God of War 3 Information Thread

General Game Information & Overview

Published By: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developed By: SCE Studios Santa Monica

Genre: Action and Adventure

Number of Players: 1

Release Date: March 2010

MSRP: 59.99

Platforms: PS3





Game Overview:

Developed exclusively for the PLAYSTATION3 (PS3) system, God of WarIII is the final installment of the multi-million unit-selling trilogy. Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment’s Santa Monica Studios, God of War III will bring epic battles to life with stunning graphics and an elaborate plot that puts Kratos at the center of carnage and destruction as he seeks revenge against the Gods who have betrayed him.

Set in the realm of brutal Greek mythology, God of War III is a single-player game that allows players to take on the climatic role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he scales through the intimidating heights of Mt. Olympus and the dark depths of Hell to seek revenge on those who have betrayed him. Armed with double-chained blades, and an array of new weapons and magic for this iteration of the trilogy, Kratos must take on mythology’s darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles throughout his merciless quest to destroy Olympus.

Utilizing a new game engine built from the ground up and state-of-the-art visual technologies, the development team behind God of War III has made standard-setting strides in giving players the realistic feel of actually being on the battlegrounds. With texture resolutions quadrupling since God of War II on PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, God of War III, in its debut on PS3, will feature fluid, life-like characters, as well as dynamic lighting effects, a robust weapon system, and world-changing scenarios that will truly bring unmistakable realism to Kratos’ fateful quest. Players will have a chance to join battles on a grand scale that is four times larger than its predecessor.



Key Features:



• ONLY ON PS3 - The award-winning development team leverages the processing power and technology of PLAYSTATION 3 to make God of War III one of the most-graphically advanced next gen titles available, with even the dramatic cut screens running off the in-game engine.



• GROUNDBREAKING DEPTH OF SCALE – Kratos will explore areas up to 4 times larger than those found in God of War II, as well as carve through entire armies while navigating on the back of Titans – living, moving, breathing levels as tall as the Empire State Building.



• STYLIZED REALISM – Players will battle in detailed and unique 3D worlds lit by thousands of dynamic lights and textures with quadruple the resolution, which allows for realistic muscle striations, detailed facial expressions, and new heightened levels of brutality and gore.



• SIGNATURE GAMEPLAY - Brutal combat, intricate puzzles, exploration of awe-inspiring worlds, and a compelling and satisfying ending to Kratos’ epic story.



• SOPHISTICATED STORYLINE – The God of War III storyline is the epic conclusion to the trilogy; the storyline will be told in a way that is true to traditionalist roots in Greek mythology, from moral consequences to brutal battles against the Gods.



• RIDEABLE CREATURES – Several of the menacing creatures of Greek mythology in God of War III can now be manipulated against their will, as Kratos uses them to cross chasms, inflict blind rage against enemies, reveal puzzles and secrets, and as tools of complete annihilation.



• NEW WEAPONS AND COMBAT SYSTEM - New deadly weapons such as the Cestus—powerful metal gauntlets with devastating strength—and other brutal instruments of war that will allow Kratos to learn ruthless new techniques such as grappling with enemies and launching explosive wall-to-ground attacks.



• LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES – The dynamic lighting solution employed in GOW III is only feasible through the computing power provided by the Cell SPUs. For example, using the High Dynamic Range Lighting (HDRL) technology, the camera – when using Krato’s sightline – will emulate the human retina, causing players to feel a sharp brightness when Kratos exits a dark area and enters a sunlit area, similar to how the human eye would need to adjust.



E3 09: God of War III's visuals will 'improve dramatically'

Everything you see here will improve dramatically in the final game. We're always improving."

That's what God of War III producer Stig Asmussen told us today of the game, during a behind-closed-doors demo. It's hard to believe -- the demo played at Sony's E3 press conference and free to play on the floor looks more than incredible. It's not an understatement to come out and say that it may be one of the best-looking third-person action games ever, if not the best-looking game on the PlayStation 3.



But comparing it to the demo of the same section of gameplay we saw earlier in the year, he's definitely not just blowing smoke. The game had already improved dramatically, with some of the most obvious examples the game's lighting. But Asmussen points out the new blood effects, with splatters covering Krato, become covered in blood as he tears down enemies. Or another little touch just put in for the E3 demo, a group of rats scattering into darkness as Kratos shines the light from the eyes of the severed head of Helios upon them.

