Kratos storms his way into the best action game on the PS2. True Score: 8.7
The story begins with Kratos lamenting that the Gods have abandoned him, with all hope lost he plunges himself off a cliff to finally put himself out of his misery.
The game then goes back to the events leading up to that fateful day. As it turns out, Kratos isnt the only one with a bone to pick with Ares. The other Gods want Kratos to defeat the God of War by finding and using Pandora's Box.
Kratos is an angry, vengeful, selfish man, but as you progress further into the game you will discover through flashbacks the horrible truth about Kratos' past that lead him to become the man he is and you will understand why he wishes to forget what he has done.
The fighting in God of War is done mostly via the square and triangle buttons. Square for fast, weak attacks and triangle for slower, stronger attacks. Pressing circle near an enemy will have Kratos attempt to grab them and if successful can lead to instant death, even if you hadn't laid a scratch on them before. Of course later enemies are not so easily defeated. You are sometimes given a choice as to what to do when you grab hold of an enemy, like splitting them in two or throwing them into another group of enemies.
The best thing about the fights in GoW is that once you have pummeled your enemies hard enough, a prompt will appear above that enemies head telling you to push the circle button, doing so while near enough to said enemy will have cause Kratos to laying one final blow or cause more prompts to appear--such as hitting square, triange, triangle, then rotating the left analogue 80 degrees, for example--and if you get them all right it will result in some really cool and violent deaths. If you screw up one of the prompts, not only will you fail in killing the beast, you may take damage yourself. There are also some enemies that require you to do this more than one time before they go down. You can also just continue to attack the more traditional way, although this will often take longer and provide less green and red orbs from victory, but more on that later.
Also, if you find yourself dying constantly the game will ask if you want the difficulty to be lowered, so don't be afraid to try out a harder option straight away.
The regular weapons Kratos will use are 2 blades chained around his arms called the Blades of Chaos. As you go on you will find another weapon as well as magic that will be given to you by the Gods as gifts. You will be able to throw lightning bolts and raise the souls of the underworld to defeat your enemies. All weapons and magic can be upgraded to increase its powers and abilities, meaning you will be able to unleash some very cool--not to mentioned very deadly--combos by collecting red orbs after defeating an enemy or opening certain chests. You can also gain green orbs for healing in the same way.
The boss fights are incredible, you never feel evenly matched, yet when you win it is entirely believable, pretending for a moment that creatures like the Hydra and Minotaur do exist. Fighting these bosses isn't just about being a tough guy, you also have to use your brain. But don't worry, you shouldn't get stuck on how to defeat any of the bosses, but it does add that extra challenge and satisfaction when you do defeat them.
There are a number of other puzzles in the game as well. But unlike many other games they dont feel as though they interfere with the rest of the game. I'm not a fan of puzzles, but the ones in GoW aren't too bad, actually.
The game both looks and sounds incredible, as though you really are slaying a Gorgon or Cyclops. All dialogue is spoken clearly and stays true to each characters personality. Although there is no option for subtitles, it's not a problem.
When you do finish the game--which should take around 10 hours--you will be eager to jump right into the sequel. But before you do remember to check out all the bonus content. These include a 'making of' documentary, bestiary, the ability to watch all the cut scenes whenever you feel like it and much more. Also, the game itself isn't really over yet, you can now take part in the Challenge of the Gods, in which you must perform certain tasks to continue to the next level, there are 10 in total. Believe me when I say that it is hard. Really hard. Then there is God Mode, the toughest level of difficulty in the game, but you also get some more cool movies to watch from beating it.
Unfortunately, the short amount of playtime does hinder its overall appeal, but don't let that stop you from playing one of the best action games of all time. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
+ Great battle system, fantastic story, looks awesome, Kratos makes being an arrogant prick look cool.
- Too short. More weapons would be nice.
Graphics:
9
Sound:
9
Gameplay:
9
Lastability:
7.5
Overall:
8.7