Prodigal Son
Hey Zeus, Kratos is baaaaaaack! We've played the first half hour of God of War III. This is the part where you get to read about it. And yes, you will want to read about it.
Published: March 1, 2010
We're not really sure what it is about the God of War series that makes it so prone to hyperbolic statements, but it happens with startling regularity. The spinning bladed pillars in Hades from the original God of War weren't just frustrating, they were the biggest bullshit moment in the history of video games. God of War II wasn't just a pretty game that essentially closed out the blockbuster run on the PlayStation 2, it was the single most amazing game the PS2 has ever produced and looked better than most games on the Xbox or GameCube. God of War III isn't just impressive, it's so good that women standing too close to the PS3 when Kratos rips the arms off the first boss in the game will instantly orgasm and then become nine months pregnant from all the testosterone pouring out of the tee vee.
None of those things are fact, of course, and yet when you're in the middle of playing one of Sony Santa Monica's Greek mythology action masterpieces, it's hard not to get caught up in the moments of sheer exudation of joy or blind rage that come from the game's highs and lows. Things are so over-the-top, so relentlessly driven by a sense of male escapism that bedding two girls at once only to fight a massive statue brought to life for the entire first level just seems like something Kratos would do. It's over-the-top for other games, but it's certainly not beyond him.
Imagine, then, being given the reins to the first 30 minutes (give or take) of God of War III and then having the experience cut off shortly after the very first boss -- shortly after killing the god of the sea, no less. And then being asked to write about it. The balls, y'see, they are very blue. Luckily, we emerged from the God of War III showcase with the full game and will have a review as soon as Sony gives us the go-ahead, but for now, the beginning will suffice.
A beginning, we might add, that may well be the most epic and cinematic in any video game ever made. See? The hyperbole, she is inescapable! Let's try this, then: remember how insane and amazing the start of God of War II was with that level-long Colossus fight? Yeah, this may well top it. That's not reaching for superlatives or busting out a thesaurus to find the right words for "dear, sweet Baby Jesus, that was... I... whaaaaaaa?" It is fact. For as far as Sony's Santa Monica Studios reached with their last game, the transition to new hardware, a new director and the weight of having to close out one of the biggest trilogies video games have ever seen apparently hasn't fazed the dev team one iota -- or at the very least their handiwork doesn't show it.
Before we start getting into the actual events of the opening, we'll at least give those of you who would rather close your eyes, plug your ears and "la la la la la" your way through most impressions of the start of the game something else to whet your appetites further. There can be no discussion about God of War III without also speaking about its absolutely relentless pursuit of the edge of where video games are going aesthetically. The bar was set ridiculously high with God of War II, and first-party efforts from Sony on the PS3 last year raised expectations to ridiculous levels. Who would have thought that just a half-year or so after Uncharted 2 that we'd have a game to challenge its status as king of the visual hill?
Believe it, though, boys and girls -- God of War III is in serious contention for best looking console game ever. Yes, there is a sense of scale at work here that hasn't been seen since Shadow of the Colossus, but it's the juxtaposition of that scale with the kind of minutiae, seeing individual pores on Kratos' normal game model that gives you an idea of the kind of micro and macro scale that Santa Monica Studios are attempting here. Many of the same experienced hands that guided the development of the first two games are still in place here, and it shows. No rock crag or far-off smattering of trees seems out of place, no snarling monster or lumbering Titan seems any less well-animated than Kratos himself. There's a steadiness and diligence to the development effort here that goes beyond what most games could even hope to match.
None of those things are fact, of course, and yet when you're in the middle of playing one of Sony Santa Monica's Greek mythology action masterpieces, it's hard not to get caught up in the moments of sheer exudation of joy or blind rage that come from the game's highs and lows. Things are so over-the-top, so relentlessly driven by a sense of male escapism that bedding two girls at once only to fight a massive statue brought to life for the entire first level just seems like something Kratos would do. It's over-the-top for other games, but it's certainly not beyond him.
Imagine, then, being given the reins to the first 30 minutes (give or take) of God of War III and then having the experience cut off shortly after the very first boss -- shortly after killing the god of the sea, no less. And then being asked to write about it. The balls, y'see, they are very blue. Luckily, we emerged from the God of War III showcase with the full game and will have a review as soon as Sony gives us the go-ahead, but for now, the beginning will suffice.
A beginning, we might add, that may well be the most epic and cinematic in any video game ever made. See? The hyperbole, she is inescapable! Let's try this, then: remember how insane and amazing the start of God of War II was with that level-long Colossus fight? Yeah, this may well top it. That's not reaching for superlatives or busting out a thesaurus to find the right words for "dear, sweet Baby Jesus, that was... I... whaaaaaaa?" It is fact. For as far as Sony's Santa Monica Studios reached with their last game, the transition to new hardware, a new director and the weight of having to close out one of the biggest trilogies video games have ever seen apparently hasn't fazed the dev team one iota -- or at the very least their handiwork doesn't show it.
Before we start getting into the actual events of the opening, we'll at least give those of you who would rather close your eyes, plug your ears and "la la la la la" your way through most impressions of the start of the game something else to whet your appetites further. There can be no discussion about God of War III without also speaking about its absolutely relentless pursuit of the edge of where video games are going aesthetically. The bar was set ridiculously high with God of War II, and first-party efforts from Sony on the PS3 last year raised expectations to ridiculous levels. Who would have thought that just a half-year or so after Uncharted 2 that we'd have a game to challenge its status as king of the visual hill?
Believe it, though, boys and girls -- God of War III is in serious contention for best looking console game ever. Yes, there is a sense of scale at work here that hasn't been seen since Shadow of the Colossus, but it's the juxtaposition of that scale with the kind of minutiae, seeing individual pores on Kratos' normal game model that gives you an idea of the kind of micro and macro scale that Santa Monica Studios are attempting here. Many of the same experienced hands that guided the development of the first two games are still in place here, and it shows. No rock crag or far-off smattering of trees seems out of place, no snarling monster or lumbering Titan seems any less well-animated than Kratos himself. There's a steadiness and diligence to the development effort here that goes beyond what most games could even hope to match.
