New God of War III footage!
www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/296647.html Here it is. Behold.
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Lives up the the word "TEASER".....again.
Copypasta of my thoughts. 1. Riding Gaia 2. Hermes' Sandals 3. Guantlet talk:
"1. Perhaps. I didn't watch it enough times (yet).
2. The speculation matches my own. Odds are he didn't GIVE it to us.....
3. Wolf? Could be. Didn't get a good look yet. Possibly Cerberus heads. I've heard it suggested that it could be related to the true Cerberus (Underworld link with Hades)...but I'd sooner suspect the GoW1 Secret Message for beating GoWII which relates to the original God of War. Not a lot I can say.
I do get a sligh impression that we'll see a degree of return to GoW1's cast of creatures and less of the exotic types. Though I feel this is the LAST chance to show off the true beasts of Tartarus...
NOTE: I'm not a whore for graphics. I felt they were fine. Having the camera shown in a way that reflects the mini-games threw me off a bit though..I'd have rather of seen a bit of play (even without the HUD) *rough or otherwise* from the standard view. What of the Guantlet (of Zeus) fans so loved in CoO? (I suppose they could just take elements from it) *the broken weapon* What of the BoO which was a story piece in GoWII and should turn up again even if WE don't (for some reason) get to use it...I see the Golden Fleece has returned *understandably*.
The rumors are of the typical sort and for now I disregard them.
I've looked again and the Guantlets look sort of like Lions (Hercules?). In one scene he is breaking a chain...perhaps freeing another Titan or some similiar "ally"? I saw what I THOUGHT was a Titan watching...but upon pausing at 0:13...it looks sort of like a Cyclops..the same one we were killing along a wall (a feature taken out of GoWII) which would indeed seem to be Gaia..as we scale Olympus perhaps. Not so sure about the Centaur battle but whatever.
Harpies look great. As the graphics increase, the 's t y l e' becomes more 'as it should have been'.
The Cyclops don't seem like anything other then the Berserkers we faced in GoWII (by design). I still await the legendary 3 brothers that created many of the Godly weapons. Also Hecatonchires...they have the power and the graphics now. They no longer have an excuse to excluse the Spartan Captain Armor of cinematics....I want Blue Kratos (the original concept) damnit....
Plenty of what looked to have been Legionnaires getting blasted away by a Lance of the Furies c l a s s attack (guessing that's the Guantlet's handywork).
I suppose Centaurs are still linked to Hades (curiously). I just can't wait for the God slaying to begin...
~That's all I can say for now "
NOTE: Realy GS...this error again?..
Lives up the the word "TEASER".....again.
Copypasta of my thoughts. 1. Riding Gaia 2. Hermes' Sandals 3. Guantlet talk:
"1. Perhaps. I didn't watch it enough times (yet).
2. The speculation matches my own. Odds are he didn't GIVE it to us.....
3. Wolf? Could be. Didn't get a good look yet. Possibly Cerberus heads. I've heard it suggested that it could be related to the true Cerberus (Underworld link with Hades)...but I'd sooner suspect the GoW1 Secret Message for beating GoWII which relates to the original God of War. Not a lot I can say.
I do get a sligh impression that we'll see a degree of return to GoW1's cast of creatures and less of the exotic types. Though I feel this is the LAST chance to show off the true beasts of Tartarus...
NOTE: I'm not a whore for graphics. I felt they were fine. Having the camera shown in a way that reflects the mini-games threw me off a bit though..I'd have rather of seen a bit of play (even without the HUD) *rough or otherwise* from the standard view. What of the Guantlet (of Zeus) fans so loved in CoO? (I suppose they could just take elements from it) *the broken weapon* What of the BoO which was a story piece in GoWII and should turn up again even if WE don't (for some reason) get to use it...I see the Golden Fleece has returned *understandably*.
The rumors are of the typical sort and for now I disregard them.
I've looked again and the Guantlets look sort of like Lions (Hercules?). In one scene he is breaking a chain...perhaps freeing another Titan or some similiar "ally"? I saw what I THOUGHT was a Titan watching...but upon pausing at 0:13...it looks sort of like a Cyclops..the same one we were killing along a wall (a feature taken out of GoWII) which would indeed seem to be Gaia..as we scale Olympus perhaps. Not so sure about the Centaur battle but whatever.
Harpies look great. As the graphics increase, the 's t y l e' becomes more 'as it should have been'.
