|
|
|
It has been a while since a new original idea has come out to blow you away. In the era of remakes and sequels, we tend to forget the days of original games that made you wonder what you will get when you pop it into the console for the first time. A game that offers original gameplay, and a story that is fresh rather than recycled. SCEA has created something that is just that in God of War. This is quite possibly one of the best games ever.
Plot: 10
Lovers of Greek mythology will either squirm at the game's liberal spin on certain things or appreciate the original story that still applies accuracy on who is who and what is what. Whatever the case may be the story is well done and is presented in an excellent fashion. You are Kratos, a Spartan warrior that seems to be feared by every mortal you come across. His story is unknown at first and throughout the game you dig into his past little by little. The more you learn about whom you are, the more interested you become in what you are doing. The opening scene beings with Kratos throwing himself off the top of Mt. Olympus declaring the gods have abandoned him. The narrator speaks of his pain and brings you into a flashback which starts the game. Along your way you encounter the gods of Olympus who aid you in your quest as you battle through infamous beasts that you've only read about in the great mythological tales. At times the story will take your breath away, it was so well done its no wonder a movie deal is already in the works.
Graphics: 10
Are you kidding me? Who knew that graphics this crisp, smooth, and beautiful where possible for this type of game on the PS2. SCEA sure made the best of their hardware. The shadows, blood spray, motions, lighting, are all done perfectly. The slow motion shots when you time a perfect block give you an awesome look at the flawlessness of the visuals. The little details put into the game are what make the graphics so impressive. One of the coolest things is the glowing of your blades of chaos in dark areas while they are not in use on your back. To top it all off there is practically no loading time in this game not counting saves. There may be a few spots here and there where the game stops for a quick 5 second loading time, but it's very rare. This is just a major accomplishment considering the size of the game, and the fact that PS2 has received a bad wrap for its loading times as it has become the older hardware of this generation.
Sound: 10
If you have a surround sound system hooked up to your game station you will be extremely happy while playing this game. The background tunes are fantastical. They fit the theme so well you tend to forget that there is any music and they become more of what you are feeling, it's kind of hard to describe. The roars, screams, slashes, and clanks are all fit in perfectly and balance well with the soundtrack, at no time does one overpower the other. Probably the best thing about the entire game is the voice acting. God of War has the best voice acting of any game ever made. It is so good, you will have to hear it for yourself to believe it. Each character with a voice, has a voice that suits them perfectly, it sounds, looks, and feels like a cinema feature, it really is just that darn good.
Controls: 10
That's right, another perfect score. You could not ask for better controls for this game. It's just mapped out so well it feels natural. You have a button for strong attack, quick attack, jump, and grab/throw as your 4 main buttons, your shoulder buttons give you block, action (opening doors, etc), and selected power. The game relies on the left analog for movement while the right analog allows you to do a quick dodge movement that becomes extremely valuable in boss fights and encountering though enemies. The directional pad gives you the way to flip between the powers bestowed upon you by the Gods. All of the buttons are effectively used without being too complex and everyone knows that's a good thing.
Camera: 8
The camera in this game is very well done, especially for being semi-fixed. You never encounter blind spots, and the slow motion shots mentioned earlier are truly breath taking and perfectly pulled off without screwing you up. The one problem encountered with the camera is the fact that you cannot change the angle the slightest bit. This becomes an issue for platforming parts of the game. In various places you are required to balance your way across long breams and for some reason SCEA decided to turn the camera on you in precarious angles that make you rely on holding the analog stick in unnatural positions. You will find yourself falling off many times even though there is a quick recover to get back on, sometimes this isn't an option if you walk off to sharply. Luckily the game has a pretty forgiving checkpoint system and starts you back at the beginning of the puzzle. It would have been much better if the camera would just give you a good view.
Gameplay: 9
Where to begin? The gameplay is brutally wicked. Wielding your blades of chaos, you cut and slice through your enemies with practically never ending combos which can become more advanced as you level up your weapons. Later Artemis gives you her huge blade along with other gods you meet handing you a piece of there raw power. All of these can be leveled up giving you devastating offensives. The downside is you may not be able to level them all up to maximum. As you kill enemies, red orbs pour out of them and absorb into you, filling up your meter. These red orbs are also found in chests obviously located along the way or hidden in less than obvious places. These orbs are key to upgrading your weaponry and can also be obtained in larger quantities by killing enemies in certain ways or massive combos but when it comes down to finding the hidden chests which can hold absurd amounts. The game isn't all about demolishing every foul beast you encounter, it also offers mind boggling puzzles, and sometimes a combination of the two! Some enemies cannot be defeated by normal hack and slash; this is also true about boss fights. This keeps a lot of balance to the game and keeps it from getting stale. Although God of War nears perfection, there is one minor disappointment. While featuring good major boss battles, there could have had a bit more and in one area it should of that was cut due to time. This is somewhat made up for by the many offerings of mini-bosses and large enemies. After you have beaten the game you are treated to many unlocked items such as video features that show you what had to be cut from the game and concepts they wanted to add. Probably the most rewarding unlokable is the Challenge of the Gods mini game in which you must face 10 challenges that require winning in certain ways under certain circumstances. Upon beating this you get even more unlockables for the regular game. The replay value of this game will answer your question of why you have had a hard time finding this game pre-owned.
Overall: 9.7 This game is amazingly impressive. Even if you took out the unlockables you would still want to play through the game over and over, and you would still sit through the cut scenes. SCEA has really put together a masterpiece of a game, and no doubt there will be a sequel which should improve on what little there was to improve on in this one. If you are craving action and adventure this is a must own game, rental is out of the question.
© 2005 SCEA
 |
| Kratos prepares for an assault from above! |
|---|
 |
| Slaughtering all in his path |
|---|
 |
| Kratos struggles to rip off the head of Medusa |
|---|
 |
| Graphics: | 10 |
| Sound: | 10 |
| Control: | 10 |
| Camera: | 8 |
| Plot: | 10 |
| Gameplay: | 9 |
| Overall: | 9.7 |
|---|
|