Stabbing the Blade of Olympus firmly into the shoulder of Gaia—barely noticeable by the earthly titan—Kratos marks his territory and calls out to Zeus with an assured promise of destruction. Armed with a team of colossal creatures and driven by his quest for vengeance, Kratos and his giants shake the foundations of Mount Olympus as they ascend into Zeus’ domain. The war between Olympian and Titan begins anew, and you are in the middle, determining the outcome of this epic struggle. The camera slowly pans back to reveal Kratos in all his glory, allowing you control for the first time. Your jaw drops as you realize this momentous war of the Gods and Titans is happening in real-time, with a striking level of detail, scale and technical mastery. God of War III is polished to perfection, and is a showstopper for the PlayStation 3.
If you’ve no idea who the Ghost of Sparta is, the opening title sequence should get you up to speed. But know this – Kratos is no ordinary hero. He is ruthless, brutal, and has his mind fixated on revenge. He is after every God on Olympus this time around, and be damned the consequences of his actions. Kratos is often labelled one dimensional for this reason, and while that’s true to some extent (I mean, he’s mad and wants revenge) he is the underdog in the ultimate underdog story – Man vs Gods. He seeks the flame of Olympus—the only thing powerful enough to end Zeus—and although a somewhat contrived shift in personality happens in the later stages, the tale remains entertaining. Interesting characters such as the Smith God, Hephaestus, are all voiced perfectly and this is consistent throughout the God of War epic. You get caught up watching the Gods and Titans all bid for power, with Kratos being very much the catalyst for this Great War.
Kratos’ ruthless exterior isn’t just for show. His fearless battle stance extends to the gameplay as well. God of War III puts the power in your hands, and rarely do you play defensively. Much like the Spartan Warrior himself, you lead the charge against the Gods with combat animations and sliced heads demonstrating Kratos’ personality on every blow. Kratos doesn’t use his Blades of Exile to pull enemies towards him, he pulls himself towards his enemies. Kratos is never backed into a corner, forced to unleash his attacks like a frightened puppy, he’ll grab a nearby enemy and use them as a battering ram to force the fight forward instead. This gives you a feeling of overwhelming control on the battlefield, and everything is in sync between story and gameplay. A lot of games depict a masterfully skilled character only in its cutscenes, because performing those feats in gameplay would be too taxing. God of War III doesn’t rely on this, and every combat choice you make oozes with brutality and conviction.
Not to say the game lacks depth, though. God of War III appeals to the hardcore gamer with its small intricacies and wide variety of attacks, but Kratos’ standard move set will be familiar to anybody that played God of War II—or any modern hack and slash, for that matter. Using his chained blades and Golden Fleece; Kratos has heavy and light attacks, dodge rolls, double jumps, launchers, juggles, grabs, parries and more. But it’s not just the blades you get to play with this time.
Along the way, Kratos will gain access to new items and new weapons. You’ll be wielding four weapons in total by the game’s conclusion, and they all have a distinct feel to them. The most notable of these weapons is the Nemean Cestus – a pair of rock hard boxing gloves, artistically crafted to represent the Nemean Lion. Unlike the chains that we are all used to, the Cestus requires up close and personal brawling and is sometimes required of you to tackle certain shielded enemies. How you attain these weapons are adventures of their own, and the items are no different.
From the Bow of Apollo to the Head of Helios, you can only imagine how Kratos gets his hands on these new toys. Using them as trophies and sinister warnings to the God’s next in line, Kratos is able to seamlessly link weapons, items and magic, creating a wide array of battle techniques.
Of course, everything listed here can be upgraded, and this is a strong part of God of War III. These upgrades don’t just simply power up your weapons and/or magic, they open up new moves and combos as well. Kratos evolves over the roughly ten hour journey, making him even more powerful than when you started—Yes, that’s actually possible! In fact, even if the battle were to become too much for the ash covered warrior, you can initiate the Rage of Sparta, allowing you to slice and dice through enemies with the Blade of Olympus.
All of this variety transforms God of War III’s combat into a mini-playground of death. With so many moves at your disposal, you are able to choose the grim fate of your enemies in a capricious fashion. And their fates are grim, indeed. God of War III’s superb graphics dress every enemy in the game – including their insides. As you rapidly press circle to violently pull out the eye of a Cyclops, you’ll sense this isn’t your ordinary adventure game. If you can stomach it to look back, you’ll notice the optic nerve has snapped while Kratos bathes in the blood of his latest victim. Everything is modelled with an immense attention to detail, and this won’t be the last time you’re impressed/shocked with the game’s realistic gore. These breath taking visuals permeate the entire experience, with the life-like animations of the Chimera, and the visible movement of Kratos’ muscles as he pulls his enemies apart, all serving to make God of War III feel much more real. The blood looks deep, the lighting is phenomenal and the camera pushes elements into the back out of focus, capturing every detail in a movie-like fashion.
This level of cinematic fidelity causes the lesser portions of God of War III to become more apparent, though. It’s odd. For a game that has advanced so far in its gameplay and graphics, it falls back on a few video game tropes. Almost every puzzle room you enter begins with a fly-through-cam, giving you a guided tour of the level, littered with glittery levers and pushable blocks. Not only does this interrupt the flow and the pace of the game, it makes these segments feel very last-gen and harbours a level of inconsistency. One moment you’ll be riding a Cyclops, destroying every enemy in your path, all on the shoulder of an enormous titan; the next, you’ll be looking for highlighted levers and pushing colored buttons.
God of War III is a near perfect game. During the dodging gameplay that is the Icarus Ascent, and the exciting chase sequence that perfectly demonstrates the game’s excellent controls, you’ll forget all about the odd immersion breakers in God of War’s puzzles. The cinematic experience washes over any faults in God of War III like a wave born from Poseidon himself. This truly epic tale is a defining game of this console generation, and the astounding introduction will be like nothing you’ve ever seen before. God of War III was worth the wait, and every action fan owes it to themselves to experience it.