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Leave your blue jeans and acoustic guitar at the door; this ain't no new fangled, politically correct video game. God of War kicks down the door of your nondenominational church and methodically proceeds to shred every member's face.
But it that enough? Raw, guttural violence that pokes you in the eye and then splashes you with gallons of blood? You bet it is.
From the start of the game, you are thrown into battle, no gimpy tutorial or by the numbers walk through, no you start this game fighting and flipping out and will not stop for 9 or 10 hours. God of War's graphics are undoubtedly the best on the PS2, with little to no slow down at all. SCEA's three years of hard work are stunningly apparent, which begs the question of other developers: "Why the hell can't you all make games this good?"
The game's music and acting are a cut above the rest and the control is spot on. This just goes to show what can happen when a developer works with only one console in mind. Just look at Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube! With God of War, the PS2 exceeds its inferior standing and reminds us just what this puppy can do. The level design is diverse and only a few suffer from some tedious platform jumping.
The variety of enemies suffices, though a few more would have spiced things up a lot. Almost every baddy require a touch of skill to defeat requiring you to enter timed sequences of buttons to finish of the foe in a grand (and oh so violent) fashion. This type of interaction lends great playability to the game by drawing further into the game world, making you even more a player in the events. Most enemies are defeated easily once you discover the perfect code of combat, though some of them took me a few tries to get the hang of.
So is the game perfect? Well, that is quite a toughie. The only problem with the game is
the Prince of Persia style puzzle element. God of War must be commended to adding something different to the game play, and most of these platforming sections are short lived, if not exactly enjoyable. Sadly, I don't seen any game equaling Prince of Persia's phenomenal control and camera work when dealing with jumpy, runny, timer puzzles.
The mythology is fun, but I couldn't help think (and laugh?) at the Clash of the Titans-like talking statues. I really enjoyed the story/myth of God of War and could have used some more cut scenes, interaction with the Gods, just a lil garnish that would have been nice.
Speaking of nice, look forward to some amazing (though rare) boss battles, which are yet another area that God of War exceeds expectations and proves itself as a great title. Grand, on an almost epic scale, you will shriek with glee and constantly force everyone you know to witness these astounding match ups, which force our hero to reckon with a giant hydra, an armored Minotaur, and even a god.
As you advance throughout the game, you'll unlock more powerful moves, some of which are granted to you from the Gods (i.e. Zeus, Hades and Poseidon) and each of these moves can then be upgraded. To upgrade your power, weapons and moves you must collect floating red orbs left behind by your defeated foes. Know this the more extravagant the combo of attacks, the more delicious orbs you receive.
The game's length is only around 9-10 hours, but an extra difficult game mode increases the playability some, though be warned, it is teeth shatteringly hard. There is also an arena style mode that allows you to face off against different enemies; sometimes requiring you to fight, other times you may just have to knock them off a platform. Many more extras await you if you sludge through the arena style combat unlockable level God of War is so polished and grand that SCEA cagn't be faulted with a shorter game.
Overall, God of War provides all of us with an outlet for inner rage and evil, while still staying within the confines of our mortal law. |
