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[Corpsepyre]

GoW3 has peaks and valleys. Has big highs, but also drags down in the middle, has average to terrible puzzles for the series (music puzzle, wtf), offensively bad Kratos and the entire arc with Pandora just NEVER worked, even back then.

2018 and Ragnarok crushes it in every department minus the bosses maybe.

 

[Beer Baelly]

Best GOW game and my favorite.

 

[JimmyRustler]

The older entries (or older games in general) were much, much, much more focused. I am so tired of the side quest crap and semi open world. It makes everything feel like a drag, especially because the story also feels strechted thin.

In all the old parts there was simply never a dull moment. Granted, they were all like at least 5 times shorter but so much more fun because of that. Replayed each of the old ones at least 5 times. GoW 2018 one the other hand I have never touched after seeing the credits and Ragnarok.... well, still not through after more than a month.

I seem to be in the minority but I just don't think the constant streching of game time these days is worth it. I get more for my money, yes, but the quality just suffers. Ragnarok just does not have gameplay that justifies 40 hours. I mean, damn, this was the play time of RPGs once (Mass Effect etc.). I don't want to play action adventures that long...

 

[Drizzlehell]

It's pretty funny, because back when GOW3 came out the conversation was steered towards the "This formula is tired" conversation now being applied to Ragnarok.

I'm not at all nostalgic for character action combat or its truly one-path linear design. It's just not as visceral, and the depth can only come from how many combos you can pull off. Level design, positioning and enemy AI just aren't the focus or strengths of that genre. So no matter how complex the button-combos are, the combat itself is too simplistic for me.

And as much as people laud the spectacle of the boss fights in GOW3, the truth is that they're not mechanically engaging. The spectacle of Poseidon, for example, has zero to do with player input beyond QTEs, and the players "freedom" is very limited. It's doubly ironic, since part of the beef people allege with the new "formula" for GoW is a focus on spectacle.

Was it though? I remember that it was almost universally praised back in the day.

It was actually around the time GoW Ascension came out when that kind of conversation became more common and people grew tired of the formula. Especially after two additional PSP games that were also exactly the same (albeit more fun than Ascension).

 

[shiru]

GoW3 has peaks and valleys. Has big highs, but also drags down in the middle, has average to terrible puzzles for the series (music puzzle, wtf), offensively bad Kratos and the entire arc with Pandora just NEVER worked, even back then.

2018 and Ragnarok crushes it in every department minus the bosses maybe.

When has the series ever had "good" puzzles? I don't think I remember a single memorable one. It's not a big deal.

 

[SlimySnake]

The pacing is great and there isn't a dull moment. Between traversing gorgeous environments, you're met with combat encounters, puzzles, platforming, and traversal. The latter two are kind of missing from the modern games with the only traversal you do being "push direction to climb mountain". The platforming also isn't perfect by any means and the camera is sometimes questionable, leading to sections being harder than they should be but I appreciate the variety. Ragnarok basically boils down to; clear room, solve puzzle, repeat, which wears thin quickly for a game that is 30-hours long.

You nail it on the head here. The fact that Ragnorak is 30-40 hours long completely destroys the pacing. I have played the game three times and it is insane to see that nearly 20 hours pass in between the Thor fight and the next big boss fight... Nidhogg. In GOW3, you fought Posideon at the start then within an hour you were fighting Hades. Then a couple of hours after that, there were the Hermes setpiece then the Hercules fight followed by the Chronos setpiece and then the finale. All in 10 hours.

Ragnorak on the other hand forces a TWO hour section with Atreus that is 90% walking. I like the open world nature of these games but you cant have two of them back to back without any setpieces or boss fights. I think Nidhogg shouldve the boss fight in Alfheim to keep that level interesting. Even the Svartheheim mines are boring because there are no setpieces, no boss fights, nothing going on.

GOW had similar issues but I felt it was much better paced. It lacked the constant flashbacks and didnt have any bs atreus sections. And far fewer unskippable cutscenes. Instead of adding five massive open world levels, they shouldve cut them down to three and replaced them with more boss fights and setpieces. Nothing wrong with having a 20 hour campaign with 10 hours of side content.

 

[Beer Baelly]

I actually never played part 3. Kinda tempting.

 

[The artful mincer]

I dont think it wants to join that fight.

I dunno I think with the summon battles its very influenced by the old school god of wars.

There that's one fight that Ifrit has against an unknown summon that looks absolutely colossal

 

[Certinty]

One of the best and most epic games I've ever played.

The last two entries don't even come remotely close. I mean, the end of Ragnarok should hands down on paper be the greatest and grandest spectacle in any God of War game yet it's not even 10% as amazing as the opening 10 minutes of God of War III. What a mess. Don't get me started on how boring these newer God of War games are too at times, a complete and utter slog.

