FINISH HIM!!!!!

Guess who's coming to dinner in Mortal Kombat land later this year? Why, the God of War himself -- and exclusive to the PlayStation 3, naturally! Check out the reveal footage below. As Scorpion and Sub Zero prepare to throw down, they receive a rather rude interruption. GET OVAR HERE!!!





This seems to be the trend with fighting games lately, for each console to license an exclusive guest fighter from another series specific to the console of choice. It makes sense that Kratos would be an exclusive on the PS3's version of the game, then, since he's easily the most kick-ass anti-hero around this generation. With all the gruesome, graphic blood letting the Ghost of Sparta has been the cause of in those games, methinks he'll be a natural fit among the psychopathic bloodthirsty kombatants of the MK universe. This may just be my first Mortal Kombat game in over a decade. Last time I played one was on the Sega Genesis.

Wow! Memories . . .

And, those of you who know me, let's see if you can recall my favorite fighter from the series. Come on, you can do it. Just write it in the comments section below. Needless to say, I'll be using him almost exclusively this time around. Just you wait and see!

This ninth installment in the Mortal Kombat franchise is slated for release on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles sometime in April. Word on the street right now is that X360 owners will be getting Fulgore, the cyborg fighter from Rare's Killer Instinct series. Although this is an unsubstantiated rumor as of right now, it's one that seems to be gaining A LOT of traction on the message boards today.

I say "meh." Killer Instinct was an okay fighting game on the SNES back in the day . . . but doesn't have nearly the same allure as, say, a Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. Hell, I'd take Tekken over it any day. Although, okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. The N64 version of KI2 was quite spectacular, to be honest.

Still, Fulgore is no equivalent to Kratos. Sorry X360 fans, PS3 fanboys win this round.

Oh, This So Sucks!

Damn! The one time I actually wish I lived in L.A. Or, at least in So. Cal. The various Creative Directors of each God of War game together, under one roof, discussing their different visions and how they came about adding to the man, the myth, the legend -- Kratos, the God of War!

Lookie What I Got In The Mail!

Well delivered by UPS, actually.

Yup, my God of War III Ultimate Edition box showed up! Why did I get the Ultimate Edition, knowing how much I hate gaudy, ostentatious game-related collector's sets and memorabilia? Well, because this one came with the code to download the exclusive soundtrack! I could do without the art books and figurines and other such crap that release with these special editions of overly hyped games. But the music, no. I *must* have the music. Especially when it comes to this series. The music in GoW is something just short of divine. I already own the sountracks to the first two games, so this will now round out my collection.

And speaking of gaudy, let's take a peek at what's inside that purdy looking package . . .

Why look, it's Pandora's box! I have to admit that, even though the box smelled like the case I once used to store my Baritone Horn in when I was in the junior high school band, it's actually pretty sturdy and possessing of a comfortable weight. The type of heft that makes something feel *real* and solid. But, yeah, still rather garish to look at. It fits with the theme and story of the GoW series, though, so I guess I shouldn't knock it too hard.

The question is: should I or should I not open up Pandora's box? After all, we all know what happened the first time someone did so. Oh well, let's throw caution to the wind . . .

Ah, there we go! Kratos, your last adventure is now upon us! As you can see, it's just the game's PS3 Blu-ray case and attendant art book. Much ado about nothing, really. I also got a bunch of codes to download everything from skins to the aforementioned musical tracks. I'm looking particularly forward to the behind-the-scenes videos, too. Always a treat, that.

So there you have it. The series I consider one of the most influential on me in recent years has finally been capped. Ironically, whereas I would usually tear right into this, I of course will be out of the country for the next week or so. And even when I return I still have the matter of prepping my novel for an eventual start date sometime in late April. So, the gods only know when I'll get around to this. Still, this is me we're talking about here. I'm sure I won't be able to resist for long.

Kratos Sez: I Fear Nothing!

For those who do not understand all my fussing over the God of War video game series, take a gander at this here teaser for the upcoming release of GoW III and never wonder again:

(Enter your birthdate to verify you are old enough to watch this gruesome footage.)

And, yes, this is the in-game graphic's engine generating this video footage and not some CGI recreation. This means that, aside from some touch-up to remove the red orbs and health/magic meters for presentation value, this is *EXACTLY* how the game will play on the PlayStation 3. Those are the same exact moves Kratos uses in the game, for those of you not familiar with the series. Tell me this is not going to RAWK hard!

God of War Is Just The Punchline

To follow-up on all the God of War love I've been professing here on the blog as of late--as evidenced here and here--I found an old PA comic strip from 2007, which coincided with the release of God of War II:

LOL!

Ah, Penny Arcade: thou art teh funny!

This just goes to show you how crazy insane and spectacular GoW II is. Particularly that first level in Rhodes, where Kratos has to battle the Colossus statue come to life. Check it for yourself.

Reliving The Memories

I mentioned the other day that the God of War Collection was now out in stores, providing PS3 owners with the chance to play the first two games in the series in preparation for the release of God of War 3 next spring.

