Kratos is about to swap Mount Olympus for Outworld, and that raises an obvious question for PlayStation fans: does the NetherRealm version of the Ghost of Sparta measure up to the one Sony Santa Monica built for God of War III? We have lined up shots of the two side by side so you can judge for yourself.
The family resemblance is no accident. In a recent PlayStation Blog chat with Ed Boon and God of War III director Stig Asmussen, the pair explained that NetherRealm used the God of War III Kratos model as its reference, and that the Santa Monica team set ground rules and gave detailed notes along the way, particularly on his fatality animation. Back in January, Boon told GamesMaster that the studio wanted Kratos to look and feel the way fans expect when he steps into the arena.
Same Ghost Of Sparta On A Different Stage
Put the two versions next to each other and the core design is plainly the same. The ash white skin, the red tattoo running over his head and torso, the goatee, the scarred stare and the chained Blades of Exile all carry over. Where they part ways is mostly in presentation. God of War III’s Kratos was built to be seen in enormous set pieces, with lighting and camera work designed to make him feel like a force of nature. In Mortal Kombat he lives on a flat fighting plane at a fixed distance from the camera, so the model has to read clearly at a glance among a cast of ninjas, cyborgs and thunder gods, and the lighting is tuned to match the game’s darker, grittier stages rather than Olympus.
That leaves the details as the place to look. God of War III was designed to show off a single hero up close, so it has every reason to lavish attention on fine surface work like skin, scars and the wear on his armor. A fighting game has different priorities, with two characters, a busy stage and a steady frame rate all competing for the same hardware. Fans comparing the two will be judging how much of that finish survived the trip, and whether NetherRealm’s darker palette suits him.
Apollo’s Bow, Helios And A Zeus Fatality
Kratos will not just look the part, either. According to the PlayStation Blog interview, he packs more weapons than anyone else on the roster, including Apollo’s Bow, the Cestus, the Blade of Olympus and the Head of Helios, and his stage fatality draws on his battle with Zeus. He gets his own ending if you finish the arcade ladder with him, though he stays out of the story mode, and Boon said the team left him out of lighter touches such as Friendships out of respect for the character.
The early gameplay footage has already done the rounds, with Game Informer noting how at home he looks among the regular cast. Kratos is exclusive to the PS3 version of Mortal Kombat, which Warner Bros. has dated for April 19 in North America. Take a look at the comparison and let us know which Kratos you prefer.