in the presentation. "The footage aired on Spike looked meh. It was dark and grainy and I was watching on a SD television." However, he does promise things will look up. "The stuff I saw that I raved about was probably finished 1-2 days before I got to the studios. The Spike stuff I saw had aleady been turned into Spike so it was 100% older. Not that I thought it was bad- again- just I can see how the new stuff I saw looked further along, for sure. And to give you an idea, the stuff I saw that I raved about looked about 25-30% better than what you see in this thread."

Looks like the game may have been shown off a bit too early. Rest assured, though. Jaffe reassures us that the upcoming PS3 God of War game will be "the best looking console game" besting his current fave, Gears of War 2. We'll hold you on that sentiment, Mr. Jaffe.

The new game director of the God of War franchise has a lot of work on his hands, especially considering this will be the "last installment" of the franchise. "We have large shoes to fill following the success of the previously released God of War titles," said Stig Asmussen . "But with refined gameplay and jaw-dropping visuals, I guarantee that God of War will give fans what they have been eagerly waiting for, and much more."

[Via Joystiq]

So you missed the Spike VGAs. You didn't miss much. Only the first footage of Uncharted 2, God of War III, Brutal Legend, Watchmen and Dante's Inferno (from the team behind Dead Space, don'tcha know). We've got your back, though. After the break you can watch all of the trailers from the show without having to sit through any of that boring "awards" stuff (GTA IV for GOTY? Really?)

We're having trouble deciding which of these trailers is our favorite. Realistically it's probably Uncharted 2, because we love us some Nathan Drake. Then again, we have demon nuns, Kratos wielding massive gloves, Rorschach beating up bad guys and another interesting looking new IP from the Dead Space team. What's there not to like? 2009's looking great.

Oh really, Spike TV? You're really going out of your way to make sure we watch your Video Game Awards show this year. Not only are you debuting Uncharted 2, but you're also going to be giving us a look at God of War III? Really? The Gametrailers.com promo page for the VGAs lists Naughty Dog's upcoming sequel, Brutal Legend and the hotly anticipated GoW III. We can't wait.

December 14th. 9PM. Mark it on your calendars.

[Thanks, Hyams!]

According to a new GameStop commercial uploaded to Youtube, gamers who pre-order LittleBigPlanet from GameStop will not only get Kratos sackboy, but also Medusa and Minotaur costumes along with a unique God of War map pack. It sounds like the map pack means not just a brand new level to play, but special tools and items for you use in your own creations.

So "power to the players," people; take that slogan to mean "feel free to bother your local store clerk" for hours on end to give you those additional voucher codes. Check out the commercial embedded after the cut.

[Thanks gambit07! via Ripten]

Speaking to UGO, Hollywood director Brett Ratner confirmed that the God of War movie is in fact a project that he's currently working on. The only thing is, he's still waiting for the "green light" and the go signal to start destroying filming the Greek epic that is the story of Kratos. So what's keeping Ratner from going into full production? That little problem with a certain lawsuit over God of War's "copyright infringement" is probably the main cause. What do you think, dear readers? Are you happy that Ratner will be working on the God of War movie?

[Via 1UP]

GamePolitics has learned that SCEA and David Jaffe have both been sued in the US District Court in California for alleged copyright infringement over the God of War franchise. The suit was filed in February by Jonathan Bissoon-Dath, "the author of a series of related works of fiction, including Olympiad," and Jennifer Barrette-Herzog, creator of Island at the Edge of the Living World. The two allege that they sent their work to Sony Pictures in 2002. They note that God of War shipped on PS2 in 2005, and David Jaffe said that the game took three years to develop.

The plaintiffs allege that God of War share many similarities in plot, character relationships, themes, setting, mood, etc. "Plaintiff's works tell the original story of how a champion saves Athens from destruction by the invading Spartan army that has been sent by Ares ... [God of War] is the story of how a champion chosen by Zeus and Athens saves Athens from destruction by an invading army sent by Ares ..."

With Greek mythology so widely read and known, it isn't surprising that remarkable similarities can appear between various pieces of fiction. SCEA responded to the allegations, calling them "inaccurate, incomplete, abstracted and/or misleading." Both SCEA and Jaffe have requested the case to be dismissed, and to be reimbursed for the legal costs associated with defending themselves.

We know very little about God of War III, other than it's coming. The trailer shown at E3 did little more than confirm that (though it seems that Kratos looks extra angry in HD). Now we know a little more of what to expect from the game, thanks to writer Marianne Krawczyk revealing at the Austin GDC that the script for GOWIII might run up to 120 pages. That's a lot of words for a character who doesn't say a lot.

