God of War 3 - The Review

God Of War 3
Released - 3/16/2010
Developer - Santa Monica Studio
Publisher - SCE
Platform - Playstation 3
ESRB Rating - M+


Review by - Mike (Game Zombie)

The brilliant minds behind the God of War series already created two masterpieces in the first two God of War games. Their last entry in this trilogy has garnered both critical and consumer praise as one of the best games on PS3 to date. All of the good scores and acclaim are typically good indicators of the quality of a game, but the only opinion that ever matters is your own and the only way to find out is to pick up a copy and play it yourself. While all the hype and previews and such told my senses this game looked good I still was holding out for various reasons (primarily because I did not have a PS3) and I hadn't kept up with the development much. It wasn't until my wife surprised me with a PS3 last month that I found myself controlling Kratos again. Here is where my review starts....

The Good

God of War 3 is one of the best games I have ever played. The team at Santa Monica Studio has clearly perfected the formula and firmly placed Kratos and the God of War franchise in the top echelons of gamedom. To be clear, I am not discounting the two previous installations as anything less than masterful, but with such pedigree preceding this one it's not typical for developers to match such effort repeatedly or exceed it for that matter. Let me also say that fans of the series will certainly see similarities between all three titles and for some of us that lack of "change" will weigh heavily on your opinion of a sequel(s). That being said, I can honestly say that with this game the refinement of an already stellar gameplay formula and the details added to the combat, weapons, and level design was more than what was needed. For all intents and purposes Sony could have have just taken GOW2 slapped a new label on it and it would have sold many copies. Instead they took what wasn't broke and applied a level polish that has to be seen.

***Spoilers Ahead****

Ok so enough ranting. You want details right? At the beginning of GOW3 we pick up where we left off with Kratos hitching a ride on the back of the Titan Gaia as she scales the side of Mt. Olympus seeking the death of Zeus and the end of Olympian rule. In the first 30 minutes you will be in awe of the scale of your battlegrounds. Kratos fights off enemies while clinging to Gaia's arms and back. Even as Gaia loses her grip on the mountain Kratos uses his blades to hang upside down on her massive arm. In this first act you will go up against the God Poseidon whose mastery of the sea unleashes a gigantic water-horse-crab thing upon Gaia. She pleads for Kratos' help and the first boss battle ensues. As you chop away at Poseidon's attack you eventually reduce the battle to just him and Kratos. After beating back Poseidon's onslaught he is reduced to a battered human form and what follows sets the tone for the rest of the game's boss battles. He beats the god to a bloody pulp in a brutal manner. So brutal, I actually winced a few times.

While I am on the topic of brutality, God of War 3 personifies the term and takes it a step further. While progressing through the game you will fight boss battles with absolutely horrific endings for said bosses. For example, the sun-god Helios eventually crosses your path and Kratos is none too kind to his radiant cranium. During a circle-button mashing frenzy Kratos will rip Helios' head right off his body as he screams in shear agony. It's one of the sickest and coolest moments in gaming lore. The best part is that Helios' head still packs a bunch of sun shining power in it and being the resourceful spartan warrior that he is, Kratos artfully takes it with him on his journey. It proves useful for lighting his way in dark caves, blinding your enemies with a flash of light, and revealing hidden objects and doorways. Who knew!? Kratos is certainly a head of the game. Sorry I couldn't resist.

Bad-ass brutal boss battles (say 5 times fast) are a staple of the series as is the excellent combat system. The developers at Santa Monica Studio have refined the combat system to include some truly awesome and satisfying combos for Kratos to utilize. This can especially be seen with the new weapons Kratos acquires. In the previous titles Kratos could switch weapons and magic with the d-pad and ONLY the d-pad. Now the system allows for switching weapons on the fly via the L1+X button combo. Using this new feature Kratos will automatically cycle through his new weapons and can unleash devastating combos. What's more is that how you use magic in the game is much simpler and fits this same flow. Each weapon has an associated powerful magic ability and as you switch weapons on the fly you also switch to the corresponding magic. The system works so well that at certain points in the game I was pulling off 170 hit combos on multiple enemies! Insane fun! All of the weapons in God of War 3 can be upgraded as you go and each upgrade will unlock increased damage and new moves. By the end of the game, you can absolutely wreck shop on most enemies. The last weapon you receive in the game is by far my favorite and the most powerful. I won't spoil it for you, but it makes all the difference later in the game when fighting hordes of enemies. The developers did a fairly good job of making use of the unique abilities by making some levels and enemy types require them. For instance, Kratos acquires The Cestus, which is a pair of evil looking gauntlets that can break bones, bash heads in, and break certain objects. Some enemies will have blue shields that can only be broken by the Cestus gauntlets, and some levels require them in order to proceed. Hell towards the end of the game I was still using Helios' decapitated head for revealing enemies. It all helps to change up the action and add some strategy to the combat.

