PlayStation LifeStyle » God of War III

Kratos Beats God of War III Price to a Bloody Affordable Pulp

Jonathan Leack — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 03:41:56 +0000

Just a little over a year ago, Kratos smashed onto the PlayStation 3 for his first time, and he wasn’t kidding around. Not only was the game a visual masterpiece, but it was one of the most epic and satisfying action experiences of the generation. It didn’t take long for the title to join the proud collection of Greatest Hits, and as a result became more affordable for the everyday man. If you have heard of God of War III but have no idea just how bloody good it is, then boy do we have the deal for you.

Amazon, in typical recession-friendly fashion, has marked down the price of God of War III to a gloriful $19.99. As usual, if you are able to achieve a purchase total of $25 or more, you’ll be eligible for free shipping. Otherwise, it’s just a few bucks.

We gave God of War III a perfect 10/10, and recommend this title with full authority. If you decide to pick this up, let us know what you think.

God of War Team To Double In Size For Next Project

Sebastian Moss — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:10:59 +0000

God of War III pushed the boundaries of what we thought was possible in current-gen games, with colossal creatures dynamically affecting the environment, while also acting as entire levels. Developers of the award-winning title, Sony Santa Monica, are now hard at work on their next project, and with the development team nearly doubling in size, it looks like their newest title will be even bigger.

It’s already been revealed that the Sony Santa Monica team are hiring for new talent, but the actual scale of the recruitment was previously unknown. Speaking on GTTV’s Bonus Round, Director of Product Development at Santa Monica, John Hight explained how the developers were planning to double in size:

During this particular part of our growth, which we’re right now at about 105 full time, we’re gonna go to about 200 people which is still huge. I mean God of War II had about 60 people so we grew quite a bit during God of War III.

John Hight previously revealed in an interview that the development team for the $44 million costing GOW III grew to 135 during production, still far shy of the 200 mark they are aiming for now.

Considering the fact that GOW II had half the development team of number 3, the next project – which could be anything from another God of War to a new IP – should be truly incredible. Do you want another GOW, or are you excited to see what else the talented team can come up with? Let us know in the comments below.

And The BAFTA Award Goes To…

Sebastian Moss — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:07:47 +0000

Britain’s biggest gaming awards show, the BAFTA Game Awards has now seen another successful year, with the Dara O’Brian hosted show having finished just moments ago. But who won the coveted BAFTA? Check out the full list of winners below.

Highlights include Heavy Rain which was the only game to take home several BAFTA awards, and Mass Effect 2 which won the top award of “Best Game”.

The full list:

Action
Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
Gaelec Simard – Ubisoft

Artistic Achievement
God of War III
Stig Asmussen, Ken Feldman, Cecil Kim – SCE Santa Monica Studio

Best Game
Mass Effect 2
Development Team – Electronic Arts/BioWare

Family
Kinect Sports
Development Team – Microsoft Games Studios/Rare

Gameplay
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Koichi Hayashida, Yoshiaki Koizumi, Takashi Tezuka – Nintendo/Nintendo

Handheld
Cut the Rope
Efim Voinov, Semyon Voinov – Chillingo/Zeptolab

Multiplayer
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Development Team – Electronic Arts/Criterion Games

Original Music
Heavy Rain
Normand Corbeil – Sony, Quantic Dream & XDev Studio Europe

Social Network Game
My Empire
Development Team – Playfish/Playfish

Sports
F1 2010
Development Team – Codemasters/Codemasters Birmingham

Story
Heavy Rain
David Cage, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, Scott Johnson – Sony, Quantic Dream & XDev Studio Europe

Strategy
Civilization V
Jon Shafer, Dorian Newcomb, Brian Wade – 2K Games/Firaxis

Technical Innovation
Heavy Rain
David Cage, Guillaume de Fondaumiere, Scott Johnson – Sony, Quantic Dream & XDev Studio Europe

Use of Audio
Battlefield: Bad Company: 2
Patrick Bach, David Goldfarb – Electronic Arts/DICE

Ones To Watch Award
Twang!
Jocce Marklund, Annette Nielsen, Linus Nordgren, Marcus Heder, Thomas Finlay (That Game Studio)

GAME Award [Voted by the public]
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Activision Blizzard UK Ltd/Treyarch

If you are wondering why Red Dead Redemption didn’t win an award, it’s because Rockstar never actually submitted the game to BAFTA – believed to be due to the fact Grand Theft Auto IV never won an award when it was submitted.

