I recently had a chance to sit down and play God of War III, the third entry in the franchise from Sony’s Santa Monica Studio. After playing through the first 25 minutes or so, I only had one thought: Where the hell can this game possibly go from here?
Spoilers to follow.
God of War III starts where the second game left off. Kratos, the brutal Spartan warrior turned God of War, has been betrayed by the other Greek deities and stripped of his godly powers. Hell-bent on revenge, Kratos has allied himself with the mighty Titans, with their help he begins his assault on Mount Olympus the stronghold of the Gods.
Epic does not even begin to describe the opening of God of War III. The player is immediately thrust into the fray, riding on the back of Gaia, a massive 100-story tall Titan, as she scales Mount Olympus. As Gaia and the other Titans ascend the peak they face the full fury of the Olympian Gods defending their home. After dispatching several dozen minor minions, Kratos is confronted by none other than the god of the sea, Poseidon. The ensuing fight against Poseidon is a lengthy, multi-stage boss battle that constantly changes its orientation. The whole battle takes place on the aforementioned skyscraper-sized Titan as it lumbers up the mountain.
Part of what makes the visuals in God of War III especially impressive is the fact that 98% of the action is being rendered in real-time by the game engine. And as for the 2% of the game that isn’t in engine, the pre-rendered bits are seamlessly integrated with the rest of the game; you won’t even realize these moments are not being rendered in-engine. While battling smaller foes, you’ll observe the other battles going on in the background. You may become distracted while fighting skeletal warriors when you see Helios in his flaming chariot take down a Titan in the distance. Graphically, the game has come a long way from the 2009 E3 demo that became available in February. God of War III is easily one of the best looking games on the Playstation 3, and that’s saying something when you consider the cababilities of the hardware.
