RareDropRadio
CAG Veteran
I know most here have probably already played God of War 3 but I figured I'd post my review anyway. Hope you enjoy!
TXT VERSION:
When the first God of War came out back in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 people went bananas! The combat was incredible, the graphics were outstanding, the music was epic and the game’s ultra-violence was something to behold. Combine that with perhaps the most badass video game character of all time and there was absolutely no doubt that Sony’s Santa Monica studio had a winner on its hands. The original story revolved around a Spartan named Kratos and his obsession to kill the God of war, Ares. As the first game progresses we find out that Ares tricked Kratos into killing his family. That sounds like a good reason for revenge if you ask me! After defeating and killing Ares, Kratos becomes the new God of War. However, the new God of War continues to be haunted by memories of the past and the other Gods feel that he has created too much bloodshed. In a double cross, Zeus takes Kratos powers, turns him back into a mortal, and kills him. On his way to Hades the mother of the Titans Gaia saves the fallen warrior with the hopes that he can help them take revenge upon the Gods. After many twists and turns we find that Kratos is actually the son of Zeus and as the kids say “it’s on like Donkey Kong!”
Though Kratos and Zeus did battle in the second God of War, the story left on a cliffhanger. So now in 2010 we finally have what is apparently Kratos’ final game and what is assumed to be the conclusion of the God of War series. Kratos vs. Zeus, Zeus vs. Kratos! Who will live! Who will die! But of course, it wouldn’t be any fun without an entire eight hour game to build to this titanic climax.
Without giving too much plot away, story-wise I felt that this was certainly the weakest God of War title. That’s not to say that there’s not some interesting stuff going on here but I felt that a majority of the major plotline was told in God of War 1 and 2. This isn’t such a bad thing though because players are familiar with the characters and Kratos motivation for revenge. God of War III does have a conclusion and it does tie up any loose ends but at least for me, it certainly didn’t have the impact of the first two games.
The sound is epic and will indeed having you feeling like you’re in ancient Greece doing battle. I suppose one could compare it to Lord of the Rings… except… more Greek! God of War has always been known for its terrific voice acting and there is no exception here. Kratos sounds like a complete badass and all the supporting cast sound as they should. There’s never a moment of shaking your head thinking “that sounded stupid or unnatural” unlike recent titles such as Heavy Rain.
The graphics in God of War III look terrific and will no doubt blow your socks off. You could complain about the fixed camera (which does cause some problems) but when looking at the overall scale; the size of the set pieces and the MASSIVE bosses one cannot help but drop their jaw in amazement. One battle in particular where Kratos fights a Titan is a battle that people are going to be talking about for YEARS to come. So, while it’s easy to overlook the fixed camera, I can’t help but wish they had given us the freedom to look around and do a bit more exploration. Still, there is no doubt that God of War III is amongst the elite when it comes to graphics, just under such titles as Uncharted 2.
I truly have mixed feelings when it comes to the gameplay in God of War III. On one hand, you have INCREDIBLE combat. Fighting hordes of enemies, whether they be small or gigantic, truly does make you feel like THE God of War. The variety of weapons and special abilities you have and the sheer depth (yet ease) of combat makes it what is in my opinion the best combat system in gaming today. That in itself is saying something because honestly, the combat hasn’t changed a ton since God of War 2. On the other hand though, you have a lot of platforming. This is where the game becomes downright FRUSTRATING! There are times when Kratos needs to spread his wings in order to glide from one area to another. But more often than not the controls simply DON’T respond to your command and you’ll find yourself dying over and over again because of this. This is an area that should have been tweaked going back as far as God of War 2 but for whatever reason it’s been left untouched and that’s probably the biggest problem in this game.
Like the previous Games, GoW3 has lots of puzzles, most of which are fun, a few of which you will rack your brain over (or just look up a guide… not that we’d ever have to do that here mind you!). I’ve always been amazed at the creativity of these puzzles and how everything in God of War somehow manages to interlock together. Unfortunately, I feel that some of the puzzles in this game were just put there to prolong the experience. One puzzle in the Upper Garden seemed almost as if you’d HAVE to be one of the game developers to figure know what to do. Maybe I just suck at puzzles but I don’t recall having this kind of trouble in God of War I or II.
While I feel that God of War 3 is the weakest game in the series from a creative and cinematic story-telling standpoint, I can say without hesitation that it is the best looking. If you enjoyed the first two games there’s no doubt you’re going to want to play this one, if nothing else, just to see the conclusion. It’s a really good game that has some quirks that feel left over from the PlayStation 2 days and a game that probably should have been out shortly after the PlayStation 3’s launch. In the end though, I feel I can only recommend that truly hardcore God of War fans buy this one. The rest should probably give it a rental first and then decide if they should shell out the big $60.00.
