God of War 4 Incoming?
Sony recently revealed a cryptic teaser image that has set the whole Internet ablaze with rumors and speculation. The image, at first glance, appears to merely be text on a background. The text reads “Will vengeance bring redemption?” There is no explanation other than a date: April 19th, 2012. Obviously, this means that Sony has some sort of big announcement to make on the 19th, and since we are coming up quick on E3 season this year, it’s not surprising that they would have something huge ready for the biggest gaming conference of the year. But what could this game be?
Many outlets believe that this is a teaser for God of War IV. In fact, PSExtreme went as far as to contact a local GameStop, where a representative said that the teaser image was indeed for God of War IV. The rep said that the game was going to be announced on the 19th and is set to launch in March 2013. Not only that, but the game will be a prequel to all the other God of War titles. This makes sense, since Kratos got so angry in God of War III that he killed everything in ancient Greece, including himself. So what would a prequel God of War be like?
Well, first of all we have to consider how Kratos would fight. Remember, he only received his awesome chain swords after pledging himself to Ares. If this were to be a prequel, i.e. before Kratos gave himself up to Ares, then he would have to fight with more traditional Spartan weapons. This means swords, javelins, and, of course, a gigantic shield. Some may think that this would make Kratos more boring, but I doubt God of War’s cinematic and brutal flare would simply get tossed aside. Instead, Kratos would simply find ways to be brutal with his own traditional weaponry. I could see him impaling enemies with a javelin or using the edge of a bronze shield to decapitate his foes.
However, it’s also possible that parts of the game take place after he is put under Ares’ thrall, giving him access to his iconic weaponry once more. If this takes place at the end of game, it would be an awesome throwback to God of War fans that have stuck with the series up until now.
Playfront, on the other hand, has a different theory. They made the claim that the entire image is in the reflection of a bronze blade. At the top are rock formations and lava, and on the bottom are more of the same. They say that one looks like a hand, evoking images of either the titans or of Hades. In this case, it’s possible that the new God of War title would be a Vita title that takes place between God of War II and III. Michael Pachter, analyst and host of Pach Attack, said that he is 100% certain that both God of War IV for the PS3 and a new God of War game for the Vita are in development, making the chances of a Vita game reveal that much more likely.
Another piece of evidence of the existence of God of War IV is a pre-order banner that was photographed outside of a game shop in Johannesburg. The picture includes Kratos’ iconic blades, which would put to rest theories of traditional Spartan weaponry. However, they aren’t actually attached to chains in the picture, which might mean we have some more traditional gameplay in store. However, the strangest element of this banner was that the game was labeled a shooter.
This means one of two things:
A.) God of War IV might actually be following a more shooter-based model. If Kratos is ordering around Spartan armies, projectile combat would be very important. Javelin throwing and archery would probably be featured in the game prominently, and if Kratos runs up against another army he might have to use cover to avoid swarms of arrows and other flaming projectiles. As a result, God of War IV could combine shooter and action gameplay mechanics in ways we have never seen before.
B.) The game store simply concocted the banner themselves, which is the more likely option.
Of course, it’s possible that this image has nothing to do with God of War at all. Some fans have speculated that it is a teaser for a new Red Dead Redemption game, hinted by the word “redemption.” However, Rockstar has their plate full with Grand Theft Auto 5 and Max Payne 3, so it is unlikely that this is actually the case. Others believe that this may be a teaser for another Heavenly Sword game. However, no information regarding a Heavenly Sword sequel has been mentioned in recent days, and Heavenly Sword was not the best received game in the first place. Finally, some fans suspect that the teaser is for a totally new IP altogether.
We aren’t entirely sure what the teaser image means, but we are excited to see what Sony has in store. We will bring you more information about this mysterious Sony project as it’s revealed.
 | By Angelo M. D’Argenio Contributing Writer Date: April 18, 2012 |
*The views expressed within this article are solely the opinion of the author and do not express the views held by Cheat Code Central.*