God of War III Preview

On Monday, I had the pleasure of joining some of my fellow journalists at a Sony event down in Los Angeles, California, for a look at Kratos' next-gen premiere in God of War 3. Is bigger actually better? The developers certainly seem to think so.

Let's just start off with this fun fact: The new model of Kratos, alone, on just a black screen, cannot be rendered by the PS2. That's the beginning, micro-level for this ambitious project.

However, to really understand exactly how ambitious they're getting here, you have to look at the macro level. From Kratos' furrowed brow, you can pull back, and zoom out, and zoom out, and zoom out until you can see the entire level - the size of a mountain. And that level is climbing up another mountain.

Yes, the terrain itself is alive in God of War 3, as Kratos has enlisted the Titans in his war against the gods. And as the Titans scale mount Olympus, Kratos scales the Titans.

The other new element is rideable creatures. Some of the bigger creatures, like cyclops, can be controlled by climbing on them and goading them with your blades, essentially turning them into vehicles.

And new technology also allows a new level of gore, with proper gut-wrenching eviscerations and eye-gouging. My favorite enemy to maim was one you won't see in the new trailer: a Chimera that completely changes stance and battle tactics each time you defeat one of its three heads. It's like three bosses in one.

The rest is all the classic, awesome, bloody mayhem we've come to love from the series. But why take my word for it, when you can watch GR's exclusive interviews below?