“The measure of a man is what he does with power”
Plato’s timeless words open Sony’s latest epic, God of War 3, setting the tone for a blood-filled, rage-fueled morality tale with everyone’s favorite Spartan (apologies to Leonidas). We pick up from the very instant where the second game left off — Kratos scaling Mount Olympus, Titans in tow, preparing to do battle with the gods of Olympus and see vengeance delivered upon Zeus.
The first thing we notice is that Kratos’ first trip to the PS3 has received the deluxe graphics treatment. Everything is silky smooth and each model has been rendered to maximize every pixel and polygon available. Even more impressive are the environments. And they must be called environments, because “backgrounds” they are not. Each environment is massive and very, very alive. Often times you’ll be fighting alongside a Titan as you scale and slash your way up the mountain’s side. The very first stage sees Kratos fighting on Gaia herself as he fights to keep Poseidon and his watery demons from ripping the mother of the Titans from the mountain as she ascends. Kratos, barely a speck, makes his way through the forests on Gaia, using his Blades of Chaos to swing from arm to back to head. All the while, Gaia is scaling Olympus and fighting off Poseidon. My 60GB PS3 fan sounded like a 747 getting ready for takeoff, but it ran incredibly smoothly despite the amazing amount of action on-screen (with no slow-down).
The gameplay will be familiar to all those veterans of the series. Combos are generally the same and the abilities are mapped in similar fahsion to the previous installments. The added weapons are some of the best the series has seen. The Nemean Cestus (pictured above) was my personal favorite, giving Kratos a 1-2 combination that would make any professional boxer or MMA fighter jealous. Puzzles tend to be simple but do have the potential to stump if not looked at properly. The game can tend to be a little too helpful at times, though, taking some mystery out of how to get through certain obstacles or puzzles. The path is linear, but the levels are designed so well that even when retracing one’s steps it’s never dull, new challenges and perspectives always being supplied. And it is bloody. Kratos leaves a bloody path of destruction in his wake the likes of which have not been seen before. The brutal kills are so violent and the PS3′s power allow for even the most minute details of decapitations and disembowelment’s to be created. Arteries and veins swing from the underside of severed heads, intestines gush forth as Kratos slits bellies open. All the while the blood just flows…and flows, and flows, and flows…
The story is fairly straightforward but retains all of the twists and turns we’ve come to expect from the God of War series: surprise appearances, double-crosses, odd family reunions. But while fairly simple, it is never dull. Weaving a narrative that puts all the primaries of the pantheon of Olympus in your path is no simple feat. The initial premise of Kratos simply scaling a mountain to get to the top may seem fairly dull in comparison to the previous two games. Fear not. The writers have found many ways to maximize the locale of Olympus and make sure Kratos has plenty to do and explore.
One concern I had before throwing the game in for its maiden voyage was how the developers would work-in getting new weapons while ridding Kratos of the ones from the previous game. The second game did a wonderful job of taking Kratos from well-armed god of war to mere mortal. But I was concerned that this time it would just be a cheap knock-off attempt. I was wrong. Fortunately, you don’t lose everything. The creators had the foresight to build uses for some of our favorite abilities from the second game into the third game. It is well done and fits in to the flow of the narrative seamlessly.
One place where every game in the series has stood out has been production value. The third installment is no exception. The orchestral score is as epic as it ever was. The surround sound creates an ambiance that truly enhances the experience. Probably the greatest strength in the production is the voice cast. Sporting a who’s who of voice talent and Hollywood star power, the dialogue flows effortlessly and rarely, if ever, veers into the cheesy or melodramatic. Rip Torn, Malcolm McDowell, and Kevin Sorbo (hmmm, I wonder who he might play in a game about Greek gods) round out the Hollywood talent on display in Kratos’ final(?) journey.
Unfortunately, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the few, if not persistant, problems with the game. What pains me most about the hiccups in this game is that they were things that the previous two games did excellently. The first is the camera. While the series has never employed a camera that was controlled by the player, the placement was usually spot-on and intuitive, never leaving one to wonder about a jump or having to fight enemies blind. In this game I found the camera to be a hindrance numerous times. In the middle of battle a pillar would be positioned so that fighting blind and hoping the combos landed was the only choice available. Other times the camera would be in a position where ledges came into view so quickly that Kratos simply walked off into the nothingness.
The controls also suffered a hit. All those who take great pride in their ability to wield Kratos effectively do so with ample use of the right analog stick. Previously, all one had to do was flick the right stick and Kratos would immediately roll out of danger. For whatever reason, Kratos now insists on finishing certain combos before he’ll initiate his evasive maneuvers. This means that if you start your combo and someone decides to take a swing at you, Kratos eats it. While it does take some of the button mashing and combo spamming out of the equation it also gives a loose feeling to the normally tight control system.
Additionally, what happened to the double jump? There are so many times where if the double jump isn’t input in a very, very precise way, Kratos commits suicide — over and over and over. The double jump to reach a new ledge or platform sometimes lacks an intuitive feel and finds Kratos either just falling into a pit or double jumping into the invisible walls and then falling into a pit. Also, given the absolute gargantuan nature of the levels it is often hard to judge depth. This means that Kratos will often appear to be hovering directly over his intended landing spot, only to fall directly into the void well short of the intended target. Take care to watch his shadow when attempting the long-distance hovers.
The last, and most frustrating, of the issues is that of the R1 trigger. Used to open chests, interact with levers and mechanisms, and save the game, it is a glitch that just brings the game to a dead halt at times. Typically, when confronted with an object that Kratos can interact with, the ‘R1′ prompt appears on the screen. Here, the prompt will sometimes flicker quickly. You’ll often spend a few moments walking around the object waiting for the prompt to reappear. Frequently it won’t show up onscreen until Kratos is standing in a unnatural position off to the side or behind. Twice I stood directly in the save “light circle” and found no prompt. I had to exit the circle and move to a position a short distance away on one particular side to bring up the prompt. While it is not something that affects gameplay directly, it definitely slows down a game that tends to move at a blistering pace throughout.
While these shortcomings do annoy and lead to unnecessary deaths the copious amount of save points and checkpoints will never start you too far back from where the offense was committed. They also do not detract from the overall experience, which is truly one of the absolute best to be had on any of the current consoles.
Before I close I must note the two topics that are setting the message boards ablaze when it comes to GoW3. The first is the play time. You’ll find this one clocks in around the 8-10 hour range. Sony Santa Monica has included so many bonuses that are only usable in additional play-throughs it makes going back in all the more fun. I don’t recall the first two games being much longer than this one, leaving me to wonder what all the fuss is over. Secondly: the ending. The ending has confused some, enraged others, and given hope to the remaining. Without spoiling anything all I can say is this: the journey is worth it. The game is so good that the ending was of very little consequence to me (and be sure to stick around until after the credits for the final coda).
One last bit of advice, for those that have a fairly good handle on the series, skip right up to the hardest available difficulty right out of the box. For the sake of comparison I tried the game on normal and cut through enemies and bosses like they weren’t even there. Most of my deaths were from falling off of things and double jumping insanity. On “normal,” bosses that seem like they should be much harder just never put up much of a fight. I never fought a boss more than twice during my “normal” campaign.
Overall, the experience was an incredible one. The game makes the first two look tiny by comparison. Even with the control and camera issues it is still the god-sized, epic finale served up as only the “Ghost of Sparta” who wears the ashes of his dead family as skin is able to deliver.
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