"God of War III" slaughters its way to fun and entertainment

The God of War series has become synonimous with Greek mythology in the gaming world. Providing an epic retelling of the most famous myths coupled with intense action gameplay, it has carved its way into the hearts of gamers. The much anticipated third installment has finally arrived and it plans to grab the industry by the throat and make them beg for more.

Aiming to conclude the massive saga, "God of War III" places you once again in the sandals of Kratos, a mortal who has been betrayed by the gods multiple times and is seeking revenge on every Olympian in existence. With the help of the Titans, Kratos plans to climb to the top of Mt. Olympus, and put an end to the reign of the gods. Simple by design, the story provides a clear motivation for your actions. Serving mostly as the Sparknotes to Greek mythology, it would still be wise to brush up on your myths in order to fully appreciate the plot. Every character is rightfully represented, yet provide a much darker performance than we are used to getting from other sources.

The brutal gameplay found in the previous games returns with full force. Head ripping, gut-wrenching combat awaits anyone brave enough to pick up the controller. Nevertheless, long-time fans will find a couple of changes to the formula. This time around magic is tied to a certain weapon, forcing the player to switch up his entire strategy for each enemy. The most welcomed change lies in the implementation of quick-time events. The series is famous for making the player press certain buttons in an allotted time in order to perform an elaborate finishing blow. The buttons you were supposed to press were flashed in the middle of the screen, obscuring the action and leading to some frustration. In "GOW III," the commands are shown in the corners of the screen corresponding to the location of the button on the gamepad. This allows for the glory of the battle to be experienced by simply paying attention to your peripheral vision. By living up to "if it ain't broken don't fix it", Sony Santa Monica has delivered accessible, yet impressive, gameplay.

Prior games in the series were graphical powerhouses of their time, with the second iterations pushing the Playstation 2 beyond what anyone though, possible. Nonetheless, they relied on pre-rendered cut-scenes, similar to a computer-generated movie, to deliver most of the narrative. These segments were beautiful, but looked significantly better than the actual game. In God of War III, no cut-scenes are required. The graphics have been crafted with such polish that every character appears to have been sculpted by the gods themselves. Light and shadows play tricks on your eyes, muscles flex and react naturally to the characters, and Kratos even gets drenched in the blood of his enemies as the battle progresses. The sense of scale presented here is unmatched in any other medium, with battles taking place on top of mile-high titans, whilst they struggle in their climb. After a fingernail the size of a minivan has crushed you, you begin to understand that this game means business. From a technical standpoint it towers above any game ever released, utilizing technology sure to be admired by the entire industry.

Delivering on every promise with unrelenting brutality, "God of War III" is not only one of the best games of the year, but also some of the most fun anyone can have with interactive entertainment.