Crack some skulls in one of the most epically gory titles you'll play this year...
Released on: Playstation 3
It’ll come as absolutely no surprise to fans that the latest God of War is brilliantly, amazingly and jaw-droopingly remarkable; after all, this series is now a byword for mind-blowing visuals, solid combat and an almost exclusively epic ‘OMG’ factor that - even now - has so many helplessly
frothing at the mouth. But let’s not pretend that was ever in doubt; the real question is, can the Playstation 3’s version actually do any better?
The honest answer is yes. Just yes.
Stunning from the off with superb set-pieces that truly dazzle due to blinding imagination and bombastic creativity, Kratos’ latest romp definitely needs to be seen to be believed; from the undeniably epic opening of riding massive, ravenous Titans up towering Mount Olympus while fighting a writhing, snarling water monster to crushing single combat with the fiery god of the underworld himself, this game will take your breath away so often you’ll need an oxygen mask. Forget everything you thought you knew about this blockbuster; it takes spectacle to a whole new level.
This is partly thanks to it being one of the very best looking games of this generation; while your mind boggles at the sheer scale of everything, the HD glory will simply pop your eyeballs. Believe me, God of War 3 sets a new bar for what the PS3 can do, proving to be every bit as technically and imaginatively jaw-dropping as the originals were back in the day. Thunder and rain crash and sparkle as they caress the ocean, fire and shadow lick across rock, flesh, glittering scales and rippling fur in the most magnificent fashion and you can actually see individual pores on Kratos’ often blood-stained body if you look hard enough… in short, it’s plain ridiculous.
Then you get into the combat.
Effortlessly brilliant and wonderfully grisly (believe me, those with weak stomachs need not apply), this is hack-and-slashing at it’s best; easy to grasp and amazingly compelling, God of War 3 feels solid and handles better, flowing and delivering a world more than any previous attempt. Despite being laden down with the usual and rather predictable light, heavy and grappling attacks that we’ve seen countless times in the past, it has never been so seamlessly tight and incredibly satisfying; never before will you have felt like such a… well, such a badass, either. With countless combos to learn, an updated quick-time system to enjoy and a huge plethora of new weapons and gadgetry to snag (each bringing specific strengths and weaknesses to the table and thus sprinkling a much-welcome dash of tactics to a bull-in-a-china-shop approach), there’s plenty here to tempt you back to Sparta, never mind the huge array of wonderfully varied foes pitted against you, bosses that give a whole new meaning to ‘awesome’ and a set of brilliantly inventive combat challenges you’ll unlock after completing the main game. Team that with a triumphant return of flawlessly timed (if somewhat simple) puzzles and mild acrobatics - giving you a welcome chance to stretch your legs during this bloody adventure - and you have a serious remedy for some damn good fun here.
However - and I wish I didn’t have to say this - it’s hard to shake the feeling that we’ve seen it all before.
You see, although it’s one of the most visually arresting and engaging titles to come out of Sonyland for quite some time, long standing Spartans will know every trick in the book by now; in fact, God of War 3 doesn’t really stray from the beaten track at all, and to be perfectly honest, it feels more or less like a carbon copy of it’s predecessors. While that’s certainly no bad thing at face value, it’s beginning to look like an awfully tired cliché beneath the surface.
Naturally I’m aware that this was meant as a ‘coming home’ swan-song for Kratos and his fans, but instead of being nostalgic, it merely comes over as a lazy; yes, of course it would have been a stupid mistake to change a winning formula at this stage, but why not add a few spokes to the wheel? It’s perfectly understandable to want to avoid upsetting the boat, but if you’ve followed Kratos from the beginning then you may be getting a bit weary of him and his unflappable temper at this point.
And my, what a temper - God of War has always had some rather alarmingly bad taste, but the latest really goes for the jugular. First off the mark, unnecessarily gory kills win the day; while guiltily hilarious, they would have the Daily Mail and Hilary Clinton up in arms for weeks to come and are enough to make any self-respecting gamer with half a conscience feel a little rueful. Next, some rather dubious stereotypes do their best to make a mockery of political correctness; scenes with Aphrodite and her servant girls, for example (and I’m sure you can tell where this is going) are nigh on the most sexist things I’ve ever seen in a game to date. Then there’s the rather avoidable murder of a topless, busty sex slave to top it off; not only was this suspiciously avoidable (Sony presumably wanted to keep some bare, bouncy beach-ball breasts on screen as long as possible), you will then receive a Trophy reading “I didn’t do it… but I wish I did!” as a result. I’m sorry, but a rape joke? It’s plain insulting. This cantankerous attitude sours a title that is almost undoubtedly in the running for some serious BAFTAs at the end of the year, and is strangely at odds with a phenomenally characterful - and not to mention thoughtful - game.
Nevertheless, I am immensely glad to see the return of some old favourites for the last of the trilogy; tip-top voice acting featuring the likes of Rip Torn and Malcolm McDowell, an amazing orchestral score and a surprisingly poignant story - for a hack-n-slash, at least - that could have been ripped straight from the annals of ancient Greece… these and more make this title positively worth it’s weight in Midas’ gold, so, despite the aforementioned flaws, I’d still say that God of War 3 ticks all of the boxes and gives you a great time to boot, giving you more than enough bang for your buck.
The Bottom Line
Santa Monica have polished everything that was great about the series until it gleams like a diamond, and although this hand-me-down approach can be a bit much at times, it makes for a real roller coaster ride that’s going to take some time to top. A triumphant - if formulaic, familiar and occasionally brash - finish to a classic collection, this is a real example of what your PS3 is capable of. If you’ve been waiting to be convinced by Sony’s console, then this is the title that will do it.
