Well man, this show is just full of surprises! As pre-told by the wise OPM guys, Kratos is coming to the PS3 version of Mortal Kombat. We don’t know if 360 is getting a similar exclusive character, but I’ll bet they don’t look as pretty as Kratos in this CG trailer.

January’s issue of the Official Playstation Magazine reveals that Kratos will be an exclusive character to the PlayStation 3 version of the newest Mortal Kombat game. He will have his own set of attacks, including life-ending Fatality moves, and there will also be a level with a God of War theme. Kratos won’t be available in the story Mode of the game, but he can be used in the other fighting modes. If you are that eager to know Kratos’ story, just play the God of War games. What moves or Fatalities do you think we can expect from Kratos as a new fighter? Probably something violent.

Mortal Kombat is scheduled for a 2011 release on the XBox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

Source: 1Up

• ModNation Racers (PS3)
• Wolverine: Old Man Logan (Hardcover)

Whether or not games should or shouldn’t feature characters with greater a range of emotion is debatable until the cows come home and won’t be solved in 1000 words or less, so let’s not go there today. Instead, we’re going to simply acknowledge that currently, for the most part, characters don’t emote much during gameplay. That being said, I’d like to explore the possibilities of what could happen if they did emote more, and more importantly, if they emoted in ways that didn’t match up with the player’s feelings.

Let’s start things off by looking at one of the most cited reasons as to why game characters don’t often emote. The basic idea is that by giving video game protagonists a tabula rasa sort of mentality, the player is then able to project whatever they are feeling onto the character. This then gives a greater sense of immersion in not only the character but the actions in which the player is participating as well. Character immersion is heightened because there is very little character there, just enough archetypal framework to give the player a general sense of direction. Brave soldier. Curious explorer. Angry seeker of vengeance. Adorable pastry chef. This is about as complex as it usually gets. The rest of the mental make-up is provided by the players’ mental image of themselves in the presented scenario.

This line of logic does make sense just as long as you don’t aspire to make the player feel any emotions beyond the very basic examples I listed above.  The problem here is that when you look at the types of stories and types of games that this line of thinking has gotten us, they are too often little more than hyper-masculine hero fantasies, even when the hero is of questionable moral standards or the things they are doing are horrific. These emotionless protagonists are still offering a blank canvas on which the player can gladly paint the positive picture of “winning the game,” just so long as the player is completing the game’s objectives. It may or may not be that players are desensitized to violence, but I would argue that that isn’t what’s at work here. I say this because I don’t feel any happier in a happy situation of a game than I feel bad in a violent or grotesque situation in a game. I simply feel good about completing the task, and that is what I project on to the character. This causes stories to play out like any other unfeeling, action movie. It’s all point A to point B with no time for feelings in between.

If games want to become a more viable narrative medium, capable of telling stories that evoke a wide array of emotions in the player, they need to start exploring other methods of doing so, and I believe that showing a character’s facial expressions and emotions during gameplay is one way to do this. Let’s look at a couple outcomes of implementing this idea.

One possible technique is to use the character’s facial expressions to help shape the player’s feelings around what the character is feeling. This could cause the player to feel things in specific situations that they have never felt before because it never occurred to them that that might be what the character is feeling. Take Gears of War for example. What if, instead of giving Marcus Fenix two facial expressions throughout the entire game, he actually emoted things like fear, nervousness or uncertainty? What if as the player dropped into cover, the game zooms into one of the tight angles Alex mentions in his latest article and shows us a look of sincere dread? Think about it. You’ve been playing as humanity’s last hope for the last few hours, and suddenly he looks scared. Would that not give you, as the player, at least a little pause of fear and uncertainty as well? To think that this invincible killing machine of a son of a bitch is actually worried in this situation? That might cause a little worry in your mind as well. When was the last time you were truly worried in an action game? Probably almost never since the characters don’t emote anything other than stone faced victory.

Another possibility takes us down a much more interesting path. Using the character’s emotions to intentionally be the exact opposite, or at least a little off, of what the player would likely be feeling. Think about it. You’re playing an extremely violent character; I’m sure you can think of many. Let’s use Kratos as an example. You’re busy letting Kratos do his “kill-anything-that-moves” routine only to leave a pile of bloody limbs and torsos littered across the ground around him. As the mini-battle ends, the camera zooms in, and you notice something. Kratos is grinning. He’s enjoying himself, maybe a little too much, and definitely a little more than you might be comfortable with. You thought you were killing just out of vengeance, which is a justifiable reason in game-land, but he actually seems to like it?

