God of War III Review
Sometimes I honestly wonder why the hell game publishing companies even bother with words like "trilogy".
Pros -
If you liked the previous God of War titles, then you will definitely love this one as well. One thing I can say that God of War has that many other games don't have it continuity. If you've played all the other games, including Chains of Olympus, you'll notice that not only does God of War III pick up where the second game left off exactly, but it also brings up events of the other games, establishing that there are no spin-offs, and that every game contributes to the big picture.
I can't even begin to explain how nice it is to come home after a tough exam in Organic Chemistry or a two and a half hour math class and get to rip off Helios' head and use it as a flashlight. Or getting to watch Kratos kill Poseidon, but watch it from Poseidon's point-of-view. Basically, like Dead Space, it's always satisfying to play some crazy violent games every so often where it really doesn't matter who you do or don't kill.
Despite the mostly unchanging combat system in the God of War games in the past, this one changes up the boss battles quite a lot. Whether it's chasing down Hermes, climbing atop Cronos ala Shadow of the Colossus, or playing tug of war with Hades, you can bet that the battles are always unique and entertaining. This game will certainly not bore you.
I'm going to assume that if you're reading this, you're probably no more than a few years younger or older than I am. So, I'm sure you remember that old Hercules show from the 90's right? Of course you do. Well, just guess who they casted to portray the voice of Hercules for God of War III? Yup, Kevin Sorbo. Now I don't know about you, but in my book, that's a HUGE win for Sony Computer. Way to take us all down memory lane not just making us remember all the watered down Greek Mythology we learned in sixth grade, but great old shows we love. Oh yes, in case you didn't know, they also casted Harry Hamlin in God of War II as Perseus. By the way, if you don't know who either of these actors are, crawl out from under your rock immediately.
Another thing I can't say Sony Computer is lacking in is phenomenal level designers. I can't think of anything about God of War I that impressed me more about the game was how beautifully the levels were, and this game is not lacking in that anymore than the other three.
Cons -
I can't say I was too thrilled with how the game has nothing to differentiate it from the other games. It's basically a never changing theme. Sometimes it's nice to change things up and give them new light. But this game is pretty much the same old story, same old song and dance (thank you, Steven Tyler). Somebody is stupid enough to piss off/backstab Kratos, so then he must stop at nothing to kill them. The End. One game with this theme, great. Two games with this theme, forgivable. Three games with this theme, yawn.
One thing I absolutely loved about the other God of War games was the puzzle aspect of the game. They were intricate and usually the solutions weren't obvious. They made you think before you started moving things around or stepping on switches or deflecting light beams, etc. But this game really only had one semi-intricate puzzle which honestly didn't take much more than looking once or twice to figure out what you were supposed to do rather than having to sit there and pick your brain apart to find a way to make it work, which is how it should be.
Unlike the other two games, when Kratos comes across new weapons or magic spells, usually it's not too hard to find practical uses for them, but in this game, I hardly ever used magic at all. And the other weapons and items I found, sure I used them once or twice, but eventually I'd just switch back to the blades, finding them easier and more beneficial. So it's lame having useless equipment on Kratos, that you're still expected to waste your experience on to level them up when you really don't need them or have to use them so scarcely that you forget you even have them.
Without offering any spoilers here, the ending of the game was predictable. You will see it coming like we all saw the twist of every Saw movie after the first one coming.
Summary - It holds up the God of War name well and captures the essence of the games perfectly, having great creativeness in making boss battles unique and entertaining, though lacking in it's previously amazing puzzle portion and diversity in story, God of War III gets a 9 out of 10 from me.
