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God of War Review: Should You Buy?

God of War Cover

God of War Review: Should You Buy?

God Of War, an action-packed adventure depicting a third person perspective. Made for PlayStation 2 it was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. God Of War features a young warrior named Kratos who has been possessed by Ares the God of War. He now has all the power of the fiercest warrior as well as the skills to make good use of these special powers. Now for the important question, is God of War worth the investment?

Compelling Storyline Makes for Fun Playing

God of War
Fight your way through an exciting story with compelling characters.

Ares is one of the sons of Zeus. He’s become very dangerous and unpredictable. His brothers fear that he’s insane. Ares, with the help of his Earth-bound slave warrior, Kratos, helps spread terror among the mortals. Zeus has prohibited the brothers from directly confronting each other. In an effort to stop Ares, the brothers will have to turn to the mortals for help. 

It turns out that Kratos is becoming disillusioned with his master and agrees to destroy him. The good Gods, having no recourse, try to help Kratos by upgrading his abilities and making resources available to him.

There is also a legend of a box, a Pandora’s box, if you wish to think of it as that. As the legend goes if one can pass the test to reach the box and open it, the spirit will be release from the person’s body and trapped into the box forever. The box is well protected in a huge tower filled with traps and hard to reach places while being protected by some of the mightiest monsters in mythology history. 

Kratos will have to fight the creatures and the monsters as well as work his way down the path to even get a chance to open the box. You see, only one that has the entire powers mastered can open the box. Thanks to a new level system in the game Kratos will learn new abilities as he reaches each level. Then by practicing on the monsters and other things that await the young warrior, he will learn to control and master those powers.

Features of God Of War

God of War Screenshot
Creative and gorgeous visuals of God of War.

The voice acting is good, there is a deep story, the combat system is fun and relatively easy to use, the music is perfect and the graphics are staggering.

The story alone would have made a great novel. Using ancient Greek mythology as a backdrop is not new to movies and comics but God of War makes it more accessible than ever. It really comes alive as you feel part of the world and not alienated by it. This is due to the fearlessness of the title character. His powers and mental predilection give us not only unprecedented access to this world but the ability to challenge it. Never have we dared to be so bold in the faces of the Gods.

The role play aspect of the game enhances the action adventure experience rather than overshadowing it. All of the elements in this game, including platforming, puzzles and skill upgrades have been included in such a way that they feel natural to the overall experience.

The attention to detail is incredible. All of the locations have an ancient “lived-in” look to them. The marble columns expose the scars of past battles while the rusted chains and manacles speak of man’s inhumanity to man. Corpses litter mountain plateaus, majestic waterfalls wash away the lingering scent of evil while ancient cities burn to ash in the distance. All of this is just going on in the background.

Exciting Characters and Weaponry Keeps Player on Edge

God of War Screenshot
Weaponry of your dreams to conquer your foes.

Through a series of cutscenes you will witness acts of senseless brutality that define your character’s role in this game. It doesn’t take long for you to assume or at least accept some of these characteristics.

Enemies are culled from ancient mythology. You’ll encounter creatures such as centaurs, hydras, Cyclops, giant stone statues, armies of skeletons and winged flying beasts. Each enemy has different strengths and weaknesses. Your fighting style will vary from creature to creature, often in the middle of a combo since you will face numerous different enemies at the same time. Thankfully the combat system is flexible and responsive.

Basic moves include strong and medium attacks, grapple, dash and a modifier. You can also block and dodge. Weapons and magic are also very effective for eliminating enemies. You can expect to get lots of hits off of a single chain. You can change course in mid combo if you see a better opportunity. Sometimes there’s nothing like a giant blade to slice through an enemy but you won’t find it very effective against a thousand-foot-tall statue. To finish off the enemy you’ll have to activate a rhythmic mini game of sorts.

Last Thoughts

 With virtually no load times this game rivals some of the best Xbox games. The character models are excellent and really excel at instilling a sense of awe at the gargantuan proportions of some of the enemies and Gods. The score is original and although you will hear some main strains repeated, every scene has its own theme and incidental music. 

The sound will be just as stunning and will bring each part of this strange adventure to life. The control system will also feature some pretty advanced moves and the game will have a tutorial to learn the basics.

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