God of War III Review and Analysis

God of War III is a fast-paced hack and slash action game where you assume the role of Zues's son, Krados, bent on getting revenge on his father. You progress through different areas of Greek mythology, fighting hordes of lesser enemies and bosses straight from the Greek epic poems with various weapons and magical attacks.

My first hour of God of War III probably ruined almost all other games for me. The level of gameplay in God of War III is so far above its competition, I doubt I'll be able to come back to other games. For one, the characters and enemies in this game are astounding, not only do they look great on the PS3, but each of them is epic in one way or another. Gia is a gigantic humanoid covered in trees with the soft voice of a mother. Poseidon rides a 4 faced giant seahorse with lobster like claws. And the protagonist, Kratos, looks like a Spartan from the movie 300, but even more badass and quick moving. He has a simple goal - get revenge, and kill anything in his path. Basically, he is the ultimate action game protagonist who embodies all that is masculine.

But what sets this game apart from all others is that it plays out as more of an interactive movie than a simple game. The settings for battles are just as epic as high budget, highly imaginative movies. For example, in the opening 'level' of the game, you are fighting enemies on Gia's back as she literally climbs up Mount Olympus with you on her back. And since you are so small compared to Gia, the immediate area you are fighting in looks just like any forest, except you can look off to the sides and the huge arms of Gia grabbing stone and lifting you fighting area higher and higher into the clouds. Another cinematic element is that gameplay is semi-frequently interrupted by incredibly cinematic and beautiful cut scenes or 'interactive scenes' that change the gameplay and enhance the immediate story in some way. For example, while fighting on Gia's back, Poseidon stabs Gia in the hand with his sea monster, causing Gia to arch her back backwards, which results in you having to play the level holding onto Gia as the level is turned upside down, until she regains her handhold. Another example is the boss battle with Poseidon. While on Gia's back, you battle Poseidon numerous times in different circumstances. Most of the time the battle plays out like a conventional boss battle, but at times if you press a button at the right time when prompted by the screen you will do a cinematic 'finishing' or just generally epic move on the boss. One such move was cinematically decapitating Medusa. While it looks like a scene from a movie, what actions the character does are a direct reflection of what buttons you press and your timing.

The narrative progression in this story is also very satisfying. While in other games, its ordinary to play through a whole level and then get a cut scene advancing the story, in God of War III, every part of a level is a part of the story, and is accompanied by cut scenes and interactive cut scenes throughout the level to advance the plot as you are playing the level. This makes you feel much more apart of the story, that you are actually their as the story is changing, and everything you do effects that story's progression. Yes, the game has a linear story arc, but it is dependent on when and how you do certain things in each level. There are also no noticeable loading screens or waits in between segments, which keeps you very engaged.

After another play session of God of War III, I still think it is the best thing since sliced bread. One gameplay element that I encountered in this play session that I didn't encounter in the first session was the unique platforming elements of the game. The game is not all hack and slash, it has various different kinds of gameplay to switch up the game play experience just as you get used to the current game play. For example, in one area I slashed my way through various groups of enemies, only to discover I was at the bottom of a corridor I had to scale. To scale this room, I had to jump from platform to platform, and do so quickly because the platforms were unstable and would fall after being on them for more than 3 seconds. In between some platforms which were spaced far apart, there was netting on the wall that I had to grab onto and traverse to reach the other platform. As I crossed the netting, I would have to dodge flaming boulders as the fell past me. There were also segments of the platforming where the platforms were so far apart I had to use my weapon as a grappling hook to cross large chasms.

I also encountered a new fun element during the hack and slash segments. If you can execute a combo on an enemy, the game will actually slow down, like bullet time in the matrix, and watch slowly as you do acrobatic attacks to annihilate your enemies. This provides an interruption to the normal combats sequence, keeping you from getting bored using the same attacks and watching game flow at the same speed.

I think the real reason this game is so fun is its design. For one, the premise of the game is awesome. You attack Mount Olympus and kill the Greek gods and their minions. What possibly could be more epic than that? As a kid, I remember studying greek mythology in school, as many kids do. I remember thinking that the greek gods were very cool, and very powerful - that nothing could beat them. That is one huge reason this game is fun. You are fighting against the strongest being ever thought up, and beating them. You also get to see real visual depictions of greek mythology, as opposed to just reading about them.

One way the game keeps the player interested is by making the gods and areas of greek mythology look incredibly epic. The gods look very badass, and are very large, helping to make them seem very powerful. The areas in the game are all very detailed, are include elements not normally found in real life, to make you wait to explore and delve deeper into them. For example, you get to travel through the river styx in one level, which is a large flowing river filled with souls.