Video Game Review: God of War

There have always been  fantasy-themed fighting games - Golden Axe, Gauntlet, Prince of Persia - but before and after the release of God of War, few games have matched the simple eloquence of the gameplay, the depth of mythology, the raw brutality of the combat, or the immersive storytelling of this classic game.

Playing God of War is the closest you can get to stepping into the shoes of a classic Greek hero, to wield the fantastic powers of ancient myth and challenge the gods of Olympus.  Instead of a hero like Perseus, however, you play through the tragic epic of Kratos:  a hulking beast of a man with blades chained to his wrists.  With the mere press of a few buttons, you can send Kratos on a mad rampage, sending his blades through men and monsters, with a varied mix of light, heavy, or grapple attacks.  As you go along, you come to wield the power of Medusa, to turn your enemies to stone.  You eventually acquire the trident of Poseidon, to swim underwater indefinitely.  You get to fire bolts of Zeus' lightning, and blast a ring of electricity with the Rage of the Gods power.  All of these abilities empower you to fight against soldiers, skeletons, sirens, sea monsters, harpies, minotaurs, and ultimately the gods themselves.  The game moves fast and smoothly; there are a few times where the levels are timed in such a way where your progress can be stalled, and balancing on ledges and beams can be frustrating, but most of the game flies by pretty evenly.  The controls are simple, but allow you to fight and move sublimely, and even to this day it holds up perfectly.

Despite the speed of the story, it is an epic-scale adventure the likes of which mirrors the Clash of the Titans movies.  The game's settings, creatures, and depiction of the gods and titans are highly imaginative, and make for a really fantastic experience.  At the core, however, is the character Kratos.  He's not a particularly likable character, for he is a spiteful, scowling, nihilistic brute with no regard for anybody other than himself.  As the game goes on, however, his backstory is slowly unveiled, and it is a compelling tale of betrayal that will go on to define the character and his motivation.  It embodies a lot of the same elements of a classic Greek tragedy, including the manipulation of the gods, and it makes Kratos one of the most well-defined antiheroes of modern pop culture.

The game is well-designed.  The levels are laid out in a somewhat circular pattern, so you often return to old areas after exploring new ones.  I've been personally fond of the Temple of Pandora levels, which presents a layered onslaught of puzzles, mazes, and arenas.  The game looks a little rough around the edges, given its age, but even the HD remaster for the PS3 looks really smooth and clean, leaving only the cut scenes to suffer (which are smoothly-rendered, despite their low resolution).  Game controls are very sublime; they work great and are easy to master.  Designs for the settings, characters, props, and costumes are great.  Sound and voices are great.  Music is fantastic as well.

Despite its extreme violence, God of War is a highly addictive game with a compelling story on a larger-than-life scale.  It is one of the most definitive fighting games of all time, and it is an essential title for any gamer.

5/5 (Entertainment:  Perfect | Story:  Perfect | Game:  Perfect)