14 DAY TRIAL // 
Killing Hades seems like it happened eons ago although only four days passed in real life. Maybe it’s the weight of the killing I've done or maybe it's all the influence of the combined powers of the Greek Pantheon but to me, the gamer as Kratos, the slog up Mount Olympus towards the final destiny of my character and the death of everyone else seemed long, bloody and exhilarating.
Hades was the first one (well, technically, Poseidon, but that was a collaborative effort). And it was while slaying him by taking chunks out of his body to get to his soul when I finally understood that the killing Kratos did was no longer motivated by his family and by his past.
By this point, it was all he was capable of. What else was there for him? After all, this is the man who became God and twisted his own Fate in the process. This was a man whom Zeus could barely contain.
This is a man who's killing the Gods not for his own pleasure, although there is a spark in his eyes as he throws the head of Helios or Poseidon against rocks, but because they need to be killed. It might seem like a long time but going up Mount Olympus was one of the most violence filled, satisfying and a bit disturbing treks I've done in my gaming life.
In the first couple of hours of God of War 3, Kratos seems to be heading to the top of Olympus and the experience the player gets could be quite short. After all, it's just a few more thousand meters up to Zeus. The final moments of the previous game have the ghost of Sparta riding up Mount Olympus on the back of Gaia, hoping to finish his quest to take down Zeus in a matter of hours. The newly launched title manages to set Kratos back in his efforts quite quickly but it does so in such spectacular fashion that it's actually enjoyable to end up back in Hades' realm and start the long trek back to the surface and to the final goal of the Spartan. In a little more over half an hour (mileage may vary), the main character slays Poseidon and his water and horse avatar in a series of gigantic battles and then makes veiled threats of (you knew it) revenge against an uncooperative Gaia.
A running joke about Kratos, the protagonist of the God of War series, is that after he finished with his vengeance on the various Olympian Gods, he would move on to take on the deities of Christianity and then other religions. Thankfully, Sony and its Santa Monica studios manage to keep the action in the third installment of the game firmly set in the Greek fantasy world they forged with the first game in the series. It's a complex spectacle, with superb boss fights, engaging exploration and quite a bit of blood spilling all over the screen.
Just don't expect too much actual storytelling. The starting sequence is very good in conveying the history of Kratos and the game through stylized images; then, revenge and blood take center stage. There's a parade of gods that will be fought and, at the end, a statement about humanity, its nature and how creating supernatural rulers limits our future. It's interesting in its own right but most people are probably keen on seeing how Zeus falls and how Aphrodite treats Kratos.
Gameplay
Kratos is a killing machine and the gameplay is built with the single aim of making the player feel like they embody one. There are short bits of exploration when the main character does not get attacked, which are useful to think over the ten ways you will kill the next minotaur that crosses your path and there are some jump-based vertical movements that can get annoying in the second half of the game, but, mostly, the protagonist is killing things. The enemies are varied enough to keep one on their toes and as more and more of them assault the player, a few innovative strategies are required. There are a couple of points where the combination of a medusa and minotaur or bombing harpy can lead to some deaths that seem unfair but for the biggest part, it appears very well balanced, lending Kratos a clear feeling of power, worthy of one who has slain Ares, while throwing in challenges that still force the player to think and approach death as a learning opportunity rather than as an annoyance.
The boss battles are the real highlights. Talking too much about them would be a spoiler but although they require quite a bit of button mashing as part of the Quick Time Events, they all look fluid and interesting, completely integrated in the action. Kratos pulls some moves impossible to introduce in any other way, although there are a few instances, like killing the above mentioned minotaurs, where the use of QTEs is hardly worth it. The developers deserve a thumbs up for the fact that they actually randomize the button presses, thereby keeping the player focused on the action rather than just pushing buttons from memory.
One annoying aspect is having to stand right in front of the switches and chests that you want to open. If one is even one or two degrees to the left or right, then you need to realign. The puzzle sections are initially obvious and even when they get a bit more complex, they do not break the flow of the action too much. The bit that plays like Guitar Hero is the worst of them all but certain sections relying on jumps can also be frustrating. There is mythical beast riding to do in God of War 3 to spice things up a little, with the Cerberus especially engaging with his over-the-top fire breathing.
Graphics and audio
Everyone expected to see Kratos lovingly rendered using the power of the PlayStation 3 but few expected the way the Sony Santa Monica studios used the new platform to expand the vistas of God of War. The initial fight with Poseidon on Gaia is an excellent showcase, with perspectives shifting and ample movements being shown as a Titan and a God go head to head with Kratos himself scuttling about to help with the defeat of the Olympian. It's only too bad that the action is so frantic that the player rarely thinks about pausing and taking all of the views into account. Make sure you check out the streams of damned beings that actually flow in torrents in the Underworld.
The sounds are equally impressive. All enemies grunt and breathe heavily as Kratos tries his best to kill them and there's a sense of scale and damnation to most of the soundtrack. The only problem is the way most of the lines are delivered. Kratos seems to be past revenge for evils and more interested in being sarcastic before slaughtering Gods, while the Olympians also express an unexpected pettiness in their delivery.
Conclusion
God of War 3 is impressive. The paradox is that it might make more of an impression on those who have been shielded until now from the awesomeness of the series featuring Kratos. Long time fans will certainly appreciate the small nods to previous titles and the conclusion to the storyline but they are somewhat accustomed to the gore and combat. Those who pick up God of War 3 because of the hype, the advertising or the word of mouth promotion will be truly blown away by the combination of the looks, the feeling and the incredible boss fights.
As Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was the platform seller for Sony last year, God of War 3 will probably be the game that pushes the PlayStation 3 into the arms of players this year. It's sad to see Kratos for the last time (although we might get a look at the Spartan if downloadable content is ever released) but I'm glad the Japanese company made sure that the series did not overstay its welcome and manages to go out with a big, loud, over-the-top bang.
