God Of War III The Demo

Last night I got my hands on the God Of War III demo for the PS3. Here's a quick rundown of what happens in it.

It opens with the familiar GoW title screen: a close up of Kratos's face looking angry as ever. If the title screen sits for a while, he'll bare his teeth and growl. Kratos does not appreciate waiting to kill. There's only one option on the screen: Start Demo.

So I press start and immediately Kratos fighting 5 guys at once. Of course, they're not very tough. The first new move noticed is Kratos's battering ram move. He can pick up an enemy and run him into all of the other ones. I'd be lying if i told you it wasn't extremely fun.

Then it's on to platforming. Kratos can now grab a harpy and have it fly him over to distant platforms. Kratos tips the harpy by stabbing it about five times during the trip. Yikes. After that We get treated to another great outside fight scene with a giant character destroying a city a la God Of War I. Instead of Ares, this time it's a titan that may be Atlas from GoW II. He's getting hassled by Helios, the sun god, and his flaming chariot. Before he can be helped, Kratos has to take out some more sword wielding bad guys and a centaur. No problem.

Kratos runs up the ramp to help Atlas, but there's another problem, the first new villain we get to see from God Of War III: The Chimera. This monster has the body of a lion with goat head above the lion's head, and a snake for a tail. Oh, and if combining three vicious animals (yes goats are vicious, anyone who's been to a petting and is unfortunate enough to be holding feed in the vicinity of one knows this) isn't enough, the Chimera blows fire. The monster is about as big as a standard minotaur from the GoW series. This fight is split in to three segments. First the snake is cut off. Then the Lion's body is stabbed in the chest. After that, Kratos rips off a horn and stabs it through the head. If anything, Kratos is thorough.

After this, Kratos shoots Helios with a nearby harpoon gun. The titan catches him and crushes him. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get fight Helios, but oh well. Kratos then catches a ride on a harpy and beats up some more low level thugs. He then runs through a building and kills more goons. (This is where the battering ram is formally introduced). There's also some more ledge hanging and creeping. Kratos can speed a long ledges by moving the right analog stick in the same direction as the left. That's very helpful actually. We pass a guy who laments about his lost possessions. He'd probably lament about his crushed skull too, but Kratos throws him off the side of his house very quickly. That's just the way Kratos takes care of business.

After this Kratos lands on a veranda with a very very beat up Helios on the ground. Consider my earlier disappointment gone.

It's not going to be simple though. A group of guys with shields and spears surround Helios. Think 300. And then some sword guys and a Cyclops drop in for a big fight. The cyclops is subdued much easier than expected. Then Kratos gets to ride around him and crush the remaining swordsmen and the shield dome over Helios. The sun god is now prone. Kratos walks over which initiates a mini game that starts with a neck snapping, keeps the pace steady with some head pounding and ends with Helios's head being messily liberated from his shoulders.

This leads to the first new tool in Kratos's God of War III arsenal: The Helios Head. It shines like the Medusa head, but instead of turning enemies into stone, it reveals secret hidden doors. To use the head, the player has to push L2 and R1 at the same, an odd button combination, but I imagine I'll get used to it. Helios's head immediately reveals a hidden door. After going through the door there's a vent of air that uses the Icarus wings from GoW II. Kratos then flies through a maze wood framing avoiding fireballs. It's intense. Even more intense is the way the demo ends.

Once Kratos gets to the top of the vent, we see Atlas again. But Kratos lunges at him like he's about to attack. The screen then goes black. Has Kratos turned on the Titans? Has he struck a secret deal with the Olympians? Or, in typical Kratos fashion, is he just going to kill everyone?

I'm betting on the last option.