In the end there will be only chaos. This was all that was provided when God of War III was first announced, since then fans had to wait quite a while to get their hands on this game but the towering power of Kratos and the artistic environments make it worth the wait. It may or may not be the best of the series but an epically proportioned sense of scale definitely makes this the biggest one to come and a perfect farewell for Kratos. Fans of the series will have no difficulty at all in starting their campaign as all the previous gameplay aspects have been retained. The changes made have been for the better for aspiring players which are absolutely fun to be familiar with.
Now anyone who even considers buying the game will know where the previous one left off. Kratos is not happy, after being betrayed by his father Zeus his quest for revenge has only just begun. Fresh from beating and defying time and the sisters of fate Kratos, atop the Titan Gaia and accompanied by the other Titans begins to approach Mount Olympus. However, killing gods is hardly a walk in the park and from here the fight begins, which goes on till the very end. Although the gameplay will undoubtedly keep you satisfied for the most part, if you're in to see heartfelt sentiments or long conversations, you could be disappointed. For the majority of the time the storyline floats in the same way, enemy approaches you, claims to be the one to finally kill Kratos and end up dying brutally by his hands. Of course the meaning of this all is to clarify beyond your doubts that nothing at all will get in Kratos' way to get his revenge on Zeus, not if it means breaking your uncles neck or bludgeoning your brothers face. Given these circumstances players may begin to waver with the linear storyline, however spirits will be lifted near the end when the game really picks up. From then on the story becomes the life and soul of the events culminating with the historic ending, although whether you gain your closure depends on your perspective.
Just like all the games in the series gameplay largely centers around ripping the guts off your enemies. This one is no exception, in fact God of War III is the most brutal entry to come. This time round you will get to feel exactly what its like to gouge things out. The realism shown in these moments awe inspiring. Players will end up using the quick time events option more and more, the way Kratos methodically cuts parts off his enemies has never been as detailed uptil. His efforts are highlighted, for instance while trying to kill a Cerberus, you can see Kratos' legs and arms flex with each step as he desperately tries to corral the wild beast for his victory. Same brutal methods are taken when killing other enemies as well yet they vary in techniques. Again Kratos uses his chains for most of his conquest, this time he allies himself with the Blades of Exile, almost replicas of the Blades of Athena albeit a few moves and power difference. These aren't your only weapons though. More weapons have been included for your disposal, the Claws of Hades which allows you to summon souls from the underworld. The nemesis whip which gives the edge of electricity and most importantly the Nemean Cestus which is crucial to the plotline. Magic has been merged with the weapons so that each weapon has its own unique way of finishing off your enemies.
Along with your magic you will also be granted Magical items, these include the carried forward Golden fleece. The bow of apollo which is also as important as the Cestus. Comparisons with Prince of Persia will be raised when you acquire Hermes boots which allows you to scale walls easily and efficiently. Hopefully without giving away spoilers, Helios' head will be used to unlock certain doorways and many hidden chests which help you increase your magic, health and rage of sparta feature. Implementing your weapons into attacks give pretty much the same results like the previous games. A few helpful tweaks are there, you can control a cyclops after completing a QTE. Kratos' repeated attacks drive it to flail its club at its own allies helping you significantly. The game isn't all about brutality though, puzzles are inserted from time to time to stem the flow of the non stop action. These aren't quite the genius level of the challenges of pandora's temple from the first game, indeed one puzzle in particular where you are required to string together a melody feels a little cheap.