The Cyclops don't seem like anything other then the Berserkers we faced in GoWII (by design). I still await the legendary 3 brothers that created many of the Godly weapons. Also Hecatonchires...they have the power and the graphics now. They no longer have an excuse to excluse the Spartan Captain Armor of cinematics....I want Blue Kratos (the original concept) damnit....
Plenty of what looked to have been Legionnaires getting blasted away by a Lance of the Furies c l a s s attack (guessing that's the Guantlet's handywork).
I suppose Centaurs are still linked to Hades (curiously). I just can't wait for the God slaying to begin...
~That's all I can say for now "NOTE: Realy GS...this error again?..
MrStarkiller
Â
Yeah the God slaying will amuse me for a while. Blue Kratos though? I wonder if it would work? it would certainly change the way people look at him. Like with red Kratos you think, red= blood and death. But Blue kratos? blue=Power???
I like it enough.
Not floored or anything but it shows promise...I'll comment properly on it later though, as things stand this computer doesn't have sound and the refresh rate is awful (which...shouldn't be happening).
I came.
Wall runs, Gauntlets, oohhhghl....
I came.
Wall runs, Gauntlets, oohhhghl....
MrCycleCancel
That was what I liked most about that trailer.
Those gauntlets look very appealing, I've always been a fan of weapons like that (Beowulf, Falcon Talons...steel fists).
But isn't Kratos always in serious business mode?Kuro-sama
How about serious-er business mode?o_O
I think they look silly as does the tiny bit of wall running but I'll get over it should they work well. The GIANT OVEN MIT in CoO turned out okay though terribly broken..
~I've added an update to the Home page with HD trailers
I think they look silly as does the tiny bit of wall running but I'll get over it should they work well. The GIANT OVEN MIT in CoO turned out okay though terribly broken..
~I've added an update to the Home page with HD trailers
MrStarkiller
Â
Thanks. I was wondering who would be the first to update.
Hooray, perhaps now we might attract some more members?Kuro-sama
Â
Maybe. It all depends. They may go to the other God of War union, they might not be interested in unions, there is so much that could stop them comeing here. But yes, we should attract about 5 minimum new members.
[QUOTE="Kuro-sama"]Hooray, perhaps now we might attract some more members?optiow
Â
Maybe. It all depends. They may go to the other God of War union, they might not be interested in unions, there is so much that could stop them comeing here. But yes, we should attract about 5 minimum new members.
I don't really see what the draw is for the other union...at all.
It's in quite a sorry state...we're far more appealing, we have a banner and everything.
There is a little more to it than that. This is a centre of excellence.
Home of the best.Animated signatures do not maketh the Union.
Earning them maketh the member.Â
It looks like we'll be getting some new coverage soon.
http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News-263812.aspx
EDITED by MrCC. SRSLY Alucards.
Never seen such a bare cover.
But I suppose that says it all. Got a scanner elon? It's a big thing to ask, I know, but I'm sure we'd all like to see it.
March 2009.
Magazines always do things a month in advance don't they? Let's hope.
I always get my magazines late. It's rediculous.
~GI is pretty bad about that
Alucard: You. Will. Get. Nothing. And love it.
Today is the Ru interview for 1UP about CoO in Retrospective. Nothing else is announced/scheduled.
Tomorrow is a silly Kinetica article at 1UP.
Friday will be their GoWIII Blowout. (among MANY sites) X-PLAY too.
~Unless one of us gets the mag soon, we won't get a lot to go on. IF I got it, it would be a safe bet in expect that I'd be scanning that to share with TUGOWU (for the love of verbatim without absolutely HAVING to type it out). Odds are that without a call, that won't happen because of the failures at GameStop
Some very interesting information from the GI special, but they made sure to ruin it all by including this:
Â
 "This may bring about mixed feelings from fans who still remember the Blade of Artemis or the Spear of Destiny- weapons from previous games that gave players little incentive to use anything but Kratos' standard chain blades."
Â
WHAT? WHAT MADNESS IS THIS? THE FOOLS. They ruined all possible credibility they may have had with this maddeningly idiotic and ignorant statement.Â
Is nobody else RAGE-ing like I am at this? They have the audacity to ask us IF WE REMEMBER the BoA and the SoD, and then after confirming that we do remember them saying that they were BAD, not only that, but implying that we AGREE that they were SO bad that we're worried about new weapons in God of War III.
