God of War goes above and beyond anything that Sony Santa Monica has done before.

God of War is an original PS2 game (dare we say 'franchise' already?) from Sony Santa Monica, formerly known as Incog, the makers of Twisted Metal: Black and War of the Monsters. It plays somewhat like Devil May Cry meets Rygar--this God fights demons and mythological monsters like Dante, while his mainstay weapons are a pair of flaming daggers on chains, reminiscent of Rygar's Diskarmor. The settings of the two E3 levels seemed a lot like something out of Tomb Raider's crypts or Prince of Persia's castle. But even though God of War might remind you of other PlayStation action games, it successfully combines enough disparate elements to feel like something fresh and exciting.

The spectacular combat is the first thing you'll notice about the game, and going hand-in-hand with that are the fluid, elaborate animations for every attack. The main character looks so cool swinging around his dual dagger flails that you might find yourself chopping at thin air between waves of enemies, just to admire the effects. This God can unleash his wrath in many ways: multi-hit combos, grabbing enemies either on the ground or out of the air, tearing a Gargoyle wing from wing, and juggling throws and hits almost as effectively as in a fighting game like Killer Instinct.

A look at the control setup gives an idea of just how expansive the combat engine will be:


The combat system is the star of God of War, and the controls are very intuitive for the most part.

The magic system is also well-thought out and integrated into the world of the game. For instance, after killing a Gorgon (AKA Medusa), the player can chop off its head and keep it around as a handy magic item. Now it's possible to pull Medusa's dome out of your pocket on demand by hitting L2, and instantly turn normal enemies into stone. Some enemies can then be killed with one more hit (shattering the stone critter), and flying foes like gargoyles will simply drop from the sky to their deaths like a rock.

There's also a separate combat routine for bosses and mid-bosses: soften them up with a few attack combos and a circle icon will appear over their heads, letting you know that they're stunned enough for a grab. Hit circle, and then follow a series of timed button presses (each shown briefly onscreen as an icon) to slaughter the boss with a spectacularly gruesome fatality move. For example, hitting circle and then triangle at just the right time will allow you to rip a Gorgon's head clean off. Well, not exactly clean off--a bloody mess spurts everywhere.

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GoW_MedusaKill.AVI
Nice neck adjustment... This God would make a killing as a chiropractor.

The Minotaur fatality is even more brutal: once he's stunned, grab him for a pin, then tap the circle button fast enough and you'll overcome his efforts to stave off a lethal dagger thrust--right down his throat!

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GoW_MinotaurKill.AVI
Want fries with that dagger?

Visually, there's a lot going on in God of War. During a segment in which you cross a huge ravine via a tightrope (see screenshot above), enemies can be seen battling on the distant side of the pyramid room, and it really gives you the impression that you're in the middle of a huge melee. Soon some of them hop onto the tightrope to complicate matters! There's also a scenario where the God must traverse the side of a mountain, and the perspective shifts to an overhead view. Gargoyles and climbing enemies harass your progress from all sides, and it makes getting to the top a fun challenge.

What's not to like? Well, the mapping of the action/interact function to R2 can feel a bit unnatural at times. It might have been easier to hit X or an analog click to open doors and throw switches. The collision detection for interactive elements such as those seemed a bit inconsistent as well; sometimes you'd have to be in just the right place to activate a trigger point, while other times it was more forgiving--even during different attempts at the same spot.

Speaking of throwing switches, the puzzle at the beginning of the "Poseidon's Sacrifice" level is a bit awkward. You start atop a high ledge, where the objective given is to find a lever to put into a nearby slot. Once you jump down, you find this lever rather easily, but there's no way to get back up to the ledge where you can use it. And to make matters worse, the only way to proceed seems to be a trap door on the far wall, activated by yet another lever. Throw the switch and it springs forward with flames and spikes. The text prompt says "to proceed, you must make the ultimate sacrifice." So charge ahead and risk death? Try that and the booby-trapped door can kill you outright, bringing up the Game Over screen. At that point, it was time to quit out and start up the other demo level.

Hopefully these are just problems with the puzzles in the rough demo build, and fortunately the bulk of the game seems to be exhilarating fast-paced action with one of the most inventive and viscerally satisfying combat engines since Ninja Gaiden for Xbox. God of War is still early on in development and may not see release until 2005, but it appears that PS2 owners' prayers for the next landmark 3D action game have been answered.