Which is what I really feel like yelling out loud ala Kratos, the God of War from the extremely popular and well know GoW series. Its been such a long down time for the internet lines to pick up that the review I had planned and actually scripted out already, minus pictures, was delayed for so long. But rejoice! As of now, the lines are up and operational so let’s get it going before the line plops down again like a flat liner from a badly overused and exaggerated medical drama.
Ladies and Gentleman, it is God Of War. There is no real need to accentuate the level of epicness this game carries with it and the power it contains within with which, in the hands of the chosen few, can achieve monumental odysseys. Yes, it is the third and ending story chapter for Kratos as he finally comes toe to toe with not just Zeus, but the WHOLE of Olympus and the Titans in this grand finale.
The story picks up immediately from where it left off. Kratos returns to the past via the loom from the Sisters of Fate in GoW 2 and brings the Titans to the current timeline to begin the climatic battle between the Greek Gods. The seige begins with Gaia the Titan of Earth and Nature, climbing up Mount Olympus with many other Titans, and Kratos on her shoulder. And keeping with typical GoW fashion, the tutorial starts you off in getting combo’s and learning new moves.
Kratos’s new “Battering Ram”, actually allows you to charge up to enemies and slam them away or grab them, mid run and ram them into other enemies. Perfect for clearing up space when being surrounded and TRUST me you WILL be surrounded almost ALWAYS. Because one cool new feature about GoW 3 is its new game engine, which allows not just 5 to 7 enemies as per norm in previous titles, now you will face up to 20 enemies or more on-screen. Thanks to the PS3 enhanced graphics and capacity, it all works out seamlessly making the epic even more so.
Enemies still retain some similar AI and fight motions, so people familiar with them can easily read their moves, a Grunt for example still runs forward and does and overhead slash movement just as it stops. And further levels give you Armoured Grunts, which need a good beating and a nice ” O ” grab and slash sequence to remove its armour. The usual stuff. What is NOT usual is the improved teamwork and coordination from the enemies. Grunts still do the run and slash move, but they don’t do it alone any more or from the same direction. They come in groups and actually circle around you, cutting you off from dodging, and combine these suckers with archers from a distance that take turns in shooting rather than shoot at the same time, causing a continued stun for Kratos if not dodged well. And there are Commander type enemies, most notably the Centaurs. On command, they can order the grunts to rush you and pummel you down like a rugby scuffle, forcing you to tap ” O ” like mad to free yourself from them, with ensuing force.
Learning the new skills are fun and easy, and being outsmarted by the enemy the first few times, doesn’t sting your conscience, but rather makes you wake up and say, ”Hey, upgrades.”
And lets not forget the weapons which Kratos will wield in the beheading and mutilation of the various Gods in the game. Check it out now, Kratos got some nice stuff, but I got to say, the creators weren’t really looking for new weapons any more. Kratos holds with him the Blades of Exile which are, wait for it, JUST like the Blades of Athena from GoW 2 and you know what else? They have the SAME attack sets and upgrades. Wow!! Also along for the ride are the Hooks of Hades, which are hooks on chains too! Cool thing is they have a super cool purple glow which is uber cool to see when Kratos brings hell upon enemies in dark corridors. And one more chainer is the Nemesis Whip, which is a home food processor on chains, as it will slice, dice and mince enemies as you swing and it also has electrical elements for those hard to reach combos. The last one and my personal favourite is the Nemean Cestus.
Come on, its cool, its powerful and the feeling of having such strength on your fists as you clobber enemy after enemy is actually quite therapeutic. The calm white glow of energy that seeps from it as you swing is soothing to see too. But lets not forget one thing about Kratos, he likes to swing things and climb mountains. So with acquisition, he too can make them swing.
And one cool new feature is the ability to switch weapons mid fight and combo. A simple tap of a button alows Kratos to switch from all his weapons in a split second allowing for insane combo build ups and display of skills to gamer chicks. And magic is now tied to each weapon, making it more thematic for the weapon and easier switching, as you no longer need to go in menu to switch weapon and magic as before. For example the Blades of Exile were made for Spartans, because the magic is has is Spartan Fury, which puts Kratos in place and covers him with Spartan shields wielded by fallen Spartan warriors, which then counter the enemy attacks with spear stabs and a rain of arrows.
Returning to the story now, Kratos climbs up to Olympus for a showdown with Zeus, and in the process lays waste to Poseiden, only to be denied of it as his old pappy feels that the father son feud can wait AFTER he gets rid of the Titans and nonchalantly sends him plummeting down the River Styx. Again. And as he swims down river and gets a panoramic view of a Greek picture of Hell, souls slowly rip him of his life and energy and also tarnishes his blades, putting Kratos once again on ground zero. Seem familiar don’t it?
He encounters and old friend and gets the help and encouragement to bring his vengeance back up to start climbing up Olympus again from the inside. As expected, his passage out is guarded by all sorts of unfriendlies and hell spawn. Before finally putting him face to iron mask with Hades.
He finds the true power to kill a God can be found within the Flame of Olympus which is up top. Along the way he meets and defeats other Gods and a Greek Hero. All of who provide him will cool new toys, one of them actually goes along for the ride, well a part of him any ways.
Lets just say, if you have people under the age of 16 with you, when you get to killing Gods, ask them to go make a sandwich first, as the ensuing sequences can be very graphic to the eyes of an innocent bystander. The story for God War 3 is a closing one and it does that job well, building up Kratos to the height of power and taking down each and every God is a challenge in its own. As well as some Titans. But I must say that it was here, at the end, that the game leaves us with a rather hollow note. The epilogue puts you to question if the whole story from genesis to now, was made with any real depth. Most of the time I realize I relished the fighting and action more than the actual story, so maybe not.
All in all it was a good send off for Kratos. His story finally comes to a close and peace is restored to the era. Well, not really, as you’ll see when you get to playing it. =) And when you do finish the game, there are lots of unlockables to enjoy like the challenges and a fighting arena which allows you to customize your enemies and battles for practice. And don’t forget this game is a great one for getting trophies, I am 91% complete with it, only one more trophy which is to beat the game in Titan Mode. Shouldn’t be problem.
I had no problems with the mobs and the Gods might be a challenge, so yeah I think I got it in the bag. Who am I forgetting….
Oh yeah, him…