 Â
Lucifer: I care, but don't wish to type a lot right now. So I'll just post the copypasta of days efforts here.
---
Scans *sort of small so I translated below for those of us who wish to read without eyestrain and at a reasonable pace*
NOTE: I used italics for words I have trouble reading.
Page 1
Nada
Page 2
Kratos stands before a legion of Zeus' undead champions in the middle of a rocky forest. The ghoulish soldiers have been commanded to kill the legendary Ghost of Sparta. But with his Blades of Chaos in hand, he isn't going down without a fight. As his grotesque foes draw closer, Kratos springs into action - the degraded and shambling army is no match for a former god, but every walking corpse he eviscerates is replaced by another. To complicate the battle further, a hulking cyclops bursts through the trees, giving the undead warriors an opportunity to pile on top of Kratos. These pitiful foes only delay Kratos' inevitable vengeance: He bursts from underneath the servants of Zeus and runs toward the Cyclops.
Leaping onto its shoulders, he does not plunge his blade directly into its eye as usual. Instead, he holds on and sticks a blade into the beast's neck. It shrieks in pain, inadvertently swinging its club into Zeus' minions. With a yell, Kratos jabs his blade in further, and the creature plows forward, bowling over all opposition. The Cyclops and its grim rider run into the forest, which happens to be situated on the back of the Titan Gaia, who is climbing Mount Olympus to end the gods once and for all.
Page 3
Until Kratos, Sony lacked a mascot that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Mario and Master Chief. Crash Bandicoot had a good run for PSone, and Jak and Ratchet gave it their best run team effort during the PS2 era, but the first God of War rallied Sony's user base like never before to become the newest flagship franchise in the industry. As the most popular and identifiable character in Sony's line up. Kratos seemed like an ideal candidate to help launch the Playstation 3, which created confused when God of War II was announced for PS2. Why was the follow-up to Kratos' first blockbuster success coming out for a system in the last phase of its life?
"The great thing about God of War II being on the Playstion 2 was that we had the engine and we knew what we were doing." explains Steve Caterson, senior producer for God of War II. "We took out a lot of the unknown - questions about what we could and couldn't do - because we already knew. We had a really stronger foundation to build on, and that's why God of War II was as successful as it was."
God of War II pushed the boundaries of what anyone thought was possible on the PlayStation 2, especially in terms of graphics and animation. However, releasing God of War II on the PS2 had another advantage: It allowed the team to get a head start on on developing the technology that would become God of War III. During the development of the second game, a small group of key staff kept busy building the foundation of a brand new engine to compete with other companies' first generation games on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. God of War III may be Sony Santa Monica's first game on the new hardware, but the years of preparation mean the team is already intimately familiar with the system.
"We want this to be the first game that shows people what the PS3 can do." declares game director Stig Asmussen. "We set the expectations with the end of God of War II, Kratos is riding a titan into war on Mount Olympus. If we were to be doing something different, like show that in a cinematic and then he gets hit by a lightning bolt and falls down to Hades, that would feel really cheap. The reason we set the expectation is because that's where we wanted to go with God of War III."
Asmussen stepped into his current role after God of War II director Cory Barlog left the studio. Barlog had previously inherited the position from series creator David Jaffe. With the previous two God of War titles, the game directors rose to a form of celebrity within the gaming industry: Jaffe and Barlog became mouth-pieces for their respective entries, outspoken and enthusiastic individuals who garnered attention for the series. Though having a single person closely identified with a game has benefits, it also has drawbacks. When that person leaves the company, fans of the series wonder about the fate of future installments.
The majority of the team that made the series a hit remains at Sony Santa Monica. "Part of the overall success of God of War has been the result of creative individuals." Caterson says. "While I totally support the director standpoint, there are a ton of people beside him that, if they weren't there, the level of success would be limited."
(continued on PAGE 5)
Page 4
Picture 1 - The Wall of Tisiphone is a massive gate in Tartarus that requires combat and puzzle gameplay to open.
Picture 2 - This is Kratos' in-game model. Fans will notice evidence of God of War II is still visible on his body: He still carries the Golden Fleece, and the scar from Zeus runs across his abdomen.
Page 5
Sony tells us approximately 20 percent of the original God of War staff is working on God of War III, Asmussen himself was the lead environment artist on the first game. Remember the time when you first see the enormous Ares warring armies in the distance? That was Asmussen's handiwork. He then became art director for the second installment. As a longtime member of the team, Asmussen knows Kratos inside and out, and recognizes the high standard set by his predecessors.
