It has been several years since God Of War 2 left us hanging by a thread as Kratos held onto the mother of all Titans in his quest to destroy Zeus. Sony Santa Monica is back, so let’s see if God Of War 3 lives up to the hype.
STORY AND PRESENTATION:
God Of War 3 is HUGE. And, by huge, I mean bigger than any game you have ever played in terms of scope. The first ten minutes of the game can only be described as ‘epic’ and completely sets the tone for the entire game. There were times in that opening seuqence that I found myself sitting on the edge of my couch as if I were watching a tornado sweep across my living room. When Sony told everyone that they were going big with God Of War 3 they weren’t kidding. The Titans really are titans and dwarf everything around the landscape. You get the sense that these mythical creatures are important and quite deadly in their larger than life visages.
Without a great story, such a epic presentation can be truly wasted. It is a good thing that the story in God Of War 3 goes toe to toe with all other aspects of the game. While the meat of the game really is in its blood and guts action, it was refreshing to see that they stuck with the same great story telling. Now, of course the story wouldn’t get you an A on your midterm in Greek and Roman mythology but it is pretty awesome none the less.
GAMEPLAY:
The controls in God of War 3 are straight out of your typical action-shooter. You have weak attacks, strong attacks, evading with the control sticks, and your classic jump button. The one thing that has always nagged me about this series was it was just too boring to keep smashing the same buttons all the time. The developers took this into consideration and added more secondary weapons and tons of primary weapon-switching. As you continue on your path during the game you will come across several different weapons based on characters you meet, and some that you take by brute force… Each situation in the game is different so you may need to switch weapons mid fight to overcome that mob of baddies. This is done flawlessly and gives the action a smoothness that is not seen in most games of the genre. When the action really gets going there is no downtime and you can literally string combos left and right until everyone around you is a mangled heap of giblets.
Made famous in the previous games in the series are the often gore-filled death attacks on your opponents. This feature has returned in God Of War 3 and, this time, the developers have tweaked it a bit. The quicktime events show up on your screen in areas just like they would on your controller. This resolves the problem of missing certain sequences over and over because the pop ups are in the middle of the action. Sony’s Santa Monica team deserves some serious kudos as the small changes add a lot to the experience.
As you kill baddies, you collect red orbs that you store for upgrading weapons via the menu screen. Each weapon you come across has different levels of upgrades that add new powers and attacks. It is up to you, as Kratos, to decide which weapons you want to max out and use the most. As with previous games of the series, you also collect orbs for health, mana, and you can even collect ‘sacrifices’ to upgrade your stat bars. Just when you need a break from all the killing – that’s where the platforming sessions are thrown in. God Of War 3 is filled with puzzle sections that are not super hard but do require you to think on your feet. The developers got the right balance in not overdoing it with too many ‘Slide the column here to spring the trap’ type games. The great thing about these puzzle sections are that they fit in with part of the story so everything you were doing actually makes sense.
The only negatives about the gameplay would be the double-jumping and the camera system. The jumping was not responsive for me and I found myself getting frustrated as the deaths kept rolling-in because of it. The simple double-tap just didn’t produce that double jump experience and, at times, almost ended in getting the controller turned off. As with most action games, the camera can be your worst enemy and this game is no different. Nothing is more frustrating then being in a room filled with enemies only to have your view obstructed due to the camera being in an awkward position. While these complaints are small they can produce some pretty high frustration factor!
When you finish the game you would think it ends right there but, alas, there is always more to do! Hitting those end credits unlocks some challenge modes that keep the game going for some blood-filled fun. These challenges are by no means easy and are meant more for the hardcore player.
GRAPHICS AND SOUND:
The game is simply beautiful to look at and really shows the power of the PlayStation 3 console. The graphics were flawless and it was refreshing to see it all done with the in-game engine. Every environment made you feel like you were walking right alongside Kratos in his journey. Certain environments, like the underworld, had some shocking environmental graphics that you just need to see for yourself. The team really outdid themselves with not only the scope of the game but just how pleasing to the eye it is. God Of War 3 is also one of the most violent games on the market today. It is a M-rated game for a reason and the kill scenes are fantastic to watch. Something new to this series is the ability to be in the shoes of certain people in the game that Kratos removes from the world with extreme prejudice. There were times where people watching me play actually cringed at those moments because it really felt like you were getting the hell beat out of you.
The sound and voice acting in the game is nothing short of fantastic. With a great voice cast you really feel that these characters have this certain power to them. The voices were believable and really sold their dialogue. You want to close your eyes and believe that a video game is not just on your screen when you are listening to it. The music in the game sets each mood from dread to hope and was a pleasure to listen to.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
God OF War 3 is simply put a must-buy for any video game lover. If you were waiting for that one triple-A title to come out before you buy your PS3, well this is it Shogunites. A great story, great action, and blood soaked violence awaits you on Mount Olympus!
