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    God of War III

    Game » consists of 14 releases. Released Mar 16, 2010

    God of War III puts players back in the role of Kratos to continue his brutal and bloody war against Olympus as he sets his sights on Zeus himself.

    darro's God of War III (PlayStation 3) review

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    • 3 out of 8 Giant Bomb users found it helpful.
    • darro has written a total of 4 reviews. The last one was for Nier

    God of War III is a fitting end to an incredible action series

       
    You can tell from the get-go that Kratos is one angry SOB, a trait that has pretty much spread throughout this illustrious series.   Now we step into God of War III, the fifth game in the series (counting Chains of & the mobile only Betrayal) and one question needs to be asked:   Does the series still have its spark?   I can answer that with a resounding yes.

    If you have played any of the previous God of War games, then you will know you play as Kratos, an angry Spartan whose one sole goal is this: revenge.   Why, you might ask? Due to the fact that Zeus, his own father killed him on a temporary basis in the previous instalment and therefore Kratos will stop at nothing to kill the King of Olympus.   Events pick up right where they left off at the end of God of War II, which sees Kratos on the titan Gaia along with the other titans climbing ready to kill Zeus and his fellow brethren.   After an epic opening battle, things don’t go according to plan straight ahead and due to this mishap, Kratos sets out on another bloody adventure acquiring weapons and artifacts necessary to defeat the Greek gods and co in what will undoubtedly end up being a gory way.  

    As you would come to except from the God of War series, the story is told via cutscenes that break up the action just right. They are told either in-game or through flashback sequences done in this terrific pseudo art-style showing that studios can do no wrong when it comes to the visual department.   Although the story is kind of a linear path in that it is all about Kratos killing everything in his path to get to Zeus and having no retribution for his acts, it takes a turn towards the end and you see a different side of Kratos you never seen in the previous games.   If you enjoyed the story in this series, then the supposedly final chapter of the series ends on a good note.

    When it comes to the gameplay of God of War III, not a whole lot of things have changed, as they go for the old “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” motif.   You fight a range of enemies with your blades or the other weapons you get throughout and have light and heavy attacks that you can make a variety of combos with to deal damage to the creatures you encounter.   Once an enemy is weakened enough, a glowing circle prompt will glow over its head and you will either make mincemeat out of it in some way instantly or enter a quick-time event that sees you pressing the allotted buttons to deal the final blow to some Minotaur or Cyclops you just beat the crap out of.   The Golden Fleece introduced in the 2 game is back also, which helps you counter enemies by blocking just as they are about to strike and thus deal more damage to them.   It is a lot easier to counter enemies this time round making it a more approachable and streamlined experience for the player. The Rage meter makes a welcome return in the form of the Rage of Sparta, which is activated by clicking on both analog sticks and sees Kratos summon the Blade of Olympus and is pretty much invulnerable as long as the effect lasts.   If you weren’t fond of the combat in the previous games, this game will do little to change that perspective but for fans of the series, it is the same tried and true formula you’ve come to know and love.

    Most of the enemies are recycled from the previous game but are given a great makeover that makes them feel fresh somehow. New additions include the Chimera, which is part snake, part goat and part lion and although you do not fight it a lot throughout the game, each confrontation is exciting and it’s a rewarding feeling once you take one down.

    If you are accustomed to the series, you will notice some new moves that Kratos now has in his repertoire.   One of these is the ability to grab a weak enemy like an sentry and use it as a battering ram to knock back enemies that are surrounding you in whatever combat arena you are in at the time.   Another new addition is that you are able to combat grapple enemies using the L1 + circle combination, which sees Kratos grab an enemy with his patented blades from a distance then ram right into him to get himself back into the action. These new additions are very welcome and are useful in certain scenarios throughout the 8-10 hour journey.

    With new moves also come new weapons and tools at your disposal.   Throughout the adventure, you gain certain tools that help you in certain locations.   An example is that the Head of Helios helps lighten up dark places and reveals hidden chests that usually have a glimmer of dust surrounding them so it makes it easier to notice.   They can also be used in combat situations although they are not entirely necessary to use since I only used the Bow of Apollo a handful of times to finish off enemies due to having low health at the time.   These are attached to a new yellow meter that is below the magic meter thus you can’t use them infinitely.   The weapons Kratos possesses include the Claws of Hades, the Nemean Cestus and the Nemesis whip.   With the exception of the Nemean Cestus, the weapons are just different variations of the Blades of exile and not entirely useful during my experience with the game.   The Nemean Cestus is a pair of fist gauntlets shaped like lion heads that are incredibly useful to deal great damage to some of the tougher enemies in the game like the armoured Cyclops.   At times, I felt the Cestus was more powerful than the Blades of Exile and is perhaps the best new addition in the entire game.

    Unlike before where you had magic attacks and your weapons separately, this time around your magic attacks are attached to the weapon being used.   The Blades of Exile release the Army of Sparta, which sees a big circular army with shields and spears in a blood red colour come crashing down in the middle of the battle and arrows come shooting down once the weapon is powered up some.   The Cestus magic sees you slamming the ground with the gauntlets, the Claws summon souls of certain enemies in the game, which you can select in the menu and the Nemesis whip electrifies enemies.   Again, some of the magic attacks are better than others but will be helpful no doubt in the tougher battles that occur late in the game.  

