After brutally killing and decapitating tons of Zeus’ minions with his trusty and brand new Blades of Exiles to reach the very top of Mount Olympus and finally exacting his revenge on the king of the Gods himself, Kratos finally ends his relentless quest for vengeance. After seeing the end credits role, there was only one word that came to my mind to sum up the whole experience, AWESOME.

What developers Santa Monica has done in bringing our favourite bad-ass hero to the Playstation 3 is nothing short of a modern miracle. God of War 3 is by far the most graphically brutal and violent game in the series. The level of brutality is so outrages, so violent that it sometimes bring shivers to my spine just watching my enemies die in painful agonizing death as Kratos executes his foes in gruesome fashion. However, it is still both entertaining and a very satisfying experience. The visceral combat and overwhelming sense of scale that has become the hallmarks of this brutal franchise has been greatly enhanced and pushed much farther than ever before. Thanks to the power of the Playstation 3, the developers where able to throw every idea they had cramped up in their insane heads of theirs and on to the players to experience and enjoy. God of War 3 relishes death unlike any other games out there, dispatching mythical beasts. towering Titans and the not-so-immortal Gods of Olympus as he makes way to meet his ‘daddy, Zeus.

The sheer difference in scale is astounding.

If you’ve played God of War 2, you’ll know why Kratos is so pissed off with Zeus. After being momentarily killed by his own ‘father’ at the beginning of God of War 2, Kratos has spent every waking hour of his life to return the favor, and it is here that he will finally have his revenge. The sense of determination seen in Kratos is amazing. His unwavering quest for vengeance is plastered all over his face as he shows the same wicked scowl almost the entire time. Although it is easy to understand what motivates Kratos to push on, it does get a bit repetitive at the mid point of the game. However, the mood of the game does shift to a more serious note at the later part, revealing a side of Kratos’ other beyond violent retribution. It is here that we see a more human side of Kratos, where he sees beyond his need for vengeance. Kratos’ tale becomes moving, powerful and provides a satisfying conclusion to this epic tale. Although I had mixed feelings on how the game ended after all that violence and killing, I couldn’t help to think that it was the only way to finally end the saga.

On the game’s plot, God of War 3 begins immediately where the second game left off as we see Kratos standing on the back of the Titan Gaia, scaling Mount Olympus, urging her and her fellow Titans to destroy the Gods of Olympus once and for all. As soon as Zeus’ realize the impending invasion, his fellow gods begin an all out counter-attack, and proved to be too much for the Titans to handle, but not for Kratos though. Like the 1st two games, this sets the stage for the 1st epic boss fight. The first 25 minutes of God of War 3 will probably be known as one of the best opening sequence in gaming history. As camera shows the Titans make their way up Mount Olympus, it seamlessly pans and zooms straight onto Kratos riding on the back of Gaia, as he starts dispatching minions of Olympus. The game lets the players experience the insane difference in size of these two reluctant allies as the camera zooms in and out to show the overall action. As I was moving Kratos around, I soon realize that the ground I’m treading on is actually a gigantic living being. All I can say was ….’WOW!‘,

Scars, skin, body paint and armor - all detailed to perfection

God of War 3 easily stands as one of the best looking PS3 game to date, possibly even surpassing Uncharted 2 in my opinion. Kratos is no stranger to brutality and lots of blood, and the stunning visuals makes his penchant for beheading and mutilating all the more gruesome. It’s almost nauseating to watch at first as Kratos slices open the stomach of a Centaur and seeing it suffer in agony on it’s exposed entrails on the ground, when he brutally rips out the eye of a Cyclops and see its optic nerve dangling around, and when he executes the final killing blow on the lesser gods of Olympus, be it chopping their legs off or ripping their heads off. Yes, you’ll be seeing a lot of this bloody, gruesome brutality presented in high definition and in extremely stunning visuals.