With my mind already blown by what I'm seeing, I can't imagine where my jaw will land when it ships next March. We hope to get some hands on time with God of War III (about 20 minutes worth of gameplay) here at E3.

destuctoid.com Source

E3 Preview

What's the game about? It's the final game in the initial God of War trilogy, with Kratos and the Titans fighting Zeus and the Gods. You know this. Big new features this time around include playing entire levels on the backs of gigantic Titans as they scale Mount Olympus, fighting large numbers of (sometimes organized) enemies with new crowd control techniques, and flying vertically when you strap on a pair of wings and enter a wind tunnel. Read this preview from February for the rundown.



What's new for E3? Sony isn't revealing a ton of new features at the show, but instead letting everyone get their hands on the game for the first time. The E3 demo consists of a more polished version of what Sony showed the press back in February: Kratos fights a Cyclops, Minotaur, etc., rides a few Harpies for platforming segments, then rips off Helios' Head and uses it to solve a puzzle/light up some darkened areas. Finally he slaps on some wings for an Icarus-like Ascension and flies straight towards the Fire Titan. Magic and Rage of the Titans are missing from this version, but the Cestus is playable, and it feels very similar to the Gauntlet in God of War: Chains of Olympus, but with a few more violent-looking combos.



What's our take? As expected, it plays incredibly well, and given that it has the longest line I've seen on the show floor, I doubt I'm alone in saying that. So let's get into a few specifics.

My favorite new move in the demo is the battering ram -- after you press Circle to pick up an enemy, you have options for how you want to use them. By pressing Square you put them on your shoulder and run through crowds of enemies, knocking them out of the way as you go. Given how many enemies you face at once (I'll estimate the number at around 8-10 on average), the crowds can feel a bit overwhelming, but using the battering ram clears drones out of the way efficiently. Its main downside is that you can't use it for extended periods of time -- if you touch a wall, Kratos will bash in the enemy's head, effectively stopping your momentum. And if you try to keep running, Kratos will end up throwing the enemy after five seconds or so.



Riding a Cyclops is another highlight -- after you weaken one, you can enter a minigame that puts you on top of it instead of striking a killing blow, and from there you have a light and strong attack. The Cyclops kind of stumbles around as you ride on top of it -- looking either injured or really drunk -- and this enables you to break apart groups of enemies hiding together under their shields.

Also notable -- all the button-pressing minigames (you may know them as QTEs) in the demo are put on the corresponding edges of the screen, so if you're supposed to hit Square, the Square icon will show up on the left, etc. This threw me at first, because my eyes were trained to look for these in the center of the screen, and it took an extra half second or so to find them and figure what button to press, but once I realized that the location corresponded with the button placement on the controller, it became second nature and I only needed to glance at the icons -- I knew what to press based on where I saw an icon appear out of the corner of my eye, allowing me to focus on the action in the middle of the screen.



And finally, the Fire Bow was interesting to use since it's no longer a limited resource -- you have a yellow power bar for it that sits below your magic bar, and this refills in a few seconds after you fire off 10 shots or so. This doesn't seem to help much against big groups, since the individual arrows don't inflict much damage and they only peck away on one enemy at a time, but in one-on-one miniboss fights, the Fire Bow seems extremely useful -- you can roll around with the right analog stick to avoid getting hit, then fire off 10 shots, then roll a couple of times, then repeat. I imagine the final game will make techniques like this a little more difficult to pull off.

And that's it for now -- I'll update later if I discover any more details!

1up 06/02/09:Source

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Thanks for the info, dear. I'm flying up to take over your PS3 when it comes out.

Ha Bullshit.

IGN 06/02.09:Source

E3 2009: God of War III Lands in March

June 2, 2009 - Sony's press conference just concluded here in Los Angeles, but not before Kratos, the legendary star of the God of War franchise, got a little screen time.

Although the focus was on the live demo which featured Kratos dominating some poor, defenseless opponents, the audience was told that God of War III will be hitting store shelves in March of next year. Sounds like PS3 owners have something to seriously look forward to.


