Prince of Persia: God of War III

God of War III Review

PROS:

+ New weapons - Kratos can eviscerate his enemies in new and terrifying ways.
+ 4 levels of gameplay difficulty - From the pupil to the professional.
+ Awesome voiceovers - A star-studded cast bring their vocal talents!

CONS:

- Can be completed in roughly 8 hours (only 2-3 days of gameplay)

All right people, here's the latest installment of the God of War series. I feel like I'm horribly underselling it when I say this game is an epic masterpiece - that's like saying the Sistine Chapel is a nice painting. From the very first battle scene to the climactic conclusion, you know you're in for a bloody good time with Kratos and his Blades.

PLOT:

Kratos has a bone to pick with the Gods of Olympus, but he's set his sights on the top dog, Zeus. They've got a bit of bad blood between them, and for good reason. With the help of Athena, Kratos will travel from the depths of the Underworld to the heights of Olympus to fulfill his destiny. Not even the threat of death can quell Kratos' bloodlust.

Oh, that tingling emotion at the nape of your neck, Zeus? That's fear. You're going to have to throw everything you have at Kratos to stop him.

GAMEPLAY:

God of War 3 has decided to concentrate more on combat and less on time-consuming puzzles. For most of this game, you'll be running around trying to kill anything with a pulse and upgrading your weaponry. From time to time you'll get to switch to other game modes - jumping over gaps, flying at breakneck speed, and yes, the minigame-not-meant-for-eyes-under-17-to-see is back again.

COMBAT:

One cannot think of God of War without thinking about those blades seared into Kratos' flesh...and their vicious attacks. We can do the standard light or heavy attacks, and as we attack some of the larger enemies or bosses, there are QTE (quicktime events) which ends with the boss/enemy being dead (or extremely sleepy).

**NOTE: all the prompts for QTE's are no longer in the center of the TV screen, they are at the furthest extremes of the right, left, upper or lower edges of the screen. This is a HUGE improvement over the last 2 installments of God of War.

Kratos uses the Blades of Exile to start, and he gathers other implements of death along the way such as the Claws of Hades, the Nemean Cestus, and the Nemesis Whip. Each one has unique attacks and some of these weapons must be used to solve puzzles and advance further in the game.

GRAPHICS/MUSIC:

Each installation of God of War improves over the previous installment, and God of War 3 is no exception. With the jump from the Playstation 2 to the Playstation 3, the visuals are now rendered in gorgeous 1080i, so even the slightest detail is given attention: from the speck of blood on the Golden Fleece to the rippling water effects on Poseidon's minions, this game is a feast for our eyes.

How about the music? Well, the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra did not disappoint. With a 40-string section and a 20-horn section to blast out every crescendo and tension-filled moment, our ears tell us this is a truly awesome game, in every sense of the word.

TROPHIES:

There are plenty to earn here, from the very easy (Upgrading a Weapon) to the tooth-grindingly, patience-testingly, hair-rippingly difficult (Beat the game on Titan Mode).
Another huge improvement from the first 2 God of War games is found in the Challenge of Olympus - you can choose the order you want to complete the challenges.
Most of these trophies can be earned in about 2-3 playthroughs, but save that Titan Mode trophy for last.

EXTRAS:

For the person who wants to know everything and then some about God of War 3, the following videos are available (some only after beating the game):

Making of God of War III
Animation
Camera Design
Character Art
Level Design
Motion Capture
Music
Creating Poseidon
Programming
Quality Assurance
Tech Art
User Interface
Visual Development
Visual Effects
Voice Acting (we get to see Rip Torn, Kevin Sorbo, and Malcom McDowell in the recording studio!)
And the 8 game cinematic scenes

For those who didn't get their bloodlust quenched with the main game, there are two more gameplay modes available:

Challenges of Olympus
Combat Arena (unlockable after beating Challenges of Olympus)

CONS:

My sole complaint? This game only takes 2-3 days to beat. It looks like the reduction of difficult puzzles had a side effect of reducing the total gameplay time. However, there's high replay value for the trophy-hungry crowd.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I cannot say enough good things about God of War 3. The gameplay controls never felt awkward, the quicktime events weren't very distracting, the bloodshed and maiming were kept intact, the special weapons were fun and simple to upgrade, and the story unfolded beautifully.

It's THE game that makes us proud to own a Playstation 3.

God of War III Feature

True to the series roots, the four pillars of game play - brutal combat, intricate puzzles, exploration of awe-inspiring worlds, and a compelling story - all return.
God of War III is the epic conclusion to the Greek mythological trilogy, which will complete Kratos' story that began in the original title for the PlayStation 2.
New deadly weapons like the Cestus, powerful metal gauntlets with devastating strength, and other brutal instruments of war that open up ruthless new techniques.
The menacing creatures of Greek mythology can now be manipulated against their will, to cross chasms, inflict blind rage against enemies, reveal puzzles and secrets, and as tools of complete annihilation.
God of War III picks up exactly where God of War II left off ? Kratos must take his quest for vengeance to the very stronghold of the Zeus.

