Last Wednesday was the first release of God of War 3 here in our country care of Datablitz. This being one of my most anticipated titles for this year (along with Final Fantasy 13, Heavy Rain, Super Street Fighter 4 and Dragon Age: Awakening), I came prepared and got it as soon as the stocks came in the store. Many thanks for my wife for assisting me get the game (mwah!). Actually I pre-ordered it months ago, when the God of War Collection was released, hoping that they would get the Ultimate edition. Too bad they only got the regular release, but hopefully I can get it from Play-Asia or Amazon within the next month. For now I have to be content with the regular R3 version.
I have always been a big fan of Greek mythology. Ever since it became a topic in my early English class years, I came to love the heroic adventures of Theseus, Perseus, Jason and the Argonauts, and of course my all-time favorite, Hercules (or Heracles) and his 12 labors. I am also a sucker for brutal, gory, and bloody violent games. So when the first God of War came out, I was instantly hooked. The first God of War title I finished is for the PSP; Chains of Olympus. Ironic that I finished the later game instead of the first one that launched in the PS2 console. Well my ps2 unit wasn’t doing very well at that time so I never really got to finish God of War 1 and 2. Thankfully, Sony released an updated version for the PS3 in all its HD glory! Seeing the last part where Kratos is on the back of Gaia, while the Titans are climbing Mount Olympus is very epic and made me want the third game really bad.
So after getting the game, playing it after work, and finally finishing it today, did it live up to its hype?
HELL F*CKING YEAH!!!
The first chapter of the game is truly “epic in proportions”. While fighting hordes of undead/monsters, the camera then zooms out to reveal how tiny you are fighting at the back of the Titan Gaia, who is climbing Mount Olympus. You get to climb, swing, and run along the body parts of the Titan because she IS the stage. And the part where you get to pummel Poseidon? Absolutely enjoyable! I like the way they used a first-person view so you get to see what Poseidon is seeing when he gets the crap beaten out of him by Kratos.
I love the new main and sub weapons, especially Hade’s hooks and the Nemean Cestus. Helios’ head gets a special mention since I always get a kick at watching the head scream when you let it out to shine on your enemies or become your flashlight/lantern. It’s definitely better than the Gorgon’s head. Hade’s weapon is almost like the Blade of Chaos, except it can rip souls from the enemy to fight for you, not to mention summon powerful souls to do your special move. The Nemean Cestus is much like Dante’s Beowulf glove in Devil May Cry 3 or War’s Tremor Gauntlet in Darksiders. Due to its massive damage-dealing capabilities, I kinda like the cestus a lot. But it’s mostly for close quarter fighting so it is more recommendable for the more veteran players.
Now let us talk about the bosses. God of War really knows what boss to dish out, to give that epic battle feel. From the first two games, you duke it out with the hydra, Ares, the Kraken, the Sisters of Fate, and Zeus. On the third installment, you get to fight it out with the remaining gods of Olympus: Poseidon, Hades, Helios, Hermes, a demigod called Hercules, and the titan Cronus. You can now finish giving the bitch-slapping that Zeus deserves. What really made my day was when I got to kill Hercules, on of my favorite Greek myth hero. It’s the battle of “who is the better son of Zeus”. Hercules loses the face-off, literally!
The graphics for this game is absolutely fantastic. Nice models and textures. Nice lighting. Very grand scenes and locations. It really uses the PS3′s capability to the max. You can see blood splattering on Kratos’ body when you do a bloody kill. You can see his garments look wet when you go for a swim. And you can see Kratos’ pores and ashen complexion.
Being a game about Greeks and Spartans, I love the nod they gave to the 300 movie. If you are using Kratos’ default weapon and use the special move, a phalanx of Spartans appear around Kratos, shielding him and piercing his enemies with spears. It gets better when you reach the maximum level of the weapon. After you max it out, when you do the special move again, after they do the phalanx formation, a rain of arrows come down upon your enemies. Yes, we will fight in the shade! Speaking of nods, if you have played the first two games, I’m sure you are quite familiar with the boat captain. He is a recurring character of the series. Although you won’t see his form (because of what happened in GoW2), there’s a surprise waiting for you in Hades about the captain and what he thinks of our anti-hero.
Another that I like in the God of War games is they include the creators’ video diary. You can unlock it after finishing the game so you can see what it’s like working at Sta. Monica Studios and watch the development of the game from concepts right to the completion. I find this very helpful, since our company is also in the game development business. Learning their process and comparing it to what we are doing right now not only inspires me, but also help me in managing my work.
I had a great time playing and finishing this game. It’s a great stress-reliever, with great graphics, great gameplay and awesome soundtrack to boot. Heck I stopped playing Final Fantasy 13 for a while so I can finally finish this Trilogy. Good thing I made that decision, because this game is REALLY GOOD! It really lived-up to my expectations. Now if you’ll excuse me while I watch the behind the scenes video and/or probably play the new game plus mode.
And oh yeah, a fun fact for you guys. Remember Kevin Sorbo? He voiced Hercules! Would you look at that, Hercules as the voice of Hercules.
