God of War III

"In the end..."

God of War III box art

"There will be only chaos."- Zeus and Kratos

God of War III is the final installment in the popular God of War series, released on March 16, 2010 for the PlayStation 3. It is the sixth chapter in the series chronologically, after God of War: Chains of Olympus, God of War, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, God of War: Betrayal and God of War II.

Story

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Following the ending of God of War II, God of War III picks up directly after this with a stirring opening narration from Zeus discussing the actions of the rogue God of War, Kratos, who is 'commanding' a small army of Titans rescued from the Great War (using the power of the Fates). The Olympians immediately rush to battle; Hermes speeds down the very peaks of Olympus as Zeus watches on, Hercules receives the order to lead his troops down into the fray, Hades lunges off and engages several Titans in his giant form, and Poseidon (using his amazing aquakinesis) shoots down from Olympus like a missile and performs a death blow through the chest of Epimetheus, and then manifests himself as a massive water being and spawns several water horses called Hippocampi to aid in the battle. With Poseidon as their greatest threat in the battle, having already decimated numerous Titans and soon going after Gaia herself, Kratos engages the God of the Sea and after drawing him into Gaia's grasp manages to knock a weakened Poseidon out of his godly form and onto a separate platform. The two berate each other briefly before Kratos walks up and beats the Lord of the Sea severely, finally gouging out his eyes and snapping his neck as he tosses him off into the ocean. With Poseidon's death, the seas cataclysm and ocean levels rise significantly, causing a flood that appears to engulf the entire world and destroying almost all of mankind save those on top of Olympia.

After killing Poseidon, Gaia and Kratos reach Zeus' pavilion, where the king of the gods angrily anticipates Kratos' arrival and, at last, assaults them with a mighty blast of lightning that blows off a massive amount of Gaia's arm and sends the two spiraling down Olympus (Kratos survives presumably by using the Golden Fleece to absorb most of the blast). However, even using the Blade of Olympus to stab into her back, Kratos is unable to hang on as Gaia fights to survive and climb back up to Zeus. She warns him that he was only a pawn and is now expendable now that the Titans have reached Zeus, allowing the embittered Spartan to tumble to his death. Kratos contemplates his life as he lurches through the River Styx and its caverns, and resolves to escape Hades (once again) and destroy Zeus. On his way to Hades' chamber after being sucked of nearly all of his power from the dead souls of Styx, he reunites with a newly-formed Athena who claims to have reached a "new level of existence" and is willing to help Kratos assume his revenge, granting him new weapons to survive the Underworld and the foes that lie ahead, and also defining his next quest of finding and extinguishing the Flame of Olympus in order to truly defeat Zeus.

Kratos makes his way through the Underworld meeting a couple of lost souls, encountering statues of three Greek kings, meeting Hephaestus who informs him more and more about the secrets of Olympus and Zeus, and finding mysterious scrawls on the ground that he silently acknowledges to be from various people in his past. Finally entering Hades' palace he finds the coffin-wed body of Persephone that Hades had restored, and engages the Lord of the Underworld himself inside of a dark cavern. Hades matches Kratos until the bloodthirsty Spartan manages to rip off his helmet and steal his weapons, and then ripping out Hades' own soul and absorbs it using the Claws of Hades. Escaping the Underworld through a Hyperion Gate, Kratos renews his journey up along Olympus except that he now faces both the Titans and the Gods - he 'amputates' the legs of Hermes, mercilessly beats his own half-brother Hercules to death with the Nemean Cestus, breaks Hera's neck after she insults Pandora, a small child-like creation of Hephaestus who is the key to extinguishing the Flame of Olympus and revealing its contents, encountering a radiant Aphrodite and her handmaidens in the goddess' chamber, and finally arriving at the Flame's chamber with Pandora, only to be interrupted by Zeus himself.

