God of War III – 9.0/10

God of War III is probably one of the most anticipated games this year for the PS3, maybe all console in general. But does it live up to the gross over-abundance of hype? Yes and no.

God of War III is a very polished game. Its noticeable from the very beginning. The combat system is perfectly balanced, the puzzles are not too hard but not too easy, and the bosses are epic without being cheap or overbearing. The advantages of perfecting the God of War formula over the past two titles in the series are apparent. And, completely from a game-play standpoint, GOW3 is definitely the best in the series. However, something feels off while you play. It may be that the perfect formula is wearing off on its audience, the mechanics being rehashed over and over by numerous copycats. God of War III doesn’t seem as memorable as the first two sometimes, partly because the novelty of ripping a foe’s body apart has wore off. But that doesn’t mean its not fun: God of War is easily the most fun game of this year, and while not as epic as the first two (at least at the beginning of the game), it is certainly the most fun to play.

Boss fights are epic an awesome.

Sony Santa Monica didn’t rewrite the mechanics of the game, but they did add enough new and exciting features to make veterans keep playing. The Blades are back (with a new name), and all the lovely bloody combos you could perform last game return. Some new features, such as being able to grab enemies and use them as a shield while charging are a welcome (and fun) addition. Grappling enemies is a lot more dynamic and fun this time, too. While the last game forced you to get right next to an enemy to grab him, in GOW3 you can hold L1 and hit O (the grab button) to hurl your weapon at an enemy and perform a weapon-specific grab-attack. The Blades, for example, allow you to grab the enemy with one of your blades and then shoulder-charge into them, which is very useful for closing the gap. The Claws of Hades (a new and awesome weapon) allows you to rip souls out of your target to fight for you (yes, this is very cool).

Another addition to the combat is 3 new and unique weapons, all with their own magic attached to them and fighting style. You can get Kratos to change weapons on-the-fly and even mid-combo by tapping the corresponding directional buttons. This makes for an exciting move-list that the player can experiment around with by using different weapon combinations. Each weapon has its own distinct feel and uses. The Claws of Hades, for example, are ranged similar to the Blades, but have different attack mechanics, allowing you to throw foes around easier and grab them in the air, as well as some exciting crowd-control moves. The Gauntlets, which we’ve all seen in the demo and trailer, work exactly how they look. They’re give Kratos an excuse to pound enemies to a glorious pulp before finishing them off. The Gauntlets aren’t fast, but they sure do hit hard, and also have a couple more versatile moves in store should you choose to upgrade them.

God of War 3 has some excellent new weapons.

This brings me to the upgrade system, which, if you’re familiar with the past two titles, is identical. You gain red orbs from battle (extra for higher combos) and invest them in upgrading your weapons and items. Each weapon has five or so levels that each grant them extra strength and new moves. There are also three unique items that Kratos comes across throughout the game, both useful for combat and solving puzzles. Returning is the bow, which no longer depletes the magic gauge but a separate gauge called the “item gauge” specifically for item powers which regenerates over time. Like health and magic gauges, this gauge can also be extended by finding special items in chests.

Graphically, God of War III pushes the Playstation 3 to its limits–and you can tell. Every feature of Kratos’ character is rendered beautifully, as well as a gorgeous background and amazing levels that move while you are atop them. The beginning of the game is particularly noteworthy is Gaia, a giant Titan who climbs Mount Olympus, all while Kratos is doing battle with minons on her back. This “level” is all rendered dynamically, and the Titan sways and moves as you guide Kratos on top of it. All the epic God of War music you know and love returns, from the legendary main theme to the exciting battle music. The sound effects also are top-notch. There is nothing, production-wise, you could say that God Of War III got wrong, and it all comes together to amount to a pretty amazing experience.

See that Titan in the background? Yep, all in real-time.

That being said, I can’t help but feel like I’ve done all this before. While GOW3 makes considerable imporvements to the series and polishes the game mechanics to a mirror sheen, the course feels all too familiar. Kratos longs for revenge, killing everything that stands in his way while battling gods. Not that this isn’t exciting in its own right, but GOW3 doesn’t really add anything new to the series, albeit combat and gameplay improvements. But that’s really all that can be said about GOW3–it is a giant improvement from the past titles in the series, but doesn’t push the action genre forward so noticeably than the past two titles have. I know this sounds like such a rail on an otherwise great game, but its really not. Yes, GOW3 doesn’t take any chances with its formula or makes giant leaps in the action/hack-n-slash genre as its predecessors, but it is an excellent game, and a damn fun one at that. Truly, God of War III is a game anyone in their right mind needs to play right now. If anyone has questions on what a masterpiece action game looks like, look no further than God of War III.

PROS:
+Beautiful Graphics
+Awesome and fun combat, easily the best in the series
+Amazing production values
+Epic conclusion to the God of War trilogy

CONS:
-Sometimes seems like you’ve done all this before

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