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1up 05/31-Source

New God of War 3 Combat and Boss Details



The July issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine (PTOM) features God of War 3 on its cover, and inside includes the first new info. on the game since Sony unveiled it back in February.

Kicking things off, lead combat designer Adam Puhl goes into detail on the game's Spider-Man-style grappling ability, which essentially takes the grapple points from God of War 2 and places them on the game's enemies. "At any point, if there's an enemy on the ground, in the air, wherever, Kratos can throw his blades at them, pull himself into that enemy [or pull the enemy over, or toss the enemy left or right], and perform a shoulder ram," he says. "When it hits, the game slows down, so you get this impactful attack, and you can continue to combo after that...the combat grapple is a linker for the entire combat system."

While the article doesn't reveal any new weapons, it confirms there will be four "main" ones in the finished game, so that leaves two (in addition to the blades and the Cestus) that have yet to be revealed. Apparently each weapon will be tied to its own magic attacks, and one of the Cestus' magics sees Kratos "pound the ground to send a massive wave of destruction in front of him," according to PTOM 's Teresa Dun. Puhl notes that magic attacks "will have more gameplay [than magics in previous God of War games]" and that "there'll be more interesting things that you can do" with them."

Another change to the game's mechanics is the addition -- or perhaps I should say rebranding -- of what the game calls "items." Puhl explains that players hesitated to use the Wind Bow in God of War 2 because it shared the same power bar as other, stronger magic attacks, so the developers created the "items" distinction to encourage players to use them more often. Items (such as the previously revealed Fire Bow and Helios' Head) will have their own power bar, which will automatically refill, so there's limited punishment for using them.

PTOM also had a chance to see a few new scenarios from the game for their story, the most newsworthy being the boss fight with Hades. As Dun describes it, the fight takes place in a "circular space" surrounded by souls that Hades can pick up and throw at Kratos, and at one point in the battle Hades tries to steal Kratos' soul from his body in a button-mashing tug of war.

That's it for now, but we'll have much more God of War 3 coverage on Tuesday, when Sony will bring the game by 1UP's E3 setup for an in-booth video demo and we'll get our first hands-on time with the game. Check out our E3 hub page for more details on what to expect from the show

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gamecenteronline.net- Source

GOW III Devs: SPUs Are Faster Than You Think



Most of us think that, by now, most developers have grasp the full potential of the PlayStation 3, but SCEA says it differs when it comes to thinking that. As reported by GameZine, in Sony Santa Monica’s confrence at GDC ‘09, which was entitled titled “Practical SPU Programming”, it was detailed by Jim Tilander and Vassily Filippov of the teams usage of the PlayStation 3’s SPUs in God of War III.The Cell processor features one main processor, PPU, and 8 specialist processors, SPUs, one of which is turned off for optimisation reasons, with another used for the PlayStation 3’s OS.



They continue to explain saying that the SPUs aren’t actually coprocessors, but are full general purpose processors that can handle code directly lifted from the PPU. Moreover, they aren’t just fast, but they are super fast and with a little bit of help they can run code at unbelievable speeds.In fact, the God of War III team rely on the SPUs to accelerate both the PlayStation 3’s GPU (RSX) and the PPU. They then detailed the systems running on the SPUs, which include animation, cloth, collision, procedural textures, culling, shadows, push buffer generation, meta tasks, geometry conditioning, and sound.

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shacknews -Source

God of War at GDC: New Footage, Framerate details


SCE Santa Monica developers Jim Tilander and Vassily Fillipov presented a speech on God of War III's technology at GDC today, and as a reward for sitting quietly through the class, the two gave the crowd a peek at some gameplay footage of the anticipated title.



The video showed Kratos approaching a small, rocky area. The camera zoomed in to show a wounded soldier, then smoothly zoomed back to the over-the-shoulder view as a dozen or so spear-wielding enemies leapt down from above



At one point a giant cyclops lept down to face Kratos, leading the player to jump on top of the beast in a series of timed button presses. What followed was a predictable scene of mayhem, as Kratos rode the cyclops in circles, a kill counter keeping track of his destruction.