Zeus prevents Pandora from her destiny and engages Kratos, though the latter bests the King of the Gods in a duel and suddenly has a change of heart. Pandora was made to be the Key to Pandora's Box, which is what truly rests within the Flame of Olympus, and would have to sacrifice herself. However, due to inadvertent prodding from Zeus pleads that Kratos not "fail in his decisions this time", Kratos releases Pandora and attacks Zeus in a rage, only to be stunned by the Flame's dissipation. Kratos opens the Box once again, just as he had in the first game, only to discover that it is empty. Zeus mocks him for "another failure", and heads outside in order to recover, while Kratos' rage grows even stronger. Father and son meet outside once again on a familiar platform, but before either can claim victory, the platform is suddenly shaken by a reawakened Gaia (believed to have been killed during the fight and subject of many Titans anger against Kratos), who violently shakes them and causes them to flee inside of her body. Inside of her chest, Kratos and Zeus duel near her heart; Zeus sucks her heart of her life and rejuvenates as does Kratos, and finally Kratos impales Zeus with the Blade of Olympus against Gaia's heart, seemingly killing both of them.

Awakening amidst cracked earth, Kratos finds Zeus' body impaled on a rock, and extracts the blade callously. But Zeus' spirit, consumed by some lasting hatred for his 'infidel' son, attacks and apparently drains Kratos of his willpower, his anger, and instead fills him with fear and a sense of loss whilst throwing him on the verge of death. Before dying, Kratos shares a last-minute mental journey with the guide of Pandora, whose spirit lives on within him, and begins abolishing the various things that torment his soul - the very things that the Astral Zeus is using to kill his mind, similar to what Ares once did. Overcoming these hurtles with a feeling of Hope, Kratos destroys Zeus' astral spirit with a final series of blows, ending the reign of the Olympians once and for all as it seems...

Athena arrives to congratulate Kratos on his victory and requests that he turn over the power he claimed from Pandora's Box, but he reveals that there was nothing inside. Athena claims he is lying, because when the evils of the Titanomachy were first sealed into the box, as a safety measure, she placed into the box the "most powerful weapon in the world", hope, to counteract the evils. She demands Kratos return this power he obtained from the box that rightfully belongs to her, for now that the world is cleansed by chaos, she will rebuild it under her rule with the power of hope. Athena realizes, however, that when Kratos first opened the box to kill Ares, as the evils infected and took hold of the gods of Olympus, especially Zeus, the power of hope infused itself into Kratos. Hope had been buried deep beneath the anger, need for vengeance, and guilt, and when Kratos had finally learned to forgive himself for his past, he had released the power. Athena again demands Kratos give her the power, but Kratos refuses, and impales himself on the Blade of Olympus. Which then, a large ray of blue light releases itself into the sky, giving all mankind the power of Hope. Athena becomes furious, claiming that man will not know what to do with Hope. She departs, telling Kratos that she is disappointed by his actions.

In a post-credits scene, the spot where Kratos' body was lying is now empty, leading to the possibility that he is still alive.

Items and abilities

Weapons

• Blades of Athena: The blades given to Kratos by Athena at the end of God of War. Kratos uses them for the first portion of the game, however, like in the previous games, they are soon replaced by the Blades of Exile.
• Blades of Exile: New blades given by Athena's spectre in the Underworld, using mystical new abilities she "upgrades" the blades, representing now how Kratos has been exiled from his Spartan army, from the Gods of Olympus, and now even from the Titans.
• Blade of Olympus: Kratos is shown at the end of God of War II to be holding the powerful blade, and he uses it again in God of War III, but only in Rage mode. Kratos is often seen using the Blade amidst context scenes, and constantly uses it to seemingly one-hit kill bigger opponents and drain their energies.
• Claws of Hades: Acquired after killing Hades. They serve to raise the souls of underworld to help Kratos.
• Nemean Cestus: Two large, strong gauntlets in the form of a lion's head, that have similar moves to the Gauntlet of Zeus. Contrary to first viewing from the trailers, these are actually wielded by Hercules from the beginning and stolen by Kratos. Hercules had acquired these from the Nemean Lion.
• Nemesis Whip: A pair of blades consisting each of three swords, crafted from the Omphalos stone that Kratos retrieved from Tartarus for Hephaestus. They carry an electric charge and can power mechanical devices to some degree. They appear to harbor Hephaestus' own power, and are ironically used to kill their creator.