 

[Corpsepyre]

When has the series ever had "good" puzzles? I don't think I remember a single memorable one. It's not a big deal.

What are you on about? The first and second games have some very good puzzles, especially the entire Rings of Pandora section in 2005 that forms a gigantic puzzle that opens up as you keep playing. GoW3 shat on that in a big way. Even Ascension had pretty good puzzles comparatively.

 

[shiru]

What are you on about? The first and second games have some very good puzzles, especially the entire Rings of Pandora section in 2005 that forms a gigantic puzzle that opens up as you keep playing. GoW3 shat on that in a big way. Even Ascension had pretty good puzzles comparatively.

Really? Don't remember any. But whatever, they were more a distraction than anything. It was never intended to be more than that. Zelda it was not.

 

[The artful mincer]

Watching videos of GOW games, the old games are much better. GOW 1 and 2 were great games on PS2 when I played them. Ya, it's an old era kind of hack and slash game, while modern day games like to go the earth tone cinematic route. But the boss battles in old GOW games are leagues better than the recent games.

GOW 3 boss battles are incredible. Easily best boss battles in any action game I've seen.

I think the boss battles in the modern games are far more mechanically engaging than anything in the old games.

Chronos and Poseidon etc are very memorable and it was spectacular seeing that scale for the first time. But mechanically speaking there were very shallow almost glorified sky boxed.

The best boss fights for me were the mid size bosses like Hades, Barbarian King Minotaur etc

 

[solidus12]

Wait until you reach Aphrodite, OP.

 

[Corpsepyre]

Really? Don't remember any. But whatever, they were more a distraction than anything. It was never intended to be more than that. Zelda it was not.

I'm saying it was one of the cons to the game because they nailed that dept in the previous two games. Sure, it wasn't Zelda or meant to be, but it was very noticeable that all they focused on was the high-end setpiecy action (which was great), with not much interesting to fill in the slower and smaller segments in between.

Anyway, moving on..

 

[RaduN]

In terms of combat mechanics, combat flow and overall effort put into each of the encounters, Gow 1, 2 and 3 are leagues above the new ones. Not ultra tier hack and slashes, in the leagues of DMC3, Ninja Gaiden or Bayonetta, but at least it was far from the clunky mess the new ones are.

Story and characters are much better in the new sequels. Not something as memorable as it could have been, but much much better in every way.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

God of War Ragnarok is 35 hours of set up for a 45 minute pay off linear "spectacle" battle on par with Mass Effect 3 for disappointing conclusion. At least Odin is high entertainment value for the amount of bullshit he pulls out.

God of War III has you run through God after God and feels like you're making natural progression through Kratos' anger.

I understand the sentiment that Ragnarok wants to convey to the player but oh my god there's pacing then there's God of War Ragnarok.

 

[Mister Wolf]

The ending of Ragnarok is a dud. Same goes for its predecessor.

 

[Gaiff]

Wait until you reach Aphrodite, OP.

Lol I just did and my mom and stepfather came visiting right when I reached that part. Needless to say I put the game on pause and waited until they were gone to resume.

This is not a family friendly game.

 

[rofif]

I am tired of busywork in some of these games.
Even gow 2018 is much more straightforward game.
That said. ragnarok is excellent

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

nah... old GoW games are cool but the new ones are masterpieces.

It's funny how back in the day people couldn't stand God of War Ascension claiming that the formula was old and tired. I guess nostalgia is really a thing these days

 

[sainraja]

I am really enjoying Ragnarok. I also enjoyed all the old God of War games. It's an awesome series.

 

[LaughingStock]

I stopped playing Ragnarok to play GoW 3.

In Ragnarok, every time they mention something about the old games it sounds so epic. Makes me miss those old games.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

So you've not actually played any of them?

You could had read past the first sentence.

 

[remember_spinal]

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

Back in the day, I was on Team Ninja Gaiden in the Ninja Gaiden vs. God of War debate.

That said, old school GoW is miles ahead of 3rd-person, walking sim, "I want to be a Hollywood movie", yaaaaaaaawn cut-scene heavy Neu GoW. The testosterone-fueled action and awe-inspiring spectacle were something to behold. I don't think any game has matched the insane intro of GoW3.

 

[Physiognomonics]

When has the series ever had "good" puzzles? I don't think I remember a single memorable one. It's not a big deal.

Sure older puzzles sucked, but at least some of them were very hard (and rewarding) because you actually didn't know what to do. Here some puzzles are rather good but the constant and never ending hand holding from the game is so annoying. It sucked all joy of playing for me because there was never a decent challenge then reward for doing so.