God of War III, Heavy Rain and More Added to ‘Greatest Hits’

Anthony Severino — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:18:35 +0000

The PS3′s Greatest Hits line-up is a robust offering of the console’s very best titles, value-priced at just $29.99. This offers gamers an affordable way to pick up popular titles they may have missed for cheap, and let’s new PS3 owners get in on the very best of the system’s ever-growing library.

To further expand this value offering, Sony has announced that 5 recent titles will be added to the PS3′s Greatest Hits.

Two of last year’s biggest and highest rated games, 2009′s Game of the Year and two other worthy contenders from 2010 have been added to the PS3′s Greatest Hits library. The following titles have been added:

God of War III
Heavy Rain
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - Game of the Year Edition
ModNation Racers
UFC: Undisputed 2010

This further helps the PS3 in 2011 by offering the very best software line-up available on any platform. On top of value-pricing on these titles, 2011 will bring much-anticipated titles such as inFamous 2, MLB 11: The Show, Resistance 3, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Twisted Metal and more!

God of War III: Best Selling PS3 Exclusive of 2010

Matt Baker — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:48:49 +0000

2010 was a brilliant year for gaming, in particular for PlayStation 3 gamers, with several blockbuster exclusives released to the PS3 faithful including the likes of Yakuza 3, MAG and 3D Dot Game Heroes, as well as heavy hitters such as God of War III, Heavy Rain and Gran Turismo 5. But with such stiff competition, which PS3 exclusive dominated the sales chart for 2010?

God of War III has outsold its PS3 exclusive counterparts in the US becoming the third best selling PlayStation 3 title in the country. The Sony Santa Monica game only lost out to Call of Duty: Black Ops and Madden NFL 11. God of War III‘s great commercial success was evident since the game’s launch with the title racking in $33 million in sales on release day.

Although Heavy Rain and MAG both sold more than a million units, both exclusives failed to make it into the top 10 list, overshadowed by the likes of the over-2-million-units-sold Medal of Honor and Ubisoft’s extremely successful Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Despite a late release last year, Gran Turismo 5 still managed to take the 7th spot, making the game the 2nd best selling exclusive of the year.

[Via]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00309XHD0?ie=UTF8&tag=plays0b-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00309XHD0

Kratos’ Brother Revealed in the Latest Ghost of Sparta Trailer

Corey Schwanz — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 01:10:53 +0000

With less than a month to go before the release of God of War: Ghost of Sparta, huge news has been revealed. Looks like Kratos isn’t the only Spartan ghost in ancient Greece.

The God of War franchise has begun and has ended. We know Kratos’ beginning as a Spartan general and his end when he finally takes down the gods of Mount Olympus. What could possibly be left to tell in such a grand story? It turns out, quite a bit. Kratos’ brother Deimos will play a major role in the upcoming PSP title. Another source of the endless nightmares that haunt him, Kratos must take down one of the strongest enemies he has ever known – his own blood.

But that’s not all. Specially marked boxes of God of War: Ghost of Sparta will actually contain a voucher code to download the Deimos character skin in…wait for it…God of War III. Relive the story from a new direction as Deimos receives 4x multipliers on Health, Magic, and God orbs, making him the fiercest Spartan yet. This deal is extremely limited though. It is separate from the Ultimate Pre-Order pack, and is most likely available only on the first few shipments of the game. The Ghost of Sparta PSP Entertainment pack will include the Deimos code, and PSP Go owners who buy the game within one week of the title’s launch will also have access to the PS3 skin.

Experience the full story of God of War: Ghost of Sparta this November 2nd – if you aren’t too busy with Gran Turismo 5 that is.

