The trilogy of God of War now spans the two latest PlayStation consoles, the first being a smash success and the second having people declaring that there was still plenty of life left in the PS2. Episode three comes to us in full HD with the grunt of a few cell processors behind the technology in the black box. You’d be among good company if you already had high expectations for God of War 3, most people that seem to be drawn to this particular action hack and slash game like flies to the proverbial. So the scene is set for a rather monumental release, expectations to be dashed or dreams to be fulfilled?
Once you’ve killed a God or two, massacred your own family and slashed your way out of hell a time or two there isn’t much left in life other than some strong feelings of betrayal, hate, and self loathing. Kratos was a man, the empty shell filled with muscles and aggression, don’t expect pros from him, a few subtle one liners that indicate an intend to murder everything after having already knifed out the eyes of your victim.
If you aren’t aware of the back story it might pay to either check out a detailed explanation on Wikipedia/GiantBomb or perhaps investigate the remade edition for the PS3 (the God of War Collection). You will probably be able to piece it all together as you go along, as it does have a rather retrospective dialogue, but more enjoyment would be garnered by those that actually appreciate what Kratos has gone through to arrive at the current position in the world of gods, men and titans. I can’t decide if this is a feature or to the games detriment, I’ve always felt that a trilogy should make use of the entire story arch to tell a tale. Conversely I can also appreciate when a single unit can be enjoyed as a stand alone product while simultaneously enjoying the richness of a well established universe.
Combat is very similar to that found in the other two games, various weapons are collected which have their own benefits and drawbacks. I’m not sure about the dynamics of how Kratos manages to cart them all around the under/overworlds on his person while only sporting a skirt and some shin armour. But the over muscled ex spartan probably has a few tricks up his “sleeves” that he just doesn’t want to share with people because it might ruin the illusion.
One incredible change from past titles is that quick time events are now mapped out on screen with the aid of position based markers. Need to cut off the serpent tail of a Chimera? The X button appears at the bottom of the screen as it appears on the face of your controller. A triangle to rip out the eye of a cyclops? That’s right up the top in the middle, again, how it is mapped in real life. This is far more intuitive and means that I don’t have to look away from the action, unless of course the live gutting of a Centaur makes me turn my head in revulsion. Also, sex mini games, I no longer fail at them!!!! How’s that for video games mirroring real life.
Parts of the story are told in a mosiac theme that is actually incredibly smart, little effects and animations to help convey a history of violence that makes it all feel very greek. Probably one of my favourite visual elements of a game that is very well polished in this respect. There is a lot of blood and glowing aura effects, the enemies have plenty of detail on them and the environment is very pretty is not at times a little depressing. The scale of battle can change very suddenly with the camera panning back to show a massive area with Kratos still controllable, it’s effective and shows you how far the tech has come that drives these games.
Closing Comments
There is really only one aspect that lets the entire experience down for me, and that is that Kratos is a bit of an cock. I don’t want him to succeed, not because I don’t understand his motives, but because I want someone to punch his arrogant mouth so hard that it comes out of his asshole. Seriously, cheer up a bit, doom, gloom an retribution gets a little old after 7 hours. It is probably intentional and the conclusion to the story backs this up, but I can’t say I enjoyed the fact that there was a complete void of humour. Also the balance of ugly breasts to normal is also a little out of kilter, unless, you find the harpies attractive….
Game play wise, it is almost faultless, lots of combos, weapon upgrades, awesome puzzles. It’s pretty much everything anyone could hope from the genre. The conclusion is definite and the trilogy complete, one would hope that this is where the franchise takes its curtain call and that the story is not cheapened with a further instalment.
When you do get to play it, and once you have finished it, I would like to know how long you pushed the button for…….. you’ll know what I mean when the time comes.