Magic

• Divine Reckoning (Blades of Athena): Kratos drives the Blade of Olympus into the ground and causes a vortex of energy to hurt surrounding enemies.
• Army of Sparta (Blades of Exile): Kratos is able to summon his exiled Spartan brothers to form a protective phalanx around him.
• Soul Summon (Claws of Hades): Kratos summons the spirits of his enemies to attack his enemies. The soul summoned can be chosen in the weapons menu.
• Nemean Roar (Nemean Cestus): Kratos slams the ground causing waves of magic to hurt his enemies.
• Nemesis Rage (Nemesis Whip): Kratos shocks surrounding enemies with a blast of electric energy.

Items

• Bow of Apollo: A bow that once belonged to the god Apollo. A bow and arrow of fire with movements and attacks similar to Typhon's Bane, which Kratos used in God of War II.
• Head of Helios: The head of the God of the Sun. Kratos uses it to blind his enemies, light up dark areas, and to reveal hidden secrets.
• Boots of Hermes: The Boots of the Messenger of the Gods. Kratos uses it to attack his enemies at high speed and to reach areas he otherwise could not.

Relics

• Golden Fleece: The fleece allows Kratos to reflect any projectiles, beams, and attacks.
• Icarus Wings: Wings from the famous Icarus that allows Kratos to glide around distant places.
• Poseidon's Trident: This relic has the power to make Kratos breathe underwater indefinitely.
• Hades' Soul: Taken from the Lord of the Underworld by the Claws of Hades. This allows Kratos to swim through the River Styx without being harmed by the souls of the dead.
• Boreas' Icestorm: Acquired after defeating Skorpius. A gem that contains the icy breath of the North Wind, which Kratos uses to active the Labyrinth and its mechanics.
• Rage of Sparta: A new Rage Mode that Kratos uses. It is the equivalent to the Rage of the Gods and the Rage of the Titans from the previous games. Arguably, this rage mode appears to be far less effective and less active than the previous two incarnations, although its possible that this is a result of Kratos lacking now both the power of the Gods (from the first game) and the power of the Titans (from the second game) and this "rage" is derived purely of his own willpower and aggression.

Godly Possessions

The Godly Possessions are magical items that once belonged to the gods can now be found hidden in several places in the game. Once found they can be used at any time during your second play through. They can be very helpful, but once you activate a Godly Possession you will not be able to receive any Trophies for the entire play through.

1. Zeus' Eagle: Infinite Rage of Sparta
2. Hades' Helm: Max out Health, Magic & Item meters
3. Helios' Shield: Increases combo time by 3x
4. Hermes' Coin: Collect 10 times the amount of Red Orbs
5. Hercules' Shoulder Guard: Decreases damage taken by 1/3
6. Poseidon's Conch Shell: Grants infinite Magic
7. Aphrodite's Garter: The Blades of Exile are replaced by Athena's Blades
8. Hephaestus' Ring: Automatically wins all prompts
9. Daedalus' Schematics: Grants infinite Item
10. Hera's Chalice: Causes the Health meter to slowly decrease over time, although it will never completely kill you.

