Day 74, Game 74 - God of War III

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For God of War III, I wanted to do something a little different for you all, by switching up the format from what I have been writing like the last several blog posts about the other God of War games in the series. I decided to write my thoughts and impressions of the game as they happen, in a live blog type of manner.

I have always believed that in order to make this blog successful in the long run, especially as the year progresses, that I would need to keep my entries fresh and unique. And to be honest, I am kind of running out of things to say about the God of War games, as I am saving certain opinions for the last two blog entries. So, in order to keep it fresh and to prevent me from rambling on just for the sake of writing something, here is my live blog as I started up God of War III ... for the first time ever. Enjoy!

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8:34 - Game starts with a quote. Always powerful for sure.

8:36 - Opening sequence is epic. Great art, and the music is getting me absolutely jacked up to go on a rampage.

8:37 - Oh, there is Kratos looking at me with half his face. I wonder why they decided to keep doing this so many games in? Just one of those things I suppose.

8:38 - Tempted to play the game on Titan mode, but I'll refrain for now.

8:38 - Actually really excited about this game, as it's the first PS3 God of War game that I've played.

8:40 - Can't help but notice how greatly improved the graphics in the cut scenes are compared to the PS2 and PSP games. Also, can't help but imagine what the norm for PS4 games will be. Talk about exciting.

8:40 - Check-on-kids break as the first cut scene comes to a close. Side note: I understand making people sit through stuff like the awesome cinematic scenes, but not being able to pause them makes it difficult sometimes.

8:49 - Back, ready to roll. Let's see what happens. (I imagine some tutorial lessons as the first combat waves take place ... Lets find out, shall we?)

8:51 - First set of enemies, 199 hit combo. Hope there isn't a trophy for a 200 hit combo...

8:53 - Just checked, and there is a trophy for a thousand hit combo. Whew!

8:56 - The Titans are amazing. Also, why do controls for moving around while hanging from the ceiling and being upside down always feel so backwards and messed up? Aside from the obvious reason, of course.

9:01 - I love how enemies just stand there banging their weapons against the ground, waiting for me to approach. What is this, The Outsiders?

9:04 - First Kratos dog pile I've encountered. Pretty awesome, actually.

9:06 - Epic battle going on here ... In the background!!! And I'm just a spectator ... For now.

9:09 - Just gutted my first centaur I believe? Yeah. That's pretty graphic. No pasta for me for a while.

9:10 - I really appreciate the little detail of putting the buttons on the screen in relation to where they are on the controller in the QTEs. Nice touch there.

9:12 - Just noticed that Kratos is lifting these chests open with one hand now like it's no big deal.

9:13 - First save point - yes please!

9:14 - Gates are still two handed affairs. Guess he's not that strong.

9:14 - Died from an unexpected QTE while writing that last bit about the gates. Oops!

9:15 - Death count = 1, so far.

9:18 - Death count = 2. Don't ask.

9:22 - Horse/spider creature just got vampired by his own leg, and all I can think about is: "Shot through the heart ... And you're to blame..."

9:25 - It's nice to hear a heart beating that isn't my life meter warning me of impending doom.

9:29 - I'm stuck. And all I hear is that heartbeat. ARGH! Make it stop!!!

9:36 - Unstuck. Wow. Maybe I should look for the obvious next time. You know, like that little glowing indicator telling me what to do? Also, using enemies as battering rams against other enemies = genius idea.

9:44 - Well that boss battle sure was something. Can't say enough how amazing that was. The first person perspective as Poseidon while Kratos is finishing him off was done remarkably well. And his dead body getting tossed into the ocean created massive flooding? Brilliant.

9:46 - Save? Yes please.

9:47 - What's up, Zeus? Or shall I call you ... Dad? SPOILER ALERT!

9:49 - Great, now my alliance with the Titans is over? That probably doesn't bode well going forward.

9:51 - Getting ravaged and pushed to the brink of death in the River Styx is such a smart concept. I love it.

9:52 - Crawling up that walkway reminded me of Nathan Drake dragging himself through the desert in Uncharted 3 - except much, much shorter. What a cool sequence that was either way.

9:54 - Athena hooking it up with some new weapons, the Blades of Exile. Cool, I think.

9:56 - New weapons of course meant different move set. Grrrrrrrrrr...

9:58 - Save? Yes please.

10:00 - OK, this Army of Sparta ability is actually pretty rad.

10:03 - There is no way that fighting while hanging from a rope is as easy as Kratos makes it seem to be. No way. I just don't quite know how to prove it.

10:07 - Just killed my first Gorgon. For one, they look amazing. Two, I feel like I'm in an Anaconda movie. And that's not a bad thing.

10:28 - Three-headed dog that breathes fire  has been tamed and decapitated. Oh, and new fire bow acquired.

10:28 - Death count = 3, because I still don't know how to jump correctly, apparently.

10:31 - Save? Yes please.

10:35 - Is there anything more annoying in games than packs of flying enemies when you, yourself, are not capable of flight? I would argue no.

10:36 - Death count = 4, because I don't know how to climb ledges, apparently.

10:52 - Just beat the first Trials mission. Wow. That wasn't easy at all. Glad I didn't go with the Titan difficulty. Added a couple deaths to the death count there also.

10:52 - Save? Yes please.

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And that's all she wrote, folks. I could have kept playing, but it has been a long, long week. Plus, do you realize how hard it is to write a blog while trying to play a game? That probably took up a quarter of my time, if not more! Either way, it was fun. Can't wait to get all the way through it. But now, we move on to the bread and butter of this week.