360 Fanboy: God of War III the Reason to Borrow a PS3
It should be obvious at this that point that even though I praise the glorious console known as the Xbox 360, I like many people out there still own a PS3 as well and from time to time dust it off and boot her up. So it should be no surprise that I played through God of War III earlier this week and have a few things to say about it. GoW3 had a lot to live up to, the first two iterations in the series pushed the PS2 hardware to new heights with each release and GoW3 does the same, at least visually anyways. Kratos looks absolutely amazing, most likely one of the best modeled characters we have seen to this day and I could also probably talk on and on about the first 10 minutes of the game, which could quite honestly be one of the greatest moments in a video game. The first 10 minutes set the game up nicely, but I almost felt like it harmed the game in a way due to the fact that the production values never really hit that peak again other than maybe once halfway through the game. Don't get me wrong, GoW3 is a great game and a huge achievement for Sony, but it still felt as though it was the weakest piece of the trilogy and I will touch on that in a bit. 
The gameplay is fine tuned to the point where the combat feels like it couldn't get any better and visually I was astounded more than a couple times. The game definitely looks a lot better than most games out there, but I never felt like it was a huge step ahead of recent triple A titles, just a small step. There are huge and amazing set pieces one minute and the next minute you are in settings that don't feel all that epic. One of the biggest disappointments I had with the game was an area that you end up in for around 2-3 hours shortly after the start of the game that feels extremely recycled from 1 and 2. I was left scratching my head wondering why we needed to see this location for a third time and for such a good chunk of the game. However, the Quick time events in the game steal the show as usual, with a brutal kill seen through the eyes of the victim. QTEs are never overused in GoW and they are usually the moments that make your jaw drop and your stomach turn, each one brutal, bloody and unlike the last. Suffice to say, the gameplay and graphics are the stars of God of War 3 with both being well crafted but the story or lack thereof is what really brought the game down.
But my grief with GoW3 was that I just didn't feel like Kratos' character and story were nailed down, especially with the high standards set by the 1st and 2nd. The story has virtually no twists or turns and you don't really "get" what Kratos is out to accomplish. Sure, he is gutting all of Mount Olympus for revenge but it feels more of a task than a part of the story. My point being, I didn't really feel like I cared about what Kratos was doing. In GoW and GoW2, I felt like Kratos was truly in anguish and understood his motives, but in 3 Kratos is simply out to destroy and it does really feel all that intelligent, just mindless. It was the precedent set in all the marketing campaigns for the game, so it makes sense, but I really hoped that the story would have been fleshed out more and was as well told as it was in the first two parts. Finally, it all culminates with the ending of the game that severely disappoints. A slight twist is pulled out of nowhere that I thought was forced and if anything, made me look down on the tale even more. I understand the ending and I certainly didn't hate it, but I thought it was sloppy and rushed. Sure, the series doesn't contain the best storytelling ever, but I felt like the series deserved a better crafted ending. I was also surprised that the ending didn't even come close to the grandiose 10 minute start. I would have thought that the most jaw dropping moments should be at the end of the game, but I was extremely wrong about that.
For those of you who were thinking about buying a PS3 just to play through GoW3 might want to rethink that for a second. Sure, I really enjoyed my time in the finale and would love to see the franchise again in the future, but it just didn't feel like the 9 hours spent playing through the campaign would be worth the cash. I would say God of War III is one of the many reasons to own a PS3, but it alone does not justify the purchase whatsoever. The game has some replay value for the trophy hunters and those wanting to see the finale once more, but I wouldn't call it a system seller like Heavy Rain or Metal Gear Solid 4. The worst part is that I'm a huge fan of the GoW series and I practically praise it as much as possible, so it's unfortunate that the series didn't quite end on the note that I had hoped. It's still a gorgeous game that shouldn't be passed up if you own a PS3, especially for fans. Just don't go into the game expecting that it will continuously marvel you a whole lot after the stellar first 10 minutes. It is a fine ending for Kratos and gang, just not the ending that our blood-soaked antihero deserved. God of War 3 is great and if I could score it, it would receive a great, yet not quite perfect score of 9 out of 10; once finished though there is no real reason to play it again and thus it's the perfect reason to borrow a Playstation 3.
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