Late Night Consoling

A very well-hidden timer on the Sony Computer Entertainment America-owned God of War site IslandofRhodes.org is counting down to something, that is, if you can find it. After clicking the hidden Greek symbols to spell out main character Kratos' name on a certain section of the website, visitors find themselves watching a video, then faced with a sliding block puzzle. Once the puzzle is solved, the next page reveals how to run SCE Santa Monica's God of War II (PS2) in a special high resolution mode--detailed below--and also links to a timer that currently has eleven days left on it. Above the timer, the leftmost section of the God of War logo and the beginnings of a subtitle are visible, igniting speculation that this will lead to the long-awaited unveiling of either Ready at Dawn's God of War PSP or the PlayStation 3 entry God of War II director Cory Barlog hypothetically spoke of at the God of War II launch event.

As for running God of War II at a higher resolution, players can activate this mode by holding down L1, L2, L3 (clicking down the left analog stick), Square and Circle as the game boots, before the white "SCEA Presents" text appears. The "SCEA Presents" text will then have a purple hue if performed correctly. Players wanting the game to output in 480p will still need to activate that setting in the game's option menu.

"Now this in NOT 720P," SCE Santa Monica's director of technology Tim Moss wrote. "Its actually 480P with FULL SIZE buffers, in other words 640*448 resolution. It was tough to get working...it almost didn't make it in and that is why we hid it rather than make it standard. The extra resolution makes the game run a little bit slower, but it's also prettier...it's not going to be for everyone, but it sure does look nice and it made the God of War Art team very happy."

Nintendo and Opera Software have released a new version of the Wii's web browser, referred to as the Internet Channel. Relative to the trial version that was released earlier this year, the latest version features several improvments, including faster start-up time, clearer text, a search button, and the ability to hide the tool bar. Available from the Wii Ware section of the Wii Shop Channel, the revised Internet Channel requires installation of the latest Wii system update, which arrived alongside the browser.

The Internet Channel is a free download for Wii users through the end of June 2007, after which it will sell for 500 Wii Points ($5). Those who download the browser before July will not need to purchase it at that time.

Electronic Arts revealed two new features of EA Tiburon's upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, which is slated to hit PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP and PC. The first, tentatively titled GamerNet, allows users to record replays of their shots and putts, which can then be posted online to foster competition. The other, currently referred to as Photo Game Face, lets players upload photos for use in character customization. Details on what versions of the game will offer this functionality were unavailable.

Going by the release of past Tiger Woods games, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 should be expected in late September or early October of this year.

Exemplifying some of the most clever in-game advertising in recent memory, Atari is providing the "Free Lexus Collection Volume 2" for Eden Games' Test Drive Unlimited through the Xbox Live Marketplace. The pack adds two new cars to the game, the Lexus GS 450h hybrid and LS 460 sedan. Another pack, containing the SC 430 hard-top convertible and 2008 LS 600h hybrid sedan, is forthcoming.

A free demo of Artifical Studios' top-down action game Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia is now available for Xbox Live Gold subscribers on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 and published by SouthPeak Interactive, Monster Madness is set to release May 15, 2007 for Xbox 360 and PC. Screenshots can be found here.