God of War is a video game for the Sony PlayStation 2 console released on March 22, 2005. An action-adventure game based on Greek Mythology, God of War was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica division.
- This article of for the PlayStation 2 game. For mythological gods of war, see List of war deities.
A game in the 3rd-person action genre, which includes Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, God of War focuses on slick, intuitive gameplay, an advanced graphics engine, and a well composed musical score. It was very-well received by critics and fans, and the recipient of many awards including game of the year awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences and gaming sites like IGN. Thanks in part to the critical success of the original, talks of sequels are already in the works.
Gameplay
God of War is all about combat and puzzle-solving. The controls are fairly simple and intuitive, and the combat is simple at first - although the game becomes exceptionally challenging at higher difficulty levels. The combat system is often context-based, meaning that Kratos' actions are often determined as much by the enemy's position around him as the button pressed. Like other adventure games, it involves a fair amount of puzzles that require completion to progress in the game; the puzzles are mostly mechanical in nature and often coincide with combat to make them more challenging. Unique to the game are specialized "takedown" or "fatality" mini-games: when an enemy or boss has been reduced to a low enough Health level, the player may attempt to dispatch it in a short event that may utilize button-mashing, improvised combos displayed on-screen, joystick rotation, or all of the above. An enemy so dispatched may yield health-restoring green orbs or magic-restoring blue orbs items, and pauses all other enemies while it proceeds, making them an appealing alternative to standard combat.
Kratos' main weapons are the Blades of Chaos, a pair of ax-like blades that are connected to chains fused to Kratos's arms. These are swung in wide arcs, allowing Kratos to engage many enemies simultaneously with long-range whip-like attacks. Also, during specific cutscenes, the Gods aid Kratos by bestowing their weapons and powers upon him. Kratos gains the ability to unleash a localized lightning storm from Poseidon, throw long-range thunderbolts from Zeus, command the souls of the damned from Hades, wield a giant sword from Artemis, or even turn enemies to stone using the head of Medusa. Kratos can power up his weapons and accquired magical attacks at any time during the game using red orbs which are released by defeated enemies. Initially Kratos can only perform a few different combos with the Blades of Chaos, however powering them up gains many new attacks, combo strings, increased blocking speed, and powerful counterattacks. Kratos is also able to unleash a desperation attack called Rage of the Gods, which gives him highly increased speed and power.
Story
The game begins with the protagonist of the game, Kratos, abandoned by the gods, casting himself off the highest cliff in Greece. The game itself then goes back three weeks prior, showing the events leading up to his unfortunate fate as he is sent on a mission to save the city of Athens by slaying Ares, the God of War.
Kratos was once a warrior feared throughout the civilized world as relentless and even invincible, infamous for his murderous battle tactics. Countless men, women, and children alike fell to his blade. It was said that his wife was the only person who could stand up to his fury. When she questioned his actions, he claimed to be fighting for the glory of Sparta. She thought differently, feeling that he fought more for himself than any noble ideal.
Then came the day that Kratos could never have foreseen - the day that he met his match on the battlefield. His army, which had grown from a mere fifty men to a force of thousands, faced off against the barbarian hordes from the northeast. In these new enemies the Spartans found their own brutality surpassed, and in a mere few hours, the battle seemed to be lost. Kratos himself lay at the feet of the Barbarian leader, seconds away from death. In desperation, he called the name of Ares, pledging his eternal loyalty if only the God of War would destroy his enemies.
Ares, having seen the potential of a god in this mere mortal, answered Kratos's plea and ripped the Barbarian hordes apart in seconds. He gave Kratos the "Blades of Chaos", phenomenal weapons forged in the fires of Hades. They consisted of two massive swords fastened to the end of long metal chains, which themselves were wrapped around Kratos's arms and fused to his flesh. In the blink of an eye, the tides had turned, and Kratos decapitated the Barbarian leader.
