Developer: Santa Monica Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: March 16, 2010
Genre: Action-Adventure
# of players: 1
System(s): PlayStation 3
ESRB Rating: M
//Story// 9/10
Being the final game in it's original trilogy, you control Kratos as he attempts to finally take vengeance upon Zeus. The story of Kratos is a very un-inventive one, yet the story of the world that surrounds him and how he effects it, is as rich as the Greek mythology itself. So despite Kratos being a bland-brute who's soul existence is pointless unless he is kicking-ass, the path he travels is frothing with bountiful splendor.
//Sound/Music// 8/10
The quality of the voice-acting can vary greatly, typically with our lead, Kratos. Luckily, the rest of the cast instills a bit more believability in their performance. Some of the sound effects can be annoying, such as in the menus, but that takes nothing away from the enjoyment. There is also a powerful soundtrack, but it only fits to the events of the game, not many (outside of uber-fans) will find themselves jamming to it in their non-God-of-War hours.
//Graphics// 9/10
Back when I played the E3 demo, I didn't notice any drastic graphical improvements over it's PS2 counterparts. I am glad to see that their demonstration was not the limit to their intended results. The locations are stunning and diverse, the enemies are detailed and curious. I especially enjoyed the touch-ups they have made to the minotaurs. Sometimes you can even lose yourself in the lavish background cinematics that play-out around you. Such as the on-going battles of the gods and titans.
//Gameplay// 10/10
Completely immersive. This is action gameplay in it's most perfected form. Battles are fun and challenging, plenty of upgrades and new equipment to add to the experience and allow for custom play styles. As for the boss battles, they are epic and typically take place among three phases. In my opinion, a boss isn't worthy of being fought unless he can best you a couple of rounds. This game definitely does not disappoint in that respect. Considering this game has no install option, I was amazed to learn that there would be no loading screens, aside from starting up from your last save-point. Everything remains smooth and seamless. Though, I did encounter one glitch, happened to me during a cut-scene, the audio went out of sync. Quick-time events are back, simply used as finishers in battle and a way to interact with particular scenarios.
//Longevity/Replay Value// 7/10
The story mode, on Normal difficulty, can take up to 13+ hours to complete, this estimated time included collecting all treasures and upgrades. Not bad for an action game, since some games have only half that much gameplay available these days. Because this game has such an interactive-action-movie feel to it, it can be easy to picture yourself doing a couple more play-throughs, eventually. Plus, due to the level of difficulty, you may even try to dive into it's harder settings just to see how good you really are. Let me not forget that there are special items you can collect on your original play-through that can only be used after the game is beaten. Also, completing the game will unlock the use of costumes and an easy-to-hard challenge arena, then later once all challenges are mastered, a custom arena function that lets you choose the enemies (you can even throw in civilians for novelty) you face will become available. There is also a slew of videos to enjoy, if you so choose.
//Last Words/Final Score// 9/10
I had just finished reviewing Dante's Inferno before getting my hands on a copy of this game, and it really put me in a spot. I was fine with the gameplay being a near rip, since God of War is an action series to aspire to rival, but there are a couple of stages that are included in each game that are way too similar. If you play each game back to back, you can't miss them. I'm not sure who was stealing ideas from who, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a coincidence. Anyway, besides all that, this game is phenomenal. If you are into action games, this one can't be missed. I would recommend playing the first two installments, which can now be found for PS3 in the God of War: Collection, the gameplay is still utterly enjoyable, plus you get to watch as Kratos completely screws up every bodies day for his own selfish reasons.... and makes it awesome.
//Buy/Rent/Skip//
This is definitely a game to own. It has a healthy amount of replay value that will have you playing through the story again in just a matter of time. Even if you can't afford it at it's launch price, I recommend a rental. Treat yourself right, don't miss out.
//Downloadable Content// Apollo
This is a costume that came with a pre-order of the game from Amazon. I originally had pre-ordered the "Ultimate Edition", but canceled my order a month before the release. Oddly enough, that didn't matter, I was still sent a voucher. Lucky me. Ok, the costume doesn't look too much like the advertised concept art that was on the internet, it actually looks a lot cooler. Really, a nice costume. Eventually they'll release the pre-order costume on the PSN, and if it's a decent enough price, I'll recommend picking it up. Tho there is a couple down-sides: 1) You can't use the costume until you've beaten the game. 2) Using the costume disables trophies. 3) They have weird status effects. Example) When playing as Apollo: Your enemies deal 50% less damage, and you deal 50% less damage... so fights just last longer? Actually, I found that it was pretty helpful on Easy Mode so that you don't cut through everyone like butter. Oh, and here's one more down-side: 4) There are a lot of pre-rendered cut-scenes that are made to look like in-game graphics, but every time these scenes happen, you do not appear in your costume. Ya, I know, I probably just wasted too much time talking about this costume.
Last edited by ShinMajin; 03-24-2010 at 08:54 AM.