[Source]

Killer God of War III Deal is Fit for the Gods

Anthony Severino — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:11:10 +0000

If you haven’t picked up God of War III yet, (what the Hades is wrong with you?) then now is definitely the time to pick up what is one of the very best PlayStation 3 title ever released, and one of the most epic games in history.

God of War III is currently on sale at Amazon.com for just $39.99. That’s a third less than the normal MSRP. However, that isn’t the only savings Kratos’ latest will get you. You’ll also get a $10 credit toward a future video-game purchase.

Head on over to Amazon now, after just a few minutes playing God of War III, you’ll be thanking the Gods we sent you.

PlayStation LifeStyle Video Game Music Giveaway [Update]

Sebastian Moss — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:48:28 +0000

Every truly amazing game needs an equally amazing soundtrack, one that effectively captures the emotion and excitement of the title, not only complementing the games tone, but also adding a whole new level of immersion and engagement. In recognition of video game music’s crucial place in the medium we love, PlayStation LifeStyle has teamed up with Sumthing.com to giveaway 3 copies of music from some of the PlayStation’s greatest games.

Sumthing Else Music Works and PlayStation LifeStyle have a copy of the award winning soundtracks from God of War III, Uncharted 2 and inFamous. To win a copy of one of the CDs, read our interview with GOW and Darksiders composer Mike Reagan and tell us what he believes the “coolest thing ever” is, by emailing giveaway@playstationlifestyle.net.

To see the album details for the CDs check out GOW, Uncharted 2 and inFamous here, here and here respectively. The giveaway is open to US residents only (don’t worry, we have a competition for Europe coming soon), with the full rules available below:

Rules:

1) The giveaway is open to US citizens only.

2) Entrants must be 18 years of age or older.

Remember to follow all the rules above, and good luck! Contest closes at tomorrow, June 3rd at 9:00PM EST, so start getting your entries in now!

Update

The giveaway is now closed, and the winners have been chosen – Haskell, Sunny and Sean. Congratulation to the prize winners, and if you didn’t win, stay tuned to PlayStation LifeStyle for more competitions and giveaways soon.

Heavy Rain Pouring it on the Competition

Cameron Teague — Tue, 18 May 2010 04:57:17 +0000

Heavy Rain has been considered somewhat of a gamble by developer Quantic Dream and publisher Sony since it was first announced. The gamble here was that the game would not find enough of an audience and that poor sales would be its downfall.

Well it looks like the chance taken has worked out for both parties as the game has claimed the number 10 spot in Europe’s End of the Year financial report. At this spot, Heavy Rain has beat out every 360 game to be released in 2010 so far, including some heavy hitters such as Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Other PS3 games of note in the top 30 include God of War III at 8th spot, Final Fantasy XIII in the 4th spot, and Modern Warfare 2 sitting in the 6th spot. You can view the rest of the list below thanks to CVG as PS3 has 9 chart positions, the most of any console. The bad news here though is that the PSP is absent from the list, something Sony really needs to look into.

LittleBigPlanet 2 Utilizes Tech Fit for a God… Of War

Matt Baker — Tue, 11 May 2010 22:44:53 +0000

Game developers tend to exchange technology with each other. Naughty Dog even revealed that it exchanged tech with multiple companies including Infinity Ward and Media Molecule. Many have been drooling over LittleBigPlanet 2′s visual attributes since its reveal yesterday, but have you been wondering why it looks so good?

Apparently, according to Edge, Sackboy’s latest outing shares technology with God of War III developers Sony’s Santa Monica Studio.

A rebuilt graphics engine means that LBP2 looks even better than its forebear – sharper, cleaner, and with a greater sense of physicality. A share of tech with the God of War III team means it’s borrowed its depth-of-field effects. Objects are better defined with surrounding shadow, a result of ambient occlusion (an “Alex special”).
Transparency effects for clouds and feathers and better lighting, with shadows, god rays, volumetric fog and objects, like burning wood, casting lights – all of these features will also be applied to existing LBP content.