Everything from bosses, exploration to puzzles is designed to be solved at all cost by all the tutorials, hand-holding and straight out solutions given by characters. In the end it left me with a bad taste and lack of accomplishment, like when you eat at a fast-food.

Ragnarok is the fast-food of videogames. Designed to look et taste good immediately, a cinematic experience you just have to follow the instructions to make it move on. But once finished you'll quickly forget the experience. Here 2018 was better because you actually wanted to go back to the adventure, at least to finish some interesting quests.

But the most disappointing is the lack of decent bosses. Notably the final boss was incredibly dull and predictable. Bosses here were even worse than in 2018 for me which at least had the first awesome boss.

 

[Yoboman]

It feels fresh cause for the most part we don't get games like it anymore - and not just in the GOW series

High paced, linear 12 hour games have become a thing of the past. That roller-coaster ride takes a lot less investment to love

That said, beyond the set pieces and break neck pacing of the old series, the new one is objectively better in almost every way

Combat - old games made you feel bad ass but beyond that they were heavily reliant on one type of weapon style, they were simplistic mechanically. The new games have greater combat variety requiring use if varied weapon types, melee, ranged and defensive mechanics.

Enemies - The AI was brain dead in old games. Was like cutting through paper the majority of the game and not much point to the combat encounters. Bosses had the spectacle going but they were often mechanically dull fights, like the poseidon fight attacking a leg while the enemy stands there and dodging a highly telegraphed attack on repeat.
New games offer a much more compelling experience with even regular enemies
And in terms of bosses, the new games win out. The Thor and Buldur fights were better than any of the old game fights mechanically, and the Valkyries and Berserkers significantly better in terms of gameplay

Narrative - whether you like the new game or not, doesn't change how underwhelming the GOW3 narrative and characters were. The Gods had nothing interesting about them, the opportunity to give us interesting set of villains was wasted. I compare that to even somebody like Heimdall which was significantly better realised as a character than any GOW3 god

Exploration - the linear design helps get you from set piece to set piece but simply never allowed for the opportunity to explore. Very glad the new games added this in because it fits the IP like a glove

Platforming/traversal - the one area I would give to the originals but only because the new ones dont attempt it. The actual platforming of the old games was objectively bad IMO. New games just opted away from something they weren't doing well. I would like to see it reintroduced but with a better understanding how to make platforming an interesting mechanic

Graphics, sound etc. go without saying.

 

[Yoboman]

You nail it on the head here. The fact that Ragnorak is 30-40 hours long completely destroys the pacing. I have played the game three times and it is insane to see that nearly 20 hours pass in between the Thor fight and the next big boss fight... Nidhogg. In GOW3, you fought Posideon at the start then within an hour you were fighting Hades. Then a couple of hours after that, there were the Hermes setpiece then the Hercules fight followed by the Chronos setpiece and then the finale. All in 10 hours.

Ragnorak on the other hand forces a TWO hour section with Atreus that is 90% walking. I like the open world nature of these games but you cant have two of them back to back without any setpieces or boss fights. I think Nidhogg shouldve the boss fight in Alfheim to keep that level interesting. Even the Svartheheim mines are boring because there are no setpieces, no boss fights, nothing going on.

GOW had similar issues but I felt it was much better paced. It lacked the constant flashbacks and didnt have any bs atreus sections. And far fewer unskippable cutscenes. Instead of adding five massive open world levels, they shouldve cut them down to three and replaced them with more boss fights and setpieces. Nothing wrong with having a 20 hour campaign with 10 hours of side content.

Between Thor and the Nidhogg you have the Huntress, the Dreki, the Light Elf boss, Gryla, the Freya boss fight and Fiske just on the main path.

 

[Toons]

Some folks never mentally left 2003 and it shows lol

 

[Arachnid]

Agreed OP. 3 was miles beyond the last two entries, and OG Kratos would murder the living shit out of Dad Kratos and his kid.

 

[odhiex]

Disagree with OP, but I respect that people has preferences. GOW 3 was a good game, I finished it on the PS3.

For me, the new Kratos is much more explored in the newer games, not just a single dimension character with rage.

 

[JLB]

Old God of Wars were fun. I recall playing the arenas (I think it was on the original or 2).

 

[MiguelItUp]

GoW 3 was my favorite GoW. Had a great amount of story and gameplay. 2018 definitely felt more cinematic, and I enjoyed the gameplay for what it was. But Ragnarok felt like a LOT more watching than playing. Super disappointing.

 

[The Stig]

While I also have a lot of love for GoW 3 I think it's a stretch to say it's better overall than the new games. However I do agree that the PS4 remaster looks and plays great. I bought it in preparation (sorta) for when Ragnarok was coming out. It gave me all the good feelings of nostalgia and plays well.

