PlayStation.Blog » santa monica http://blog.us.playstation.com The official PlayStation Blog for news and video updates on PS3, PS4, PSN, PS Vita, PSP Thu, 23 May 2013 16:36:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 God of War: Ascension Multiplayer: DLC, Primordial Weapons Today http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/05/14/god-of-war-ascension-update-new-dlc-community-infographic/ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/05/14/god-of-war-ascension-update-new-dlc-community-infographic/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 14:02:37 +0000 Aaron Kaufman http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=106080 God of War: Ascension Multiplayer now etched into the stones of Olympus, it’s time to look ahead to what the Oracle has seen in our future. It’s also time to see what the community has achieved thus far -- see the infographic along the side of this post (click on it for the full, ultra high-resolution image).]]>
God of War: Ascension on PS3

Champions, with eight glorious weeks of God of War: Ascension Multiplayer now etched into the stones of Olympus, it’s time to look ahead to what the Oracle has seen in our future. It’s also time to see what the community has achieved thus far — see the infographic along the side of this post (click on it for the full, ultra high-resolution image).

Our God of War Development Team here at @SonySantaMonica is working steadfastly on a wide array of additional multiplayer content, including new weapons (plus a powerful fourth weapon class) and armors, large and small maps, and a few other surprises. We’ll have more to share later this month.

God of War: Ascension on PS3

Today we are releasing our second wave of Multiplayer DLC – the Primordial Weapons – comprised of the Armor of Typhon and the Mercenary Blade. These will be available to purchase today on PSN (search “God of War”), alongside the “Armors of Anarchy” and “Blades of Darkness” released last week. Pay close attention to the Artemis & Thanatos Blades; they have new moves and FX to augment your playing style.

God of War: Ascension on PS3

God of War: Ascension on PS3

We are also currently offering a free DLC armor: The Chimeran Armor. This armor is best suited for Champions who focus on Elemental attacks, such as Zeus and Poseidon-aligned Warriors.

A warrior would be wise to balance their lower health with an alternate piece of allegiance armor that raises health, or an item that provides temporary protection against attacks, such as the Cloak of Boreas or Aegis of Zeus.

Did you know that in the first two months of Ascension Multiplayer, over 240 million Warriors perished? That’s enough to fill the Coliseum umpteenth times with nothing but fallen combatants. Or that enough flags were captured to fill the Parthenon from top to bottom over 350 times?

God of War: Ascension on PS3

We’ve crafted an infographic (look to the right) to display just how epic our first two months of Ascension Multiplayer have been. Let’s get one thing straight: we use the word “epic” quite a bit when it comes to God of War, but we think this infographic defines the word quite literally.

Finally, this Friday beginning at 5:00pm Pacific, on our Twitch page, we will host our first God of War Game w/ Dev Live Stream featuring the infamous “Dev7,” a special advanced preview of some of our upcoming new DLC weaponry, and perhaps a few other things we feel are ready to pull out of our DLC arsenal.

]]> http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/05/14/god-of-war-ascension-update-new-dlc-community-infographic/feed/ 54 http://blog.us.playstation.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/05/gowa.jpg 3.63Community Strategist, Santa Monica Studio 54 12 God of War: Ascension Rises Today, Final Multiplayer Allegiance Revealed http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/03/12/god-of-war-ascension-rises-today-final-multiplayer-allegiance-revealed/ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/03/12/god-of-war-ascension-rises-today-final-multiplayer-allegiance-revealed/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:01:33 +0000 Todd Papy http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=101763 God of War: Ascension is out in North America today! It represents the culmination of two and a half years of blood, sweat, and tears on behalf of the God of War team at Santa Monica Studio.]]> PlayStation friends,

God of War: Ascension is out in North America today! It represents the culmination of two and a half years of blood, sweat, and tears on behalf of the God of War team at Santa Monica Studio.

We wanted to create the best looking, best playing, most compelling entry in the series to date, a game that took every aspect of the experience to a new level, that sought to show long-time fans a different side of the iconic Kratos character, and that added something entirely new yet addictively deep to the franchise: multiplayer, which many of you joined us in playing and improving during our Beta weeks ago.

