Review: God of War III

God of War III
SCEA, Santa Monica Studio
Available for Playstation 3

Perhaps I’m just getting older and more sensitive but God of War III has to be the most violent game I’ve played in a long time. So violent in fact that I actually spent most of the game looking for alternative puzzle solutions because the obvious ones always ended in some poor person’s death. Don’t get me wrong – I like death and blood in my games as much as the next person but when you get to crush a person’s eyes out by pushing in the analog buttons, the line between reality and game gets just a little too thin for this gamer’s soul to bare.

God of War III continues the long and brutal journey of Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta as he seeks revenge against the Gods for the killing of his family. You start the game right where God of War II left off with Kratos on the back of the titan, Gaia as they climb the side of Mount Olympus in the middle of a great battle with the Olympian Gods. Kratos and the Titans are out for the blood of Zeus and won’t stop until he is dead.



The first 30 minutes of this game is epic which should automatically tell you just how great the rest of the game is. In those 30 minutes, you will have to fight a water horse creature, Poseidon, various minions of the Gods and more, all while you climb the side of Mount Olympus and throughout the body of Gaia. I’ve never seen so much action packed into the beginning of a game let alone the background of an environment. As Kratos battles his way towards Zeus, you see Titans fighting monsters, enemies and Gods in the background on such a grand scale that they make Kratos look like an ant.

I got a chance to play the demo for this game back a few months ago and I was surprised that it didn’t show off more of the advancements made in the series since the God of War II. I was half expecting to play the same old God of War franchise with updated graphics but was pleasantly surprised to find a ton of new elements that they didn’t even hint at in the demo like the new over the top combat moves and the combination of boss battles and level platforming.

The game is stuffed full of challenging puzzles, enemy combat, level platforming, flying mini games and even our favourite, the sex mini game. To say God of War III is full of variety is an understatement as every level is its own incredible experience full of epic boss battles, gorgeous environments and challenging puzzles. I barely finished this game and I played it on easy, so expect a grand challenge on normal game play and a torture fest on the hard difficulty. There’s even a harder mode that you unlock once you finish the game on any of its difficulty settings.

The controls were easy to pick up if you are okay with plain button mashing your way through the game but if you actually like learning combos, then plan on memorizing a lot of moves because this game has 4 weapons, each with their own list of deathly moves. The only move I couldn’t seem to master was the jump and glide move which sent me to my death more than any enemy did. The button just didn’t seem to react on time and I would plunge to my death before my wings would emerge.



If I were to pick only one thing that made this game so epic, it would be the graphics. Just play through the first 30 minutes of the game to complete the Battle of Olympus, so you can see all the spectacular battle scenes and background animations that made my mouth hang open in amazement. As you climb the side of Mount Olympus, you can see the epic battles in the background between monsters, Gods and titans that is just so mind-blowing that you just have to stop and watch. Of course, this is just the animation in the background, so imagine how beautiful the actual cut scenes are! Overall if you compare the graphics between God of War II on the PS3 collection disc to this game, the difference is light years away and especially when it comes to the characters. They were the most realistic looking this time around. Santa Monica Studios should be proud of how amazing this game turned out.

The voice acting was also stellar this time around with the usual voice talents of T.C. Carson as Kratos and Linda Hunt as Gaia but they also brought some new actors like Clancy Brown as Hades, Kevin Sorbo as Hercules, Rip Torn as Hephaestus, Adrienne Barbeau as Hera and Malcolm McDowell as Daedalus. Talk about one epic cast for one epic video game. The music was also phenomenal as usual with the traditional God of War soundtrack – beautiful music to crush heads to.

Overall, God of War III has tons of variety to keep you interested and lots of challenge to keep you busy but really any game that lets you kill Gods and lots of them will always make my top ten play list. I look forward to see what Santa Monica Studios comes up with for God of War IV which looks like a possibility. I guess you just can’t keep a vengeful Spartan down.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy it!

Most Anticipated Games of 2010 from The Girl Gamer

As we leave 2009 behind we look forward to a brand new year full of new possibilities and new videogames. While there are tons of new titles announced for this year, these are the games that have caught my eye as the ones to pre-order.

Bayonetta – Sega, Platinum Games
Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

This over the top action game is like Devil May Cry on acid. Throw in the fact this game has a sexy heroine with super hair powers and guns in her shoes, and you have probably the weirdest and most intriguing game of the year. Best of all, you don’t have to wait to experience this title cause it’s available on store shelves now.

