Well for answers and thoughts, in as much a spoiler free way as possible, read below to see what this Last Titan Standing thought and experienced. The good, the bad, and the godly.
Controls:
Let's start with the bad part of God of War III was for me, the controls. In the past these have been one of the shining parts of the franchise. Everything made sense and flowed perfectly, and for the most part it still does, with the exception of the jumping and double jumping part of the game. Specifically when it came to jumps that could kill Kratos if it was mistimed or misjudged.
It seems that throughout the game if you tried to start a double jump when Kratos was flying dangerously over a pit of death or chasm, it would automatically determine that you fell to your death and lock the controls. Even when a double jump would have been the thing to get you across with plenty of ground to catch you. After a while, and getting a story item, this became a non-issue, but during the beginning stages it made platforming extremely hard for no reason.
That issue aside, all the other controls were perfect and worked just fine. Although I think the extra time given for the quick time buttons was unnecessary, it didn't hurt the overall game like the jumping.
Audio:
Just like the first two games, everything from voice acting to effects and music were perfectly blended. Everything queued up perfectly with the mood and theme being portrayed during the game. Just like the camera angles and shots, everything transitioned perfectly and for a reason. No hard cuts or stops, unless they fit. It all got you in the mindset of Kratos, and the overall power and rage of the story.
One more thing on the audio that requires a mention, are the situational effects added that shocked and awed me. During one point in the game you are inside of a titan, the throat specifically, and he is still taunting Kratos. Most games would make the sound muffled because you are inside, but not in God of War III. They just cranked up the bass and ripped off the knob. You are in the titan's throat after all; you would be feeling the voice more than hearing it. Its science, and the audio team did a perfect job with that. My entertainment room rumbled with each taunt and spoken word.
Graphics:
Now that the teams over at Sony have been tapping into the power of the console, we can expect to see bigger and better things from their games. Specifically in size and scope of the worlds and creatures. God of War III is definitely not sitting back and letting Uncharted 2 take any of the glory here either. In fact I'd say in the graphics department, they steal the show away.
I have no clue how they pulled off all the shots and effects that they did, but these are the best graphics I have seen on a console to date. How they kept everything fluid and moving, from Poseidon's water effects to the titans themselves, there is not one time that you would be let down in the look of the game. I mean, everything in the game is using the game engine, which at some points you could swear it was prerenderd video.
To wrap up the graphics, major kudos to the camera and lighting teams for God of War III. Every camera shot, from stationary to moving, were done in such a way that I forgot that I had no camera control. Even when Kratos is a spec on the back of a titan they still managed to find the angle or swoop in at the right time to get my view back into the mix of things. It was also nice to see that they understood that underground with no torches, the area should be pitch black. So many times I thanked the gods for the Helios Head while underground.
Gameplay:
With a new game also comes new gameplay features, well most of the time, and God of War III brings these just like Charon brings souls. Particularly the big ones are the addition of Godly Items, Distance Grapple, and my personal favorite, First Person Kill. All firsts to the series and some of the best additions fitting for the God of War franchise.
We got our first look at the Godly Items in the E3 demo, but they never made a huge thing about it. Helios' Head if you remember is a Godly Item. So are the Boots of Hermes and Apollo's Bow. These work similar to how Magic works, except that the "mana" bar refreshes on its own as the Godly Power courses back into the item. Pretty much getting rid of the times that you might need a bow to finish a level and instead of hunting for blue orbs, like previous titles, you will never run out. They all also come along with extra "charge" abilities too. Like Hermes' Boots and letting you "dash" in the air and run on walls, or Helios' Head blinding everything around you.
Moving on, the Distance Grapple was something I always wanted in the prior games because it made sense. He has chains with serrated blades attached so why wouldn't Kratos be able to hook enemies and bring them to him, or vice versa? Which is just what this addition brings to the table. With a little bit of a charge attack brought into the mix. It makes combat feel ever so more fluid, not to mention allows for Kratos to have the last punch after being knocked up into the air by an enemy. All in a great cinematic look and feel. Great addition!
Finally, even though it felt like it was a "testing the waters" kind of thing, the First Person Kill aspect added to a few of the bosses was perfectly added and executed. To explain further, this is a Quick Time event where you are either looking through Kratos' eyes while performing the final kill moves, or you are looking through the eyes of the victim watching Kratos kill you. It added that extra bit of mood that really portrayed what was going on in the mind of the Mad Greek. The rage flowing through him and into his motions. Such a perfect addition to the storytelling process of God of War.
Overview:
There is so much more I could say about this game, but I know you won't want to sit here and read the novel it would be. I wouldn't want you to. Not when you should be playing God of War III for yourself so you can experience all the splendor that the game has to offer. I will stand by my claims that it visually and audibly stands out superior over Uncharted 2 as a PS3 exclusive.
Everyone should give God of War III a play either rent or buy. If you are a fan of the franchise, I will add in that the $99 Ultimate Edition is overly worth the price. Three albums from the game, exclusive costume, exclusive challenges, and not to mention the beautifully sculpted Pandora's Box for safe keeping. You will not be let down. For casual fans and trophy whores, the standard edition or GameFly will suit you well.
God of War III was developed by Sony Santa Monica and published by Sony Computer Entertainment of America for the PS3 on March 16th. Retails for $59.99 USD. A copy of the Ultimate Edition of the game was earn by myself by participating in Spike's The Last Titan Standing. I played the game to completion on Normal Mode and about half way through again on Hard Mode. I was able to upgrade everything, found all items, and completed the challenges in around 9 and a half hours.