We put a great deal of thought and effort into the multiplayer modes you’ll discover in Ascension, including the recently revealed 2-player cooperative Trial of the Gods. Supporting this new addition to the God of War universe and the community we’re hopeful builds around it for a while to come is of the utmost importance to us.

God of War: Ascension on PS3God of War: Ascension on PS3

Looking forward to being among the first to receive access to an exclusive early demo of The Last of Us, included in each retail copy of God of War: Ascension? The new target date upon which that access will be unlocked (via the God of War: Ascension main menu) is May 31st, 2013. Pick up a copy of Ascension so you can be one of the first to check it out!

To that end, we can today confirm a substantial DLC plan, among which will be new armor and weapons sets, new stages to battle in, and much more. All of this will be free for owners of the Ascension Collector’s Edition, since it includes a comprehensive Season Pass (which will not be available outside of the CE).

We’ll have plenty more info in the coming weeks at our official site, www.godofwar.com, as we execute on our extensive schedule… Stay tuned!

Ascension’s multiplayer mode, a series first, is about to go live for players around the world. Finally, we’re excited to reveal the fourth, and last, of the Gods with whom you may ally yourself: Hades.


Of all of the allegiances, Hades’ executioners have the highest versatility and variety of abilities. With the ability to curse, drain life, become invisible, and create large hazards (all in one load-out), the followers of Hades are able to control the flow of battle. Hades is neither the strongest offensively nor defensively, but careful tailoring through armors and weapons, based on the situation to subsidize this, will help push you towards whatever role you want to fill — you will be able to do it all.

It’s been a long journey since 2010. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the game, and meet on the battlefield online.

]]> http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/03/12/god-of-war-ascension-rises-today-final-multiplayer-allegiance-revealed/feed/ 67 http://blog.us.playstation.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/ascension.jpg 4.29Game Director, God of War: Ascension 67 0 God of War: Ascension Q&A: Taking Kratos to the Next Level http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/03/08/god-of-war-ascension-qa-taking-kratos-to-the-next-level/ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/03/08/god-of-war-ascension-qa-taking-kratos-to-the-next-level/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:01:31 +0000 Fred Dutton http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=101522 God of War: Ascension’s launch just a few days away now, we sat down with the game’s Lead Combat Designer Jason McDonald and Lead Game Designer Mark Simon to find out how they’ve kept the formula fresh six games into the series, and what challenges the addition of multiplayer presented to the team.]]> With God of War: Ascension’s launch just a few days away now, we sat down with the game’s Lead Combat Designer Jason McDonald and Lead Game Designer Mark Simon to find out how they’ve kept the formula fresh six games into the series, and what challenges the addition of multiplayer presented to the team.

We’ll have more insight from Game Director Todd Papy next week before Santa Monica’s lean, mean new actioner hits the shelves on March 12th. In the meantime, over to Mark and Jason…

God of War: Ascension on PS3

PlayStation.Blog: How difficult is it retro-fitting a prequel story onto the existing God of War trilogy?

Mark Simon: It’s kinda nice actually. At the end of God of War 3 Kratos is completely rage-filled. His sole-focus has been figured out. With Ascension, we can go back to a different time period before he was this character. He has a wider range and you can explain things about him that you didn’t know before. You get to find out what turned him into the guy that he is – what makes him snap, and why is it that breaking a bond with a god like Ares does this.

PSB: If I was to plot Kratos’ anger on a graph, I’d say he starts at ‘seriously ticked off’ for God of War 1 and climbs to ‘ball of latent fury’ for God of War 3. But from what I’ve played of Ascension, he starts this prequel with a serious rage on. What gives?

MS: Sure, he does! But that’s due to the way the story is told. It’s like Slumdog Millionaire, or something like that. He’s not at the beginning of the story when you start the game. It’s told in a non-linear fashion. It builds up to why he is in the prison – why he was taken there by The Furies.

