UAE State Enforces God Of War Ban

A UAE national said he was one of the people who was shocked to discover that the game was distributed in commercial areas, including the Central Souq, Al Rolla and sports shops in Nuammiya. "I knew that it was banned, but many of my friends were able to buy pirated copies from Dh5 to Dh10. I was shocked to see how much it contradicted Islamic values," said Khalid Bin Deemas, adding that it was dangerous as the video game was popular among children.

Texas Shooting 'Game Related'?

You have to love how vague this stuff is; to me, leaving off the 'And they were playing a video game' part wouldn't diminish the story at all.

A 15-year-old boy from Marble Falls is at Austin's Brackenridge Hospital after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. [...] The boy was playing a video game with a friend when that friend loaded a gun and shot him in the head.

Police said the 13-year-old shooter is being held at the juvenile detention center in Belton and is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The newspaper said the boys were playing a video game called "God of War".

Hopefully this won't lead to a media frenzy - news is sparse right now, but we'll see how it continues to develop.

13-year-old shoots friend in the head [News 8 Austin]

Ready At Dawn Moving On To "Other Consoles"

If you want to play God of War: Chains of Olympus, you're going to have to do it on a PSP, because a PlayStation 2 port ain't happenin'. That's what Ready At Dawn says, smashing rumors that it would follow the PSP-to-PS2 precedent set by games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Silent Hill Origins. Seriously, get a PSP already!

The RAD team also says that after a short, post game launching break, they'll be working on new projects that aren't for the PSP, with Chains of Olympus being their "last PSP game." What's next? "Other projects and other ideas on other consoles" is all they'll say. Who wants to make some guesses?

Two Rumors, One Stone [Ready At Dawn]

Sony today revealed that they have granted licensing agreements for some of their top games with four apparel companies. The result will be a slew of t-shirts, hats, boxers, even something called "loungewear" featuring the artistic stylings from such Playstation greats as God of War, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance Fall of Man, Heavenly Sword and Little Big Planet.

I can't friggin wait to lay about in my house wearing nothing more than a pair of LittleBigPlanet whitey-tighties under my silk God of War smoking jacket while I sip cognac and pass judgment on the gaming world.

IV Gear already has their list of games up, but no product pics yet.

So excited. List of companies and silly quotes on the jump.

Sony Says God Of War "Coming Soon" To PlayStation 3

When SCEA released God of War II last year, the game's instruction manual teased the soon to be released PSP entry, God of War: Chains of Olympus. Now it's the PSP's turn to toy with your emotions, as the manual for the on-the-go Kratos quest fires back with a tease of the PlayStation 3 chapter. IGN has photographic evidence of the PS3 sequel teaser ad which opts not to put a release window on the thing, merely announcing that it's "coming soon."

Considering rumors are pointing to a 2009 ship date for God of War III and Sony has a habit of showing these games a year (or more) in advance, we'd say that if you want a Kratos fix in 2008, it's probably going to be on UMD.

God of War III Ad [IGN]

David Jaffe Re-Invisions Mario, Is Going Bald

That hasty Photoshop job of the God of War: Chains of Olympus PSP? Not official. But this one is and it looks far more gorgeous than the "Deep Red" PSP that Japanese gamers got. As we said earlier, the God of War Entertainment Pack comes with a bloody good PSP color swap, a copy of Chains of Olympus, a UMD with Judd Apatow's comedy blockbuster Superbad and a voucher to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops from the PlayStation Store, free. Not a bad deal (and one that may make me bite, as I'm in the market for everything offered).

The bundle ships, as we said earlier, in June for $199.99. For a look at the reverse side, with a lovely Kratos silkscreen, keep on clickin'.

God of War PSP Sex Scene Trailer Skips To The Good Part

Here's something you should've seen coming a mile away—a nipple-filled threesome mini-game in Ready At Dawn's PSP title God of War: Chains of Olympus. Outside of a polygonal pair of boobs, don't expect much more than a suggestive candle-as-phallus bobbing about on a crate, occasionally ejaculating hot wax. Suffice it to say, it's not safe for work, if only for the banging and moaning sounds, but mostly for the digital ta-tas.

The arrival of Sony Computer Entertainment's God of War franchise on the PSP this coming March will finally give fans of the handheld an opportunity to experience sex mini-games and excessive amounts of gore on the go. To keep hype going through the holidays, SCEA has handed out a new batch of screens of God of War: Chains of Olympus, all of which are in our gallery below. They may not have the polished allure of the original set of screens release many moons ago, but developer Ready At Dawn look to do portable justice to Kratos and whomever he'll be slicing from skull to crotch.

Cory Barlog's Cryptic Blog Entry

We know Cory Barlog is leaving Sony Santa Monica, but what is he doing next? About an hour ago he posted two cryptic images on his blog. One is a screen shot of the failed Atari E.T. game, and the second one is a picture of the cast of the Facts of Life. What is he trying to say? It's the facts of life that movie games have sucked? Or do these images not tell us anything about where the God of War II director is headed next? What do you think? My sources tell me we will be hearing a lot more about Cory's plans in the near future.

[Cory Barlog's Blog]

Downloadable Games Haven't Had Blair Witch Moment

Wants Honesty, Your Love

Sure, I care what people think. I'd love it if I could find a way to be honest and truthful and not give people the PR spin and at the same time be as liked as Miyamoto and CliffyB. I'd love that. That would be awesome to have people who don't take swipes at me every five fucking sentences I say. But I'd rather be honest than give you a bunch of PR bullshit because that stuff makes me physically ill.

Comparisons between Heavenly Sword and God of War are inevitable considering the similar control scheme, but apparently the creators of HS haven't shied away from giving props (literally) to their obvious inspiration. PlayStation Underground forum poster KiNGoFClubs discovered this little homage to Kratos buried with in the game. During one of Kai's missions, Kratos' GOW2 armor and Blades of Chaos can be spotted hanging on a gate in a castle courtyard. You got to hand it to the designers, if you're going to take inspiration from another game, at least be cool enough to own up to it. You can check out more screen caps here on the PlayStation forums.

[Thanks, Ray]

Gamespot writes today that Ready At Dawn's original Kratos adventure for the PlayStation Portable, in which it's expected he'll stab thousands of things and hopefully engage in a portable threesome, along with some plot-driving something-or-other, is still quite some time off. March 4, 2008 will finally bring about the next chapter in the God of War series with God of War: Chains of Olympus. Despite not having an official date set in stone, it was largely assumed to hit before the end of the year. Seems many asses were made based on that.

PSP owners will have to make do with the UMD demo shipping later this month. More details on that tasty little bonus are available at Gamespot.

Chains of Olympus breaking March 4 [Gamespot]

"Skarin is a cutting edge hero in a fantastic re-imagining of Norse Mythology. Skarin is obviously a very dangerous man." said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director SEGA Europe. "Add in his inner conflict, a confused heritage and a growing distrust of the Gods and you have the makings of gaming's next great hero."