Tilander and Fillipov explained that the game will not be locked at 60 frames per second, and will likely drop below that during intense scenes. However, it will never fall below 30 frames per second.

Responding to a question about cloth physics, Tilander also revealed that God of War 3 doesn't actually do any physics processing.

"I guess you might be surprised to hear this, but God of War 3 doesn't have physics," said Tilander. "So does that answer your question?"

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blog.us.playstation.com - Source

God of War and God of War 2 on Blu-Ray: The God of War Collection

The fans spoke and we listened.

For those that recall the God of War survey conducted earlier this year, an overwhelming amount of the community suggested the PlayStation 2 experiences of Kratos be brought forth to the PlayStation 3.


Thanks to your feedback, we are excited to announce the God of War Collection for this Holiday Season. Now fans and newcomers to the series can experience the epic journey of God of War and God of War II in 720p HD form. Both titles have been remastered with anti-aliased graphics, running at 60 frames per second for a smooth gameplay experience, only on the PS3 system. Additionally, the Blu-ray Disc compilation will bring the PlayStation Network (PSN) trophy support to the franchise for the very first time.

This is your chance to experience God of War is its true form before the chaos of God of War III hits store shelves come March 2010. Just $39.99 MSRP.

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Thu Jul 16, 2009 comics.ign.com - Source

God of War Comics to be Released

Today IGN is able to exclusively reveal that Sony and DC/Wildstorm Comics have partnered for a six-issue mini-series based on the God of War franchise. Debuting in October, and running approximately up to the launch of God of War III for the Playstation 3, the storyline will focus on Kratos' dark past. Comics legend Marv Wolfman is handling the writing with Kevin Sharpe on interior art and Andy Park on covers.

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Jul 13, 2009 godofwar.com - Source

God of War Novels Announced

We are excited to share news of Del Rey's upcoming God of War novels. The book will be penned by bestselling author Matthew Stover, the man behind such works as the novelization of Return of the Sith to the Acts of Caine series.The first novel, GOD OF WAR, will be written by author Matthew Stover and will release in March 2010.

In the novel GOD OF WAR, Kratos, the game's protagonist, is a great warrior who seeks revenge on the God of War Ares for the deaths of his wife and child. On his journey to Olympus, Kratos must battle great monsters of legend--and fight his own inner demons. Kratos' quest will take him through a world of Greek mythology transformed, in which the familiar legends take on a terrifying new life--from the Aegean, where Kratos will grapple with the Great Hydra, to the depths of Hades, where Kratos will face death itself, to the heights of Mount Olympus. With all the thrilling action that got fans hooked on the game, the novel GOD OF WAR takes us deeper into this fascinating world.

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Sep. 6, 2009--split-screen.com - Source

God of War III Casting Reveals Three New Characters

Kratos, the vengeful Spartan of Greek mythology past, is as angry as ever. Not to forget powerful, though in less of a Bruce Banner way. With a strong focus on the moon pale Ghost of Sparta, the God of War series has also carried a strong pedigree of stellar voice acting. Be it the douche bag Zeus or the noble Athena, each and every leading character has been backed by as capable a voice actor. And it looks Sony’s mega opus God of War III is getting three more.

Michael Clarke Duncan (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, The Green Mile) and Corey Burton (Transformers Animated, Kingdom Hearts) returns to reprise their roles as Atlas the Titan and Zeus, respectively. Linda Hunt (Carnivale) also returns as Gaia and the encompassing Narrator of the saga along with Gideon Emery as Poseidon and Erin Torpey as Athena. Last but not least is Terrence T.C. Carson, who will reprise his role as Kratos once more.

They’re joined by fight director and actor Mark Deklin, who also voiced Call of Duty 3’s Major Gerald Ingram. Deklin will be voicing the son of Ares and the God of Dread, Deimos (also the twin brother of Phobos, the God of Fear). He’s credited with appearing in God of War: Chain of Olympus but is conspicuously absent from the PSP game.

Adrienne Barbeau will be voicing a goddess mentioned only in passing till now: The elder sister and wife of Zeus, Hera who also happens to be the Goddess of Women and Ares’ mother. Kratos was framed for the murder of Hera’s pet Argos in an attempt to destroy his reputation amongst his Olympian peers in God of War: Betrayal. Perhaps she could be a boss this time around? She’s probably most famous among geeks for her role as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in the 90’s Batman: The Animated Series.

