God of War III for PS3: First Try

Afterburner Climax,my first game assignment, had gone so well that I felt confident and ready to move on to game number two. Then I heard that the next game would be God of War III and I deflated a bit. A game title with the words God and War in the title frightened me. And when I turned the game on my fear turned to outright terror. The voices of an angry-sounding choir accompanied by screeching violin tremelo warns me that this game is no joke. The title screen graphic is a close-up of a scary face streaked with red warpaint his eyebrows deeply furrowed in an expression that I realized must have matched my own. I'm worried, but I play.



Opening credits bleed across the screen; fiery red gods meld into sword-wielding killer gods, then into fire-bearded gods stabbing and thrusting wide, jagged blades, that become scenes of gods with lightning and chains, tornados and whips. This is a bad, bad place and I don't want to go there. Mr. Scary Face appears again; his eyeballs angrily roll in their sockets, then stop and stare right at me. My heart starts pounding the same way it used to at slumber parties when a friend would suggest watching a horror movie. What was Ben thinking with this game? Was it revenge for making him watch My Best Friend's Wedding?

Just then a video scene begins and I have to focus. I want to try and follow the story. I have never paid any attention to a story in a video game which is something I want to address with this project. I don't know if the narrator was speaking too quickly or what, but I didn't really catch the details. From what I can gather, some God (I think?) named Kratos (spelling?) is avenging something or other. Whatever happened, he's seriously pissed. I think some bad monsters moved into town and started a rival God-monster mountain across the street from Mount Olympus. Zeus and the gang are not pleased. Us good gods have to get rid of these gigantic mountain beasts before they take us out. Just as I'm getting into the story and seeing the first glimpses of the sort of corny looking, but at least familiar Greek gods, I feel my chair rumble and I remember that this is not a movie. I'm going to have to do something with that buzzing controller now. And before I can even pick up the controller, a MOB of creepy skeleton creatures appear and surround me zombie-movie style. I quickly gather that I am this red god guy (I didn't catch his name) and I have a fiery whip to use against them. To my surprise, I manage to wipe out that first skeleton mob pretty handily with some crazed, nervous button mashing.

Then I discover my next obstacle. I don't know where to go. I'm in a clearing surrounded by logs and trees and stuff. I see that I have wings, but I can't seem to use them. I've seen Ben handle this situation. There's always some way out. I just need to stay calm so I can figure it out. Circling the perimeter, I notice that an R1 sign pops up near a certain log so I go up to the log and my red guy tries to lift it. I notice a new flashing O which means the circle button needs to be pulsed. I pulsed about fifty times and he still couldn't lift that toppled tree. Finally, out of frustration and kind of as a joke, I put the controller in my lap and mashed the circle button with satirical zeal. Of course, the character then lifted the tree. That's what it takes, game? They are going to make me work for it. Geesh!

The camera pulls back and I see that my guy is walking on a tree-mountain monster's shoulder. A large blue horse beast emerges from the tree-mountain monster's bicep and begins bludgeoning me with his spike and drill legs. I find myself hanging precariously from, I can only assume, the tree-mountain monster's armpit. I swing my fire whip like no fire whip has ever been swung before, but this horse beast remains unphased. As the camera sweeps around I get a better glimpse of this monster. He is actually a tarantula-horse made of water with spiky drill legs that spews water out of its giant toothy mouth. I whip the thing in the face a bunch and stab him in one of his spiky legs, but it is not enough. I die. Although the spider-horse fighting is tiring and a bit tedious, I figure I'd better try again. I do a little bit better the second try, but the horse beast prevails again. I decide to surrender to my little pony and the game, at least for today. Forty-two minutes of game play and I can't get past even one monster. If this is Spartan difficulty, I hate to see what Chaos is like. I need help. I need Ben. I need a nap.