-Yuen Fei Lung 云飞轮 (the Blind-Ass-Gamer - RareDrop.com)
TXT VERSION:
When the first God of War came out back in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 people went bananas! The combat was incredible, the graphics were outstanding, the music was epic and the game’s ultra-violence was something to behold. Combine that with perhaps the most badass video game character of all time and there was absolutely no doubt that Sony’s Santa Monica studio had a winner on its hands. The original story revolved around a Spartan named Kratos and his obsession to kill the God of war, Ares. As the first game progresses we find out that Ares tricked Kratos into killing his family. That sounds like a good reason for revenge if you ask me! After defeating and killing Ares, Kratos becomes the new God of War. However, the new God of War continues to be haunted by memories of the past and the other Gods feel that he has created too much bloodshed. In a double cross, Zeus takes Kratos powers, turns him back into a mortal, and kills him. On his way to Hades the mother of the Titans Gaia saves the fallen warrior with the hopes that he can help them take revenge upon the Gods. After many twists and turns we find that Kratos is actually the son of Zeus and as the kids say “it’s on like Donkey Kong!”
Though Kratos and Zeus did battle in the second God of War, the story left on a cliffhanger. So now in 2010 we finally have what is apparently Kratos’ final game and what is assumed to be the conclusion of the God of War series. Kratos vs. Zeus, Zeus vs. Kratos! Who will live! Who will die! But of course, it wouldn’t be any fun without an entire eight hour game to build to this titanic climax.
Without giving too much plot away, story-wise I felt that this was certainly the weakest God of War title. That’s not to say that there’s not some interesting stuff going on here but I felt that a majority of the major plotline was told in God of War 1 and 2. This isn’t such a bad thing though because players are familiar with the characters and Kratos motivation for revenge. God of War III does have a conclusion and it does tie up any loose ends but at least for me, it certainly didn’t have the impact of the first two games.
The sound is epic and will indeed having you feeling like you’re in ancient Greece doing battle. I suppose one could compare it to Lord of the Rings… except… more Greek! God of War has always been known for its terrific voice acting and there is no exception here. Kratos sounds like a complete badass and all the supporting cast sound as they should. There’s never a moment of shaking your head thinking “that sounded stupid or unnatural” unlike recent titles such as Heavy Rain.
The graphics in God of War III look terrific and will no doubt blow your socks off. You could complain about the fixed camera (which does cause some problems) but when looking at the overall scale; the size of the set pieces and the MASSIVE bosses one cannot help but drop their jaw in amazement. One battle in particular where Kratos fights a Titan is a battle that people are going to be talking about for YEARS to come. So, while it’s easy to overlook the fixed camera, I can’t help but wish they had given us the freedom to look around and do a bit more exploration. Still, there is no doubt that God of War III is amongst the elite when it comes to graphics, just under such titles as Uncharted 2.
I truly have mixed feelings when it comes to the gameplay in God of War III. On one hand, you have INCREDIBLE combat. Fighting hordes of enemies, whether they be small or gigantic, truly does make you feel like THE God of War. The variety of weapons and special abilities you have and the sheer depth (yet ease) of combat makes it what is in my opinion the best combat system in gaming today. That in itself is saying something because honestly, the combat hasn’t changed a ton since God of War 2. On the other hand though, you have a lot of platforming. This is where the game becomes downright FRUSTRATING! There are times when Kratos needs to spread his wings in order to glide from one area to another. But more often than not the controls simply DON’T respond to your command and you’ll find yourself dying over and over again because of this. This is an area that should have been tweaked going back as far as God of War 2 but for whatever reason it’s been left untouched and that’s probably the biggest problem in this game.
Like the previous Games, GoW3 has lots of puzzles, most of which are fun, a few of which you will rack your brain over (or just look up a guide… not that we’d ever have to do that here mind you!). I’ve always been amazed at the creativity of these puzzles and how everything in God of War somehow manages to interlock together. Unfortunately, I feel that some of the puzzles in this game were just put there to prolong the experience. One puzzle in the Upper Garden seemed almost as if you’d HAVE to be one of the game developers to figure know what to do. Maybe I just suck at puzzles but I don’t recall having this kind of trouble in God of War I or II.
While I feel that God of War 3 is the weakest game in the series from a creative and cinematic story-telling standpoint, I can say without hesitation that it is the best looking. If you enjoyed the first two games there’s no doubt you’re going to want to play this one, if nothing else, just to see the conclusion. It’s a really good game that has some quirks that feel left over from the PlayStation 2 days and a game that probably should have been out shortly after the PlayStation 3’s launch. In the end though, I feel I can only recommend that truly hardcore God of War fans buy this one. The rest should probably give it a rental first and then decide if they should shell out the big $60.00.
-Yuen Fei Lung 云飞轮 (the Blind-Ass-Gamer - RareDrop.com)