Natalie Lander has been seen (or heard) in 2009’s Dissidia: Final Fantasy for the PSP as Terra. She also voiced Kisala in Level 5’s Rogue Galaxy (Playstation 2) and the Lady of the Lake in Shrek the Third. This time around, she lands something much more meatier. With a temple and box to her name, she was the first woman and the one who aided Kratos the most in defeating Ares. That’s right: Pandora is making her first ever series’ appearance in the final God of War game.

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blog.us.playstation.com - Source 9/23/09

God of War III E3 2009 Demo Included in God of War Collection

Posted by John Hight // Director of Product Development, Santa Monica Studio

You have seen the videos and you have seen the screens, soon you will have the chance to play what the lucky hundreds experienced at E3, Comic-Con and PAX. Coming this fall, we are happy to announce to fans that God of War Collection will include the long-awaited God of War III E3 2009 Demo. Each copy of God of War Collection will include a voucher code that can be redeemed through PlayStation Network on the day of purchase. This is your chance to experience God of War III before it hits store shelves March 2010.

Just recently announced on the blog, God of War Collection features remastered versions of both God of War and God of War II on a single Blu-ray Disc at full 1280 x 720 resolution with 2x anti-aliased graphics. Both critically acclaimed games, which were originally developed for the PS2, are running at 60 frames per second for a smooth gameplay experience on your PS3. Additionally, the Blu-ray Disc compilation will bring PSN trophy support to the franchise for the first time. God of War Collection will be available in November. Keep an eye out for video gameplay soon.

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10/21/09 G4tv.com - Source

Heavy Metal Band Trivium Records Song For God of War III

Orlando based heavy metal band Trivium announced on a radio interview yesterday that it has recorded a song for God of War III.

Guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy said the following during an interview with Kidd Christoff of Baltimore's 98Rock:

"We’re actually making a song for the game God of War III. I don’t know if it’s been announced yet, but it is now. We’re making an original song for God of War III."

Keep in mind, this isn't an official announcement from the developer, and "we're making an original song for God of War III could mean anything -- it could be the soundtrack to a commercial, or credit music, or, really, anything. But if this just-recorded track is to be included in the game itself, it could signal a break from the orchestral soundtrack of the past two games... and a rock soundtrack would be a pretty huge change...

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10/30/09 G4TV.com - Source

God of War III Ultimate Edition Details



If giant ass Pandora’s Box-inspired special editions of games are your thing, then congratulations on finding such joy in something so specific, because the God of War III Ultimate Edition is…well…in the shape of a giant ass Pandora’s Box, and is filled with a number of special goodies as well.

The exclusive offerings include:

* Limited edition God of War art book
* Combat arena containing an exclusive environment and seven challenges
* Premium Kratos skin – Dominus
* God of War: Unearthing the Legend franchise documentary – a full-length 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 digital download)

All of this GoW loot can be yours for $100 worth of Roman provincial coins. Amazon, GameCrazy and GameStop are also offering the following collectible skins to pre-orderers as well:



And of course if you pre-order the game, you’ll get access to the GoW III demo, which doesn’t really make you all that special since those who pick up the God of War Collection or a copy of District 9 on Blu-ray will be able to play the demo as well. Still, if your friends give you crap about it, just hurl your giant ass Pandora’s Box at them, and laugh mightily.

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1-28-10 blog.us.playstation-Source

It’s Official, God of War III Will Be Attacking Stores on March 16th!

God of War Fans –

There have been a lot of people asking about when God of War III is going to hit store shelves. Well, today I have some good news to share for those of you eagerly awaiting this highly anticipated PS3 exclusive. Kratos fans can get their hands on God of War III beginning Tuesday, March 16! You can pick up the God of War III Ultimate Edition on the very same day, which includes premium collectibles and digital content that is fit for any Spartan warrior. I’m also thrilled to unveil the official box art for God of War III and God of War III Ultimate Edition. Here’s a look…



For those you thirsty for more God of War excitement, on February 11, we’ll be debuting our brand new God of War III trailer exclusively on SPIKE’s GameTrailers TV, so make sure to tune in. And if you’d like to get reacquainted with Kratos and refresh your skills before March 16, the God of War Collection is now ONLY $29.99. This epic deal gets you God of War and God of War II in stunning HD for one low price! Stay tuned for more God of War news as we move closer to launch.



