Have a look at what God of War 3 left on the cutting room floor

Few would describe God of War 3 as an abridged action-adventure. "I would say we cut less" compared to the previous games, director Stig Asmussen told 1UP in a video interview covering the topic of the game's "deleted scenes." Still, cut they did.

"There were a couple of big moments that we lost," Asmussen recounted. "We had a [water-based] puzzle with this guy named Ixion [...] He was a really cool character. The inspiration was -- I don't remember his name -- but he was the flying guy from The Road Warrior." The objective, of course, was to drown Ixion.

"The big cut," Asmussen then revealed, "was the end of the game" -- an unpolished, three-way rumble between Gaia, Zeus and Kratos (pictured). "It was a tough cut, but it's something that needed to be done."

Hear more from Asmussen and producer Steve Caterson and see alpha footage of the deleted scenes in the video embedded after the break.