People will tire of this word but Scale is what keeps coming to the head everytime you play the game. Right from the beginning you'll know that you're in there for something bigger and better even though it's hard to believe there's anything bigger than being on Gaia's huge shoulder climbing the huge mount Olympus. Killing enemies has been made ever more realistic, boss fights culminate int he most brutal kills seen like ripping off Helios's head with your bare hands and watch the blood fall on Kratos's face. There's little to doubt that God of War III is the epitome of realism. The game is arguably the best looking game of all time. It is not the cutscenes which will awe you but the whole game itself. Even in game everything is so realistic you will feel as if you're there yourself. The quote Blood is thicker than water is proven here when you'll see just how much blood can actually be spilt. Whether you're in a cramped cave or riding on the back of a furious Titan, the visuals in God of War III are stunning. The ease with which the camera zooms in and out during epic battles is jaw dropping. The lighting effects are equally stunning. Torches flicker realistically on surfaces and characters, creating an eerie effect. And these technical wonders are further enhanced by an artistic touch that gives every section of this game a unique look that is a joy to stare at. God of War III is simply gorgeous.
Accompanying the amazing graphics is the touch that makes the game truly realistic which is the sound. The slicing sound that rings around when you cut off an enemies head or the tinkling or Kratos' chains when you move is unreal. Games these days always have something else for you to do when you've finished playing the core aspect and you'll be disappointed to know that God of War III doesn't offer much more. There the usual challenges for you to complete after you've finished the story mode. Too bad these are probably the least original that the developers could have thought of. The game cannot be given a reprieve on this area as the challenges are neither entertaining nor fun. This makes the game that maybe only fans of the series could enjoy or particularly action adventure oriented players.
Giving the respect and hype surrounding God of War III the experience makes it worth the wait. How the game fares with value over money or closure of storyline is upon the player and his point of view. There is no denying however that God of War III is the biggest game of the series and the perfect farewell for Kratos.
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.
GoW 3 was amazing, but I personally hated just one thing. (This is on me alone, because I was dumb, lol.) I hated that you couldn't skip cutscenes on repeat playthroughs. I had to go back through the game a third time because I missed one trophy accidentally on my way to the platinum... The cutscenes were great the first go round, even the second... But the third was pretty agonizing.
Haven't played Ragnarok, but I still think GoW 4 is a wonderful game in its own right. Not sure how I would stack them up against each other honestly.
I don't consider the reboot part of the original series. The original series were high-skill games with combos and rewards for mixing things up.
lol square, square and triangle is the only combo you needed. I have played all of them on the hardest difficulties...
Maybe I’m just old school but I just couldn’t get into the last two. Maybe it’s the slower action and more story telling but the original trilogy was by far my favorite.
Me either, at all. It's just yap yap yap. They try to be a RPG's instead of being action games like they used to be.
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.
Oh wow, I actually forgot that Ascension even existed... I never played it either.
If you didnt play it, how could you call it the worst? Its not as bad as the media portrayed it. Honestly the worst are those flash games. they arent even considered true GoW games but in name only. At least Ascension is a real GoW game.
Not saying it's a terrible game. Just mean it's at the bottom of my list. I played a little bit of it. Jus to me, compared to the other main games, it's last.
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.
If a game is good then a game is good. Doesn't matter what came before or what comes after.
Of course it matters. If not for what what came before there wouldn't be an after. And if something is great before then you strive to make it just as good if not better, after. I personally don't think there's a fair way to judge the new with the old because the newer games are still essentially a reboot, and went a way different direction. But I still believe the old games did it better. I'm probably bias though since I've been going back to old games and have been finding that they lack all the annoying aspects that devs have shoehorned into new games to fluff out game time.
@Inverno
Im not talking about the passage of time here. Im talking about individual pieces of software. If a game is good then it is good. Thats not a controversial statement. You can compare good with good...sure. But you still end up with good. Now if there is a bad game in the mix and you compare you do end up with some differentials between them...makes sense to compare and see where it went wrong.
But theyre different genres and styles which were individually executed very well.
And no. The new games are not a reboot. Theyre a new direction but simply a continuation.
Tomb raider was a reboot.
The new games are definitely a reboot, and a continuation, it can be both which it is. And a good game might be good, but my point is that if there are things done better before it then there's plenty of room for critiquing and trying to make whatever comes after better rather than just good.
