God of War 3 is a graphical showcase and a decent action game. Even if you dislike judging games based on graphics, GoW3 has an epic cinematic scale that is worth experiencing at least once. As good as the game is as an interactive movie, the combat system is very clunky at times and there is no way to control the camera like in other standard hack and slash games.
I figured while PSN was down it would be a good time to review one of the better PlayStation 3 single player titles. I kept hearing about how great God Of War 3 was. So did the game live up to my expectations? Well yes and no, you see I never played the first two God Of War games, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. The graphics were as advertised and amazing, but the game is by no means perfect.
There's no recap of the first two games plots, which will probably confuse people who haven't played the earlier titles. The plot for GoW3 is a Greek tragedy, known for its one dimensional entities that are caricatures of human traits and behaviors. Like all tragedies, the ending is refreshingly not the usual video game sunshine and rainbows. Don't expect much in the way of plot and character development, even by the hamfisted ending. At least there are no cheesy Hollywood style one liners - Kratos is all business and prefers killing to talking. The Way I understand it, Kratos get's trapped in Hades yet again and needs to fight his way out, yet again.
You cant really complain about the graphics in this game, they are absolutely some of the best in gaming today. I can clearly see the cinematic scope they went for with this game. The bosses and every little detail in between are amazingly done. 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, but it's the attention to detail that puts this game over the top. Kratos is animated with such painstaking care that it is striking at times. This game is a marvel to behold on a larger screen HD Television.
I will say I believe the developers kind of took an easy way out by using the stuck camera angles, it takes less time to render and animate when you force the player to look where you want them too.
The game play is pretty straight forward, like most hack and slash games you have a wide variety of moves and weapons to choose from. Defeating the same minions over and over can get a bit tedious at times but it didn't bother me too much, the thing that was a bit of a bother was the QTE sequences where you had to push the corresponding button on the controller in the allotted time in order to finish off an opponent.
When it comes to the controls themselves, I have to say I wish you had the ability to control the camera with the right thumb stick. The way I understand it from doing research into the previous God Of War games is that in the previous games you could in fact controls the camera with the right thumb stick. Why they took it out is beyond me. I believe they wanted to give gamers a more cinematic feel to the game and it does do this, however it comes at a clunky expense at times when the camera angle doesn't change when it should, also I found myself using the right thumb stick and that makes you roll, so I would roll around at times not intending to.
The sound effects and score are perfect, some of the best in gaming today. Where God Of War 3 falls flat is the voice actors. The voice acting is incredibly cheesy. In a game where it seems Sony spared no expense, why would they use such lousy voice actors? Now this isn't the case with all the characters, but when your main character has such a terrible voice, it's sometimes hard to get immersed in the game.
I would definitely say this is a must have title if you own a PS3, however I would never have paid $60 for a game this short and with no online play whatsoever. God Of War 3 has some of if not the best graphics on a console game to date. I can really enjoy the cinematic scope that the game makers went for. Even if you haven't played the other God OF War games this one is worth checking out. Is it the best game of all time? No, not by a long shot. It's definitely an enjoyable game however, especially if you have five to six hours to kill.
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
Nice review overall. I do disagree with some things... Voice acting suspect? All God of War games have virtually the same voice acting and they are far from amazing, but suspect? Really?
Linear- It is a story driven game, that involves epic set pieces... Of course it's linear.
9.5 for graphics? You said, "they are some of the best in gaming today". Where is the 10?
Gameplay is 8.7 yet it is very fun and addicting... Sounds like a COMPLETE win to me...
Anyways, overall a well laid out review but I do disagree with your poor scoring system...
"when your main character has such a terrible voice, it's sometimes hard to get immersed in the game."
What the fuck?
I just love how you describe one of the smoothest combat systems in the genre as clunky but hey, you have the right to your own opinion and TC Carson is and always will be the voice of Kratos who does a brilliant job at voicing the GOW. Now Im not saying that your score is bad but maybe it would have been wise if you gave GOW 1&2(to a lesser extent, Chains of Olympis) a try first.
I have to say I disagree with some of this, as I too reviewed the game.
1. The combat is very clunky. I don't know what part of the combat is clunky. Everything runs smooth reaction time is well done, and so are the controls. The only thing I find off is the jump, sometimes it doesn't really register when you try to double jump and glide.
2. The camera. The camera is locked so it provides you the best cinematic view at the time. Every hack and slash game that has a 3D camera has always had complaints about bad camera angels especially when you're corner or trying to do platform sequences which is why they have dedicated camera angels. Also I don't remember of God of War 1 or 2 let you control the camera, but I don't remember being able to and I don't feel like booting them up right now just to check.
3. The voice acting is some of the best in gaming (which isn't saying much). But nothing seems out of place about any of the characters voices, especially not Kratos.
4. God of War 3 story. God of War is a trilogy, so not playing the previous games is going to leave you clueless about what's going on. You can't watch the thrid movie of a trilogy and expect to know why everything's happening.
5. Length. God of War 3 is definitely longer than 5 - 6 hours for someone who's playing it for the first time, unless they're playing on easy with a walkthrough, or huge hack and slash gamers, and even then they'll miss out on all the godly possessions, hidden items, and maximizing their weapons especially if they play on normal or higher.
You're entitled to your own opinion, but that doesn't mean everyone will agree, so just be ready to defend your reasoning and keep up with the reviews. Good job, coming from a new players standpoint.
Good review.