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Mr Drake, Solid Snake, and the entire Helghan army, would you kindly step aside? Kratos has arrived.

In a recent interview with 1up.com, Cory Balrog, game director on God of War II, spoke about the reaction to the seminal PS2 game when it was first shown to Sony bigwigs Shuhei Yoshida and Phil Harrison. ‘Very good, thank you,’ said Harrison. ‘I just have to ask this, since it seems like the obvious question. Why are we not doing this on PS3?’

God of War II was a beautiful swansong that ushered in the final days of PS2, a final testament to the system’s true power. Yet Harrison had a valid point. Everything God of War does with such brilliance – crafting visceral, bloodthirsty set pieces; creating a tangible sense of scale; placing one man against the odds – it was always going to work far better on the more powerful PS3.

Well, Harrison may have moved on to Atari, but Kratos has indeed made his way to PlayStation 3, and by all accounts its looking to be one hell of a ride. Just as God of War II wrung every last drop of power from PS2’s ageing technology, God of War III looks to scrape the PS3 barrel clean, with a hi-def, blood spattered adventure utilizing all of the machine’s potential.

Already wild claims are being thrown around – one being that the new model for Kratos alone couldn’t fit on PlayStation 2 as it doesn’t have the necessary memory. If this is the case, then PS2 would surely melt under the pressure if it attempted to convey the immeasurable scale found throughout the rest of God of War III.

The game picks up where God of War II left off, with Kratos clinging to the back of colossal Titan Gaia as it climbs Mount Olympus. Driven by hatred and vengeance, Kratos will stop at nothing to see the god Zeus dead, even if it means reigniting the Titanomachy – a colossal war between the gods and titans.

It really brings a new meaning to the ‘war’ part of the title. The epic battle will rage throughout the course of the game, framing the events of the story or taking place in the background. Imagine Kratos tearing through hordes of undead while Helios, chariot God of the sun, does battle with a flaming titan in the distance – the Colossus of Rhodes opening battle of God of War II will look positively minuscule by comparison.

Indeed, the game will take place on the bodies of the titans themselves as they climb to the peak of Mount Olympus. Some can be measured in acres, while others will tower as high as Chicago’s Sears Tower. Imagine Shadow of the Colossus multiplied tenfold. These moveable levels – made possible by the raw grunt of the PlayStation 3 – will change in real time, too, meaning gravity can unexpectedly shift as the beasts clamber their way towards the game’s inevitable conclusion.

A new weapons system allows you to change your equipment on the fly, and a streamlined list of combos also means thrashing at enemies using the Cestus, which is a massive, boulder-sized gauntlet, will be just as effective as the Blades of Athena. Rideable creatures will also appear, enabling Kratos to wear down larger creatures before jamming his blades into their shoulders, the pain inflicted translated into control.

Game director Stig Asmussen recently went on record to say that God of War III will ’start with a bang and end with a bang.’ And from the look of things today, there will also be plenty of raw, bloodthirsty bangs throughout the middle. By sticking to the tried-and-tested God of War triptych that is bloodshed, brutality and beauty, and building upwards and outwards in every way possible, Sony has demonstrated that it knows its games and the gamers who play them.

With PlayStation 3’s sheer power working away behind the scenes, we can expect some truly jaw-dropping sequences – there will be no smoke and mirrors here. So, all good things must come to an end, and if the developer is to be believed, this will be Kratos’ final outing. At least he won’t be going down without a fight.