God of War III: "2010 Retro" Review

Written by Troy Benedict Tuesday, 21 December 2010 06:00

2010 was a fantastic year for games and gamers alike.  Not only were some fantastic titles released, but there was also some amazing new technology unveiled.  Amongst the sea of astounding games, it’s hard to remember all of 2010’s finest games, like Sony Computer Entertainment’s God of War III released in March.

Kratos has never looked so good.  God of War II, was regarded as one of the PlayStation 2’s best-looking games, and it’s not surprising that GoW III looks utterly beautiful on the PlayStation 3. Not only is the game have some really detailed characters, but the settings are amazingly detailed, and the textures look almost real enough to reach out and touch on an HDTV screen.

There is nothing really new in God of War III in terms of gameplay. If you’ve played one God of War game, you’ve played them all.  The controls are practically identical to the previous two titles, with a couple of new moves mixed in to keep things fresh.

One of God of War III’s greatest strengths, in my opinion, occurs early in the game when we witness the death of Poseidon at the hands of the vengeful Kratos.  In perhaps what is a video game first (or at least an actual well-done first), we see an example of an excellently executed (pun intended) example of 2nd perspective: kicking you opponent’s ass through their own eyes.

God of War III focuses on what makes video games fun, by throwing Kratos into the summer blockbuster-like action moments a lot more often, and keeps the slow, exploratory (and repetitive) moments to a minimum.

While it doesn’t quite feel like a Game of the Year contender to me, it’s a really high-quality title, and is certainly worthy of your attention.  If you’re looking for a good game to play, but don’t want to shell out $60 for a brand new copy of late-2010’s most popular games, I highly recommend checking out God of War III.