Rating: 88%
(Brilliant)
Released on: Playstation 3
It’ll come as absolutely no surprise to fans that the latest God of War is brilliantly, amazingly and jaw-droopingly remarkable; after all, this series is now a byword for mind-blowing visuals, solid combat and an almost exclusively epic ‘OMG’ factor that - even now - has so many helplessly
frothing at the mouth. But let’s not pretend that was ever in doubt; the real question is, can the Playstation 3’s version actually do any better?The honest answer is yes. Just yes.
Stunning from the off with superb set-pieces that truly dazzle due to blinding imagination and bombastic creativity, Kratos’ latest romp definitely needs to be seen to be believed; from the undeniably epic opening of riding massive, ravenous Titans up towering Mount Olympus while fighting a writhing, snarling water monster to crushing single combat with the fiery god of the underworld himself, this game will take your breath away so often you’ll need an oxygen mask. Forget everything you thought you knew about this blockbuster; it takes spectacle to a whole new level.
This is partly thanks to it being one of the very best looking games of this generation; while your mind boggles at the sheer scale of everything, the HD glory will simply pop your eyeballs. Believe me, God of War 3 sets a new bar for what the PS3 can do, proving to be every bit as technically and imaginatively jaw-dropping as the originals were back in the day. Thunder and rain crash and sparkle as they caress the ocean, fire and shadow lick across rock, flesh, glittering scales and rippling fur in the most magnificent fashion and you can actually see individual pores on Kratos’ often blood-stained body if you look hard enough… in short, it’s plain ridiculous.
Then you get into the combat.
Effortlessly brilliant and wonderfully grisly (believe me, those with weak stomachs need not apply), this is hack-and-slashing at it’s best; easy to grasp and amazingly compelling, God of War 3 feels solid and handles better, flowing and delivering a world more than any previous attempt. Despite being laden down with the usual and rather predictable light, heavy and grappling attacks that we’ve seen countless times in the past, it has never been so seamlessly tight and incredibly satisfying; never before will you have felt like such a… well, such a badass, either. With countless combos to learn, an updated quick-time system to enjoy and a huge plethora of new weapons and gadgetry to snag (each bringing specific strengths and weaknesses to the table and thus sprinkling a much-welcome dash of tactics to a bull-in-a-china-shop approach), there’s plenty here to tempt you back to Sparta, never mind the huge array of wonderfully varied foes pitted against you, bosses that give a whole new meaning to ‘awesome’ and a set of brilliantly inventive combat challenges you’ll unlock after completing the main game. Team that with a triumphant return of flawlessly timed (if somewhat simple) puzzles and mild acrobatics - giving you a welcome chance to stretch your legs during this bloody adventure - and you have a serious remedy for some damn good fun here.
However - and I wish I didn’t have to say this - it’s hard to shake the feeling that we’ve seen it all before.
You see, although it’s one of the most visually arresting and engaging titles to come out of Sonyland for quite some time, long standing Spartans will know every trick in the book by now; in fact, God of War 3 doesn’t really stray from the beaten track at all, and to be perfectly honest, it feels more or less like a carbon copy of it’s predecessors. While that’s certainly no bad thing at face value, it’s beginning to look like an awfully tired cliché beneath the surface.
Naturally I’m aware that this was meant as a ‘coming home’ swan-song for Kratos and his fans, but instead of being nostalgic, it merely comes over as a lazy; yes, of course it would have been a stupid mistake to change a winning formula at this stage, but why not add a few spokes to the wheel? It’s perfectly understandable to want to avoid upsetting the boat, but if you’ve followed Kratos from the beginning then you may be getting a bit weary of him and his unflappable temper at this point.
And my, what a temper - God of War has always had some rather alarmingly bad taste, but the latest really goes for the jugular. First off the mark, unnecessarily gory kills win the day; while guiltily hilarious, they would have the Daily Mail and Hilary Clinton up in arms for weeks to come and are enough to make any self-respecting gamer with half a conscience feel a little rueful. Next, some rather dubious stereotypes do their best to make a mockery of political correctness; scenes with Aphrodite and her servant girls, for example (and I’m sure you can tell where this is going) are nigh on the most sexist things I’ve ever seen in a game to date. Then there’s the rather avoidable murder of a topless, busty sex slave to top it off; not only was this suspiciously avoidable (Sony presumably wanted to keep some bare, bouncy beach-ball breasts on screen as long as possible), you will then receive a Trophy reading “I didn’t do it… but I wish I did!” as a result. I’m sorry, but a rape joke? It’s plain insulting. This cantankerous attitude sours a title that is almost undoubtedly in the running for some serious BAFTAs at the end of the year, and is strangely at odds with a phenomenally characterful - and not to mention thoughtful - game.
Nevertheless, I am immensely glad to see the return of some old favourites for the last of the trilogy; tip-top voice acting featuring the likes of Rip Torn and Malcolm McDowell, an amazing orchestral score and a surprisingly poignant story - for a hack-n-slash, at least - that could have been ripped straight from the annals of ancient Greece… these and more make this title positively worth it’s weight in Midas’ gold, so, despite the aforementioned flaws, I’d still say that God of War 3 ticks all of the boxes and gives you a great time to boot, giving you more than enough bang for your buck.
The Bottom Line
Santa Monica have polished everything that was great about the series until it gleams like a diamond, and although this hand-me-down approach can be a bit much at times, it makes for a real roller coaster ride that’s going to take some time to top. A triumphant - if formulaic, familiar and occasionally brash - finish to a classic collection, this is a real example of what your PS3 is capable of. If you’ve been waiting to be convinced by Sony’s console, then this is the title that will do it.
Rating: 88%
(Brilliant)
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