As a trilogy-concluder and a follow-up to the epic cliffhanger ending of its predecessor, God of War 3 had a lot on its shoulders. The game does accomplish everything it was meant to do, and the good things are delivered in spades. This still stands as one of the most wow-factor games I've ever played, and just about every second of it (starting before even the main menu) just feels absolutely epic, for lack of a better word. However, while this game spends about 90% of its play time being an unapologetic slaughterfest, the story makes an attempt to bring Kratos to some kind of enlightenment, while simultaneously squashing all the sympathetic aspects of his character from the original game. Unfortunately, these parts always feel like a kind of hollow attempt at adding depth to the story. It's the only thing holding this game back.
STORY: As mentioned above, the story starts out knowing exactly what it's setting out to do; the previous game ends with Kratos leading the Titans to battle on Olympus, providing a very singular mandate, for this game to fulfil that conclusion, and from the epic score and opening recap, to Zeus's pre-battle monologue to the Olympians, to the battle that follows, the first 20 minutes of this game go down as one of, if not THE best opening in a video game. The sheer scale is mind-blowing, and the remastered graphics still hold up. For the most part, this trend continues, with each boss battle feeling distinct, each kill getting more brutal, Kratos sinking to new depths at every obstacle to his revenge. However, this rhythm is interrupted by the introduction of Pandora, who, much too quickly, becomes a surrogate daughter for Kratos, as he deals with the guilt of having killed his own daughter. Pandora's sole function in the story is to introduce the concept of Hope, which will become the game's shortcut to an ending, and to give the game an attempt at adding pathos or redemption to Kratos, which feels so out of place with the rest of the story.
In hindsight, the developers may have been trying to pit the player against Kratos, wishing for his redemption, by attempting to repulse the audience with the increasingly brutal and detailed violence. To be fair, the violence in this game is accomplished to brilliant effect, and is definitely not for those without a strong stomach. However, even when the violence in the game turned my stomach, as certain moments in the previous games did too, I didn't find myself yearning for a redemption arc - more just accepted that I was playing as a villainous character, which is the point made by the entire rest of the game. There's nothing inherently wrong with a more harrowing and sorrowful look at a revenge story, or attempting to play on a sense of player empathy - The Last of Us II does this to perfection - but here it feels like the game is trying to have its cake and eat it too.
In addition, the whole culmination of the Pandora's box mystery feels very messy and doesn't fit with the internal logic established by the previous games. It left me with more questions than answers, but that's the result of trying to pull off a plot twist spanning multiple titles when it's not set up properly from the beginning.
GRAPHICS: The visuals on this game are the pinnacle of the original trilogy, and among the best on the PS3 and PS4 alike. When I played God of War 2, I was impressed by the visual fidelity of the pre-rendered cutscenes, especially for having been on PS2. That level of graphic is more than outmatched by this sequel, and the fidelity is carried between the amazing pre-renders and the gameplay too. Every second of cinematic in this game seems to push the hardware to its limit, and the game is visually stunning for this from beginning to end. The details go all the way down to pores on Kratos's face and flecks in his irises, deservingly shown off from the main menu and opening cutscene. It's a triumph of graphic achievement, and the gory violence being dialled up to 11 just looks incredible, in all its cartoonish, over-the-top glory, and is stomach-churning at several points.
GAMEPLAY: God of War 3 continues to improve upon the already solid combat and traversal established by the previous 2 games. Many reviews say that the additional weapons feel mostly like re-skins of the Blades of Exile, but I disagree. They each have their own tweaked move set, they behave differently than the regular blades, and they all have their own magic that feels unique and tailored to the nature of the weapons. The Nemean Cestus also provides a more dramatic shake up, similar to the Barbarian Hammer in GOW2. This game also finally resolves the issues I had with the fixed-perspective camera from the old games. The camera no longer gets stuck so that I can't see the objective, and is used to phenomenal effect to frame and enrich the game's most showy, cinematic moments. This is especially important because the enemy variety in the game is awesome, and forces you to really strategize when played on harder settings. Every minor gameplay gripe I had with the first 2 games (bad camera usage, frustrating difficulty, counterintuitive traversal) have all found remedies in this game, making it my favourite from a gameplay perspective. It rarely gets old, most puzzle segments are still very well thought out, and it keeps me fully engaged every time I play.
SIDE CONTENT: The game offers a little more replay value (if the opening itself wasn't enough to make you want to relive it over and over) by interspersing collectibles that unlock bonus abilities on replays of the game. In addition, there are a couple of challenge maps, and an extensive behind-the-scenes documentary, which I really appreciate on all the God of War games.
OVERALL: For its graphics and gameplay, this is the best game of the original trilogy. Story-wise, the game is a mixed bag of timelessly epic, near-perfect action sequences, and hollow-feeling attempts to add a depth that feels like it doesn't belong. The ending is a little confusing and doesn't fully stick the landing, but does not sour the overall experience. It's not much to suffer through for the rest of the spectacle this fantastic game offers.
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