Compared with previous installments, God of War III offers a revamped magic system, more enemies, new camera angles, and downloadable content.

[3] The enemies are an assortment of Greek mythological creatures, including centaurs, harpies, chimeras, cyclopes, satyrs, minotaurs, Sirens, cerberuses, and Gorgons.

The Blade of Olympus, a primary weapon in God of War II, is used in this game with the special ability Rage of Sparta for temporary invulnerability and increased attack damage.

The player may unlock additional rewards, such as bonus costumes for Kratos, behind-the-scenes videos, and concept art of the characters and environments, by completing the game's difficulty levels and challenge mode.

Kratos (voiced by Terrence C. Carson), the protagonist of the game, is a Spartan demigod warrior who became the God of War after killing Ares and seeks revenge on Zeus for his betrayal.

Other characters include Hercules (Kevin Sorbo), a demigod and Kratos' half-brother; the architect Daedalus (Malcolm McDowell), Icarus' father; and Pandora (Natalie Lander), Hephaestus's artificial daughter.

Climbing from the river, he is greeted by Athena's spirit, who ascended to a higher existence after sacrificing herself to save Zeus from Kratos,[N 2] and had witnessed truths which she previously could not see.

Kratos continues his ascent, murdering powerful foes such as the Titan Perses and the Sun God Helios, plunging Greece into eternal darkness in the process.

At the Forum, he has an audience with the drunken Hera, who ignores his request for Pandora's location and summons Hercules, whom Kratos offers a chance to step aside from his war to no avail.

The blacksmith, learning of Kratos' plan to quell the Flame of Olympus, sends him to Tartarus to retrieve the Omphalos Stone, claiming he will forge a new weapon for the Spartan.

The imprisoned architect, Daedalus, distraught to learn of his son Icarus' death, dies as Kratos proceeds to unite the Labyrinth and venture through the aerial puzzle to rescue Pandora.

When Kratos tells her it was empty, she refuses to believe this, explaining that when Zeus sealed the evils of the world in the box after the Great War, she placed the power of hope in it as well, foreseeing that it would eventually be opened.

In an interview with IGN, Asmussen said that Barlog "had a major impact on the game" and although he had left the team, they spoke several times afterwards and "bounced a few ideas off him," but there was no formal collaboration.

[13] In November 2009, Asmussen told GamePro that although a multiplayer option had been discussed, it was unsuitable for God of War III: "There's a story we want to tell and an experience we want to deliver, and multi-player doesn't fit into that.

[18] However, in January 2010 John Hight told Joystiq: "While God of War III will conclude the trilogy, it won't spell the end of the franchise ... We're going to be really careful about what we do next".

[21] Asmussen said that one of the greatest challenges in developing God of War III for the PlayStation 3 was the "complexity of everything"; individual tasks, such as designing Helios' decapitation, could take a year because the "level of detail [that was] expected [was] so high and intricate, it [crossed] multiple departments."

Ken Feldman, the art director, commented that the polygon count was not the only factor, and cited the increased texture detail as one of the reasons for Kratos' realistic appearance.

Santa Monica senior producer Steve Caterson said that the development team ported God of War II's engine to the PlayStation 3 and were able to quickly play the game.

[24] Between the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and the time the game shipped, morphological anti-aliasing (MLAA) was added, which graphics engineer Ben Diamand said "improved edges dramatically and saved substantial amounts of frame-rate."

[8] At E3 2009, the God of War III demo was unveiled, with Kratos on the cliffs of Mount Olympus battling Olympian legionnaires, a centaur, a chimera, and a cyclops.

[26] A God of War III media kit with special packaging and content was distributed to journalists in the PAL regions, and several were given as prizes on PlayStation Europe's website during the week of March 22, 2010.

[61] For pre-orders, some retailers included a premium costume for Kratos: the Apollo, Forgotten Warrior, and Phantom of Chaos skins from Amazon.com, Game Crazy and Play.com, and GameStop, respectively.

[66][67] Sony and Spike TV sponsored a Last Titan Standing contest, in which fans over 21 could win a chance to play God of War III before its mainstream release.

[71] On March 20, 2010, a NASCAR car driven by Joey Logano during the Scotts Turf Builder 300 had a God of War III and GameStop-themed paint design.

Santa Monica's Creative Director Cory Barlog announced the remastered game in celebration of the God of War franchise's tenth anniversary.

[91] In an interview with PlayStation.Blog, Clint Bajakian described the different ensembles that recorded the score: the brass section is the "lead guitar", the choir gives the game its epic feel, the strings are the body of the sound, and the percussion is the foundation.

[94] A six-out-of-ten review from Tracksounds said that although the score "lacks the intricacy and personality that could set it apart and give it a sense of uniqueness...[it] delivers on its promise of a loud, wrathful bundle of tunes you can kill gods to...for better or worse."

[95] God of War III received "universal acclaim" according to review aggregator Metacritic,[96] Adam Sessler of X-Play said that the game "finishes the trilogy on an exceptionally high note", and it "blends all of its best attributes into a stellar experience.

"[100] Jackson, however, said the core gameplay's familiarity "makes it feel less than the very, very best",[106] and according to Roper, two of the three additional weapons are similar to the main blades; they "have unique powers and slightly different moves, but by and large they're more of the same.

[99] McShea said that although it does not pick up until near the end, it "becomes powerful and moving in unexpected ways, peaking in a thrilling conclusion that successfully touches on many different emotions and provides closure for this epic tale.