Fashionably Late Review
God of War III
By Mike Jackson - June 3rd, 2010
God of War III, as the name suggests, is the third game in the GoW series; well not really; it is technically the fourth (the third being Chains of Olympus for the PSP; a minor technicality that we’ll let slide…this time). The game follows the Spartan-turned-God, Kratos, on his final chapter of revenge to Mount Olympus to dethrone Zeus. However, Kratos isn’t the only one who gets to have all the fun: the Titans are back, free from the shackles of Olympus, and they are seeking revenge for their fallen (if you don’t know your ancient Greek mythology it’s all right, as the game is kind enough to walk us through it).
GoW III follows a continuing storyline from the last two games in the series. Since I had not played either of them on the PS2, Jorge was kind enough to lend me his God of War Collection to play through. To be honest I only made it about ¾ of the way through GoW II due to losing my patience with some of the puzzles; especially the ones that involve finicky timing. Fortunately GoW III does away with the mundane puzzles of the past and replaces it with epic boss battles that seem damn near logical to me (good job, Sony!). No less then 10 minutes into the game, barely getting a handle on the controls, you are tossed into your first massive God-on-God boss battle!
The gameplay is well implemented and the graphics are simply gorgeous. Sony hasn’t changed much from the previous iterations, opting to keep the overall play experience intact: collecting orbs, choice weapon upgrades, magic, health, and your coordinated button mashing all remain consistent. They have, however, introduced a few small tweaks such as the addition of an item bar which automatically depletes and rejuvenates when certain items are in use. Just like eyes and feathers, this bar is upgraded with horns that are scattered about in ‘hidden’ chests (I use quotes because I found the ‘hidden’ chests in GoW III much less ‘hidden’ than in the previous versions; jnstead, they were just slightly off the beaten path).
Another noteworthy update is the over-the-top brutal finishing kills that Kratos so happily executes. I thought I had seen my fair share of video game violence; apparently not: this game takes it to a whole new level. Frankly, I’m surprised that this game didn’t trigger the conservatives (or Republicans if you’re down south) to go on a rant about how video games are creating violent youth. I guess the Greek Gods are bad ass enough to get an exemption (or maybe people just realized that video games don’t actually lead to violence).
Overall, the game is an outstanding title for the PS3. Even if you haven’t played the first two GoW titles, I strongly suggest checking out GoW III. Kudos to Sony for adding enough bonus content to keep the replay level high and providing an interesting Greek mythology backdrop interwoven with the gameplay to keep the story interesting and engaging. And as mentioned before, one can’t forget the epically brutal execution sequences that make Mortal Kombat fatalities look like a Saturday morning cartoons in comparison.
