God of War III Review | Action Games | Adventure Games | Kratos | Rack Nerve

 

When IGN first reviewed God of War 3 for the PlayStation 3 in 2010, we gave it a 9.3 rating, indicating that it was "Amazing." This is what we said at the time:

"Kratos' console trilogy comes to a close with God of War 3. It isn't flawless, with some inconsistencies in plot and growth, but it is still an excellent overall package. The fighting is fantastic once more, it's bloodier than ever, and it's one of the most visually stunning games ever produced. I still think God of War II is the greatest of the three, but Sony Santa Monica did an excellent job wrapping up Kratos' quest for vengeance in God of War 3.""God of War 3 is a fantastic conclusion to Kratos' console trilogy. It isn't flawless, with some inconsistencies in plot and growth, but it is still an excellent overall package. The fighting is fantastic once more, it's bloodier than ever, and it's one of the most visually stunning games ever produced. Although I still think God of War II is the greatest of the trilogy, Sony Santa Monica did an excellent job wrapping up Kratos' quest for vengeance."

The addition of 1080p resolution, a more consistent frame rate of about 60 frames per second, and high-definition graphics and lighting effects to God of War 3 Remastered on PlayStation 4 recaptures the joy of the threequel. Kratos' final quest for revenge against the Olympian gods is even more gorgeously horrific thanks to these graphical enhancements (though not quite enough that it could pass for a game specifically built for the PS4). The "blah" plot is still a flaw, but the fantastic combat and action-platforming reminded me why I enjoy this ultra-gory series so much.

Because it begins up right where God of War 2's cliffhanger conclusion left off, and assumes you've played all the prior instalments (including Ready at Dawn's outstanding Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta for PSP), God of War 3 is an odd location for Sony to start remastering the series. If you've never played before, there's a brief review video, but it's not quite enough to give you the context you need. This makes it difficult to recommend to newbies, as they may be perplexed as to why half of the Olympians are already dead before the game begins, or why Kratos is so heartless toward those who claim to be his allies.

Despite knowing all that has gone before, I still think God of War 3's story is the poorest of the three. I don't appreciate how characters like Hermes and Hercules are presented and then dismissed so quickly, and the anticlimactic conclusion still leaves me with a terrible taste in my mouth.

However, it's difficult to remain enraged by such a lovely game. The already stunning graphics of God of War 3 have held up well over the last five years, and are even better now with updated textures and lighting. The walls of Olympia glisten brighter, and the shadows of Hades flickr seem more terrible. With the grace of a leaping ballet dancer, blood shoots through the air. Kratos' armour, too, has been greatly improved: it is intricately detailed and frequently splattered with gleaming gore. It may seem strange to claim that violence has a certain beauty, yet the gleaming HD graphics make even the most horrible scenes appealing.

The only time the graphical fidelity faltered was when I encountered characters like Helios and Hephaestus, who were given less attention to detail than Kratos. Their lower-res textures make them look a little weird, even with improved lighting and colour, and serve as a reminder that this game was designed for an earlier generation of hardware.

On the plus side, due to its last-gen origins, everything runs much faster. Although the original PS3 version of GoW 3 runs at 30 to 40 frames per second during gameplay, the Remastered PS4 version is noticeably smoother. It wasn't always at 60 frames per second, but it was almost always there, and it never dropped below that.

Kratos' battle mechanics aren't changed in any way outside that added layer of smoothness, but why should they be? They're among the best third-person shooters of all time, and they still hold up nicely in 2015. Kratos can quickly switch between multiple weapons, such as Hades' Claw and Apollo's Bow, with a simple tap of the D-pad or L2 trigger, combos are simple to perform with simple combinations of face buttons, and Kratos moves responsively, with the exception of the occasional iffy platform jump and awkward flight sequence (which requires you to dodge and weave incoming objects while flying).

The only significant difficulty I had was with the fixed camera; it's difficult to combat a pair of minotaurs when there's a large pillar in the way, for example. I also missed a couple of treasure chests because there's no convenient way to move the camera around and look for hidden fissures, but I was able to find them later when I revisited those places.

I was pleased to discover that the platforming is still in fantastic shape, and I had a lot of fun leaping across deep dungeons, negotiating tiny cliffs, and avoiding crumbling temple remains with my Blades of Exile. When Kratos is running atop Cronos and Gaia, Titans whose bodies are full-fledged levels, his hulking frame looks tiny compared to the stone statues of the Underworld Judges in Hades, and almost ant-like when he's running atop Cronos and Gaia, Titans whose bodies are full-fledged levels, God of War 3's sense of scale becomes jaw-dropping.

The majority of the environmental puzzles are very enjoyable. They're challenging, but not to the point of becoming frustrating. Certain stages, such as the Palace of Hades, are well-designed, with a variety of levers and props, like as steaming cauldrons, that propel Kratos into the air. Some of the puzzle solutions were needlessly violent to the point of being revolting (such as putting an innocent woman as a real cog in a wheel), but then again, this is Kratos we're talking about, so it's all in character.

Pros

• Good visual update
• Great combat
• Impressive scale

Cons

• Weak story
• Fixed camera angles

The Verdict

God of War 3 was a remarkable achievement in its day, and it continues to do so in God of War 3 Remastered. Its stunning graphics are even more stunning than before, and the action is more fluid thanks to a faster frame rate. The story may be confusing to newbies because it picks up right in the heart of the saga, but the thrilling fighting and huge set pieces stand up admirably.