Well, I've been playing the first game again over the last few days, this time in unbelievable high-def quality. Well, okay, I'm being a little over-enthused here. The HD stuff is nice, but the game still looks and plays like last gen. Which is okay, no one said it wouldn't. However, compared to the actual PS2 copy, which I do own, there is definitely a noticeable improvement. It sucks that the cutscenes are not in high-def, though. But what can you do? The cutscenes were always ahead of their time back in 2005 anyway, so they don't look THAT bad. And it's more important that the gameplay itself is at 720p HD anyway. The 2x anti-aliasing helps make the standard 480p cutscenes look smoother at least, which is something.

Anyway, playing my favorite game of the PS2-era again just got me thinking of all the fond memories I had back in the spring of 2005. As I mentioned before, things were just starting to look up for me when this game came along. I had a new lease on life, and I was in fact getting married later that year. And all these crazy emotions going on during this time period just came flooding back while revisiting the game this week. Wow!

See why gaming shouldn't be dismissed so flippantly by parents and other non-gamers? It really can have an important place in someone's life. I'm living proof!

Anyway, in honor of my reawakened passion for all things God of War related (I've been listening to the soundtracks continuously now), I'm embedding the two most popular 30-second tv spots that used to air during the first game's release. I don't know if you can tell just from looking at these how much AWESOME was conveyed about the game, but at the time these were HUGE. The fact that these commercials would play so many times, in addition to positive word-of-mouth, definitely had to contribute to the record-breaking sales which followed:

"TELL THE GOD OF WAR I AM HIS NO LONGER!"



"ARIES!!!"


It's friggin great how they used the in-game recordings--both the dialogue AND the musical score--to accentuate the footage. Can you see why I love the soundtrack so much?

God of War Collection Out Now!

It's finally here! Although this isn't such a big deal in the grand scheme of all things video games, today marks the release of the God of War Collection for the PlayStation 3 console. The GoW collection is a bundle consisting of GoW1 and GoW2, which were first released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2005 and 2007, respectively.

The difference this time around, however, is that both games and all their attendant bonus content will be on one single Blu-ray disc. The gameplay portions will be sporting shiny new and updated HD visuals to boot, making the games look far more stunning than ever before.

For those with high-definition television sets (and if you own a PS3, you'd be pretty insane not to have one), this means you'll be able to play the games in full 720p and running at a nice 60 frames-per-second clip. For reference, the previous two games were in standard 480p resolution and only ran at 30 fps. So this means the games will not only look crisp and totally GORGEOUS, but that the character of Kratos will respond that much faster during gameplay. Oh, and there's also 2x anti-aliasing at work, to help round out the rougher, pixelated edges of last generation rendering. So textures in both games will look smoother as well!

For those ignorant to just what the hell is the God of War franchise, a quick recap of the story: Kratos is a Spartan commander in a war against encroaching barbarian hordes from the North, when on the verge of death on the battlefield, he pledges his body and soul to the Greek god of war, Aries. The god vanquishes his enemies and, in return, Kratos becomes his dread lieutenant on Earth, wiping out whole armies and communities in honor of his liege. Until one day, while decimating the followers of Aries' hated sister, Athena, Kratos is tricked into murdering his own wife and young daughter. He learns that the trick was a ploy of his master, the titular god of war, in order to secure Kratos' full attention and loyalty to him.

Kratos, of course, does not take too kindly to this news. In an abrupt reversal, he curses Aries' name and pledges revenge, seeking help from Athena herself and becoming the godess's new vassal for justice. A promotional leading up to the release of the first game adequately shows the full, unadulterated hatred Kratos has for his former master, and is one of my all-time favorite game trailers:

Now, I already own both games on my old, boxed-up PS2. So why should I buy this new collection? Truth is, I really shouldn't. And, you know, normally I wouldn't.

However, here's something you might not know: the first God of War came out at a very bad time in my life, when things were looking bleak and depressing. So much so that I had given up video games. Yeah, no shit! I'd put off gaming for half a year, when suddenly one day I decided to change my life around and to make things work for me rather than being passive. Along this time, when Winter was just starting to relinquish to Spring, one of my best friends stopped by and showed me this new Sony exclusive game. I had seen the commercials, but just thought it was another brainless action game with no heart.

Boy was I wrong!

God of War changed me; along with my new lease on life, it renewed my faith in video games. Which was no small feat considering how staid the action gaming genre had become over the years. But this one game would quickly rise to the top of my list of favorites, and is what I consider the best title of not just the PS2, but the entire last generation of games. The amount of sheer brilliance in all aspects of GoW--gameplay, story, voice-acting--cannot be overstated. If you were a gamer back during the PS2 era, you owed it to yourself to have experienced God of War. Same thing went for the sequel, which was just as good if not better than the first.

Truly both games are masterpiece gems for Sony and the PlayStation brand. And because they helped changed my life around, I owe it to myself to own them in the best possible quality around. Since I know both titles forwards and backwards, and can play 'em with my eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back, this will be a pleasurable trip down memory lane for me. And full Trophy support only seals the deal--OH YEAH!!!

The God of War collection releases today, Nov. 17th, to prepare gamers for the coming of God of War 3 on the PS3 sometime in March of next year. Ign.com has a review of the collection up here if you want to check it out.

In the meantime, here is a new commercial for the collection that--try as it might--simply cannot display the full amount of awesome to be had on both games. You really have to play them to understand, but maybe this small glimpse will be enough to whet your appetite: