Kratos is Back, and He's Pissed
God of War 3 has been one of the major reasons that many have bought a PS3. Ever since God of War 2 was released for the PS2 people have been craving an installment of the series for the Playstation 3. That time has finally come and it has happily been worth the wait.
God of War 3 begins exactly where the last game left off, as Kratos climbs Mount Olympus to exact his vengeance upon Zeus and the rest of the Gods. Before I continue I would like to note that I have not played either of the previous God of War games, and that it did not hinder the experience at all. The beginning of the game has a quick synopsis of everything that has taken place in the previous games. While playing the other installments will be a plus when it comes to the gameplay mechanics, it’s not necessary in terms of storyline. All you need to know is Kratos is pissed and he wants to kill all the Gods and anything that gets in his way.
One of the main reasons that fans wanted a God of War for the PS3 is due to its graphical power, and this game delivers. The opening of the game makes a point to show you exactly what is in store for you in terms of visuals. Kratos has more definition then ever before, and the texturing work on the environment is spotless. The lighting effects are also top-notch. The game is just a joy to look at, and is on par with other first party games such as Uncharted 2.
The gameplay is exactly what you would expect, which is not a bad thing. If you have played God of Warbefore, you will have no problems with this installment. No major changes have been made, but is has been more refined and seems to work smoother, allowing you to create combos a little easier and chain attacks to cause massive combos. Along with these refinements comes something new to the combat – seamless weapon switching. By hitting L1+X you can switch to the next weapon in your arsenal. This allows you to create different combos and to adapt to any new enemies that may appear.
If you have played this series before, you also know there are plenty of quick time events when dealing with enemies and boss fights. However, the location that the notification appears on the screen has changed to mirror the Dualshock 3. If you are prompted to hit the triangle button, it appears at the top of the screen. If you are prompted to hit the square button it appears at the left of the screen to correspond to the controller. Now, you don’t have to focus on looking to see which button will appear and you can focus on the cinematic action that is taking place. You can easily see what button you must push without having to look directly at it which is a welcome change.
God of War 3 is more cinematic than the previous ones. The camera will zoom out at certain times offering a wide view of the action. It does this several times throughout the game and during boss fights. It also has moments that feel like you are playing a cut scene, and they are very well produced. However, this being said, most of the game is still your traditional walk and fight formula.
There is one component to the gameplay, however, that absolutely boggles my mind –the double-jump. Usually in games to double-jump you hit the button when it feels natural, at the apex of your first jump. In God of War 3that is not the case. You must double tap the X button quickly to perform a double-jump. This feels very unnatural and does not work at all. I don’t understand how this could have happened. Double-jump is one of those things that is universal in all games. You tap once to jump, and once again at the height of your first jump to successfully pull off a double jump. How can you screw up that formula? It’s not that big of an issue, however, it’s a shock when you first encounter it and it actually killed me a few times before I got used to it. It’s something that never should have happened in the first place.
The previous games in the God of War series had plenty of backtracking, but this time around they’ve stopped themselves from making the same mistake. There are periods of the game where you visit the same environment, however, they haven’t overdone it. If you do have to go back to a previous area it is for a very short period of time, and most of the backtracking does not appear toward the later half of the game. In true God of War fashion they also have your typical puzzle sections of the game. In this case it is literally called "The Labyrinth." I felt that the game would have been better without this section of the game. The levels are all supposed lead up to "The Labyrinth", which is the final obstacle to Kratos’ goal. However, this section does not deliver. While fairly short, the "puzzles" hardly challenge your intellect and serve merely as a nuisance, which needlessly prolong the game.
The main attraction to the God of War series is the boss fights, and there are plenty of them in God of War 3. The first few bosses that you will encounter are amazing. They’re very interactive and the scale is massive. However, the fights taper off as you continue through the game and it almost seems like the developers ran out of steam at some point, and sadly this affects the ending of the game. As you can already guess, Zeus will be your final encounter in the game and it’s lackluster at best. You would expect Zeus to be the grand encounter, the fight to end all fights, but when all is said and done, it just doesn’t live up to the hype.
Overall, God of War 3 proves a worthy finale to the franchise. Between the amazing graphics, the same great gameplay, and engaging bosses this is the God of War game that everyone has been waiting for.
Pros:
• Graphics
• Game-play
• Boss fights
• Brutality and violence
• Not as much backtracking
Cons:
• Double jump
• Boss fights
• Camera
• "Puzzle" sections
The Movie Police Rating: 89
Visit www.themoviepolice.com for more game and movie reviews.
God of War 3 begins exactly where the last game left off, as Kratos climbs Mount Olympus to exact his vengeance upon Zeus and the rest of the Gods. Before I continue I would like to note that I have not played either of the previous God of War games, and that it did not hinder the experience at all. The beginning of the game has a quick synopsis of everything that has taken place in the previous games. While playing the other installments will be a plus when it comes to the gameplay mechanics, it’s not necessary in terms of storyline. All you need to know is Kratos is pissed and he wants to kill all the Gods and anything that gets in his way.
One of the main reasons that fans wanted a God of War for the PS3 is due to its graphical power, and this game delivers. The opening of the game makes a point to show you exactly what is in store for you in terms of visuals. Kratos has more definition then ever before, and the texturing work on the environment is spotless. The lighting effects are also top-notch. The game is just a joy to look at, and is on par with other first party games such as Uncharted 2.
The gameplay is exactly what you would expect, which is not a bad thing. If you have played God of Warbefore, you will have no problems with this installment. No major changes have been made, but is has been more refined and seems to work smoother, allowing you to create combos a little easier and chain attacks to cause massive combos. Along with these refinements comes something new to the combat – seamless weapon switching. By hitting L1+X you can switch to the next weapon in your arsenal. This allows you to create different combos and to adapt to any new enemies that may appear.
If you have played this series before, you also know there are plenty of quick time events when dealing with enemies and boss fights. However, the location that the notification appears on the screen has changed to mirror the Dualshock 3. If you are prompted to hit the triangle button, it appears at the top of the screen. If you are prompted to hit the square button it appears at the left of the screen to correspond to the controller. Now, you don’t have to focus on looking to see which button will appear and you can focus on the cinematic action that is taking place. You can easily see what button you must push without having to look directly at it which is a welcome change.
God of War 3 is more cinematic than the previous ones. The camera will zoom out at certain times offering a wide view of the action. It does this several times throughout the game and during boss fights. It also has moments that feel like you are playing a cut scene, and they are very well produced. However, this being said, most of the game is still your traditional walk and fight formula.
There is one component to the gameplay, however, that absolutely boggles my mind –the double-jump. Usually in games to double-jump you hit the button when it feels natural, at the apex of your first jump. In God of War 3that is not the case. You must double tap the X button quickly to perform a double-jump. This feels very unnatural and does not work at all. I don’t understand how this could have happened. Double-jump is one of those things that is universal in all games. You tap once to jump, and once again at the height of your first jump to successfully pull off a double jump. How can you screw up that formula? It’s not that big of an issue, however, it’s a shock when you first encounter it and it actually killed me a few times before I got used to it. It’s something that never should have happened in the first place.
The previous games in the God of War series had plenty of backtracking, but this time around they’ve stopped themselves from making the same mistake. There are periods of the game where you visit the same environment, however, they haven’t overdone it. If you do have to go back to a previous area it is for a very short period of time, and most of the backtracking does not appear toward the later half of the game. In true God of War fashion they also have your typical puzzle sections of the game. In this case it is literally called "The Labyrinth." I felt that the game would have been better without this section of the game. The levels are all supposed lead up to "The Labyrinth", which is the final obstacle to Kratos’ goal. However, this section does not deliver. While fairly short, the "puzzles" hardly challenge your intellect and serve merely as a nuisance, which needlessly prolong the game.
The main attraction to the God of War series is the boss fights, and there are plenty of them in God of War 3. The first few bosses that you will encounter are amazing. They’re very interactive and the scale is massive. However, the fights taper off as you continue through the game and it almost seems like the developers ran out of steam at some point, and sadly this affects the ending of the game. As you can already guess, Zeus will be your final encounter in the game and it’s lackluster at best. You would expect Zeus to be the grand encounter, the fight to end all fights, but when all is said and done, it just doesn’t live up to the hype.
Overall, God of War 3 proves a worthy finale to the franchise. Between the amazing graphics, the same great gameplay, and engaging bosses this is the God of War game that everyone has been waiting for.
Pros:
• Graphics
• Game-play
• Boss fights
• Brutality and violence
• Not as much backtracking
Cons:
• Double jump
• Boss fights
• Camera
• "Puzzle" sections
The Movie Police Rating: 89
Visit www.themoviepolice.com for more game and movie reviews.
