God of War 3: Hands On

As I exited the elevator, I walked into a room where many games were on display. After a brief scan I realized what I was looking for was not there. I quickly walked into the second room. On my right I heard blade strikes and helpless screams; I had found what I was looking for. The TV was crowded by several on lookers as they lay witness to Kratos brutally mauling his victims. Fortunately the demo ended with a flying scene that was not as exciting and therefore dispersed the crowd. Without hesitation I picked up the controller and was ready to play God of War 3. This was the same demo that was on display at E3.

Read below for the rest of our experience with God of war 3 and Impressions on Heavy rain.

Intuitive and Fluid:

As with other games in the genre, the controls had buttons for light attacks, heavy attacks, grab and jump and the right analogue stick was used for dodging. The demo started easy by throwing only three enemies at me. Before I knew it I was battling up to 10 enemies. It was a very easy and quick transition because the controls were very intuitive. To switch the targeted enemy all that is needed is to point towards them with the left analogue stick. Kratos now also has wings that allow him to glide. These can be used during fights when you want to get from one corner to another.

With different weapons, moves and multiple enemies it is important that the game remain fluid. I am happy to say that in that regard God of War 3 does a great job at it. From changing the direction of a combo middle way to just mixing up moves, it is all very fluid. Games of this genre often have frame rate issues when many enemies are on the screen. The demo had absolutely no frame rate issues even when Kratos faced more than 10 enemies on screen and blood being sprayed everywhere.

Exceedingly Violent:

To those unfamiliar with the God of War series, it is exceedingly violent and therefore may not be for everyone. To finish of larger foes, it is required to initiate a violent and gore full QTE. What makes them stand out is that there is often a struggle that gives a more realistic feel to it. For example at one point in the demo Kratos was pulling someone’s head off, the neck slowly expanded until it hit breaking point where it stopped stretching, then in one more pull the head was severed from the neck and the blood sprayed over Kratos’s face. All the while the pain was clearly visible in the victim’s eyes.

In most games the blood splatters in large quantities. In God of War 3 the developers have used the power of the PS3 to spray blood. This means that instead of one large quantity, we can spot many drops of blood when hit. 

Different Situations:

In the small 10 to 15 minutes of the game, I was in control of Kratos in many different situations. From riding an ogre to clobber an elite guard unit to shoulder tackling a group of enemies and knocking them down like bowling pins, the game felt fresh throughout. This is a key element that will become more important in the long run so as to not feel repetitive. The great thing is that most of these different scenes all show what a bad ass Kratos is.

Heavy Rain Impressions:

Many games these days focus on the action, suspense, thriller or comedy genre. Few games besides RPGs include an element of drama and even less, if any, make drama their sole focus. This is the main reason why Heavy Rain feels unique. I was able to watch someone play the game. The demo took place at a shopping store. The first thing that stood out was the level of detail on all the things in the supermarket. In most games the items are usually plastered into a 2 dimensional drawing. However in this case it felt that each item was rendered in 3d individually. The detail was so high you could read the labels of a lot of the items.

The best way to describe the game is that it makes the player in charge of a TV show where the player decides which direction to take the story into. The player makes the important decisions with a lot of focus put on conversations. This is a game that can as enjoyable to watch someone play as it is actually playing it.

Uncharted 2:

With a lot of games present at the event and the fact that the internet has already been flooded with reviews for this game, I decided not to spend time on this game. That being said, I was regularly checking up on the game because the graphics were absolutely astonishing. From inside buildings to the lavish green out doors, I don’t think I have seen a better looking game.