True to his word, Kratos did Ares's bidding from that day forth. His former savagery paled in comparison to his acts under the watchful eye of the God of War. But one day he attacked a village loyal to Athena. He won, as always, but at the end of the day he attacked the temple to the rear, where the aging village Oracle warned him not to proceed. She claimed that the temple was forbidden to him, that he must not enter. Kratos ignored her pleas and carved a path through the temple attendants who dared to stand in his way, blinded by his bloodlust. As he struck his final two victims, however, everything changed.
Kratos fell to his knees, the bodies of his wife and daughter lying before him, slain by his own hand. But what were they doing here in this obscure village? He had left them in Sparta. It wasn't long before he realized the truth. Ares, who had once saved his life, had elaborate designs for him. The God of War appeared before him, and explained that the death of his wife and child were meant to sever the last vestiges of his humanity, to forge him into the greatest warrior the world would ever know. Kratos renounced his allegiance to Ares, but the damage was done. He would wander the known world for the next ten years, sailing from port to port, but never able to quite outrun the nightmares that haunted him.
Ares himself attacked Athens, his sister Athena's patron city, as a testament to his superiority. By Zeus's law, the gods could not fight amongst themselves, and so the task of stopping Ares would have to fall to a mortal. So, the Olympians sought the aid of Kratos - the one person they felt could possibly succeed in killing the God of War. Promised absolution for his crimes, he agreed.
Kratos first had to find the Oracle in Athens. When he reached the Oracle's temple, Kratos met an old man who was digging a grave. The old man said that he has a lot of digging to do and not a lot of time. The Oracle revealed that the only way to kill a god was to use the legendary Pandora's Box. Athena told him how to reach Pandora's Temple, which was built into the side of a great mountain, which itself is chained on to the back of the last Titan, Kronos. Kronos was ordered by Zeus to carry the mountain on his back through the Desert of Lost Souls until the whipping sands tore the flesh from his body.
After many trials and tribulations, Kratos claimed Pandora's Box. However, before he could return to Athens with the box, Ares killed him and took the box for himself. Kratos fell into Hades, defeated but unwilling to die. He fought his way through the Underworld and, at the end of the path, came across an anchor on a rope leading to the sky. On the other end was the old grave-digger: "Athena is not the only God looking out for you." (There are some who argue that the gravedigger is in fact Zeus, through debatable hints of calling Kratos "Son" and other facts.)
Kratos recovered Pandora's Box and engaged Ares in a final battle that would decide the fate of Athens. As a defensive measure, Ares trapped Kratos inside his own mind and made illusions of Kratos' family. Kratos vowed that he would not let Ares take his family from again, and defended them against numerous doppelgangers of himself, representing his Agony, Remorse, and Regret. Unfortunately, it was all for naught, and Ares dispelled the illusions easily, taking back the Blades of Chaos while he was at it. Though deprived of his powers, Kratos managed to break free of Ares's assault on his consciousness, and succeeded in defeating the God of War.
While receiving the congratulations of the Olympians, Kratos asked Athena to remove the nightmares of his past that haunted him. Athena explained that the Gods would only forgive him for his sins, for no one could forget what Kratos had done under the tutelage of Ares. Feeling abandoned and hopeless, Kratos threw himself off the highest peak in Greece. But as he impacted the water below, he felt himself being pulled back up to the top of the cliff. Athena reminded him that there was an empty seat in the Pantheon on Mount Olympus: a seat for the God of War.
And so Kratos finally found himself going towards Mount Olympus and took the seat he had rightfully earned, the throne of the God of War. For all time, whenever men went to war, Kratos, the God of War was with them.
Sequels
The game's creator, David Jaffe, has said on many occasions that God of War will be a series of games and that a number of sequels will be made. Within the game there are special challenges that the player can take part in. If these challenges are successfully met, three bonus features will be unlocked. Each one tells of another story that is linked to God of War, leading some to believe that these stories will be the three sequels, and that one might even be a prequel. If you wish to know what the sequels will be about you must complete the game in normal mode to uncover the first secret. After you have done this God Mode awaits you. Successfully complete the game in God Mode and the other secrets will be yours.
