GOD OF WAR

GOD OF WAR I & II Collection For PS3

Debut Trailer

 

 

 

GOD OF WAR II

 

 

 

 

Game Review By Alex Navarro

"God of War II is another violent and highly entertaining achievement for the action adventure genre, and it's a fitting closeout to the PlayStation 2 era."

It's hard to imagine a better swan song for the PlayStation 2 than God of War II. Though it's not destined to be the very last game for the system, it doesn't seem likely that anything else will come along in the coming months to trump what God of War II achieves. As the sequel to 2005's megapopular action adventure set within the basic confines of Greek mythology, it continues the agonizing and rage-fueled odyssey of the world's angriest man-god, Kratos, as he goes on another epic vengeance bender. It's an altogether familiar adventure in many ways, with a lot of gameplay mechanics held over that haven't necessarily been improved in any meaningful capacity, but that's not to suggest the game isn't better overall. God of War II is a brilliantly paced, tightly crafted piece of work that's as intelligently designed as it is thrilling to play. In short, it's exactly what you would want from a sequel to God of War.God of War II picks up not terribly long after the original game's end (meaning if you haven't played the first game, you ought to before checking this one out, both for story continuity purposes, and because God of War is awesome), with Kratos having exacted his revenge upon the previous god of war, Ares, and assumed his role on Mount Olympus. But even with all these newfangled godly powers, Kratos is unsatisfied. He continues to command the Spartan army and directs them to tear through the known world, conquering city after city. This utter disregard for the other citizens of Greece displeases the pantheon, and Kratos suddenly finds himself on the outs with the Olympians. Betrayed by Athena and seemingly killed by Zeus, Kratos is rescued by Gaia of the Titans, the old race that the gods felled to eventually take power on Olympus. Gaia instructs Kratos that his fate can be changed, but only if he can reach the ridiculously remote temple that houses the Sisters of Fate. What follows is an epic and daunting journey that has Kratos suffering through trials that make his last outing seem like a lighthearted romp in comparison.

 It's an interesting tale that God of War II tells, almost more so because so much of it is about what happens around Kratos, rather than Kratos himself. The game spends long stretches focusing on the myths and legends that surround the battles between the gods and the Titans, setting up backstory for the mess that Kratos has gotten himself involved in. In this regard, there's a bit less of an emotional connection to this game. You don't have any of those moments of personal horror as you did in the first game concerning Kratos and his savage past that led him astray--but that's OK. This isn't exactly a game that requires emotional storytelling to get by. God of War II is much more about the journey, the mythos, and the desire to just kill anything that comes within a step of your path.

 Fortunately, the game gives you plenty to kill and makes it plenty fun to do so. Apart from the usual array of Cyclopes, minotaurs, and zombie warriors, there's a whole host of new characters to fight, not the least of which are several recognizable figures from Greek mythology, such as Icarus, Perseus (voiced by, of all people, Clash of the Titans' Harry Hamlin), and big-daddy Olympus himself, Zeus. Mind you, the God of War universe doesn't treat the mythology on which it's based with much regard for accuracy. This is basically Greek fan fiction, with the only real goal being to bring together as many characters from Greek mythology as possible and then provide fun ways to kill all of them. On this front, the game doesn't disappoint.

 You could easily call God of War II a significantly more brutal game than the last. Though the core combat engine hasn't changed a lick, the action itself feels even more hysterically violent than before. Many of the goriest moves continue to come from context-sensitive button-pressing minigames. Larger, more powerful enemies can often be killed in some completely awesome way by wearing them down until a button icon appears above their head. From there, you press the buttons that pop up onscreen, and Kratos will, for example, yank the eye out of the head of a Cyclops or twist off the head of a medusa like a pop-top, among others. Many of the final blows delivered to the game's bosses follow the same type of formula, and not only are there more of them than in the last game, but they're even more fun to kill as well. The whole game is basically a giggle fest for violence junkies. If you aren't hooting, hollering, or standing up and slow clapping after each elaborate and barbarous kill, you've officially invested yourself in the wrong game.With all that said, it's a bit disappointing that more wasn't done to the combat engine this time around. Kratos still looks extremely hardcore as he whips his dual blades around in every direction and murders everything in sight, but at its core, the combat feels pretty much identical to the last game, in that it's prone to button mashing and can be easygoing. That's not to suggest that the enemy fights are breezy, as there are some legitimately tough fights scattered all throughout the game, but there are times where you'll find yourself pining for a bit more depth to the combo system as you hammer on the attack buttons and find yourself making solid progress without much thought or care. Granted, that's only on the bottom two difficulty levels, and you'll more than likely find yourself in grave shape if you try that technique on the higher levels. But then again, most people won't want to put up with the fully sadistic nature of the higher difficulty levels for very long, so that's a bit of a double-edged sword, so to speak.(more from the review here on IGN)

 

 

