CES 2010 Hands On: God of War III

Kratos is one of, if not the greatest, characters created in recent video game memory. What Nintendo’s Mario is to platform gaming, Kratos is to the mature-rated game. Grand Theft Auto has always drawn the majority of heat in terms of video game sex and violence but God of War pushed the envelope as much if not more.

Little secret: If you rip the heads off mythological beings, protesters don’t care as much. One of the biggest challenges facing Sony Santa Monica is what to do for an encore after two brilliant games. Kratos has only gotten stronger with each game, and the battles show as much. The first big battle in GOW is against the Hydra. At around the same point in the GOW 3 demo Kratos takes out Helios, the Sun God. I wonder what the people in the game universe will do for light now?

After that battle, Helios joins the ever growing list of people’s heads Kratos uses as an in-game item. Helios’ Head generates a beam of light that reveals in-game secrets. Another new weapon is the Cestus, huge gauntlets that give Kratos the power to punch through hard objects. In the CES demo, the Cestus could be used to break the thick shields of henchmen attacking our hero.

Video games and movies are similar in that several big releases will feature the same idea at the same time. Assassin’s Creed II had Da Vinci’s flying machine powered by blasts from nearby flames, and Icarus’ Wings will do the same in GOW 3. A lengthy demo segment had Kratos flying through and around flaming obstacles. I had to switch the control system to pull this stage off, and you too will have the option of inverting the controls when this hits shelves in March.

In terms of story, this is the final, knockdown dragout war between the Gods and the Titans. Press materials from Sony have said this game will explain why there are no more Greek myths. So far, this looks to be more of the bloody, violent fun the series is well known for. Between this game and a Clash of Titans remake heading to cineplexes, Greek mythology hasn’t been this popular since Ancient Greece.

Read [Gamertell at CES 2010] Also Read [God of War III]