The God of War (GOW) series reaches its climax in a few hours with the Spartan warrior Kratos invading Olympus, the abode of the Greek Gods. Just in case you have been on a planet where gaming has been banned, the series of games revolves around a series of battles between Kratos and a number of legendary Greek Gods, including the mighty Zeus himself. Of course, gamers all over the world are already lining up to get copies of the game and figure out what happens in the climax.
With the game being released on the PS3, one can be assured of cutting edge graphics and terrific effects as Kratos smashes his way through Olympus. However, one truly wonders if these alone are going to be enough to make the game a huge success. This may sound harsh but, all said and done, the GOW series has largely been a hack and slash affair with some doses of puzzle-solving thrown in. What’s more, three years have elapsed since God of War 2 was released and three years is a very long time in gaming. The period has seen games like GTA 4 ,Unchartered 2, Assassin’s Creed 2, Devil May Cry 4 and Dante’s Inferno pretty much redefine what gamers expect from their consoles. GOW’s exceptional graphics had stood out from the competition on the PS2 but are unlikely to do so on the PS3, where gamers have already seen a fair bit of graphic wizardry (we are still reeling from playing Dante’s Inferno). Just killing lots of exotic enemies with dazzling attacks ain’t going to swing it any more.
All of which makes the developers’ (Santa Monica Studio) task that much harder and ironically, in these high-tech times, brings the focus right back on the oldest virtues of great gaming – a good storyline and intuitive gameplay. Will the final chapter of one of the epic tales in gaming live up to its predecessors? It would take a brave man to bet against Kratos, but we must confess to trying very hard to keep our expectations on normal levels. We are keeping our fingers crossed and our minds open, in other words.
Or at least trying to. It is difficult not to root for a man who dares take on the Gods themselves.
One more time, Kratos!
