One God of War actor had some choice words for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s campaign while presenting The Game Awards 2023.
Christopher Judge - the actor behind Kratos in the kind-of-rebooted God of War games - won the Best Performance accolade at last year’s show with an eight-minute-long speech. (A far cry from the unceremonious 20-30 seconds that this year’s winners received.) As such, the actor was back to present this year’s award to Baldur’s Gate 3 actor Neil Newbon, and he threw some shade at Activision before handing out gold.
“I’m not gonna stand up here making long speeches,” Judge jokes on stage. “I’m gonna stick to the script. No eight-minute speech like last year. But fun fact: my speech was longer than this year’s Call of Duty campaign.” Judge is, of course, digging at Modern Warfare 3’s controversial four-to-five-hour campaign that was widely derided upon release.
- In 1997, Hideo Kojima said the "one thing" he wanted to avoid in Metal Gear Solid was "tedious" cutscenes with characters "blabbering at each other for 4 or 5 minutes"
- God of War: Ascension's online multiplayer is still kicking almost 12 years on, but its veterans will destroy you on sight: "Everyone who plays this right now is literally a God"
The newest single-player mode also received criticism for its shallow writing, filler content, and rigid objectives that kill you instantly for going off script. Our Modern Warfare 3 campaign review called the experience “underwhelming,” and considering the community reception, the game was clearly an easy target for jokes at the show.
“Another company I’ll never work for,” Judge continued once the applause and shocked laughs died down, presumably referencing publisher Activision.
Elsewhere at the undercover marketing fest, Sony Santa Monica announced that God of War: Ragnarok would receive free DLC coming December 12, available to all players across PS4 and PS5. The Valhalla DLC brings new combat challenges - horde modes, boss rushes, and more - in a roguelike wrapper. But be warned: you might want to jump in after completing the base game.
Another PlayStation blockbuster, The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered, is also receiving a roguelike mode. Although, that addition won’t be available for free.
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