God of War III Preview

March 11th, 2010

As the years go by it becomes more and more evident that “anticipation” is a key ingredient in every games early success.  You can call it hype or you can call it marketing, but there is always something to be said about games that consumers can’t wait to get their hands on.  In many ways, they are already a small success even though they haven’t seen the light of day yet.

When you talk about the God of War series, you really don’t have to justify anything to any gamer.  Both GOW and GOW II met and exceeded any expectations we had and cemented the series in the holy grounds of video game excellence.  The first two raked in huge numbers in terms of sales and took home a yacht full of awards.   Yeah, SCE Santa Monica has built themselves a reputation and a pretty rabid following with this one.

Naturally, SCE SM looked to complete their trilogy shortly after God of War II, and alas, 2010 rolled around and opportunity knocked.  It was Kratos at the door and he still had some killin’ to do.  The pressure is now fully placed on the shoulders of Stig Asmussen and his team to follow a couple of pretty tough acts in the first two, and ultimately, attempt to surpass them. 

So here we are… days away from the launch of God of War III on the Playstation 3, and it marks SCE’s first GOW game developed for their next generation console.  The game’s budget is around the $45 million mark, a clear indication of the type of firepower we can expect from the game. 

But of course, all those are just numbers, figures, and fuel for the hype machine.  What really sets the bar in video games is the experience.  We had the pleasure of playing God of War III at E3, Tokyo Game Show, and the demo itself.   From our brief experiences with the game, we can safely say that this will be the final stamp on the series to deem the trilogy “legendary”.

What is most respectable about GOW III is the fact that it stays true to the elements that made the series a household name.  The brutal and gruesome gameplay that we all know and love clearly exists at the heart of GOW III and is the key element that will still keep you playing this game.  It’s dark, it’s gritty, it’s Kratos doing work.  The controls have been kept in tact even with new attacks such as using your opponent as a battering ram and shattering someone’s sternum using your shoulder armor.   Even though the controls are unchanged, the combat system has received a new engine that keeps everything incredibly fresh and familiar at the same time.  There are also three new weapons in the game, but you’re going to have to see what those are come release day. 

Visually speaking… be prepared to be knocked into the middle of next week.  This is a “next-gen” experience in every sense of the phrase.  This game does the PS3 full justice and the PS3 does the game full justice.  It’s like a match made in heaven.  Everything is more fluid than its ever been… from the combat animations to something as simple as basic movement. 

God of War III is going to do some serious damage.   One of those aspects will be in game sales.  However, I firmly believe that the most important and significant damage it can potentially do in sales relates directly to the Playstation 3 console.  This is a game that has the power and substance to elevate a console that is already impressive on its own, but yet, can reach levels that it simply hasn’t risen to… yet. 

Submitted by: theprofessor29