Let's switch gears for second and talk about the level design. In short, I thought every level was a challenge on normal difficulty and well laid out. While not particularly known for its platforming per se, God of War has got a few areas where platforming comes in and puzzles give us a change of pace from the mostly battle heavy journey. One thing is certain, the graphics are a jaw-dropping 10 with Kratos taking center stage along with the gods and titans. Astounding to say the least. Most likely the best graphics on PS3 to date. Another thing to mention is the excellent camera work. Not one time did I notice a hitch in frame rate either. At one point in the game I actually sat and marveled at the epic scale and graphic spectacle that was the titan Kronos.

Before I conclude my review, I would be crazy for not mentioning Kratos's encounter with the goddess of love Aphrodite. Needless to say the topless Aphrodite is a hungry woman with no couth. Upon sight of Kratos she literally throws herself at him. This is where the obligatory sex mini-game comes in. The whole scene is very well played up with Aphrodite moaning and groaning while you push the right button (no pun intended) as her well-endowed (also topless) hand maidens watch and comment on your virtual prowess. On top of that you eventually learn that all the while her husband is essentially next door. Not like he could have done anything about it anyway. How many times will you shag the goddess of love? It's up to you. I wanted to be thorough for this review, but I lost count. I can tell you that you are basically wasting your time if do it more than twice. That's all I'm saying about that.

The bad

Is there anything bad? No. Nothing major. Two minor things that are hardly worth mentioning are: 1) You will die. Alot. Majority of the time its your own fault. But some of the deaths are cheap, but that's because timing can kill. Although some have complained about button response during jumps. Be prepared to fight the same battle more than few times. 2) The other small complaint is how easy the puzzles are. GOW never had head-banging puzzles in it, but if its in there, make it something worthy of the rest of the game right?

Conclusion - 9.8

So does Kratos get his revenge and kill his father Zeus the King of the Gods? That should go without saying. While not a mind-shattering ending, it was certainly an enjoyable and satisfying one. There isn't a whole lot of replay value besides maybe going through and using certain items you found after you beat the game or going for trophies (achievements). Nevertheless this is one kick-ass ride you shouldn't miss. God of War 3 is the pinnacle of a series that is awash in praise. This is as good as it gets.

Zombie News 11th Edition

The picture to the left is priceless and true milestone in zombie gaming. I am of course talking about Deadrising for the Xbox 360. This sleeper hit was one of the very first games I bought for my 360. Deadrising featured the slow shambling zombie instead of the psycho fast ones in Left 4 Dead or the movie 28 Days Later. The scene depicted to the left, while being very ominous looking, was escapable believe it or not. What isn't escapable is the release of Splinter Cell: Conviction on Tuesday 4/13. Oh yeah. What also isn't escapable, is my review of God of War III. I am nearing the end and with a few more hours of play time I will be ready to share it with you. On to the news!

Game News

Just Cause 2 is a great game for destruction. Now you can destroy things in a Ice-Cream Van. Free.
Gamespot gets hands-on with Red Dead Redemption Multiplayer. After I wear my eyeballs out playing SCC, this game is next.
Gears of War 3 announced. IGN has the scoop. You can blame Justin Bieber.
Madden 11 Screens at Gamespot. Seriously, what could be different from Madden 10?
Grab Mass Effect 2 DLC "Kasumi's Stolen Memory" here.
Dtoid reports Alan Wake coming to Europe sooner than US. May 14th mate.
Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Pack hitting PS3 and PC May 4th.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior Debut Trailer. Not Bad!





Reviews

Mass Effect 2 - Kasumi's Stolen Memory DLC
Mega Man 10 for Ps3

Cool Stuff

Japanese company called Hori makes portable HD screen for PS3. Dtoid reporting.









Other News

Apple iPhone OS 4.0 will have Game Center. A social networking platform for the iPhone/iPad that will have achievements, leaderboards, and matchmaking. Look out Nintendo and Sony.

Closing Chomp

I am really excited about the new iPhone OS. Gizmodo and Engadget have some great in-depth previews of what the new OS will entail. This next week of blogging should get pretty exciting as I should have a review for God of War 3 up and a first-impressions of Splinter Cell. It's gonna be fun! Game Zombie reader Mark should is still plodding through Final Fantasy XIII and that game is like 3 discs or something. Insane. I don't have the patience and at this rate, the review might come in sometime later this year! Well until next time. Later Zombies!!

God of War III - Destructoid Says "You are not Ready."

