Vengeance Ends Here... The God of War III Review

Please note - This review and the videos being shown may contain spoilers, so read and watch at your own risk if you have not beaten the game yet.

The God of War franchise has been unrivaled in terms of pushing the action genre and the Playstation consoles to their limits with amazing graphics, an epic sense of scale, memorable battles against foes that are way bigger than Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, and one of the best theatrical scores in the gaming business. God of War III has been a long time coming for those that wanted to finish what Kratos had started especially after the ending of the last game. Now that the epic trilogy comes into an end, it seemed be Sony Santa Monica are always willing to outdo themselves as it truly shows in this finale to Kratos's quest for vengeance. God of War III not only to pushes the envelope of the Playstation 3 and the action genre, it also pushes the envelope for gaming in general being a true masterpiece. As the first two games were among the my personal favorites, this sequel is unlike anything else I have played in recent years in terms of delivering memorable moment after another.

Kratos has been through a lot to set the stage for the finale of his quest for vengeance. God of War III starts off after the second game ended with the Ghost of Sparta on Gaia as they along with the rest of the titans set off to climb up Mount Olympus to take on Zeus and the rest of the Gods. The story is as simple as it gets when the primary goal to kill Zeus and anything else that stands in Kratos's way. Sure, the plot will take you on various twists and turns such as making a return trip to the underworld one last time to get rid of Hades once and for all, the titans backstabbing you because they believe that he was on their side, and of course Zeus being the leader of the Gods being his own crazy business. As expected like the first two games, God of War III starts off with a bang with arguably the best opening sequence in gaming of as late fighting Poseidon with Gaia on your side. If you thought the fun stops after the beginning, think again as the game continues to pound in an epic and insane scene one over another at a beautiful pace.

The core formula remains intact in God of War III as well as in the past. The combat is still very satisfying and even improved such as having more useful weapons at your disposal besides Kratos's signature blades. The blades are still the go to weapon in most situations, but the other weapons like the Cestus, Claws of Hades, and Nemesis Whip are great additions adding their own fun flavor into the combat. Magic once again returns as well as each weapon contains its own magic spell such as the Army of Sparta. The item meter is also another significant element to the combat with the bow, Helios's head, and Hermes's boots as they are more used to transverse through the environment rather than combat even though they have their uses. Another element making a return is the rage meter, now called the Rage of Sparta, where Kratos goes crazy for a limited time with the Sword of Olympus. While the combat is at its best for the franchise, everything else also remains the same in this entry from the platforming retaining its same frustrations such as jumps unregistering when needed where they are probably mistimed even though the grappling sections are still fun to navigate. The new Icarus flying sections are also enjoyable when dodging obstacles. Of course like in every God of War game, there are also puzzles to solve, which there are plenty here, but some of them could of done better. Plus, there is the traditional sex mini-game as well since that has been a mainstay since the franchise started. All of this is designed in a clever and beautiful way especially how the context sensitive sequences are played out when the buttons to perform the activities are displayed similarly to the PS3 controller on the screen making you watch the scene at its full glory rather than trying to look for the button to press.

The most shining point of the gameplay obviously comes in the form of the multiple boss battles Kratos deals with throughout the game, but since this is God of War III, these boss battles are pushed another level, perhaps a level unreached by others because this game sets a new standard for they are done. These boss battles make a true testament of the game's scale and amazing graphics in their multiple stages. This is especially the case when fighting Poseidon at the beginning of the game as well as trying to topple down the titan Cronos later on. They are truly unmatched compared to everything else out there as Sony Santa Monica has done a masterful job delivering the promise on these boss battles being better than ever. That same sense of satisfaction once Kratos takes them out by the now infamous context-sensitive sequences are among some of the best scenes in gaming today. It makes you ask the question of how they are able to make all of this happen, but they did making the whole package something special. There are lots of other clever design decisions they have made throughout the game that proved to be memorable from first person beatdowns, true head to head battles, and more. Even though God of War III is long as the previous two games, which is about eight to ten hours, it is still an experience unlike no other that the franchise has always delivered from beginning to end. After the game is over, there are the challenges and combat arena to mess around with as well as harder difficulties if you want a challenge, even though the default difficulty is not that bad.

Graphically, God of War III feels like its own beast as it is arguably the best looking game of this current console generation so far. The character models are unlike anything I have seen in other games, especially Kratos himself looking too ridiculous at times because he just looks too good in action and when being covered up in blood. The sense of scale is also unmatched compared to everything else out there today as it is too insane how the developers were able to make it happen from all those camera angles from the Poseidon fight, Cronos being as huge as he is intended to be while still being to see yourself fight from a far camera distance, and the environments in general. I did not have much issues with the free camera during the game other making some jumps frustrating, but that is something minor. The framerate runs at a clear 60 frames per second in certain cases as it tries its best to stay slightly below that number throughout the game especially in crazy situations. The lighting also feels like done by the best of the business as well. Of course, the blood is unlike any other in this new installment pushing the gore to its limits since it is still a mature rated game, but at least it does not as overused as other games. David Jaffe's infamous painting quote definitely seems like a true statement especially how God of War III came out to look like.

The sound quality also remains unmatched compared to the rest of the market in God of War III. The theatrical soundtrack is once again top notch with such epic orchestral tunes as well as keeping the signature theme in a different way. The voice acting in addition is one of the best in the gaming business as everyone played their roles right once again. Kratos is still as angry as he was since he first started his quest as well as the voice actors of Zeus, Gaia, and Athena returned to their roles. It is the little things and the sound effects though that make it truly special even from the swiping of the blades, enemies slamming the ground, and parts getting ripped apart.

Even though 2010 is off to a great start in terms of great games coming out week after week, God of War III is leagues above everything else that is out now including the Japanese action games, and Dante's Inferno. Not only it pushes the Playstation 3 to its limits with its amazing graphics and sound, it sets a new standard for gaming for the coming years. There is no other experience like this in this current generation of consoles being unmatched compared to the rest of the competition. The combat is at the franchise's best, it redefines scale to a whole new direction, and basically this is a blockbuster movie done right delivering epic moments every hour throughout the game until its conclusion. Sure, it is purely perfect as a game, but you won't find anything better on the store shelf now with God of War III. It is truly a epic masterpiece from beginning to end.

Score = 10/10

Pros:

• Improved and refined combat to become the best of the franchise
• Sense of scale is unlike any other
• Memorable moments at every hour that is paced beautifully from beginning to end
• Arguably the best graphics in this current console generation
• Sound quality is the best of the business today from the theatrical soundtrack and the voice acting.

Cons:

• Platforming can be frustrating at times (probably my mistiming of jumps usually), but it is fairly minor.
• Don't expect a long campaign like the last two games (8-10 hours long), but the length is perfect for a game like this.

Video of the Day... aka Sony's Kevin Butler is awesome.

Today's video is another amazing Sony commercial starring everyone's favorite VP these days, Kevin Butler. This time he hypes up the Playstation Move, aka the PS3's upcoming motion controller, as well as taking shots at Nintendo's Wii and the Xbox 360's Project Natal motion techniques because it is true, you would waggle like crazy in Wii Boxing if you don't care and who cares about a big red ball (for Natal). The war for motion controller supremacy in the console world rages on, but let's just say Sony is willing to call out their opponents in a funny manner compared to Nintendo and Microsoft. Still though, we'll see if Sony can back up their promises for Playstation Move when it comes out later this year. I'll probably get it for myself anyway to see what the big deal and difference it has compared to the competition.

Rock Band gets all Gaga...

I mentioned this last week, but the Lady Gaga DLC for Rock Band is now out on the Xbox Live Marketplace and Thursday on Playstation Network. After seeing them in action, I'm surprised of the transition to the game as they are surely fun. Of course, they're not hard at all as expected, but it is going to attract lots of sales and it actually is so far, which is good. Goes to show it has to take the music artist everyone is talking about to make a game like Rock Band successful again for the mainstream audience. Especially with the music genre still slowly declining, this is like the smartest thing to do to get everyone back again. I gotta give MTV and Harmonix props for having the balls to release this even though its shies away from the normal audience of Rock Band players that are like "HEAVY METAL!!!!! IT ROCKS!!!" It is surely a vocal paradise for those that love to sing, but this is Lady Gaga, everyone is going to do it now. Especially for those that don't like what most of the Rock Band DLC offers, this is up their alley. Some would even claim that it is the "DLC of the forever" which is funny, but this is still amazing that this happened. At least there's the South Park version of "Poker Face" for the guys as well as if normal Gaga is enough. I still need to play this for myself eventually and maybe even UStream it for kicks at some party in mind, so we'll see.

Music Video of the Day for 3/15/10

Today's music video I have been bumping to is for one of the hottest songs out this year with "Beamer, Benz, or Bentley" by Lloyd Banks featuring Juelz Santana. Nothing too crazy in this video, which is what I expect with hot cars, hot ladies, and groupies. This song is just too sick to blast right now in the car, the clubs, and even do a freestyle.

The latest on my YouTube channel for 3/12/10 aka The "I'm Kinda Busy" Edition

Just a quickie here while I crank out papers, papers, and more papers. This made my night with Lady Gaga's new music video with Beyonce for "Telephone." Once again, Gaga amazes yet again with her crazy creativity especially being about ten minutes long. I will repeat what I tweeted last night that whether you love her or hate her, this video is still pretty epic. I would also like to mention Lady Gaga being in Rock Band as DLC next week, which is pretty awesome. For those that are wandering which songs you will rock out to, they are "Bad Romance," (Yes!!) "Monster," (Yes!!!), "Just Dance," and "Poker Face." (Yes!) In addition, there is also the South Park version of "Poker Face" with Cartman being his best Cartman impression released as Rock Band DLC next week as well, which is also awesome. In the meantime, if you haven't seen the "Telephone" video since everyone is still talking about it, here it is below.

Lack of Blogging...

So I have been not blogging lately, due to being busy with school (crunch time now) and actually living the life. Anyway, here is what to expect this month on G Unit Ver1's World.

• Project Blocks Megapost! (This happened last weekend... but I'll get around to it soon)
• Mega Man 10 Review (WiiWare) - Currently in progress of playing as I got four bosses down.
• God of War III Review - Obviously, this will happen as it will occupy a part of my Spring Break. Can't wait to play this!
• Music Roundups feat. Gorillaz, Ludacris, and more: Plus, other songs that stuck out in my mind... but I still update my top 10 songs I have been blasting frequently.
• And my birthday is coming up lol.

A Lost Classic Shifts Into Overdrive... The Blaster Master Overdrive Review

If you were around in the NES days, chances are you played a game called Blaster Master. This beloved classic by Sunsoft was definitely something for the time starring a tank that jumps. It was also a difficult game in the day where a game over screen starts you over from the beginning. Even though it eventually grew into a franchise in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, games that followed never really topped the original. Fast forward to this year and Sunsoft has recently returned into the gaming landscape with a re-release of the original NES Blaster Master on the Wii's Virtual Console service. However, they didn't stop there as they are bringing back the franchise to its original roots with Blaster Master Overdrive on WiiWare. Overdrive is indeed faithful to the original in terms of overall feel and still challenging, but more forgiving. It will provide great nostalgia for those that loved the original while giving new gamers to appreciate a franchise that influenced games like the Assault Heroes franchise.

Blaster Master Overdrive feels like a remake of sorts to the original maintaining its 2D feel while keeping up with modern times. There is a simple story of why you play as a upgradeable tank to save the world from a virus that has decimated humanity. The structure is done "Metroidvania" style (slang term for those that loved Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) in terms of progression in which there are eight areas and most of them can not be accessed without the proper equipment with the S.O.P.H.I.A. tank. There are bosses to defeat within each area on-foot rather than using the tank in order to gain upgrades such as a grappling hook and a drill. It is indeed still a formula that works in today's world of gaming giving players a sense of exploration finding everything they can improve their chances of beating the game such as scattered health and energy upgrades. The tank sections are the major drawing point of the game and they are fun just to go around especially when upgraded. Unlike the original where one death equals a start over from the beginning, Overdrive now has save points in the on-foot sections, which makes things forgiving, but also still frustrating when some save points are too scattered out of the overworld map especially before fighting a boss.

The gameplay still has the same proceed with caution type of approach as playing both the tank and on-foot sections recklessly will result in a quick death. Even with your on-foot character is has upgraded their three weapons (a laser, a spread gun, and a grenade launcher) beyond the first level to even its max, one hit drops their weapon one level, which totally goes along with playing the game cautiously. For the duration of the game, I have to take my time going through every room slowly expecting anything and not affording to get hit losing my weapon upgrades because they make a huge difference especially in boss fights. As I mentioned before, this game follows the Metroidvania formula and you can not reach a certain area out of the gate, there will be a upgrade later on that will let you go reach that area easily. I do want to also take note of the controls in Overdrive where it is only the Wiimote sideways keeping faithful to the NES original. They work well for the tank sections, but I had a harder time with the controls in the on-foot sections. When on-foot, the B button, which is strafing, is your best friend when you are in tough spots. Without strafing, it will be difficult coming out of the later on-foot sections alive especially when certain areas and boss fights will provide bullet hell-like sequences like those insane 2D shumps.

Blaster Master Overdrive definitely looks like a modernized 16-bit game with the occassional varied backgrounds as the eight areas. You got your standard water level, fire level, and ice level, and so on as they look fine. The bosses look bigger than they were in the original even though there is some lack of variety with them in which you have to fight some bosses more than once. The explosion effects are okay, but not great when enemies get defeated. As for the sound, the music sounds fine as well as the theme song is modernized for the current generation. Some of the background music do annoy me like the one in the third area as if it felt out of place in a game like this. The other sound effects on the other hand are great from drilling the opposition to "spider walking" up the walls.

For a normal run of Blaster Master Overdrive, it will take players about eight to nine hours to beat especially if they want to get every health and energy upgrade in the eight areas. I simply enjoyed the game as a nostalgia trip to the 8-bit and 16-bit days even though it still provides a decent challenge yet more forgiving with the addition of save points. The controls can get frustrating at times as well as starting pain with your hands if you're playing for a long stretch of time. Other control options like the Classic Controller and Nunchuk would be nice to see, but I can see why the developers want to keep it fully faithful to the original. For 1000 Wii Points (ten dollars), this game is definitely worth adding to your WiiWare library. Sunsoft is off to a great start bringing back the Blaster Master franchise for old-school gamers to enjoy and it is only just the beginning of the comeback for the S.O.P.H.I.A. tank.

Score = 8/10

Pros:

• Faithful remake to the original retaining the "Metroidvania" formula.
• Save points make the game more forgiving, but still a challenge.
• Tank sections are great especially when upgraded moving down the opposition.

Cons:

• On-foot sections can be frustrating at times especially trying to be very cautious keeping your weapons intact as well as control issues.
• Lack of controller options (only playable with the Wiimote sideways)
• Some of the music feels out of place, but still a decent modernized soundtrack