Looks like the new Mad Max movie “Fury Road” will have Cory Barlog of God of War fame working on it – therefore this could be the first time in the history of the world that a game based on a movie will not suck. If George Miller has his way it won’t, because he is so determined on making this a great video game translation, he has put the movie on hold to make sure that this happens.

“[Fury Road] was in a very highly advanced stage of preproduction when we stopped it. It’s all prepared, but now I want to stop and do the game and get those schedules in sync. In other words, I’m delaying the movie in order to do a really good game. Normally what happens everyone’s scrambling to finish a game so it can coincide with the release of the movie. In this case, because I’ve got another couple of movies to make, we can wait and do it properly. That’s the theory.”

Here’s hoping it works our for all parties concerned, especially the gamer. Too bad Miller feels that Mel Gibson is too old to play Max in the new movie, it just won’t be the same without his crazy, Jew-hating ass.

You can read the full interview with George Miller regarding the Mad Max game and the newest movie here on Level Up.

With the departure of David Jaffe from Sony, Cory Barlog became the lead man behind God of War II as the game’s director. Then we learned a few months ago that Barlog was jumping ship as well, which inadvertently confirmed the existence of God of War III – and simultaneously made fans extremely nervous about the hands the game was suddenly in. After a few months of silence, Barlog has spoken up and assured fans that GoW III is in good hands.

I know for the God of War fans out there it might be a bummer that I am not working on God of War 3 (or for some it may be a good thing I am not) but rest assured that it is all in good hands. The Sony Santa Monica team is one of the best teams I have ever worked with. Also, immediately after I finished God of War 2 I was already working on the story and design for the third game. So when Sony and I finally did part ways the foundation of the game, along with story that completes the arc we began in God of War , was complete. I wish I could have been there to see it through to the end, but it was just not meant to be I guess. The story is going to finish off with a very big, very epic bang though. I think everyone will be quite pleased.

As for his future, Barlog said that he couldn’t go into any specifics, but that leaving Sony was the right move for him and he is “cooking up several things.”

While having the guidance of an individual like David Jaffe or Barlog is no doubt a tremendous asset for the development team, it is a team effort, after all.

First it was David Jaffe jumping ship, and now it’s the director of God of War II, Cory Barlog, who is leaving Sony. He’ll be leaving to pursue other opportunities, according to 1UP, which received confirmation from SCEA Santa Monica that Barlog was indeed leaving.

“We can confirm that Cory Barlog, game director for God of War II, is leaving the SCEA SM Studio and we are grateful for his work and creative vision for the critically acclaimed God of War franchise,” a Sony spokesperson stated. “Moving forward, we are confident in the God of War team, as they are an extremely talented group of people that are passionate about the franchise and dedicated to creating even more epic content with God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP and God of War III for PS3.”

Note how the statement mentions God of War III, which is the first time the game has been officially mentioned by Sony. And beyond that, the fact that it will be on PS3 – nothing surprising, and is in fact exactly what was expected.

Here’s a follow-up on the BAFTA Video Games Award ceremony that went down Tuesday night. We now have the winners (you can see the losers after the break):

• Academy Fellowship: Will Wright
• Action and Adventure: Crackdown (Xbox 360)
• Artistic Achievement: Okami (PS2)
• Best Game: Bioshock (Xbox 360)
• Casual: Wii Sports (Wii)
• Gameplay: Wii Sports (Wii)
• Innovation: Wii Sports (Wii)
• Multiplayer: Wii Sports (Wii)
• Original Score: Okami (PS2)
• Sports: Wii Sports (Wii)
• Strategy And Simulation: Wii Sports (Wii)
• Story and Character: God Of War 2 (PS2)
• Use Of Audio: Crackdown (Xbox 360)
• BAFTA Ones To Watch Award: Ragnarawk
• The PC World Gamers Award: Football Manager 2007 (PC)

Wii Sports made out like a bandit. Apparently waving a plastic wand around in the air impresses even ‘the elite”.

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