God of War III: First Impressions
Posted on Mar 12, 2010 by Dave in PS3
Last week, Lori and I had the opportunity to try out the much-anticipated third entry in the over-the-top action/adventure God of War series—here’s how we sized it up…
For those not familiar with the God of War games, they’re third-person action games that take place in a world (loosely) based on Greek mythology. They’re extremely visceral, incredibly violent, and awesome—and I mean that in the literal sense. These games have had the ability to make eyes widen and jaws drop, the first two console versions pushing the graphical capabilities of (the now 10-year-old) PlayStation 2 to their pinnacle; thus, many fans of the series have waited expectantly, wondering what spectacle could be accomplished on the first iteration available for the much-more-powerful PS3. In my brief time with it (about an hour, perched about three feet from a 50-inch plasma screen), it did not disappoint.
Dave: For context, I’ve played both God of War and God of War II, and I thought that both were superlative console action-gaming experiences. In both cases, while Lori did enjoy taking the controls at times, she generally preferred sitting back an watching me take the reins. Neither of us tried the PSP entry God of War: Chains of Olympus, though I’ve generally heard that it’s a worthy portable version of the experience.
Lori: Indeed. Though I did enjoy watching Dave play through the previous iterations of the God of War series, there’s nothing like the pure button-mashing goodness that these PlayStation titles have afforded me thus far.
Like the first two games, God of War III doesn’t waste time or start slow. Within the first few moments, you’re treated to the sort of daunting scale and thrilling action we’ve come to expect from God of War only, this time, paired with a level of graphical fidelity rivaling any entry of this console generation. The combination is impressive.
The gameplay and action itself are slick and smooth, worthy of a franchise that’s had some time to refine its mechanics. Indeed, there are a few welcome tweaks present; for example, during the frequent interactive cinematic fight sequences (QuickTime events—”QTEs” in gamer-speak), the button prompts are positioned on the edge of the screen that corresponds to the button’s position on the controller, allowing the player to know what to press whilst keeping their eyes on the action. And you’ll want to keep your eyes on the screen for this one…
… unless you’re not big on graphic violence, that is. Make no mistake: This is not a game for kids—or for kids to even be in the room. Maybe the next room. Playing as ex-Spartan Kratos, you do horrible, brutal things—and I’m told these sorts of actions (and, indeed, violent vengeance as a theme) persist throughout the game. On the flip side of the mature-themes coin, there’s plenty of partial nudity, and it’s also been confirmed that a sextastic mini-game is present, as in previous God of War titles.
Ultimately, God of War III is clearly poised to be the biggest (and most violent) of a series whose hallmark has been being very big (and very violent) and in doing so, it may become one of the biggest core console releases of this generation. For the many who have enjoyed the God of War games and wanted more (or maybe “MORE!”), GoWIII would appear to be all that—and a pound of flesh.
God of War III is a Playstation 3 exclusive and will be in stores on March 16th.
Photos by Michael Pierson.
