God of War 3 general discussion

I love this one disproportionately so far, like waaay more than the first two.

>Technical stuff
Only technical hiccup so far is that during one part of the intro sequence with Gaia where some of her textures glitche out, really blatant and should have been patched by now. No audio issues or crashes so far, hope its a solid port. To note, this game has no fulscreen option, I've set my TV to 16:9 so it fills most of the screen, don't know why as I'm sure the PS3 copy is full screen and the HD releases are also.


>Art design
I love the aesthetic, really detailed and vivid, creature designs are the best so far, really went nuts with the 7gen tech. This game is gorgeous to play, here and see. This game shows how great art and animation go father than raw technical power, this game looks far better than God of [REDACTED].

>Combat
Combat is really slick, animations are much snappier and look and feel the best, grappling got a massive upgrade now with long range grabs from ground to ground, ground to air, air to ground and air to air. I see complaints that GoW isn't as complex as DMC and such but this shits nuts. I wonder if they took some tips from Nero after Nero clearly had notes on Kratos before GoW3 dropped.

>Weapons
I appreciate how distinct your moves are in each game so far, some moves got changed or removed from 1 to 2 and 3 has a mostly new move set.

I love the Claws of Hades variant of the blades of chaos/Athena/exile/whatever, I never used the other weapons much as a adore the chains for their versatility, great speed, range and damage with wispy eloquent animations for each swing. Claws of Hades grab move spawns homing souls that swarm around mobs, and its magic move is a fucken Legion Summon of your choosing, but you have to unlock other monsters, not sure how but likely just killing that enemy awards their soul for summon.

>Bosses
Bosses are great so far, Poseidon and his Hippocampi is one of the best bosses ever, if not the best intro boss the series has had. Love his design, it's super cool to see a Hippocampus(fucken giant crab clawed water horse scorpion) as it's a rare creature to appear in games, let alone fiction. I'm a big fan of water powers, that element doesn't get the respect it deserves so mah boii Poseidon, dah God of The Sea, is reppin' H2O hard.

Hades was a sick multi phase knockout brawl, so many damn phases too that guy. My favourite being his first where he mimics Kratos' chain moves;and the tug of war phase where both your chains are tangled and you slash at each other while avoiding his attacks whilst moving away from the cavern between you. To top that off you literally rip his soul out of his body into your own.

Gameplay man, The Gameplay. Iz Real

:[gowkratos]:

Picked up the Remastered Edition this weekend (digital even) because I wanted something to play while waiting for Yakuza 6 and I felt like some God of War. Really like the game! I am playing so much better than before, using the combat to my advantage. I ram enemies into each other for bonus damage, and use the mooks to damage the bigger foes while using the Combat Grapple (L1+O) to ring out other heavy hitters.

I will admit to sticking to the Blades too much in this game, but honestly it is just such a good weapon here I can't help but adore it.

I really need to learn this stuff for GoW1.

God of War 1's options are a bit more limited since you have less tools to play with, but I can give some notes here:

- use s,t (or air-t, or regular t) to launch an enemy. Jump up and press O. This gets them stuck in a loop as the air grab slams them into the ground, only to launch them again. Allows for an infinite.

- grab enemies without grab immunity and press square to use them as a projectile

- use s,t - o (small delay) to Harpoon (called OH) a foe. This attack grabs an airborn enemy and slams him into the ground. This deals splash damage to everything it touches. You can redirect this slam in mid air to a maximum of 180 degrees. You can use this to slam him into buddies, or of cliffs for an instant kill. This is especially useful against Minotaurs and other heavy hitters.

- launch heavies with T (hold) after they've done certain moves or are idle. You can them air grab infinite them until they die or slam them into their friends. You can also use OH to throw them off cliffs or into their friends. Really useful.

- you can use Artemis to ring out pretty much every enemy, even past invisible barriers preventing ring outs. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUlAf04Ru4w

- Medusa is really useful, allowing for instant kills of even the strongest foes. Bonus points if you can get it in during a juggle. A frozen foe that falls dies instantly. Example from GoW2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_XJmb_hIqc

- Grabbing the Lightningbolt or Medusa's Head acts as a cancel, allowing for some combo creativity.

- Grabbing the Artemis Blade has full i.frames, allowing for some high offensive play in situations you'd otherwise have to dodge roll away, example: https://youtu.be/EGMv25b47T0?t=47m9s

- Push Block is a thing. If you press block and hold a direction, you can change the distance you are pushed back. Allows for keeping up the pressure against moves that would normally push you far away (mostly useful against Ares). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGMv25b47T0 (compare 41:14 and 41:18 and 41:22)


Example of air grab use (11:15):



Example of OH use (14m17s) (also good example at around 15:00):



God of War 1 sadly has a lot of invisible walls that later entries removed. Some moves like the Homerun (as showed in the Artemis Blade video) allow you to throw enemies over them for an instantkill though.

