[h1]God of War III: Second Opinions[/h1]Since the launch of the PlayStation 3, fans have been calling for a high definition God of War, and now, that calling has been answered by Sony Santa Monica.
God of War III is upon the masses and gives us all ample opportunity to live as a badass and tear the entrails out of minotaurs.
But does this latest
Kratos adventure live up to the hype?
IGN already posted
its official review and scored the epic a 9.3 -- outstanding by our scale -- but now that the game is out, we're coming back with more impressions. Second Opinions lets the other IGN editors -- the ones who had to wait for the launch of the game to form an opinion -- pop in with their thoughts.
Was God of War III universally loved? Let's find out...
Hilary Goldstein, Editor in Chief: Never has a game used its advanced graphics engine to showcase brutality like God of War III. It's pretty. Really pretty. And Kratos' moves are as violent as they get in games. That's why I love the God of War series. Ripping open a centaur's stomach and pulling out its guts -- you just can't get that anywhere else. Some in the office were turned off by the brutality, but I thought it was necessary for the character. What better way to show Kratos is pissed off than to have him butcher his enemies? Sure seems angry to me!
God of War III proves that deep down, Kratos is a bad guy, so blinded by his quest for revenge that he'd sacrifice the entire world to satiate his bloodlust. It's set up like a Greek tragedy and it works. My only complaint is that I've seen it all before. I'm not referring to the gameplay. Heck, most sequels are derivative. I still enjoy mashing buttons, tearing the heads of medusas and banging hot chicks on my way to avenging my dead wife. But the story is the same as before. Start off powerful, get kicked down to Hades with your powers stripped and then fight your way back to take on Zeus. Couldn't Santa Monica Studios come up with something a bit more inventive?
You'd be a fool not to play God of War III. But I'd be a fool to say that it offers something fresh and new to the series. Yes, it's more of the same, but more of a good thing is always welcome. I still pick God of War II as the best in the series, but the latest is pretty damn good as well.
Greg Miller, Executive Editor: God of War III is the first God of War game that I've ever beaten. Yes, I know that's a crazy thing to say, but I've always found Kratos to be such a **!!%%@ that I can't stomach a whole God of War game. I'd play for a few hours, start to get bored with the combat, and get sick of this obnoxious, roided-out jock that is the main character of the franchise. I still think Kratos is a terrible character -- one-dimensional, always screaming, his motivations are paper-thin, he's dumb, and I could go on -- but the sheer scope and beauty of God of War III kept me coming back for more.
From the moment you press start, this game is gorgeous with ash floating in the air, hordes of enemies, and so much more. When I got to the boss battle with Cronos, I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. Battling against this massive dude whose finger nail is the size of a fire truck door was just an epic experience I'll never forget. The weapons were cool, the fights were fun, and everything is breathtaking in motion. I was pretty much thrilled until the cop-out at the very end, but even that can't make me say this game isn't a blast.
Nate Ahearn, Editor: If the film 2012 was an example of disaster porn, then God of War III could be seen as gore porn. The amount of blood, guts and sheer violence that's in this game is pretty staggering and it's only aided by the fact that it's some of the best looking red stuff ever seen in a videogame. It spews out of your enemies, it drips from their intestines, it stains Kratos' character model and gets on just about every piece of environment in the game. Hell, it almost looks warm. It doesn't hurt that the combat that brings about all this hemoglobin is extraordinarily satisfying.
All that said, I don't think you can deny that the story and overall design of God of War III is disappointing. I, for one, never played God of War I or II. By the nature of my job I know a good bit about the mythology and our
God of War in Five Minutes video did a great job of filling me in on what was going on. Even that was enough for me to ascertain that God of War III borrows heavily and even asks players to repeat actions from the first two games. That sort of unimaginative design is disappointing to see, no matter how gorgeous (and I mean
gorgeous) God of War III looks most of the time.
Daemon Hatfield, Editor: Last weekend I played both God of War III and
3D Dot Game Heroes. As impressive as God of War's visuals are, I had more fun with Dot Game Heroes. I can only run around mashing the square and triangle buttons for so long. So, yes, I chose the Zelda rip-off over Kratos' finale.
Nicole Tanner, Associate Editor: The God of War series has always been one of my favorites. When I played through the first game, I actually stopped and thought, "Wow, this is really fun!" Very few games have been able to cause that sort of reaction for me, which is actually kind of sad. In addition to the gameplay being very close to perfect, the game had a decently written and engaging story. The second game was good, but it wasn't as good as the first. The story was a bit more scattered, and I didn't feel much empathy for Kratos because he basically acted like a selfish big baby throughout the game.
Now we finally have God of War III, and my love for the series has been rekindled in full. Besides looking absolutely gorgeous on the PS3, the game successfully keeps its core gameplay and adds a number of great new features. Some of the new weapons are really cool and have more uses than smashing the heads of enemies, and the magic is now tied to a specific weapon. This makes magic way easier to use, especially when you find yourself surrounded by swarms of enemies. I really liked both of these features, as well as the numerous special items you collect as you defeat the other gods one by one. These gave the game way more depth than its predecessors. The battles on the backs of titans deliver that wonderful feeling of scale that the God of War series has been known for.