Censored Scenes
In the European and Japanese versions, a human soldier that must be sacrificed to open a locked door is replaced with an undead soldier enemy. Many players are opposed to this change, because a note that gives you a clue about what to do states "I can't do it, they used to be human." This paradoxically suggests that somehow the author of the note managed to avoid killing any of the hundreds of undead soldier enemies whatsoever up until that point.
Also in the American and European version is a scene with two topless women. A video on the Japanese website [1] reveals that in the Japanese release, these women wear lacy tops instead. Also, The Oracle of Athens no longer wears a see-through top as she does in the American and European release.
Screenshots
Reviews
God Of War received critical acclaim from most major videogame magazines and websites.[2][3]
Some excerpts:
Positive
"While playing God of War, I honestly found it difficult to resist the urge to simply genuflect and be humbled to be in the presence of such digital divinity, this god among games." -Game Informer Apr 2005, p.122
"I feel totally comfortable saying that God of War is the best action game ever to grace the PS2. The gameplay, graphics, sound, production, presentation, and story are excellent. It all adds up to an epic Greek adventure where you can execute some of the slickest moves in gaming. -GameSpy
"It is my firm belief that almost every mature gamer out there will find a lot to love in God of War. It never talks down to the player and the presentation is near flawless. -GameShark
Negative and mixed
"There isn't quite enough variety to make this classic and after the ten to fifteen hours it takes to beat the game, the monotonous fighting feels overly arduous. -AceGamez
"I can't help but think that a little more depth and soul underneath Kratos' untouchable repertoire of fatalities would have lifted the game into true super-stardom." -Game Critics
Awards
- GameSpot's Best PS2 Game of E3 2004
- Daily Game's Best Action Game of E3 2004
- GameSpy E3 Awards 2004 - PS2 Game of Show
- GameRevolution - Best of E3 2004 Action/Adventure
- GameSpot's Best of 2005:
- Best PS2 Game
- Best Original Music
- Reader's Choice: Best PS2 Game
- 6th Annual PSX Extreme's Awards:
- Game of the Year
- Reader's Choice for Game of the Year
- PAX Gamers: GOTY Awards - 2005:
- Best PS2 Game
- Best Action Game
- Best Sound
- Surprise of the Year
- Game of the Year
- Game Daily's 2005 Game Awards:
- Best Action Game
- Best Soundtrack
- Game of the Year
- IGN PS2:
- Best Action Game
- Best Graphics Technology
- Best Original Score
- Best Story
- PS2 Game of the Year
- Game of the Year 2005
- Third-Annual G-Phoria Awards:
- Best Action Game
- Best Cinematic
- Best Original Game
- Favorite Character
- Included on Game Informer's "Top 50 Games of 2005" list
- PSM 100% Independent Playstation 2 Magazine
- Game of the Year 2005
- Special Achievement Award 2005: Best Story
- Special Achievement Award 2005: Best Voice Acting
- 2005 Spike TV's Video Game Awards - Best Action Game
- Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences 9th Annual D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Create, Entertain) Awards:
- Overall Game of the year
- Console Game of the Year
- Outstanding Achievement: Animation
- Outstanding Achievement: Original Music Composition
- Outstanding Achievement: Sound Design
- Outstanding Character Performance: Male
- Action/Adventure Game of the Year
- GameZone 2005 Game of the Year Awards:
- PS2 Game of the Year
- Best Original Score
- 2005 Free Press Game of the Year
- GameSpy's PS2 Game of the Year 2005
- ControllerFreaks' 2005 Game Awards:
- PlayStation 2 Game of the Year
- Action Game of the Year
- Electronic Gaming Monthly 2005 Game Awards
- Best PS2 Game
- Game of the Year Runner-Up
- Best New Character Who Deserves a Sequel