So we're a little late to the party on this one. Odds are you've seen impressions floating around the interwebs about the God of War III demo that was showcased that this past year's E3, and if you recently picked up the God of War Collection then you know you can now give that same demo a run for its money on your own time, without having to wait in line or smell the sweat dripping from the cos-players breathing down your neck. And that's what we've done; waited for a chance to enjoy the demo on our own terms; with our own massive television and surround sound system and without the hysteria of E3 going on behind us. Because that's how we roll. We also know how much you value our opinion on everything gaming, so we're finally giving our impressions of the awesomeness that is God of War III.
The best way to start is by asking a simple question: Have you played previous God of War games? If the answer to that is "yes," then you know what to expect from GoW III. If you answered "no," stop reading this and run out and buy the God of War Collection you fool! The previous two entries in the series are easily regarded as some of the best action games of all time and it would be a disservice to the story Sony Santa Monica has crafted if you jump into the fray with God of War III when it releases next year.
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Now that those lamers who haven't played God of War are gone, we can get down to brass tacks. Like previously mentioned, God of War III is exactly what you would expect having played the previous titles in the series. You will be button mashing and stringing together massive combos to brutally murdering everything (innocents and enemies) in your path. However, with the power of the Playstation 3, Sony Santa Monica has produced one of the prettiest, most brutally violent video game to date. Seriously, this sucker is gory as shit. With the development house's patented "zipper tech" you will literally see entrails spool out of a centaur's bellies when cut open (think Tauntaun in The Empire Strikes Back), and the tendons holding in a cyclops' eye rip when Kratos plucks the thing from the beast's head.
There is a even a section near the end of this demo where you come across a wounded Helios and proceed to rip off his head so you can use it as a flashlight. As you perform a God of War staple mini-game to brutally finish off Helios you begin to see the flesh holding his head to his neck tear then rip completely off, blood spraying everywhere. God of War III is not for the faint at heart. The first two God of War games no doubt pushed the envelope for graphic violence in video games, but God of War III takes that same envelope and shoots a buckshot through the back of its head while forcing its family to watch. It's brutal.
God of War III will also feature a number of new moves for Kratos to perform. This demo showcases two of them: riding on the back of a cyclops and using an enemy foot soldier as if it were a battering ram. I feel I've drawn reference to Batman: Arkham Asylum a lot lately, but riding a cyclops in GoW III is a lot like riding the venom injected goons in Arkham Asylum. After performing a finishing move mini-game, you'll hop onto the cyclops' back and it'll start bumbling around, slapping and killing anything in its path due to being pretty angry that a huge sword is shoved in its head.
The battering ram, much like with the cyclops, lets you steam roll through a group of enemies. However, the battering ram is a new grapple type in God of War III, making it a perfect counter maneuver when you're being overwhelmed by large hordes of undead troops. It might not do a lot of damage but it's a guaranteed life-saver when you're outnumbered. And while these two new moves are the only tastes of freshness we get from the God of War III demo, it would be dumb to think we've seen everything Sony Santa Monica has up their sleeve. Odds are SSM has some pretty X-treme maneuvers for Kratos planned, ones that we won't know about until the full retail game hits next year.
The only real downside to the God of War III demo is that it's only 20 minutes long. By the time you reach the intense conclusion your jaw will be on the floor and you'll be wishing you had the full game spinning in your PS3 to see what happens next. God of War III looks incredible (one of the most visually striking games on the PS3), and it plays just as smoothly as you've come to expect from the series. GoW III is also the conclusion to Kratos' epic revenge plot against the Gods themselves, making you an idiot if you skip out on this one when it releases on the PS3 next year.