Great game.

 

[Hayabusa83]

Don't be to hard on the new games, they make for excellent walking and rowing simulators.

 

[Hayabusa83]

Some folks never mentally left 2003 and it shows lol

The early and mid 2000s saw the birth of many of these franchises, so it seems developers haven't moved on either.

 

[Iced Arcade]

Didn't we just have this thread?

 

[gothmog]

Can't you just like both and be happy that both experiences exist? Like do I have to hate on the original Doom games because I enjoyed the new ones?

The original GoWs were great. They also milked the formula a bit too much, so it needed a break. The new ones feel epic and are great additions to the series. Maybe they'll change it up again for the next games.

 

[Ar¢tos]

I tried to go back to gow3, but the forced button tapping is a big No for my aging hands. I like that GoW Ragnarok allows you to change to hold button, but that, however, doesn't change the fact that the game is more Son of God of War Ragnarok than God of War Ragnarok.

 

[Robbinhood]

The entire franchise is fucking amazing, one of the best of all time. Love both styles but definitely think its better now, with the exception of the boss fights/god fights which are light now. Series grow and this grew better than anything else that had a reboot.

 

[Raonak]

Its good. The boss battles specially are the highlight.

But the new games are just so much better. Both in story and in combat.

GOW3's whole Pandora plotline is so bad. While everything else is basic and one note. Kratos never has any character development throughout the original 6 games lol.

And the old games have such a basic combat. Its not really that satisfying to play in a technical level. The biggest criminal being that the dodge lacks iframes, and the camera being so far means that enemy attacks don't have good tells.
It was especially jarring when you come from games like devil may cry. And GOW3 bosses were just spectacle without substance.

Ragnarok's combat is definitely the best the series has done, and one of the best character action combat engine outside the big 3 (DMC,NG,Bayo)

No old GOW boss has been well done like Valkyrie queen or the beserker king. Those feel challenging while being extremely fun and fair. In the old games, anything that was challenging was often cheap.

And that's not taking into account the annoying easy fail QTEs that are everywhere in the old games.

Old games are good, but new games are better, both gameplay and story wise.

Tl;Dr: nostalgia is a hell of a drug

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Like do I have to hate on the original Doom games because I enjoyed the new ones?

Hmm not an entirely good comparison, since it's doom 3 that was the different one, whereas DOOM 2016 heavily leans into everything people like about doom and doom 2 with some painkiller sprinkled on top.

 

[Esca]

The old ones are just fun. The new ones aren't for me, pretty boring games actually imho

 

[Venom Snake]

As you can see, the change in the formula has added one more attribute of freshness to the GOW series, it can work both ways and i think it's great.

 

[gothmog]

Hmm not an entirely good comparison, since it's doom 3 that was the different one, whereas DOOM 2016 heavily leans into everything people like about doom and doom 2 with some painkiller sprinkled on top.

I'm not talking abotu Doom 3. The originals and the new ones are two incarnations of Doom with different mechanics. One is is 2.5d shooter and the other is a 3d shooter with lots of cool verticality and one button movement/kills. They share a lot of DNA, but are unique. GoW is similar in that manner. Once you get to a certain point in the new GoWs you see just how similar they could have been.

Anyways, the point was that it's okay to say hey I went back and played the old GoW games and they're great without taking anything away from the new ones.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

I'm not talking abotu Doom 3.

I know you're not...

 

[Killer8]

God of War Ragnarok is 35 hours of set up for a 45 minute pay off linear "spectacle" battle on par with Mass Effect 3 for disappointing conclusion. At least Odin is high entertainment value for the amount of bullshit he pulls out.

God of War III has you run through God after God and feels like you're making natural progression through Kratos' anger.

I understand the sentiment that Ragnarok wants to convey to the player but oh my god there's pacing then there's God of War Ragnarok.

It is slightly insane that Ragnarok alone is as long as the first 3 main games of the series.

 

[GreatnessRD]

God of War III is all smoke. Jesus, what a game!

My mans Kratos ain't wanna hear none of dat shit. You were dying, flat out.

 

[remember_spinal]

Can't you just like both and be happy that both experiences exist? Like do I have to hate on the original Doom games because I enjoyed the new ones?

The original GoWs were great. They also milked the formula a bit too much, so it needed a break. The new ones feel epic and are great additions to the series. Maybe they'll change it up again for the next games.

Yeah, but then no one would really pay attention to thread and respond if it weren’t phrased it a hyperbolic and condescending way.

 

[tommycronin]

Old Kratos got shit done. The new Kratos used his son as a reason to kill as opposed to before where he knew why he was a monster and embraced it as the literal God of War should.