Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I remember all the hype, surrounding God of War before and after it came out. I remember all the critical acclaim, and the high review scores, and all the ranting and raving about the game in months and years following it's release. I also remember that I ignored this game on purpose, because I already figured I knew what the game was like, and I just wasn't interested based on my assumptions. As far as I was concerned, I had already played it when it was called Devil May Cry, and I put an interest I had in this game on the shelf for the time being, and was perfectly happy leaving it there. That was until, on a whim, I saw God of War on the shelf for a mere $20 greatest hits price, and decided what the heck, for $20 I may as well check out what all the hype was about.
When I got God of War home after finally taking the plunge on it, I was expecting a mindless button masher with a straight action focus. I wasn't expecting to be completely wrong about the game, because, despite it's more linear nature, God of War is an exceptional game with, arguably, the smoothest combat system ever designed with a cool upgrade system, on top of levels that while more narrow than something like Zelda do have quite a bit of open exploration to them, and some really well designed puzzle elements to pace out the action. Outside of a few obnoxious scenes in the game, the whole game is a buttery smooth experience that definitely falls into the action-adventure category with it's excellent mixture of elements.
The PS2 God of War games both play incredibly smooth, and support progressive scan, and make for a great case study on how good the system was capable of looking graphically with an experienced team creating games from the ground up on it. Arguably, the two best looking PS2 games ever made, and progressive scan support. Two of the best looking, best playing games on the system. They make the top 10's on the system for best games, and best graphics for a reason, and while I don't know if they would make my personal top 10 PS2 games (like I could ever narrow down a list), I am a big fan of both on the PS2, and PS3 respectably.
Kratos, once the champion of the gods, and obedient servant of Aries, the god of war is now on a quest for vengeance, and for relief of the memories of his most egregious of sins the memories of which haunt him every day. The game will eventually tell you what it is he did, so I won't, but if you know you know. Honestly, the appeal is Kratos is a bada**. The combat and feel of the game reinforce this notion, and feeling.
In the early God of War games, Kratos is a cold blooded, unpalatable, psychopathic character that isn't above slaughtering innocent Athenians in his way. Granted, they do give you life powerups, but Kratos definitely isn't a good dude. Any study of history will tell you that the ancient world was a very cruel, cold place to be, and Kratos embodies that. If you're a story-driven gamer type that wants to feel some emotional attachment to your character, you won't, outside of feeling like a bada**. If you have not played the series prior to the 2018 God of War, and still see Kratos as the loving, caring father figure he is portrayed as in that redemption ark storyline, you'll be quite taken aback by this version of him.
The action is still the star of the show. While it was the more exploration elements that endeared me to the game, realizing it wasn't just Devil May Cry, except only action focused. However, when I said the combat system implemented in God of War, and further refined in it's many sequels was, arguably, the smoothest, and most well implemented combat systems in a game ever, I meant it. The combat is dynamic, and moves so fluidly. It's one of those kinds of things you have to feel for yourself, but the pure rage, and fury in the combat in God of War is second to none.
The Bottom Line: God of War was a game I never expected to like as much as I do. I thought it was going to be a shallow, overhyped, overrated game, but I was surprised at the depth presented in it's level designs, and gameplay. I am glad I came back and played this game again after so long away. While not perfect, it's epic mixture of high-strung combat, deep level designs, and epic storytelling, are enough to draw even the most cynical gamers into it. There is definitely a reason the game has received so much praise over the years. If you look past the hype, you might find yourself enjoying the game as much as I did when I first played it.
If you are a new God of War player, who only knows God of War 2018 and Ragnarok, I whole heartily suggest exploring the original series to see why it was so popular in it's day.
#godofwar #ps2 #ps3
I remember all the hype, surrounding God of War before and after it came out. I remember all the critical acclaim, and the high review scores, and all the ranting and raving about the game in months and years following it's release. I also remember that I ignored this game on purpose, because I already figured I knew what the game was like, and I just wasn't interested based on my assumptions. As far as I was concerned, I had already played it when it was called Devil May Cry, and I put an interest I had in this game on the shelf for the time being, and was perfectly happy leaving it there. That was until, on a whim, I saw God of War on the shelf for a mere $20 greatest hits price, and decided what the heck, for $20 I may as well check out what all the hype was about.
When I got God of War home after finally taking the plunge on it, I was expecting a mindless button masher with a straight action focus. I wasn't expecting to be completely wrong about the game, because, despite it's more linear nature, God of War is an exceptional game with, arguably, the smoothest combat system ever designed with a cool upgrade system, on top of levels that while more narrow than something like Zelda do have quite a bit of open exploration to them, and some really well designed puzzle elements to pace out the action. Outside of a few obnoxious scenes in the game, the whole game is a buttery smooth experience that definitely falls into the action-adventure category with it's excellent mixture of elements.
The PS2 God of War games both play incredibly smooth, and support progressive scan, and make for a great case study on how good the system was capable of looking graphically with an experienced team creating games from the ground up on it. Arguably, the two best looking PS2 games ever made, and progressive scan support. Two of the best looking, best playing games on the system. They make the top 10's on the system for best games, and best graphics for a reason, and while I don't know if they would make my personal top 10 PS2 games (like I could ever narrow down a list), I am a big fan of both on the PS2, and PS3 respectably.
Kratos, once the champion of the gods, and obedient servant of Aries, the god of war is now on a quest for vengeance, and for relief of the memories of his most egregious of sins the memories of which haunt him every day. The game will eventually tell you what it is he did, so I won't, but if you know you know. Honestly, the appeal is Kratos is a bada**. The combat and feel of the game reinforce this notion, and feeling.
In the early God of War games, Kratos is a cold blooded, unpalatable, psychopathic character that isn't above slaughtering innocent Athenians in his way. Granted, they do give you life powerups, but Kratos definitely isn't a good dude. Any study of history will tell you that the ancient world was a very cruel, cold place to be, and Kratos embodies that. If you're a story-driven gamer type that wants to feel some emotional attachment to your character, you won't, outside of feeling like a bada**. If you have not played the series prior to the 2018 God of War, and still see Kratos as the loving, caring father figure he is portrayed as in that redemption ark storyline, you'll be quite taken aback by this version of him.
The action is still the star of the show. While it was the more exploration elements that endeared me to the game, realizing it wasn't just Devil May Cry, except only action focused. However, when I said the combat system implemented in God of War, and further refined in it's many sequels was, arguably, the smoothest, and most well implemented combat systems in a game ever, I meant it. The combat is dynamic, and moves so fluidly. It's one of those kinds of things you have to feel for yourself, but the pure rage, and fury in the combat in God of War is second to none.
The Bottom Line: God of War was a game I never expected to like as much as I do. I thought it was going to be a shallow, overhyped, overrated game, but I was surprised at the depth presented in it's level designs, and gameplay. I am glad I came back and played this game again after so long away. While not perfect, it's epic mixture of high-strung combat, deep level designs, and epic storytelling, are enough to draw even the most cynical gamers into it. There is definitely a reason the game has received so much praise over the years. If you look past the hype, you might find yourself enjoying the game as much as I did when I first played it.
If you are a new God of War player, who only knows God of War 2018 and Ragnarok, I whole heartily suggest exploring the original series to see why it was so popular in it's day.
#godofwar #ps2 #ps3
