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Behind the Game with the God of War II Team

Posted by Zonk on from the hard-not-to-like-them dept.

N'Gai Croal's LevelUp column continues to impress, with a new feature called 'Team Assault'. Instead of the usual interview about a game with one featured speaker, Croal has gone after the people that pieced the game together: the development team. The first targets for this approach are the makers of God of War II. So far he has conversations up with Executive Producer Shannon Studstill, Lead Programmer Tim Moss, and Game Director Cory Barlog. From the first interview with Barlog: "Making these games is freaking hard work, and it can drain every ounce of life you have in you to make the 2-3 year haul, but it is worth it. It sounds weird to me to say this, but right now I am doing exactly what I want to be doing. How many people can say that? Until I started working on the original God of War, I absolutely couldn't say that. I was actually thinking about getting out of games at the time. Not sure what I was going to do, maybe become an archaeologist or something like that. But then I would more than likely be slapped in the face by the cold hard reality that I wouldn't get to carry a gun, or a whip, or fight bad guys that wear eye patches and expensive suits. So I would probably just end up coming back to games or making movies."

27 comments

  1. Hey, look by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Those crickets just got killed by that tumbleweed...

  2. Re:Bravo Sony! by DrXym · · Score: 1

    And of course God of War II plays well on the PS3 so whether you have a PS2 or PS3, it's still an amazing title.

  3. recommend game by netdur · · Score: 1

    I just done playing GoW2 and I'm replaying GoW1 in "very hard" mode just because I have no idea what to play next... what would you Slashdotters recommend to me? I love games such as God of War, Prince of Persia, Mortal Kombat, Hitman, Silent Hill... my PC runs Ubuntu exclusive and I have (offline) PS2 console

    --
    "Steve Jobs invented the world" -- Bill W. GATES
    1. Re:recommend game by art03 · · Score: 1

      DMC1, DMC3, Maximo, MGS1,2 and 3 the list goes on and on.

    2. Re:recommend game by Inverted+Intellect · · Score: 1

      Seeing as how you like GoW and PoP, I'm surprised not to see Devil May Cry on that list. You should try those, nr. 1 and 3 are great, though you might want to skip nr. 2.

      They they boast some very intense gameplay, though the combat tends to be somewhat overly stylized.

    3. Re:recommend game by hansamurai · · Score: 1

      I really like the Onimusha series. Each game (there are four of them for the PS2) is pretty unique in its own right but deep down they're very fun hack and slash action games. You can probably pick up all four for about 60 bucks now which is pretty good.

      --
      Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
    4. Re:recommend game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Definitely Devil May Cry. (1 and 3, skip 2). Try to enjoy the campy "badass" stuff and you'll have a great time. The plot, presentation, and puzzles are not nearly on the same level as God of War or Prince of Persia, but the core gameplay (combat) is amazing enough to make up for it. Play on Hard mode.

    5. Re:recommend game by netdur · · Score: 1

      thank you guys, gotta get DMC1 and 3 first :)

      --
      "Steve Jobs invented the world" -- Bill W. GATES
  4. Just played both 1 and 2 recently... by Samurai+Cat! · · Score: 1

    Went to pick up GoW 2 and the kid at the counter was like "you REALLY ought to get GoW and play it first". I figured, another $20, no prob.

    So I had the opportunity to play them fresh, back to back.

    Now - is it just me or was the end boss fight in GoW 2 *easier* than in GoW? I struggled for dunno how long on the first one - but the second one, I nailed in a fraction of deaths.

    Still - gorgeous games. Now I can't wait for GoW 3. :(

    --

    "People" using "unnecessary" quotes should be "shot".
    1. Re:Just played both 1 and 2 recently... by nonsequitor · · Score: 1

      It is easier, but GoW didn't have an ultra-hard titan mode either. Its not really fair to compare the difficulty unless you're on the hardest setting of both games. GoW - 3 difficulty levels : GoW II - 4 difficulty levels.

    2. Re:Just played both 1 and 2 recently... by pragma_x · · Score: 1

      MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!

      As far as the final fight goes, I'm not entirely convinced that it was easier. It's possible that some aspects of the fight slipped past the testing team on that one - I for one didn't figure out that attacking the sirens stunned Zeus until my fifth time through the fight. After that, I kept mashing the wrong button when I had Zeus on the ropes, which had me going back to the start a dozen times more.

      Overall, I think the fight was more multi-dimensional, with some rudimentary puzzle solving, timing, pattern memorization and "hit the right button at the right time" twitch gaming. Compare that to the final showdown with Ares in GoW I, which was just plain combat timing and patterns (aka: Virtua Fighter). I think that qualifies as making it harder; kind of like a cumulative final exam of all the (player) skills you've accquired through the game. GoW II just has much more game (pun intended).

      Honestly, as far as boss fights go, I thought the sisters of fate stole the whole show. Now *there* was an epic battle that seemed to test the player's endurance (on many levels) as much as Kratos. I remember being so satisfied with beating them, throughout all time no less, smashing their mirrors and heads alike, that I would have been perfectly content with an FMV and a credit scroll immediately afterwards.

      Meanwhile I'm still stuck on the Isle of Rhodes in Titan mode... Great Jeebus this game is hard.

    3. Re:Just played both 1 and 2 recently... by DarkJC · · Score: 1

      Um, yes it had an ultra-hard mode. Did you forget about God Mode?

    4. Re:Just played both 1 and 2 recently... by !coward · · Score: 1

      *drooling* Argh, this is so unfair.. It hasn't been published yet where I live. And even though this means I get to buy the "Special Edition" at a slightly lower price (pre-ordered it through Amazon) that the normal edition will retail for, it also means I'll have to wait an extra 3-4 days before I can get my hands on it. Early May is the best estimate.

