The English language has served me well throughout my life. In near every situation, I've been able to find just the right terminology to get my point across. However, I feel a new term is needed to describe God of War 3. Words like brutal, visceral, and sadistic don't even come close for the most violent game in the series. I humbly suggest (wait for it) Kratostrophic. Whether your gutting a Centaur or tearing off Helios' head with your bare hands, you'll be squirming in your chair with one eye open. The sex mini game is the most explicit of the series and finds Kratos enjoying Aphrodite's company while her half-naked followers look on with delight. This is not a game for minors in any way, shape or form. If you have kids or younger siblings, tuck them in before popping this one in.
Kratos' total disregard for anyone but himself has always made him a difficult character to relate to. He's not so much a bad ass as he is an asshole. It's a credit to the game's writers for being able to make you care about what's happening on screen. As inhuman as Kratos may seem, his tragic past offers a plausible albeit irrational motivation for his rampage against the Gods. You are supposed to feel that Kratos is going too far, and you certainly will by the time you've completed your journey. The ending is controversial to say the least and may leave a bitter taste in the mouths of some of the most hardcore fans.
The action and set pieces vary at a pace that keeps the game exciting and fresh. In a game that spans about 10 hours, I never found myself bored with what the game was throwing at me. Each boss battle is completely unique and offers something new. You'll acquire a majority of your in-game items and weapons by defeating the Gods and their kin. Combat is very deep featuring four melee weapons, magic attacks and special items. As seen in previous installments, you feed red orbs into your weapons to level them and gain new attacks and abilities. The special items like Apollo's bow and Hermes' boots will recharge after a short rest. The key is experimenting to find what works best against the many types of enemies you'll face. The difficulty is consistent on normal and will offer a challenge with the occasional bout of frustration. There is one mini boss in particular that had me red faced for nearly an hour. The puzzles are mild brain teasers that are easily solvable with a bit of trial and error. The only part of the game I downright despise is the wind tunnel flying sequence featured in the demo. It's long and feels cheap since misjudging a single opening can lead to an unavoidable series of collisions. Also, as breathtaking as the visuals may be, some environments and character models will occasionally appear crisper and more detailed than others. The slight unevenness doesn't take much away from the experience and even at it's worst, God of War 3 looks better than any of its contemporaries.
If you can stomach the violence and gratuitous nudity you'll be rewarded with one of the very best experiences in gaming. The story is powerful and easy to follow. The visuals are gorgeous and the production values are incredibly high. There are several items to unlock, and a second play-through is well worth it if just to enjoy some of the more unforgettable moments all over again. God of War 3 is a must-own exclusive for the Playstation 3. Feel free to leave a comment and let us know how you feel about Kratos' latest adventure.Rating 9.5 out of 10
I thoroughly enjoyed this game.
ReplyDeleteBah!! 9.5!?! never! 9.0 TOPS on this one...I have to disagree with some points. After beating the game three times I can say the graphics do fall short often in some of the character models and environments, the gameplay has barely changed since the first game which is not necessarily bad, but certainly could have been changed/improved. I still think Uncharted 2 had better graphics. Perhaps nothing was as good as Kratos' character model, but as a complete game, Uncharted 2 destroyed GOW3 in the graphics dept.
ReplyDeleteGod Mode was the easiest of the 3 but probly the worst of the 3. GOW3 has the same annoying broken aspects to its controls as the first two did, and it suffers greatly on God Mode.
The story was decent, but just barely.
Moments like the Cronos fight, Hades and the opening Poseidon fight are enough to warrant this game a high score...but as a whole package it falls short in so many places I could be rash enough to give it an 8.5!
I felt that most of the problems with the game were minor annoyances at best. The wind tunnel was the only really aggrivating part. God of War 3 did what few games can, it kept me interested all the way through. It was never a chore to play. To me, that's what game design is all about. It's not perfect, but it's damn close. I do agree that Uncharted 2 is beautiful. It's one of my all time favorite games. I felt that when God of War 3 graphics shine they are unmatched, however Uncharted 2 is very strong visually the entire time.
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