God of War III
Bulging biceps, sharp swords and total mayhem. Everything served on a Greek platter by the ex-god Kratos. God of War III is finally here.
Hordes of souls have been sent to the afterlife by his legendary blades. He has slain Titans, he has challenged the gods. He has been condemned and betrayed, and the desire for vengeance that drives him knows no boundries. Now, Kratos vendetta will reach its peak. The ash covered warrior beast's violent berserk will come to its end. The last drop of blood shall be spilled.
Up in the gods' stronghold of Mount Olympus, Zeus and the other Olympians are gathered. On the eve of the battle that will soon rage they have taken a defensive position. Kratos is angry, the Titans are angry and the gods are angry. In short, everyone is really angry at each other and the only possible outcome is war.
The God of War series has always been beautifully narrated, but also quite shallow; an adequate excuse for an excess of slaughter and an extravagant design based on Greek mythology. The dramaturgy does not deliver as it did in particularly the first God of War, but sometimes a game is just a game and it's a bit like that in God of War III. Expect no heartbreaking drama, in other words - Kratos is a simple person with Spartan needs. Old school revenge is the only thing on his agenda. Skulls are to be crushed and body parts torn off without mercy. Kratos lives by a simple mantra; "you stand in the way, you got yourself to blame, whether you have horns or are two kilometers high or not."
A powerful introductory cut scene where the Titans ascends the steep slopes of Mount Olympus sets the bar for the rest of the adventure. Shortly thereafter, I take control. Kratos stands on the bushy back of the mother Titan Gaia bush, and it will not take long before my skills at battle is put to the test. Press square, press triangle. I alternate between light and heavy attacks, juggling my enemies with my sharp chains.
The next couple of minutes are filled with spontaneous howling and adrenaline fueled excitement. The graphics in God of War III are fantastic and on the top end of all Playstation 3 games released so far. The environmental design is big and epic, the amount of detail is almost perversely high (just look at Kratos' shoulder pads when the camera zooms in), the lighting work is magnificent and the choreography of the fights are mind-blowing. I swing, climb and jump between Gaia's vast body parts, several kilometers above ground. It's hard not to get dizzy.
The pre-hype circulated around a technical monster, which would destroy everything that's been released during this generation so far. Kratos's Playstation 3 debut was supposed run at a resolution of 1800p, so everyone that owned a full HD television would be able to enjoy it a little bit extra. There were rumor of a constant frame rate of 60 frames per second. This is something that Santa Monica can't live up to in the end. We have to settle for 720p and a frame rate that jumps between 60 and 30 frames per second, depending on the environment and situation.
Despite this play God of War III is in the same league as Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2 when it comes to beautiful graphics. You can't really ask for more in this day and age. That the game requires no installation and is streamed directly from the bluray disc, with no load times between levels at all, doesn't really make things worse.
It doesn't take long before I can throw myself into my first giant boss fight. It is Poseidon who gets the first taste of my tough love. Powerful, grandiose, impressive and challenging. It is first class, testosterone exploding entertainment, and I got front row seat tickets. Kratos is truly back with a vengeance, that's for sure. And this is only the beginning.
The game's soundtrack switches neatly from the stately bombastic to the mysteriously quiet. Whether I am exploring dark caves or roll out of the way of a mighty titan's palm I am always in the right mood. In one moment, I am captivated by the dense mystery, in the next, I want to flex my non-existent gaming nerd muscles, dropkick the door to the offices and roar "FOR SPARTAAAA"! I can't help it.
The true greatness of God of War series has always been the accessible battle system. Santa Monica hasn't really that changed much since the God of War II. Everything has been polished and sanded, but do not count on any radical changes. That which wasn't broken hasn't been fixed, luckily, and if you've played the previous games you will find yourself right at home in God of War III.
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- System:PS3
- Genre:Action
- Developer:Sony Santa Monica
- Publisher:Sony
- Offline players:1
- Age limit:From 18 years
- Release date:19 March 2010
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