Taking place immediately after the events
in the last game, God of War III once again follows the quest by the
Spartan warrior named Kratos as he seeks out the gods who have wronged him
for his own special brand of vengeance. As we learned in previous games,
Kratos was a once favored warrior who was betrayed and forced to murder
his own family at their hands and was killed for his efforts. Once
resurrected, he sought revenge on those who made him endure that awful
fate. Defiantly punishing these arrogant gods, Kratos once again unleashes
havoc on anyone and everything that stands between him and his final
battle with Zeus himself. While the storyline is quite engaging in its own
right, those who've played the previous games will find many familiar
elements are present in this installment. It doesn't redefine the series
as much as it refines the things that made the older games so impressive.
Most of the familiar mechanics, such as the chests that contain orbs to
replenish his life and spirit powers have been retained. The changes in
the third game are much more to do with upgrading the visuals and putting
Kratos in some truly amazing environments. The gods know that Kratos is
coming for them, and this time they will stop at nothing to prevent his
progress. They unleash armies of undead soldiers, mythical beasts and even
themselves to stop him from reaching the peak of Mount Olympus.
These intimidating odds seem like
something no mortal could prevail against, the gods have under-estimated
him before. Kratos has an incredible amount of strength inside of him,
remainders from when he became the God of War briefly, and his trademark
blade attacks remain the most effective technique when it comes to wiping
out enemies. He swings these around each level and can use them merciless
against his enemies for some truly impressive moves and attacks. As in
previous God of War titles, Kratos can upgrade his standard blades by
collecting red orbs and using them to powering the blades up. There are
several types of blades that he can use in the game, and he can switch
between them easily during battle. Performing special moves and combos is
a seamless task and its quite satisfying to wipe out waves of enemies with
a single swing of your blades. These powerful blades can be used for other
functions like grabbing onto flying harpies and using them to swing across
gaps, which is really effective. In addition to his standard blades, he
can use a number of special items that he collects along the way. These
are usually only able to be used when his energy is high enough. When this
meter is full, Kratos can call up a group of undead Spartans to perform a
devastating attack that kills any nearby foes. Additional items he can use
on his journey include a bow and arrow to shoot enemies from afar and the
head of Helios which lights dark areas and can be used to find secret
areas. Other items he finds can be used to increase his energy and attack
power. God of War III's weapons system is incredibly efficient and allows
you to switch between these weapons and items quickly using the d-pad. God
of War III's combat system is smooth and polished to a very fine point,
making its action sequences some of the most enjoyable and satisfying as
any seen on this generation of consoles to date.
Kratos' blade attacks are usually quite
effective against average enemies, but there are many boss encounters in
the game that require a slightly different technique. Another trademark of
the series to date has been its quick time encounters when you face an
epic battle. As usual, these confrontations are structured in that you
face off with them initially by inflicting damage with your blades, which
weakens them. Once they are in this state, you're then prompted to press a
series of buttons in order to perform some massive and usually bloody
finishing moves. This system has been mimicked by many other games in
recent years, but God of War III's design is still probably the best
implementation to date. The game's prompts are timed to the action on
screen, and gives you the illusion that you're controlling the action. For
instance, when it comes time to stab an opponent multiple times, you'll
need to press the button in sequence to perform these acts. Its not always
as smooth as that sounds, but the system is generally effective. The most
frustrating part of this system comes when you miss a timed button press
and are forced to repeat a very long sequence again. Some of the boss
battles require you to go through several of these events between
elaborate cut scenes. Occasionally, these sequences fall into a
follow-the- leader trap, which feels overly simplistic and makes the
button mashing feel mindless and repetitive at points. This can be a
little bit annoying during some of the longer battles and the sheer
intensity of the on screen action means you can miss some of the prompts,
but this gets easier once you get into the rhythm of each battle. While
these sequences lack the sheer visceral thrill of performing the actions
yourself in real time, their typically elaborate presentation still gives
the end-boss battles an incredible amount of intensity. This gives you a
very strong sense of accomplishment when you defeat one of the boss
characters, which makes this element of God of War III's gameplay
enormously satisfying, and helps to keep you motivated to keep playing.