First GOW for me. I'm glad I got this on sale!

I'm really loving the Hades boss battle.

Enjoy it man! Hades is pretty fun, though annoying on higher settings imo. How you liking it so far?

I really like it!

Good to hear man! Where are you now?

I just killed Helios.

Still one of the best western-made action games, and one of the better ones, period. The combat's small improvements from God of War 2 made a huge difference.

I especially love the "ram", I know it was bonkers but it, paired with the wallpins, just made for such a satisfying combat system. Really should pick this series up again but am knee deep in Ninja Gaiden.

God of War 3 is such a great game. While I don't love it to the degree of Ninja Gaiden (It was my first after all), I still think it's one of the best of the genre. Combat is fluid, satisfying, and has depth. The little improvements like weapon cycling added a lot.

GoWIII is fantastic I agree! I still remember the hype it had going on at the time, good stuff. People were lining up and were extremely excited for it.

I actually bought a new copy of the PS4 version recently. It was on sale and I thought 'why not?' I'm sure Roy could provide a million reasons in response to that question.

One of these days I'll get to this series for real.

Ha! No the PS4 version is quite good. Has some bugs, but you get a lot of exclusive costumes with it that are unavailable on the PS3.

Is there any reason why God of War 3 doesn't seem to be held up to quite the same levels as the first 2 games? I really love this game, and overall, I'd say it has the most fun combat in the series.

It's 2019, and I'm still finding myself blown away by God of War 3's graphics. I only first played this game in June of this year! Not really sure why, there's just something so incredibly impressive, and grand about it all.

I'm also still impressed by the lighting effects of the weapons. Like, it's not at all impressive these days, but I can't help it.

God of War 3 was absolutely insane in terms of graphical presentation, just as God of War II was still absolutely stunning when it released at the end of the PS2's lifespan (ditto for Ninja Gaiden Black). Also good art-direction goes a long way. The game was just fantastically designed.

God of War 3 is well loved as I know. It was mostly held back for having too many 'epic' fights that weren't very mechanically interesting, tons of gauntlets and too many of the weapons were 'the chains, but different' which didn't sit well with some. Magic system took a step back as well. But in return we had arguably the best grab system in the series, wallpins, cestus, arguably the best Chains moveset, great subweapons that added to the gameplay etc.

I guess that makes sense. I remember some reviews and posts from people complaining that all the weapons involved chains. Me personally? I think those types of weapons suit Kratos best of all. It's so weird seeing him use a standard weapon. And they all feel distinct anyway, so I'm all down for them. I really miss the Nemesis Whip in the reboot. Would be awesome if they kind of mixed the moveset of the chains in 3 into the Blades of Chaos.

And yeah, there are a lot of really simplistic boss fights. But I think the fights with Hades, Hercules, and Zeus all make up for those.

Speaking of bosses, I swear that Ninja Gaiden 3 ripped off of the Scorpion fight. Seriously, I thought the Obaba fight was already a ripoff of Cronos, but they ripped off of Scorpion as well. It's kind of uncanny how much it seems that they looked at God of War for inspiration, yet did what they did worse.

In general though, how do you think the OG God of War series compares to Team Ninja, Platinum, and Capcom's output?

Ninja Gaiden 3 and also Devil May Cry 4 all took heavy inspiration from God of War. Both Itsuno, Itagaki and Hayashi all were great admirers of God of War in how it captured such a vast audience. You have to imagine that Ninja Gaiden barely sold one million copies with each iteration, and Devil May Cry's record was 1.5 at the time. Meanwhile God of War got nearly 5 million per entry, consistently.

Ninja Gaiden really took a lot from it like Cronos, while DMC4 got bigger bosses and a bigger emphasis on grabs (see: Nero). But like with most copies, they tend to miss the point of what made those things work.

In regards to where I put them, high. I consider God of War II along the same line of classics as the big names. If I had a gun to my head and was forced to give my absolute best action game top 5 it would include God of War II, Ninja Gaiden II, Ninja Gaiden Black, Devil May Cry 3 and Vanquish. God of War 1 and 3 are in the same catagory as Ninja Gaiden Razor's Edge, DMC1/4/5, God Hand, Shinobi etc for me. I hold it in high fucking regard.

I really can't thank the OG God of War trilogy, and the Souls series enough for teaching me that not every action game has to be really execution heavy, with a shit-ton of moves at your disposal at all times. While I generally find the ones with a ton of things to play with really fun, in the case of God of War, having just 3 or 4 weapons, with a more focused moveset that's useful, and always has a clear purpose works just as well as a game with 8 weapons and 15 different attacks each.