So what happened there? That one little smirk has created a bit of a tradeoff between immersion and understanding of the narrative. While the player may be less immersed in the character, they now have a deeper insight into the character and therefore, hopefully, a greater understanding of the narrative overall. The game becomes less and less about vicariously living out some revenge fantasy and more about understanding the madness of a character wrapped up in violence and power. The game becomes less Clash of the Titans and more Taxi Driver.

If developers have the goal of telling a great story, then they can’t be afraid to let their characters actually be characters. They can’t be afraid to let them show their emotions and to take the chance that the player may end up not actually liking these characters, but that’s ok because if they are telling a compelling enough story, we’ll still want to play through it. Those who are shouting at the screen right now about the uncanny valley can cork it. That issue can be overcome if we tell developers like Epic Games that we don’t give a crap about their new “meat physics,” and that we’d really like it if they spent some of the time they used for developing that silly stuff to give their characters the ability to smile. And if it’s not too much to ask, you could put the whole package together with a character that emotes and is relatable, and then cinema would really have to start looking over its shoulder.

Intro Music by DJ Shadow
Outro Music by T.I. (Featuring J.T.)

Simply put; God of War 3 is a technical marvel that just bleeds style. Picking up right where God of War 2 left off, The Ghost of Sparta has returned to finish his quest for vengeance that started nearly five years ago with the original God of War. While this newest installment was still created by Sony’s Santa Monica Studio, once again a new director is at the helm. Let’s see whether the team managed to give Kratos a send-off fit for a god.

The game begins moments after the conclusion of the second game with Kratos and the Titans scaling Mt. Olympus to exact revenge on Zeus and the rest of the gods. With their final destination a mere fingertip away, it’s here that the game has one of its only missteps. Obviously it would have been an extremely short game had Kratos and Zeus squared off within the first five minutes, so Kratos has to be knocked back a few notches. This will give players of the previous games a brief moment of “This again?” as they will recognize the game’s narrative structure immediately. However, once they get over that, they are in for quite a ride.

While the game can certainly be enjoyed by players that are new to the franchise, players who are familiar with the first two games will find a lot to love about this particular adventure. The game is filled with little callbacks to both of the previous entries and even the PSP prequel. Thematically, Kratos’ journey is brimming with cathartic pay-offs that come one right after the after. The game does an incredible job of showing the ripple effect that Kratos’ actions throughout the series have had on the world around him and the people he’s encountered. It’s easy to let the heavy themes of grief, forgiveness, betrayal and hope get lost under the buckets of blood spilled at Kratos’ hands, but fortunately they are more than apparent here without beating you over the head with them. Rest easy knowing that a worthy final act awaits you.

Moments before Kratos gets all stabby...

The franchise is well known for pushing the graphical limitations of the PS2, and this trend continues on the PS3 as God of War 3 makes itself right at home on the high-def hardware. Like I said above, this game really is a marvel to behold. It truly has to be seen in motion to be believed. Lighting, depth-of-focus and texture work that other developers have tried to get right for years are at their absolute best here. There is an incredible mix of stylized aesthetics combined with an unrivaled attention to all the little details in animation, facial expressions and surface textures that make this game “feel” real. This game just gets it all right. It is proof positive that you don’t need photorealism to create a sense of reality. On the technical side, there is no apparent texture load or pop-in to be found. Everything is silky smooth.

The only graphical problem comes from the fact that it’s obvious how much more time was spent on the Kratos model than some of the other character models. His skin actually looks rough and porous, and every movement he makes is fluid. On the other hand, secondary characters sometimes show just a little less polish than our hero, sometimes displaying slightly rubbery skin textures. It’s not to say that they look anywhere near the vicinity of bad, just noticeably not as good as Kratos.

It’s impossible to bring up God of War without talking about the combat and Kratos’ toolkit of death. The combo-system at work here is still the best in the industry, only now it runs faster and smoother than you’ve ever experienced. Controls are tight and fluid leaving Kratos as responsive and mobile as he’s ever been. The range of fights, from grunt to boss, comes at you fast and furious. The game wastes no time pitting you against huge foes in satisfying battles that most games would keep in the reserve tank for later.