PSB: Do you ever worry that you’re going to run out of Greek gods for Kratos to beat up?

“That’s the great thing about our studio – ideas come from everywhere.”

MS: Every game is a challenge, but the Greek mythos is so wide and varied. We could never do every myth that it has for us. We don’t find it limiting; it’s more exciting to explore more areas of it – new gods, new titans, new locales.

Take the Furies. They’re primordial. They’re from before the gods – they’re more powerful than the gods. Some of their abilities are just ridiculous – so powerful. They make really great nemeses for Kratos.

PSB: Do you have an in-house expert who spends all their time going through Homer looking for new myths and characters?

MS: The cool thing about the studio is that some ideas come from the director, and then a lot of it comes from the rest of the team. Someone comes in and says ‘Y’know this would be really cool!’ Suddenly you’re in a brainstorming session, and before you know it you’re building it into the game. That’s the great thing about our studio – ideas come from everywhere.

Jason McDonald: But if you look at the typical desk in the office you’ll see Greek mythology books, random Greek materials – we do often reference that so we have to have those around.

MS: And the movies! Immortals, Jason and the Argonauts – all of them. We can’t get enough!

PSB: There are no office fact-finding outings to Greece then?
JM: No, but you should recommend that!

MS: Santorini, maybe. There’s got to be some myths around that island, right?

God of War: Ascension on PS3God of War: Ascension on PS3

PSB: Every God of War game has had a different director. How hard is it to maintain a consistent feel in every game?

JM: Even when the director changes, the core of the team remain the same. There’s a number of people who’ve been there for every title. Each director, when they assume that role, was really skilled to begin with, so it’s not like ‘Oh my god, what do I need to do?’ They know exactly what they need to do. Every director puts their spin on it. Like [Ascension director] Todd Papy was a designer, so with this game he kept a close eye on mechanics.

MS: I think that after a project this size and scope, it’s not unhealthy thing to go ‘You know what? The director is going to move onto another thing if he wants to’. We’re a team full of leads. So if one director decides he doesn’t want to do it on the next project, there are a lot of people who can help out.

PSB: The series is known for its visceral violence and I’ve already seen some brutal kills in Ascension. Was there ever a moment during development where you said ‘Okay, we went too far with that one…’?

MS: It’s got to feel impactful. If you swing a club and hit someone it’s got to feel like you’ve just hit them with a club. If it doesn’t, it feels gamey. We don’t want that gamey feeling – we want it to feel like you’re actually impacting someone’s head. It makes that sound, it feels like that – you kind of cringe thinking about it, but that’s what melee combat should feel like.

PSB: Which of the additions that you’ve made to the God of War formula this time around are you most happy with?

JM: The Rage system turned out really well. Everyone uses it differently and it’s nice to see that come together. The multiplayer though – seeing all that come together and people having fun – that’s an experience that is very unique to this game and I’m very proud we were able to accomplish it.

PSB: How did the decision to add multiplayer come about?

JM: I don’t remember anyone saying ‘it’s multiplayer time, let’s do it!’ It was more that we were curious about it. We hadn’t tried multiplayer before so we were asking ourselves ‘can it be done? Is there fun to be had?’

So we tried out a few tests using Kratos, as he was already built. What we found was that people would sit down with two Kratoses and have a lot of fun. They’d sit there for hours. It was un-tuned and very rough, but when we saw people enjoying it we thought it had merit. After that it was all about putting the God of War spin on it – making sure the scale reaches what we expect, and not just eight players bundled into a room fighting each other. We had to design modes and rules to make sure it wasn’t repetitive.

“We found that players really wanted to keep the action going as long as they could.”

PSB: How difficult was it to keep the combat balanced?

MS: You always start with something very simple – people fighting one another. Then you start adding new things and you watch the balance go out the window. Then you try desperately to get it back again before introducing another new thing. That’s how we iterate. We didn’t start with everything all at once.

PSB: How useful was the beta? Did players’ behavior take you by surprise?

