The God of War series is one of the jewels in Sony’s first-party crown. The previous two games were the pinnacle of action games of the previous generation. A perfect blend of puzzle-solving and button-bashing with a heady blend of ultra violence and fan-boy pleasing nudity thrown in for good measure. Sony has been teasing God of War 3 for years, a game to pin the hopes and dreams of Sony’s flagship console on, a game that would define this generation of action games. And it’s finally here.

Freeing God of War 3 from all of the hyperbole and anticipation is a difficult thing. But hype and reality can coexist if a game delivers, and God of War 3 does, it delivers on a scale that few games can. Breathtaking, epic, huge, overpowering, emotional and powerful, and this is just the opening ten minutes of God of War 3. And that is merely the beginning. The 10-12 hours that God of War 3 delivers to the average gamer exceeds almost every expectation levelled at Santa Monica Studios. Bombastic set pieces, huge impressive enemies and an expanded brawling system take God of War 3 to a place that no pure action game has ever reached.

Kratos as the archetype anti-hero over the three games of the franchise. A mortal who takes on the dominance and dominion of the Gods. Here he starts precisely where he left off in God of War 2, riding on the back of the Titan Gaia as she ascends Mount Olympus to confront the father of the Gods Zeus. Newcomers to the series are caught up on the story of Kratos’ vengeance through a beautifully crafted opening sequence that pays homage and updates the path of the fallen God of War. From these opening credits gamers are thrown into the best opening ten minutes in gaming history.

Make no mistake for that bold statement, the start of God of War 3 can rightly sit alongside the entrance in Final Fantasy VII as the preeminent starts to video gaming. Battling on an enormous, moving landscape; Kratos is pitched against the God Poseidon and his minors as Gaia is attacked approaching the summit of the God’s cradle in the sky. The folks at Santa Monica Studios make a statement in that breathtaking opening sequence, throwing down the gauntlet not only to the rest of the gaming industry but the entertainment industry as a whole. This is the power and potential of gaming in this generation, it has just taken this long to realise it.

While graphically God of War 3 pushes the limits of what we’ve seen before, taking the mantle from Uncharted 2 and sharing it with Final Fantasy XIII as best looking game on PS3, it is the way it uses those graphics to progress both the storyline and the action that puts it to the head of the class. With its fixed camera forcing the gamer’s eyes in certain directions and to certain moments, God of War 3 sets up moments of pure magic as Kratos emerges into a golden temple or surveys the destruction he has rout. Kratos himself has been given a makeover, becoming even more otherworldly and pale, like the death dealing demon that he is. His foes also move with more purpose and are more realistic than ever before.

The God of War series has always been renowned for its boundary pushing sequences (the silhouette sequence in God of War 2 gave the game an avant-garde artistic angle), and God of War 3 follows suit with stunning boss battles each of which take gamers in a different direction. Half puzzle, half frantic escapism, the God of War 3 boss battles are pure gaming bliss. Difficult but not frustrating, each requires different strategies and plans to overcome, but each fight is hugely rewarding upon its completion.

And it’s violent. Very violent. How Sony managed to fool the NZ classification board into giving God of War 3 an R16 instead of an R18 is beyond me. God of War 3 is head-ripping, body-dismembering, eye-gouging gold. Kratos is one of the angriest characters in gaming history; he feels no remorse or pity for anyone who stands in his way to killing Zeus. Within the first hour he is bathed in the blood of his enemies as he rips them limb from limb throughout the ancient world. New weapons (acquired from slain Gods) and battle moves make battles toward the end of the game works of art. Your fingers blur across the DualShock 3 inputting ever more complicated battle routines’ and throwing together hundred hit combos. With much-improved alternative weapons from God of War 2, especially ranged weapons, this third iteration makes for the most satisfying yet.

God of War 3 was a game that few thought could actually live up to the huge expectations that were thrown at it for years. But the reality of the game is something so much more. Nothing that I could say could truly convey the feeling and the joy of watching a masterpiece unfold before you.