David Jaffe

Here's the wrap-up of our fantastic talk with David Jaffe, creative lead on the Twisted Metal series and one of my favorite all-time games, God of War.

Inside, we finish up our talk on the new Twisted Metal, we hear about Mr. Jaffe's future plans, and we hear how he feels about other games and designers aping his style.  If you're a fan of David's, you don't want to miss this one!

In this episode, Mr. Jaffe shares with us his thoughts on God of War 4, the troubles of tumultuous development (including two cancelled games, Darkons and Heartland), the failures of Calling All Cars, and the reasons why he left God of War. Finally, we wrap up with thoughts on the process of creating the brand-new Twisted Metal.

Welcome to the first part our final interview for Season One of State of Play with Brandon Bales!

We're thrilled to share with you our talk with David Jaffe, director and creative lead for such classics as Twisted Metal and God of War. Join us as we discuss David's humble beginnings in Sony's testing department, his work on the original Twisted Metal games (I & II), and the prevalence of gaming sequels.

God of War II is a fine game, and definitely one of the most polished, playable titles available for the PS2. However, it suffers from the same significant (and possibly unavoidable) problem as its predecessor—an unlikable hero.

When God of War was released on the aging PS2 back in 2005, it was immediately hailed as one of the best action games of all time, going on to win numerous accolades and game-of-the-year awards. But the videogaming landscape has changed significantly in the past two years. The big three (Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft) have released their "next-generation" consoles, and player expectations have risen accordingly. So how could God of War II, designed on the now-ancient PS2 hardware, possibly live up to the expectations of its fans?

Instantly accessible and consistently thrilling, God of War represents a truly great achievement in action game design—a game that within minutes of pressing the start button has players ripping undead soldiers in half, tearing the wings off harpies, and subduing giant hydras through sheer brute force. Though not a groundbreaking game, it is a visually and aurally exciting one, and stands as arguably the most outstanding example of its kind.

According to the ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Sexual Themes

Some games seemed destined for the top. It's hard to predict and even harder to define, but once in a while all the elements come together to create something that catches everyone's eye. It's almost like a cosmic conjunction when the action feels right, the style is electric, and the visuals grab on first glance and don't let go. Before its release, a large amount of buzz had built up online and in magazines—and nearly everyone who saw it agreed—God of War had it.

Game Description: Unleash the power of the Gods and embark on a merciless quest as Kratos, an ex-Spartan warrior driven to destroy Ares, the God of War. Armed with lethal double chainblades, Kratos must carve through mythology's darkest creatures - including Medusa, Cyclops, the Hydra and more, while solving intricate puzzles in breathtaking environments. Driven by pure revenge, nothing can stop Kratos from achieving absolution.

Does the world really need any more futuristic racing games? Of course it does. A better question would be: Does the world really need another futuristic racing game without a soul? R