Although in themselves QTEs are controversial, when used well they can be immensely gratifying. In this respect God of War has always been one of the standard-bearers, a tradition that God of War III continues. The visual feedback is rewarding, the button prompts – as evidenced by the Poseidon example above – reflecting Kratos’ physicality. In fact there’s one audacious moment in particular – literally the game’s penultimate playable section – that appears to poke fun at the player’s expense, as well as satirizing the frequent criticisms that God of War relies too heavily on QTEs. This moment doesn’t just encapsulate God of War 3’s magnificence, the sheer boldness and bloody-minded ambition, but it could only ever have existed in the third game, using as it does the accumulated weight of both Kratos’ quest for revenge and the series’ history since 2005, to superb effect.

It’s important to approach God of War III without expecting a full-scale revolution. As is apparent when examining every area of the game, part three builds on what has gone before without ever undermining this illustrious history or, more crucially, failing to improve. One positive, which may however cause series veterans to grumble, is that there don’t seem to be any difficulty spikes or overtly obtuse puzzles (whereas I distinctly remember encountering both in the previous games). Instead the difficulty curve is well judged, with an increase in your power being met by more aggressive enemies. The pacing too is excellent. Whilst the momentum is always pushing you forward, there are just enough breathing spaces and environment-based puzzling sections to ensure that the set-pieces, as frequent as they are, never threaten to turn into an empty bombardment of spectacle. Instead each such occurrence will likely live long in gamers’ memories.

These are the undoubted highlights of the game, multi-tiered and lengthy confrontations that frequently left me in awe. They also never feel needlessly protracted; for all Santa Monica Studios’ efficiency with both scale (a part of one fight takes place on a Titan’s finger) and all things epic (for there are very few other ways to communicate the sheer breadth on display here), the boss encounters work because you always feel like an active participant in the chaos. Interestingly David Jaffe, in talking about how he would change God of War were it made a few years later, said “I’d immerse you in being the hero rather than watching him” – it’s fair to say that he must be very proud of the work here. As well as being superb examples of game design, God of War 3’s peaks are also technically brilliant.

The game begins with a Plato quote – “The measure of a man is what he does with power” – the meaning of which is surely no coincidence. As this generation matures we’re getting used to successive games pushing back aesthetic boundaries, and God of War III is another step forward in this respect. From the lack of loading during play to the solidity of the game-world – its cohesion and endless vistas helping that aforementioned sense of immersion – it’s an excellent advert for the PlayStation 3, and a textbook example of harnessing a format’s capabilities with flair.

Admittedly God of War 3’s adherence to the ethos and construction of its predecessors mean that it’s unlikely to win over those who weren’t enamoured with the previous games. After all, the violence is worse (i.e., more fun), the tone is even more portentous (the story lacks the pulpy quality of Uncharted 2, but this gravelly seriousness never undermines the visual scale or use of Greek mythology), while the structure of spectacle/puzzle/platforming probably wouldn’t be able to support a fourth game without a dispiriting familiarity starting to creep in. But for now there’re very few games that can match God of War 3’s cinematic sensibility, its dynamics, its carnage. Turns out that final trailer only scratched the surface.

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