"Dave created the series, and Cory pushed it even further. For me, it's good and bad." Asmussen reflects. "It's good because those two guys have set this thing up with so many rich, incredible ideas. There are so many things that have already been figured out. But it's bad because the expectations are so high."
Asmussen and the God of War are up to the challenge. "My goal is to make this the best God of War game." he declares. "You're going to see a lot of things that we weren't able to do in the past that we thought would be natural to the gameplay and the experience. We aren't going to be doing anything that seems like spectacle for the sake of spectacle. It's all a part of the story."
God of War II ends with two murdered gods, a wounded Zeus, and Greece on the brink of repeating an ancient war. Riding atop the titan Gaia as she climbs Mount Olympus, Kratos leads the offensive to end the reign of the gods and have his ultimate vengeance...and then the credits roll. While many fans were stunned by the cliffhanger, Kratos' bloodthirsty roar also served to promise an epic beginning to the third and final installment of the trilogy. The sheer scale of the battle is amazing - minions are attacking, gods' jaw-dropping powers are being fired off left and right, and the enormous titans are ascending relentlessly. Asmussen states: "The best way I can describe it, since there are these big titans envolved, is that you take the battle of Normandy, combine it with the movie Cloverfield and throw Kratos right in the middle of it."
Increasing the game's scope to a point where the protagonist routinely kills deities may seem difficult, but the inclusion of titans provides an avenue for God of War III to expand to daring heights the previous games were unable to reach. "Do you remember the big chamber where you fought the fat medusa in God of War II?" asks Asmussen. "That room could fit in the palm of one of these titan's hands."
The titans, who lost their war against the gods long ago, are far more then static background elements. They will rock and heave as Kratos fights atop them, and some will even aggressively attack him as he traverses their bodies. Action sequences involving the titans were previously the realm of rendered cinematics, but they are now integrated into the moment-to-moment gameplay.
"It's something we've always wanted to do - and we've had Atlas and Kronos - but they've always been static." laments Asmussen. "It's not just a set piece anymore, it's a living, breathing character."
"We consider the titans moving levels" adds design director Todd Papy. "What we did in God of War I, with Kratos climbing on the back of Kronos, that was all faked. Now we can do it for real."
We saw the proof of this technology in action with one of the titan character models, which had a tiny white dot on its chest no bigger than a few pixels. "See that!" asks Caterson, pointing to the dot. "That's Kratos." The camera then zooms in and we see the Ghost of Sparta slowly scaling the gigantic titan in real time. As the view continues to get closer to Kratos, we see tendons moving and flexing under his skin as he makes the arduous climb.
To say that God of War III has impressive graphics is an understatement. The level of detail on Kratos' in-game model is breathtaking - even his teeth are individually modelized. "Kratos on PS2 was probably about 5,000 polygons, and now he's 20,000." elaborates art director Ken Feldman. "We shouldn't even be able to load him on the PlayStation 2. His total memory footprint is more then we were ever able to load at any one time for any asset." This level of fidelity extends beyond Kratos as well. One of Poseidon's minions - a cross between a horse and a giant insect - has a body made of water that flows beneath its skin with amazing realism.
The visuals only get better with the addition of fluid animation and dazzling effects. While raising the graphical standard is expected on the PS3, there is another reason the team wants to make sure Kratos looks fantastic so close. All of God of War III's movies are handled with in-game assets.
(continued on PAGE 6)
Page 6
The line between what can be accomplished in hi-res rendered cutscenes and in God of War III's engine is blurry, so the team opted to keep the visuals consistent throughout the entire experience.
Though it is undeniably beautiful, God of War III isn't just a bigger, prettier version of God of War II. The gameplay makes strides foward in all the areas fans could hope for. Kratos once again wields his signature Blades of Chaos, but he also acquires new weapons during the adventure. This may bring about mixed feelings from fans who still remember the Blade of Artemis or the Spear of Destiny - weapons from previous games that gave players little incentive to use anything but Kratos' standard chain blades.
