God of War III : Review

Santa Monica Studio has crafted an amazing visual showpiece for the PS3, and made minor refinements to the tried-and-true formula that the series is known for. While not quite as story driven as the first game or as environmentally diverse as the second, God of War III is the most well rounded game of the trilogy and delivers an epic finale that series fans will not soon forget.

First and foremost, God of War III is a visual masterpiece. From the main menu screen with Kratos breathing heavily to the ending credits, the game is a case example of what the PS3 is capable of in the right hands. Kratos just might be the best-looking character model I’ve ever seen in a video game. Forget how he looked on the PSP in Broken Destiny. The level of detail in his character model is nothing short of incredible.   Most of the other characters look equally as astonishing too, especially the titans. Oh, how their moments truly shine, even though they only appear twice.

Along with the huge graphical improvement came equally sizable step up in the detailed gore compared to prior entries in the series. Kratos will stab, punch, tear, and literally rip the guts out of enemies during these moments. Just wait till you witness the death of Poseidon from his own eyes. All of the Olympian gods Kratos is determined to destroy are brutalized during some of the most over-the-top, gratuitously violent moments depicted in any video game . It’s actually sickening at times, but God of War fans have come to expect and love this manner of violence, and God of War III undoubtedly delivers.

The developers have also made a few refinements to the combat, but it remains largely the same since the original God of War. Input cues during quick time events now display on sides of correspond sides of the screen based on the layout of the Playstation buttons (X on the bottom of the screen, O on the right, etc.). This makes them less intrusive and allows for the player to concentrate on the on-screen action, and also provides a secondary cue for those who are less familiar with each button label.  They also made a few slight upgrades that serve to make Kratos more agile this time around.  When you grab one of the grunt-level enemies, hitting Square allows you us him use as a battering ram and plow through groups of other enemies.  You can either throw or smash his skull against the wall when you’re finished with him. Furthermore, Kratos can use his blades to latch onto and enemy and lurch forward for a ram attack. Both these moves come in quite handy and make movement during combat outside of rolling feel more natural.

Each of the four main weapons Kratos picks up are not only fun and satisfying to use, but can also prove vital against certain enemies. By hitting L1 and X, Kratos can switch weapons at any time, even in the middle of a combo, to any of the four available to him. His magical attacks have also been tied to each one of the four main weapons.  This eliminates time wasted spent slogging through menus, instead wisely opting for an instant weapon switching mechanic, making the use of magic attacks even more seamless than before. One of the  powers is even a nice nod to the movie “300″, as Kratos himself is fittingly transformed into a spartan.  Two of his weapons are essentially clones of the chain blades that Kratos normally carries by default though, and I was disappointed that the sword from God of War II had not been kept in this game.

If God of War III has any serious letdowns, they have to do with the storytelling. It seems that Santa Monica Studio was so concerned with making God of War III look and play amazingly smoothly that presenting a thrilling narrative to close out the series’ compelling plot took a back seat to the action itself.  Some of the dialogue is pretty forgettable thanks to heavy use of  B movie machismo, and the story just doesn’t seem to have the heart and soul that the previous games did.  Unfortunately thanks to this, the game lacks the addictive non-stop play appeal of it’s predecessors.

And although Kratos might be amazing to look at, he is one of the most unlikeable lead characters ever, and players will spend the first two thirds of the game without any reminders as to what drives his anger or to what his motivations are. It’s not that he was ever very likeable, but in the previous games you at least understood why he was such a tragic character. Here, Kratos murders everyone in his path in the name of revenge, even at the expense of destroying the world. Even though most players won’t mind this, I do wish that some form of choice a’la Mass Effect 2 came into play. Can’t have it all I suppose. At least in the final acts I felt Kratos redeemed himself to some degree, although you will have to play the game yourself to find out why.