A new video released by Sony shows the team at Sony: Santa Monica hard at work in the motion capture studio with actors T.C. Carson (Kratos), Jennifer Hale (FemShep, I mean Lysandra) and Troy Baker (Orkos). The three are suited up in spandex and balls which sounds like fun but they are just motion capture suits. One of the things the team is doing differently is recording the voiceover work at the same time as the mo-cap session to give the performances a more authentic feel.
We then get a look at the programmers as they take the actors mo-cap session and translate that into the game you will see next month.
SIDE NOTE: I realize this is T.C. Carson’s seventh time voicing the legendary Kratos, but am I the only one that still thinks of Kyle Barker from Living Single? Or am I showing my age. (We are livinnng sinnngle)
One of the good things to come out of the violence in video games discussion that has flared up since the Sandy Hook tragedy last December is that it has given people in the video game industry a chance to stand up and let their voice be heard on the subject. Last month, Adam Sessler had a very intelligent interview over on Fox News (which normally doesn’t happen on that channel) and now it is David Jaffe’s turn.
Yeah that David Jaffe, the very outspoken creator of Twisted Metal and God of War. It seems CNN reporter Erin Burnett did not want to take no for an answer in an interview on the rise of violence in America where video games were concerned. Take a look at the video and see for yourself.
http://youtu.be/blH3Shg3nX8
Here is Jaffe’s response to the interview.
This should go well.
Dear @ErinBurnett : you, ma’am, are at best an idiot that @cnn should be ashamed to have as an anchor. At worst, you are the worst kind of American: one who has allowed the healthy desire for success to morph into a capitalistic cancer that makes it ok to ignore the facts in order to make your product more appealing, regardless of the consequences. To make matters worse, your own views about video games- which you seem to have no problem sharing with your hundreds of thousands of viewers- clearly have not been formed by any actual research or real life experience with the medium.
I am sure you will think yourself quick and insightful when you tell me- a video game director/designer accusing someone from another industry of making products for profit regardless of consequence- that I am the pot and you are the black kettle. However, if you actually listened to your guests and read the studies (aka if you actually did some….some….hmmm, what’s that word you journalists have for it? Oh right: RESEARCH!) you would see you are wrong; you would see there remains- after years of studies- zero evidence of video games with violent subject matter causing real life violence.
On the flip side- you know: YOUR side- there is very real evidence that our society suffers greatly when our news media fails to properly inform the public.
The fact that you think a guy who ‘trains’* on a shooting video game would be granted the skill to horrifically, tragically kill those CHILDREN in Norway only serves to show how little research you do before you open your mouth in front of your world wide audience under the guise of delivering news. I’m not sure what makes your argument look more ignorant: the fact that you don’t back up your idiotic statement by showing a correlation to the current health of America’s agriculture sector with the popularity of Farmville OR the fact that the sick, deranged evil loser who killed those poor kids in Norway had picked such a poor ‘training’ tool that after 700 hours of play, he was only capable of hitting little kids with his bullets versus the well armed pretend terrorists and highly skilled virtual soldiers that he was battling in the game.
Shame on you. But more importantly: shame on your profession. It deserves so much better.**
So the guesses were correct the other day when Sony teased us with a short trailer showing a woman walking through a field. It is, in fact, Kratos’ wife as you can see by watching the full version below.
Called “From Ashes”, the live action trailer shows Kratos holding his daughter. She soon begins to break apart and he has flashbacks of his family as a group of soldiers moves in towards him. It is certainly one of Sony’s most ambitious advertisements ever and the company will even be showing a shortened one minute version during the Super Bowl.
God of War: Ascension releases on March 12th. Sony announced a new God of War Playstation 3 bundle with a red console that will release on the same day.
Sony has revealed the God Of War Legacy Bundle, which will coincide with the release of God of War: Ascension this March. The set comes with a garnet red Playstation 3, God of War Saga (which contains God of War 1&2 from PS2 and God of War: Chains of Olympus and Ghosts of Sparta from PSP), a copy of God of War: Ascension and 30 days of Playstation Plus.
All of this Kratos goodness can be yours for only $349 and will be available on March 12th, the same day God of War: Ascension will hit stores.
I personally would not mind a red PS3, but I can not get past the fact the new systems are uglier than Rihanna after a bad date with Chris Brown.
A video has been put up by Sony on their YouTube channel titled Game Day 2013. In the short 16 second teaser a woman is shown walking in a field and then a demonic yellow eye is shown with the date February 1, 2013. Right off the bat I think it is most likely Kratos’ wife hinting at a God of War announcement set for Friday.
We can always hope against hope that it is Heavenly Sword 2 right?
2013 is going to hit gamers like a punch in the gut very soon. Between March and May there are no less than five triple-A games set to hit consoles. [amazon_link id=”B004FS8LYK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Tomb Raider[/amazon_link], [amazon_link id=”B007FTE2VW” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Sim City[/amazon_link], God of War: Ascension, [amazon_link id=”B002I0H2AG” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Gears of War: Judgment[/amazon_link] and [amazon_link id=”B007CM0K86″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Last of Us[/amazon_link] will cerainly occupy a lot of your free time. Then you have the new consoles to look forward to.
If you are like me, you probably have a stack of games that have been started and put aside for a later date. Well that is what February is for! An idea was given on a gaming group I am a part of on Facebook (taken from a story on Kotaku) called “Four for February” in which we pick four games that we decide to finish in the 28 days of the month to catch up on the “Pile of Shame” we collect as gamers.
I will be attempting to do this beginning next month and encourage all of you who are besieged by unfinished games crying out for your time to do the same. Let us know what games you would want to attempt to finish in February. Here are my four:
Are you finding it hard to get excited for Kratos’ next adventure in what may be the biggest spring in gaming history? Sony wants to help you with that by offering the first official demo for Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic game [amazon_link id=”B007CM0K86″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Last of Us[/amazon_link] with copies of God of War: Ascension. the demo will contain one full chapter of the game but it is not known if it will be the first chapter (one would assume).
God of War: Ascension releases on March 12th and The Last of Us on May 7th.
Sony has released this 30 second video for [amazon_link id=”B0050SXCQ6″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]God of War: Ascension[/amazon_link]. In it, Kratos is chained up and is all mopey and depressing. You know…Kratos. Then he gets all revenge-y and we see some great looking gameplay that the series is always known for.
Go check out the video below and get your Kratos fix until March 12th when God of War: Ascension is released.
In today’s video game culture it is normal to have different retailers offer you assorted pre-order bonuses to get you to reserve a game at their store. Gamestop may have jumped the Spartan shark with their latest bit of offer for the upcoming God of War: Ascension.
When you reserve the game at any Gamestop you will be able to download a set of armor and a special spear from the movie 300. You know, that hot movie that came out five years ago. So should we just assume with this offer that Kratos and Leonidas are in the same Spartan canon? Probably not but let’s say it is true to make this seem more fun.
