Game of the Week: GOD OF WAR III  18 cert, Sony, PS3

Videogames can be diverting, joyful, exciting and even educational. "Subtle", however, is an adjective rarely afforded to the artform. So it's fair to say that God of War IIIis one of the least subtle games I've played in some time.

Any game that begins with a quote from Plato takes itself quite seriously, and God of War IIIappears to have an acute irony deficiency. The tone is deadly serious. After the fabulous 300-style opening credits, you're catapulted into the first of many grand moments: titans (or giants, for non-fantasy fans) climb towards Mount Olympus as the gods descend for battle.

Taking up where its predecessor left off, the story follows Kratos, sitting on Gaia’s shoulder, who still bears a grudge against the gods, especially their mac daddy, Zeus. Kratos is an impressive, dynamic fighter. leaping, swiping and even ripping off head.

Shown from a third-person point-of-view, the camera swoops impressively around Kratos, sometimes even flipping the playing area 180 degrees so you’re controlling Kratos as he hangs upside down (from a titan’s arm, for example). It all looks very impressive, though I’d prefer to be allowed to control the perspective myself.

In fact, the controls, while acceptable overall, take some getting used to. The combat scenes are satisfactory, though they can veer into monotonous button-mashing territory. Giving yourself RSI by pounding on buttons is nobody’s idea of fun. Do yourself a favour and play it on “easy” setting; the combat in the more difficult settings tends to be repetitive. Also, the use of a right button for diving (instead of camera control) is not ideal. Thankfully, the puzzle solving is pitched just right – testing, but never annoying.

The greater selling points of God of War IIIare aesthetic. This is a full- blooded (and bloody) epic painted on a vast canvas.

The fall of Poseidon is a good example of the game’s scale and visual panache. As he topples from a cliff into the water, a flood rises and engulfs the surrounding region. Cecil B DeMile would be proud. Also, the sombre voicework, rich character rendering, opulent animation and, especially, the operatic music are all terrific.

God of War IIIeasily earns its 18 certificate. The violence is (to be honest) gratifying at first, though even for this gamer it went too far on occasion, with the thumb-in- eyes sequence especially gratuitous. This is fantasy in the violent tradition of Conan the Barbarianrather than the relatively chaste Lord of the Rings. If you want to see a digital rendering of a centaur's intestines, you've come to the right place.

Despite its minor control imperfections, God of War IIIis an epic, truly imaginative game. The upcoming Clash of the Titanshas a tough act to follow.