Amazing production values, fantastic boss fights, and stellar action make GOW3 a fitting end to the trilogy.

User Rating: 9 | God of War III PS3
We all know the drill: Kratos wants revenge and he's going to get it at any cost. GOW3 is a continuation of GOW2 and pretty much picks up right where the last installment left off. Kratos is riding on the Titan, Gaia, and preparing to take down Zeus once and for all. There are a couple twists and turns along the way (of which I'll spare you of spoilers), so for the most part the story is quite solid. Heck, you even travel to hell one more time! The ending is a bit lackluster which is kind of disappointing, but luckily the actual last fight is quite good. The journey to get there though is quite awesome.

God of War 3 features the same formula as its predecessors, but with a few new features to spice up the combat. Veteran players will feel right at home performing combos with light and strong attacks, grabs, and blocks. New players will have no trouble getting into the fluid action of GOW3. Anybody can pick up the game and fight their way through hordes of enemies with no major trouble, but only the masters can do it flawlessly and beat the hardest of modes. Kratos has his trusty Chains of Exile as his main weapon, but he does gain access to a few more weapons as the game progresses. The coolest of these are the Fists of Nemus which are basically giant fists of metal that Kratos uses to pound the living tar out of enemies. They are awesome. The other two weapons you will rarely use, but one can summon enemy souls to help you in battle and the other is more of an electric-based chain weapon. Not bad, but certainly way less useful than the Chains of Exile and Nemus fists. Kratos also has a few new gadgets as well including a head that lights up the dark and can blind enemies, flaming bow and arrow set, and a pair of boots that can make him dash up vertical walls and send enemies flying. Combat and cool weapons continue to be one of God of War's finest attributes. Just like the previous two entries you can upgrade weapons by collecting red orbs. Magic is handled a bit differently this time around. Each weapon has its own specific magic ability. For example, with the Chains of Exile equipped you can summon forth a mini-Spartan army that surrounds Kratos and stabs enemies for a short while. There are variations to the magic as you upgrade them, but the core magic ability stays the same for each weapon.

Gameplay is quite similar to the previous two games as well. You still walk in fairly linear paths, have a fixed camera, and will solve the occasional puzzle. The puzzles this time around were rather simple. I always had trouble with the puzzles from the first two games, but this time around I was rarely left scratching my head. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. I have always felt the main draw to the GOW games was the action/combat. The less time I have to spend doing tedious puzzles and the more time I can pound enemies is all good with me. The puzzles are not bad by any means, just simpler compared to its predecessor. They offer some variation to the gameplay, so it is welcome. Kratos' weapons and items will play a crucial role in some puzzles and areas. Quick-time events are also back, but in a little bit of a different format. This time the buttons will show up on the screen the way they are on your controller. For example, if the Square button is prompted it will be shown on the far left side of the screen, X on the bottom, etc. At first it can be a little confusing since we are used to them always showing up on the middle of the screen, but you get used to it.

The boss battles in God of War 3 are simply amazing. Perhaps the best I have experienced this generation to be quite honest. They are all so grand and epic in scale. You'll always have to stay on your toes and formulate a strategy in order to take down the bosses. There was only one fight I felt was mediocre, but that's probably because the rest were so damn epic. The fights themselves are awesome and the way Kratos actually finishes some of them are just breathtakingly badass. I'm not a huge fan of Kratos, but I have to give him some respect knuckles for the way he handles some enemies. Another reason why the boss battles are so cool is due to the amazing production values of the game. The graphics are just so fluid, smooth, and nice to look at. The in-game graphics are really well done. It looks more like a cinematic movie than a game in my opinion. Top-notch in my book. I didn't notice any technical problems aside from one instance. I won't ruin anything, but let's just say there were supposed to be two people on screen, but only one showed up. The other person still talked though despite not being there. It's not a major flaw and only happened once, but I feel it should be noted. Some cutscenes are of the comic-book style though which can feel out of place, but again, nothing major. They are well done at least. The sound in GOW3 is also great which is another testament to the great production values. The music will sound familiar, at least to a GOW enthusiast. I don't know if they use the same music, but you can tell it fits the GOW-style very well. The voice acting is also great and some of the gods Kratos tangos with are really well done. To continue with Kratos, this time around I found him a little less whiny and just completely focused on killing Zeus. I liked him a little more this installment. His actions at the end felt right, but I just think they were executed poorly. It's a shame the ending of a great series ended so lackluster. I could think of a few scenarios that would have made it better, but again, don't want to spoil anything. I'm sure most of you have played it, but I like to keep my reviews spoiler free.

The game will take roughly 10 or so hours to beat on Normal. I wish the game was a bit longer to be honest. I think they could have scratched out another 3-5 solid hours to make the game lengthier and add a few more boss battles. There are the usual collectibles to obtain (eyes, feathers, minotaur horns to increase item usage) as well god artifacts after beating certain bosses. The challenge mode is back and can add some hours to your game time as well the increasing difficulties the game offers. The game is also a fairly easy Platinum for you trophy enthusiasts and can be done in just one playthrough if you start on Titan mode right away. For more casual players you'll probably need 2-3 playthroughs to get the Platinum.

Overall, God of War 3 is a stellar end to the series even if the actual end is a bit dreary. The amazing ride to get to the end is great though. The action is fun and fluid and the production values are just fantastic. A lot of work went into making this great both in terms of gameplay and technical aspects. The only drawbacks are the poor ending, the simple puzzles (to me at least), and the shortness of the game. Still, this game is AAA status and should not be missed by GOW fans or anyone looking for a great action game. God of War 3 is one of the finest on the PS3 and it will remain that way for a very long time.

9/10