God of War III Remastered

*** of War usually defines the generation of consoles it's released on. *** of War III was no exception. We were already halfway into the PS3's lifecycle before we got *** of War, but it was well worth the wait. It was bigger, better, faster, and more epic and violent than any previous game. We also already had two PSP games by this point, so there was a lot of content for the team to look upon, and it did take some inspiration from the PSP versions as they were the latest games in the series. *** of War III sees Kratos continuing his journey to kill Zeus and destroy all of Olympus for refusing to take away the nightmares of killing his wife and daughter. The game starts out more epic than any other *** of War game, or any game at all for that matter. You are battling Titans in *** of War III with Gaia being the first one. Running around a giant colossal enemy and destroying it from the outside it is just something that has never been done or ever done since. Right off the bat, the game feels smoother, silkier, and more responsive than ever before. The game has amazing lighting effects with glow and shines on every object and Kratos' Blades of Exile look amazing in action. It's still jaw-dropping even today to see something of this scale play on your screen. Combat isn't just smoother, but slightly more enhanced with new layers added. There is a new Item meter that recharges on its own and allows you to use various items such as Apollo's Bow and Helios' Head. This allows the team to focus more on balancing combat and using these items for puzzle solving rather than strictly combat. Magic items are now attached to the four weapons. Each weapon has a unique magic attack which balances combat and keeps it from feeling the same as other games. There is also a new X button combo that allows Kratos to combo through all four weapons which is just awesome to see. I don't want to spoil the new weapons as they are as big a part of *** of War as the enemies and story, but they are awesome and the best weapons yet in any *** of War game. The game also feels like it just flows better this time around. There is no longer a central hub that the game focuses on, but you do backtrack to a few beginning areas briefly which is fine. The game is very balanced and I never felt overwhelmed except toward the end of the game which is expected. New enemies are introduced with gobs of gore and violence with more detail. You can actually rip out a Cyclops eye, disembowel a Centaur General, and some enemies have multiple stage circle button prompts which is a lot of fun. The button prompts are also moved to the sides of the screen corresponding to button placement on the controller and they flash keeping you from having to miss a prompt. They aren't as heavy-handed this time around and feel more natural, but the best parts are the boss fights. They are challenging, deadly, and gruesome that leaves such a great smile on your face. The environments are more impressive than ever with larger than life structures and multi-tiered areas that span miles and miles. It's insane how all this worked and was crammed on the PS3 hardware. Daedalus' Labyrinth with giant floating boxes and gauntlets of platforming segments to test your skills and reflexes. This is actually the third time I've played this game and it amazes me with every playthrough, I never get tired of it. The PS4 remaster adds a coat of paint to an already great looking game. The visuals are less blurry, sharper, and the game runs at a solid 60FPS. The textures do look ugly in spots, but that was PS3 limitations, but overall the far away shots look amazing. Overall, *** of War III is still an amazing game to this day. It was one of the best PS3 games to be released and is a must-have for PS4 owners. Sadly, the previous games were not included, so if you jump into this game you won't understand a single thread of the story.