"I'm Kratos, Destroyer of Gods, and my game is pretty good too!!"

“Chaos will reign supreme". The tag-line of the God of War finale says it all, within mere minutes of playing, the world is launched into utter chaos. Which can only mean ONE thing, Kratos Is back, and his mission is far from over. But is Kratos’ 3-game vengeance fulfilled or is he only a mortal man?

Story:

What is arguably one of the more creative and entertaining stories of the last couple of generations, GoW III continues Kratos’ tale and finally ends his bloody rampage and quest for Zeus’s blood. Picking up right where GoW II left off, Kratos, assisted by the Titans, makes his ascension up Mt. Olympus to face Zeus once and for all. With easily one of the best opening sequences in recent gaming memory, Gaia’s ascent is simply breathtaking. As you’re launched from arm to arm and in and out of Gaia, the pacing is breakneck and the brutality is as just.

With Kratos using any and all means (and famous deities) to reach his ultimate goal, even the Titans are mere pawns in his quest. But damn, they're impressive and add a nice gameplay idea to keep the series fresh. The scale is absolutely astounding! While later in the game, you get to experience more of this awesomeness, in one of the best boss battles in a long time, I truly wish there were more of these epic moments. They raised the bar quite a bit for boss battles in the future as far as scale.

Unfortunately, by the ¾ mark, the story takes a nosedive. And the ENTIRE tone just shifts to the other end of the spectrum and NOT for the better. To me, it slaps the entire series in the face and changes Kratos forever. While I see from a storytelling viewpoint on why this moment was included, it really just brought my whole drive to a screeching halt. It’s the only chink in the armor that is Kratos. As is the ending, if you can call it that. Not saying it was bad, I could see a person liking it, but really, THAT’S how you ended this trilogy, REALLY?!

Gameplay:

What has always been a series of button mashing and QTE’s, GoW’s controls are as slick as ever. Despite being rather simplistic, the depth of combos can mirror Ninja Gaiden . “More of the same“ will run through your mind while playing, but it’s so smooth and satisfying, you’ll never get bored with the combat. As for the QTE segments, they decided to do it a little different and place the commands on the side, corresponding with their placement on the controller. “X” on the bottom, “O” on the right, etc.

It helps keep you in the cinematic, but doesn’t prevent you from missing any commands. A nice use of your peripheral vision, well done guys!

The pacing of the game is smooth, you never do too much of the same thing, and the game will run you about 9-10 hours barring extra gaming sessions. While I wouldn’t drop $60 on this title, I could see the trophy whores and OCD gamers spending more than enough time to make up for the admission price to make up for it.

Presentation (Graphics and Sound):

Without really needing to address this category, the graphics are outstanding as ever. The character detail is incredible and the scale of the game is epic by definition. Seeing Kratos on a Titan while another Titan is in the background fighting against Poseidon, you will be in awe. Best part, there was NO slowdown the entire time! Despite all the action and mayhem onscreen, the game never chugged once, which is absolutely astounding.

Also, there were a couple of fights that had a couple of nice touches and tweaks to them (which I won't spoil here) and I can see why people would be easily scared by Kratos' might. B-R-U-T-A-L!

I was amazed how well the in-game cut-scenes looked and the fact that besides the opening cinematic, none of it was pure CG; it was ALL in-game! While I know that they can do wonderful CG, I was amazed they made in-game look that good, that I didn’t mind it at all. Seeing minor skin abrasions and veins on characters really shows the dedication the team applied to the title. Small touches like these help me really appreciate a product more than other things.

As for the soundtrack, nothing too groundbreaking, it all sounded carried over from the previous games, so don’t expect anything new, but it isn’t intolerable. As for voice acting, Kevin Sorbo drops in for the BEST. Cameo. EVER. That’s all I’m saying. I was also dumbfounded to hear Rip Torn as Hephaestus, not because of bad acting (he did a great job), but on the sheer fact that is Rip F*cking Torn!

Final Thoughts:

What started off as a solid finale hits a rough spot at the end, and puts a new perspective on one of the most bad-asses in recent memory that I’m not sure many are going to like. Still, the journey there is incredible and well worth it, and might make up for the lackluster ending. MIGHT!

Overall, I wished they developed a better ending for the series, but the previous titles still have two of the most imaginative stories put to disc and this adds a nice 75% to it. Unfortunately, they couldn’t go the full 3 for 3.

Final Score: 9