God Of War III: Hands On Impressions [PlayStation 3]

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Posted November 29, 2009 by DMoore in News, PS3.

BeefJack recently got hands-on time with God of War III. Here are our impressions of what will surely be one of the PS3’s biggest games of 2010.

The demo I played was the same one Sony have been showing for several months and involves everybody’s favourite Spartan Ghost following a titan as it crashes its way through a city. There are no story spoilers as the demo barely has an opening cut scene, instead it drops you straight into the action.

If you have played a God Of War game before, then do not expect anything revolutionary from the series’ third outing. This is a God of War game through and through and ripping evil monsters apart is the same as always, so hammer the X, Square and Triangle buttons to unleash powerful attacks while circle blocks.

You have two weapons in the demo, the brutal yet standard blades of Chaos and Cletus, two massive lion head shaped cloves that deal heavy damage, even when using light attacks.

Starting off on a road, you are quickly assault by demonic forces, which you proceed to violently rip apart as you make your way to the city. There are civilians running around as well, and Kratos being a total bad ass means he doesn’t really care if they live or die, so don’t worry about unleashing hell and having them get in your way.

Each weapon now has special attacks, which I believe is new to the series. By pressing L1 and one of the face buttons, you get some extra powerful attacks. For example L1 and Square with Cletus gloves equipped throws out a spiked ball on a chain from each fist, with Kratos then slamming them together to hit multiple foes at once for massive damage.

As you fight through the town you encounter your first mini boss. Well perhaps mini boss isn’t that right turn, but its big, nasty and wants to pierce you with a big spear. Its also a centaur, half man half horse and again its big. These fights represent great little set pieces with a level, and the centaur fight was no exception.

Once I dispatched the Centaurs smaller minions, I concentrated on the big guy himself, wailing on him with all of the might of Sparta until that familiar glowing circle appears above his head. Hitting the button throws you into a brutal quick time event that ends with Kratos literally spilling the creature’s intestines onto the floor.

After a few more sections of fighting, Kratos happens upon the Titan being attacked by Helios, God of the Sun. This involves running up to a big cannon and shooting said Sun God with a big arrow. However, are our err, hero, readies the cannon, something moves at the front the screen.

This really shows the power of the PS3 as a large chimera monster, with a snake for a tail charges from the bottom of the screen. It is really slick and really makes the ensuing fight that much more intense.

Once the creature has been dealt with, involving three separate QTE’s and one of its own horns through its head, Helios is hit with that big arrow and then grabbed and crushed by the Titan before being thrown against a mountain. Wanting Revenge, Kratos heads on after what’s left of him.

This results in a nice little platforming section after Kratos shows the ability to ride the Harpy demons across a large gap by grabbing one with his chains of chaos and then jumping to another when it was highlighted with a blue glow. The platforming is very simple, but when a civilian runs out on to a window ledge to avoid a fire, Kratos brutally smacks his head against the wall and drops him to his death. Nice.

Once the crash site is located, another fight ensues but this gives the demo its two bloodiest moments. During the fight a Cyclops appears and anyone who has played the series before knows what Kratos must do to kill them. Here, however, brutality is at its best as our hero slowly rips the eyeball from the beast, optic nerve and all, and the eye looks shiny shockingly realistic.

The demo ends with Kratos, in a close up sequence, ripping the head of Helios and gaining it as a useful item in the process. Once that is complete there is just enough time for another fight and then a sequence that shows our hero’s new flying abilities as he shoots up a tunnel, dodging falling debris before closing with a dash for the Titan’s head.

Nothing got the blood pumping more and if the game can remain that intense for its full length then God of War III will certainly one of the biggest and best games of 2010.

Tagged as God Of War III, SCE Studios Santa Monica, Sony Computer Entertainment