BioShock 2 – 2k Games
Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC

Even though I know the experience of playing BioShock 2 will never be as amazing as the first BioShock, I still can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel in February. New features in the sequel include a multiplayer mode, the new Big Sisters and the ability to work with the Little Sisters.

God of War III – SCEA, Santa Monica Studios
Playstation 3

Kratos will be back. God of War III will pick up right after the events of God of War II with Kratos working with Gaia to destroy Olympus. Those wanting to experience the game now, can check out the demo which is available when you buy the God of War collection on Playstation 3.

Final Fantasy XIII – Square Enix
Xbox 360 and Playstation 3

Finally the wait will be over and Final Fantasy fans will be able to play the 13th instalment in the official Final Fantasy series after such a long development process. This will mark the first time the official series has appeared on the Xbox 360. I personally can’t wait to dive into the world of Pulse with its newest hero, Lightning and her resistance group, Team Nora.

Fable III – Microsoft Studios, Lionhead Studios
Xbox 360

After an amazing comeback with Fable 2 in 2008, Lionhead Studios plans to wow us again in 2010 with Fable 3 in late November. The story will have a new hero defending the kingdom against an evil tyrant and then having to take on the crown themselves in the second half of the game.

Alan Wake – Microsoft Studios, Remedy Entertainment
Xbox 360

This psychological thriller follows Alan Wake, a writer who hasn’t written anything in months as he goes on vacation with his wife. Once they arrive in the sleepy town of Bright Falls, she disappears and Wake finds himself trapped in a nightmare story he swears he knows word for word, even though he hasn’t written it yet.

Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyo – Capcom
Nintendo DS

After Clover Studios was shut down, Okami fans were afraid they would never see another instalment in the series but lucky for us, Capcom has continued the franchise with Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyo on the Nintendo DS. The demons have returned to Nippon and Chibiterasu, the son of Amaterasu has been summoned along with his celestial brush to silence them forever.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Nintendo
Nintendo Wii

This could possibly be the year of the Nintendo hardcore fan with so many of the major franchises coming out with titles this year. Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be hitting the Nintendo Wii this year with Mario finally sharing the spotlight with his old pal, Yoshi. Also look for Sin and Punishment 2 and Metroid: Other M on the Wii this year.

New Legend of Zelda Title – Nintendo
Nintendo Wii

Not much is known about the storyline of the future Legend of Zelda title but Nintendo places the release date for the game sometime in late 2010. The only thing we have seen from the game so far is a piece of artwork which shows Link with a shield and no sword, and him standing with a mysterious figure that shares common features similar to the Master Sword. [Update: When I wrote this, Nintendo hadn't announce the delay on this title.]

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction – Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal
Xbox 360 and PC

After seeing a stellar demo of Splinter Cell: Conviction at the Xbox Holiday Preview Event, I knew right off this would be the game to look for in the New Year. Due for release in February, Conviction follows Sam Fisher as he goes on the war path to find the men responsible for the death of his daughter but he is no longer with the Third Echelon and they are hunting him now.

StarCraft II – Blizzard Studios
PC

This is going to be a huge year for Blizzard – though... with an online legion of World of Warcraft players so big that they could start their own nation, when isn’t it Blizzard’s year. StarCraft II, a sequel that fans have been waiting for since the first game came out in 1998, is finally going to be hitting computers everywhere this year. On top of this amazing event, WoW will also be seeing a new expansion called Cataclysm and there’s always hope that Diablo 3 will be announced for the end of the year. Blizzard will definitely be rolling in the cash this year.

On top of these giant titles, I’m also keen on Halo: Reach, I Am Alive, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Death Spank, Lost Planet 2, Dante’s Inferno, Dark Void, Epic Mickey, Darksiders, Mass Effect 2, The Last Guardian and Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO; all amazing titles that have been announced for 2010. This year is full of great games just waiting for us to play the heck out of them and I for one can't wait to jump into the newest January titles I’ve already begun picking up. Expect reviews on these games and more this year from The Girl Gamer.

E3 2009: God of War 3 Demo

During the Sony press conference today, we got to see a full demo of the new God of War 3 which looked absolutely amazing. The game looks to include the usual quick time moves that usually result in Kratos ripping some monsters limbs off or smashing its face into the ground multiple times.

The demo showed what looked to be a huge boss battle with a titan that included the Sun God, Helios. I still kick myself for not playing God of War 2 when I had the chance and I don't plan to miss my chance to play this game.

Expect to see God of War 3 out in stores in March 2010.