Loosely inspired by Greek mythology, the God of War series has been shocking audiences with its epic encounters and unrestrained violence since 2005. Just like its predecessors, God of War III is a roaming third person action game. You again step into the well worn sandals of Kratos and despite having already left a mountain of carnage in your wake, your thirst for vengeance remains unquenched. Being repeatedly tricked, shunned and betrayed has left a sour taste in your mouth that can only be washed away with the blood of the Gods themselves. You pursue your quarry from the depths of Hades to the heights of Mount Olympus and destroy anyone and everything that stands in your way.

The game begins precisely where the second instalment concluded, with you riding on the back of Gaia as she and the rest of her titanic posse close in on the home of the Gods. Within the first 20 minutes of the game, it strikes you that this is the series to take full advantage of the PS3’s graphical capabilities. The camera soars majestically and you’ll be stunned by the sheer scale of the action, before it plunges you into the first of many epic boss battles.

All of the boss encounters are played out over multiple stages, with many shifting to entirely new environments halfway through. Once you complete the quick time event to subdue your foe, you’ll be asked to perpetrate some of the most gruesome acts of violence in gaming. Even after your victims beg for mercy, you’ll bash, bludgeon, tear and dismember them. After decapitating one foe, you’ll carry his ghastly head with you on your travels. Whenever you employ the head’s magical properties, it screams in anguish. You’re unlikely to encounter a more brutal mainstream game any time soon.

Regular combat is almost as visceral and just as challenging. Don’t expect to breeze though God of War III using only a favoured weapon or method of attack. Some enemies are just not susceptible to certain weapons. Others require you to use a specific object against them before you select a weapon to finish them off. This requires you to quickly assess each opponent before an attacking them. Fortunately the controls are extremely intuitive and well laid out, allowing you to switch from weapon to object with relative ease. This is especially important as you’ll sometimes face five or more enemy types at once.

Fortunately for the sanity of this writer, there are frequent check points and opportunities to regenerate heath in each boss battle. For the most part, the checkpoints are this forgiving throughout the game. If you fall off an edge, as I did on numerous occasions, you’ll most likely have another opportunity to fall off that same edge within seconds.

The movement and jump function can occasionally be a little finicky and the lack of a player controlled camera may lead to a few untimely deaths. This is a common issue for the genre and therefore only a minor criticism. The more significant issue I have applies to the series as a whole. Why do we need to have a section of the game where women are suddenly topless? What’s the purpose of being launched into a quick time event to determine if Kratos has ‘successfully’ had sex with a woman? It seems out of place with the rest of the narrative and detracts from an otherwise absorbing game.

I found God of War III to be one of the more satisfying and disturbing gaming experiences of recent memory. The gameplay is a shining example of the genre and the graphics are a sight to behold. These elements, coupled with the narrative, keep you engaged to the very last cinematic. It will satisfy both fans of the series and newcomers.

Not the hammer. Anything but the hammer...