    In terms of upgrades, it’s still the same work you have done before.   Kill enemies or find chests and red orbs come out that help you upgrade your weapons and tools you possess.   Throughout your adventure, you will come across chests that contain one of three items, the gorgon eye, which increases your health once three (formerly six) is obtained, the phoenix feathers that increase your magic and the Minotaur horns that increase your item meter.   It will be quite essential to find as much of these as possible during your playthrough depending on what difficulty is chosen because certain battles can be tough.

    Boss fights are a pleasure to fight through and once again, studios surpass themselves in terms of epic opening boss battles.   For those of you who haven’t played the game yet and would like things kept at a hush-hush level, let’s just say it is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.   Each boss battle whether it is against a Greek god or a titan dare I say is a joy to play through and require certain techniques out of you in order to get through it just fine and not see the infamous ‘You are dead’ screen.   Like with the enemies, once you have dealt enough damage to a God, you will get the circle prompt and thus begins a great action-packed QTE sequence that ends up seeing you kill a God in a particularly gruesome yet satisfying and awesome way.   One of these sticks out and had me gleaming with delight afterwards.    Some of them provide a level of challenge while others can be pretty easy to tackle (the last one disappointingly fits into that category).  

    When there is no gory action occurring on screen, you will make Kratos traverse the plains of , Hades and elsewhere with a puzzle sequence every now and again.   The puzzles are standard fare in this one, which usually sees you hit a switch here and push some object over there. A location in the game known as Hera’s Garden provides a different kind of puzzle that sees you use a stone that makes the view different and can make pathways connected that weren’t before and help you proceed to the next area.   It is one of the cooler puzzles in the game nonetheless.   They are not entirely difficult to figure out for the most part so you won’t get stumped and find yourself stuck in a room for hours on end.

    Once the game is completed, a bevy of unlockables are there for you to dig into. One that is included is the Challenges of Olympus that see you partake in 7 different challenges each with a different requirement.   One of these challenges sees Kratos having to defeat all the enemies with his bare hands with a limited time put on top.   While these have been done before in the previous games, they aren’t nearly as hard as those that have come in the past but still provide a good level of strategy for you to master.   Other unlockable includes videos on the different aspects of making the game and Chaos mode, which is the toughest difficulty in the game and if you played any of the previous games, you will know damn sure that’s the truth.

    The God of War series on the Playstation 2 was praised for its outstanding production values when it comes to visuals and on the Playstation 3, it is no different.   From the opening sequence right through to the end, you will marvel at visual delights whether it’s a location such as the Realm of Hades, an enemy like the Chimera or just the sheer scale of the game.   You can easily tell how much work they put to make this game shine in visual splendour.   Kratos himself is finely detailed with his scars and blood from a fallen enemy on display and his movements are expertly crafted that makes it a pleasure for the player to control.   Also, thanks to the extra power, you will see a lot more detail and a lot more blood in the death sequences, which are satisfying to pull off and watch.   Centaur filet mignon anyone?  

    The camera is the same as before and while it is good for the most part, certain parts of the game are hindered by the camera vision and therefore, an unfair death is likely to follow.   During the epic scenarios, the camera actually zooms out showing you more of the action and the fact that this is done in real time gameplay makes it all the more astounding to behold.

    With the visuals being top-notch, you think that the audio might take a bit of a dive but not in this game but you would expect no less from a great studio.   From the echoing cries of a harpy to a scream of a fallen Minotaur, the audio is packed with excellence.   For the most part, the voice actors in the previous game return to their roles but a new female actor takes over the voice of Athena.   In the end, they do their jobs well and don’t bring the experience down.   The music is still the immense orchestral soundtrack that you listened to in the previous games and is still done in top-class style in this chapter of the franchise. Once a battle occurs, the music kicks things right up and fits the mood perfectly while at traversal times; it is a bit mellower waiting for that next encounter to happen whenever it may be.

    If this is the end of the God of War series, then it has happily gone out with a bang.   While some things may have stayed the same and little changes have been implemented, it still provides a first-class experience nonetheless.   In all fronts, God of War III is a fitting end to an incredible action series.

     

    Other reviews for God of War III (PlayStation 3)

      GoW III review 0

      A funny thing happened a few hours into God of War III: it became really, really amazing. Perhaps it was the over hyping of the first 30 minutes that so many previews had gushed about. Perhaps it was the considerable increase in hack’n’slashery that I had done this year. Maybe it was even the incredibly misguided Platinum trophy runs of Dante’s Inferno that I had done, but I just was not into this game at all. The giant bosses, the same combat I had played with twice before, and the puzzles whic...

      62 out of 71 found this review helpful.

      Vengeance Ends Here... The God of War III Review 0

       Please note - This review and the videos being shown may contain spoilers, so read and watch at your own risk if you have not beaten the game yet. The God of War franchise has been unrivaled in terms of pushing the action genre and the Playstation consoles to their limits with amazing graphics, an epic sense of scale, memorable battles against foes that are way bigger than Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, and one of the best theatrical scores in the gaming business. God of War III has been a long t...

      32 out of 37 found this review helpful.

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