My few small criticisms were that the puzzles seemed to be a bit on the easy side this time around, and some of the things Kratos does to enemies literally made me cringe, especially the first-person perspective near the beginning. But perhaps the best thing for me was the way the story was neatly wrapped up at the end with Kratos regaining the humanity he seemed to have lost in God of War II. I finished the game with a smile on my face and am looking forward to playing it again - perhaps the best endorsement of all.
Sam Claiborn, Guides Associate Editor: While I've never shared the enthusiasm for the series that many do, the God of War trilogy is something I enjoy on an almost purely aesthetic level. Specifically, I love the colossal set pieces. From the very first time I saw Ares stomping around in the background in God of War, I was hooked on the series' knack for manipulating scale. The new game doesn't disappoint -- the camera's panning and zooming as
Kratos ascends a titan or battles a morphing god is truly impressive.
In a series known for its gory shock value,
God of War III pushes the limits of bad taste somewhat admirably. I was legitimately disturbed by some of the stuff in the game, including one scene in particular in which Kratos pounds a face to pulp as the camera zooms in on the stomach-churning proceedings.
The game reaches new lows (highs?) of gratuitousness when Kratos leads a topless sex slave out of captivity only to gruesomely kill her by forcing her into the cogs of some classical contraption. That's all par for the course, one might say, but then you get a Trophy called "I didn't do it -- but I wish I did!" "Wish I did" what? You already killed her -- so what, is that a rape joke? I can write this off as a particularly low point in a game in which you regularly pull out the entrails of Centaurs ("And I thought they smelled bad -- on the outside!"), but I think most would find this crosses some sort of line. Anyway, cable news: I'm available for comment.
Megan Sullivan, Database Editor: Let me start off by saying that God of War III is an impressive feat. The scale is huge, the music is epic, the graphics are amazing (with a few oddball exceptions), Kratos is as amoral (or rather as immoral) as ever, and the action is fast and furious.
As already stated in
our review, God of War III doesn't change the series' winning formula so much as it tweaks it to make it an even more solid experience. Now the jump and roll commands are actually valuable. In fact, jumping and rolling were the two things that saved me in many a boss fight. I also liked the ability to utilize enemies as weapons. This added another element of strategy that kept things fresh and interesting.
If there is any weak spot in God of War III, it might belong to the story. It's pretty clear that the developers were trying to tie loose ends as fast as they could and ran out of time before they could really smooth out the details. That's not to say it's terrible. In fact some parts of the story are fantastic. It just feels a little rushed. I'm also scratching my head over the inconsistency in graphics.
The character designs for this game are all over the place. Kratos looks amazing, as do Hephaestus and Hercules, but for some reason the character designs for Helios and Hermes are really lacking. The same thing goes for environments: some levels are breathtaking in scale and beauty, while others are bland and elementary looking. It's nothing too awful, but it is a bit jarring.
At any rate, despite a few issues, God of War III is a solid effort. If you had fun playing the other three GOW games, there's no doubt you'll enjoy the final chapter in Kratos' story.
Erik Brudvig, Executive Editor: God of War 3 looks awesome. It plays as smooth as ever. The sense of scale is almost unheard of for an action game -- right off the bat you're tossed into a fight that lets you know just how epic the mythical wars between the titans and gods of Olympus were. It's pretty much exactly what you would expect out of a God of War game on more powerful hardware.
My only gripe with God of War 3 so far -- and I'm only a few hours into the game -- is that it feels like Kratos has become a caricature of himself at this point. This dude has been angry for how long now? Does he even know how to speak with an indoor-voice anymore? His story and persona have gone off the deep end and now he's just rampaging for the hell of it.
I'm fine with that for the time being. God of War just looks and plays so darn well that you can't help but have fun tearing through hordes of mythical creatures.
Charles Onyett, Senior Editor: I'd been away from the franchise for years because I skipped the HD rerelease of God of War I and II. It didn't take long for me to remember what I liked so much about this series. God of War III probably has one of the most exciting tutorials I can think of. It doesn't ask you to jump over a short ledge or duck under a door or do something boring to get used to the controls. It puts you on the back of a screaming titan scaling Mount Olympus while Poseidon and his water horse monster are trying to rip you to shreds.
After all the craziness of the first 20 minutes dies down and Zeus sends you plummeting into the River Styx, it transitioned into more standard God of War gameplay. Fast-paced and flashy fights, lame combat while swinging hand-over-hand across chains, and quite a few environmental puzzles to break up the action. What I still really appreciate about God of War, even if it is reusing a lot of mechanics from before, is how differently you need to approach each fight. Whether it's against minotaur, gorgons, or standard foes, there's always a specific rhythm of attacking and dodging you need to fall into to survive. It's the kind of game where you can enter into a trance while playing, like in old-school shooters, where little gets in the way of you focusing entirely on the process of clearing the screen. When you're fighting as effectively as possible, you feel like you've accomplished something by overcoming a significant challenge instead of simply going through the motions to get to the next area.
With some sharp visuals and an impressive sense of scale, I'm really looking forward to playing more of Kratos' quest for vengeance. The only thing that's bothered me so far is Kratos himself. Maybe I've just outgrown his character, but instead of cheering alongside him and occasionally giggling at his inexhaustible supply of anger, I'm now cringing at nearly every line he delivers. I guess I shouldn't expect more than simple, unapologetic fury from the guy since that's his established personality, but after two whole games I guess I'm just looking for him to develop a little more. Maybe my impression of this will change as I keep playing.
