God of War®: Ghost of Sparta Provides an Olympic Size Blockbuster in the Palm of Your Hand, Exclusively for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) System

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. (SCEA) today announced the North American release of God of War®: Ghost of Sparta, the latest installment in the multi-million unit selling franchise, exclusively for the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) go systems.  Developed by Ready At Dawn® Studios (RAD), the acclaimed team behind the best-selling God of War: Chains of Olympus, in collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica Studio, God of War: Ghost of Sparta brings an epic new story to life with ferocious battles, trademark gameplay, and groundbreaking depths of scale, while answering long-awaited questions about Kratos' dark past and exploring his ascension to power as the God of War.

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Utilizing state-of-the-art visual technologies, the development team has made significant strides in Kratos' latest assault giving players a realistic feel that has never been seen before on the PSP system or any other portable platform.  Engine enhancements provide stunning graphics and dramatic camera angles, coupled with dazzling weather effects and higher quality environments for Kratos to wreak havoc through.  Providing over 25% more gameplay than its PSP predecessor, God of War: Ghost of Sparta boasts a bigger and more diverse adventure that results in exponentially larger bosses and double the enemies on screen, along with new magical powers, navigational abilities, and weapons, including the first franchise appearance of the Arms of Sparta, a powerful spear and shield combo, all of which add to a more engaging and immersive experience that can be enjoyed on the go.

"Since our announcement last spring and a strong showing at E3 2010, God of War: Ghost of Sparta has remained one of the most eagerly anticipated titles of the year," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President, Product Marketing, SCEA.  "Kratos' latest adventure has truly set a new bar for the portable platform, leveraging the full power of PSP to create an epic experience combining beautiful visuals and a thrilling new story that fans and newcomers can enjoy anytime, anywhere."

Set in the realm of Greek mythology, God of War: Ghost of Sparta is a single-player game that allows players to take on the powerful role of ex-Spartan warrior Kratos.  This new adventure picks up after God of War concludes, telling the story of Kratos' ascension to power as the God of War.  In his quest to rid himself of the nightmares that haunt him, he must embark on a journey that will reveal the origins of lost worlds, and finally answer long-awaited questions about his dark past, including details about his family that have yet to be discussed in any God of War game prior.  Armed with the deadly chained Blades of Athena, he will have to overcome armies of mythological monsters, legions of undead soldiers, and amazingly dangerous and brutal landscapes throughout his merciless quest.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta is a single-player action-adventure that has an ESRB rating of "M" for Mature.  For more information about the ESRB, visit www.esrb.org.  For more information about the God of War franchise, visit www.GodofWar.com.  

Acclaim for God of War: Ghost of Sparta

God of War: Ghost of Sparta was acknowledged by many of the videogame industry's top media outlets at E3 2010, including Kotaku.com (Best PSP Game), Game Critics (Best Handheld Game), G4TV's  X-Play (Best Handheld Game), Machinima.com (Best Handheld Game), GameTrailers TV (Best PSP Game), GameSpy.com (PSP Game of Show), Game Informer (Best Handheld Game), and IGN.com (Best PSP Game).  It has also received rave review from many leading industry and general consumer press outlets, including PlayStation: The Official Magazine (10/10), Game Informer (9.5/10), IGN.com (9.5/10), GameTrailers.com (9.4/10), and the New York Post (A+).

Acclaim for God of War: Chains of Olympus

God of War: Chains of Olympus is currently the highest rated PSP title of all-time on Metacritic.com and has been acknowledged by many of the videogame industry's top media outlets, including IGN.com (Best PSP Action Game, Best PSP Use of Sound, Best PSP Graphics Technology), Gamespy.com (PSP Gamer's Choice Award, PSP Game of the Year Award, PSP Action Game of the Year Award), PlayStation: The Official Magazine (PSP Game of the Year), and Game Informer (Handheld Game of the Month Award).

Acclaim for the God of War Franchise

God of War releases have set the bar for the action-adventure genre and been acknowledged by many of the videogame industry's key publications, which include PlayStation: The Official Magazine (Editor's Choice Award), Game Informer (Action/Adventure Game of the Year Award), GamePro (Editor's Choice Award), Electronic Gaming Monthly (Best PS2 Game), IGN.com (Editor's Choice Award and Game of the Year Award), and four nominations in the Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, including Overall Game of the Year and Console Game of the Year.  The franchise has also been awarded with several honors including several E3 Best of Game Awards (given by several online publications), numerous Game of the Year and Best Action Game Awards (given at Spike TV's Video Game Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, PSX Extreme Awards and the 3rd Annual G-Phoria Awards, and by PAX, GameZone, GameDaily, GameSpot), to name just a few.  

About Ready At Dawn Studios LLC

Founded in 2003 and based in Irvine, California, Ready At Dawn is an independent, premier game development studio.  Having pushed the boundaries of the platforms they have developed for, the studio is best known for its critically and commercially acclaimed titles God of War: Chains of Olympus and Daxter, both available for the PSP system.

About Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC

Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS one® systems, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system, the ground-breaking PlayStation®3 (PS3™) computer entertainment system and its online and network services the PlayStation®Network and PlayStation®Store. Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one, PlayStation 2, PSP, PSPgo and PS3 systems for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC serves as headquarters for all North American operations.

Visit us on the Web at http://www.us.playstation.com.

"PlayStation", "PSP", "PS one" and the "PS" Family  logo are registered trademarks and "PS3" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. God of War is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC.  © Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC.

SOURCE Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC