Month: January 2009

God of War III
North American box art
Developer(s)	Santa Monica Studio[a]
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)	Stig Asmussen
Producer(s)	Steve Caterson
Designer(s)	Todd Papy
Programmer(s)	Vassily Filippov
Artist(s)	Ken Feldman
Writer(s)	Marianne Krawczyk
Composer(s)	Gerard Marino Cris Velasco Ron Fish Mike Reagan Jeff Rona
Series	God of War
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4
Release	PlayStation 3 NA: March 16, 2010 AU: March 18, 2010 EU: March 19, 2010 PlayStation 4 NA: July 14, 2015 PAL: July 15, 2015 EU: July 17, 2015
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, hack and slash
Mode(s)	Single-player

God of War III is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released for the PlayStation 3 on March 16, 2010, it is the fifth installment in the God of War series, the seventh chronologically, and the sequel to 2007's God of War II. Loosely based on Greek mythology, the game is set in ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, the former God of War, after his betrayal at the hands of Zeus, King of the Olympian gods, whom he learned was his father. Reigniting the Great War, Kratos ascends Mount Olympus until he is abandoned by the Titan Gaia. Guided by Athena's spirit, Kratos battles monsters, gods, and Titans in a search for Pandora, without whom he cannot open Pandora's Box, defeat Zeus, and end the reign of the Olympian gods to have his revenge.

The gameplay is similar to previous installments, focusing on combo-based combat with the player's main weapon—the Blades of Exile—and secondary weapons acquired during the game. It uses quick time events, where the player acts in a timed sequence to defeat strong enemies and bosses. The player can use up to four magical attacks and a power-enhancing ability as alternative combat options, and the game features puzzles and platforming elements. Compared with previous installments, God of War III offers a revamped magic system, more enemies, new camera angles, and downloadable content.

God of War III was critically acclaimed upon release, with praise for the graphics, gameplay, and scope, although the plot received a mixed response. The game received several awards, including "Most Anticipated Game of 2010" and "Best PS3 Game" at the 2009 and 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, respectively, and the "Artistic Achievement" award at the 2011 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Video Game Awards. The second best-selling game in the God of War series and the ninth best-selling PlayStation 3 game of all time, it sold nearly 5.2 million copies worldwide by June 2012 and was included in the God of War Saga released for PlayStation 3 on August 28, 2012. Since its release, it has also been named as one of the greatest video games ever made. In celebration of the God of War franchise's tenth anniversary, a remastered version of the game, titled God of War III Remastered, was released for the PlayStation 4 (PS4) on July 14, 2015; as of June 2023, the remastered version has sold an estimated 4 million copies. After two more prequels were released, a direct sequel to God of War III simply titled God of War was released on April 20, 2018, which served as a soft-reboot of the franchise and shifted the setting to Norse mythology.

Gameplay[edit]

God of War III is an action-adventure game with hack and slash elements. It is a third-person single-player video game. As with previous installments, the player controls the character Kratos from a fixed-camera perspective in combo-based combat, platforming, and puzzle games.^[3] The enemies are an assortment of Greek mythological creatures, including centaurs, harpies, chimeras, cyclopes, satyrs, minotaurs, Sirens, cerberuses, and Gorgons. The player must also climb walls and ladders, jump across chasms, and swing on ropes to proceed through the game. The puzzles included vary in difficulty: some puzzles only require objects to be placed in a specific position, while some require timing and precision, such as a puzzle with mechanics similar to Guitar Hero.^[4] In addition to finding Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers of the previous games, Minotaur Horns are a new item to be found. Where the eyes and feathers increase the player's health and magic meters, the horns increase the items meter, which allows further use of secondary weapons, called "Items".^[5]

Combat[edit]

Kratos' main weapon is the Blades of Exile, replacing the Blades of Athena used in previous installments and the opening moments of the game. The weapon is a pair of blades attached to chains wrapped around Kratos' wrists and forearms that can be swung in a number of maneuvers. During the game, Kratos acquires new weapons—the Claws of Hades, the Nemean Cestus, and the Nemesis Whip—with other combat options. The Nemean Cestus, a pair of gauntlets, and the Nemesis Whip, similar to the Blades of Exile, are required to advance in parts of the game; for example, the Nemean Cestus is needed to break through objects composed of onyx.^[4]

Unlike in previous games, magical abilities are learned with the acquisition of a new weapon, giving each weapon its own magic attack; for example, the Army of Sparta may only be used with the Blades of Exile. Magic gives Kratos a variety of ways to attack and kill enemies, such as the Claws of Hades' Soul Summon ability, which conjures souls to attack enemies. Other magic includes the Nemean Cestus' Nemean Roar and the Nemesis Whip's Nemesis Rage. In addition to four primary weapons, three secondary ones, known as Items, are acquired:^[4] the Bow of Apollo, the Head of Helios, and the Boots of Hermes. All three are required to advance in certain stages of the game; for example, the Head of Helios can be used as a lantern in dark areas and to reveal hidden doorways.^[6]

The relics Poseidon's Trident, the Golden Fleece, and Icarus' Wings acquired in previous games are retained and used to overcome environmental obstacles, with the Golden Fleece used to deflect enemy attacks. Hades' Soul allows Kratos to swim in the River Styx. The Blade of Olympus, a primary weapon in God of War II, is used in this game with the special ability Rage of Sparta for temporary invulnerability and increased attack damage.^[4]

New additions to the gameplay include the combat grapple, a ranged-grab maneuver which, depending on the weapon, can pull Kratos towards foes or force them away—necessary at certain points in the game, with Kratos riding harpies across chasms—and a simple grab allowing him to use a weak foe as a battering ram. Kratos can now rapidly switch among the four primary weapons in battle, continuing the same attack combination. Other extra features include the addition of ten Godly Possessions, often hidden near defeated foes and providing additional abilities like unlimited magic during bonus play.^[5] The challenge mode in this game is called the Challenge of Olympus (seven trials) and is unlocked after the game's completion. This mode requires players to complete a series of specific tasks—for example, killing all enemies without weapons in a limited amount of time. The player may unlock additional rewards, such as bonus costumes for Kratos, behind-the-scenes videos, and concept art of the characters and environments, by completing the game's difficulty levels and challenge mode. A new mode, the Combat Arena, allows players to set difficulty levels and choose opponents to hone playing skills.^[7]

Synopsis[edit]

Setting[edit]

As with previous games, God of War III is set in an alternate version of ancient Greece populated by Olympian gods, Titans, heroes, and other characters from Greek mythology. The events of the game are set between 2007's God of War II and 2018's God of War. The game is set across several locations on Mount Olympus, including the Tomb of Ares, the ancient city of Olympia, the Path of Eos, the Labyrinth, several areas of the Palace of the Gods, such as the Forum and Hera's Gardens, and the Underworld and Tartarus.

The Tomb of Ares—housing the former God of War's remains—and the city of Olympia lie on the sides of Mount Olympus. Just beyond the city is the Path of Eos, a hidden cavern near the foot of Olympus. The Palace of the Gods is the home of the Olympians, and features the Forum (a small coliseum), Hera's Gardens, and the chambers of Aphrodite and Poseidon. The Labyrinth is a large aerial puzzle constructed by the architect Daedalus to imprison Pandora in the Caverns of Olympus, home of Skorpius and its offspring. The Underworld, ruled by Hades and divided by the River Styx, is the realm of the dead. Hades' palace contains the remains of his wife, Persephone, whom Kratos killed in Chains of Olympus. The Underworld is also home to statues of the three Judges of the Underworld, who hold the Chain of Balance connecting the Underworld to Olympus. Tartarus is the prison of the dead where the Titan Cronos was banished after Kratos retrieved Pandora's Box from Pandora's Temple in 2005's God of War.

Characters[edit]

Kratos (voiced by Terrence C. Carson), the protagonist of the game, is a Spartan demigod warrior who became the God of War after killing Ares and seeks revenge on Zeus for his betrayal. Other characters include Greek gods such as Athena (Erin Torpey), the Goddess of Wisdom and Kratos' mentor and ally; Zeus (Corey Burton), King of the Gods, Kratos' father and the primary antagonist; Poseidon (Gideon Emery), God of the Sea; Hades (Clancy Brown), God of the Underworld; Hephaestus (Rip Torn), the Smith God; Hermes (Greg Ellis), Messenger of the Gods and the God of Speed and Commerce; Helios (Crispin Freeman), the Sun God; Hera (Adrienne Barbeau), Queen of the Gods who controls plant life; and Aphrodite (April Stewart), Goddess of Love and Sexuality. Several Titans are featured, including Gaia (Susan Blakeslee), Cronos (George Ball), Epimetheus, Oceanus, and Perses. Other characters include Hercules (Kevin Sorbo), a demigod and Kratos' half-brother; the architect Daedalus (Malcolm McDowell), Icarus' father; and Pandora (Natalie Lander), Hephaestus's artificial daughter. Minor characters include the three Judges of the Underworld: King Minos (Mark Moseley), King Rhadamanthus, and King Aeacus; Peirithous (Simon Templeman), an Underworld prisoner in love with Persephone, and Kratos' wife and daughter: Lysandra (Gwendoline Yeo) and Calliope (Debi Derryberry), who appear in a plot sequence in which Kratos journeys through his own psyche.^[8]

Plot[edit]

Kratos, Gaia, and the other Titans ascend Mount Olympus to destroy the Olympian gods.^{[N 1]} Poseidon launches an assault against them, but is killed by Kratos, causing the oceans to flood Greece. Reaching Olympus' peak, they attempt to attack Zeus, but he knocks them off the mountain with his lightning bolt. As Gaia clings to the mountainside, she refuses to save Kratos, deeming him a pawn for the Titans' revenge.

Kratos falls into the River Styx, where he loses the Blade of Olympus before the souls of the Underworld weaken him and ruin the Blades of Athena. Climbing from the river, he is greeted by Athena's spirit, who ascended to a higher existence after sacrificing herself to save Zeus from Kratos,^{[N 2]} and had witnessed truths which she previously could not see. She gives Kratos the Blades of Exile and tells him he must extinguish the Flame of Olympus to kill Zeus. After finding the three Judges of the Underworld and the Chain of Balance, Kratos briefly meets the spirit of Pandora, whom he initially mistakes for his dead daughter, Calliope. Following an encounter with the Olympian blacksmith Hephaestus and recovering the Blade of Olympus, he kills Hades^{[N 3]} and releases the souls of the Underworld. Kratos considers searching for Calliope's soul, but Athena reminds him of his quest, and he leaves the Underworld. Kratos reaches Olympia and finds Gaia pleading for help, only for Kratos to sever her arm as payback for her earlier betrayal, causing her to fall to her apparent death.

Kratos continues his ascent, murdering powerful foes such as the Titan Perses and the Sun God Helios, plunging Greece into eternal darkness in the process. He also pursues the overconfident Hermes to the Chamber of the Flame and finds that Pandora's Box is held within the Flame of Olympus, which Athena says can only be quelled by Pandora herself. Kratos then catches and kills Hermes, releasing a plague upon Greece. At the Forum, he has an audience with the drunken Hera, who ignores his request for Pandora's location and summons Hercules, whom Kratos offers a chance to step aside from his war to no avail. After discussing his jealousy of his half-brother, Hercules duels with Kratos, but Kratos gains the upper hand and kills him. Kratos then encounters Aphrodite, who is indifferent to his war on Olympus. She leads him back to her estranged husband, Hephaestus, through Hyperion's Gate. The blacksmith, learning of Kratos' plan to quell the Flame of Olympus, sends him to Tartarus to retrieve the Omphalos Stone, claiming he will forge a new weapon for the Spartan. Kratos encounters Cronos, kills the Titan for the stone, and returns to Hephaestus. After forging the weapon, Hephaestus tries to kill Kratos, but is impaled by his own anvil. Before dying, Hephaestus admits that he was trying to protect his daughter Pandora, who was imprisoned in the Labyrinth after Kratos opened her box,^{[N 4]} and pleads with Kratos to spare her. Reusing the Hyperion Gate, Kratos travels through Hera's Garden, where he kills Hera for insulting Pandora, ending all Greek plant life, before making his way to the Labyrinth.

The imprisoned architect, Daedalus, distraught to learn of his son Icarus' death, dies as Kratos proceeds to unite the Labyrinth and venture through the aerial puzzle to rescue Pandora. Neutralizing the judges and breaking the Chain of Balance, Kratos raises the Labyrinth, and Pandora tries to enter the Flame. Zeus intervenes and fights Kratos, but Pandora sacrifices herself despite Kratos' reluctance. Finding Pandora's Box empty, Kratos attacks Zeus before Gaia joins the fray and attempts to kill them both. They escape through an open wound on her body and continue their battle inside her chest. Kratos impales Zeus against Gaia's heart with the Blade of Olympus, killing her and apparently Zeus. Believing Zeus to be dead, Kratos leaves but is attacked by Zeus' astral form, who rids him of his weapons and powers. Before Zeus can finish him off, Kratos is saved by a vision of Pandora during a journey into his psyche. With the help from the spirits of Calliope and his wife Lysandra, Kratos forgives himself before regaining consciousness along with the power of hope. He forces Zeus' spirit back into his body and then beats him to death.

Kratos looks upon an apocalyptic Greece in complete chaos. Athena reappears, demanding that Kratos return what she thinks he took from Pandora's Box. When Kratos tells her it was empty, she refuses to believe this, explaining that when Zeus sealed the evils of the world in the box after the Great War, she placed the power of hope in it as well, foreseeing that it would eventually be opened. Athena then realizes that when Kratos opened the box to defeat Ares, the evils escaped and slowly corrupted the gods while Kratos was imbued with hope, which had been hidden by the guilt and failures of his past. She demands Kratos to return the power of hope with the intention of establishing her own rule over Greece. Kratos refuses and seemingly kills himself with the Blade of Olympus so that hope can be distributed among mankind. A disappointed Athena leaves empty-handed while Kratos collapses on a mural of a phoenix.

In a post-credits scene, a trail of blood is seen leading away from the mural and the Blade of Olympus, implying Kratos' survival.^{[N 5]}

Development[edit]

In a 2007 interview with GameTrailers, God of War creator and game director David Jaffe explained his original intention for the series, which is different from the actual ending of God of War III, which was based on game director Stig Asmussen's vision. Jaffe's idea was that "God of War explains, or ultimately will explain, why there are no more Greek myths". He said that it would have been "hell on earth" as the gods and Titans battled each other for domination. Other mythological pantheons would have become involved after Kratos killed Zeus and the other Greek gods, and the result would be that humankind no longer believed in the gods—according to Jaffe, the only way a god can truly die.^[9] God of War III was first mentioned by God of War II game director Cory Barlog at a God of War II launch event.^[10] Barlog said that the game would have full 1080p HD resolution (changed to 720p in final release^[11]) and support Sixaxis tilt and vibration functions.^[12] Announced before the DualShock 3 controller was introduced, this caused confusion since the Sixaxis controller does not support rumble.^[13] During the 2009 Game Developers Conference (GDC), the creative team said that the Sixaxis tilt capability had been removed because they "could not find a suitable situation to use Sixaxis in the game effectively".^[14]

After the first eight months of development, Barlog left Santa Monica for other opportunities,^[15] and Stig Asmussen took over as game director; Asmussen previously served as lead environment artist and art director on God of War and God of War II, respectively. In an interview with IGN, Asmussen said that Barlog "had a major impact on the game" and although he had left the team, they spoke several times afterwards and "bounced a few ideas off him," but there was no formal collaboration. He also said that David Jaffe "[had] been around the studio a few times" and they "[had] gone over some high-level stuff with him to get his observations and feedback."^[16] Early in development when Barlog was still with the team, he expressed interest in a cooperative mode "if we can do something unique with it".^[13] In November 2009, Asmussen told GamePro that although a multiplayer option had been discussed, it was unsuitable for God of War III: "There's a story we want to tell and an experience we want to deliver, and multi-player doesn't fit into that."^[17] By December 2009, the game was in its final developmental stages.^[16]

In December 2008, Sony reported that God of War III would be the last game in the series.^[18] However, in January 2010 John Hight told Joystiq: "While God of War III will conclude the trilogy, it won't spell the end of the franchise ... We're going to be really careful about what we do next".^[19] Asmussen mentioned the possibility of downloadable content; the game would be shipped with the regular challenge mode, and new challenge modes might be released as downloadable content to maintain the series.^[17] In March 2009, it was reported that Sony was seeking opinions about a collector's edition from PlayStation 3 owners.^[20] In October, an Ultimate Edition was unveiled for North America, and an Ultimate Trilogy Edition was announced soon afterwards for a limited European, Australian, and New Zealand release. A Trilogy Edition was announced for Japan, where the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) gave the game an adults-only Z rating after the previous two versions were considered suitable for players 17 and older.^[21]

Technical[edit]

Asmussen said that one of the greatest challenges in developing God of War III for the PlayStation 3 was the "complexity of everything"; individual tasks, such as designing Helios' decapitation, could take a year because the "level of detail [that was] expected [was] so high and intricate, it [crossed] multiple departments." He said that the PlayStation 3's hardware capabilities allowed more flexibility in character creation and interaction with the environment.^[17][16] The character model for Kratos in the PlayStation 2 (PS2) games used about 5,000 polygons; the PS3 model was about 20,000 – a high number, but less than that used by other models such as Nathan Drake in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, who used 35,000. Ken Feldman, the art director, commented that the polygon count was not the only factor, and cited the increased texture detail as one of the reasons for Kratos' realistic appearance. The developers used a new technique called blended normal mapping to add realism to the basic model and hugely enhance the range of animation available (e.g., muscle movement, including visible veins, and facial animations). All of the main protagonists were animated by hand because the animators produced more effective work than basic motion capture, though the voice actors' facial movements were recorded by Image Metrics's performance capture system. For animating things like hair, the animators created a secondary animation code, known as Dynamic Simulation, which allows the PS3 itself to mathematically calculate the way it should look; it accurately generates motion that previously took the animators long hours to replicate.^[22]

The engine for God of War III was from the first two installments. Santa Monica senior producer Steve Caterson said that the development team ported God of War II's engine to the PlayStation 3 and were able to quickly play the game. Everything that Kratos could do in previous games, he could do on the PlayStation 3, which allowed the developers to immediately begin designing new content. As the game was being developed, the code department would swap out PlayStation 2 components with PlayStation 3 components. They replaced the renderer, the particle system, and the collision system.^[23] Feldman said that although they were re-using the engine from God of War II, the core engine for God of War III was brand new.^[24] Between the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and the time the game shipped, morphological anti-aliasing (MLAA) was added, which graphics engineer Ben Diamand said "improved edges dramatically and saved substantial amounts of frame-rate." MLAA is "now a popular edge-detection process that can cost-effectively remove jagged edges from each frame", which helped Santa Monica free up the processing cycle and "allowed them to add to the spectacle in other ways." Diamand also said that "depth-of-field, motion blur, crepuscular 'god' rays and refraction were either added or improved in quality and speed" during that same time period.^[25]

Asmussen estimated overall game length to be 10 to 20 hours, "depending on how good of a gamer you are."^[17] Santa Monica studio director John Hight reassured players that God of War III lasts longer than 10 hours: "We've done a lot of play testing on it ... We know, for a really hardcore player, it'll take them longer than it took them to play either of the previous God of War games."^[26] The finished game script was about 120 pages long,^[27] and the number of onscreen enemies increased from 15 in the previous games to a maximum of 50. To light the game, Turtle by Illuminate Labs was used.^[28][29] Head of development Christer Ericson of Santa Monica Studio confirmed that God of War III has seamless loading; no loading screens and no hard disk drive installation requirement.^[30][31] SCE America animator Bruno Velazquez said that while the first two God of War titles had computer-generated imagery (CGI) cinematics, there would be no true CGI in the third game:^[32] "all the cutscenes are created using our in-game engine."^[33] A God of War III game trailer debuted on Spike's GameTrailers TV on February 11, 2010,^[34] and Asmussen confirmed that all footage is of gameplay.^[35] New camera angles were added; during some major battles the player can still control Kratos while the camera pans away from the fight, and a first-person camera view was used for the final portion of the Poseidon and Zeus boss fights.^[36] According to Santa Monica Studio director of technology Tim Moss, God of War III used 35 gigabytes (GB) of Blu-ray Disc.^[37] God of War III's budget was $44 million USD, and the game had a staff of 132 at the end of its development.^[38]

Several voice actors returned from previous installments, including Terrence C. Carson, Erin Torpey, Corey Burton, Debi Derryberry, and Gwendoline Yeo, voicing Kratos, Athena, Zeus, Calliope, and Lysandra, respectively. Susan Blakeslee, who voiced two characters in God of War, voiced Gaia. Narrator Linda Hunt, who previously voiced Gaia, only provided an introductory narration for the game. Rip Torn, Natalie Lander, and Malcolm McDowell joined the cast of voice actors. Lloyd Sherr and Nolan North, who had originally voiced Cronos and Hades, were replaced by George Ball and Clancy Brown, respectively. Kevin Sorbo was chosen to voice Hercules because of his portrayal of the character in the television series, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.^[39] Elijah Wood had a minor voice role, and Josh Keaton and Fred Tatasciore, who voiced characters in previous games, also had minor roles.^[8]

Release[edit]

At E3 2009, the God of War III demo was unveiled, with Kratos on the cliffs of Mount Olympus battling Olympian legionnaires, a centaur, a chimera, and a cyclops. He decapitates Helios, encounters Perses, rides harpies, and uses the Blades of Athena and new weapons (the Nemean Cestus and Bow of Apollo). On October 28, 2009, SCE Europe sent emails to PlayStation Network members with an activation code for the demo. On October 30, GameStop began providing voucher codes for customers who pre-ordered the game,^[40] and early copies of God of War Collection had a voucher code to download the demo.^[41][42] The Blu-ray version of District 9 included the God of War III demo and a "making of" featurette,^[43][44] and the demo was released to Qore subscribers on February 4, 2010.^[45] On February 25, Sony Computer Entertainment released the demo for download on the PlayStation Store in Europe and North America.^[46] Just before the game's release, Eurogamer published an article comparing the graphics in the God of War III demo