God of War III Novice Review

For my second review, I'm changing things up a bit and reviewing the popular action platformer God of War III. It seems as though I am always a little bit behind the times on these title releases, but then again I'm not trying to be the first one to review the game. I purchased God of War III (GOW3) on 3/30/10, and I finally laid the fury of Kratos to rest last night (4/4/10). I have played all 3 installments of the series, but I think I only finished the second and third installments which is something. So, with this in mind, let's get into the meat of the review. Kratos, our leading man, has been hacking and slashing his way through the chronicles of Greek mythology since his debut in 2005 with the original God of War installment. His exploits are well known as one of the bloodiest and most brutal characters in recent videogame history, but how do his adventures stack up against the innovative gameplay tactics of other next generation console heroes? Let's look at the elements.



Story

GOW3 picks up immediately where GOW2 left off with Kratos leading the titans toward the peak of Mount Olympus to bring an end to the reign of the Olympian pantheon. As the franchise has established, Kratos is out to satisfy his vengeance against the deceitful Greek gods. That pretty much sums up this character's motivations. Kratos has always been a pretty one-sided character, and his legend is one that is based purely on brutality. Throughout the game it seems a bit difficult to feel any sort of positive emotion for this antihero. There are some scenes during the last part of the game that seem to attempt to create some redemptive qualities about the character, but it is clear that Kratos is basically a brute.

If you are looking for much more than a human food processor with a wicked tongue in Kratos, you will be most disappointed. The events in GOW 3 seem to follow the continuing storyline of the Ghost of Sparta very well, and there weren't any glaring deviations from the basic story telling formula. However, the narrator that we came to know during the first two games in this trilogy was absent after the first twenty minutes of the game. I can't say that I really missed her that much, and it seemed to add to the effect that you were playing through the "now" of Kratos' adventures. Several characters made an appearance in this game, in fact there were more characters in this installment than any I can recall in the other two games. Kratos also gets a chance to, ahem, "know" almost every character he comes across. This game really sets out to destroy almost all of the pantheon as we know it, and Kratos accomplishes this with deadly precision.

That being said, the scale of this game is enormous along with the enemies you will face. There wasn't a single environment that left me wanting. The story wrapped up in just over 6 hours in my first play through, and that DID leave me wanting just a bit. The ending is a bit abrupt, but take my word and watch through the credits. If the Internet buzz is accurate, this may be the last God of War title in the trilogy, but I don't think this will be the last we see of Kratos.

Presentation

GOW3 is an absolutely beautiful game by any standards. The amount of detail that has been put into this game really showcases the technology of the PS3 system. The game plays in crisp 1080p HD, and runs at a smooth 60 frames per second. I didn't notice a single moment in the game where there was any hitch in the frame rate or any lag in the action even when enemies filled the screen. I was really impressed with how metallic items were rendered in this game. When Kratos dons the Golden Fleece item, it really looks like you could reach into the game and touch the smooth armor. The lighting effects in this game really set the tone for Kratos' quest. There were environments that were cast in deep shadows that could only be penetrated by a special item that you acquire early in the game, but when this item is not lit, Kratos' weapons give off a deadly glow that illuminates only the character himself.

The real showcase in this title was the character modeling. The characters in this game were really gigantic, and I mean colossal for some. Kratos has always seemed large in these titles, but when he is scaling the titan Gaia, he looks no larger than a flea. The God of War series has always depicted a darker version of the mythological creatures and characters in Greek literature, and this installment is no exception. I think the God Hades in this game illustrates this perfectly. I don't think I would want to see him in a dark alley, or a lighted one for that matter.

My only complaints with this game's presentation involve the camera system. As in the other 2 installments of this trilogy, the player has no way to control the camera. As some of the game videos explain, the camera is controlled by the system to create drama, and to showcase the environments in a way that draw you into the story, but in some cases, it just doesn't work. There were times where the camera pulls out for a wide angle and Kratos keeps running out into the distance which looks great dramatically, but when you fall into a crevice and die because the camera angle didn't show the crevice existed, it quickly becomes frustrating. I didn't notice any situations where the camera interfered with the battle system in this game by not showing offscreen enemies, but some regular gameplay sequences were affected. Mostly this was noticed in the more remote shots where the camera distance seemed to flatten the environments out making it difficult to judge depth. These shortcomings weren't enough to ruin the entire experience, but there were cases where I died multiple times before figuring out how to better decipher the depth of the game. The brutality of this title was also ratcheted up quite a bit from the other titles due to the advancement in graphics technology. Most of the bloody action was commonplace in the video game market, but some of the Quick Time Cinematics displayed ultra carnage that would make a mortician cringe. Be forewarned, this title is for mature players only. Play after your little ones have gone to bed.

Control

There wasn't a whole lot of innovation in this title in regard to control. GOW3 pretty much stuck to the formula, and this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The tried and true button-mashing combo system remains, and the Quick Time event system keeps players on their toes for some cinematic brutality and battle ending chaos. Some new weapons were introduced in this game, and the developers incorporated the ability to switch weapons mid-combo which expands your options for destruction a bit more. However, I didn't feel there was enough innovation in this area to make this title stand out. Perhaps the Dualshock 3 controller could have been better used for some motion detection controls during puzzle solving sections. Some of the secondary items were interesting particularly the boots of Hermes that grant you short speed boosts and the ability to scale or run along some walls. However, the items were often under utilized in the environments. You could use secondary items in the environment well enough, but you don't get the feeling that you get from some other games that they could really open up new exploration options.

Part of the reason for this is that GOW3 is a very linear game that doesn't have a lot of backtracking opportunities. You revisit some environments, but many are either destroyed or blocked off so you cannot access them a second time. It would be nice to see a more Metroidesque experience where you could use newly acquired items to reach previously unreachable areas. These issues are small ones, but at the end of the game you may feel like saying "I wish I could have used the Hermes Dash move more often in the game". That being said, the control options that are available are carried out in smooth sync with Kratos' actions on screen. Each button press begins the appropriate action, and your success in the game directly depends on your ability to press buttons quickly and accurately during QTEs.


Final Impression

GOW3 was a tough game to put down, but it was ultimately just another chapter in the chronicle of Kratos. Despite the advancement in the game's visuals, and the awesome scale of Kratos' world there wasn't enough of an advancement in the nature of the title to say that it has changed the way that games will be developed in it's wake. There was really only one character in the game that I ended up liking and she wasn't around for very long. Through most of the game I felt like I even wanted to stop Kratos' path of destruction, but then what would be the point? In all reality, I feel like I expected more from a next-generation title than a prettier version of the same story and action. Of course, if the game had diverted too far from the original formula, it wouldn't have been GOW. With that said, I was pleased with the title, but not jumping off of my seat like I have with some title sequels (Jak and Daxter trilogy, Ninja Gaiden, etc.). Platforming titles are always plagued by boxed-in game play limitations, but GOW3 succeeded as a concluding chapter in the franchise. Would I call it epic or groundbreaking? No. Would I play another title featuring the angry and somewhat villainous antihero Kratos? Probably. This game holds some replay value, but will most likely collect a bit of dust before I play it again. I would give it an overall score of 7 out of 10. Good, but not great.