God of War Collection Q&A
With God of War III coming in March 2010, Sony and Santa Monica Studios are set to release both original God of War games on a single Blu-ray disc for the PlayStation 3 this month. Packed with a high-definition upgrade and smooth 60-frames-per-second performance, the God of War Collection will also include a voucher for the E3 2009 God of War III demo.
We spoke with John Hight, Director of Product Development for Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, at Santa Monica Studio to find out what else we can expect from the game.
JB: Why should someone who maybe has played both original God of War titles for the PS2 want to pick up the Collection?
JH: For the same reason you watch a favorite movie or listen to a favorite song. These are epic, well-crafted games that stand the test of time. Seeing these moments in HD makes the memory that much more real.
JB: What advantages does Blu-ray provide?
JH: With Blu-ray, we were able to place both games and the bonus video content on a single disc.
JB: Is there any new content in these games?
JH: We've added PlayStation Network Trophy support so you can compare progress with your friends and see how you measure up to Kratos' high standards for combat and exploration.
JB: Are there any other technical improvements we'll see in the Collection besides anti-aliasing and 60fps?
JH: We "up-rezzed" some of the textures and the user interface to match the higher resolution of the models and environments.
JB: The original God of War games were praised for their great control and gameplay mechanics. Was it difficult to preserve that experience during the revamping of the games?
JH: You'll find these games faithful to the originals in every respect. The extra horsepower of the PS3 allowed us to keep both games at a consistent 60fps. Most people may not notice, but it improves the responsiveness.
JB: And a follow-up to the above: was there anything being considered for the Collection that was taken out because it compromised the feeling of the original games?
JH: We had a few requests to go in and tweak the difficulty of some areas but decided against changing things--why mess with success?
God of War Collection is set for release on November 17. Check back then for our final thoughts on the game!
On Sale Now: $36.99 - $38.99
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Before covering games and gear for CNET Reviews, Jeff Bakalar dabbled in film and video production. An avid writer, reader, and gamer, Jeff is also an obsessive New Jersey Devils hockey fan. Catch him live every day as the co-host of CNET's infamous podcast, The 404. 
Personally, I'd like to see a lot of games re-released on blu-ray, with these types of upgrades, seeing as how backwards compatibility was shot down. Sony would make a lot of money off me by doing so, especially with 2 or more games on one disc. I'd for sure be sold.
Well, let's see. Because I DON'T have a PS2? I have a PSP and a PS3 (one without backward compatibility) and there many others out there like me. This is an excellent way to continue to capitalize on a franchise, as well as stir interest in the next item in the series. This is especially true since there actually reworked the underlying tech of the game to take advantage of PS3 capabilities, so it isn't just a "quick package something up to make some money" trick, but actually took some work to port over.
Yeah, I'm buying it. I only had COO on my PSP until now, so I'm looking forward to being able to enjoy its predecessors.
Honestly, anyone who has a PS3 and has played either of the first two games or CoO will probably get this simply because these games were AWESOME. God Of War and God Of War II are better than any other games that came out last gen, other than maybe the ICO games or MGS3.
O and @ dizzygill: if you liked Chains of Olympus, you'll LOVE God of War and God Of War II. Well, the Gauntlet of Zeus was something that they came up with after the two PS2 games and isn't in either of them, but other than that...yeah. Think Chains Of Olympus only bigger, better, more epic and with finales that are about 10x as satisfying.
Also, if you look at amazon god of war 1 and 2 on ps2 are priced at 20 bucks each, and this colection is priced at 40. So for the same price as the 2 ps2 games you get HD graphics and trophies. Well worth it.
Despite gameplay being the same, it works like they said. The game is friggin amazing.
- by NervClaX November 5, 2009 10:06 AM PST
- I never even touched the GOW series outside of a little demo for the PS2 years ago. I think I was too busy with Prince of Persia: SoT at the time. It will be great to pick these up the 2nd time around. $40 sounds like a great deal.
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