Demo Impressions: God of War 3

Chris Nitz Says People who pick up the God of War collection will get a code to download the God of War 3 demo. This is the demo that the lucky people at E3 2009 got to play. This demo clocks in at just shy of 3 Gigs. I can say the time it takes to download this demo is well worth it. The demo runs roughly 15 minutes in length and includes some awesome battles.

The demo shows that some thought was put into the small details. When Kratos jumps onto a cyclops, there are noticeable cuts that appear in the cyclops's skin. The same is true when Kratos fights a minotaur. Another noticeable touch is Kratos's armor glows in the light of a fire. These small details help in making the game feel much more engaging.

The music is not excluded from this attention to detail either. The demo packed a great orchestral soundtrack that fits the mood and action of the game. The whole presentation is top notch.

Beating the minotaur will leave his intestines spewing forth. Kratos will rip the eye from the cyclops and will come out a blood soaked badass. The blood flows like a river in this game. Kratos can put down an ordinary enemy, punch them a few times, and rip their head off and throw it to the ground. I hope you like crimson because you will see a lot of it.

While most of the game looks superb, there are some odd textures in places, like the shields of statues are pixelated. With so much attention to detail put into so many areas of the game, this is a bit off putting. Hopefully, the final version of this game fixes more of these oddities.

Quicktime events make their triumphant return. The issue is that instead of the quicktime buttons showing up in the center of the screen, they appear at the edge of the screen. This is a bit annoying on a larger TV as you have to watch the sides for what button to press. It does take away from the action.

Transitional animinations also have a bit of weirdness to them. Jumping on the cyclops is awesome. But, when Kratos jumps onto the cyclops with his hand weapons it will quickly switch to his blades. It's an odd transition.

The biggest issue with the demo is that just as the action gets going, the demo ends. This demo does a great job of getting its hooks into you and making you crave more. As a God of War fan I crave more. If the demo is any indication of the final game, this is going to be one awesome game. When will March get here?