Enemies

Common Enemies

• Olympus Sentry: Undead army of Gods. The most common type of enemies will achieve extraordinary amount of units on the screen (about 40).
• Olympus Legionnaire: Elite branch of undead warriors guarding Olympus.
• Armored Olympus Sentry: Loyal undead warriors to Hades, they ride into battle, in hope of ressurection.
• Cursed Remains: These undead warriors are similar to Olympus Sentry, but encountered only in Tartarus.
• Olympus Archer: Undead female archers of Olympus.
• Olympus Fiend: Undead warriors infused with electrical magic.
• Olympus Guardian: Shielded undead defender of Olympus.
• Olympus Sentinel: Elite version of shielded undead warriors.
• Lost Soul: Once human, these skinless undead aimlessly walk the realm of Hades. They are very minor threat.
• Stone Talos: Stone warriors made by the Gods as protectors. They carry huge hammers and are strong, but are extremely slow.
• Bronze Talos: Massive new enemies: brutal, animated statues of bronze. They are similar to the Stone Talos, but even stronger and resistant. A powerful magical energy is seen pulsing inside of them.
• Centaur Generals: Unlike the original game, these are the melee fighters who command the legions of Undead.
• Cerberus Mongrel: The three-headed beast of Hades. Could be used as mount when wounded.
• Hades Cerberus: Fiery, lava-version of Cerberus.
• Hades Cerberus Whelp: Young cerberus with only one head, highly explosive.
• Chimera: Beast with the front of a lion, the back of a goat and the tail of a snake.
• Cyclops Berserker: Basically the same as before, Kratos will have a capacity to take temporary control over them by force.
• Cyclops Enforcer: Heavily armored and armed assault beast. First seen in God of War.
• Cyclops Remains: Undead cyclops that only appear in Tartarus.
• Harpies: Winged female beasts.
• Harpy Queen: This elite harpies are used as transportation tool to overcome pits.
• Gorgon: The serpent-like green female monster, similar to the ones from the previous games.
• Gorgon Serpent: Human-like gorgons. When killed, Kratos uses her head to turn everyone around into stone.
• Skorpius Spawn: Small scorpions that inhabit caverns. Created by giant beast, Scorpius.
• Minotaur Brute: Minotaurs are strong melee fighters armed with battle axe.
• Minotaur Elite: Elite, armored minotaur.
• Labrys Minotaur: Strongest of axe-wielding minotaur warriors.
• Satyr: These agile beasts are fighting using their battle staff, similar to their previous incarnations.
• Feral Hound: The attack dog used as part of Olympus army.
• Siren Seductress: These deformed women use their songs and magic to defeat Kratos. Similar to Sirens from previous games, but now they can turn invisible.
• Wraith of Olympus: Magical undead fiends which protect Olympus. The enemies from the first two God of War games.

Bosses

• Hippocampi: Poseidon's beast, a cross between crab and horse. It is summoned from the sea by the god himself. Kratos has to fight this monstrosity to protect Gaia, only to discover that it, in fact, serves just as a tentacle of gigantic sea form of Poseidon.
• Poseidon: The god of seas and horses is the first Olympian to confront Kratos. He manifests out of sea in gigantic, watery construct which uses its tentacles (including the two with Hippocampi) to fight the Titans.
• Hades: The god of the underworld and brother of Zeus.
• Hermes: The messenger of Olympus - a mini-boss in his wounded state.
• Hercules: The greatest hero of Greece and the champion of Olympus.
• Cronos: The mighty titan Cronos himself fights Kratos at one point of the game.
• Skorpius: Gigantic scorpion queen guards the labyrinth of Deadalus.
• Hades Cerberus Breeder: The most powerful Cerberus - protector of the Chain of Balance and a mini-boss.
• Zeus: The king of the Gods and the main enemy of Kratos. The two fight until the end, with Gaia intervening in the middle of the battle.

Characters

• Athena†
• Pandora†
• Poseidon's Princess†
• Perithious†
• Daedalus†
• Helios†
• Hermes†
• Epimetheus†
• Oceanus†
• Hera†
• Aphrodite
• Hercules†
• Cronos†
• Hades†
• Poseidon†
• Hephaestus†
• Zeus†
• The Three Judges†
• Perses†
• Gaia†
• Kratos

Sequel

When asked about a possible sequel, director Stig Asmussen revealed this, in a March 2010 article on 1UP:

"I think there comes a time when to maintain a high level of quality... the bottom line is you can't get burned out, and the source material can't always be the same," said Asmussen. "I want God of War to be one of those games where if there are more God of Wars, we're seeing them spread out over time -- it's not like our studio's making a new God of War every two or three years or something like that, and then the series becomes irrelevant. I like the approach of, 'We just won't make Metroid for 10 years. Why do we have to keep making Metroid?' And then when it comes back, it's fresh and you remember why you loved that game so much. I think it would be good at this point to take that approach with God of War... For a trilogy, it's great. Let's put it to bed for awhile though." When asked if he felt the same way about portable entries or other forms the series could take beyond PlayStation home console releases, he said, "I wouldn't rule anything out at this point; this is just kind of how I feel about it." As such, it remains highly doubtful if a console sequel will be made.

Trivia

• A playable demo is contained in the Blu-Ray of the movie District 9.
• Nascar race cars promoted God of War III by having cars display Kratos' image.

Videos

E3 2009 Trailer <gtrailer>50389</gtrailer>	TGS 2009 Trailer <gtrailer>56542</gtrailer>
GT 2010 Exclusive Trailer <gtrailer>61815</gtrailer>	The first 5 minutes thumb|left|386px