      But I'm glad you guys think it's at least as rewarding as GoW1 was.. Now, can someone clear this up for me, please? What's the toughest difficulty level on GoW2? Is it God Mode, is there a higher one, or did they just change the toughest difficulty level to "Titan" or whatever? Also, how does that compare to God Mode on GoW1? And finally, do you get to play it from the start, or do you also have to unlock it by beating the game in another mode first like GoW1 did?

      As for the final boss discussion: I obviously have no reference to base any comparison, but regarding GoW1.. After beating the game on Hard the first time, the actual 2 fights with Ares on God mode were really easy.. I still died a couple of times, especially in the last fight, but a breeze compared to the first time on Hard. The one that took me a really long time to fine-tune a strategy and make it to the end, was the fight with all those Kratos.. Man, that was frustrating!! On Hard it went by fairly quickly, but on God mode it was completely exasperating.. And this even though I had full health and magic bars for God mode, which I didn't for Hard (completely forgot about the muse keys and the door to it before getting to the top levels of Pandora's Temple.. and by then, since I was saving my saves for the most exciting fights, so I could replay them at will [Hydra, Minotaur], by the time I realized I had forgotten about the keys I was too advanced in the game [Architect's Tomb, I think] to want to do it all over again from the Minotaur fight).

      Anyway, really looking forward to it.. Best fun I've had with a game in a really long time (and btw, somehow, I never really liked DMC's style both for storytelling and fighting mechanism.. I guess GoW1 spoiled me).

    5. Re:Just played both 1 and 2 recently... by pragma_x · · Score: 1

      *drooling* Argh, this is so unfair..

      My apologies for the spoiler laden post. Perhaps I should've arranged the text in the shape of Medusa's head to drive home the point. ;)

      The hardest difficulty mode is called "Titan", which makes a lot more sense after you unlock it (beat the game).

      And even though this means I get to buy the "Special Edition" at a slightly lower price

      I have this version (well the "Two Disc Set" for North America anyway). The "Making Of" on the DVD covers some of the developer's ups and downs leading up to their demo at E3. If you liked the article linked here, you're going to enjoy this.

      somehow, I never really liked DMC's style both for storytelling and fighting mechanism.. I guess GoW1 spoiled me

      Trust me, GoW didn't spoil you. Having played Devil May Cry *before* God of War, I can say that DMC isn't what people make it out to be. Yes, it was a very pretty game, but the storytelling was awful, the voice-acting and FMV animation worse, the camera/level interaction painful at times, and the level design somewhat derivative. About the only thing it did right was break the mold on how 3D action gaming can be done by making it as engaging as a side-scroller. IMO, games like GoW and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence ate DMC's lunch.
    6. Re:Just played both 1 and 2 recently... by nonsequitor · · Score: 1

      Have you even played God of War II? The difficulty modes go Mortal, Spartan, God, then Titan. Which means that unless you compare God Mode from the first to Titan mode from the second the comparison is not valid. If you assume that the easy modes are the same difficulty and Titan is equivalent to God mode than the normal mode for 2 would be easier than 1 given a linear progression in difficulty. 2/4 2/3. It's simple math. Having beaten the second in Spartan mode and not being able to make it past the first set of enemies in Titan mode I was merely asking if perhaps he was jumping the gun in his conclusions.

  5. Okami by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Okami is a great choice. Very absorbing, worthwhile combat. Above all, fantastic presentation.

  6. GoW vs. GoW by tepples · · Score: 1

    Please don't use the abbreviation GoW in a comparison between PlayStation family and Xbox family consoles. I can't always tell where you're talking about God or Gears.

    1. Re:GoW vs. GoW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GoW was released about a year and a half before Gears and it had that abbreviation first. Gears of War is abbreviated "Gears".

    2. Re:GoW vs. GoW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No one but lameass Xbots try to call Gears of War GoW.

      Get with the program sport.

    3. Re:GoW vs. GoW by arsynth · · Score: 1

      Hmmmm.......You would think that an article title "Behind the Game with the God of War II Team" that you could tell which GoW was being referenced.

    4. Re:GoW vs. GoW by winmine · · Score: 2, Funny

      But GoW is better than GoW. It's no wonder that the system it's on is winning.

    5. Re:GoW vs. GoW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I always hated GoW. I preferred HSC and FOC, but then I always had a preference for the maps that let me use naval units.

  7. Re:Bravo Sony! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You must be playing XBox on a circa 70s television if you believe that.

    Oh, wait, you're just paid to spout that crap here.

    Please, I don't care how much you talk up Sony. Just leave the fanboytastic crap out of it, okay? It's old. Really old.

  8. Re:Bravo Sony! by Vampyre_Dark · · Score: 1

    Good classic art direction, and substance will always beat out fancy new graphical tricks. Squaresoft is another developper who knows how to pull the most out of any system, and their games tend to look like the hardware they are running on shouldn't be able to handle it.

    Not that the new graphical tricks are bad. But they will never compensate for mediocre art.

  9. A tad underwhelming but still very fun by ericmedici · · Score: 1

    I absolutely love the God of War franchise; however, God of War 2 feels rushed as I have found several bugs. Also the level of complexity with the puzzles in #2 is less than impressive. The graphics are much better; unfortunately, the controls are just as sluggish as they were in #1. My hopes for #3 are: very reactive controls, more complicated puzzles (e.g. Myst) and a bit more time in QA.