Untitled album, MTV Unplugged, David Silveria's departure (2006-2008)
In early December it was announced that founding drummer David Silveria would be taking an indefinite “hiatus” from the band. Korn then performed at the MTV studios in Times Square on December 9, 2006, for the MTV Unplugged series, which was broadcast on February 23, 2007, through MTV.com and on March 2, 2007, across North American, South American, European and Asian MTV stations. In front of a crowd of approximately 50 people, Korn played a 14-song acoustic set complete with guest appearances by The Cure and Amy Lee of Evanescence. The performance was eventually cut down to 11 songs for the album, two of which did not air on MTV. Sales of nearly 51,000 brought MTV Unplugged: Korn to #9 in its first week out.[40] The disc has yet to receive a Gold or Platinum certification.
Korn's untitled eighth album was released on July 31, 2007, debuting at #2 with 123,000 copies in its first week.[41] The album has been certified Gold for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies.[42] It also concludes Korn's unique deal with Virgin Records, and features touring keyboardist Zac Baird, giving the tracks a deeper, atmospheric sound.[43] Drumming duties were left up to Terry Bozzio, Jonathan Davis, and Bad Religion's Brooks Wackerman, as well as Joey Jordison from Slipknot (who played for the band on live shows) as David Silveria went on a hiatus.[44] "Evolution", "Hold On" and "Kiss" have been released as singles, with the former two charting on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks at #4 and #9, respectively.[16]
Gameplay in Devil May Cry 4 is similar to previous games in the series. The player must fight through levels called "missions", occasionally solving puzzles or gathering items. Performance in a mission is graded from D being the bottom grade through C, B, A, and S being the highest grade. Grades are based on items used, Red Orbs gathered, time taken, and the amount of Style Points accumulated. Each Style Point grade has its own tag-word. For example, the SSS grade shows up as "Smokin' Sick Style" on the side of the screen when achieved. Stylish combat is the main focus of the game, which is conveyed through unbroken combos of varied attacks while avoiding damage. The player must avoid attack enemies to continue performing combos, often by memorizing attack patterns.[8]
the Devil Trigger is a super state that enables the player to become more powerful with slow health regeneration. Devil Trigger is activated through the Devil Trigger gauge filled when the player either receives or deals damage during combat, or through certain items. After a minimum amount is filled, the player may enter Devil Trigger at any time.[8]
Dante performing one of his signature moves, the Stinger attack
Some changes introduced into Devil May Cry 4 are the presence of two playable characters, Dante and Nero, and a slight modification to the shop system. A new currency, Proud Souls, is used to buy new abilities while Red Orbs are used to buy items. Proud Souls are rewarded at the end of missions and the amount varies depending on how well the player performs with S rank. Cost of abilities also increase with the purchase of other abilities, though all abilities can be sold back for the original price.[8]
The player plays as Nero throughout most of the game. He starts and ends the game with his Red Queen sword, Blue Rose revolver, and the powers of his Devil Bringer (his demonic right arm). The Red Queen features an Exceed Gauge that can be charged up, allowing for subsequent attacks that are more powerful than regular slashes, until the gauge empties. The Exceed Gauge can also be filled by pressing the rev button at the peak of each slash, which allows for more powerful combos capable of breaking the opponent's guard. Nero also has the powers of his Devil Bringer, and can use it to pull himself towards enemies or vice-versa. The Devil Bringer may also be used for context-sensitive throw attacks, leading to high damage and various effects depending on the enemy. Nero's Devil Bringer also gains new abilities during the course of the game, such as being able to detect secret missions or caches of Red Orbs. Nero eventually gains the ability to use Devil Trigger, which increases his Devil Bringer's power, and which also changes his Devil Bringer attacks into more powerful versions with different animations.[8]
The player plays as Dante through seven missions, taking over halfway through the game. His gameplay is similar to that of Devil May Cry 3, with him having access to multiple melee and ranged weapons which he gains after boss battles, and being able to cycle through them freely in combat, being no longer limited to equipping two weapons of each type as he was in the previous game. Dante also starts with his four styles (Trickster, Royal Guard, Sword Master, Gunslinger), each of which grants him different abilities, but he may now switch them at will with buttons or pads on the PlayStation 3 controller or the Xbox 360 controller, unlike in Devil May Cry 3. He also gains the Dark Slayer style near the end of his appearance, which only has one style level and can be accessed by pressing a direction button twice. Styles do not level up through experience as in the previous game, but must instead be upgraded in the shop screen in between missions or at statues. Dante can also enter Devil Trigger, though this does not change his attacks to the degree that Nero's Devil Trigger does
God of War III is a forthcoming installment in the God of War video game franchise. It was formally announced at E3 2008,[1] and will be released in 2009 exclusively for the PlayStation 3.[2] It is the fifth chapter in the series chronologically, after God of War: Chains of Olympus, God of War, God of War: Betrayal and God of War II. The tagline for the game is "In the end, there will be only chaos".
Although little is known about the game at this point,[3] it was confirmed to be in development by Cory Barlog at a God of War II launch event. He revealed that the game would run at full 1080p HD resolution, and the game would support Sixaxis tilt and vibration functions. This was stated before the DualShock 3 controller was announced; therefore causing confusion as the Sixaxis controller did not support rumble. Barlog also expressed an interest in adding a cooperative mode "if we can do something unique with it".[4]
God of War director David Jaffe has said that, "God of War explains, or ultimately will explain, why there are no more Greek myths." He has also stated that it will be "hell on earth" as the gods and the titans battle each for domination, and that the series will explore the question of whether "man needs god". Though Jaffe and Barlog left Sony for other opportunities, they are still credited for the series and will possibly be involved in this installment. Jaffe, who co-founded his own development studio, Eat Sleep Play has recently expressed interest to be involved in development for God of War III.[5]
An advertisement for God of War III has appeared on the back of instruction manuals of the retail version of God of War: Chains of Olympus, stating below that the game is 'coming soon'.[6]
On 15 July 2008, a teaser was shown at SCE's E3 press conference. A release date has yet to be confirmed.
