God of War 3 review

by Shelly Van Alen

If you love Greek Mythology and video games in equal measure, look no further than God of War 3 - which has stronger puzzles and gameplay than the first two video games. We review the games and take you through the franchise mythos! *spoilers will follow*

Amazon: God of War 3

God of War III - The Beginning of the End

God of War III picks up where the second installment left us off. Kratos, the nick-named ‘Ghost of Sparta’, is seeking revenge against his father, Zeus. Kratos has gone back in time and now has the Titans on his side. If you’re a newbie to the game series, you may be asking yourself questions like “How is he the son of Zeus and who is Kratos?” Then I suggested reading the next two section. If you’re already a fan, then skip to the God of War III section.

God of War I - Kratos, The Ghost of Sparta

When you first meet Kratos in God of War, he is standing on the ledge of a cliff, looking down... “The gods of Olympus have abandoned me.” As these words escape his lips, he casts himself down into the rocky waters below. We soon find out that death is not his fate yet; he is pulled out of the water by an unseen force. As the first game progresses, we slowly learn that Kratos is haunted by the murders of his wife and young daughter that he himself committed and in order to rid himself of the horrid memories, he does the bidding of the gods. In the end, he defeats Ares, the God of War and in doing so takes his place. End of story, right? Wrong.

God of War II - Overwhelmed by Power

The second God of War game picks up with Kratos having become even more destructive than Ares, the deceased and past God of War. He causes havoc and destruction, earning the praise and prayers of his beloved Sparta. But when he is about to come down and assist with the Spartan army’s destruction of the city of Rhodes, he is suddenly betrayed by a fellow god who quickly reveals himself to be Zeus. Sent down to Hades, he escapes but not as a god, but as a mortal once more. Through the course of this game, we follow Kratos on his mission to find the Sisters of Fate and change his fate. He encounters enemies such as Medusa’s gorgon sister, Euryale, Perseus, and Icarus - all of whom he defeats with ease. Flash forward to the ending, and Kratos battles Zeus with Athena intervening and in an act of sacrifice, Athena is killed when she jumps in front of the blade meant to kill Zeus. As she dies, Athena reveals that Kratos is in fact Zeus’s son.

God of War III

“Zeus! Your son has returned!” screams Kratos as he hangs onto Gaia, the Mother of Earth who along with the other Titans is climbing Mount Olympus. Combined with the better-defined, more visually stunning graphics the PS3 offers, God of War III is an an incredible game to play.

The stakes are higher. The bosses are not only bigger, but they are tier 1 gods such as Poseidon and Hades. With each god you defeat in the game, a different horror is released onto the world. You also get to travel back to the Underworld and to the location of the Labyrinth. (Although the Minotaur is nowhere to be seen.)

God of War III is not only more challenging in its game play and battles but also in its puzzles as compared to the fights and puzzles we encountered in the past games.

And who can forget the weapons? Of course, you still have your blades - now called the Blades of Exile. Along with old relics like Poseidon’s Trident that you found in the second game, you receive the Claws of Hades which can be used to tear the soul out of your enemies. You also are awarded the Nemesis Whip by Hephaestus and my personal favourite, the Nemean Cestus which resemble a pair of snarling lion heads, whom Hercules was their original owner.

I won’t reveal the ending of this game. I'll only say that it was worth the wait. And maybe, just maybe it leaves the chance that a fourth will be made ;)

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