Kratos in Mortal Kombat

I know that this is old news, but I am pretty stoked about Kratos being in the PS3 version of the new MK game.

I love the crazy additional characters (Link, Vader, Spawn, etc) that fighters can throw into the fix. Mostly they are over-powered and broken, but always lots of fun to use.

Check out the trailer here.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta Teaser

Sony had a great panel at the San Diego Comic con. A lot of big announcements but I was most excited to see some footage of the new PSP God of War game. You can check it out here.

God Of War III

The God of War series really needs no introduction, but those who want to do their homework can read previous reviews here and here.

God of War III gives us everything that we would expect from Kratos' tale of bloody revenge against the gods. There is plenty of over the top violence, which, while cartoonish, definitely earns the title its M rating.

The story unfolds well and really ties in all the previous games. The gameplay is tight and the graphics and sound are top notch.

My only quibbles with the game are relatively minor: quick time events are much easier as the button appear on screen is approximately the same area as a controller (square is on the left for example), and the lack of chapter select makes the game feel very last generation. Games should really be taking a look at what Uncharted and Resident Evil 5 have done in terms of chapter breakdown. A solid chapter select greatly increases the replay value as you can easily retrace your steps to collect trophies or revisit your favourite part of the game. GOW III is lacking a game + which makes the cheats somewhat redundant.

All that being said the game is a solid title and a must have for any hack and slash fan over the age of 17.

Tale of the Tape

Cost: $60 CDN

Length: 10 hours

Is it worth it?: Yes. For $6 per hour you will get yours money's worth of gorgon decapitations. 

Kevin Sorbo is Hercules once more.

All the Kevin Sorbo fans can rejoice: he is Hercules again! The actor, who portrayed the demi-god for 7 years on television, lends his voice to God of War 3. GOW 3 actually has a lot of great voice acting. Linda Hunt, Clancy Brown (the Kurgan!), and Rip Torn all have roles. If you have been missing your Kevin-Sorbo-as- Hercules-fix this game is for you.

God of War Collection: Review

This will not be a review of the games per se, as both God of War and God of War II were last generation games that received multitudes of stellar reviews. I will, however, review how these PS2 classics translate to the PS3 and its trophy system. 

First off, I will say that you still get a lot of game for $40. There is at least 20 hours of solid, solid gaming here and you get value for your money.

The games look fantastic; they are presented in full HD glory, but I do have one quibble: the in-game cut scenes for God of War look awful. GOW II doesn't have this problem, but the in-game cut scenes from the original game look grainy and washed out. This difference isn't totally surprising because GOW II did have HD capabilities (it was originally released in 2007), but I would have expected a bit more from a PS3 re-release.

This collection also highlights a fundamental shift in gameplay from last generation to the current one. In a vast majority of current-gen games the story mode is divided into chapters or missions, and you can replay these chapters or mission as many times as you want. This makes getting trophies (secret or otherwise) much easier. However, in both GOW games you only have the option of restarting where you made a save file. So it is very easy to miss a trophy and have no recourse in going back to acquire it. The only choice you would have is to start another game from the beginning. Normally a current gen game would have 0-2 missable trophies. But GOW has 8 and GOW II has 11! As a result you need a careful playthrough to ensure that you don't miss any trophies.

If you loved the games on the PS2 you should be playing them right now, but if you have never played these game before and if you enjoy gory action hack and slash games you should pick this up. For me, it will hold me over until God of War III comes out in March.

God of War: Chains of Olympus

Platform: Sony Playstation Portable

Release Date: March 4, 2008
Rating: M
Cost: $40

When the original God of War was released for the PSP in 2005 it blew away both fans and critics alike. Sharp graphics, excellent gameplay, and a compelling story made it one of the best games for the PS2 and an instant killer app. This was followed up in 2007 with an impressive sequel that sought to expand on the storyline, character development, and gruesome decapitations found in the first game.

So now in 2008 God of War has made the transition to the small screen of the PSP and fans of the series will not be disappointed.

As with its PS2 counterparts the game carries on the classical tradition with a nod to (and retelling of ) Greek mythology. The main story focuses on Kratos “the ghost of Sparta” a formidable warrior in the service of the gods. The story is far from spectacular but it works and manages to add some interesting plot points to the overall saga of Kratos. As this game is meant to be a prequel to the PS2 epics, there are some neat little story elements near the end that nicely set up the original God of War.

At first I was thrown off by the PSP controls, but by the end of the first level I had made the adjustment. The gameplay throughout is solid, and I am constantly amazed at how the series manages to use a fixed camera in a way that is not bothersome. (One of my pet peeves is “death by camera”.) Kratos has some great moves, weapons, and magic, but veterans of the series might be left wanting more. There are fewer moves, fewer weapons, fewer magic choices, and fewer bosses than either of the previous two God of War games. Overall the game just has less of everything. 

The game’s weakest point is its length. The game took me about four hours to finish on the easiest difficulty level. Some will find the game far too short and barely worth the effort, but there is some replay value in completing the game again and attempting the insanely hard “Challenge of Hades”. It should be noted that portable system games are often shorter than their home console counterparts, so all of you super-nerds could think of this as little break from your 100 hour RPGs. Usually I don’t mind if a game is short (I would rather have 4 great hours than 20 boring ones), but I was left wanting more at the end of this one.

So what is the value of God of War: Chains of Olympus? If we break down the cost by hours of entertainment we get $10 per hour. Not bad, but not great either. If you are already a fan of the series pick it up now (you’ll get $40 worth of enjoyment), but anyone else should rent it or wait to find a used copy.