First Impressions
Here are my thoughts on the game after 5 hours of game time. To summarize, it's already my favorite game in the series. The first 30 mintues are so extremelyintense and unlike anything I've ever seen that I cannot do it any justice by trying to explain it to you--it simply must be experience first hand. I'll not spoil a thing but I do want to say that right out of the gate you're going to be totally pulled in--especially if you're a fan of the series. Even if you've never seen the ending of GoW2 you simple cannot image--and I cannot sit here and explain to you well enough--how moved you will be by what you're about to experience. Though it's a cheesy analogy to use, it's like the game is Kratos' blades and they've completely hooked themsevles in you, throwing you about, as you try to scramble to make sense of things. It's stupid crazy and simply goddamn amazing! You'll want to sit people down--even if they're not gamers--to show them what video games are like in 2010.
Visuals (Starting here because there is so much talk about it)
Let me just get this out of the way--God of War 3 is the best look video game I've ever seen. This includes Crysis on my highend PC, Gears of War 2 and even the amazingly well presented Uncharted 2. To be clear, this doesnt mean that just the graphical fidelity of the textures is the highest resolution of the bunch, it means a lot more! For me that means the animations, character models, level designs, architecture, lighting, frame rate, cinematography and overall aesthetics all seem to come together magically to produce the most impressive visuals to date. Again, for me.
I do think that some people out there are going to heartily disagree with me as they point to Uncharted 2s amazing presentation, and they would probably be right. Hey, it's totally subjecive and some people are just going to prefer the look of other games, and that's totally ok.
To answer some questions: Yes the frame rate is rock solid (as in seemingly 60FPS solid.) There have been 1 or 2 instances where the framerate took a little bit of a dip, but it's practically not worth mentioning. There is zero tearing. It runs at 720P and, again, it looks marvelous!
Gameplay
This is the final act in the God of War series and the core gameplay has changed very little, and it's damn proud of that. Santa Monica Studios (SMS) had no plans from the get-go to push things forward in the genre--and frankly that's fine by me, especially after playing it. But that's not to say that things havent been honed to produce a better gameplay experience--it has! Switching weapons can now be done with the D-pad (finally). All the weapons poses their own power (L2) that can be performed at the use of magic, and normally these are some kind of 'area of effect' thing. They're useful in their own right and just look damn cool. There is now a stamina bar and thank god (heh) it has nothing to do with limiting running or punching in any way--it limits your use of the bow and other certain other weapons that--I will not spoil at this time--so you can't spam them. Generally I'm a guy who doesnt like stamina meters at all but I feel this is a very mild implimentation as it refreshes rather quickly.
I'm very happy to say that, so far, I've used all the weapons very evenly through the game. Yes, the blades are still the main weapons and kick much ass, but unlike previous games in the series the alternat weapons have their benefits. The running, jumping, slamming, flying, winging and flaying all feels exactly as it should--perfect.
Plot
Without spoiling a thing for those--like me--that are interested in the narrative I'll say that the game is still very much fueled on Krato's revenge. At it's heart It's about wrapping up the story arc and learning more about Kratos as a character--yes, GoW3 is more character driven this time around. That means it's not character driven like Heavy Rain but that it's more character driven than GoW2 and more like GoW1. I will say I've always accepted Kratos' story for what he's become even though I could not relate to him at all. I just generally thought he was an interesting character and enjoyed watching him develop, but I wasnt really expecting to begin to dislike him. Yes Kratos has always been extremely arrogant, but he had a drive of revenge that was understandable. In GoW3 his revenge has reached new levels and it's now begining to turn me off a bit as it's blinded him in more ways than ever. Again I'm only 5 hours in so who knows, this could be all part of the plan right?
Sound/Music
Boom! Boom! Boom! goes the pounding of the battle drums. The music, sound effects and ambient noises are top notch and what you should expect out of the game. I cannot spoil anything by explaining some of the really great things you'll hear because of the relevance to their locations so I'll just leave it at that.
Notes:
- (VERY SLIGHT SPOILER) The very first time you meet up Hephaestus your jaw will drop. I mean it! It's stunning. It's amazing. All the technology comes together to produce a moment in gaming where you will think--I've never ever seen anything like this before. It's an epiphany.
- I got to the section of the game where the demo takes place and the differences are incredible! There have been so many new things added--and not just in terms of graphical effects--that it makes the demo look like it was 20% done.