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1-29-10 blog.us.playstation-Source

Kratos Fury Invading Local 7-Eleven Stores

Hi all, my name is Evan Brody, the Marketing Manager for Slurpee and Big Gulp Brands. Basically I’m the guy who gets to work with cool properties like God of War III to create promotions for Slurpee drinks. For those of you who can’t get enough of Kratos before the March release (let’s face it, that’s most of us), I’ve got some exciting news to share! For the past few months we’ve been busy working with our good friends at Mountain Dew and at SCEA to formulate the perfect blend of ferocious blackberries and frosty limes to create “Kratos Fury,” the featured Slurpee flavor for the months of February and March at your local 7-Eleven stores. And to sweeten the deal, this vengeful delight will be available in one of four exclusive God of War III Slurpee cups. The limited Kratos Fury flavor and exclusive God of War III cups will hit 7-Eleven stores across the U.S. starting next week, but I’ve got your first look at the artwork below:



*While supplies last

Between February 1st and March 31st, you can stop into any participating 7-Eleven store to quench your thirst with a one-of-a-kind fruit flavored Slurpee drink and pick up one (or more!) of four God of War III cups to collect Slurpee Nation rewards codes that can be redeemed at Slurpee.com for exclusive God of War III and Slurpee-themed downloadable content. We also pulled some strings to give you a sneak peek at some of the goods:









While you’re at 7-Eleven, you can also pick up a 2 Liter or 20oz bottle of Mountain Dew to score an additional voucher code that can be redeemed for a Mountain Dew hoodie or God of War III virtual t-shirt for PlayStation Home.

We’ve got more updates coming, so here’s a tip – start building up your brain-freeze tolerance now and check back next week for more details from the PlayStation team.
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1-22-10 gojoeylogano.com-Source

God of War Meets Nascar

Here is another preview of a Joey Logano paint scheme, he will run this one at Bristol, its the God of War 3 car, its looks really cool!

Thoughts?



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1-22-10 gameinformer.com-Source

Upcoming God Of War Comic Explores Kratos' Childhood

Why is Kratos so angry? Sure, he murdered his own family, and was bound to the service of an unjust god, but his rage issues clearly started well before either of these events. In a new six-issue miniseries from WildStorm, Kratos' Spartan childhood is explored. This story will reveal the early tragedies and formative events of his untold past. Was he bullied on the schoolyard? Was he socially awkward? Did he have braces? I predict his origin story will be exactly like Teen Wolf's...only with more scowling. Sony hasn't locked in a release date for God of War III yet, but Wildstorm currently has the first issue of the God of War comic set for March 31. The Mass Effect comic has been great so far, and God of War appears to be in just as good of hands with the creative team of Marv Wolfman (words), and Andrea Sorrentino (art).

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2-19-10 bscreview.com-Source

God of War – United Cutlery’s ‘Blade of Chaos’ Unboxing

In an effort to spur the hype behind Sony Santa Monica’s release of God of War III for the PlayStation 3 on March 16th, I figured I’d post up about a recent personal purchase I made. As a collector of all things sharp and artistic, I scour the Net trying to find the best deals for such items. I own several sword replicas – mostly in the Lord of the Rings vein – but no blade in my current collection inspires wonder and awe like United Cutlery’s Blade of Chaos.

Anyone who knows anything about sword replicas knows the name Kit Rae. He’s been crafting swords for a long time, and he had a hand in overseeing the creation of the Blade of Chaos. Scoring the license directly from Sony, United Cutlery’s authentic re-creation of Kratos’ signature chained blade is nothing less than brilliant. Down to exacting detail, the Blade of Chaos brings to life the God of War unlike anything else. If there was one item I would’ve wanted replicated from the God of War franchise, it’s this blade; United Cutlery read my mind. Sadly, you only get one, so you’d have to buy it twice to have a pair like Kratos. Still, having one is better than none, and it won’t take up as much space.

