God of War 3 is perhaps one of the greatest Action games of all time.
1.The combat system has always and WILL always be fun and fluent
2. The story and Set pieces are huge and immersive. 3. Kratos is one sadistic man
However as the score I gave this game may suggest the third addition of this great series is far, far more than these three things.
God of War 3 continues follow the exploits of Kratos; The Ghost of Sparta. A man who would go to extreme lengths to get his vengeance. A man who feels little compassion when an obstacle is placed in his way. A man who would defy the gods....*cue epic music*. The story in this game continues right from where GOW2 left off. Kratos and the Titans have started a war against Mount Olympus and of course the Olympians. Kratos's one true aim is to kill Zeus and gain his vengeance, however nothings ever that simple...
The combat gameplay in GOW3 is not very different form it predecessors'. The same chain combat with devastating combos and powerful finishing moves are all here slightly redefined with more emphasis on gore. There are four weapons to be attained, each one of four weapons having their own set of moves. The fluent combat of this game has always been a big part of GOW but it comes to near perfection in GOW3. This being not only because there are more combos in this game, but the fact that you can effortlessly stream together combos using all four weapons. Another big change in the combat is the fact that the number of enemies you may face at a time have been drastically risen, meaning you may be faced with fending of 50 odd enemies while a mini-boss such as a Minotaur or a Cyclops attempts to skewer you at any given moment. This brings me on to my next point. The enemies. The enemies in GOW3 are indeed awesome to behold and a real challenge. When a Cerberus spits its hellfire at you, you genuinely have half a second to jump out of the way before launching your own ferocious attacks. Once you have beaten down your enemies enough, that magical circle will appear over their heads, which means you guessed it, brutality time!!! Ok its not called brutality time, but it might as well should. Once you press that circle, the game flips into a sequence of quick time events where you must press the buttons at the right time in order to finish your foe. While you press these buttons you will see in great detail just how brutal Kratos can be. From ripping the eye out of a Cyclops, to ravishing the guts from a Centaur. Its simply never gets old pulling these moves. All of these things of course transcend into Boss fights with great ease. Boss fights in this game are as epic as they come. They pose a real challenge and are designed to combat Kratos moves with deadly efficiency. With the combat as good as it is. It seems the sacrifice was the puzzles. While the puzzles are still here. They are no where near as challenging as they where in the first game and will only take you 5-10 mins at a time to complete.
I come now to the second part of this review. What will perhaps be my favourite part of this review. The graphics, Animation and sound. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh boy. Boy oh boy oh boy oh boy. When I say this game is beautiful. I mean Beautiful. In fact I've seen some great graphics on the PS3 in recent times. MGS 4, Uncharted 1 and 2, Killzone 2 and 3, but God of War 3 for me tops them all. The visuals in this game are simply spectacular. When Kratos moves along a tight wall and you get a closer look at him, you see the glow of his golden armour full on with specs of blood across it. In fact when ever they zoom into Kratos, and you look at his face, you'll say wow. Just wow. The texture of his skin, the realism of his scars the sheer bitterness in his eyes. Its all there too see. Early on in this game after the first boss fight Kratos will fall into the River Styx where the lost souls will strip him of many of his powers. At this point you'll only really be amazed by how realistic the water looks, all the while the souls diving in out. The lighting plays in brilliant part in this game. This is shown best in the Hades boss fight. when Hades attacks you with his claws, you'll see the neon glow of them coming towards you. When he jumps to top of the arena, you will again be amazed by the light the top that just about makes the fight visible. The game itself is so beautiful that its cut scenes are no different from its actual gameplay and switches between the two seeminglessly. The sense of scale in this game is also out of this world. With Kratos battling hordes of enemies on a moving titan, him actually battling with titans; climbing a mountain that stretches from the underworld right up to the heavens. Its not just the Graphics though. The animation is top notch, right up there with the likes of Uncharted. When Kratos is riding on a Cyclops you can actually see his muscles flexing in order to keep control of the mythical beast. The sound must also be praised in this game. Not only are the sound effects of gore, and metal clattering brilliant, but also the soundtrack. Most notably whilst in hades. It truly adds to the immersion. The voice acting in god of War 3 also deserves special praise. it really add to the authenticity of the characters, and the sheer epic nature of the game
To summarize this game. Its hard to find any one word. This game takes all the great aspects of its predecessors, rolls them into one, then adds more great features. Its also probably the game that has gotten the most out of the PS3 system in terms of visuals. This game for me reminiscent of the jump of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time to Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Without a doubt one of the greatest action games of all time, certainly the best in modern day . This game will be mentioned in years to come. Its hard to think how it can be topped. Lets just wait and see shall wern