Review: God Of War III
For the uninitiated, the God of War (GoW) franchise has been one of the most successful Sony exclusives of the current generation. In a nutshell, the games are set in Ancient Greece and follow the exploits of Kratos, a Spartan warrior out for vengeance against the gods. Such vengeance is necessary because Kratos was tricked by Aries, the god of War, into killing his wife and child.
The game begins exactly where GoW II left off; Kratos has riled the Titans to his cause and clings onto the back of Gaia as she climbs Mount Olympus to face off against Zeus. With two lengthy journeys behind them, it’s clear that SCE Studios have the GoW franchise down to a fine art; the game opens in epic style and the pace remains intense for much of the narrative. The sense of scale is tangible from the get-go with Kratos notably minute in comparison to almost everything and everyone around him.
With such a tiny anti-hero in comparison to your surroundings, the sense of power you wield is emphasised magnificently. As you smash through the arm of a Titan or knock Helios, the god of the sun, off his chariot of fire, you really feel powerful. Later enemies, such as a massive three headed dog, take a helluva beating before they will go down, but the implementation of varying stages of damage means there is still a definite feeling of progression. This is a breath of fresh air in a genre that has you pounding an enemy seemingly endlessly without any feeling of the end of the battle drawing near.
The Titan in the background has a fiery temperament... get it? Fiery!
One thing that grates somewhat is the difficulty spike towards the end of the game. After finishing the game it’s clear that this final iteration is far shorter than GoW II. The sudden ramping up of the difficulty seems somewhat incongruous with the attention to effective gameplay the developers show throughout the rest of the game. With less actual game this time around, it feels a little like SCE Studios have made it more difficult to finish the game in an attempt to produce some illusion of a lengthy title.
If you haven’t played a GoW game before, I’ll point one thing out that you may not have realised. Kratos is a real dick; even serial killers and hardened criminals will find it difficult to relate to his diluted motivations. Any admiration for the character from the first game has been systematically destroyed in newer incarnations, and GoW III continues this trend in fine form. The original title gave him motivation through Aries’ trickery. Kratos duly swears vengeance and so the journey to kill the god of War begins.
His angry face hides the inner kitten inside...
I’m conscious of not spoiling anything here, so if you’re even considering playing GoW III, I strongly suggest you play through the previous titles first. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t fully played through either GoW or GoW II before picking this up, and I felt the poorer for it. Whilst a Youtube video filled in the plot holes, I felt as if I had missed out on quite a few nuances of the previous titles.
Stabbing you in the gut is his way of saying hello
The narrative in this game takes the loosely overarching GoW story and follows it through in a mostly satisfying fashion. I say mostly satisfying because the ending can be seen as a little bit of a disappointment. Depending on your perspective, either Kratos becomes so consumed by his need for vengeance that the reasons for achieving said vengeance are all but forgotten. On the other hand, you can argue that the developers have sacrificed the building trail of destruction on the road to vengeance for a simple plot device.
In any case, the ending of the game is far too drawn out and jars uncomfortably with the rest of the series. The rip-roaring, bloody romp through Ancient Greek locales turns into something overly sentimental and, in truth, utterly disappointing. Then again, narrative finesse hasn’t really been a hallmark of the GoW series.
You'll fight beasts from well known myths once again
In terms of gameplay, GoW III does little to differentiate itself from its older siblings. You have the standard weak attack, strong attack, grab and jump at your disposal using the main face buttons. The rest of the buttons are reserved for special moves, switching weapons using inventory items. Whilst there is a certain feeling of the controls being honed throughout the series, the dodge mechanic still feels somewhat broken.
By flicking the right analogue stick Kratos flips out the way of oncoming attacks. However problems arise when there are multiple enemies, as flicking the right stick frequently causes Kratos to roll right into another attack. Ultimately, dodging proves far too difficult to control when compared to other games in the genre, such as Bayonetta.
Perhaps the biggest way in which the gameplay falls down is within certain awkwardly placed sections that draw you out of the experience. One major example is a puzzle that acts as a kind of rhythm-based mini-game in order to open the way to the next room. The ordinarily keen eye for Greek detail seems dashed when entering a room with giant playstation controller symbols on an oversized harp. Minor gripes such as this culminate into a fairly major weakness in the overall experience.
Review Round-Up
Graphics: 5/5 This is one of the finest examples of the PS3’s prowess currently available. If you want to show off what your console can do, this is the game to do it. The sense of scale is incredible, despite it trailing off towards the end a little.
Sound: 4/5 Slashing through the various enemies sounds satisfying and each weapon has a pleasingly different sound. Kratos is as angry as ever, shouting at anyone in earshot even when they’re trying to help. Some of the other voice acting can be a little wobbly at times though.
Story: 2/5 The advertising boasts that “the epic story concludes” are laughable. For a series based around gameplay, this seems a strange boast to make. Kratos is angry. He gets angrier as the game goes on. That’s all you need to know.
Gameplay: 4/5 Solid enough, but there really isn’t anything new here.
Longevity: 3/5 Listen up SCE; difficulty spikes do not equal longevity. The story will take around 10 hours to complete on standard difficulty. Cut this down by two if you are especially accomplished at GoW games.
Overall: 4 Crushed skulls out of 5. This is a great game, and draws so close to genuine brilliance. The lacklustre narrative and almost criminal difficulty spikes damage the overall score.
God of War III is available now from all good game retailers and our very own Amazon shop.
[starreview tpl=16]
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Want this game so bad…but only after I finish number 2!
I could ‘ave ‘im.
Bloody awesome and humorous review man
Great articles & Nice a site?