I received the blade on Wednesday, February 17th, but I wanted you all to share in my excitement as I unboxed it today (Thursday the 18th). As such, below is the video unveiling of this brand new product. I go over the box, the certificate of authenticity, the blade itself, the display stand, and all paperwork and extras that were included. I just had to see it once because I couldn’t wait, so the zip ties are cut already, but otherwise I haven’t removed anything from the box or the plastic wrappings off the blade.

The artistic design of the blade is spectacular. All the distress, chips, and wear-and-tear details proliferate each surface, and the chain attached to the hilt is a heavy metal chain, not plastic or rubber. The BoC is crafted from high quality zinc aluminum materials with molded textures and grindings. It’s not battle-ready carbon or spring steel, so this isn’t something you want to go hacking trees asunder with. It’s for display only and should be treated as such.

For those of you looking for a place to buy this, I purchased it from Kult of Athena. Ryan W. and company will take great care of you, and they’ve never let me down. Best prices, awesome selection, fast shipping – can’t beat that. For you God of War collectors and fan fanatics, you really owe it to yourself to score one of these. The quality and authenticity alone is worth the reasonable price tag by a long shot. MSRP is $224.00, but you can definitely find a better price at KoA or your favorite sword retailer.

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2-22-10 playstationuniversity.com


Confirmed: No HDD install for God of War III

God of War III won’t be utilising a PlayStation hard-drive install, despite using the complexity of a dual-layer Blu-ray disc. The last PS3 game to make use of the greater capacity 50GB Blu-ray was Kojima Productions’ Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which not only required significant HDD space, but also made a new lengthy install after every one of the game’s five acts. There will be no such suffering with Sony Santa Monica’s God of War III.

Like many of the PS3’s graphically most impressive first-party games, God of War III will not require a large HDD install. In fact the game will make use of only 5mb’s of your console’s hard drive, as evidenced by the GameSpot posting of the game’s box art (below) and also by Sony Santa Monica’s Director of Technology, Christopher Ericson, who tweets:

“God of War 3 does NOT do a HD install. The 5MB listed on box back is for save game only.”

Other PS3 games that don’t require significant installs are Killzone 2 and Uncharted 2, both simply caching to the harddrive from the Blu-ray without leaving permanent data behind. However, this feat is more impressive with God of War III for two reasons: one, the game is aiming for a 60 frames-per-second frame rate; and two, it also makes use of a dual-layer Blu-ray disc.

Tim Moss, Director of Technology at Sony Santa Monica, confirmed on Twitter that the US version of the game will be using upwards of 35GBs of Blu-ray space, later adding that due to over nine languages on the European disc, this version will take up over 40GBs.

So what does this have to say about Sony Santa Monica’s statement that the game will not feature CG cutscenes? With this amount of data being used it is highly likely that the game’s cutscenes are pre-rendered and then played back as FMVs. Not only does this align with the amount of data on the game’s disc, it also gives evidence for the developer not needing an HDD install, since loading can be hidden behind these videos. Naturally, the cutscenes will still be rendered using the game’s engine, and thus not ‘CG,’ but chances are they won’t be real-time. Of course, the game will feature a massive three-hours of bonus behind-the-scenes footage also.

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2-19-10 forums.godofwar.com

God of War III Goes Gold

Just when we thought we were done with good news for the day, Director of Technology at Sony Santa Monica, Christer Ericson, tweeted God of War III reached gold status today.

“God of War 3 has gone gold and is being manufactured!” Ericson said and added an enthusiastic “Wheee!” for good measure.

The game, in other words, is well on its way to hit shelves for its planned March 16th release date.

(And in case you're wonder exactly what "going gold" for a game means: A game has "Gone Gold" when the final master copy has been produced at the developer and sent off for replication, packaging and shipment. The game is not yet released, but it will typically be around 2-3 weeks (sometimes less) before it begins appearing on store shelves and online pre-orders arriving at doorsteps. The term itself comes from the old practice of recordable CDs being manufactured with gold film. Hence the gold colored CD actually being the source, with no reference to copies sold as in the recording industry.)

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I'm taking over the PS3.