MS: I learned a lot just looking at the data that comes in. I’d be like, ‘Woah, I can’t believe this guy opened 17 chests’ or ‘this guy actually killed three guys at once?!’

And the thing that I was surprised by was some of the stuff that I thought would be cool. Like, I thought it would be cool when the god throws the spear down in the middle of a match – everybody would get the same cinematic and we would have this big spectacle in the middle of a match.

I thought that would be cool. And it was cool… the first time. But it wasn’t cool the second time or the third time. We found that players really wanted to keep the action going as long as they could. And when the match was over they generally wanted to get right back to it again. So we took the camera cut out so as not to stop the action. The beta was really helpful for that kind of feedback.

PSB: Finally, I’ve got ask for your take on the PlayStation 4 announcement last month. What do you make of the new system?

JM: Very excited! We don’t get hardware leaps like this that often, so to have one coming up is very exciting. The social stuff in particular. The power is going to be awesome and we’ll have amazing artists and engineers who will be able to draw so much out of it – but the social stuff is great. It’s something gaming is moving towards so the more features that support people playing together, the better.

]]> http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/03/08/god-of-war-ascension-qa-taking-kratos-to-the-next-level/feed/ 60 http://blog.us.playstation.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/03/kratos.jpg 4.24SCEE Blog Manager 60 0 God of War’s Top 5 Epic Moments: Number One — The Death of Ares http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/05/god-of-wars-top-5-epic-moments-number-one-the-death-of-ares/ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/05/god-of-wars-top-5-epic-moments-number-one-the-death-of-ares/#comments Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:01:26 +0000 Aaron Kaufman http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=86746 Zeus, Cronos, and Poseidon, to the brutally intimate no-holds-barred fight with Hercules in God of War III, to fighting alongside his brother, Deimos, in Ghost of Sparta, there have been plenty of epic moments in Kratos' journey. But what, ladies and gentlemen, Spartans, warriors and champions, reigns supreme as the #1 Most Epic God of War Moment of All Time? If you ever doubted Kratos' ultimate arch-nemesis, the true evil that propelled him into an unstoppable rage, the original God of War -- who emblazoned the Blades of Chaos upon Kratos, as he swore an oath to serve his new master -- then by the Gods, this moment is bound to get you fired up.]]> God of War’s Top 5 Epic Moments: Number One

From the gargantuan, larger than life battles with Zeus, Cronos, and Poseidon, to the brutally intimate no-holds-barred fight with Hercules in God of War III, to fighting alongside his brother, Deimos, in Ghost of Sparta, there have been plenty of epic moments in Kratos’ journey.

But what, ladies and gentlemen, Spartans, warriors and champions, reigns supreme as the #1 most epic God of War moment of All Time?

If you ever doubted Kratos’ ultimate arch-nemesis, the true evil that propelled him into an unstoppable rage, the original God of War — who emblazoned the Blades of Chaos upon Kratos, as he swore an oath to serve his new master — then by the Gods, this moment is bound to get you fired up.

As voted by the God of War Facebook Community , the #1 God of War Epic Moment of All Time takes us back to a moment you should never forget…


God of War’s Most Epic Moments Ever
  1. The Death of Ares
  2. Kratos vs. Hercules
  3. The Brutal Death of Poseidon
  4. Brothers in Arms
  5. Destroying Zeus and Cronos
]]> http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/10/05/god-of-wars-top-5-epic-moments-number-one-the-death-of-ares/feed/ 32 http://blog.us.playstation.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/10/gow.jpg 4.19Community Strategist, Santa Monica Studio 32 0 God of War’s Top 5 Epic Moments: Number Three — The Brutal Death of Poseidon http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/21/god-of-wars-top-5-epic-moments-number-three-the-brutal-death-of-poseidon/ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/21/god-of-wars-top-5-epic-moments-number-three-the-brutal-death-of-poseidon/#comments Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:01:30 +0000 Aaron Kaufman http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=85401 has decimated 23 of Greek mythology's most important gods and people. And so far, the God of War Facebook community has voted three of those from Kratos' "Olympian Hit List" (Zeus, Cronos, and Thanatos) on to our "God of War’s Top 5 Epic Moments" list. What's the trend? The most epic moments in the God of War: Saga are always when Kratos is fueled by revenge, moving mountains, and defying impossible odds to destroy any mythological super power that gets in his way. We're on to our #3 greatest epic moment -- this boss battle is arguably the grandest of them all. The word "epic" doesn't always mean large in a physical nature, but the battle at the beginning of God of War III personifies the term handily. When I think of God of War III, I always remember the first 45 minutes of the game before anything else because of this epic boss battle. What about you? I dare you to disagree with me...]]> God of War’s Top 5 Epic Moments: Number Three — The Brutal Death of Poseidon