"We want to make it feel like if you have a different weapon, you have a different play $tyle not just a couple of different attacks." says lead combat designer Adam Puhl. One of these new weapons is a pair of massive gauntlets called the Cestus. This brutal weapon was briefly visible in an early trailer for the game, but it takes on a new dimension in the heat of battle. Spiked balls on chains extend from the toothy maws emblazzoned on the front, though they don't extend as far as the Blades of Chaos. This makes the powerful Cestus great for close-quarters combat, and they have the added advantage of emitting a small shockwave with every impact. On any hit, the metal rings that extend up Kratos' forearms come together with concussive force, keeping nearby enemies at bay.
The ability to repel advancing enemies would not have been incredibly useful in previous God of War titles. Kratos' normal arsenal was usually enough to deal with any number of foes he faced at one time. Players no longer have this luxury in God of War III. "We maxed out, in God of War II, around 12 or 15 enemies." Asmussen tells us. "We did a lot of other stuff to make it feel bigger than that. Now, we can probably get 50 guys out there."
The increased numbers result in a variety of new combat situations facing the player. When confronted with a swarm of grunts, they may jump up on Kratos, burying him under a heap of undead soldiers and forcing the player to wiggle the left analog stick to break free. Enemies can also coordinate their attacks; if several shield-toting soldiers come together, they can make formations that make them nearly impervious to damage in additon to blocking Kratos' progress.
Picture 1 - You will face drastically more enemies at one time, giving the sensation that Kratos is fighting an entire army.
Picture 2 - The Cestus is just one of the new weapons Kratos wields. The team is putting special effort into giving players a reason to use weapons besides the Blades of Chaos.
Picture 3 - Riding beasts like the Cyclops gives you even more options in battle, and you can just dispatch them when they've served their purpose
Three's a Crowd - The God of War series' outstanding gameplay is the main reason for its success, but it has the dubious honor of another signature elment: sex minigames. All three installments (including developer Ready at Dawn's God of War: Chains of Olympus) have included one of these sequences, so it stands to reason that God of War III will continue the trend.
"The sex minigame is an interesting thing, because you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't." game director Stig Asmussen laughs. "A lot of that stuff, we've got to worry about the ESRB. If we don't add something to it, then people are just going to say 'Oh, they just did that again' and it's going to be silly. But if we don't do it at all, then people are going to say 'Where the hell is the sex minigame?' So I can say that there is a lot of planning going on in the sex minigame right now."
Page 7
Improved AI behaviors like these occur naturally during the course of combat, but certain enemies will act as commanders, further enhancing the tactics and making encounters more dynamic. A group of regular grunts won't be too difficult to tear through, but when a centaur shows up and orders them all to attack at once, the threat level increases significantly. Kratos' skillset has expanded as well, giving the players more options aimed at dealing with his foes' newfound intelligence - and sometimes even subjugating them to his will.
Kratos' most brutal and exciting new maneuver is the ability to control certain monsters, steering them around the environments like mythological tanks. As the cover of this issue illistrates, one creature you can control is the cyclops. After wearing down its health with normal attacks, a familiar prompt will appear over its head, but instead of performing a context-sensitive kill, Kratos will hope aboard. Once you're in charge, pressing an attack button will make Kratos deliver a ruthless stab to the cyclop's neck, causing it to roar in pain and lash out with its weapon - a motion that results in a ferocious attack on nearby foes. Besides being fun, this technique also has applications in puzzles and navigation.
The team also showed a puzzle referred to as the Door of Tisiphone, where Kratos is faced with an enormous armored door that retreats into a defensive position as soon as he draws near. (continue on PAGE 8 )
Picture 1 - New items, like the fire bow, use a regenerating power bar so they don't eat into your mana reserves.
Page 8
On either side of the mechanism stand huge chains, but hordes of skeleton knights guard them by forming a barrier with their enchanted shields. Then enemies start pouring in. A cyclops lumbers among the ranks of the undead, so Kratos jumps on top of the beast and barrels toward the guarding skeletons, crushing them with the cyclops' oversized maul. This allows Kratos to get close enough to the chains to pull them down, but the door remains closed. In order to reach the final lever, Kratos grabs the feet of a nearby harpy - another monster you can control - and makes it carry him upwards by dishing out repeated punches to the creature's underside.
As fun as it is to get back to these perenial God of War enemies, the process of adding or changing mechanics in a popular series is not something to take lightly. If too much stays the same, diehard fans complain about stagnation. On the other hand, if too much changes, developers risk disappointing their core users - not to mention that steps should be taken to bring new fans into the experience as well. "Fan expectation is an interesting conundrum." Caterson muses. "On one hand, we really focus in on the things that work, and we don't try to rework them. The combat system is a great example of that - it's straightfoward, easy to pick up and play, and very enjoyable. But it also has a layer of depth. That helps the more hardcore players get more enjoyment without alienating the more casual player."
