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So why this return visit? Because, frankly, you still want to read about God of War III, and we still want to write about it. And that's because God of War III is a sensation. It's an absolute rock star of a game, a cocksure, strutting frontman. It might not be all that clever or original, but its mojo's most definitely working. It's got it, it knows that it's got it, it knows that you know, and that you're powerless to resist.
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Helios' holy noggin will actually be a key item in the game - Kratos heads into a pitch-black cavern next and uses the head as a torch, discovering and blinding enemies before he kills them in a stroboscopic flash of combos. The final bit of gameplay we see is when our snarling hero somehow acquires a set of wings and leaps into an "Icarus ascent" - a high-speed travel mode that will cover lots of ground quickly. It's essentially an old-school twitch mini-game, Kratos racing up a tunnel dodging hazards, but very spectacular.
That's a redundant thing to write. The whole thing is very spectacular. God of War III is an astounding-looking game, rich in detail, animated with fluid abandon, saturated with rich colour and picked out in pin-sharp lighting and powerful effects. It's blindingly fast, and yet every frame looks like it was painstakingly composed by hand. It will surely be a PS3 showboat to surpass Killzone 2 when it launches.
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But what impresses most about this demo is the sheer amount of incident. God of War may be a simple brawler at heart, but Santa Monica Studio's total commitment to variety and moment-to-moment showmanship elevates it. The entire thing is set-piece. It's clearly not about bang for your buck in these parts - it's just about bang, and to hell with the bucks. "For example, we hired a designer in June last year, he finished his first level in February," says Papy. "He spent roughly six months on a level, one level, and that's roughly 45 minutes of the game. Most studios won't spend that time. We have that luxury."
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God of War III looks luxurious alright, a hedonistic indulgence of a game, expensive, dumb, beautiful and bad for you in the best possible way. For Sony, though, it's no indulgence - it's clearly some of the best money it will spend this generation. That's confidence, and it's justified.
http://www.eurogamer.net/(...)r-iii-preview?page=1