The story in God of War 3 brings us back to our angry little Spartan Kratos, trying it out a very third time through misfortune after misfortune against beings responsible for his nightmares - only this time, screw the nightmares, screw the forgiveness. He just wants to destroy everything. The intro to the game is befitting of the trilogy, as it was a montage of everything that occurred in Kratos' journey displayed as silhouettes while the familiar God of War tune plays in the background along with narration. The quality of this intro feels as though the audience is about to watch an epic movie and epic this game is.
The gameplay to God of War 3 is similar to the previous titles but as the saying goes "Why fix what is not broken?" The formula used in the series is what gamers have enjoyed for many years and it definitely works. To my surprise, the gameplay is much better in this third iteration due to the refinement in the control scheme and overall presentation of the Quick Time Events (QTEs). The QTEs are better displayed this time with them flashing on sides of the screen and switching weapons is as easy as pressing on the D-pad or holding L1 + X to change weapons on-the-fly during combat. Magic is no longer independent of weapon choice which is a shame, but the magic itself fits well with the overall theme of the weapon used. I only wished that souls could be changed on-the-fly as well for the Claws of Hades, but otherwise the entire gameplay / control had been refined to where it had become smooth and user intuitive. With R2 affixed to magic, L2 is now used for ancillary combat items such as Apollo's bow, Hermes' boots, or Helio's head. With excellent support for the DualShock vibration and well placed QTEs in the game, the haptic feedback provides this gratifying feeling when gutting a Centaur or pulverizing Gods to pieces.
The graphics in God of War 3 are also astounding to where some scenes are as David Jaffe had said "a painting come to life." The sheer epic size of the environments complemented with exquisite details lead to such a beautiful yet sinister visual presentation of mythology. Though there were extremely dark environments in some areas of the game, the team at Santa Monica did not forego quality and detail in the textures. These areas require the use of Helio's head to light the path ahead, and although dark, the design team still emphasized on producing realistic looking rocks, wood, mold, and whatever else you can think of in a dark tunnel or cavern. Because they did not forego the use of higher quality textures despite the level design for these areas being practically dark, the team gave the levels in God of War 3 such coherency that areas felt more immersive, realistic, and believable.
The lighting is by far the best I have seen in a video game this generation. There are other games that also produce excellent lighting effects but they fundamentally are just "lighting effects." God of War 3 on the other hand has such realistic soft lights that impose onto the environment and characters a natural organic appearance in both body and shadow. Truly in some situations such as the cavern levels, Kratos appears as though he is an actual small scale marble figurine sculpted and etched with such precision and detail, and placed into a static diorama on your television screen. Perhaps it is the result of what the developers had said:
"Number of dynamic lights – ALOT! that is one of the big features of our engine. We built it around being able to use up to 20 dynamic lights per game object. The light can be big or small, it doesn’t matter. In the end, i believe we support up to 50 dynamic lights per game object. We are not using a differed lighting scheme. Our lead programmer Vassily came up with this amazing system during pre-production, us artists love it!!! We can place lights in Maya and have them update in realtime in the game on the PS3, its like being able to paint with lights. Lighting is fast and a very enjoyable artistic process."
Anyone that know the amount of violence in the previous two games will appreciate this one further. In long bloody battles, Kratos no longer becomes the Ghost of Sparta but appears more like a red Spartan with his body covered and dripping in blood. Compared to the previous two games, boss battles are now very visually appealing with body deformations showing underlying anatomy. It just shows how visceral fights can get. Any artist would know attention-to-detail is key to an exceptional work of art, and the artists at Santa Monica illustrates that well in the game.
The story in the God of War series is intriguing in that it ties many iconic figures in mythology well but twists their story into a believable alternate universe. The concept of Kratos and his hatred towards Zeus is akin to the story of Oedipus Rex. Other characters such as Hades, Hercules, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Daedalus, and Hephaestus are explored further in God of War 3. Though we may know the general background of these characters, the game takes it further and shows us the drama between everyone involved (directly or indirectly) with Kratos and Zeus. It all boils down to everything that Kratos has done had brought forth malice to the world. If I had to describe Kratos, I would say he isn't the God of War. No. He is the God of Chaos. And somewhere in the back of my head when we discovered God of War 3 would be the end of the series, I knew Kratos would be the catalyst towards the end of mythology.
Though the story in most part involves hatred and vengeance, I found it amusing the team at Santa Monica took the time to add humor to the game - particularly the Kratos Hercules meeting. It is an obvious ridicule of the Twelve Labors and I just find it hilarious how Hercules' spiel felt so pathetic in comparison to what Kratos went through. At that point, I couldn't feel sorry for the clown and was glad Kratos got to put him out of his misery. However, God of War 3 is without its faults. The intro left me with a positive note but sadly I felt they should've revisited some other characters involved in the game. Those that did not complete God of War: Chains of Olympus will have some instances of confusion or feel a lack of coherency in the story but a quick google will fix that. I have thought of this before, but the God of War collection should have included a PS3-ported Chains of Olympus on the disc. It would've made for a better collection.
Sound is difficult to assess in a game such as God of War 3. There is just too much going on at once during combat that it is difficult to discern between high or low quality effects. A lot of the sound becomes muddled from all the slashing of the blades, enemy groans, and Kratos growls. The orchestral score used in the game is the same tune we've all heard and are familiar with. It simply brings back memories. And though a lot of the sounds during cutscenes are superb, once again it is difficult to gauge how overall sound quality goes. Perhaps it is best to say that sound is not the defining aspect in the presentation of God of War 3, but it is the visual aspects of the game that makes it mind boggling.
God of War 3 is an excellent game and though many consider it a button-masher, it is only so in the easier difficulties. At higher difficulties, button-mashing no longer applies and strategy is required. Knowing what button presses to take down foes becomes essential and knowing when to dodge becomes key to victory, otherwise prepare to be easily frustrated. It is a game you can finish in about seven to nine hours on easy difficulty using some sort of strategy guide. Puzzles no longer feel out of place unlike the previous two games and the puzzles this time around are interesting, somewhat thought provoking, and sometimes tastefully rewarding for your inner devil. On normal difficulty, the game will provide at least ten hours of play simply because some bosses are just difficult and require several attempts to defeat. On Titan difficulty and higher, I would assume it will take more than twelve hours. I've already died and retried 8-10 times on the sea horse and Poseidon boss fight trying to figure out the right strategy to use. That's like half an hour there.
The game is very much different from the E3 demo released. Parts of that demo was changed so much that the direction in those segments were completely different. Also, frame rate is increased so much so that compared to the demo, the final game is a smooth taste from beginning to finish not so sweet nor not so bitter just like a favorite beer. It is one of those games where despite not having multiplayer, the single-player aspect and its quality is enough to warrant the $59.99 entrance fee to experience this marvelous epic adventure. And even after completing the single-player, it makes the player want to experience it all over again at higher difficulties or to challenge themselves with the bonus mini-games. God of War 3 is one of those games where you must have it in your collection and if you don't, you're simply missing out on one of the best games this generation has to offer - and also the best video game trilogy take on mythology in our life time.
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.