While it may be too early to class God of War III as more of the same, first impressions do count for a lot. If my first hands-on impressions of Kratos' latest adventure are anything to go by, then God of War III delivers what we've come to expect, but in finely detailed and gorier-than-ever fashion. Is that a disappointing thing? No. The phrase "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" comes to mind. As a big fan of the previous instalments, I could no doubt speak for many others like me when I say a next gen version of the previous two is just what the God of Gaming Thumbs ordered.
Kratos is back and he's angrier and more violent than ever. Just like the first two console instalments, part three starts you in the thick of the action (if this is actually the opening of game). The fast-paced action sees you pursue the head of the Sun God (literally), Helios as he rides away on his airborne flaming chariot. As you can imagine it's not a straight forward chase, with plenty of mythical creatures, puzzles and platforming sections standing in the way.
The demo begins with a close up of Kratos' angry face. A lot of detail has gone into the character, elaborating his grumpy traits and battle scar. It's impressive, but nothing we haven't come to expect from the Playstation 3's capabilities. From here the camera zooms out, an army of skeleton warriors emerge and it's down to you to unleash Kratos' wrath upon them. While the battle plays out it's easy to be distracted by the giant volcanic magma titan that's holding onto a building, as Helios whirls around his face. We've seen the same kind of titanic destruction in the opening to God of War II, but naturally not in this much detail. It's breathtaking and a little eerie seeing this giant trample its way across the city like it's an exhibition in a miniature model museum.
The trusted Blades of Athena are the standard weaponry, with the same controls as before (Triangle and Square used for heavy and light attacks, and Circle to grab enemies). Whereas the game play is similar to the games that came before this one, there are a few new additions to broaden the combat options. The weapons can now be switched by a simple tap of the D-pad, meaning you can transition from Blades to Gauntlets with no menu fiddling mid-battle. The Cestus Gauntlets are a new addition to his weaponry, and although Kratos has had Gauntlets before, these new ones are shaped like Lion's heads, allowing Kratos to smash through solid objects and inflict serious amounts of damage on stubborn foes. Like the blades, these gauntlets are also attached to chains. Added to the Arsenal is the new fire bow, which is equipped by tapping the shoulder button. This does exactly as it sounds and is particularly useful against those stubbornly placed enemies.
A host of the standard combos make a return, with new ones included to bring added life to the Cestus as well as the blades. During battle, pressing Square will allow Kratos to grab onto an enemy and use him to ram the rest of them. Afterwards, press Circle and Kratos will slam this unfortunate victim into the wall until he's no longer an issue. The combat has always been fluid and this is no exception.
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