I've decided I'll be playing this next.

>playing this next
You'll have to forgive dear ol' dad. I don't recall your run history with it. You already have VH unlocked or shall you be starting light? If you have VH, I feel like you will have done VH before, too. I'm under the impression you've done basically nothing at all up to this point. Care to help an old man out with a REMINDER? I'd recommend making your own topic, too. Tai started up a new run (which I'll be looking to get to), but didn't make a topic. At least he remembered to tell me of his new account (so I subscribed *to receive the notification*). I just finished with Bick (and Zaser is on break for a bit before NGR+ NUR+ and beyond, I believe).

Frankly, I see no point in starting with H. Start on N, stresslessly learn the layout of enemies, areas, puzzle solutions, hunting chests, taking in environment, humoring story, etc. Maybe even horse around in NG+ with costumes and/or cheats a bit. CoO/CoE and Arena, even. Eventually time comes for vanilla VH for some learning of what the setting feels like in terms of aggression of foes, orb worth, nerfed output (for things affected), increased damage taken (where applicable), etc. Perhaps get a little more serious about how you handle fight scenarios and use MAX options (though most matter little beyond doing more damage, frankly). Serious study of a MAX tool can wait for more focused runs (probably with NG+ glitch). NUR and higher for learning basics (and probably mastering them through PAIN). Good idea to smartly use resources while you have them, so I don't recommend fretting too much over damage, using MP liberally, cheesing with things you won't have in PAIN+, etc. A wider experience is a better one (before narrowing done and intensifying study). Maybe try a few approaches to clear a given fight, too.

NOTE: When shall you be starting? Also, did you have a YT?

I have no run history, other than playing GoW1 for an hour or so.

I'll be starting on normal and see how it goes from there.

>When shall you be starting?
After I finish some Okami stuff. Not exactly sure. Won't be months or anything.

>Also, did you have a YT?
Yes

>GoW1 for an hour
Right, right.

>vanilla N
Noted.

>see how it goes
A chance to test things a bit for yourself. That reminds me, were you the sort that wanted a chance to puzzle things out a bit before aid is rendered with alternative options and such? I feel like you would be.

>Okami
Reminds me of Hotel. Well, so long as you don't get lost in it like he did (avoiding his ass-kicking in the second entry).

>Yes
I'd checked around for Knack stuff here to find your YT again. I have too many subscriptions, so that wasn't going to be as fast. I suppose the other question is whether you have the means (and intent) to record. I don't mind write-ups, but best results come from having visuals to point to (obviously). Often I'm given vague reports to work with, which isn't ideal. One may as well (mostly) just refer to my notes (very little more can be offered otherwise). I'm sure I wont have that problem with you.

>A chance to test things a bit for yourself.
Pretty much.

>recording
PS4. But record what exactly? Key fights?

>notes
My notes are always thorough.

>pretty much
Of course.

>record what
>key fights
At least. Knowing what those are as a new player is asking a lot. Also, you can learn a lot from even the 'minor' encounters. Some of which can surprise you in the various runs.

>always thorough
So I shall soon enough see. I hope you're ready to learn some jargon.

Gave this a brief jam a few days ago to see if it could really grab me. It didn't.

Not that I think it's bad or anything, I just really did not enjoy this big movie intro with Spider Horse and all the other shit going on. Gameplay changing too often from climbing to attacking while hanging. Really irritating.

What I did like was this grab where he picks a guy up and runs around with them smashing into others. If there was a wall he'd smash them against it. If not he'd throw them across the room or if available, off a cliff. Very nice.

Give the game a bit longer, the intro of GoW3 is really a set piece for people that finished GoW II to get them hyped (it ended on a cliff hanger just before this fight). After you get to the Underworld (about half hour in) the game really starts. Give the game a fair shake I'd say, not just play part of the tutorial intro and ditch it. Experiment a bit with the aerial grabs and setups.

You can for instance do Square Triangle which juggles enemies, and then press grab. Kratos will then fling his blade into the sky to slam enemies down in the pavement. Really fun and the key ability of the series.

I'm not ditching it. Just not enjoying this intro.

>Square Triangle which juggles enemies, and then press grab

I had no idea the grab button could be linked like that. I was just running up to guys and grabbing them.

Yeah that's a downside of GoW, it doesn't really ask players to put in the work to find what's possible. You can also throw enemies in the air with ST and then jump into aerial grabs. The joy of the game is slamming enemies into eachother for collision damage or ringing them out en-mass.

> intro
It's very high on the cinema I agree. GoW 1 still did it best imo, since GoW II and 3 feel like a waste of time later-on (since you lose everything you gained after them). GoW 1 is just an epic introduction while also giving you new tools instead of taking them away.

>doesn't ask

Not an issue for me as you know. I'd find out myself eventually but if someone wants to just tell me I won't say no.

