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God of War III picks up where the story of Kratos left off, with our favorite anti-hero and an army of the Titans climbing Mount Olympus to storm the gates with Zeus and the other gods watching on in horror.  The opening sequence alone is worth the ride and the game really doesn’t slow down from there, taking you from the depths of Hades to the very highest tower of the City of Olympus and back again (then back another time, but if you play you’ll see what I mean).  I’m sorry that the creators are ending (or as the rumors go) the story of Kratos with this game, but what a way to go out.  Kudos to the team at Sony for one of the most spectacular games I’ve played this year.  (click on the image below to see the official God of War III trailer, and yes, the graphics in game ARE that good)

Click Here for God of War III trailer

Objective:  10  The objective of these games has always been simple enough:  kill everything that moves, and if it fights back all bets are off.   The God of War series takes the term “hack and slash” to a different level as Kratos can “finish” some of his opponents off with a series of  button and thumbstick combinations.  The best part of this game is the cast of characters Kratos walks through to get to his goal.  With everyone from Poseidon, Mercury, Helios (yes, he even kicks the sun’s ass), to his half brother Hercules, you never run out of someone famous to beat to a pulp.  The fight with Hercules is particularly brutal as there seems to be no love lost between these two boys (each seems to think the other was Zeus’s favorite).

Theme:  10  How can I not love the theme of this game?  The writers took the best parts of written mythology, threw in some Clash of the Titans (the original, the new one just seemed to be a ripoff of this game….which ironically seemed to be based heavily on the original Clash of the Titans), a little bit the anachronistic humor of Sam Raimi’s Hercules, the bloody violence and against-all-odds battles from 300, and a few Mortal Komat style finishers for good measure.  There’s nothing like beating down a centaur who’s been kicking you in the head for the last 5 minutes, then gutting him from nut to nipple while he’s still kicking. 

 Gameplay:  10  The gameplay aspect really hasn’t changed since the original, albiet with a few improvements here or there to keep things interesting.  The creators have added or changed weapons to better fit with the style and flow of the game, or added skills that Kratos could earn to mix things up a bit (like using Helios’s head to blind your opponent).  I did like the fact that they added more puzzles to this installment and kept the fighting of endless hordes to a minimum.  In my opinion it improved the gameplay drastically.  As simple as the controls and gameplay is, it is well constructed and keeps things from getting too stale as the game progresses. 

Sound:  10  The sound effects in this game are sold in the details.  There are quite a few scenes where you’re looking down on a battlefield and the distant sounds of swords clashing, people screaming, etc… really sells the effect.   The voice acting was well cast and included the return of Terrence Carson as Kratos.  The cast also featured surprise turns from Adrienne Barbeau as a bitter alcoholic Hera, Malcolm McDowell as the tragic Daedalus (Kratos had killed his son Icarus in the first game, and Dad finds that out as soon as he sees the wings on Kratos’s back), Clancy Brown as a particularly menacing Hades (but Mr. Brown goes all out on just about every voice over he does.  Gotta love the guy), Rip Torn as Hephaestus the one I felt the worst about cutting down, and Kevin Sorbo as Hercules (which I didn’t know until just now, well after I referenced the Sam Raimi Hercules as an influence).

Replay Value:  8 I do have to finish Resistance:  Fall of Man, and Assassin’s Creed II, both of which I’m currently playing, but I do plan on playing this game at least one more time.  Replay unlocks further items, however the usefulness of said items remains to be seen (hence the comment about “at least one more time” for replay).

Total Score:   9.6

I really enjoyed this game, I think moreso than its predecessors.  I attribute that to the addition of all the puzzles and the extent of scale used in this game.  The battle with the Titan Chronos exemplifies everything this series of games has been all about.  There’s something to be said for scaling your opponent to get a few shots in… and when you do take down the boss that stands hundreds of feet tall.

Thanks for tuning in.  I guess the next time you hear from the DerosbyBrothers review desk, it will be to report on either Transformers:  War for Cybertron or Assassin’s Creed II. 

 -CWD