God Of War III Review: Is It The Top Top-Rated Game Of All Time?

God of War 3 Review

GAMEPLAY:
Hit Start on the PS3 controller and you see Kratos on a narrow path on a mountainside. The city of Olympia shows up in the distance. Olympia is a fortified city at the base of Mount Olympus. Kratos is shown using his trademark Blades of Athena against the enemies. However, Kratos can now Grab in different styles using various buttons. Grab enemies using CIRCLE and then you can use different buttons to throw them, use as battering ram, rip it away, etc.

Kratos' sub-weapons are now available on the D-pad and can be switched mid-move. The SQUARE-SQUARE-TRIANGLE move is available both for the Blades as well as for the Cestus. So also, we do have Special Moves with the Cestus i.e. L1 + any of the buttons when using the Cestus.

Additionally, a new element has been introduced in God of War 3, wherein the magic meter fills up automatically after some time. This was displayed with the Fire Bow (similar to Typhon's Bane in GoW2) with which you can attack distant enemies.

A good improvement has been with the Quick-Time Event buttons. In GoW1 & GoW2, the button prompts used to come in the center of the screen. In GoW3, SQUARE comes on the left side, TRIANGLE button prompt comes on top, CIRCLE comes on the right side and X comes at the bottom of the screen. L1 and R1 come on the top-left and top-right corners respectively. CIRCLE button mashing comes at the bottom-right corner. This does help during the boss-fights as we don't have to squint to see which button prompt comes on screen; rather just by seeing the side of the screen on which the prompt comes up, we can mash the corresponding buttons. This will surely slash off precious fractions of seconds during the boss-battles and make it a touch easy.

GRAPHICS:
The framerate in GoW3 is variable like GoW1 & GoW2. The framerate varies between 30-60 fps. Stig Asmussen has followed in the footsteps of Cory Barlog and originally David Jaffe who wanted important scenes in the game irrespective of the framerate. However, Stig has reiterated that the framerate will not go below 30 fps.

The art direction is vividly implanted in your mind, as you see Kratos traversing mountainsides, fighting the Army of Olympus soldiers like the undead, Harpies, Centaurs and Cyclops with brutal realism. Each move has been carefully calibrated; worked out in minute detail. This can be understood, when you realize that each of Kratos' teeth are modelled separately.

The processing power of the Playstation 3 has been used to its maximum. In God of War 2, we could see only 15 enemies on the screen at a time. This has been beefed up to 50 in GoW3. Kratos is also now a 20,000 polygons hulk compared to 5000 in GoW2. And we haven't even started talking about the Titans. Stig has said that some of the levels will be on the Titans themselves. (remember the Fear Nothing trailer?). The Fire Titan shows up in the background as massive living body made of rock and molten lava. Stig revealed that he is Perses, the Titan of Destruction. Aptly named, he smashes through the Greek architecture with ease. The Fire Titan Perseus is pitted against the Sun God Helios as an engrossing backdrop while Kratos slashes the undead soldiers in the foreground.

The Demo has a resolution of 720p. The final in-game resolution will be 1080p & 1080i.

GOD OF WAR 3 SCORE:
As we have come to expect from a God of War game, the score is of the highest quality. The background score varies based on what is happening in the game and meshes perfectly with the overall feel of the game. When you are alone, the score simmers quietly, and drums up forebodingly, when you are about to face baddies.

GOD OF WAR 3 STORYLINE:
Though not much of the story is shown in the game, we could still pick up some clues from Stig Asmussen. The Demo is set 3 hours in the actual game. Stig has confirmed that the Demo is a specific part of the story, and not a separate element. Kratos will get to battle between 5-10 Gods which include the Gods we saw on the balcony at the end of GoW2. The Titan Gaia will be a key character in the story and the Blade of Olympus missing in the demo and video trailers will make a comeback at some point in the game.

GOD OF WAR 3 CRITIQUE BOTTOMLINE:
Stig Asmussen has declared, "We want this game to show what the Playstation 3 is capable of." That is a pretty strong statement and going by the looks of the Demo, one that is surely living up to the promise. The background score is awe-inspiring. The Fire Bow is a good add-on for the gameplay. The environmental realism is excellent. The beautiful graphics use the full power of the PS3.
The bottomline is that the potential & possibilities in GoW3 are unlimited. It is like a Chest filled with Magics Orbs waiting to be opened.

For more God of War 3 Video Interviews and trailers, you can visit the God of War 4 Community and Download God of War 3 Screensaver .

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