Chad over at Destructoid wrote a up a great preview of God of War III due to hit store shelves on March 16th. He played the first 30 minutes of the final build. If you played the first two God of War games do yourself a favor and read his write up. Hell, if you have the gaul to call yourself a gamer, read this write up. My eyes got glossy when I was done reading. Why? Because I don't have a PS3...*snif*

-Source (Destructoid)
Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to Sony’s God of War III event here in Hollywood. At the event, under the light of those cool fake torches that blow around paper to look like fire, various members of the development team showed off the first 30 minutes of the upcoming PlayStation 3 title, in addition to answering some questions about the highly (highly!) anticipated game.

After a presentation from Game Director Stig Asmussen projecting some game footage on a huge screen, all the members of the press were led into a huge room full of stations where we could actually play the final build of God of War III. Well, the first 30 minutes of the final build, anyway.

And I am here to tell you that the first 30 minutes of God of War III is the best first 30 minutes of any videogame I have ever played.

You really are not ready for this game. Seriously.

I am on such a high from the extraordinary experience of playing God of War III, that I am ready to take you through a detailed walkthrough of every visceral, out of control second of the awesome opening. Hit the jump for more hyperbole than you can handle.

After hitting start on the now-classic, half-of-Kratos’s head title screen, God of War III starts, literally, exactly where God of War II left off. With the goal of attacking Mt. Olympus and the gods themselves, Kratos finds himself on the back of Gaia, as her and her fellow titans are scaling the side of a massive cliff.

In a gorgeous cutscene that is rendered in real-time (you are not ready!), Zeus and a few select gods (boss battles later in the game, perhaps?) stand at the edge of the grand temple and observe the titans climbing Mt. Olympus.

Immediately, Zeus orders some of his guards to jump from the temple onto the back of the titans in hope of stalling their progress.

At this point the playable game begins.

The camera swoops down from the heavens onto the moving, stone- and tree-covered arm of Gaia. On it, Kratos is perched, massive sword in hand, ready to do battle.

For fans of the series, the immediate good news is that God of War III on the PlayStation 3 controls and feels exactly like the God of War games of the past. And that is most definitely a good thing. Without any hesitation I was performing killer combos on the hordes of guards, blood and experience orbs flying everywhere.

While the initial tutorial battle with a handful of guards commences, the action happening on-screen all around Kratos is out of control. Since you are on the back of a huge, moving titan, the ground under Kratos is constantly moving. In the background, all of Gaia’s body realistically sways just out of focus. Even cooler, the other titans scattered around the cliffs can be seen ascending the mountain. Really, there is so much visual eye candy to stare at it is almost too much to handle.


After defeating all the guards, Kratos moves forward by raising a tree that has bent over Gaia’s arm, blocking his path.

At this point a new cutscene begins. Back in Zeus’s temple, the god Poseidon steps forward and dives off the top of the mountain. As he falls, he thrusts his entire body into a climbing titan, knocking him and Poseidon into the water below.

After a huge splash, the water turns into a giant whirlpool.

And then it happens.

From the whirlpool, a huge water snake with the head of a horse and crazy crab legs shoots from the water. The water snake grabs a hold of Gaia, pulling her down off the mountain. Gaia holds on, refusing to let go.

Immediately after grabbing Gaia, multiple water snakes emerge from the whirlpool, each one taking hold of a different titan.

Then the action switches back to Kratos and the player takes control again.

It’s hard to explain without seeing it in action, but you really have no idea how good the graphics are in this upcoming sequence. As Kratos moves around on Gaia’s arm, Poseidon’s water snakes are swirling around everywhere in the background. The camera spins around, showing all the attacking titans while Kratos battles multiple incoming enemies.

It is ridiculously epic.

As he moves forward, Gaia’s arm suddenly shifts and one of the water snakes jumps in front of Kratos, wrapping itself around Gaia’s arm.

Enter the first boss battle. Well, the first stage of the first boss battle (again, you are not ready).

At this point Kratos must attack the huge water snake, dodging attacks from both his horse head and crazy crab arms. Once his energy is depleted, something amazingly cool happens.

The water snake shifts and twists Gaia’s arm. With this, the entire screen spins around, throwing Kratos underneath Gaia’s arm. Hanging on for dear life, Kratos must now battle the coiled water snake while hanging from under Gaia’s constantly moving arm. It is OUT OF CONTROL COOL!

This dance continues in many different positions. As the arm spins around, Kratos finds himself alternating between standing straight, hanging below, and even clutching to the side of Gaia’s arm.

After a long battle, Kratos gets the water snake’s energy low enough to perform his legendary context-sensitive QTE finishing move. Here is a good time to mention an improvement that God of War III implements that helps things dramatically! In the two previous God of War games, QTE symbols would be in the middle of the screen, displaying whatever button needs to be quickly pressed on the PlayStation controller. It worked great, but sometimes the reaction time was so fast it was hard to hit the buttons fast enough.

