Hey everyone! I just wanted to give a shout out to Ed Boon (http://twitter.com/#!/noobde) and Netherrealm Studios for getting close to wrapping up Mortal Kombat! From what I have seen, I think everyone is going to be really happy once they get their hands on it.

Mortal Kombat had a HUGE influence on me growing up. I remember the first time I saw it in the arcade — I almost crapped myself! I was like, “Look what they did to that guy! I’m out of quarters! When well I be able to play this at home?” Then I learned about Mortal Monday, the official launch day when the arcade game came out on the SNES and Genesis. I was a poor college kid at the time, but I circled the date for two reasons: I couldn’t afford it, so I needed to reserve it a month in advance at the video store; and September 13, 1993 was my 21st birthday! So instead of going to the bar on my 21st, I ended up sitting with my friends playing MK all night long.

Sometimes, life has a strange way of working out. Here I am, 17 years later, having been able to work on the incredible God of War series…and then one day we get approached to include Kratos in the new Mortal Kombat! This was a complete no-brainer. I remember interviewing at PlayStation eight years ago and seeing Kratos in the very early stages of God of War 1 and thinking, “this guy looks like he was pulled straight from MK!” Which to me, was a good thing. One of the things that I always felt separated Mortal Kombat from other fighters was its character design. When you combine this with Kratos’ attitude and tendency for violence, it’s a match made in heaven!

Another thing that made this collaboration a good fit is that our studios have ties with one another. Several of us at Santa Monica used to work at Midway, including Adam Puhl (Lead Combat Design), Bruno Velazquez (Lead Animator), Chris Sutton (Lead Environment), as well as me, so we all knew Ed and had a relationship with members of his team. It was easy for all of us to get on the same page. It also made the decision on our end to work together because we trust them fully and we know that they will deliver on the promise to make this the most complete and authentic Mortal Kombat yet.

So for me personally, this is a really cool story. Mortal Kombat influenced me when I was younger in many ways, and it is still influencing me today. You can see this plainly by looking at God of War III. I was always encouraging the team to push the gore and violence in the kills, and a large part of that was the way MK struck me when I college kid. Its one of those games that changed the industry, and is why I bet a lot of people have the “I remember MK because” stories. It is an honor to be involved with it.

Score:

• 23 Comments
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

Hi Guys, here is another fantastic mid-month treat for October in addition to the content you are getting in November.

Later today, you will be able to download the latest DLC for Red Dead Redemption, ‘Undead Nightmare’, and Plus members can enjoy it with an exclusive 20% discount.

Here’s what they are saying about this great piece of DLC:

“In addition to this epic new single-player adventure, The Undead Nightmare Pack also features brand new gameplay mechanics, weapons, zombie animals, mythical creatures and even a brand new secret location.”

Also, from 3 November you will be able to try out the God of War I and II HD remakes as Full Game Trials and then buy the God of War Collection bundle afterwards, also with a 20% discount.

Score:

• 104 Comments 2 Replies
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

I’m pleased to confirm that the God of War Collection (God of War I & 2), previously released on Blu-ray Disc earlier this year, will be available to download from PlayStation Store on 3 November.

You can either purchase the games individually for €17.99/£13.99 each or buy them as bundle for €29.99/£23.99.

Originally running on the PS2, these classic games have been given a revamp for the PS3 to support HD visuals, silky smooth 60 frames per second action and Trophies.

We hope you’re looking forward to downloading two loads of Spartan rage when the God of War Collection hits PlayStation Store on 3 November.

Score:

• 75 Comments 7 Replies
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook

God of War III has been one of the most popular titles on show here at E3, with players queuing up to swing the Chains of Olympus through the game’s opening level. I took a break from wanton decapitation to sit down with Adam Puhl, staff designer on the game.

Adam Puhl, staff designer of God of War III

“We’re finally getting the chance to show a playable version of God of War III at E3,” he told me, “which includes new weapons and abilities in a war between the Gods, the Titans and Kratos. We’re proud to be showcasing the new level of visceral combat in the game as well as the fantastic visuals.”

“We’re now able to show details such as Kratos’ muscles flexing in battle, his veins popping out and blood spraying across the battlefield and landing on his body, which really helps you feel more immersed in this world.”

When a lot of people saw the very first gameplay footage from the game, some claimed that it looked merely like ‘God of War II but with more pixels’; I asked Puhl how he would counter this argument.

“Well, there are a hell of a lot more pixels, that’s for sure,” he said, “but there’s a lot more than that. We’re revaluating the series and putting in a lot of the things that we have wanted since the first game. The Titan gameplay, for example, is incredible this time. In previous games you had glimpses of these enormous creatures that you were on top of, but this time it’s for real. You’re running on a living, moving creature and you have to react to that dynamic, and while people might say the gameplay feels the same, we wouldn’t want to reinvent the series and alienate people – you have to keep the essence of Kratos.”

God of War III isn’t the only game Kratos is appearing in at E3; he is also a playable character in Soulcalibur PSP, so I asked Puhl how involved he has been in this cameo.

“Myself and the guys from Santa Monica Studios worked with the Soul Calibur team and we found them to be fantastic – they had looked at Kratos’ character closely and he feels just right on Soulcalibur PSP. They even introduced some moves that even we hadn’t thought of, but suit him perfectly.”

God of War III is a single-player game, but I wondered if the team had ever considered experimenting with multiplayer.

“Personally, sure,” said Puhl. “I love multiplayer games and that stuff really excites me, but God of War is all about Kratos and if we threw another character in there it could become a distraction.”

It will also be the first time the series has featured Trophies, so I asked what Puhl thinks makes a good Trophy list.

“I like Trophies a lot, but they should feel right,” he replied. “It shouldn’t be like ‘you finished level one, here you go’. The play experience should be rewarding in itself, and Trophies should be another layer of reward for a particularly tricky task, such as ripping 20 civilians apart in a row. They should be a reason to go back and experiment with the game.”

So there you have it, I hope this gives you some indication of how the game is coming along and gets you excited about its March 2010 release. I know you guys love Trophies and I thought Puhl’s views on them were really interesting. Which Trophies would you like to see in God of War III? The development team may even be reading this…

Score:

• 32 Comments 5 Replies
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook