God of War III

God of War III
North American cover art, depicting the eye of Kratos
Developer(s)	Santa Monica Studio
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)	Stig Asmussen[1]
Series	God of War
Engine	Santa Monica's God of War III Engine[2]
Native resolution	720p[3][4]
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Release date(s)	NA March 16, 2010[5] EU March 19, 2010[6] AUS March 18, 2010
Genre(s)	Hack and slash, action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	BBFC: 18[7] ESRB: M OFLC: MA15+[8] PEGI: 18
Media	Blu-ray Disc
Input methods	Gamepad

Gameplay

Kratos attacking a chimera, a new enemy in God of War III, with Perses in the background.

God of War III features gameplay similar to that of previous installments. The player controls Kratos in a combination of combat, platforming, and puzzle game elements. Kratos's main weapons are the Blades of Exile (notwithstanding the short period at the beginning where Kratos wields the Blades of Athena). Other new weapons include the Claws of Hades, the Nemesis Whip (made from the Omphalos Stone by Hephaestus), and the Nemean Cestus (a pair of fist gauntlets shaped like lion heads acquired from Hercules). This new weapon has the ability to smash through solid objects made of onyx and to plow through enemy shields, but has a slightly smaller range than the extending chains on the Blades of Exile. The Claws of Hades and Nemesis Whip are similar to the Blades of Exile, both being used in the same fashion as the Blades of Exile, but with their own combos and magic abilities.
Unlike the previous games in the series, the use of magic is limited to the weapon that is equipped. For example, the Army of Sparta is only available to use when Kratos is equipped with the Blades of Exile. The Army of Sparta is also where the blades get their name because they let Kratos summon his exiled Spartan brothers. Each weapon has its own magic ability. The Golden Fleece, Icarus Wings, and Poseidon's Trident are kept from Kratos' adventure in God of War II. Kratos also gains Hades' Soul which allows him to swim through the River Styx safely. The Blade of Olympus, rather than being used as a regular weapon like the Blades of Exile, is used with the ability "The Rage of Sparta." The Rage of Sparta replaces Rage of the Titans from God of War II and Rage of the Gods from God of War. When The Rage of Sparta is activated, the screen has a red glow around it and Kratos wields the Blade of Olympus becoming momentarily invincible. The Blade of Olympus is also sometimes used in the ending battle sequence when Kratos is about to kill a god or titan. A new feature to God of War III is the use of items. These items act similarly to magic from the previous installments, but when they are used, the item bar is depleted (as opposed to the magic bar). Furthermore, although the use of items is limited by the length of the item bar, the bar refills automatically, which is in heavy contrast to the previous games. Items that Kratos uses in God of War III include the Bow of Apollo, the Head of Helios, and the Boots of Hermes. Unlike God of War 2; when you finish the game, you do not have the option of starting a new game with your upgraded weapons.
Combos from previous titles also make a return as well as new combos; in addition, Kratos gains the ability to rapidly switch between weapons mid-battle, changing weapons with an attack and allowing the combo to continue. Another new feature of the game is the combat grapple, a ranged grab maneuver that either pulls Kratos towards his enemies or pushes them away, depending on which weapon is equipped. The number of enemies onscreen has been increased to 50 as opposed to the maximum of 15 in previous God of War installments.^[15] Also making a return from the previous games are the Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers which are used to increase the length of the health and magic bar respectively. In addition, Minotaur Horns have been added to increase the length of the items bar. As opposed to the previous games where six of these items were needed to be found (five in Chains of Olympus), only three of each are needed to be found. These items are also placed in a different styled chest, as opposed to the previous games where these items were placed in similar chest to all other chests, except without having a glowing color. During the leviathan fight, the camera pans out away from the fight sequence, however, the player can still control Kratos while the camera is panning out adding a new level of gameplay to the fight sequences.^[16] This fight can be seen at the end of the "Vengeance" trailer. The sex mini-game also returns from previous installments, but in this game, it links into the story rather than just being in the game with no real connection to the story. With this game, instead of Kratos sleeping with two random girls, he sleeps with the goddess Aphrodite while two of her female servants watch. The player, however, does have the choice to not sleep with her. It should also be noted that Aphrodite is the only god in the game that Kratos does not kill.
Game director Stig Asmussen claimed that the hardware capabilities of the PlayStation 3 allow more flexibility in creating the characters of God of War III and allow for further interaction with the environment. Christer Ericson of SCE Santa Monica Studio announced on his Twitter page that God of War III has seamless loading. Meaning there are No Loading screens and No HDD installation requirement.^[17] The game features 36 Trophies, which upon obtaining the platinum trophy, players are linked to the website, spartansstandtall.com.
Like the previous installments, the game features a challenge mode called the "Challenge of Olympus", with seven challenges. There is also a bonus challenge mode that was included in both the Ultimate and Ultimate Trilogy Editions of the game called the "Challenge of Exile", with seven more challenges. In addition to the challenge mode, a new mode has been added called the "Combat Arena".^[18] Here, players have the options to set up their own battles with several different enemies. Stig Asmussen has said that more challenges might be added as downloadable content to keep the series going.^[1]

Plot

God of War series fictional chronology
Chains of Olympus God of War Betrayal God of War II God of War III

God of War III picks up immediately where God of War II ended, with Kratos riding on Gaia as she and the other Titans climb Mount Olympus to assault the Gods. Atop the mountain, Hermes, Poseidon, Hades, and Helios mount a defensive, taking out a few of the Titans. After defeating and killing Poseidon, Kratos and Gaia reach Zeus, only to be knocked off Mt. Olympus by Zeus' lightning bolt. As Gaia tries to climb back up, Kratos begins to slip off her back. Gaia states that she cannot help him and that the Titans war with the gods is more important than Kratos' revenge. Kratos falls off Gaia as she continues upward.

During the fall Kratos and the Blade of Olympus are separated, with Kratos landing in the River Styx. As he swims to shore, the souls of the underworld take away all of Kratos' power and health, except for the Golden Fleece and Icarus Wings. Kratos' Blades of Athena are also ruined in the river. Emerging from the river, Kratos encounters Athena's ghost, who gives him the Blades of Exile in return for his trust. Later, Kratos recovers the Blade of Olympus, and with Athena to once again guide him, he sets out to find Zeus.

Along the way, Kratos eliminates many of the remaining gods and their servants including Hades, Helios, Hermes, Hercules, Hera, and Hephaestus. Upon death, the god's bodies unleash fatal calamities across the world, including floods and plagues. Kratos also encounters Gaia, whose hand he severes, sending her plummeting off Mount Olympus.

Kratos eventually learns that Pandora's Box still exists after his encounter with Ares. Protected by the Flame of Olympus, its contents are said to still be able to slay a god. Kratos travels to various locations to find the key to opening Pandora's Box, learning later that Pandora herself is the key and that only she can pacify the Flame of Olympus. After killing several foes, including Cronos, Kratos makes his way to where Pandora is being held, the Labyrinth.

The Labyrinth from which Kratos must save Pandora.

Kratos and Pandora return to the room where her box is being held. There, they encounter Zeus, and Kratos attacks him as he tries to stop Pandora. After Kratos knocks down Zeus, Pandora is able to sacrifice herself, thereby quenching the flame. Kratos opens Pandora's Box, only to discover that it is empty. Enraged, Kratos finds Zeus at a nearby balcony, where they once again engage in battle. Suddenly, Gaia returns and attacks them both. To avoid her assault, they jump inside Gaia via a hole near her neck. Inside of Gaia, Kratos and Zeus battle, ending with Kratos stabbing both Zeus and Gaia's heart with the Blade of Olympus, killing them both.

Near where Gaia attacked Kratos and Zeus, Kratos awakens, taking the Blade of Olympus out of Zeus's body. With Zeus's physical form defeated, his spirit attacks Kratos, rendering him weaponless. As Zeus's spirit is about to kill Kratos, Kratos retreats inside of his own psyche. There, Kratos finally forgives himself for his past sins, and learns that hope is his most powerful weapon. Coming to, Kratos breaks free and kills Zeus.

Athena's spirit appears, demanding Kratos give her the weapon he took out of Pandora's Box. He replies that it was empty, a fact Athena cannot believe. Athena explains that when Zeus imprisoned the world's evil within the Box, she feared what may happen should it ever be opened, and placed her own power within the Box, hope. Athena realizes that when Kratos opened the Box to defeat Ares, the evil escaped and infected the gods, while Kratos was endowed with Athena's power. Athena again demands Kratos return her power, believing she knows how best to use it to rebuild the world. Instead, Kratos takes his own life with the Blade of Olympus, releasing the power for all of mankind to use. Enraged, Athena states that the world won't know what to do with hope, and that she is disappointed with Kratos' actions. On the ground, in a pool of his own blood, Kratos is still slowly breathing as Athena walks away, the camera fading to black as the credits begin.

At the end of the credits, Kratos is no longer at the spot where he collapsed next to the Blade of Olympus, with only a trail of blood leading over the edge of the nearby cliff.