The developers spent a large amount of time on the finer details as well, as evident in the screen shot above. Kratos is probably one of the most visually detailed in game character on the PS3. Every facet of Kratos, pores, skin, eyes, scars, body paint and teeth are rendered with incredible detail and godly texture. Besides how he looks, Kratos also moves a lot better, much smoother and more realistic on the PS3. I clearly noticed how his muscles flexed realistically when trying to balance himslef while riding on top of a cerberus. Although the other in game characters like the lesser Gods of Olympus don’t share this much detail, most of them don’t last that long in the game for me to care so much, as Kratos makes short work of them whenever one crosses his path.

Helios, the God of the Sun gets a taste of some of Kratos' rage

One of the aspects that the developers manage to pull out very well is the lighting effects in the game. Besides making everything in the game look awesome and pretty, the lighting effects creates an interesting perspective when the game is trying to show the sheer difference in scale between the characters and the levels. It also adds the mood and setting of the game. We couldn’t see much of this in the previous God of War games, but in the third instalment the developers really showed the wonders they can do with the lighting. Walls illuminate whenever Kratos swing his blades, light from fire lamps cast realistic shadows on the wall, amazing bloom effects and a very smart way to incorporate light into one of the game’s puzzle elements.

Combat in the game hasn’t change very much, but it has certainly been improve with new moves, waepons and magical abilities. The Blades of Exiles, an upgraded version to the Blades of Athena, is Kratos first weapon of choice. You’ll be able to use a total of 4 types of weapons by the end of the game. Although their basic move set doesn’t differ much from each other, they are each very unique and offer much variety in punishing your enemies. The biggest improvement in combat is that you’re able to switch your weapons on the fly with just one button press, and it’s incredibly satisfying and totally fun to be able to do so. All magic abilities are tied to each type of weapon that requires mana to execute, and sub weapons, like the Bow of Apollo uses an item gauge that replenishes quickly once used. A huge improvement since I can now fire the bow endlessly without having to scour for mana orbs. My favourite weapon in the game are the Blades of Hades, that has a very long attack range and I can call forth undead spirits.

Say, those are really nice weapons, I want 'em!

The quick time sequence has returned and are both satisfying and very cool to execute. As most of you would know, hitting a certain few enemie enough times will eventually put them in a state where Kratos can execute a quick time event with precise button presses to execute them in brutal fashion. Although it does get repetitive at times, due to the fact that Kratos always uses the Blades of Exiles to execute them. It would be nice to have a different finishing move for every weapon in the game, but it is still fun to watch and never gets boring. Aside from the four basic weapons that you’ll acquire, the Blade of Olympus is also available, but is now a special weapon where you can use activate when the Rage of Sparta gauge is filled. It offers Kratos temporary immortality and god-like speed. Personally I think this is somewhat of a downgrade from the previous God of War games. I still preferred the Rage of the Titans mode in God Of war 2 where it was more brutal and lasted longer.

Overall, God of War 3 succeeds in almost every department. It is visually awesome with special effects and textures unlike any other games out there. The display of sheer brutality and determination is awe-inspiring. The mixed of combat and puzzles are a blast to play. Epic boss fights and rewards are fun and satisfying. The Greek inspired soundtrack is perfectly incorporated in the game with a strong emphasis in keeping the player on the edge of their seat. Voice acting is still superbly done with an impressive voice cast from Hollywood.

Where Kratos walks, Gods tremble.

Although to the experienced gamer, the game might feel a little short in game-play hours, but for those who wants to soak in the sheer perfection and savour every last drop of blood in it can push God of War 3 to almost 20 hours. I finished it in roughly 15 hours. Finally, after everything is over, I was left mesmerized and very satisfied with it. Though the end does show a tiny promise of a new chapter in the God of War franchise, the finale of Kratos’ tale to overthrow the Olympians is brilliantly delivered. This is one gaming experience that none will forget for a very long time.

Rating : 9.5/10