You will get to know your new awesome gauntlet friends the cestus very well.

Previous entries often gave players a variety of weapons to wield as they progressed through the game. The problem was that none of them were ever as fun or effective as Kratos’ default blades, giving players little reason to use anything else. God of War 3 obliterates that problem. The extra weapons are the best set yet. Each one feels unique in the way it moves and in the way they connect with enemies. There is a different weight and heft to each weapon, from the bone-crushingly powerful Nemean Cestus, a pair of oversized metal gauntlets, to the lighting-fast Nemesis Whip, a set of chained blades that emit electricity. This game finally gives you a reason to switch it up a bit in terms of weapons.

Each weapon also adheres to the same leveling-up system that the previous games have used, which brings me to my next problem. When it comes to Kratos’ move-set, the need for Kratos to re-learn some of this stuff just doesn’t make any sense. Sure he technically has a new set of blades, but they are essentially the same ones he’s been using the whole series with a new skin and new name. Suddenly he doesn’t know how to use them? Even swimming is a skill that gets re-learned in this game. Just because it’s a different body of water doesn’t mean it requires swimming lessons.

The quick time events have also gotten a slight tweak. Instead of placing the prompts right on top of the action, as they were in the previous games, the buttons appear on the side of the screen that correlates to their positions on the controller. For example, this means that “X” always appears at the bottom and “Circle” always on the right. This minor change creates a huge advantage to the player because now they can react to the on-screen commands without ever really having to focus on them. This means no more missing out on all the gory goodness because you were busy looking for the pop-ups.

Kratos would rather not have to ask you twice to play his game. Seriously, he’ll cut ya.

Kratos will also acquire various items to aid him on his quest. Some work better than others. The bow for example will likely become a staple in your battle repertoire, but Hermes’ Boots will only make the briefest of appearances during specific puzzles.

Speaking of puzzles, God of War 3 has its share. They range from a fantastic perspective-bending mind-tease, that fans of the PSN game Echochrome will instantly love, to a downright stupid music rhythm game that actually places the Dualshock 3’s face-buttons in the environment. Talk about an immersion breaker.

The design team has always prided itself on creating unique levels with a sense of full-circle continuity in them, as players often need to explore the whole level to solve its puzzles. This resulted in the levels themselves being the puzzles. God of War 3 takes that idea one step further by making the entire game feel like one unified space that will have you traversing the different areas multiple times as you gain the necessary knowledge and tools to complete your mission. It’s not unlike Metroid or the recent Batman: Arkham Asylum, only I dare say it’s even more seamless in its portrayal of the world as an organic and connected universe.

It’s an easy and popular design method to apply the “crank it up to 11” philosophy when it comes to sequels, especially for a game like this. However, anyone who’s ever listened to music through a set of crappy speakers with the volume up that high  knows that making it louder doesn’t necessarily make it better. Just as we saw with Dante’s Inferno, this type of game in the hands of anything less than one of the best studios around has the potential to end up with nothing but the same type of muddled results that the aforementioned crappy speakers produce. I am here to tell you that God of War 3 is indeed cranked to 11, but under the care of the seasoned Santa Monica Studio team, all the fine details and clarity come through with shining colors. There is so much style here that this review can’t possibly give it justice. From the painterly, 2D cinematics to the awesomely crazy “ass-whipping POV” shots, this game has a stylistic stamp on it that gamers have never seen before.  Stalwart fans will find everything they have loved about the series and more while newcomers will be absolutely blown away. Both parties will need to remove their jaws from the floor a few times. A game of this sort comes along only once in a while. It’s a game that embodies the closest thing to perfection that can be attained within its respective genre. In short, it has all the makings of a Classic.

Pros:

-Smooth, responsive combat with fun weapons that just always feels right

-Gorgeous use of lighting and textures create a nearly-tangible world

-Amazing cinematic shot choices give players a few never before seen perspectives

-A nice collection of making-of videos and extras

-A satisfying narrative conclusion to Kratos’ journey

Cons:

-Some things can feel a bit too familiar

-A few logic flaws in the leveling up system