LittleBigPlanet 2 is looking like one of the biggest PlayStation 3 exclusives to be released this winter. Head on over to Media Molecule’s LittleBigPlanet 2 reveal to witness the game’s first trailer as well as plenty of details about what will be in the hotly anticipated sequel.

The Playlist 04/30/10

Cameron Teague — Sat, 01 May 2010 01:15:04 +0000

Yet another dreadful work week has passed, and with that, us gamers like to kick back and unwind by popping our favorite games into our favorite console. We here at PlayStation LifeStyle are no different. Find out what the PSLS staff will be playing this weekend, and share your very own weekend gaming playlist.

I can start as always. My name is Cameron Teague and I am a Contributing Editor here at PSLS. This weekend is a bit slow in the gaming department but I have a few to play. Still playing my way through God of War III and NHL 10 but going to spend most of my time knocking out a Nier review. If gamefly gets it to me in time, I will start my other review for Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley.

Now lets see just what the rest of the staff plans to be playing this weekend.

Dan Massi
I’ll be finishing my review of Hysteria Project.
Josh Fernandes
I am going to pick up the uncharted dlc and play that all weekend, or at least until I rage quit from being choked by those ninjas all the time. I’ve had my back up against a wall and yet a ninja manages to get behind me and choke me. I’ll also be working on my new borderlands character (lvl. 29!). Of course, I’m playing with Mordecai. Being able to kill enemies with one shot of your sniper makes you feel like such a badass in that game. I played online with a guy who had a Brick character that had an rpg that shot out giant electrical nuclear bombs. He killed everything in one hit, but you could never see what was going on. That’s nowhere near as fun as seeing a guy run toward you, and then see the figure slump over into the ground. Also, playing with sirens annoy me. they always activate phase shift and run far ahead of me, leaving me all alone. If any of you readers play as sirens, just know that ditching your partners is not cool!
Kyle Phillips
This weekend, I will be indulging in Blue Toad Murder Files, which I am really excited for. Other than that, perhaps a Fallout 3 session will be in the works.
Louis Edwards
I’ve started a new RTTS Pitcher in MLB 10: The Show so I will be muddling through his minor league career this weekend in hopes of getting called up.
PaulMichael Contreras
I’m leaving for an EA Canada skate 3 event on Sunday morning (expect coverage!), so I’m not going to have a ton of time for gaming this weekend. But I’ll probably play some GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony and Afterburner Climax. My PSP shall see ModNation Racing, LittleBigPlanet and probably little else!
Sebastian Moss
This weekend I’ll be trying to learn freakishly long combos in
Super Street Fighter 4, trying to speed up my brain to understand Afterburner Climax, and finally finishing off GTA IV
Thomas Williams
I’ll be playing plenty of Super Street Fighter IV or as I like to call it, ‘getting my ass kicked online’.

Spartans Standing Tall Despite Pouring Rain; Kratos “Definitely” Could Live On

Anthony Severino — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:50:29 +0000

Obtaining a Platinum Trophy in Kratos’ latest adventure nets you more than just bragging rights and a higher PSN trophy level. It also gives you a web address that when punched into your web browser of choice brings you to a teaser site that revealed very little except for pouring rain and what looks like to be a countdown timer of sorts. The last time the timer updated was March 28th, which was very shortly after the launch of God of War III. Now, again on April 28th, the teaser site has updated again. This time revealing what appears to be a reflection of a god in the water.

As the lightning flashes, you’re greeted with the below apparition. We’ve speculated before on what we thought it might be, however this appears to be something else entirely. In fact, the figure in the reflection appears to be Kratos himself, only adorn with a toga, or as the Greek call it a chiton.

Could Kratos, having defeated the Gods of Olympus went on to become a god himself? We’ll have to wait and see, and apparently, we’ll have to wait until May 28th for more information. Which if you have your calenders marked like I do, is right before E3 hits in June.