God of War III Overview

God of War® III finds Kratos raining carnage and destruction upon the Gods who have betrayed him and the entire Ancient Greek world. Armed with his deadly double-chained blades, Kratos will take on mythology’s darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles on his merciless quest to destroy Olympus and the mighty Zeus himself.

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 04, 2010 13:00:04

Mash those buttons, then mash em again and again - Della M. Robinson -
If you like the other Gods of Wars you will like this game. Its your basic hack and slash with a darker story line all of this I like but whats up with all the button mashing? C'mon they could not think of a way to to kill a mob with skill so just hit buttons really really fast? Doors and just about everything else is the same way more button mashing. I want more from a game. Nice graphics and good story, but needs more game play and less mashing

The best of best - Jeremy Garcia - Guatemala
well let me tel u that GOW3 is one of the best games u will ever play its graphics and the environment is just amazing really u're gonna love this game is freaking awesome

I Love This Game--It's The Sickest! - M. Newman - Great Neck, NY USA
it is an extremely fun game especially for those into greek mythology. It is also great for those who love to see graphical violence at a tamer level. To enjoy the full game experience I recommend buying the god of war collection since it is all one long story. There are lots more bosses than the other games and it is really fun to kill the gods. It's a lot more complicated with four different weapons and different magical abilities so to use different magics you have to switch the weapons. It takes at the very least 8 to 9 hours of solid playing if you never die so you don't have to worry about it being a short game. Overall, I feel that it is an extremely good game and I definitely recommend it to everyone with a ps3 especially to those who have the first two games.

The same old God of War with better graphics. - Corky -
I loved the first and second God of War games so I felt I had to get this one. I have played a lot of sandbox games in between the last God of War and this new one so when I played this I forgot how limited you were on what you did you are basically on an assembly line like most older games. I mean you can't even jump over little ledges if you want to and I hate the limited camera angles, that sucks. The button mashing seems to get old and I realized don't care about Kratos and his revenge anymore, he's kind of getting redundant. One thing I do love are the graphics and the huge scale of everything, they are fantastic but not enough to keep my interest. They need to make a second Shadow Of The Colossus game with this stunning of graphics.
I'm 80% thru with this game and I hope to beat it soon before I loose total interest in the game, at least I will have nice graphics to help me out.

God of War III Specifications

God of War III is a single player action game, exclusive to the PlayStation 3, and the final installment of the God of War trilogy. Containing signature and addictive God of War gameplay — a combination of over-the-top action combat, exploration and puzzle-solving — along with an engrossing mythologically inspired storyline and a selection of new weapons and a new weapons system, it is a fitting conclusion to the much praised God of War franchise.

Story and Gameplay
God of War III allows players on the PlayStation 3 to take on the climatic role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he treads through the intimidating heights of Mt. Olympus and the dark depths of Hades once more to seek revenge on those who have betrayed him. Armed with double-chained blades, as well a selection of new weapons, Kratos must take on mythology's darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles throughout his merciless quest to destroy Olympus and the mighty Zeus himself.

Key Game Features

The Ghost of Sparta returns in the final chapter in the God of War trilogy.
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Only on the PS3 - The award-winning development team leverages the processing power and technology of PlayStation 3 system to make God of War III one of the most-graphically advanced next gen titles available, with even the dramatic cut screens running off the in-game engine.
Groundbreaking Depth of Scale - Kratos will explore areas up to 4 times larger than those found in God of War II, as well as carve through entire armies while navigating on the back of Titans - living, moving, breathing levels as tall as the Empire State Building.
Realism - Players will battle in detailed and unique 3D worlds lit by thousands of dynamic lights and textures with quadruple the resolution, which allows for realistic muscle striations, detailed facial expressions, and new heightened levels of brutality and gore.
Signature Gameplay - Brutal combat, intricate puzzles, exploration of awe-inspiring worlds, and a compelling and satisfying ending to Kratos’ epic story.
Sophisticated Storyline - The God of War III storyline is the epic conclusion to the trilogy; the storyline will be told in a way that is true to traditionalist roots in Greek mythology, from moral consequences to brutal battles against the gods.
Ridable Creatures - Several of the menacing creatures of Greek mythology in God of War III can now be manipulated against their will, as Kratos uses them to cross chasms, inflict blind rage against enemies, reveal puzzles and secrets, and as tools of complete annihilation.
New Weapons and Combat System - New deadly weapons such as the Cestus — powerful metal gauntlets with devastating strength — and other brutal instruments of war that will allow Kratos to learn ruthless new techniques such as grappling with enemies and launching explosive wall-to-ground attacks.
Lighting Technologies - The dynamic lighting solution employed in GOW III is only feasible through the computing power provided by the Cell SPUs. For example, using the High Dynamic Range Lighting (HDRL) technology, the camera – when using Krato’s sightline - will emulate the human retina, causing players to feel a sharp brightness when Kratos exits a dark area and enters a sunlit area, similar to how the human eye would need to adjust.