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God of War III Remastered
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Graphics & Sound:
The now decade-old God of War franchise is one you'll hear plenty of talk about when it comes to the joining of incredible production values with simple yet excellent gameplay systems. And amazingly, it's one of those few series that remains mostly consistent in its quality. Sure, some are better than others, but all of them are enjoyable. In this new era of the remaster, Sony has decided to give one of its best-looking games a facelift.
While the consensus seems to be that every God of War game is a technical marvel for each represented platform, it's nice to see that the artistic design gets just as much praise, if not more. Each of these games has ensnared our imaginations with flights of fancy depicting what ancient Greece would have looked like. They've all delivered a sense of scale that has been incredibly difficult to match, even by current-generation standards. And last but certainly not least, this is still one of the most gruesome video games ever made. God of War and God of War II feature some bloody kills, but they're more in the vein of "That was freaking awesome." God of War III's are more in the vein of "Aw, hell no. That's just wrong! Ew!" Mythological creatures are unzipped and eviscerated, heads are ripped off with sadistic slowness. One boss battle in particular had me wondering if the developers took notes from Japanese torture techniques during World War II. But that's only part of it: this is still a gorgeous game. The question of "exactly how much more gorgeous is it than the PlayStation 3 version?" is a bit more difficult to answer.
God of War III's sound design is on a razor's edge between sweeping majesty and campy schlock. The soundtrack is decidedly the former, with franchise veterans Gerard Marino, Ron Fish, Mike Reagan, and Cris Velasco returning to the fold. I remember playing God of War II and almost hearing my jaw hit the floor when I recognized Harry Hamlin as Perseus. God of War III one-ups that with even more star power. With the likes of Rip Torn as smith god Hephaestus, Adrienne Barbeau as the profoundly devoid-of-grace Hera, the ubiquitous Malcolm McDowell as Daedalus, Kevin Sorbo "reprising" his role as Hercules, and the always wonderful Clancy Brown as Hades, God of War III isn't exactly short on Hollywood talent. At the core is T.C. Carson as Kratos and Linda Hunt as Gaia. Hunt's delivery is excellent, as it always has been, while I'm amazed that Carson hasn't vomited his larynx after six games of the angry schtick. |
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Gameplay:
For a while now, I've thought that God of War was a poor title for this series. Personally, I much prefer "A Psychotic Albino Gorilla Murders the World." After all, that is more or less what happens over the course of every game in the series. But we'll recap the main plot of God of War III for posterity's sake. God of War II ended with the accidental death of Athena at the hands of our monosyllabic ape man protagonist Kratos, who then went on to scale Mount Olympus with (rather, on) the Titan Gaia in an attempt to overthrow the gods and put Zeus in his place.
God of War III opens up right where that cliffhanger left off, with a stunning introduction that is easily one of the best in action gaming history. But the coup ultimately fails, and Kratos is cast into Hades... again. During his swim to the shores of the River Styx, he is stripped of all of his abilities and weapons, but not all is lost. Athena, having ascended to a new plane of existence and suddenly having a desire to see the gods of Olympus cast down, lets Kratos in on a little secret: she knows how to take them down and is willing to help Kratos do it.
God of War III's story isn't subtle or mature, but anyone who's played this series knows what to expect. You can make a laundry list of figures in Greek mythology who aren't dead at the end of God of War II and trust that they'll show up at one point over the course of this final chapter. My biggest problem with God of War III's story is what I call "Dexter syndrome." This is when a protagonist becomes so incredibly loathsome that you look forward to his comeuppance, and the writing staff cops out of delivering a meaningful endgame. All the pieces that put God of War III's contrived, noncommittal denouement into place feel manipulative and dishonest, and the final shot of the series actually made me stand up and shout "Oh, come on!"
But the chances are, you aren't interested in a God of War game for its literary ambitions. You're probably wanting brutal combat and amazing visuals. If that's the case: good news: God of War III has both in spades. The combat is as satisfying and hard-hitting as it's ever been, providing a primal, almost animalistic experience that seems expressly designed to help the player let off some steam. And man, is it an outlet: Kratos is a merciless, savage individual who has very little humanity left. Different kinds of combat scenarios mix well with the incredibly varied environments to keep things fresh throughout the game's ten (or so) hour length.
Of course, over the course of his rampage, things will slow down from time to time, and Kratos will have to use his wits (sparse as they are) to proceed. There are a couple of fascinating puzzles, one of which is almost Escheresque, another of which involves music and a bit of fourth-wall breakage. These never interrupt the flow of the game and stand out as nice watercooler moments, brief respites from all the murder and mayhem. |
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Difficulty:
In most action games, the camera can be unwieldy, which in turn can lead to some undeserved punishment. Most of the God of War games have no such problem, thanks to a fixed camera that is always smart about what it shows. Thankfully, this is the case in God of War III; if you die, it's your fault. The game is designed to accommodate and hone your reflexes, and enemies telegraph their attacks in ways that make it easy for you to decide whether or not to parry or get out of the way.
On top of the excellent controls and smooth learning curve, there are four difficulty levels to choose from; the hardest, Chaos, unlocking after finishing the game once. Each difficulty level is about what you'd expect it to be, even though you're bound to come across the occasional spike. Such are the ups and downs of game development. |
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Game Mechanics:
God of War's gameplay mechanics haven't changed much over the years, and that's mostly a good thing. It's a good bit slower than that in most other action franchises; if your reflexes are sharp enough to carry you through Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry 3, you're more than ready for God of War III Remastered. Movement is slower and combat is slower, regardless of what implements of destruction you choose to utilize.
Upon hindsight, it's kind of hilarious that Sony Santa Monica was never able to come up with primary weapons that anyone would actually see as viable to the insanely fun swinging chain blades that have changed names multiple times over Kratos' adventures. In God of War III, the Blades of Exile (the name du jour) will still be your go-to, but the development team has come up with the best alternatives the series has seen yet. Standing out is the Nemean Cestus, a pair of giant metal gauntlets that serve as an up close and personal alternative to the Blades of Exile. The Claws of Hades are also stylishly fun to use, but more difficult to get the hang of. Finally, you have the Nemesis Whip, a special weapon forged by Hephaestus himself.
It wouldn't be a God of War game without magic. Of course, Kratos is able to harness the powers of Spartans, Titans, and Gods to wreak havoc on his enemies. Army of Sparta has a spectral formation of soldiers crash down in a protective circle, only to thrust their spears violently outward, much like in the movie 300. Soul Summon does exactly what its name suggests -- that is, once you've acquired the Claws of Hades. The Nemean Roar allows Kratos to slam the Cestus into the ground, producing a giant shockwave. Finally, Nemesis Rage envelops Kratos and his immediate surroundings with multiple lightning strikes.
Two mechanics that make the transition completely intact and unchanged are the upgrade system and the cinematic quick time events. As you kill enemies, they spill red orbs in addition to gallons and gallons of blood. These orbs are to be spent on your weapons and magic abilities. As you reach new levels, more and more combinations and effects become available. And while quick time events have been played out well past their collective welcome, this is a series that usually gets them completely right. So no worries there.
You already know that God of War III is a great game. It's not best in series, but it's still a really good time. God of War III Remastered is essentially the same game; very little is different about this release. Even the jump in visual fidelity between the original release and God of War III Remastered is minimal; maybe there just wasn't room for improvement. Either way, it's not a good reason to make the upgrade. However, if you either haven't played the original release or want the option to play it on your PlayStation 4, this is a pretty easy recommendation.
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-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos |
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