The Gods are Weak, Kratos is not
The original God of War changed the aspect of actions games in industry. It took the in-depth combat style of Ninja Gaiden and mixed it with the over the top flair of Devil May Cry while simplifying the combat system to bring interest of the genre to a new group of people. Fast forward 5 years and God of War III is the culmination of refinement and set pieces the series is known for without getting too far away from its’ original roots, for both good and bad.
You begin this game where the last one left off, with Kratos on the back of the Titan Gaia as you are heading towards the summit of Mt. Olympus with a final confrontation with Zeus. Needless to say things don’t turn out quite as planned, leaving Kratos without his abilities and powers from the second with a few exceptions like the Icarus Wings and Shoulder Guard at the foot of Mt. Olympus. From there, you set off to gain new weapons and abilities while upgrading them along the way until the game reaches its’ climax. Each weapon has its’ own unique properties, and while some items are definitely more useful than others, every one of them has their place.
Using each weapon will take some time to get used to, but more often than not you’ll result to your blades for most situations. While not necessarily a bad thing, it can prevent you from making use of the Magic attributes each weapon has in specific situations. Knowing when these situations occur, while few and far between, is key to not getting bogged down. Most of the game however is easy until you get to boss fights. The bosses in this game are some of the most memorable, two in particular are the ones people will continue to talk about for years to come. It’s not to say the other bosses aren’t memorable, those two fights are just head and shoulders above the rest.
The game is very well paced and it keeps you moving forward, even after facing those bosses. The puzzles are well designed, but are not too tough to keep you frustrated, so you’ll keep moving forward until you eventually hit the end in about 8-10 hours. God of War III looks amazing, plays great, and exceptionally paced. While you may not enjoy the lack of depth from the combat system, learning it can be very rewarding. In the end, God of War III is a must play, if only for the things that don’t involve gameplay. But with gameplay, not playing it is like committing a crime against nature.