GH Review: God of War (PS2)

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GH Review: God of War (PS2)Posted 7:12am Wed Mar 30, 2005 by Shiva Stella Tags: review, archive, PlayStation 2, God of War

This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

Occasionally a first-party title makes it to market that is actually worth an immediate purchase, and out of the three key companies – Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo – Sony has probably managed to bring the most unique, original titles to its console, including ICO, Mark of Kri, and now, God of War. Set in ancient Greece during the reign of the classical gods, God of War revolves around a brutal, viscous hero, Kratos, who is destined to kill the most bloodthirsty god of Olympus, Ares, the god of war. While players might not like the “hero”, though, they’ll definitely take to the simple, fast-paced, yet increasingly intricate gameplay style offered in GoW, and the title’s amazing visuals more than make up for Kratos’ seemingly static character. From the initial “training” level to the very end, GoW separates itself from any action/adventure game to have ever hit the market. Buy it now.

The Good

GoW begins straightforwardly enough: the tragic hero, Kratos, the Spartan warrior, did some very nasty things in the past and has been haunted by his memories into madness. To be free of his evil deeds (or just the guilt), he’s served the gods on Olympus for ten years (the standard number in Greek myth, you’ll note), under the guidance of Athena. Athena’s brother, Ares, whom Kratos is very familiar with, has begun attacking Athens, her prized city. Unfortunately for Athena Zeus has forbidden the gods from fighting each other, so Athena gives Kratos the ultimate task for his freedom from madness: head to Athens, find the tool that can kill a god, and then destroy Ares to save her city. Of course there are various twists and turns as the plot unfolds and Kratos discovers the “final truth”, but the majority of the storyline focuses on the task at hand.

There are a few key elements GoW owes its success to, and the foremost of those is the gruesome, swift, arcade-ish gameplay style. Action/adventure at its best, the title is an extremely fast-paced button-masher, allowing for devastating combos and original finishing moves that lessen the feel of repetitiveness and keep the gameplay fresh. Typical gameplay has gamers walking into a new area, being bombarded with ruthless opponents, and then pulling out as many combos as possible for the quickest, grossest, most effective deaths. Combos can be strung together almost endlessly, with a counter on the bottom-right of the screen keeping track of the hits; the more hits you have on an opponent, the more red (experience) orbs you get from its death. It’s not fancy, but it’s quick and fun. The control scheme is extremely easy to use and functions very smoothly, with square and triangle performing attacks, right analog dodges, left analog basic movements, and L2 magical attacks. In the beginning Kratos will only wield his blades of chaos, two fire-enhanced blades attached to long chains that perform distant as well as close-up attacks.

When an enemy is dying players have the option to attack incessantly until it’s down, or hit circle to initiate a fatal blow. The finishing move varies by enemy type. For example, the gorgons have their heads removed for mana orbs. It’s not as easy as hitting circle, though. For the gorgon final hit players have to move the left analog stick in the direction indicated on-screen. For minotaurs, players have to mash the circle button for the stab. For really giant ugly things, players hit the button displayed on-screen. Ad infinitum. It’s simple and effective, and nicely cinematic, but by no means a guarantee. If you happen to hit the wrong button, or adjust the analog stick in the wrong direction, the monster will slap you around and you’ll have to either re-approach it for the kill or beat it normally. Bosses have finishing or pre-finishing moves too, and are just as nicely gory and cinematic. While we’re on the topic of enemies it should be noted that SCEA included a small, highly-detailed amount, but then took each enemy type and modified it, adding new weapons and attacks to force the player to re-strategize his maneuvers. This extra touch, along with the large variety of finishing moves and powerful combos, keeps the gameplay from becoming stale.

Another fresh touch is the inclusion of special abilities that Kratos can level up by collecting those red orbs from defeated enemies. Players can raise the level on their weapons or take the magical approach and adjust their spells, like Poseidon’s Rage (a gigantic electrical whirlwind) and Medusa’s Gaze (freezes opponents). Players can also collect green orbs (health), blue orbs (mana), gorgon eyes (health extension), phoenix feathers (mana extension), and more. One of the items, Poseidon’s Trident, more directly affects gameplay by allowing underwater swimming.