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
A great game from an era before things went politically correct and gaming turned serious/'mature'.
It certainly wasn't concerned about upsetting or offending anyone and was more fun because of it.
The boss battles and set pieces still top most games released today.
Yes. The graphics were just ridiculous compared to most other games on the market at the time.
Ascension SP had some things better than GOW3, and also some things worst than GOW3. But in general it was a really good game, for me it also deserves a REMASTER. The problem per se with the game is that most people were satisfied on how GOWIII ended, so Kratos got his revenge, so in order to rise the interest in the game how have to make it MORE EPIC is that the game did not had the epicness of fighting huge bosses (I guess due to technical difficulties,the game had actually a lot more colors (because the world is not dying like in GOWIII) so it is graphically more demanding that is my guess), but it compensated with having in general a more complex combat system, and an amazing soundtrack. but in general the game needed to be more epic than GOWIII somehow, and that did not happened, after GOWIII people had expectations through the roof. They should have waited and release it for PS4 so the vision of the game is not compromised.
My list of good and bad compared to GOWIII
GOOD: THE COMBAT
The combat was more elaborated, which allows you to be more immersed in the fights. Also every enemy was more resistant, even those that you could usually kill in 2-3 attacks in previous games. THE LAST BOSS is so damn epic!!!, but there is only one moment like this in the whole game.
GOOD: LESS QTEs
I love the fact that "cicle" in the new enemies (killing animations) are not QTEs, in Ascension they are mini-games on their own, depending on the enemy, making it more engaging. You had to dodge and hit when the window was open in order to eventually do the killing blow.
GOOD: The Soundtrack
it has the orginal trilogy musics, but with a new perspective since the game had a new composer. The ST was amazing also the new music written specifically for this game were badass
GOOD: The puzzles actually require you to think.
BAD: There are bad camera angles during the game, like zooming way too out of vista, and then swarming you with "light units" that like I said before had better AI and did not die of 2 attacks. those parts a few, but are a mess.
BAD: EMPTY ARENAS
Other thing that really annoyed me is that when you fight a sub-boss/heavy unit in a big arena; that ARENA WAS EMPTY, it was just you and against the medusa, or against the manticore. They should have zoom in into the action to avoid noticing the void scenario. I guess emptiness was because of the game having a lot more colors (because the world is not dying like in GOWIII) so it is graphically more demanding. My guess is that it was not possible technically, since in most of those cases you had huge vistas or intricate scenarios that needed to be rendered. The fact that the cerberus is smaller in this game disappointed me.
BAD: Only one BADASS EPIC moment, the others moments of the game were great but, they needed to set the bar even higher than GOWIII and they failed miserably.
BAD: The graphics did not improved much. I was GOWIII with more colors, and that's it.
So 4 good things against 4 bad ones. The problem is those 2 last BAD aspects are actually why the game was received so poorly. Everyone expects the next game to have a really BIG improvement in all aspects in contrast to the previous one, and that was not the case in ascension. And also GOW is the definition of EPIC, and that was not there neither. The jump on every aspect from GOWI to GOWII was huge being on the same console, and the jump from GOWII to GOWIII was humongous (obviously because a more powerful console). While the jump from GOWIII to Ascension is too little, and people expected more.
On it's own is a good game; but is not sufficient when GOWIII was released before it.
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.
I love the new ones but I understand what you mean. The older ones had more action and was more arcady like.
Ragnarok was not BIG at all… GoW1 had larger set pieces, and it was on ps2.
GoW 2018 had big moments in its own way…. Ragnarok abandoned these aspects though
good review ;)
couldn't agree more. I personally thought god of war I is the best, some say 2 is the best. But 3, wow it's incredible with all the stuff going on, destruction, scale and so on. But at the end of the day what #1 provided is still the best in the series.
Nice review man! I agree. but I dont know why ppl feel its less amazing then 1 and 2. 3 had the most epic Boss Fights IMO. All the fights were epic!