SCE Santa Monica changed very little about this game, but to fans of the series, that's a good thing. A very good thing.
The God of War franchise has jumped into the next generation with God of War III, and the differences -- as well as the many similarities -- are unmistakable. The game looks dramatically better than the cinematics in its predecessors, to say nothing of their actual game engines. The introductory sequence, along with several other set-pieces, showcase this extraordinary graphical prowess. Underappreciated, however, is SCE Santa Monica's cinematic eye and attention to detail. The swooping camera angles and dramatic action sequences rival Uncharted 2 for the title of Playstation 3's most astounding 20-minute stretches of pulse-pounding gameplay. This carries over into inventive camera angles for boss fights, and into some great stylized cinematics that recall comic book coloring (a la 300). One final level is done in a unique art style that reminds me of Max Payne's drug-induced nightmare.
I do have one minor complaint about the graphics. Kratos' character model is incredibly detailed and realistic. But the other people are nowhere near as well-done. So while the protagonist is lovingly crafted, a goddess like Hera (or another central female figure in the story who I will not disclose) look much more mediocre. The plastic texture and bad modeling -- of the female roles in particular -- is jarring when you juxtapose them with Kratos.
It will startle some, however, to play this title three years after the release of God of War II and five after the original's debut. The gameplay formula has changed very little -- platform, third-person combat, and puzzle-solving, capped off by boss fights of unprecedented scale and ferocity. If you're an unapologetic fan of the series, you'll love it. But if you weren't impressed by the first two, or felt the formula was getting stale after God of War II, this is not the title to reinvigorate your interest in the franchise.
So what has changed? While many reviews have criticized or at least mildly rebuked the game for having substantially similar combat to previous entries in the series, I'd actually argue that the fighting system is deeper and more varied than in any previous entry. You have your standard melee weapon, with four variations (the best being the Nemean Cestus, a pair of gigantic gauntlets that allow you to pound your foes into submission). You have magic, again with four variations tied to each specific weapon. And you have special items, which give you the capability of striking targets at range as well as some more unique abilities.
Combat is an extremely fast-paced and fluid affair, with more need to use all three available options -- I found myself mixing in magic attacks and using my bow much more than in previous God of War games. Moreover, you have a wider variety of executable moves with your weapons, including an excellent grapple move that helps in chaining combinations together. Tactical options don't merely invite experimentation, either; the increased difficulty of some of the enemies necessitate more than your classic square-square-triangle attack.
Admittedly, some of the flaws in previous games in the series still crop up. Foremost among them is absolutely brain-dead enemy AI -- essentially, they line up like lambs to the slaughter for the majority of the game, with only a few more sophisticated foes posing any challenge whatsoever. While it is true that you have to switch up attacks with them, sometimes using different weapons (guys with onyx shields can only be subdued with the Nemean Cestus, for instance) or magic, they never come off as believably intelligent fighters so much as mindless waves of drones. The second flaw I remarked upon was mainly stylistic; while Kratos is bestowed with some truly violent finishing moves, there is only one variety for each type of enemy. This has been a complaint since the beginning, so I'm a little disappointed that SCE Santa Monica didn't play around with procedural animations or some other way of varying the kills slightly.
Puzzles may also disappoint some fans of the series. While God of War and God of War II featured some genuinely challenging brain-teasers, God of War III hews closer to the mold of Uncharted 2. The difficulty is markedly easier when compared to the first two installments. Sometimes this is a good thing -- I found God of War to be a little too oblique with its puzzles, while the third game does a very good job highlighting important pieces (especially with sweeping camera shots leading you to your eventual destination). But sometimes they are insultingly easy, and you feel as if you're being led by the hand. The quality is uneven. One puzzle plays out like a music-rhythm game, and unfortunately I am both terrible at and intensely dislike that genre, so it really took me out of the atmosphere of the game. On the other hand, some puzzles are very interesting -- a late one in the garden level would have made M.C. Escher proud.
If you're concerned about replay value, God of War III is adequate but not spectacular. You always have the option to play through the campaign again, which is fairly beefy for a Generation Seven title, clocking in at around 12 hours in your first go-around. During the campaign, you collect several items that modify subsequent playthroughs if you so desire, granting you abilities like an unlimited magic reservoir or a longer time to chain together moves in a combination. The game also features its traditional Challenge modes, in which you have to kill X number of enemies in Y fashion in Z time. This type of thing doesn't appeal to me much personally, but it's not a bad way to kill a few hours. For my part, I have to admit that this game's going to be on eBay pretty soon.
Unlike in most of my reviews, I haven't discussed the narrative extensively. That isn't because I thought it was bad; it's just a testament to its secondary importance to this title. Unlike some games, God of War isn't really about the story. This one was, thankfully, at least told with a clear purpose, and there is little confusion to dull the momentum of your forward progress. It's a fairly straight revenge tale, taking you to some predictable places in the mythological world: Hades, Tartarus, and locations on Mount Olympus. The ending will certainly infuriate some fans, but I found it a fitting coda to the series, and an elegant return to some of the motifs with which God of War opened.