A recent interview with the game’s director, Stig Asmussen adds credence to this theory, as Stig himself concludes that Kratos’ immortality “definitely” allows him to continue on to another series:

I don’t know if he’s dead or alive right now–maybe he is dead, and that’s it. We kept the Blade of Olympus around as well, and we’ve got ideas of things we could do with that. Maybe there’s powers contained within the Blades of Olympus; maybe there’s a little piece of Kratos that’s still inside there. There’s a couple different tools we could use, and there’s definitely room to expand on things.
If I were to bring Kratos back, I know exactly how I would want to do it. But I can’t tell you. I know exactly how I would do it, and it’s not anything you’d expect, guaranteed.

One thing is for sure, the God of War franchise will be continued in some way. Spartans! Stand Tall! Click the below image for full size.

The Playlist 4/23/10

Cameron Teague — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:18:29 +0000

I can start as always. My name is Cameron Teague and I am a Contributing Editor here at PSLS. This weekend I have a ton of games to play and very little time to do it. When i do find some time i will finally be taking my spartan to battle in God of War III, Solving a mystery in Heavy Rain and tempting fate in Resonance of Fate. Other than that the steady dose of NHL 10, a glimpse into Modnation Racers with the PSP demo and Monsters (Probably) Stole my Princess for review.

Now lets see just what the rest of the staff plans to be playing this weekend.

Dan Massi – Contributor

I’ll be playing Hysteria Project, which I’m very interested in playing! Then I’ll be going back to PixelJunk Shooter, as it’s been weeks since I’ve played it.

Jonathan Leack – Editor

I am trying to finish up Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, which I might add is a fantastic title. I’ll be playing some Just Cause 2 or Bayonetta next while waiting for the legendary May PS3 line-up of ModNation Racers, Skate 3 and Red Dead Redemption.

Kyle Phillips – Author

Personally, I’ll be indulging in the awesomeness that is Fallout 3. Other than that, I think I’m going to look back on all my old, good, online titles. Killzone 2, Resistance: Fall of Man, Warhawk…look out!

Louis Edwards – Author

In honor of the NBA playoffs I have started playing NBA Live 10. Between
that and a BBQ, I should be busy all weekend.

Paul Eldridge – Copy Editor

With all the recent new content, I’ve gotten interested in Uncharted 2 multiplayer again. The new Siege mode and maps are awesome. I might also spend some more time with Episodes from Liberty City.

Ryan Ordway – Technology

I am going to be playing the first Wii game I have bought since the week after I bought the Wii — a little game called Monster Hunter Tri. Eventually I will awake in a daze from my monster hunting binge to finish my recent return to Infamous for my evil/hard playthrough. Bad grammar aside, i will inevitably get back to powering through to my next prestige in MW2.

Steven Garcia – Contributor

We should rename this “The Midterms Are Coming so This is What I Hope to Play If I Have Time Playlist”, but anyway, I got Borderlands this week for my birthday, so if I’m able to, I’m gonna push GOW3 to the side and definitely jump on that. I’ve been meaning to get back on MAG, but, oh well.

Thomas Williams – Contributor

Good news! I finally beat God of War III last weekend, which means I can finally focus on getting my first platinum trophy which will be Heavy Rain’s ultimate prize. Hopefully. I’ll also be getting prepped for Super Street Fighter IV which hits next Tuesday, but you already know that.

Zak Islam – Contributor

I’ll be taking Jack and his K9 for a whirl in the intriguing Dead to Rights: Retribution for PlayStation LifeStyle’s review. I’ll also be spending endless hours with the latest FIFA World cup game, also for review.

Headshots & Friendly Fire: Round 10

Josh Fernandes — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 01:57:16 +0000

The gaming industry has gotten bigger and better with each passing year, but sometimes it just doesn’t do things right. Whether it’s gameplay, story, pricing, or business practices, sometimes the industry needs a little friendly fire from gamers to keep it in line.

Other times, developers look down their sights and fire off a well placed bullet right into our thrilled heads. This is Josh & Cameron, and today we have a special guest for Headshots & Friendly Fire.