Fuck no you aren't....but you can play it if you ask nicely.....maybe beg a little

New GoW3/GoWC info as of 9-24

New info as of 10-21

New info about GoW3 Ultimate Edition as of 11-3

New info as of 2-26-10

Played the demo the other day, the Chimera is a bitch.

Yeah? Gotta be smart *points to brain*

There's a new article that I found that's very interesting about the differences between the demo and the final version of the game. Everything from shadow effects and lighting, to improved frame-rate and motion blur. It's quite in depth and has comparison screen shots along with a side-by-side comparison game play video. Enjoy!

3-9-10 eurogamer.net-Source


Back in 2005, Sony Santa Monica redefined the technical limitations of an entire console generation with the epic God of War. Five years later, the team has done it again with its debut PS3 outing. God of War III is magnificent.

But you've played the game already, right? Last year's E3 demo received a limited release in Europe before the code was circulated widely with the US release of the God of War Collection, and the sampler was recently made available as a general release on PlayStation Network.

Checking out the final God of War III review code, it is obvious that while impressive, the demo is simply not fully representative of the finished game. Understandably, extensive amounts of content didn't make it into the sampler, but more than that a range of visual effects have been added and performance has been improved considerably.

For the sake of not spoiling the game, we won't cover the additional content (cool though it is!), but a comparison of effects and performance offers an intriguing window into just how much the Sony Santa Monica tech team squeezed out of the hardware in the final months of God of War III's development.

Perhaps the most obvious change to the game is an extensive retooling of the lighting scheme, which for the most part is now much richer and more realistic. Dark areas of the demo level now seem to more accurately represent the effect of the ambient light on the environment.


(The most obvious change is in the lighting of the entire level - far more of the art detail is now more readily apparent.)

A realistic, per-object motion blur has also been added to the game. This has the effect of giving the game more realism in motion, but does have the unintended side effect of not looking so clean in screenshots.


(The final God of War III has a much more 'film-like' quality about it owing to the excellent motion blur implementation.)

It's interesting to note that the Sony Santa Monica team has made a number of graphical improvements across the board, some very noticeable, others subtle. The changes on the Titan are immediately apparent, with an obvious level of increased detail in the skin texture.


(Close-ups of the Titan in the demo show a lack of detail compared to the version in the final code.)

Smaller tweaks to the level are also apparent. In this brace of shots, we can see that the team has added additional shadow effects that were not present in the demo.


(Note how shadows have been added to the boxes on the left of the screen in the review code, compared to their omission in the demo.)

The fire effect on Helios's circling chariot now looks much more detailed, and you can also see how the main light source that influences the environment has been changed between the demo and retail versions of the game.


(Many of the effects optimisations appear to give God of War III a less CG-like feel.)

It's also interesting to note that Helios himself now looks subtly different compared to his debut in the demo. There's dither on his hair in the demo that is much reduced in the final version. Could it be an effect of God of War III's new anti-aliasing technique? According to posts on the internet by Sony Santa Monica itself, God of War III is using an implementation of morphological anti-aliasing, carried out by the SPUs. This achieves superior edge-smoothing, and is another example of how offloading tasks typically done on the graphics chip can result in both performance and quality increases.


(Again, the more 'game-like' elements of the scene have been refined.)

Bearing in mind just how much of a visual upgrade the game has had, it's impressive that the improvements do not restrict themselves simply to visual quality. Sony Santa Monica has achieved all of this while creating a faster, smoother game. In this video we have several different clips taken from a playthrough of the God of War III demo. These have then been matched with action taken from the same areas in the review copy of the game.

http://www.eurogamer.net/videos/digitalfoundry-god-of-war-3-demo-vs-final-game?size=hd

(Not only has there been a huge improvement in visual quality, performance has also been boosted significantly. Blue line indicates review copy performance, while cyan follows the demo's frame-rate.)

The conclusions from the video are enlightening: the video above shows a significant improvement in frame-rate in like-for-like scenes. In our analysis of the E3 demo, we were curious about why the game ran with an unlocked frame-rate when in the thick of the action, frame-rates were around the 30FPS area anyway. Looking at the final game, the performance increase speaks for itself, and while there is still noticeable judder incurred by the variable frame-rate, the effect is mitigated somewhat by the quality of the motion blur.
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