Similar to franchises like Devil May Cry, Rygar, and Castlevania, the game draws its inspiration from ancient Greek mythology and boasts a heavy emphasis on exploration and battle strategy. Broken into three to four acts, the game also has a strong focus on story-telling and boast tons of magic spells and abilities. Described as “Clash of the Titans meets Heavy Metal”, God of War equips its hero with a pair of sword-like chain weapons that can grab enemies, perform multi-hit combos, and pull off a variety of different aerial attacks. Slight platforming elements and an energy collection system similar to that of Onimusha have been incorporated as well, and players are even able to use certain elements of their fallen enemies as a weapon (re: Medusa’s head, for instance, can be used to turn enemies to stone after you’ve defeated her).
Kratos is a warrior who serves the Greek gods of Olympus. Flashbacks reveal that he was once a successful captain in the Spartan army and led his men to several victories before being defeated by a barbarian king. Facing death, Kratos called on the God of War, Ares, whom he promised to serve if the god would spare his men and provide the power to destroy their enemies. Ares agreed and bonded the Blades of Chaos, a pair of chained blades forged in the depths of Tartarus, to his new servant. Kratos, equipped with the blades, then decapitated the barbarian king.[23]
Kratos waged war at the behest of Ares, eventually leading an attack on a village occupied by worshipers of Athena. Ares had secretly transported Kratos' wife and child to the village; during his frenzied attack on its temple, Kratos accidentally killed them. Although Ares believed this act would free Kratos to become the perfect warrior, the Spartan instead renounced his pledge of servitude to the god. The oracle of the destroyed village cursed Kratos by bonding the ashes of his dead family to his skin, turning it ash-white and earning him the nickname, "Ghost of Sparta". Plagued by nightmares of his horrible deed, Kratos vowed to serve the other gods in hope of ridding himself of the visions.
Fun Combat
Enjoyable Setting
Intelligent level/puzzle design
Linear
Camera angle switches can be frustrating
Some sections can be overly complex and confusing
The game is definitely fun, i really like the setting and storyline, and it’s well told as you progress through the game. The main character is incredibly cool and i like the other characters and enemies that feature. There are plenty of puzzles scattered throughout the game with most being enjoyable and well thought out, although there are a few that come across as rather nonsensical and counter-intuitive. As the game progresses you fight your way through contrasting environments which keeps things fresh, and there are quite a few skills to use in combat which makes the fighting in the game feel enjoyable and rewarding.
While the game is definitely very fun, i feel it was a bit on the short side and due to it’s linear nature this heavily affects replayability. There isn’t a pool of characters to choose from or multiple routes through the game so once you’ve completed it there isn’t much reason to go back and play through again other than perhaps trying a harder difficulty level. Where the game has a lot of platforming elements, the camera angles can be frustrating from time to time. Mid-jump i found myself having to counteract an immediate camera shift which is disorienting and cost me my life on a number of occasions which is a shame.
Conclusion: All in all God of War is an enjoyable game and one i would recommend people play. It lacks replayability but is a good start to the series and provides fun gameplay and an interesting storyline. Worth picking up.