It's been nearly two years since God of War III was first announced at E3 2008 and ever since then, Playstation-friendly media have been jumping on the hype train proclaiming it to be the saviour of Playstation 3 so now it's finally here, I naturally had to give it a go and see what all the fuss is about.
I have never been a big fan of games for thickos where success is generally rewarded not by skill, but by how fast the player can smash the buttons on a controller - therefore, this was my first experience of the God of War franchise. My first impressions were relatively bad. Once I had got past the awful Santa Monica Studios logo, I was greeted with a very pretentious opening intro movie which presumably was a vein attempt to fill me in on the story so far; An attempt so poor, I'd have learnt more about the story if they instead showed a tin of Heinz baked beans to the accompaniment of the San Francisco farting orchestra.
After starting a new game, I was presented with more baffling movies and then slung into the middle of a (admittedly, rather epic) battle. As if anyone really cares, he game then decided to throw up a helpful tutorial telling me what each button did. This would have been fantastic had it not detailed about 20 different moves in the midst of my first battle where I am actually trying to concentrate on not dying.
It didn't take too long to master the controls though; as you can imagine, all it takes is a few random bashes here and there and you're pretty much good. Even my first 'boss' battle allowed me to get away with such tactics with little more than a few scratches, although that might be due to the fact the game does most of the hard work for you when it comes to said boss battles; after dealing a little bit of damage to larger enemies, you get the ability to press one button which then activates the famous quick time events - all of which are easily won by either pressing circle a lot or some combination of other buttons and let me make this very clear - the timing the game allows for the player is so generous, a two year old could do it. This whole part of the game seems ridiculous to me - Why make a hack and slash game where you don't have to hack or slash any of the hard enemies? I understand that it's a staple of the series but sometimes you need to change things in order to improve it.
Whilst on the subject of the controls, one thing that became clear right from the start was the fact that the player has no control whatsoever over the camera. For me, this is inexcusable for a game in 2010. I might not have had so much of a problem with it if the developers had given you a good angle to begin with but at least half the time, I found myself fighting things I couldn't see or making jumps of faith. I suspect that the main reason for this decision though lies in the fact the developers only wanted you to see from one angle because they couldn't be bothered to make a whole level properly.
This brings me nicely onto the controversial topic of God of War III's graphics. Many people had been hoping that this game would show off the Playstation 3's capabilities but sadly it's not the case. At first glance, it looks fluid enough, but when compared to the graphical kings of the generation so far like Metro 2033 and Alan Wake, you start to see a pretty big gap emerging. Kratos himself could have done with some more work, as the 20,000 polygons used to create him are clearly not enough. To put that into perspective, compare that to a good that looks reasonably alright like Uncharted 2 where the count is nearly 100% more. Backgrounds look pretty good, but that's mainly because you can't rotate the camera to look at anything else, and considering how much blood there is in the game, it looks distinctly average, at best.
The back of the box details the 'huge levels' on show, and whilst they could claim that to a degree, it doesn't really count when you have to load every 10% of it into memory once you get to a certain part of it. Soundwise, the game is filled with generic tribal drums and the usual stuff you'd expect. It's not too bad, but certainly doesn't set any new ground. The voice acting is pretty forgettable too.
I eventually got to a stage where I ripped some guys head off and used it as a torch. I'm told its about halfway through which is amazing as I only played it for three hours. Unfortunately, I had to stop there because by that point, the game was getting so dull and repetitive I actually found more enjoyment from staring out my window and my neighbour cutting his grass. I didn't enjoy God of War III but you might if you work in a job that's already given you repetitive strain injury and you've got nothing better to do than waste your time once you've finished the outstanding Splinter Cell demo. Otherwise, wait until Ninety Nine Nights 2.
The Opening Levels that hooked gamers from the outset.
Cultured Vultures: Let’s delve into Kratos’ long and rampageous history and find out which games are worth the hype and which are better left buried under the weight of Kratos’s might.
Both requels over 2 and 3? Clowns. Those are two of the most boring games I've ever played.
My favorite was part 2 and I think Ragnarok is better that 2018.
There is no worst. Except for Ascension, only cause I didn't play it lol. They are all masterpieces. 1,2,3, 2018 and Ragnarok. 1 of, if not the greatest video game franchise...besides MetalGear.
Can't agree, older games do so much more than the last two. More weapons, magic abilities, enemies are more varied, level design is also more aesthetically pleasing, and agree with those who say that they shouldn't have removed jumping. Was a time I'd agree, but those old games are so so much better, that they really should've looked into bringing into the reboot/sequels.
God of War 3 Remaster has sold 4 million copies since its inception, making the franchise PlayStation's most profitable gamer merch brand.
Haha I still remember my brother playing the opening scene on ps3!!!
Yeh he had to put the controller down his heart was beating too fast trying to get past first 10 minutes. He said "it's too much". Best thing I've ever seen in gaming. Haha
I know this is unpopular opinion, but I prefer these over the new ones. I’m not saying the new ones are bad or anything, but they sort of get boring to me, whereas the older games were like non-stop roller coaster rides.
Your comparing the God of War 3 to xbox version of metro 2033, and saying it looks worse? You do realize that Metro 2033 pretty much disappointed on every graphical aspect (for the 306 version, the PC version looks good, but I'm assuming your not counting the PC version, and even if you were Crysis mods still destroy Metro 2033 on PC).
Also how is Alan Wake the graphical king of this generation, it's not even released yet. Besides, your idea of graphics is obviously distorted if you think that Uncharted 2's graphics are only reasonably good when it's actually up there with Heavy Rain.
Also the Splinter Cell demo was boring. They made it ridiculously easy and the AI is horrible. Don't even get me started on the dialogue. The new cover system is good and all but they had better fix up the other problems with it.
Next time you write a review, take off your fanboy goggles dude.
GTFO
Your reviews should be banned. Pure ridiculous fanboyism. Absolutely worthless wall of text.
This so called review stinks of bias from the very first sentance.
I'd be surprised if this meat-head even knows anyone with a PS3 as he would likely only attract his own kind.
Lol Ninety Nine Nights 2.
Dynasty warriors is more enjoyable the Ninety Nine Nights.