God of War III Remastered
From: Sony
For: PS4
Four stars (out of five)
You can remaster games from the past all you like (and looking at the deluge of them, that's precisely what is happening), but if it controls terribly and looks archaic it is just not going to succeed.
Remove those hardware constraints, pretty up the visuals and smooth the whole experience to 60FPS, and you have a masterpiece.
For those unfamiliar with the series, you play as Kratos, a man who does not just have no moral compass, he tore it in half and stomped it into the ground.
He is completely single-minded; get revenge on Zeus for what he did to him in the previous games, kill everything in between.
There are some moments of dark humour throughout the game where you reach situations where in any other game there would be some sort of morality come into it - not with Kratos.
He would throw his mother off a cliff if he had to, and well, as you play the game you will see he pretty much does.
Combat is refined to a razor sharp edge.
Using a growing arsenal of weaponry, Kratos tears the hordes of enemies he encounters to shreds with his blades, bare fists, or enormous fists he acquires halfway through the game, with reckless abandon.
It is a spectacularly violent game.
The best part of the game is undoubtedly the boss fights, and the way the world adapts during them.
The opening scene upon Gaia's back is iconic, as Kratos battles Poseidon all over Gaia as she climbs Mt Olympus, all while the other gods are battling the other Titans and Gaia is throwing you around.
It was amazing on PS3, and is breathtaking on PS4.
And that is just the first 15 minutes of the game!
The game is littered with moments like these.
God of War has never been a series for the faint of heart, and you should consider this when choosing the difficulty.
I played through on Titan (second hardest), and the game ripped me to shreds in some parts.
In particular the boss battles, some of which are excruciatingly difficult at times.
Be prepared for many deaths and restarts, particularly as you near the end of the game.
So it all sounds well and good, but what is the down side?
There really is very little.
However, if you have not played either of the first 2, you will more than likely be completely lost, as the story starts immediately after the conclusion of 2, and provides zero insight into who they are and why they are fighting.
The biggest question mark over this game is in terms of value.
If you have played the game before, there is little new stuff here for you.
There is no additional content to speak of.
No new modes.
If you have not played it before it is worth it absolutely, if you have read a plot synopsis of the previous ones.
I am just not sure it is worth the $55 approximately it retails for.
However, give it a couple of months when it is on sale, and this moves into must-buy territory.
- Simon Bishop
