[PS3] God of War III Pre-Release

[Shifty Geezer]

I'd find out what exactly are the sticking points first.

I'd have thought the tendons would be pretty tenacious, although from the vid, it was the skin that was the real sticking point.

Regards the debate on violence in games, please see the thread tha_con opened and follow the link to the RSPC forum if you want to discuss. Within the context of the game thread, as patsu says, it's really just a matter of how not to lose sales to censorship. Whether games should be violent or censored is a valid topic but not in the console board.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Are folks really up in arms about the gore and nudity?

I know it's juvinille, but really it's high time we realized that games can "grow up" per se, and break down that boundry. I don't think Blood is "taboo" anymore (I think that stopped back when MK released on the Genisis) and I also don't think that Nudity is taboo either. You're either mature enough to deal with it and move on, or you get excited / harp on it.

It's not about blood in itself (and certainly not about boobies .

It's about my total lack of ability to identify with a 'hero' who deals out this much violence, and the - IMHO - unneccesary amount of gore involved with these procedures.
I don't like seeing creatures suffer, not even bad and ugly ones, and I don't like looking at unpleasently detailed violence either. Stylized stuff is OK and I can take it - but this is just too far for me. I find it tasteless and don't want to go near it.

We'll see how the actual sales go and how many customers are drawn to it vs. how many are alienated by it...

 

[obonicus]

Yeah, seeing as how you need to utilize a severed head for example, or how some of the minibosses can only be killed with those fatality moves... it'd take a lot of work.

It's interesting though, that somehow the very similar Darksiders stuff isn't as disturbing as GOW3. It seems more real, like it's about causing as much pain as possible or I don't know...

It's always been about Kratos being angry. I still don't think it's gore for gore's sake, it's just a natural progression of the sort of hate-f*ck-kill thing Kratos has always done, in HD. I think Gears does this a lot too, especially in 2 (I remember CliffyB gleefully showing off the many new ways you could curbstomp enemies). That makes it different from the goofy gore in MK, I think.

 

[obonicus]

We'll see how the actual sales go and how many customers are drawn to it vs. how many are alienated by it...

In the US, I'm willing to bet that this will be a draw. It might hurt them if regions start barring the game, though.

 

[tha_con]

It's not about blood in itself (and certainly not about boobies .

It's about my total lack of ability to identify with a 'hero' who deals out this much violence, and the - IMHO - unneccesary amount of gore involved with these procedures.
I don't like seeing creatures suffer, not even bad and ugly ones, and I don't like looking at unpleasently detailed violence either. Stylized stuff is OK and I can take it - but this is just too far for me. I find it tasteless and don't want to go near it.

We'll see how the actual sales go and how many customers are drawn to it vs. how many are alienated by it...

I really don't think it's any more "violent" than videogame gore we've been seeing for the last decade. That said, I don't expect any of it's brutatlity to have any effect on it's sales, positive or negative.

Edit: Sorry Shifty, just saw your above post Will not continue the discussion!

 

[2real4tv]

You guys are being a little to sensitive Do you guys feel sorry for Medusa in the movie "Clash of the Titans"?

 

[the ignoramus]

Speaking as someone who wanted realistic gibbing in RE5 due to the way it would have gameplay, I completely agree. This is just... pointless. =\ Nice way to get the Not All Games Are Gorey Murder Simulators point across, people working on GoW3!

It seems blatant. Like the creators want to call attention to themselves through it.
At GoW 2's launch party, wasnt there a live sheep or a goat killed right at the event? Sony seems to want this franchise to have shock value. I also think Gears of War may be an influence.

edit: sorry, the goat was decapitated, then brought to the launch event.

 

[obonicus]

It seems blatant. Like the creators want to call attention to themselves through it.
At GoW 2's launch party, wasnt there a live sheep or a goat killed right at the event? Sony seems to want this franchise to have shock value. I also think Gears of War may be an influence.

The other way around, I think, though these games may be trying to one-up each other.

