God of War III (PS3) Review - PAGE 1

I have always enjoyed Greek Mythology. One of my all time favorite movies is Clash of the Titans. So imagine my surprise in 2005 when reading about an upcoming game called God of War, which was heavily influenced by the same movie. It seemed like a risky buy at the time, because so many games got the mythological vibe wrong for me. I decided to go ahead and pick up a copy anyway. After playing it through once, I loaned it to my brother who immediately took to it as well. We became fans for life.

While I moved onto the latest generation of PlayStation hardware, my brother decided he wasn't going to make the leap. The cost was just too much for him to bear. It was understandable considering the cost of the system at the time of launch. When I spoke to him this weekend and he asked what games I had on deck, I was quick to brag about my latest review copy: God of War III. 

After getting over his initial shock, he had me tell him what I thought of the game. When he heard my verdict he simply said, "Damn. I'm going to buy a PS3 this week." That my friends is the power of Kratos. Over the years Kratos has gathered enough fans that the God of War series now sells itself. 

After watching the excellent intro video recap the events of the prior games, you are quickly propelled into an onslaught against Mt. Olympus. The battles are intense, but what fuels that intensity is the sense of scale. This really becomes apparent as you ascend Mt. Olympus with the Titans along your side to challenge Zeus. It's at that point you start to realize that this game truly is the epic monster that Sony has been touting it to be. 

It didn't take long for me to wonder, "How many Gods will it take to quench my thirst?" While I immediately became hooked on God of War III, it wasn't until my battle with Hades that I realized it was a deeper addiction than I originally suspected. While I definitely enjoy ripping horns off of minotaurs and shoving them into their skull or slicing the stomach of a centaur open so his guts could flow freely onto the stone floor, absolutely nothing beats the battles with the Gods in this game. 

Kicking the bejesus out of Poseidon or Zeus is definitely satisfying, but it had to be the Helios battle that I enjoyed the most. In it the player gets to see a good portion of the battle from Helios' perspective. Besides being one of the most eerie things I've seen, it also makes you feel empowered. A God begs and pleads for your mercy. Of course he is given no leeway as you pummel him into submission. 

The graphics in this game are absolutely stunning. I didn't have a single skip; there was no pop-in or pop-out. I didn't suffer any collisions, or end up falling through floors and walls. This game has been polished, buffed out, and then polished again for good measure. Staring out across the God ravished lands in the game, it's not hard to imagine that this is the game that Sony has been waiting for to help push the PS3 to the top.

Every little detail in this game has been thought of as well. The environments are plush and moody, while the music adds to the tension. The realm of Hades stands out for me the most, mainly because you can literally see souls constantly falling from the sky. Their screams are haunting and truly make you feel as if you are in the depths of Hades. For a little kick you can kill the roaming rats for an extra red orb.

Claws, chains, and blades make up the majority of the weapons. But it's the lion shaped Cestus that has everyone's attention these days. While I found them to be very useful and powerful weapons, I was really into using the Claws of Hades to rip out their souls. No matter what your preference you can rapidly switch weapons mid battle to create devastating and lethal weapon combos. The silky smooth transition between weapons was a thing of beauty when whipping out combos in the hundreds.