God of War III

Anyone who goes into God of War III expecting a lot of new ideas and changes to the series is going to be disappointed. God of War's strength has always been its spectacle and the strength of its design and production in every area, not its innovation in the video game landscape. If the first game was more consistent, I might call it the best in the series, simply because the formula was still new at the time. But because of the general nosedive it took in quality in the final act, I preferred the sequel's more even design, and since the third game follows at about the same level and is improved by the big jump in graphics and scale in some of the more important battles, I have no trouble calling it my favorite of the three.

No, it's not very original. God of War never was though, and it succeeds because of the confidence with which it takes all of its familiar elements and combines them into an entertaining whole greater than the sum of its parts. God of War III wraps up Kratos' story, at least for now, and does it with enough panache that it seems like a fitting send-off for the character and the storyline. The ending seems a bit out of place for the general tone of the series and also adds some mumbo jumbo that I didn't really expect, but in the end I didn't mind it that much. The climax of the plot features an interesting (although again, not wholly unique) interlude with a very unusual visual style that's probably worth seeing, and in general, while Kratos isn't a very sympathetic protagonist, I enjoyed the way everything escalated and seeing him unleash his rage on everything around him while the war he's raging wreaks havoc on the world. It's almost absurd how many famous gods and other Greek figures he manages to kill while only managing a few in the first two games, but I've always enjoyed the special way the series butchers the mythology, and its takes on a few personalities are pretty interesting.

For the most part, the game plays like a prettier God of War. There are some nice additions to the combat, like a grapple to pull yourself towards enemies and a few weapons besides the traditional chain blades. The first two games had other equipment that was worth screwing around with for a bit, but this is the first time I can say that they are actually about as much fun to play with. I especially liked the cestus, which is the standard powerful fist weapon except it manages to avoid feeling clunky. Tying Kratos different magic attacks to the weapons allows for some extra abilities to, and along with easier weapon switching your options in combat are more numerous than ever. Besides just killing lots of guys, the platforming and puzzle elements are as strong as ever, with some unique situations to use your different climbing skills in and mind-twisting setups as intriguing as anything in the series. There's one area that's eventual solution seems ripped out of Echochrome and the labyrinth stands up to any puzzle set piece in the series. As usual, there's a sort of circular design to the game, as you see certain obstacles long before you can actually get past them and you get the feeling that it's a living world instead of just a linear series of levels, revisiting some places without it feeling like backtracking.

The graphics make everything more enjoyable, with some amazing background vistas, really good looking characters, and very nice effects on things like blood and fire. But where the new hardware really shines is in the few situations where the game's new sense of scale really comes into play. Anyone who played the last game knows it ends with Kratos accompanying an army of titans climbing up Mount Olympus, and that's right where the third game begins, except this time it's all really happening in engine around you, as you have to fend off a gigantic enemy while riding on the back, arms and head of Gaia herself. There's nothing terribly revolutionary about the mechanics of the fight, but the fact that you're doing it in this situation and they're actually pulling it off is very impressive. There are a couple other situations where this sort of scale shows up, and it never stops being impressive. Not every moment in the game is great, with some fights going on a bit too long and the occasional unintuitive bit of design. But in general, it's a very confidently and competently made game, with great boss fights, amazingly brutal moments, solid voice acting and music, and gorgeous graphics. There's something to be said for simple spit and polish, because it can take anything good and make it better.