So you’ve heard that the God of War 3 collectors edition is going to steam roll you wallet ($100 for the privaledge) and you’ve noted that the demo will be available on the District 9 Blu-Ray (available 29th December) if you’re not too keen on buying the first two games again on Blu-Ray with the God of War Collection, but what does God of War 3 handle like? Should it have been an FPS? Is it more of the same? Does it deserve your hard earned rent money? Well Pixelated Geek is on hand to find out.

Well as you might expect GOW3 handles a lot like previous instalments in the series but with more interactivity and action. The power behind the PS3 has allowed up to 50 enemies on screen at anyone time and it’s obvious when you get into the think of it. Some of the original combos are there along with several new ones for the non-button mashing types among you.

Graphically the game looks great with really pretty textures throughout. Character models are highly detailed and well animated even when up close and personal. Pretty realistic looking blood also emerges on strike points on both Kratos and his enemies. There’s even more gore when you face up against some of the larger foe with blood and guts pouring out as you finish them off. Most of the cut scenes look fantastic but are in-engine making you feel still in the action. They also include the now pretty common quicktime events making you press buttons at the appropriate time in the cut scene to progress. So they’ll be no napping between fights whilst the cut scene plays through.

The combat itself is also engaging and fluid. Both button bashers and combo players will be happy, as there are times where both are called for. You enemies can be finished off quickly with fast and frantic bashing or you can trigger more gruesome finishing moves. Kratos is even able to pick up his enemies and either use them as a shield, rip off their heads or hurl them at other enemies.

If you liked the previous instalments in the series I have no doubt that you’ll love God of War 3. If you’re a fan of action games I’m pretty sure you’ll find something to like here and if you’re yet to be a PS3 owner, then this might be a system seller for you.

[Photo credits to Ben Smith]

This past weekend I was able to get a hold of the “Red Faction: Guerrila” multiplayer beta. Knowing that it is a beta, in similar condition as the CoD4 multiplayer beta when it was made available, I still have an itch needing to be scratched.

The multiplayer feels more like Team Fortress 2 meets Halo 3. The game tries its best to do so much however it lacks the basic fundamentals of navigation in its current stage, and the party lobby simply sucks. (cough cough halo’s party system sucks, don’t try copying it)

The party lobby has a feature many beta players didn’t even care to notice and that is your gamer picture next to your name. This I thought was very intuitive since visual recognition is much easy than trying to find out someone’s gamertag with today clan names built into them. The part lobby is a bit annoying because you are lucky to get into a game sometimes because of the launch counter is set to 40 seconds and restarts anytime someone comes and goes.

Now peeves set aside, time to speak about the actual gameplay. The multiplayer offers some unique game play and funny halo like moments that keep bringing me back. For example, there are backpacks you can pick up at various spots on the map that provide power ups. Packs include Rhino (acharge attack), Jetpack (Rocketeer away), Concussion (ground sonic boom) Fleetpack (the Flash has nothing on it), and Firepower (increases damage). The packs add some dynamics to the game however also create the bad effect of camping in specific areas of user preference.

Another cool thing about the game is almost everything is destructible. Everything but large rocks can be pulverized using your trusty sledgehammer and other big booming weapons. The sledge hammer will make you feel like Kratos stuck in a Halo environment as you start pulling a Gallagher in various people on Xbox Live. It is a great pwnage tool. Also note this game is in third person and is not an FPS. (Ie.. You see your guy running around like Gears of War).

So far I have experienced two game modes, Damage Control and Team Anarchy. Damage Control is much like Domination is Call of Duty 4 and Team Anarchy is equivalent basically Team Deathmatch in every other game. Damage control is an brilliant concept because you must destroy various structures on the map and rebuild them with a repair gun to claim them as your own. Claim and hold the most structures for the longest duration is the way to achieve victory in this mode.

Overall I feel this game has a lot of potential and once the kinks are worked out, I will certainly give it a go again. I don’t sense this game will stick like a GoW or CoD4 multiplayer however if you need a break from those this will certainly provide a good fix. As more information becomes available I will certainly provide updates. Now let the onslaught of Halo fanboys rip me a new one for my comments.