God of War 3 Review

Without a doubt the game that I was most looking forward to at E3 was God of War 3. This PS3-exclusive is the follow-up to Sony’s popular Greek mythology action series. The past two God of War games were both on the PS2, basically in the twilight of the system’s life cycle. It really is no wonder that the next-gen debut of God of War is causing such a stir to the point where a constant line of over an hour formed inside the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Given that I was one of those that waited to try out the game, I can report that not only was it worth the wait, I now can not describe how much I want to see God of War 3 get released. The fifteen minute demo was a short level that gave players a solid taste of what God of War 3 is all about. Players are thrown in right away to a world of chaos – a burning city, an undead army and lots of enemies to fight. It ends with a “March 2010” screen appearing (presumably) before Kratos fights a giant magma creature.

God of War 3 is the final installment of the multi-million unit-selling trilogy. “God of War II1 is a single-player game that allows players to take on the climatic role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he scales through the intimidating heights of Mt. Olympus and the dark depths of Hell to seek revenge on those who have betrayed him. Armed with double-chained blades, and an array of new weapons and magic for this iteration of the trilogy, Kratos must take on mythology’s darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles throughout his merciless quest to destroy Olympus,” as Sony puts it. The game was built using a ground up engine with texture resolutions quadrupling from God of War II on the PS2.

The depth of play in God of War 3 was evident in the demo. You start off in a mountainous palace fighting a horde of enemies. The signature fighting style of God of War is present, as is the brutality on display. Kratos does not shy away from ripping off people’s heads. At one point in the demo you actually use the god Helios’ glowing head as a flashlight in a dark cavern. Obviously riding on characters is not new, but that was in the demo as you will cross chasms by riding on the backs of winged beasts. New to the game are weapons such as the Cestus, a powerful metal gauntlet that proves to have lethal strength.

If Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid 4, Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 were not enough to get you to buy a PS3, God of War 3 certainly will be. It does not come out until 2010, but with that in mind, it will only be that much better than it is in its current (awesome) form. Fans of the God of War series will not be disappointed and those unfamiliar with it will find out quickly why it is one of the most popular franchises on PlayStation platforms.