Action adventure games of the quality of God of War don't come
around often. God of War takes a tale of vengeance, set against the
backdrop of ancient Greek mythology, and turns it into an epic
adventure filled to the brim with bloody, stylish, over-the-top
combat, challenging puzzles, and highly impressive production
values. So many games within the action adventure genre tend to
limit their focus so heavily to either the combat or puzzle-solving
side, while leaving the opposing side as little more than an
afterthought, but God of War does nothing of the sort. Instead, it
blends these two equally important parts extremely well. To put it
in no uncertain terms, this is one of the best action adventure
games on the PlayStation 2, and it should not be missed.
God of War revolves itself around the trials and tribulations of
Kratos, a muscular, pale-skinned, heavily tattooed Spartan warrior
who, at the outset of the game, is on the verge of suicide. Citing
that the gods of Olympus have abandoned him, Kratos throws himself
off the tallest mountain in Greece, plummeting to his seemingly
desired doom. As he falls, the voice of an elderly narrator cuts
off Kratos' death before final impact and tells us of how things
had not always been so dire for our hero. Flashback to three weeks
prior--to the beginning of Kratos' adventure--where we find him on
a wrecked ship in the middle of the Aegean Sea, fighting his way
through scads of undead warriors and a rather large, multiheaded
hydra. Though the story begins here, you won't learn much about
Kratos until quite a bit later in the game. The initial impression
you get from his adventures is that he is, for lack of a better
term, a mean-spirited, unlikable son of a bitch who would sooner
slaughter his own mother than let anyone get in his way. While some
lingering aspects of this perception will last throughout the game,
you'll come to learn over time that Kratos is a deeply tortured
soul who wants nothing more than to wash away the sins of his
past.
The main plot of the game revolves around Kratos carrying out a
mission from the gods of Olympus to stop the renegade god Ares
(incidentally, the titular "god of war") from destroying the city
of Athens. The only way a mortal like Kratos can kill a god is to
acquire the mythical Pandora's box, a weapon so powerful that even
the gods themselves tremble before its power. As you follow Kratos'
journey to find Pandora's box, you learn more and more about his
troubled past, how he was once a conqueror of fearsome reputation,
and how he was eventually led astray by Ares. These bits of story
are told through stylishly directed flashbacks that appear at
specific intervals. The game's whole method of storytelling takes
sort of a slow-burn approach, giving you almost nothing to work
with and no understanding of Kratos at the beginning. By the time
the game is over, however, you'll know nearly all there is to know
about Kratos, and you should find yourself sympathetic to this
flawed but repentant warrior. Even though the story is, in itself,
a fairly basic tale of revenge, it isn't any less impactful because
of this when you reach the final confrontation.
A big part of what makes Kratos so endearing, despite his cruel and
unforgiving demeanor, is how much of a total badass he is. In
combat, Kratos is a thoroughly capable warrior, thanks in part to
his default weaponry: a pair of axelike blades called the "blades
of chaos." These blades are actually seared into Kratos' flesh via
a pair of chains that are wrapped around each arm. The basic
attacks with the blades of chaos let you pull off a lot of nifty,
whiplike maneuvers. Over time, you'll earn new combos as you
collect and spend red orbs, which are plentifully available
throughout all the worlds. All the combos--even the most powerful
of them--are rarely difficult to pull off. Though one could try to
criticize the combo system for being a little too forgiving and
because it almost plays itself a little bit, it's really a moot
point, because the attacks are just so much fun and so satisfying
to pull off. Even if you are only alternating between the two
attack buttons seemingly at random, each and every hit feels great
and looks awesome.
The blades of chaos aren't the only weapons at your disposal,
either. As you progress, you'll occasionally encounter one of the
many gods of Olympus, who are only too happy to aid you in your
quest to slay Ares. Each god will provide for you a new weapon when
you encounter him or her. For instance, Zeus gives you the power to
toss bolts of electricity; Hades lets you unleash the souls of the
underworld; and Artemis actually provides you with a huge sword to
use as an alternative to the blades of chaos. Along with the blades
of chaos, all these weapons and magic types can be upgraded via the
red orbs you collect, providing you with greater attack range and
more power each time. Each of the different types of magic is
useful in its own right, and none feels superfluous at all. Quite
the opposite is true, actually. The combination of different
magics, along with the weapon combat, creates an excellent variety
of attacks that turn Kratos into a serious force to be reckoned
with.
And he'll need to be, too, as God of War is not light on challenge.
Make no mistake, if you're expecting some kind of excruciating
level of difficulty, you won't find it...at least not on the
default level. The hard mode, which is immediately available, will
definitely provide you with a stiffer challenge. Still, even with
that said, the game is no pushover on the normal difficulty level,
thanks largely to the wide variety of tough and creatively designed
enemies. Each of the game's baddies is based on a creature from
Greek mythology. You'll find cyclopes, gorgons, minotaurs, undead
warriors, and winged harpies, among others, on offer. Though some
of these enemies amount to mere grunts that can be cut through
reasonably quickly, the game tends to throw lots of them at you,
meaning you'll need to be quick with your attacks and well versed
at using the block mechanic.
