Review: God of War III

It’s hard to imagine how bashing buttons on a PlayStation 3 controller can entertain you for more than 10 hours but Sony Computer Entertainment has made it possible with God of War III.



Playing as a former Spartan warrior called Kratos you are pitted against an army of Greek gods and mythological creatures as you battle your way up Mount Olympus. If you haven’t played earlier God of War games then you won’t have any idea what all those gods and their minions have done to deserve your wrath, but fortunately, the plot isn’t particularly important.

It’s the non-stop combat and slick graphics, complete with realistic shadowing and some of the smoothest camera transitions around, that make God of War III a success.

Those graphics include some nifty tricks, like the use of High Dynamic Range Lighting technology, which causes players to feel a sharp brightness when Kratos moves from a dark area to a sunlit area. The effect mimics how the human eye would respond and although it’s only a small touch, it adds to the immersive experience.

Of course, as with its predecessors, God of War III is a hack and slash platform game at heart. As you scramble up Mount Olympus, mashing the buttons to stab, swing and spin your Blades of Exile and Cestus through hordes of enemies, you almost become a spectator to Kratos’ dance of death. There’s no doubt you’re in control – you have a light and heavy attack, grab attack and magic attack at your disposal – it’s just that it doesn’t really matter which of these you use, so long as your controller’s buttons are being bashed at lightning speed.

That button mashing frenzy is briefly interrupted by a game of Simon Says when you do battle with one of the boss characters. These include gods like Zeus and Poseiden, as well as some of the most imaginative creatures from Greek mythology, such as the Kraken or the Cyclops. Once you have beaten them to a pulp, you are required to press a series of buttons, following the directions which flash up on-screen, to orchestrate a Mortal Combat style Quick Time-event finishing move. These almost always involve a totally over the top and gruesomely creative series of attacks that end with disembowelment or decapitation for Kratos’ victim. The coup-de-grâce Kratos uses to finish the Cyclops is particularly eye-popping, if you get my meaning. With all that gore, it’s somewhat surprising that God of War III managed an R16 rating in New Zealand.

Overall it’s a worthy addition to the series and will provide plenty of entertainment if you’ve enjoyed the previous two instalments. Just make sure to warm up those thumbs before playing.

God of War III
R16
Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
BETTER THAN: Golden Axe
WORSE THAN: Diablo II

If you don’t get OOS while battling your way up Mount Olympus, you never will.

7.5/10