Kratos is back on the next gen...and it was worth the wait!
Graphics
As I have just finished playing 1 and 2 on the God of War collection, the memory of the graphics are still fresh, but this is much better and then some. The level of detail has certainly been kicked up a notch, as you might expect being on the next gen console.
The detail on Kratos, facial expressions, the blood spatter etc its all there to enhance this game and series even further. The lighting as you use Helio's head to navigate through caves is brilliant, as is the detail on all of the bosses that you fight. The QTE's are made even more gory by the higher level of detail.
Sound
How can anyone forget the God of War score. This is what has contributed to the other games success aswell, because it certainly gives the feel of an epic adventure.
The dialogue, I have to say, probably not the best in the series but it certainly doesn't let the game down in anyway.
Gameplay
Ok, gripes out of the way first. The first thing I noticed about this adition to the series was the weapons, in all of the other games, the collectible weapons have been something quite different to the primary one (the blades of chaos/athena) and, although they may not have proved very popular, there was still some imagination there and to use a slightly different fighting style. In this installment, it feels all of the imagination has been removed, as the other collectible weapons are almost identical to the primary one. Ontop of that, there didn't appear to be a function to select any magic no matter what weapon you had, each magic is connected to that weapon which I found a little frustrating.
The second and probably more frustrating thing for me was the R1 button. Sometimes I found I had to move Kratos around a few times to position myself just right infront of the chests or save points for the R1 button to appear so I could carry out the function. Sometimes I could be standing right in the middle of the save beam and nothing would appear.
Now thats said and done, lets get on with the good aspect of the gameplay.
The fighting is just as good, if not better in this game. Although it may seem a little easier (probably because I've just completed all 3 previous games) but the fun is still there. There is also a tacticle side to the fighting, with the ability to grab onto a few of the beasts in order to slay others. A few more moves have been added, including the ability to grapple to an opponent to shoulder barge them, this can be done on the ground or the air. Although its probably not my favourite move, its still another addition to an already impressive fighting engine.
The level design at work here is something to behold aswell. The thought and effort that has gone into it is amazing and, like the music, it does feel like you're on an epic journey. The puzzles have probably gone down a notch, they're not as good and didn't seem as many as the last to console versions, but they're still enjoyable and some of them are real head scratchers.
Final Thoughts
Is this game so perfect that it deserves a perfect score? Technically no, there are a few bug issues and I didn't like the lack of imagination in regards to the weapons. However, this is not just a game being rated, its the feeling that you get from playing it and knowing that you've just played the last in the series, there is an ending and this is something that gamers NEVER get to see.
The God of War series is simply the bar in this genre and will be compared to for many years to come and it was a pleasure to be a part of.