GOD OF WAR

Game Review By   Alex Navarro

"God of War is one of the best action adventure games on the PlayStation 2, and it should not be missed!''
Action adventure games of the quality of God of War don't come around often. God of War takes a tale of vengeance, set against the backdrop of ancient Greek mythology, and turns it into an epic adventure filled to the brim with bloody, stylish, over-the-top combat, challenging puzzles, and highly impressive production values. So many games within the action adventure genre tend to limit their focus so heavily to either the combat or puzzle-solving side, while leaving the opposing side as little more than an afterthought, but God of War does nothing of the sort. Instead, it blends these two equally important parts extremely well. To put it in no uncertain terms, this is one of the best action adventure games on the PlayStation 2, and it should not be missed.God of War revolves itself around the trials and tribulations of Kratos, a muscular, pale-skinned, heavily tattooed Spartan warrior who, at the outset of the game, is on the verge of suicide. Citing that the gods of Olympus have abandoned him, Kratos throws himself off the tallest mountain in Greece, plummeting to his seemingly desired doom. As he falls, the voice of an elderly narrator cuts off Kratos' death before final impact and tells us of how things had not always been so dire for our hero. Flashback to three weeks prior--to the beginning of Kratos' adventure--where we find him on a wrecked ship in the middle of the Aegean Sea, fighting his way through scads of undead warriors and a rather large, multiheaded hydra. Though the story begins here, you won't learn much about Kratos until quite a bit later in the game. The initial impression you get from his adventures is that he is, for lack of a better term, a mean-spirited, unlikable son of a bitch who would sooner slaughter his own mother than let anyone get in his way. While some lingering aspects of this perception will last throughout the game, you'll come to learn over time that Kratos is a deeply tortured soul who wants nothing more than to wash away the sins of his past.
 The main plot of the game revolves around Kratos carrying out a mission from the gods of Olympus to stop the renegade god Ares (incidentally, the titular "god of war") from destroying the city of Athens. The only way a mortal like Kratos can kill a god is to acquire the mythical Pandora's box, a weapon so powerful that even the gods themselves tremble before its power. As you follow Kratos' journey to find Pandora's box, you learn more and more about his troubled past, how he was once a conqueror of fearsome reputation, and how he was eventually led astray by Ares. These bits of story are told through stylishly directed flashbacks that appear at specific intervals. The game's whole method of storytelling takes sort of a slow-burn approach, giving you almost nothing to work with and no understanding of Kratos at the beginning. By the time the game is over, however, you'll know nearly all there is to know about Kratos, and you should find yourself sympathetic to this flawed but repentant warrior. Even though the story is, in itself, a fairly basic tale of revenge, it isn't any less impactful because of this when you reach the final confrontation.
 A big part of what makes Kratos so endearing, despite his cruel and unforgiving demeanor, is how much of a total badass he is. In combat, Kratos is a thoroughly capable warrior, thanks in part to his default weaponry: a pair of axelike blades called the "blades of chaos." These blades are actually seared into Kratos' flesh via a pair of chains that are wrapped around each arm. The basic attacks with the blades of chaos let you pull off a lot of nifty, whiplike maneuvers. Over time, you'll earn new combos as you collect and spend red orbs, which are plentifully available throughout all the worlds. All the combos--even the most powerful of them--are rarely difficult to pull off. Though one could try to criticize the combo system for being a little too forgiving and because it almost plays itself a little bit, it's really a moot point, because the attacks are just so much fun and so satisfying to pull off. Even if you are only alternating between the two attack buttons seemingly at random, each and every hit feels great and looks awesome.

 The blades of chaos aren't the only weapons at your disposal, either. As you progress, you'll occasionally encounter one of the many gods of Olympus, who are only too happy to aid you in your quest to slay Ares. Each god will provide for you a new weapon when you encounter him or her. For instance, Zeus gives you the power to toss bolts of electricity; Hades lets you unleash the souls of the underworld; and Artemis actually provides you with a huge sword to use as an alternative to the blades of chaos. Along with the blades of chaos, all these weapons and magic types can be upgraded via the red orbs you collect, providing you with greater attack range and more power each time. Each of the different types of magic is useful in its own right, and none feels superfluous at all. Quite the opposite is true, actually. The combination of different magics, along with the weapon combat, creates an excellent variety of attacks that turn Kratos into a serious force to be reckoned with.And he'll need to be, too, as God of War is not light on challenge. Make no mistake, if you're expecting some kind of excruciating level of difficulty, you won't find it...at least not on the default level. The hard mode, which is immediately available, will definitely provide you with a stiffer challenge. Still, even with that said, the game is no pushover on the normal difficulty level, thanks largely to the wide variety of tough and creatively designed enemies. Each of the game's baddies is based on a creature from Greek mythology. You'll find cyclopes, gorgons, minotaurs, undead warriors, and winged harpies, among others, on offer. Though some of these enemies amount to mere grunts that can be cut through reasonably quickly, the game tends to throw lots of them at you, meaning you'll need to be quick with your attacks and well versed at using the block mechanic...(read the last of the review here on IGN)