With the God of War 2 announcement, Sony released an artwork of Kratos in some seriously bad-ass armor. Being an avid fan of the original, the artwork was like heaven to me… so the following wallpaper is dedicated to all the other God of War fans out there.

Thanks to Sony for releasing a high-res version of the artwork, which allowed me to crop it to the 2560×1600 version for users of really large wide-screen monitors (especially the 30″ Dell one); there is also a version for users of standard screens.

I’ve provided only the two following resolutions: 2560×1600 and 1600×1200. This will allow users of lower resolution monitors to use the wallpaper. Please don’t leech - bandwidth is expensive. If you like the wallpaper, please refer your friend to this post.

Widescreen | Standard screen

Maxum Games, a new developer, has revealed Demons of Mercy, an upcoming action-adventure title based on the forthcoming comic book series by RH Stavis (Lara Croft Memoirs). No details on the game are available, except for this short excerpt on the storyline: “Game takes place in the not too distant future, where a gorgeous assassin named Mercy Dawn discovers there is more to this world and what is needed to save it from apocalypse.”

The teaser site linked to in this post offers a release date of “Coming in 2006″.

An Evolution GT demo has been released, offering several tracks and cars to try out in the game’s quick race and career modes. Grab it from 3D Gamers and Gameguru Mania.

The following titles went gold today:

• Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (April 17) - PC and Xbox
  
• Xpand Rally (April 4)

• Space Rangers 2
  
• American Conquest: Divided Nation
  
• ÜberSoldier

To satisfy the need to watch videos of booth babes from E3, Gamecube Cafe today announced that it will be attending this year’s E3 for its second E3 DVD documentary. They proclaim that this year’s DVD will be “better than last,” with more coverage and even more footage from the mega-event.

They also announced that they will have even more free media content this time around, and will also be streaming the Nintendo Media Briefing LIVE on May 9th.

E3 2006 will run from May 10 through 12. The conference program will run through May 9-11.

Since I was out during GDC which ran from March 22-24, here’s a full recap:

• AGEIA conference coverage on FiringSquad, Hot Hardware, Techgage and GDHardware.
  
• FiringSquad has a “Reporter’s Notebook” feature that covers the full event - part 1, part 2 and part 3.
  
• On Techgage you’ll find daily coverage - day one and day two. Daily coverage is also provided by Ten Ton Hammer and 1UP. Quarter to Three has also covered the event.
  
• Sony’s GDC keynote was covered by a plethora of websites including FiringSquad, GamersInfo, Joystiq and EuroGamer.
  
• Over on FiringSquad you’ll find coverage of Nintendo’s GDC keynote.
  
• Further keynotes include the “Disrupting Development” on GamersInfo and Battlestar Galactica on Ten Ton Hammer.
  
• Epic showed off Unreal Engine 3 at the show. Coverage can be found on Ten Ton Hammer, Gamespot and IGN.
  
• Developers also had their fair share of coverage - Will Wright’s keynote has been covered by Gamespot, GamesInfo and 1UP; God of War creator David Jaffe gets a feature on Gamespot; and Ten Ton Hammer interviews Richard Garriott (Lord British) and Codemasters.
  
• The GDC and IGF Awards ceremonies were covered by Ten Ton Hammer.
  
• Pictures tell a thousand words. So, here are links to pictures from the event: Ten Ton Hammer and Yahoo! Video Games.
  
• The issue of Physics has been covered by Slashdot and PC Perspective.
  
• Game Developers Rant II on Wonderland is a wonderful look into the minds of game developers.
  
• This IGN article covers the Hot Coffee discussion, while Gamasutra covers Murder, Sex and Censorship and Creating a Global MMO.
  
• As for postmortems - Gamespot has a nice one on Stubbs the Zombie and GamersInfo has one on Xbox 360 design.

Game Informer Online reports that Half-Life 2: Episode One has been delayed to May 31. This is apparently delayed from the previous April date.

Add another delay to Starcraft: Ghost - the game has been “indefinitely postponed” as Blizzard is “evaluating opportunities for utilizing the additional power of the new and upcoming console systems.” Next-gen Starcraft, anyone?

The Nintendo GDC keynote didn’t reveal anything shockingly new, but it did unveil Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS, as well as word that the Revolution’s Virtual Console service will also play games developed for Sega Genesis and the Turbografx consoles.

Satoru Iwata’s full keynote address can be found after the jump (it’s huge).
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Eidos has confirmed that Championship Manager 2006 will be released on the PSP on April 7.

Championship Manager 2006 on Sony PSP features 55 playable leagues across the top 12 footballing nations, a realistic 2D match engine and Quick and Challenge modes. There are now improved manager options to influence your team tactics, 25,000 players and a fully interactive transfer system with up to date January 2006 transfer data.

Marking the end of a brilliant era, Sony has announced that it has officially pulled the plug on PlayStation One production. Having sold more than 100 million units in more than 11 years, the PSOne is said to be one of the most successful consoles ever.

Even though no more PS1s will be made, gamers can look forward to playing those games on the PSP thanks to a PS1 emulator that Sony is working on. Gamers can also play PS1 games on the PS2 and the upcoming PS3 without any problems.

Gamers can now become desperate housewives! Yes, you read that right: Buena Vista Games has announced that it will publish Desperate Housewives, a lifestyle simulation game based on the popular soap opera on ABC.

The game will have players take on the role of a new housewife who moves into Wisteria Lane and unlocks the “delicious” scandals hidden in the neighborhood. Brenda Strong will reprise her role from the TV series as the voice of Mary Alice Young, a deceased housewife, who serves as the show’s narrator in each episode.

Desperate Housewives will be available for desperate housewives this Fall.

Sony Online Entertainment sends word that Live Update #21 has been put up for EverQuest II. The latest enhancements include a special in-game reward for owners of the Kingdom of Sky expansion pack, increased experience for high-level players, combat upgrades for select classes and new merchant items in Norrath.

In appreciation for purchasing the Kingdom of Sky expansion pack, players will receive bonus veteran reward time of ninety (90) days on their Account Age, which is used to determine which set of unique and entertaining abilities the player will receive. There are also new items available from the merchants of Norrath for players under level 20 and over level 50. Experience points for quests in the 60-70 level range has been increased, and level 70 adventurers will now earn Achievement experience points at an improved rate.

For players that like taking down their enemies from a distance, the auto-attack feature for bows and projectile has been enhanced to match the damage done by melee auto-attacks. EverQuest II fans will also see improvements to the Achievement system, PvP and Combat as well.

2K Sports has announced that Matador Records, among other record labels, is providing music for the in-game Major League baseball 2K6 soundtrack. Songs from the soundtrack include tracks from Interpol, Malkmus, Pavement and many others. Here’s the full 19 song track listing:

• Belle and Sebastian - To Be Myself Completely and Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie
  
• Cornelius - Drop, Count Five Or Six
  
• Early Man - Closing In (The Medley)
  
• Interpol - Evil
  
• Mogwai - Hunted By A Freak
  
• Pavement - Serpentine Pad
  
• Preston School of Industry - Line It Up
  
• Pretty Girls Make Graves - The Grandmother Wolf
  
• Stephen Malkmus - Loud Cloud Crowd
  
• The Double - Icy, Idiocy
  
• Yo La Tengo - Today Is The Day

SNK has announced at GDC that it will be releasing a Metal Slug compilation on the PSP. The collection will consist of Metal Slug 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, as well as Metal Slug X. All titles will feature co-op play via local wi-fi.

The compilation is slated for release this November.