God of War III's combat system is the
main element of the game, but its puzzle sequences will also play a large
role during your journey. Most of the initial puzzles you face aren't too
terribly difficult to solve, such as moving a bag of rocks and pulling a
switch to open a closed door. This is fine initially but, things become
much more complicated quickly. Later areas have puzzles that require
multiple steps to perform, which can become frustrating. This is
especially true in sections of the game that don't give you much
assistance. For example, in one sequence you'll have to move a trolley
full of rocks down multiple levels, place it in front of a spinning wheel
to block it, then climb up to the door it opens. Then you aren't through,
since you'll still need to move that same trolley to another section to
prevent another wheel from turning while trying to jump from one section
to another in order to open a gate. Finally, you turn another lever, push
a block through a statue and are finally faced with that end-boss. This
approach can be a long, tedious process that can be all the more
frustrating because of the lack of concrete clues the game delivers.
Another section that can be frustrating when it arrives involves trying to
free a fallen foe from his imprisonment in Hades by throwing a series of
switches and then battling a huge fire-breathing beast, which incinerated
the evil being. Only then can Kratos collect the item he leaves behind.
These sequences can take quite awhile to complete and failing in one
section makes you repeat the entire process from the beginning. This makes
the action and momentum that has built up in God of War III's action
sequences come to a screeching halt as you try and unlock the next stages.
These sequences also seem a little out of place in a game where battles
are the main thrust of the action. Fortunately, these aren't completely
impossible to figure out, and most players should be able to find
solutions relatively quickly through trial and error, but they aren't the
most enjoyable parts of the game.
While
the gameplay in this installment is quite solid throughout, the God of War
games have always been one of the most technically brilliant games on the
market, and its debut on the PS3 sets a new standard in terms of visuals
and presentation. The third game is nothing short of a visual tour de
force, showcasing the PS3's graphics capabilities in every element
throughout. The sense of scale it creates is nothing short of
breathtaking, with incredible environments that range from the heights of
Mount Olympus to the darkest reaches of Hades. These are incredible
sequences that bring a breathtaking world to life. One of the most amazing
sequences comes when you find Kratos climbing towards his final encounter
with Zeus on the back of a massive Titan, where you actually fight on its
body as it moves up the mountain. This is one of the most impressive
sequences we've ever seen in a video game. Each area in the game comes
alive in vivid detail, with every element from the smallest items on the
ground, to smaller characters running around making the adventure come to
life vividly. Its rendering of Greek mythology is something to behold as
you see mythical creatures and beasts come to life in amazing fashion. You
can see the massive amount of detail evident in their muscles and
movements, which brings them to life vividly. Most impressive of all are
the amazing boss encounters with the screen-filling Gods of Olympus
themselves, where they literally tower over the player to create some
truly amazing battles that redefine the phrase 'epic.' Of all the elements
of the game that will impress players, these boss encounters are surely
some of the most unforgettable parts of the game. The gameplay moves
seamlessly from its normal third person perspective to these more
cinematic sequences. As in the previous GOW titles, most of the game takes
place from a third-person perspective, there are a few sequences where the
developers change things around by providing a first person or other
viewpoint. This really helps to put you in Kratos' boots and makes the
action feel even more visceral and violent. It's cinematic approach is
enhanced by the superb voice acting that brings the characters to life
effectively. Kratos is one mean warrior and while his revenge fueled
motivations are easily understandable, the storyline offers a few twists
along the way which keeps things interesting throughout his adventure.
There's little doubt that the absolute
spectacle of that God of War III creates is one of the main attractions it
will hold for most players. Its one of the best looking console games this
generation and definitely a showcase game that players will want to
experience for themselves. However, it isn't all flashy visuals that make
the game so enjoyable. The secret of God of War III's appeal actually lies
with its amazingly smooth combat system makes the gameplay about as fluid
and entertaining as any action title you can find on the marker, which
allows for plenty of cool combos and other moves. Then there are the epic
battles with boss characters and absolutely astonishing confrontations
with the gods themselves which takes the action to another realm entirely.
All of these elements combine to create a title that is absolutely epic
from beginning to end. God of War III is beautifully produced and its
cinematic flair exceeds even many Hollywood blockbusters with some
absolutely amazing set-pieces and environments that are thoroughly
impressive. Unfortunately, one of the few areas where the game loses a bit
of momentum comes in its drawn out and sometimes occasionally frustrating
puzzle sequences. These can be forgiven since the other elements in God of
War III are so very well done. Beyond this, the third installment in the
series acts as a satisfying send off to this storyline, where you reach a
kind of conclusion of the events in previous games, and find things ending
on a satisfyingly bloody end. Its storyline moves at a very fast pace as
Kratos rushes towards his final confrontation with Zeus and knocks off a
few smaller gods along the way. There's little doubt that God of War III
is one of the PS3's signature games and its brilliant presentation, nearly
flawless story and most importantly outstanding gameplay make it an
essential purchase that delivers an unforgettable gaming experience.
- Michael Palisano
