There are lots of ways to reinvent classic franchises, and often times those reinventions fall flat on their face and lead to the death of that series or to it going back to its roots in later installments. But sometimes it can be a slam dunk, such as the case of 2018’s God of War. The game saw the action series retooled in multiple ways from its gameplay to its storytelling, and seemed to do quite well for itself overall. A sequel is in the works and planned for next year, but in the meantime, you can get an improved experience for the game on the upcoming PS5.

Via the official Sony Santa Monica Twitter, it was announced that God of War would get a new Favor Performance mode for PS5 that would see it go up to 60 FPS, and that saves from the PS4 would transfer to the PS5. Just to be clear, this is not a new version of the game and is referring to enhancements for the backward compatibility of the title. They also throw in that God of War 3 Remastered will also transfer saves from PS4 to PS5. Nothing is specified for either title in regards to graphical or resolution upgrades.

God of War is available now on PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 will launch on November 12th.

You will also be able to transfer your God of War III Remastered saves to the #PS5!

— Santa Monica Studio – God of War Ragnarök (@SonySantaMonica) October 26, 2020

In light of Microsoft’s rather under-whelming line-up of free games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers, Sony has announced its PlayStation Plus free games for September. Two heavy-hitters stand out – Bungie’s Destiny 2 and SIE Santa Monica’s God of War 3 Remastered. Receiving both PS4 titles for the low, low price of free is a pretty big steal.

Destiny 2 is currently available to download so if you’ve seen Forsaken, the upcoming DLC, now is a good time to try out all the changes and decide whether it’s worth sticking with. As for God of War 3 Remastered, it’s one of the best PS3 titles ever made and holds up remarkably well on PS4.

Other free games for the month include Here They Lie, a PlayStation VR horror title; Another World – 20th Anniversary Edition for PS3 and PS4/PS Vita; QUBE Director’s Cut for PS3 and PS4; Foul Play for PS Vita and PS4; and Sparkle 2 for PS Vita. As a bonus, subscribers also receive Knowledge is Power for PlayLink.

The power of EA’s golf games can’t be underestimated, as evidenced by Rory McIlroy’s PGA Tour debuting at the top position in the UK according to the latest charts from Gfk Chart-Track.

Codemasters’ F1 2015 also continues to do very well spending its second week at second place with Batman: Arkham Knight dropping down to third place followed by LEGO Jurassic World. Grand Theft Auto 5 is still going strong at fifth place while Destiny surprisingly moved up several places in the sales charts. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is in seventh followed by The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited which released last month for consoles.

Interestingly, Sony’s God of War 3: Remastered entered the sales charts at ninth place. Granted, it is a remaster of a 2010 game but we kind of expected slightly better results than that. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt rounded out the top 10 for this week and has recently received patch 1.07 for all platforms (with mixed results).

God of War 3 Remastered finally launches, bringing, bafflingly, the third entry in the brutal action game saga to the PlayStation 4, and to commemorate the occasion, we have gotten our hands on the launch trailer for the game. The game looks visceral, breathtaking, glorious, psychotically violent, and almost nauseatingly gory- in other words, it’s God of War.

God of War 3 remastered sees the conclusion of Kratos’ journey of vengeance and redemption, his crusade against the Greek gods. Chronologically speaking, it stands as the final game in the series (although it was followed by God of War Ascension on the PS3 in 2013). If you have played the first two games, but never played the third one, and also don’t have a PS3, and want to see how the series ends, it’s not a bad port- it’s very well done, and changes nothing about the original PS3 title.

So basically, if you fall under a very specific subset. Which, I mean, okay, maybe you do.

Yeah, I still don’t know exactly who this was developed for.

Because developing an actual, original new game for their console would give Sony the hives, they have gone ahead and done us the favor of releasing yet another remaster for their console- this time, it’s the third God of war game that is getting the remaster treatment (because it’s not like the God of War series got a whole bunch of remasters last generation anyway), and to their credit, it at least sounds like they have done it well.

IGN gave the game an 8.8/10, saying, “God of War III was an impressive feat for its day, and it still impresses today in God of War III Remastered. Its beautiful graphics are prettier than ever, and a higher frame rate adds more fluidity to the action. The story will be confusing to newcomers, as it picks up right in the middle of the saga, but the exciting combat and epic set pieces hold up exceptionally well.”

Gamespot gave the game an 8, and they sounded a little less impressed- “God of War III Remastered is simply another chance to admire a game that we admired five years ago. At a $40 retail price, however, it doesn’t make a strong enough argument for buying a game you’ve already bought, particularly when the lower-resolution pre-rendered cutscenes stand out all the more next to the in-game visuals.”

On the other hand, Game Informer gave it a 9, calling the game ‘fantastic,’ although they did note that “God of War III Remastered does nothing to entice old players to return; apart from photo mode, you won’t find any new options or tweaks to inject novelty into the adventure. You even need to beat the game before you can use the handful of included DLC costumes. God of War III is still a fantastic experience, and a significant beat in gaming history, but this remaster doesn’t build on its legacy.”

Currently, the remaster has a Metascore of 82 on Metacritic, which is almost 10 points lower than what the game originally scored when it released back in 2010, but still very good.

On the whole, I guess I question God of War 3 Remastered’s existence. Who was it made for? It doesn’t have enough for fans and players who finished it already to buy it again, and it obviously isn’t appealing to newcomers, because it is the third game in the series that is being remastered, without the benefit of the buildup of the first two titles.

If you’re one of those people this was made for, I guess, let us know in the comments.

God of War 3 Remastered launches for the PlayStation 4 later this year, giving players the chance to play through the breathtaking end of Kratos’ saga and quest for vengeance on the PlayStation 4, in glorious 1080p and 60FPS. However, there are many who have questioned the necessity for the remaster at all, especially considering that it only includes one game (and the last one at that), and that that one game, God of War 3, was an amazingly gorgeous game to begin with.

While those questions still stand, you sort of forget all about them while you watch the legendary beginning of God of War 3 in glorious 1080p and 60 FPS in this new video- while it is true that the game looks at best marginally improved (which is owed more to how good the original game looked to begin with), just the fact that I will be able to play through this gory masterpiece without having to hook up the PS3 again makes me pretty happy.

SCE Santa Monica’s God of War 3 will be getting the remastered treatment for PS4. Sony has announced God of War 3: Remastered for release on July 14th to celebrate the series’ 10th year anniversary and along with a 1080p resolution, there will be other additions (including a Photo Mode) according to IGN.

God of War 3 is seen as the conclusion to the saga with Kratos teaming up with the Titans to wage war on Olympus and its gods, which includes Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon and more. The game was praised initially for its amazing visuals and combat though many felt the story had its plot-holes. It will be interesting to see how Sony manages to cram in new features to justify the remastered tag like The Last of Us: Remastered did.

What are your thoughts on God of War 3: Remastered and will you be picking it up at release? Let us know in the comments below.