While the majority of the gameplay involves brute force, there are some innovative puzzles included too, all shorter pieces to a whole with minimal backtracking and aptly placed save spots spread throughout. Some are very direct; in “Road to Athens” there's a spot where Kratos is trapped in a gated area, and the only way to open the gate is to position a minotaur on a button, freeze the minotaur using Medusa's Gaze, and then run as quickly as possible to the other side of the area before the gate goes back up. Others are more complicated; in Pandora’s Temple there are a slew of more intricately planned puzzles. The important thing to note here is how each piece smoothly fits with its counterparts, comes with minimal backtracking, and most importantly, makes sense.

Though not a puzzle or related to combat, gameplay progression in GoW doesn’t involve just the ordinary “walk around, kill something, jump, repeat” process. Kratos can wall-climb, overcoming foes as he jumps from wall to wall; swing from ropes; tightrope walk; and hang from ropes (again he’s not immune to attack). Players will walk Kratos across thin wooden beams, sometimes jumping over obstacles or dodging winged harpies, pull levers, push items around, destroy inanimate objects, and so on for progression. As an added bonus GoW performs automatic checkpoints so when you die, and die you shall, you can opt to start off from the last checkpoint. Thankfully a new checkpoint is reached almost every time you begin a new puzzle, and a save point is generally available each time you enter a new area. That the developers added these trivialities, and detailed them so well, says something about the effort put into the game.

If you’ve seen any trailers or screenshots of GoW then you already know that it’s quite possibly the most detailed, highly-textured, gorgeously-rendered title on the PS2 to-date. There are majestic water effects for fountains, standing pools, and tiny streams; you can clearly see waves on the surface and bubbles when underwater. Brilliant light filters down as sunlight or surrounds torches. Crisp, strong reflections show off temple floorings. Every environment is massive, with highly decorated statues and gorgeous classical architecture. Little nuances abound, like dust kicked up by Kratos’ feet, or ripples made when Kratos splashes through a large puddle. The death animations for the aforementioned finishing moves are highly cinematic and gory. Blood spews from every hit and covers the floor, and Kratos’ blades of chaos give off bright orange light when he attacks. Furthermore, enemy and character design is so detailed it’s almost frightening. When you meet the man cursed to burn the bodies of the failures from Pandora’s Temple you’ll see him in all his ugliness, exposed bones, skeletal tissue, and all. Kratos’ clothing moves just as fluidly as his body, noticeable during jumps and combos, even. As for environments, a big plus is that they feel much less static; you’ll occasionally see creatures fighting ahead of or behind you, or be terrified by giant hydras rising through shipwrecks. When it comes to graphical prowess SCEA has made GoW one of the best-looking games on any console.

Another key element that GoW does frighteningly well is presentation. Though the camera is not adjustable, it moves appropriately for that cinematic feel and oftentimes heightens the tension, i.e. when Kratos walks across a wooden beam the camera swings overhead and shows a significant drop – and death – if he falls. The music is a strong, orchestral score that’s very classical and varies from heavy (boss fights, timed battles) to light (soothing call of the siren, temples). The game features excellent standard sound effects too, including Kratos’ attacks, enemy bellows and screeches, Kratos’ footsteps and splashes, and so on. The voiceactors did a fantastic job simulating the Greek gods and goddesses (I found Athena particularly realistic), and Kratos’ voiceactor, TC Carson, gave an accurate portrayal of his brutal character. Rather than feel like separate presentational elements supporting the same game, the elements tie together to create a strong sense of atmosphere, intensity, and tension. The integration of fresh gameplay, spectacular visuals, strong musical selection, and fun give GoW a very pleasant, but dark, feeling.

For those who truly enjoy the game, SCEA has included some bonus features and modes. If you’ve had fun completing the various modes (hero, Spartan, god, etc), you can spend some time viewing in-game movies including a making-of video, play in the challenge of the gods, unlock costumes, and see the sources for the monsters and settings of GoW.

The Bad

There’s extremely little to complain about here.

It would have been nice if SCEA had allowed for camera adjustment some, and the inclusion of a targeting system. There would be times when I was trying to approach an enemy for a final kill and Kratos would turn around and hit another monster instead, which cost me a death once or twice. The only disconcerting thing that bothered me was the lack of character depth for Kratos. Given that this is a “tragedy”, a bigger emphasis on a more dynamic Kratos was in order. Other than that, though, I’d venture that God of War borders on action/adventure perfection.

The Verdict

An amazing title by SCEA, God of War is an absolute must-buy for anyone into Greek mythology or who enjoys the action/adventure genre. It’s beautiful, plays smoothly, is absolutely epic, and will please anyone with a taste for a dark atmosphere. Possibly the best title in its genre yet.

GAMEPLAY: 9.7
A very gorgeous action/adventure title.