At current count, Kratos has decimated 23 of Greek mythology’s most important gods and people. And so far, the God of War Facebook community has voted three of those from Kratos’ “Olympian Hit List” (Zeus, Cronos, and Thanatos) on to our “God of War’s Top 5 Epic Moments” list. What’s the trend? The most epic moments in the God of War: Saga are always when Kratos is fueled by revenge, moving mountains, and defying impossible odds to destroy any mythological super power that gets in his way.

We’re on to our #3 greatest epic moment — this boss battle is arguably the grandest of them all. The word “epic” doesn’t always mean large in a physical nature, but the battle at the beginning of God of War III personifies the term handily. When I think of God of War III, I always remember the first 45 minutes of the game before anything else because of this epic boss battle. What about you? I dare you to disagree with me…

If you missed epic moments #4 and #5, hit the links from the list below.

God of War’s Most Epic Moments Ever
  1. The Death of Ares
  2. Kratos vs. Hercules
  3. The Brutal Death of Poseidon
  4. Brothers in Arms
  5. Destroying Zeus and Cronos
]]> http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/21/god-of-wars-top-5-epic-moments-number-three-the-brutal-death-of-poseidon/feed/ 35 http://blog.us.playstation.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/09/gow3.jpg 4.27Community Strategist, Santa Monica Studio 35 0 God of War’s Top 5 Epic Moments: Number Four — Brothers in Arms http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/14/god-of-wars-top-5-epic-moments-number-four-brothers-in-arms/ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/14/god-of-wars-top-5-epic-moments-number-four-brothers-in-arms/#comments Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:00:31 +0000 Aaron Kaufman http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=84929 one deadly, vengeful family affair. We know it was technically "two" epic moments, but who's complaining when it's family-related -- especially Kratos' lineage. It may not be the last time on this list either... As we celebrate the release of the God of War: Saga, let's continue our weekly countdown of your top five God of War epic moments with #4 from Ghost of Sparta -- a tag-team boss battle, in a critical situation when Kratos (or perhaps his brother) absolutely needed it.]]> God of War's Most Epic Moments: Brothers in Arms

There have been countless unfathomably epic moments in every God of War game, but only five will reign as the most epic moments of all-time. Thankfully, the God of War Facebook community determined this coveted list when we asked “What is your favorite God of War epic moment of all-time?”

If you missed no. 5, then you missed one deadly, vengeful family affair. We know it was technically “two” epic moments, but who’s complaining when it’s family-related — especially Kratos’ lineage. It may not be the last time on this list either…

As we celebrate the release of the God of War: Saga, let’s continue our weekly countdown of your top five God of War epic moments with #4 from Ghost of Sparta — a tag-team boss battle, in a critical situation when Kratos (or perhaps his brother) absolutely needed it.

“A Spartan Warrior never lets his back hit the ground!”


God of War’s Most Epic Moments Ever
  1. The Death of Ares
  2. Kratos vs. Hercules
  3. The Brutal Death of Poseidon
  4. Brothers in Arms
  5. Destroying Zeus and Cronos
]]> http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/09/14/god-of-wars-top-5-epic-moments-number-four-brothers-in-arms/feed/ 20 http://blog.us.playstation.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/09/god.jpg 3.86Community Strategist, Santa Monica Studio 20 0