Apparently the game will be a "very specific three-act experience," meaning we can look forward to a beginning, middle and an end. That's good to know, considering too many games seem to follow the "opening sequence, game, closing sequence" format. Thankfully it seems that the PS3 isn't just allowing for improved gameplay experiences, but improved storytelling, too. Fine by us, bring it on.

Yeah, you read that right. Kratos will be a bonus downloadable character for Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds on PS3. Available on the PS Store tomorrow, he'll be purchasable for $2. It's good to see Kratos venting out his anger in a slightly less than M rated manner.

A lot of you thought the other day's post for Snake and Raiden in Soulcalibur IV was newsworthy, so we're going to bring you another one of these character creation posts. This time, it's that Greek dude with a temper problem -- Kratos. We know a lot of you got excited over the rumor, and after it got shot down, your excitement died with it.

So, we propose that if you really want the gruff voiced warrior battling it out with the guys and (well-endowed) ladies of Namco's Soulcalibur IV, then make him yourself. We've posted instruction on how to make him (and some more pics, too) after the break.

God of War III coming to PS3. Trailer showcased. "In the end, he will suffer. In the end, we will triumph ... in the end, there will be only chaos." Trailer after the jump:

If 1UP's mysterious Quartermann is to be believed, the PS3 version of Soulcalibur IV may be a rather dark, broody, angst-ridden fighter. Not only will the PS3 version exclusively feature Star Wars' Darth Vader, it may also feature God of War's always-angry Kratos. The character would make an excellent and logical addition to the Namco Bandai fighter, thanks to his over-the-top weapons-based moves. If he's not included in the upcoming fighter, we can only blame one thing: his chest is clearly not large enough.

Soulcalibur IV is coming out next month, so all will be revealed in due time.

[Via Joystiq]

We are going to take this with a grain of salt, but the French website JeuxActu.com claims they have confirmation from Sony at IDEF (Interactive & Digital Entertainment Festival) over in Cannes that God of War 3 will make "an appearance in high-definition" at next month's E3. The site then speculates the chance of any sort of gameplay being shown is almost non-existent.

The first appearance of Kratos on the PS3 would be extremely exciting, even if it is just a teaser video. We'll find out when E3 rolls around next month!

[Thanks, Noshino, Kspraydad and everyone else who sent this in!]

Oh, sorry. Did we interrupt you from playing Metal Gear Solid 4? Enough about that! Let's talk about something random and fun (and gloat about our amazingly awesome photoshop skills). David Jaffe updated his blog recently and spoke out about some of his greatest franchises and titles that simply didn't stick for them. In fact, Kratos from God of War was going to have a very, very different name.

Twisted Metal could have been named the following: Urban Assault, Cars and Rockets, High Octane, or Firestorm. All of these are sexy names in their own way. Calling All Cars might have been named Criminal Crackdown or Damage in an alternate dimension. God of War emerged after brainstorming names like At The Hands Of The Gods, Dark Odyssey, Omega, or just the Greek omega symbol with no real name. Kratos was going to be named Dominus -- the developers ousted this name by joking "get the door; it's Dominus" for a year. There you have it. Think Jaffe and crew chose the best names after all?

When the latest PlayStation newsletter randomly mentioned that Guitar Hero III fans would soon be able to rock along with a tune from God of War, we were understandably perplexed. The song has now been revealed by Guitar Hero producer Chuck Park on the PlayStation Blog as "The End Begins (To Rock)" from God of War II. This song will be available on the US PSN Store tomorrow and will cost you absolutely nothing.

It seems like a pretty fun track to play and, considering the price, is a must-grab for any Guitar Hero or God of War fan. It's a shame the song doesn't add Kratos as a playable character in the game. That would be something to behold. Be sure to check out the tune in the video above, if you haven't already.

Video game movie adaptations haven't been all too successful, and it doesn't look like that trend will change once Brett Ratner joins the ring. The director of films, such as X-Men III and the Rush Hour series, is looking to go into the ever-growing genre of games movies. Currently, Ratner is producing a commercial for the Guitar Hero series. He is also directing the first non-Hannah Montana music video for Miley Cyrus. A man of many tastes, to be sure.

A quick blurb at the end of a recent Advertising Age article also suggests that his next target may be Sony's esteemed franchise. According to the article, "[Ratner] also mentioned that he might be working on a movie adaptation of the video game God of War." While the God of War franchise would make for an excellent film if in the right hands, we're still weary about the quality of games films. We'll see if anything comes to fruition.