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God of War III
Kratos isn’t the kind of guy who sets reasonable goals. When he goes
after something, he aims high and over-delivers with unparalleled zeal
and overwhelming brutality. The team at Sony’s Santa Monica studio is
adopting the same philosophy in developing God of War III, making sure
that the final installment in the trilogy has Kratos performing the
most barbaric kills and taking down the most terrifying foes of the
entire series. If this really is the last chapter of the story, Kratos
is certainly going out in style.
With one of the longest lines
on the E3 show floor, the playable demo for God of War III showcased
several new tricks Kratos uses in his continued assault on the gods and
Mount Olympus. The core of the action is still using his flaming chain
blades to tear apart mythological threats, but a few key improvements
promise to make that process even more entertaining.
Where
previous God of War games usually had Kratos fighting off advancing
enemies, God of War III incorporates more mobility into combat, giving
you more options to control the fight. When you grab an enemy, you now
have a bull rush option in which Kratos holds the victim in front of
him and plows forward, breaking through clusters of other foes. The
combat grapple also has more utility, since Kratos can throw his blades
out at an enemy and pull himself into them (or pull them over,
depending on the enemy). This works whether your target is on the
ground or in the air. Mastering these crowd-managing moves will be
crucial, since this entry can have up to 50 enemies onscreen at once.
Like
previous installments, Kratos can use weapons other than his signature
blades, but the team has currently only revealed one: the Cestus. This
pair of vicious gauntlets is ideal for close-quarters fighting, and
they provide a distinctly different feel to the combat – something that
alternate weapons in God of War games have struggled with in the past.
To further encourage variety in combos, certain special items (like the
fire bow) draw from a recharging meter instead of your magic reserves.
This gives players more freedom to experiment with combining the blades
with other attacks, since the bar will just refill in a matter of
seconds.
As much as we enjoyed testing out the new mechanics, we
were most impressed by how God of War III continues to up the stakes in
an already epic setting. We saw Kratos pull out a cyclops’ eye, stab a
chimera with its own horn, and gut a mighty centaur – and that was just
during standard encounters. With the massive titans waging war, more
gods entering the fray, and Kratos determined to topple Olympus, God of
War III will be packed with jaw-dropping moments worthy of passing into
legend.
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