Reviews// God of War III (PS3)

God of War III has a lot of weight riding on its broad, muscled shoulders. Like many games before, it has been built up by fans as the system-selling reason to own a Playstation 3. Warhawk, Heavenly Sword, Lair, Little Big Planet, Uncharted 2 and Heavy Rain have all been in similar situations and have all added their weight to the PS3's software library. Some have been heavier than others, but none have been the definitive, must-have reason to go out and buy a PS3 that the denizens of the Internet seemingly pre-destined them to be.

God of War III may, just, be that reason. This is an exceptional game that will entice third-person adventure lovers to the PS3, even if it's just to play this one game. Anybody who considers themselves a serious gamer should play this game at least once, it's a yardstick game that others will be judged against for years to come.

It's hard not to compare GoWIII to Bayonetta, Darksiders or Dante's Inferno since their gameplay mechanics are so similar and they have been released so close together. However, those games are not in the same league as GoWIII overall.

Like I said before, there is no other game that gives you the experience of scale that GoWIII does. It's difficult to imagine another game coming along soon that will. There is no other game that gives you the feeling of being so influential in world-shaping events. Others give you the task of saving the world or the universe, but none of them give you such a feeling of why it matters.

Kratos is such a great and likable anti-hero that you want to see him get through the next challenge. You want to see him kill the next boss. You want to see him take his final revenge on the Gods that have plagued and manipulated him his entire life since he made one mistake in a moment of weakness.

His is a compelling story that would work as an epic, a play, a book or a film. The fact that you get to interact with and shape that story is just the icing on the cake.

There are minor niggles of course, this is not a perfect game by any means. The camera is still uncontrollable and slightly demented in places. Sometimes it's a bit fiddly lining Kratos up with chests or levers. Worst of all, sometimes the platforming and jumping are imprecise. However, the rest of the game is so good and compelling that you can forgive it these minor imperfections.

SPOnG Score: 96%

Conclusion
Make no mistake, God of War III is a landmark game that shows what modern consoles, the PS3 in particular, are capable of. It is also a hugely challenging and enjoyable game with a compelling story and an engaging protagonist. If you own a PS3 and like action adventure games, you should buy this one. If you don't like them, try the demo on PSN, it's a good indication of the game even if it does throw you in at the deep end a little. If you don't own a PS3, this game is as good a reason as there has ever been to get one.