Story
As the game begins, Kratos hurls himself from the highest mountain in Greece. As he plummets to the sharp rocks below, his mind flashes back three weeks earlier, and from then on the player discovers the events that led up to his demise. The story is suprisingly engaging, and makes good use of its source material. From hydras to cyclopses to minotaurs, no mythological legend is spared. All in all, a good story in a genre where stories are rare.
Story: 8/10
Gameplay
The combat system in this game is amazing. Using daggers attached to chains, Kratos slashes his way through foes at a blazing speed. The square button is for quick jabs, the triangle for lengthy swings, and when a circle icon appears over the heads of enemies, pressing this close to them enters the player in a small minigame where button icons appear on the screen, and if all are entered correctly, you're treated to a grisly death sequence (ie. harpies having their wings pulled off or a minotaur getting stabbed in the mouth), which brings me to my next point. God of War is GORY. It is possibly the bloodiest game I have ever played. Kratos decapitates, maims, and even rips bodies in half with his own hands. It is definently not for the queezy.
Players must collect orbs to progress through the game. There are three kind of orbs: green, blue, and red. Green replenishes health, blue replenishes magic, and red levels up weapons and spells. These orbs can be found by either killing enemies or finding treasure chests with the appropriate color on them.
Puzzles play a large part in this game, something I haven't seen in the action genre since the N64 Zeldas or Tomb Raider. Riddles, death traps, jumping and balancing sequences, anything you could think of is here (thankfully, not much crate pushing). In some cases, even sacrificing fellow Spartans is required to open doors. Overall, the puzzles are challenging and a refreshing change of pace in a barrage of brainless beat-em-ups.
Like I said before, the gameplay in this game is amazing. Whether you're slicing up minotaurs or pushing your brain to the max on the puzzles, it's always an engaging experience. My only quip is a slight difficulty issue; I was forced to change from Normal mode to Easy mid-game (an option conveniently programmed to be available after loosing a battle multiple times). And even on Easy, a few jumping puzzles, especially in the Hades level, drove me to chuck my controller like a baseball at the wall. Even so, the gameplay is a blast.
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics
I'm not gonna beat around the bush. This game has the best graphics on PS2, period. The character models are detailed. The magic effects are godly. The Grecian architecture is portrayed with vivid colors and smart design. God of War's art team clearly did some research, as each area feels like it should. Big, epic, grand. And boy, are they big. The Temple of Pandora's Box, located on the back of the Titan Kronos has to be the biggest level I've ever seen in a game. I literally spent four or five hours there alone.
There's not much else to say about the graphics. They're beautiful.
Graphics: 10
Music
Imagine this: bombastic brass thunders as you crack the bones of your enemies, every percussive motif a metaphor of the visual chaos. You defeat all the enemies in the room, and as soon as you walk outside to watch a sweeping camera reveal a temple large enough to be a continent, the music has unnoticably segued into a mysterious fanfare, foreshadowing the aincent wonders that are waiting to be found inside. Now imagine that feeling all throughout the game, and you have GOW's impressive score.
Sure, alot of games have good scores. But what impressed me so much about this game's is that it constantly changed, constantly evolved to mirror the ever changing evironments and moods of the game. The change from song to song was so seamless that I never reconized a song playing more than once. Never repetitive, always appropriate, this is the soundtrack of God of War.
Music: 10/10
Sound
Sound effects were great. You could hear the blood splash, the flesh rip, the bones shatter. Everything was in-your-face and brutal.
Favorite sound effect: The gurgling sound when Kratos pushes his dagger into a Minotaur's mouth.
Sound: 10/10
Overall
It doesn't matter whether you like mythology or not. Do you like action games? You'll like God of War. Do you like puzzles with your action games? You'll like God of War. Do you like romance?
Well...he does kill his wife, and there is a strange minigame that I'm not going to get into. The point I'm trying to make is that no matter who you are, if you like violent, brutal games with mind-boggling puzzles, you'll like God of War.
Overall: 10/10
