It was the moment we’ve been waiting for since we heard that the God of War franchise was coming to our beloved PS3 all those moons ago.

What we weren’t quite prepared for was the sheer violence of the latest chapter in Kronos’ story. In fact, it didn’t matter if you spoke German, English or any other language in Hall 7 – everyone understood what was meant as wave after wave of awestruck gamers uttered the same refrain…

Brutal.

You can’t say that SCEE doesn’t have your back, at least until next week. Europe has a whopping four demos today. That’s right, count ‘em with us: DiRT2 (one, one demo), WET (two, two demos), Mini Ninjas (three, three demos) and IL2 Sturmovik. Four! Four demos! A-ha-ha-ha-ha! We love to count demos!

Oops, it looks like a PlayStation forum moderator has slipped up a little and dropped a big bombshell: Grand Theft Auto IV: Lost and the Damned may be coming to the PS3.

In a thread that has now unsurprisingly been deleted, Yaster, who is part of the moderation team for the European forums, was talking about his visit to the Rockstar booth at Gamescom and had this interesting thing to say…

Well we weren’t so sure if there was enough Home news this week to warrant a Homerun, but it turns out we got more than we bargained for with the recent announcement of PlayStation Home version 1.3.

This update is the most significant change for the product since its launch so here are all the details.

It takes a lot to ensure your FPS title stands out from the crowd these days, especially with the vast array of options available.

Aliens versus Predator does this in spades by allowing you to play in single-player and multi-player as any one of the three main factions in the game; Alien, Predator or Marine.

We knew that Nathan Drake would be tracking through snow and ice in his latest adventure. We saw him run across a crowded city only to be shot at by ground troops and helicopters.

Now, witness Nate taverse a labyrinthine cavern high in the Tibetan mountains. He’ll need all the parkour skills he can muster up if he is to stay alive in this puzzling challenge level entitled Heart of Ice…

During our preview of James Cameron’s Avatar, a forthcoming third-person shooter that will fully support 3D televisions, we came to an instant conclusion.

With asymmetric forces, lush environments and the ability to choose which faction you support, it reminded us of a similar, yet ill-fated project.

Based on the upcoming sci-fi movie, which will also be available in 3D at cinemas, this third-person shooter is based on the Far Cry 2 engine – something it immediately has going for it.

Along with our preview of Alpha Protocol, SEGA gave us a preview of Bayonetta. Not only that, but producer Yusuke Hashimoto himself held the controller to give us the very best experience.

The very first thing you notice is just how damn good this game looks. The graphics are outstanding, and every animation is smooth as silk. Which is handy, given the amount of the stuff our sexy witch wears (and rubber, leather etc.).

But as he played through the game, Hashimoto-san had a surprisingly powerful new weapon to reveal to us.

Coming across like a heady mix of Onimusha, Uncharted, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus and a whole bunch of other titles, you can’t say Mercury Steam’s Castlevania: Lords of Shadow doesn’t at least try and tick as many boxes as possible.

Of course, probably the most intriguing element of this new Castlevania outing is the guidance and assistance Kojima Productions are providing to the Spanish studio.

One of the highlights from EA’s presentation at Gamescom, the new Need For Speed Shift trailer certainly got our hearts pumping.

Featuring intense in-car sequences and dazzling graphics, many of the people in attendance attested that this is definitely a new and exciting direction for the NFS franchise and an entry that could finally rival the much lauded Gran Turismo brand.

We hope you’re setting down for this.

SEGA gave PS3 Attitude a preview of Alpha Protocol, their forthcoming ‘espionage RPG’, this morning at Gamescom in Cologne.

The first thing that impresses in this espionage RPG is the level of customisation, combined with a slick graphical style that screams of your favourite spy movies.

But what surprised us is the depth of the game and the amount of time you’ll need to find everything it offers.

The E3 Just Cause 2 trailer was a guilty little pleasure.

Surprising us with its intense high-action gameplay and lush exotic graphics, the title quickly raced up our interest scale.

Now it’s Gamescom and time for the grappling hook wielding explosion-athon to show us what it’s been up to over the last few months.

New screenshots are coming out of the woodwork here at Gamescom and if we post up everything the nice ladies and gents from the PR companies send us, we’d have no time for other important convention activities.

Yes, we’re alluding to German beer yet again.

These two new images from Ubisoft’s sophomore stealth title, Assassin’s Creed II, did catch our eye however. For obvious reasons.

If a picture is worth a thousand words then five must be worth, well, five thousand, obviously.

We won’t be writing an essay about how the attached God of War III images are striking, epic and beautiful. Or the fact that it just makes us want to get our hands on the game as soon as possible.

ModNation Racers was first revealed at E3 earlier in the year.

It was there we first got a glimpse at this, the next in the PlayCreateShare series of games.

And it wowed the audience with the innovation it demonstrated.

GamesCom was the perfect place to show off the new trailer for the game, highlighting the ease with which a track can be laid down and adjusted.

But there are some neat new things worth noting in this latest footage.

If you’re wondering around the European PlayStation Home and thinking of something to do, why not visit the Presentation Podium space.

The big video screen is now showing highlights of Sony’s announcement filled conference from Gamescom in Germany.

We’ve always known Clank was more than just the sum of his parts.

Check out this new trailer from Gamescom as we dig into the hidden past of the robotic half of the universe’s greatest duo.

Also on show is some cool humour, luscious graphics and, as always, Insomniac’s renown story-telling ability.

Though made up entirely of rendered footage, we’re not going to beat up EA Dice’s new Battlefield: Bad Company 2 trailer too much considering just how enjoyable it is.

Focusing on the game’s squad-based elements, witness what four men can accomplish when they put their minds together. As you might expect, these four particular guys have a mind for lots of death and destruction.

Announced yesterday at Gamescom (which is pretty much the centre of the universe at the moment – our German friends are so happy) and to much applause, Europe will finally see their own previously promised Video on Demand service launch this November.

Quoting a raft of great titles from the Terminator movies to Batman, new SCEE boss Andrew House (who is not a British guy playing a surly American doctor as it turns out) assured us that great content will be purchasable from the EU Store through the normal e-wallet system.