Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: SCE Santa Monica
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now

In 2005, SCE Studios Santa Monica introduced us to Kratos, a former Spartan who was tricked by the god of war himself into killing his own family. After this, Kratos became consumed with one thought: revenge on the gods who had forsaken him. Three games and thousands of dead Olympians later, Kratos’s journey will come to an end, one way or another.

God of War III begins right where God of War II left off. Kratos is riding the Titan Gaia as her fellow Titans begin to ascend Mount Olympus. Zeus and the remaining gods are doing what they can to slow Kratos and Gaia’s climb, but are met with little success. What occurs instead is one of the greatest opening levels I have ever played in a video game. The rest of God of War III is full of action, platforming, and a little bit of problem solving as well.

The violence in this game is unmatched. Some of it is gory, some of it is brutal, and some of it is just plain hilarious. To cause such incredible violence, you need adequate tools. Kratos’s Blades of Chaos return as his primary weapon. Throughout the story you gain access to several new weapons and abilities, including a particularly punishing pair of Cesti, hooks that summon souls from the Underworld, and the head of a heavenly enemy. Each weapon has moves you can unlock by powering them up with souls, a feature that returns from past God of War games.

You have all these wonderful toys with which to inflict pain on your enemies, and the game’s (mostly) tight controls make killing a breeze. For everything except jumping, the game is incredibly responsive. Movement, dodging, swinging and stabbing are all easily accomplished. I never once experienced any slowdown, regardless of how many monsters were on screen at once. The voice acting is incredible, and the story is excellent. But the visuals are the absolute best thing about this game. Everything in God of War III looks amazing. The art style is a take on ancient Grecian art, and it looks great.

I want to talk about God of War III‘s flaws now, but there isn’t much to say. Just before I finished the game, I took a look at my stats. I had 47 deaths. Of those 47 deaths, 40 of them were jumping-related. In most games with double-jump, you can jump as far as you can before hitting the button to jump a second time. That is not the case in God of War III, and until I figured it out, it was the most frustrating experience of my gaming life. Waiting too long to jump a second time causes your button pressing to do nothing, and you fall to your death. Sometimes, 17 times in a row. As a whole, I felt the game was much easier than the others, especially the final battle, which required little effort to complete.

If you enjoyed the previous God of War games, this is the thrilling conclusion you have been waiting to see. This game is an incredible ride from start to finish; you’ll find it entertaining every step of the way. God of War III is a parade of blades, blood, boobs and brutality that shouldn’t be ignored by anyone.

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