>GoW 1

Would probably have chosen that instead if it wasn't stuck on PS3 and my controller is a bit fudgey now.

Yeah GoW1 is fantastic and a good way to start. You don't have a PS2 lying around?

I dug into this game's main scenario for the last month and beat it thrice. Once on Titan and twice on Chaos. It had been a couple of years and whatnot and I was reminded of how good the game was. I ended up writing a piece on it on my personal blog about things I learned and changed my mind on. I'll share it once it's done, though I doubt there's a whole lot of objectivity or anything to learn from it; mostly my impressions and experiences and articulations about what I felt worked and didn't.

Deleted

>article
Perhaps in time I'll give it a go. My time, however, is short. It would be difficult to spare any for any non-students.

>Time for non-students
Absolutely understandable. I mostly write for the sake of personal reflection and some discovery; I doubt it'll do anything for you.

By students, you're referring to a NUR/PAIN, etc. challenge runs, I take it? I am interested in, at some point, giving those a go, though I'd like to give Chaos (VH) a few more runs to have some confidence. I don't think I'm quite there yet in terms of skill, but I will hit you up if I give it a dedicated go (moreso, if I have time - which isn't a luxury right now) if that's fine.

>referring to
More general, but those are my preferred areas of focus.

>few more runs
Vanilla VH is a fine place to learn about using overlooked (upgraded) options.

"Combo" is a dirty word around these parts, but can anyone tell me if there are any good tips in general for this guide, even outside the context of combos?


EDIT: Appears that Ximnas appeared in the comments of this video, and got into a debate with the uploader. Guide certainly doesn't seem to be aimed at people focused on efficiency in these games. Definitely shows the strengths of original God of War trilogy's combat system though, it works really well regardless of whether you approach it from a combo mad, or efficiency angle. Though I'm aware of what angle is preferred here.

>Xinmas
I know that name from somewhere.

Read the comments. Not sure what the origin of the issue was though. Did he fear the combo guy was making GoW look bad?

I mean, the guy is literally just doing random ass combo's on a passive enemy to make colorful sparks fly. I watched some parts of it and there's not really a single practicle combo in there, be it in terms of positioning or even damage. The only thing he notes that is of some interest is that he mentions some of the cancels and how to roll-cancel, which is tech we've had since GoW1 but if you don't know that yet that's definitely handy.

But yeah does seem to be more of a casual thing.

> Ximnas
He's the guy I interviewed, got all the world-records in challengeruns.

> origin of the issue
GoW players (rightfully so haha) love taunting combomad players since they're too easy to get triggered. The 41(!) replies show that this is indeed the case.

I mean do what you want, the downside is that it's not exactly playing to the game's strenghts. The combo-engine of GoW is severly limited, so it's like doing style-clips in fucking Resident Evil 4. I mean, power to you, but it generally just results in new players that saw this video playing bad and wrong and not having a fun time in a game revolving around grabs and enviromentals.

Sounds similar to Chaos Legion. You can juggle enemies, but it's near worthless.

>new players getting the wrong idea
Which could potentially lead them to drop the game as it wasn't what they thought.

Kind of like that weird caption on the US CL case, "If you loved DMC you'll love Chaos Legion".

I just got this. Going to start it in a few minutes.

Yeah it's mostly just setting you up to dislike the game, which I think is a bad way to go about it. It's like going into Halo expecting CoD - it won't click.

On the other hand the guy did say he agrees with all the non-combo video stuff and just prefers to play a certain way.

Started GoW3. On my first attempt ago I didn't get far.

Love this running grab. It's like a melee dash attack and projectile all in one. Amazing. You can even run into larger enemies and slam them into walls.

I'm now somewhere in the underworld I believe. Got a bow.

> this guide
No comment.

>battering ram in GoWIII
Make sure to use it. It's absurdly powerful.

>whether you approach it from a combo mad, or an efficiency-based angle
As Roy says, GoW proper is very limited on that front. This ain't DMC. Unlike the "King of the genre", GoW proper doesn't only have sandbag enemies that simply exist to be juggled infinitely (made fun of by Itagaki for this).

> GBG and other 2 nobodies
I know GBG from the NuGoW days, guy was a 'style' player in that game too which went about to the level of "spin the camera around wildly while doing some invincible super-attacks". Kids eat that shit up.

Who are the other two?

>kids eat that shit up
Big time.

>the 2 circus performers
Nazo the demon and Combo Spartan.

Chimera is an interesting enemy. Three different forms with their own attacks. Wish you could target different body parts to control the form like chimeras in Dragon's Dogma. Fights with multiple in different forms could be nasty.

Got Claws of Hades. The summon spells are cool. The archer is my favorite so far. It's like putting down a turret.