In God of War III, much of the additional depth is delivered through bread-and-butter combat mechanics. Improved environmental interactions (bashing enemies against walls), combos (including more ways to get Kratos and his foes airborne), and grapples are just a few new tricks. Others include rearranging the way previous elements of the game functioned - like seperating the resources used for items and powerful magic. Though people enjoyed the weapons, they were also very conservative." Puhl remembers. "We want people to feel more free with that, so now that meter regenerates." For instance, Kratos has a bow that shoots burning arrows that can fire repeatedly until the meter is depleted. After a short break, the weapon is ready to go again without eating into your precious mana reserve, making ranged combat tactics a more viable option in any fight. The fire bow is a good reincarnation of a familiar weapon, but not all of Kratos' tricks are new ones.
Picture 1 - Kratos' moves won't be drastically changed, but expect to see some updates, tweaks, and additions to your favorite combos
The Evolving Kill - Contest sensitive events might be pervasive in modern games, but God of War is responsible for popularizing the mechanic in its current form. It is not surprising that these vicious kill sequences are making a return in God of War III. "In God of War II, there was still room left for us to keep pushing the [context sensitive] moves foward in the direction we had set in the first game." game director Stig Asmussen says. "Now, in GoWIII, I think we need to enhance them and be more clever with them and move them in a sligthly different direction in order to stay clever." The team is currently experimenting with variations on the old pattern, like branching paths through the sequences and the use of Sixaxis controls to mimic ripping and pulling actions.
We saw two brutal examples of these kills that put a new spin on what gamers have seen in the past. In one, Kratos approaches a soldier on the ground and, with a foot planted on the small of his back, grabs the poor sap's head and begins to pull. As players tap circle repeatedly, the scene becomes a gruesome showcase for the PS3's visual capabilties. The guy's neck slowly splits and his tendons break as Kratos rips off his head.
The other example literally offers a new perspective on the kill. As one of the bosses - who appears to be an old man (although gods have been known to change forms) - nears death, the camera switches to first person. Kratos approaches and begins to beat the boss with his bare hands. While players still enter the button inputs as normal, the entire scene is viewed and heard from the perspective of the victim, complete with the wet crunches of every solid blow. If this is what the team has completed at this phase of the development, we can't wait to see how the other sequences show up.
Page 9
Unlike games like Zelda and Metroid, God of War III lets players retain many abilities acquired in the previous installments. The Golden Fleece and Icarus Wings are returning, and there may be others. Don't expect to begin with the might of an endgame character - the team still wants room to introduce cool new powers - but you won't be face with a contrived all-your-powers-are-gone scenario. "You're not going to have the exact same powers, but you're going to have a lot of them." Asmussen assures us.
The team remains conspiculously quiet on the subject of God of War III's magic system and how it carries over to the latest entry. We definately saw a blue bar in the upper-left corner of the screen, but it will adhere to a slightly different concept. "You can expect Kratos to do ethereal stuff," Asmussen confirms. "These are things beyond brute force, and at the end of the day, they function like magic. It's not handed down, so we had to come up with a different way for Kratos to gain powers." That makes sense, considering Kratos eventually finds himself fighting against the titans and gods in the war. It's unlikely they'll want to pass any more magic to him directly. In fact, they are more likely to attack him on the spot. (continued on PAGE 10)
Page 10
"In God of War you fought Ares. In God of War II you fought Zeus. Now, this is going to be the epic climax." Puhl tells us. "You're going to be taking down gods beyond just the final fight." As if that weren't promising enough, not all the boss characters are taken straight from the Greek pantheon. "You can look at the cast of characters from the end of God of War II, and you can kind of deduce [the bosses] from that." hints Asmussen. "There are a handful of gods, and there might be some other ones waiting in the wings. There are obviously a lot of titans, and Gaia. There are going to be more people that you aren't expecting involved in this as well. It's safe to say we aren't going to have as many boss battles as God of War II. In God of War I we had three or four...we're going to be somewhere betwee the two games."