 

[patsu]

You guys are being a little to sensitive Do you guys feel sorry for Medusa in the movie "Clash of the Titans"?

Beheading a monster is not so bad. Beheading a human is not so alright. Beheading a human close-up with abundant blood and dangling skin around the neck will definitely shock some people.

 

[obonicus]

Helios isn't a human. Humans don't shoot light out of their eyesockets after decapitated. They also don't fly around in flaming chariots. Did anyone play this section at E3? How annoying is Helios, for the devs to want to give you such a huge revenge-kill?

 

[patsu]

Ha ha... to a casual observer, he or she may not be able to tell whether Helios was a human or not. OTOH, Medussa was clearly a biatch (after she became a monster).

 

[RenegadeRocks]

Anybody wants some Chaos !!!!!!

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/07/22/god-of-war-iii-at-comic-con-plus-blades-of-chaos-replica/

GOW comic book and posters and Blades of CHaos at Comic Con!

 

[Cornsnake]

It doesn't look the same without being covered in blood.

 

[AlNom]

That can be arranged.

 

[P on the rocks]

It seems blatant. Like the creators want to call attention to themselves through it.
At GoW 2's launch party, wasnt there a live sheep or a goat killed right at the event? Sony seems to want this franchise to have shock value. I also think Gears of War may be an influence.

edit: sorry, the goat was decapitated, then brought to the launch event.

That was a rare occurance of authenticity where they emulated an animal sacrifice to the Gods like the old Greeks did it. I was surprised that Sony was surprised with the reaction.

When it comes to in-game violence, I am also not that comfortable with watching it in great detail but I ask myself this: What is worse? Showing violence with every detail possible or playing it down a little and making it less ugly? Isn't it more "honest" to show violence in its whole ugliness? Is it wrong if some people get repulsed?

I have more difficulties with having fun with GTA. I am not able to see the lighthearted side of a game where you arbitrarily run over innocent bystanders with your car. Or Deus Ex: I bribe a little boy with a chocolate to get some information then I killed it with a crowbar to get my chocolate back.

The context of violence plays a great role.

 

[Scott_Arm]

I wouldn't say there's anything remotely truthful about the violence in God of War, or any video game. Some are just a lot more sadistic than others. Some of the military sims might have quasi-realistic violence, visual only, but I wouldn't say any games handle violence in a meaningful way.

 

[3dilettante]

Ultrarealistic sadistic violence in a murder simulator might have great diagnostic value.

I think I would be greatly disturbed, but ultimately safer, if I found out my neighbor's gamer profile had an uber-platinum trophy for "Most heinous torture/kill of one's neighbor" in MurderFunHappyTime 2: Kill your new neighbor.

I'd give it bonus points if the trophy causes a compulsory broadcast signal from the console that can be picked up by a PSP within a block or so. It would help home buyers immeasurably.

With the advent of Natal and other gesture recognition schemes, there could be an even more helpful collection of trophies based on whether the gamer was turned on or diddled himself while earning the mass-murder trophy.

 

[obonicus]

I think I would be greatly disturbed, but ultimately safer, if I found out my neighbor's gamer profile had an uber-platinum trophy for "Most heinous torture/kill of one's neighbor" in MurderFunHappyTime 2: Kill your new neighbor.

Hey, just because I secretly take a picture of your face and map him onto my virtual neighbor in MFHT2:KYNN doesn't mean I'd really tear your face off and staple it onto my neighbor's. I might just be into torturing dogs, instead.

 

[3dilettante]

Hey, just because I secretly take a picture of your face and map him onto my virtual neighbor in MFHT2:KYNN doesn't mean I'd really tear your face off and staple it onto my neighbor's. I might just be into torturing dogs, instead.

Yes, but did you have to break into my house to take a picture of me in my sleep?

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Yes, but did you have to break into my house to take a picture of me in my sleep?

Hate to break this to you but he's also got a live cam installed in your toilet.

Regards,
SB