The God of War series is a gaming powerhouse, and God of War III reminds us why. It picks up right where God of War II left off: With the protagonist Kratos leading an army of Titans up Mount Olympus screaming "ZEUS!" so hard he almost pops a blood vessel.
Settings don't get much more epic, and the gameplay measures up. Visceral kills and gore are back; from gouging out a god's eyes to ripping off a titan's fingernails, this game does not skimp on the details. Following in its predecessor's footsteps, God of War III earns its "M" rating.
Gods, demigods, titans and monsters all stand between Kratos and getting his revenge on Zeus. Since Zeus killed Kratos in God of War II, now it's Zeus' turn. It's one brutally twisted game of tag. Like other God of War games, the plot is mostly just a vehicle to bring the action to the player. Still, when the cutscenes appear, they are simply cool. There is nothing quite like standing up to the gods themselves and spitting in their eyes.
Kratos' personality is distinctively over-the-top, and that's the point. This guy lives, breathes, eats and drinks badass. Kratos rips through hundreds of enemies over the course of the game, and the words "innocent bystander" do not exist in his vocabulary. Favorite enemies such as harpies and minotaurs are back alongside newcomers like chimeras, hammer-wielding living statues and, oh yeah, gods. Kratos has so many people to kill that he literally drops a god within the first hour of play.
The gameplay itself has not changed much. Kratos' blade swinging, gut stabbing, quicktime event loving style is back with a vengeance. In fact, almost nothing in God of War III is new. There are some new enemies and weapons, but the core of the game remains the same. If your looking for originality, you won't find much of it here, but that's not a complaint.
The God of War series' style has been copied and recopied into so many other games that it's hard to remember that the series is innovative. It pioneered this style of gameplay, and since it works so well, why change it?
When the credits roll, you will not be wishing that the game had been more inventive or realistic. You will be remembering how cool it was when Kratos beat Hercules to a pulp.
(Originally written for an published with Tiger Weekly newspaper in Baton Rouge, LA)
Settings don't get much more epic, and the gameplay measures up. Visceral kills and gore are back; from gouging out a god's eyes to ripping off a titan's fingernails, this game does not skimp on the details. Following in its predecessor's footsteps, God of War III earns its "M" rating.
Kratos' personality is distinctively over-the-top, and that's the point. This guy lives, breathes, eats and drinks badass. Kratos rips through hundreds of enemies over the course of the game, and the words "innocent bystander" do not exist in his vocabulary. Favorite enemies such as harpies and minotaurs are back alongside newcomers like chimeras, hammer-wielding living statues and, oh yeah, gods. Kratos has so many people to kill that he literally drops a god within the first hour of play.
The gameplay itself has not changed much. Kratos' blade swinging, gut stabbing, quicktime event loving style is back with a vengeance. In fact, almost nothing in God of War III is new. There are some new enemies and weapons, but the core of the game remains the same. If your looking for originality, you won't find much of it here, but that's not a complaint.
The God of War series' style has been copied and recopied into so many other games that it's hard to remember that the series is innovative. It pioneered this style of gameplay, and since it works so well, why change it?
When the credits roll, you will not be wishing that the game had been more inventive or realistic. You will be remembering how cool it was when Kratos beat Hercules to a pulp.
(Originally written for an published with Tiger Weekly newspaper in Baton Rouge, LA)
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