Clash of the Titans

...or is it Trash of the Titans?

Posted 2 years ago By - Jay Acevedo

We at GameFocus like to finish the games we review before writing our thoughts on it. Some don’t require full completion to get the picture, while a very little number of them don’t give us any other choice but to put them aside. Game Republic’s Clash of the Titans wasn’t on our most anticipated games list, but every time a company releases a movie/game tie-in, we keep our eyes peeled with hope and anticipation for a good video game movie adaptation. While Toy Story 3 did manage to give us something solid, this game went the opposite direction and set a new level of mediocrity among the genre.

Loosely based on the movie, this tale of Perseus’ quest for vengeance against the Gods comes forth as a God of War clone that could have been interesting but arrives totally flat with its bland visuals, execrable dialogue, and boring quest structure - among other less than redeeming things. Despite turning dull after the first few hours and without being groundbreaking, the combat may be the only non-atrocious component to be found in the game.

In addition to the God of War-esque combat, which consists of hacking and slashing your way through enemies while collecting loot that will serve as upgrade currency, Perseus also has the ability to pull instant kill combos via quick-time-events and steal a foe’s weapon (more on this later). There are also special powers like the Sub Seize, a soul gathering power that allows your character to steal an assailant’s life so that he can replenish his special move gauge. For a bigger impact, pulling Chain Seize (hold the RB button when available) allows Perseus to simultaneously destroy multiple assailants at once.

Now, an interesting note on the stealing of weapons: they’re actually secondary weapons-based special attacks that are picked up throughout the story. Up to 80 different weapons - four can be mapped to the directional pad at any one time - can be collected. However, since regular sword attacks manage to fulfill most killing needs, the special weapons are only used to slay certain types of enemies and other hindrances. Not that there are 80 different types of burdens to deal with, but it does make one wonder why developers included that many weapons when only a small number will truly be helpful. This also inevitably leads this reviewer to question Game Republic’s desire to offer that many special attacks, when the Chain Seize feat can be effective in various cases, completely annihilating the need to find and upgrade more attacks. Any experienced player will realize after the first 3-4 hours that more time could have been spent in developing a great hack and slash game, rather than trying to fool gamers into believing that they’re up for a great time-consuming experience.

Still, this is only one of the many nuisances found in Clash of the Titans. Dumb and needless secondary quests that lead only to more unnecessary hack and slashing, albeit hinting otherwise. There were frequent loading times when entering a new zone, only for the game to reveal the same environments over and over again. This was enhanced by two second pauses in between the character’s wooden dialogue, which players will get to listen to again if they happened to die for some inexplicable reason. The visuals were both unpolished and jagged and were only a tiny notch above the level found on the PS2. There is the option to for a friend to join along, but only when the game allows it, and only after roughly three hours into the gameplay. The co-op mode also graces with an unbearable camera angle. At this point...why bother, Game Republic?

In spite of all this, the biggest complaint about Clash of the Titans it not even from the game itself but from the publisher, Namco Bandai, who still released this soon-to-be-coaster at $60 plus taxes. As I’ve said before, not every single game has to be AAA to be enjoyed. However, if a company feels the need to infest the game market with these mediocre promotional tie-ins, they either need to be priced correctly or released as a digital downloads. Perhaps if they realize that even the less compelling games from the last generation’s consoles can beat their mediocre-to-bad games in a popularity contest, they shouldn’t even be released. It’s exceptionally unfortunate to think that games with far greater appeal and overall potential have been cancelled in the last five years...

Conclusion

This game was delayed from its original March release date, due to unspecified difficulties. When you think about it, delaying a videogame destined to be horrendous from the beginning so the possible blockbuster movie doesn’t get overshadowed was a good PR move. Unfortunately, since the movie was trashed by critics, this insult further taints the return of the Clash of the Titans brand and shows that cheap game development for the quick buck continues to be a popular trend.

This is certainly, alongside Rogue Warrior and Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust, one of the worst games I’ve had to play during this generation of consoles. Heck, even Rogue Warrior can be picked up from a bargain bin with no remorse, if only for easy and brainless Achievement/Trophy collecting. Unfortunately, this game actually makes players work hard for those, too. Clash of the Titans is to be avoided at all costs.