One confirmed boss is the god Hades, who has appeared in the series before. At some point, Kratos' quest takes him to familiar territory: Tartarus. This section of the underworld, Hades' seat of power, also appeared in God of War: Chains of Olympus. Fans of the first God of War needn't worry; there aren't any spinning blades to tiptoe across in the land of the dead this time. However, that is a small comfort considering Kratos must contend with Hades himself.
The fight against the king of the dead takes place in a dark, circular as he whips his own chain blades (used at the end of God of War II) at Kratos. The chamber starts to crumble as you deal damage, and chunks of Hades' skin - which resemble half-cooked meat - will fly off and then try to wriggle their way back to their master. Attacking these tiny pieces of flesh plays a role in ultimately defeating Hades, though the team didn't want to reveal the trick to beating one of the coolest fights in the game. You can expect to see boss fights more in-line with the Minotaur or the Kraken, where you're using environment-based stuff more then technical stuff." discloses Asmussen. "Though we will have technical battles, like [God of War II's fight] against the Sisters of Fate."
We witnessed another confrontation set late in the game that demonstrates how God of War III builds on the already over-the-top action. Kratos enters a white rotunda built into the architecture of Mount Olympus and confronts Zeus. At first, the battle appears similiar to the last battle from God of War II...until Gaia shows up. As Kratos and Zeus exchange attacks, the titan violently tears the rotunda from the face of the mountain and turns it sideways. As the arena goes vertical, Kratos digs his Blades into the floor as control seamlessly shifts to the wall-fighting mechanics, with Zeus floating freely in the air behind him. The odds don't stay uneven for long, since Gaia flips the structure yet again, this time grabbing it by the pillars and delivering repeating head-butts that send Kratos and Zeus reeling. The events occur without a single break in the combat, making the players feel like they are in control as an action-packed cutscene unfolds.
"That would have been a fairy tale on the PlayStation 2." Asmussen admits. "People would have laughed if we wanted to do this before. Gaia is six times the size of the Colossus [from God of War II]. She's taller then the Empire State Building."
As the size of the God of War universe increases, many fans have wondered whether another player might fit somewhere in the action. Rumors of multiplayer have dogged God of War III since annoucement, but you shouldn't believe them. "It is a solo experience." confirms Sony Santa Monica's director of internal development John Hight. "In Kratos' world, there isn't room for somebody else."
However, that does not mean God of War III won't support the PlayStation network in some capacity. "I can't give you specifics on what God of War has in store, if anything." Caterson teases. "but we recognize where the industry is going and what is being deemed valuable. We've heard what's been said, and we're going to have to leave it at that."
Even in the face of its gorgeous visuals and numerous improvements, God of War III may be a bittersweet moment for action/adventure fans; the game marks the end of an era for Kratos. "The story we started telling with God of War is over at the end of this." asserts Asmussen. "I'm not going to say whether he's alive or dead, but the story is dependent on Kratos, right? As far as I'm concerned, this story is written to close the book on the trilogy."
Obviously, Sony isn't eager to abandon one of its most popular and acclaime series. Hight adds: "We're not interested in killing the franchise, be we're also not going to run it into the ground. We're looking at ways to leverage the brand, but we really care about the consistency of this world. Our job is to represent the fans...they don't want some bull---- coming out that doesn't make any sense that just has Kratos slapped on it. Sony has respected that and passed up financial oppertunities because they believe in our right to create this brand over time."
Whatever the future holds for Kratos beyond the trilogy, God of War III serves as the conclusion to a sage that took the gaming world by storm, redefined cinematic gameplay, and made "visceral" a ubiqutous adjective in the gaming media. Thankfully, due to the efforts of the dedicated team at Sony Santa Monica, Kratos is getting a send-off fit for a god.
Picture 1 - Enemies like these undead grunts will have randomized factors that affect their appearance and animations. The dead flesh will show varying levels of degradation, and they will use different weapons and armor.
Hidden Gems - The first God of War had an array of special features, including the gaming equivalent of deleted scenes. These outlines a series of concepts that didn't get included in the game, includig the Icarus Wings and the revelation that Zeus is Kratos' father (both of which made it into the sequel). Others, like the possibility of Kratos having a brother, remain non-canon. We asked game director Stig Asmussen about the chances of these elements being incorporated into God of War III: "They're definately cool ideas, and we always look at them." he admits. "I think you'll find some parallels - there's good stuff there, no doubt."
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NOTE: There should be more info by Friday.
NOTE2: The old forbbidden .html issue...cute
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