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God of War 3 - PS3

This review is probably a few months way behind when it was released in March, but it was the first time i had gotten round to playing the game this summer and i thought i would review one of the best games ever to have been produced. I know in the future I’ll try to get games that are new and upcoming showcasing some of the best video games on the market at that time. With reviews of Call of Duty: Black Ops, Fifa 2011, Playstation Move and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World coming this season, i hope you find the reviews worthwhile in selecting the right game to buy and most importantly play. So with one of the biggest years for the Playstation brand, from having heavy beatings from Microsoft and Nintendo, the games would have to shine in 2010 and so far, they have been with massive releases of Uncharted 2, Bioshock 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Final Fantasy 13, ModNation Racers, Red Dead Redemption, Transformers: War For Cybertron and many others that were both first party games and third party, but it seemed the line-up they had would somehow beat both the dry spell of original franchises from Microsoft and the family friendly, somewhat on a downward spiral Nintendo. With so many sequels to the successive franchises and series the console had before on both PS2 and with the launch of PS3, the second generation games would come to save the day for PS3 in terms of money.

One of the biggest successes for Playstation was the original concept of God of War on the PS2, a massive smash for the company, creating a game with luxurious settings, a fascinating and engaging storyline with action sequences that were not rivalled until the latest consoles of PS3 and Xbox 360. And with the sequel God of War 2, the team behind the games, Santa Monica Studios, wanted to create a game above the first, trying to capitalise on the software given to them and create an almost epically end to the console as the next in line was about to be released. And they did, creating a game furthering their work on the first and infusing more action and storyline with more puzzles and enemies to produce one of the best games I’ve ever played. And now moving onto God of War 3, a game which is released 3 years after the last one, from the same studio but this time with the PS3, a piece of software that would be utilised by the production crew to produce one of the best gaming experiences of all time. Mixing the fantastic storyline which once and all ends in epic fashion, causing iconic and mesmerising moments where you’ll wonder if your watching a Hollywood film and action sequences that would make Michael Bay have a boner. It’s really that great. Straight from the get go you have these fights with bosses that are probably better than final bosses of most of the games of PS3. And this is only the first level. The level designs are splendid and not once did i feel bored or began to lose patience with it like some games that have a grand scale, too much to handle. Here it is just right. Perfectly fitted into about 10 hours of gameplay, you could easily finish it in a day, but it’s worth it. It may seem short but it packs a punch with boss battles, puzzles and quick movements that will blow you away.

I won’t ruin too much of the storyline as I’m sure if you know about God of War you know about the back story of Kratos, a demi-God who after many years of being a powerful warrior becomes the God of War in the first game after defeating Aries and soon begins to think bigger threatening Zeus to become the God of Olympus. Throw in a few plot twists and turns and you’ll be rooting for Kratos to kick some butt throughout. And special mention to the sequences in God of War 3 where you’ll get to face off against certain gods, such as Hades, Helios, Hermes and Poseidon, and one of the most brutal sequences in the game is with Hermes, famous for his winged boots, Kratos does something that will both disturb you and want you to physically do it yourself. If you’ve played the game you’ll know what i mean.

Overall, a fantastic game with set pieces that are built to look and feel like a Hollywood Blockbuster, and the designs of both setting and character give it an edge over most of the games out there. Sure there are downers about the length of the game and button bashing gameplay with repetitive parts, but i think these are minor offensives, really nit-picking. So if you haven’t played it yet, go out and buy it NOW!

VISUALS: So far only two games match this for visuals, that being Uncharted 2 and Red Dead, but the boss battles alone warrants this full marks 20%

SOUND: It’s brooding, it’s vicious, it’s over-the-top sure, but it fits. The voice acting is silly at times but it matches the game, no faults i can find with it 20%

GAMEPLAY: God of War 1 and 2 were epic games and to once again feel that here makes the years long wait that extra special. It was perfect gameplay where the pace never stopped. 20%

LASTING APPEAL: Maybe not as long as many games on the PS3 like FF13 or Red Dead, but it packs a punch within the 10 hours of gameplay, there are no boring sequences just continued fun and i like that in a game 20%

SPECIAL FEATURES: Maybe lacking in online and other features, but trophies wise it will take a long time to complete and with artwork and special videos, it’s decent 16%

96%

Simon Childs