God of War III

SCEA

PS3

9.5 out of 10  

God of War III picks up where God of War II left off – climbing to the top of Olympus to wreck s#%t up for Zeus and the other gods. For those who aren’t familiar with the series the developers do a decent job at recapping some of the recent events for newbies.
Full review
If you’ve played the previous GoW installments, put your mind at ease that the core gameplay mechanics from its predecessors remain with added depth and speed. You can real-time weapon switch in-between combos, adding more combo variations, cancellations, and air juggles. Everything runs ridiculously smooth in the game. Why? Because Sony was so smart to put a Blu Ray drive in their PlayStation 3 that allows for a variable 40-60 frames-per-second. Meaning, the visuals GoW III is simply stunning and the combat is so fluid and responsive with little to no lag, even during those massive boss battles.

The game has made many improvements over the previous titles insofar as the weapons/items go. A new item bar makes using your previously less than desirable side arms practical as it regenerates on its own after use. The spell system, now neatly tied to each individual weapon, simplifies combat and streamlines the experience. On that note, each weapon is also as practical as the initial Blades with its own twist on the blades themselves. The battles themselves actually lend to the experience by mixing and matching enemies to make you think on your toes as to which weapon might be better suited for the experience.

The combat is just as visceral as ever, with sick finishing kill moves from Kratos and tons of blood spillage all over the place. The level of detail in the graphics are amazing as the developers used a dynamic blood stain effect that not only affects enemies and your surroundings, but the blood gets smeared all over Kratos as well. However, developer Santa Monica made one miscue, in that there are way too many cut-scenes. I understand Full Motion Video (FMV) cut-scenes are now a part of gaming for better or worse, but with a title like this it doesn’t add to the game’s story insomuch as detract from the action. Time after time as your ready to dish out a lil’ more whip ass, the game goes to yet another cut-scene. Oh and FYI, you can’t skip any of them.

For a challenge, you gotta step your game up and play on Titan (hard) mode. The game’s just too easy on God (normal) mode. The difficulty is balanced just about right, with some really tough and frustrating parts, but nothing you can’t overcome. To break up all the hack n’ slash goodness before it gets repetitive, there’s some light platforming and puzzle elements in here, that aren’t too difficulty for an action game.

Everything you could hope for from the franchise, Sony succeeded with in the trilogies’ “finale”. Very over the top, dramatic music paired with stunning visuals and nearly no load times ever to dampen the experience. Whether you’re a hardcore  fan of God of War, a newcomer to the series, or someone that just wants to play a dope game – you must cop this now and witness its magnificence. –A. Kennedy

Tags: God of War 3, PS3, video games

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 5:38 pm by anthonylkennedy and is filed under Games, PS3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.