In God of War III, the on-screen prompts actually appear in a section of the screen related to where the corresponding buttons are placed on the actual PlayStation controller. Meaning: the “circle” symbol will appear on the right side of the screen, the “X” on the bottom, the “square” on the left, and so on and so on. This sounds really minor, but it helps so much and allows you to not miss the incredible visuals by concentrating too hard on one area of the screen. It’s a brilliant (if subtle) improvement.

Once he finishes off the water snake, Kratos is thrown to the side of Mt. Olympus. What follows is a lengthy level, full of platforming, fighting, and puzzle-solving: all the classic elements of a great God of War game. The twist is, while traversing through the inner and outer workings of Mt. Olympus, Kratos has to deal with battling the many different water snakes at different points. The entire sequence is very similar to the opening Colossus of Rhodes battle in God of War II ... but much more visually stunning (you are not ready!).

After making it through the level (which includes a gorgeous sidetrack through Gaia’s heart), Kratos is confronted with fighting one final water snake.


But this is no ordinary water snake. As the snake coils around Gaia, trying its best to pull the stubborn, strong Gaia off the cliff, it reveals itself to be only a small piece of the main boss: the god Poseidon.

That’s right; all the water snakes are only the tentacles of Poseidon, who has grown enormous in size.

Kratos stands in front of Poseidon -- all in real-time and completely playable, mind you -- as the titans move all around him. Gaia struggles to stay on the cliff and screams in agony as the water tentacles start to rip her apart.

The battle with Poseidon begins and, I will tell right now, it is one of the most ridiculously over-the-top, awesomely designed boss battles I have ever played.

Basically, Kratos has to fight Poseidon on many different stages and levels. There are sections where he has to swing his sword and blades while dodging attacks; there are sections where Kratos has to jump around as Gaia moves and twists below him; there are even sections where Kratos swings all around Poseidon with his grappling hook, flying through the sky like he has wings (it is unbelievably cool), all of this ending in a wildly satisfying finishing move.

But that is not the best of it. Right before I was asked to stop playing in fear of revealing too much, the coolest part of the opening sequence presented itself.

Once the giant Poseidon is defeated, he becomes small again and Kratos knocks him to his knees on the cliffs of Olympus. At this point, Kratos basically beats Poseidon to death using a series of QTE moves. But here is the kicker: all of this happens FROM POSEISON’S POV. The uncomfortably long beating sequence is shot entirely through the eyes of Poseidon. It is out of control. Like, seriously out of control.

And even though I have explained everything in detail, I will keep the very last QTE move you perform secret. You need to experience it yourself without it being spoiled to fully experience its impact. It is just as clever as it is shockingly violent.

So, yeah. That was it. After defeating Poseidon my play time came to an end and I walked away unbelievably impressed. The look on face for the entire 30 minutes was priceless. My mouth was hanging open the entire time. I think I even let out a few audible gasps and “woahs”.

At first glance, God of War III does nothing new. It really feels exactly like the other two games in the series. But the core mechanics in God of War are so great, changing too much would be a bad idea.

But that doesn’t mean everything is the same! Obviously, the game is a huge step up visually from the previous games, displaying the best graphics I have ever seen in a videogame -- yup, even better than Uncharted 2. And the few new mechanics I saw implemented in the first 30 minutes of the game are original enough to feel fresh, but not too different to feel awkward.

Basically, the first 30 minutes I played was perfect. Absolutely perfect. The graphics were jaw-dropping; the gameplay was solid and already addictive; and there were more “holy sh*t!” moments in the opening sequence than some games have in their entireties.

Obviously I recommend God of War III to anyone who owns a PlayStation 3. If you own a PS3, there is no excuse to not pick this up when it is released on March 16th. Heck, even if you don’t own a PS3, get the game anyway! I bet even holding the box would be a cool experience.

Even though I only got to play the first 30 minutes of the game, I can say with confidence that God of War III is going to offer an unforgettable experience -- easily one of the best this generation.

You are not ready.

That was just the first 30 minutes!!! Ahhhhh!!!

God of War III = The reason you buy a Playstation 3.

Every console has its exclusives. But as a former PlayStation2 owner there is one exclusive I miss the most, God of War. I switched to Xbox 360 because of Gears of War and the plain and simple fact that it came out before the PS3 did and at the time I saw no compelling reason to stick with the Sony brand. Now I am sulking a little with the release of God of War III about a month away. I played the first two and I liked them so much, I never parted with them when I traded my PS2 in. I still have them tucked away in a drawer. Here is the latest trailer for God of War III and you will see why I am so bummed.



Now I'm really sulking.