A Bit of Friendly Fire

French Voice Actors

Name your favorite French voice actor. I’ll wait…okay, time’s up. You probably couldn’t think of one, because it seems like most French voice actors couldn’t do an American accent if their lives depended on it. I’m sure the French are a wonderful people with many fine qualities, but an American accent is their Achilles’ heel. David Cage has stated that he is considering using American actors for his next game. Apparently, I’m not the first person to express this opinion. It’s very noble of David Cage to give voice-acting work to his fellow countrymen (especially in this economy), but I’m sure they could find jobs doing terrible voice acting for White Knight Chronicles 2.

FRAGnStein A Mess

I love a good peripheral as much as the next guy, especially when it is designed to give me the feel of using a mouse on my PS3 when I am playing a shooter. In comes the FRAGnStein, and with it comes the bundle of mess that is setting up the damned thing. Hook it up to your PS3–oh, it doesn’t sync–okay, plug it into to your PC and install the drivers. OH WAIT, the drivers don’t seem to want to work, so your PC does not recognize the device. On top of that, when new games are patched for the device, you have to go online and get the drivers for that game. Is it too much to ask that the device plug in and start working?

Maybe Young Fragnstein Will be Better

Wimpy Big Daddies

I’m a Big Daddy. I want to be super-overpowered–a tank that can take thousands of bullets. I don’t want a drill that takes 3 hits to kill someone, and to have to dodge behind cover after taking only a few bullets. Controlling an overpowered character in a game can work. If you can kill anything you want with just one hit of your drill, then you need to make sure that the game isn’t too easy. That’s why you restrict the movement of the character. Make the Big Daddy walk slow. Enemies may be able to move a lot faster than you, but if you ever catch them, they’re as good as dead. Imagine slowly making your way towards a splicer with a Tommy gun, being sprayed with hundreds of bullets, and then taking your drill and plunging it through his chest. Then a Big Sister shows up, and you have to run away, but you can’t out run the Big Sister because you’re wrapped in two tons of iron. Now, the all-powerful Big Daddy has become weak and helpless in the shadow of the Big Sister. I don’t care who you are, everybody would love to play that game.

Upgrading Weapons

In some games, having to upgrade your weapons feels a little dated. God of War isn’t about upgrading weapons. It’s about tearing out a centaur’s intestines and using them as a jump rope. Once I unlock the Hades Blades, I shouldn’t have to spend time to make them more powerful. They should be perfectly capable of getting me through the game as is. I would feel the same way if Uncharted 2 made me upgrade the guns. I should be completely focused on how to position myself during a firefight so that I can take out the enemies, not about whether I want my pistol to do slightly more damage. Upgrading weapons is still very fun in games like Ratchet & Clank and Resident Evil. These are the games where I would want to go back to a previous area and just grind so that my gun can hold 100 bullets or shoot buzz saws that also perform free colonoscopies. God of War 3 and Uncharted 2 are both very linear games, and the first playthrough is always the best. I don’t want the experience to be bogged down with micromanagement. Final Fantasy and Demon’s Souls can have their textbooks filled with weapon statistics, just as long as the only math I have to do in Uncharted 3 is counting the number of dudes I kill.

Hmmm....What to Upgrade First....

Deal of the Gods: God of War III for $38 with Free Shipping

Max Murray — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:45:50 +0000

Kevin Butler’s favorite distraction was undoubtedly the most anticipated games of this year up to its release on March 17th. God of War III topped charts, surpassed expectations, and even had a few surprises. If you haven’t had the opportunity to play this powerful game, a hot new deal might change your plans.

By a combination of promotional codes and coupons, Gamestop is offering God of War III for the unbelievably low price of $38.24. Here’s what to do:

Make your way to GameStop.com and during checkout enter these 3 codes:

10AUTO
15NEW
SAVE

If you’ve been waiting, holding out for some secret deal, this is it. This is the one that makes these last few weeks of helplessly dodging internet spoilers worth the pain. The promo code ‘SAVER’ even earns you free shipping, and as this applies for NEW copies, used-game boycotters can rest easy. Trust us, this is one of the cheapest prices you’re going to find until GOWIII inevitably becomes a greatest hit. But if you need that last bit of peer pressure, check out our review.