God of War Review

[{GJ}Riptide]

God of War originally came out for PS2 in 2005. I recently bought the God of War collection for PS3 which has gow1,2,3 and the two psp games Ghost of Sparta and Chains of Olympus. I've never played any of these before now so i will review them as i beat them.

Developer: SCE Santa Monica Studios
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment/Capcom
Platform: PS2, PS3
Multiplayer: No
Replay value: Medium

Story

First thing is first, if your into greek mythology this collection is something you'll want to pick up. The main protagonist in the God of War series is a Spartan warrior by the name of Kratos. Kratos became a fierce and cruel general of the Spartan army, known for his brutal tactics. As his army grew so did his thirst for more. Eventually he came across an army of Barbarians that overpowered his army. To save his life kratos prayed to the god of war Aries to destroy his enemies. As Aries came from the heavens Kratos sold his soul as an offering and Aries destroyed the barbarians, making Kratos his slave. After some time in kratos's view, Aries betrayed him and Kratos dedicated his life to killing the god of war. With the guidance of the other gods such as Athena and Zeus and the promise the gods will remove your memories of the past, you must find Pandora's Box which will give you the power to defeat a god. As Aries is destroying the city of Athens you must travel through the desert to the Temple of Pandora which is carried on the back by the massive titan Cronos. In order to reach Pandora's Box you must pass several tests made by the gods to keep any mortal from reaching the box. And then bring the box to Athens to kill the god of war Aries.

Gameplay

Back in 2005 the gameplay for god of war was revolutionary which later was copied by many games such as Dante's Inferno and Devil May Cry. It was the first game to have mini games when an enemy gets low on health where you press the specific buttons that pop up, if you get them all correct Kratos brutally kills the enemy. The game has six locations from ancient Greece you play through, all with different enemies and secret chests to find. The Aegean Sea, The City of Athens, The Desert of Lost Souls, The Temple of Pandora, The Underworld and Mount Olympus. Your enemies vary from undead soldiers, Medusa's army of gorgans, minotaurs, cyclopses and many more. As you collect red orbs you gain more attacks, both physical and magic. God of war is infamous for the many difficult puzzles throughout the game so be prepared to either think long and hard or have youtube at the ready. After you beat the game you unlock the Challenge of the Gods. Theres 10 challenges and you must complete them all in one sitting, some are easy and some are terribly difficult. Theres also several background movies that can be unlocked talking about Kratos as a kid or showing the people in the studio creating the game.

Final Thoughts

God of War is a game that has mastered the simplicity of action adventure games. The whole game is based on greek mythology so fans of that will find it interesting and if that's not your thing the pure fun of the gameplay and challenge of the puzzles will give you plenty of ways to enjoy this game. I do wish in the challenge of the gods mode you could save inbetween challenges being that you must offer 2-4 straight hours on average to complete it. The problem many non multiplayer games face is do they have replay value. With the unlockable costumes and videos there are some reasons to go back and replay, but not many.

Rating: 8/10