Review: God of War III

Title: God of War III

Developer: SCEA Santa Monica Studios

Platform: PS3

Throughout the God of War series, players have been tasked with guiding Kratos through his rage fueled tale of vengeance, destroying any of the gods of Greek mythology who stand in his path. In God of War 3, the supposed true "end" to the main series, director Stig Asmussen has upped the ante over the previous games in almost every department. The graphics, brutality, boss battles, gore, fighting mechanics and action have all been raised to near-perfection and really show off what the PS3 is truly capable of.

Never before have throat danglies looked so beautiful in a video game.

While boss encounters have always been rather epic in God of War, they are truly breathtaking in this third enstallment. There were certainly moments (especially in an amazing battle with Poseiden early on) when I actually stopped paying attention to what I was doing (and died as a result) due to being so overwhelmed by the beautiful insanity that was occurring on screen. These encounters with the gods and demi-gods happen quite frequently, almost to a point where it feels as if the game is nothing but a series of boss battles strung together by brief puzzle segments and cut scenes. This brings me to perhaps the only failing committed by this otherwise completely stellar title: the story.

"Plot?!? I don't need a fucking plot, just LOOK at me!!!"

God of War 3 begins at the moment that the second game ended, with Kratos ascending Mount Olympus atop the Titan Gaia, seeking to destroy Zeus. Hades, Helios, Hermes, and Poseidon launch a counter-assault, sending Kratos to the Underworld (yet again), from which Kratos must escape (yet again) and return to Mount Olympus to fulfill his desire for Zeus' demise. The rest of the plot points serve as little more than excuses to kill this God or that God (as if Kratos ever needed an excuse), with some flimsy nonsense concerning Hephaestus and Pandora that is intended to bring the whole series together, but ultimately just feels like window dressing. So with the death of Zeus being the primary driving force of not only this game, but God of War 2 as well, you would hope for at least a blockbuster ending, which...well, without totally spoiling it, I can say that when the credits began to roll, I couldn't really muster much more than a disappointed "eh". Where the previous games had a bit more complexity and intrigue, here Kratos has become little more than an angry killing machine. I can forgive these shortcomings, though, because it does certainly make for some of the best action game play I've ever seen, in or outside of the God of War series.

"I disagree!! More plot, less smashing my face in, please!!!"

If you've played any of the previous God of War games, you know what to generally expect from the game play, and not much has changed here, just bigger, bloodier and better. The quicktime events have been tweaked (the button prompts now appear on the side of the screen corresponding to the physical placement of the buttons), and the new, streamlined, magic/weapons system I found to work rather well, but aside from that it's the same, great button mashing insanity. New weapons are available to be acquired, though once you've obtained the Nemean Cestus, you won't find much reason to employ the use of the others aside from watching the beautiful battle animations...

All told, God of War 3 is a fantastic title. It is without a doubt one of the most epic, cinematic experiences I've ever had playing a video game. Yes it does have it's problems, but these are niggling issues that hardly take away from the experience as a whole. As a matter of fact, if I had written this review immediately after playing, it would certainly have a much greater "frothing-at-the-mouth-fanboy-omg-this-is-the-most-amazing-thing-I've-ever-played" lean to it. Make no mistake...I hugely recommend God of War 3 to most any gamer and is pretty much a requirement if you own a PS3 with an HD capable television.

Graphics: 10/10

Game Play: 8/10

Replayability: 7/10

The whole shebang: 9/10

M's Watchability Rating: 6/10
"Honestly...out of 10...I'd give it a 6; the lack of real plot make it that low, but the visuals keep it above a 5...the second one (God of War 2) is my fav. As much as a bunch of god/demi-god battles are fun...they lost a lot of meaning throughout the game."
***EXTRAS ALERT***
If you pick up God of War 3, you'll notice it contains a fair amount of vignettes concerning the making of. Do yourself a huge favor and make sure to watch the "Voice Acting" video. Totally worth it to watch a drunken Rip Torn and pissy Malcom McDowell go through their lines, not to mention a short interview with Kevin Sorbo about reprising his role as Hercules ...

Trust me, you want to see this...