Blood and gore don’t make a great action game. A great story and battle system do, and God of War just doesn’t deliver that. God of War is hailed as the definitive action game for the Playstation 2. Although it does offer some great puzzle solving and an interesting story, nothing about it seems too engaging. The battle system is very shallow and most of the time you simply mash the buttons in hopes of creating some kind of combo. The story, although enticing is rather short and leaves the people wanting more. So what is the main attraction of God of War? That would most likely be the merciless demon slaughter found around every corner. While it does deliver the action it promises, it does it in a way that can only be fun for a single play through.

Kratos, a Spartan warrior is on a quest to kill the god of war and release himself of the nightmares that have haunted him for so long. With the aid of the gods, Kratos sets out to retrieve Pandora’s Box. This mystical box contains the powers of the gods, and thus giving Kratos the strength he needs to take down the god of war. Kratos has to hack and slash his way through the city of Athens and onto the hallowed halls of Pandora’s Tower. Once there he will be faced with the hardest puzzles and meanest demons. This is the test to see if he is truly ready to do battle with the god of war.

Kratos must ask the gods for help on his journey. They will provide him with wisdom and power that will aid him on his way. The gods wait at designated areas throughout the game to give you new powers. These powers will range from Zeus’ lighting bolts to Hades’ hellish army. The more you use these powers in battle the more useful they will become. Different powers are used for different occasions though. Zeus’ lighting bolts can be used as a long range weapon, this allows Kratos to kill enemies that are grouped on the building tops or are just too far away to hit with your swords.

When enemies are killed Kratos will pick up red power orbs that allow you to power up your weapons and magic. There is a designated amount of orbs that will be needed depending on the weapon or magic and its level. As your weapons and magic grow so do their usefulness. Kratos will obtain two weapons throughout the course of the game, the Blades of Chaos, of course, and the Blade of Artemis. As these weapons grow they will become more powerful and also obtain more combos.

The Blades of Chaos are used mainly for quick less powerful attacks, and the combos match this style of fighting. Most of the combos will be quick and deliver many hits. A lot of them involve Kratos literally flinging his opponent into the air and smashing them back down with a powerful attack. This is where the Blade of Artemis differs. It is big and bulky and mostly used to deliver powerful blows that will knock your opponent of their guard. The only downfall to the size of this weapon is the time it takes to use a decent combo. By the time you have gotten the button combination pushed in your opponent may have already hit you and knocked you backward making your attempts futile. That is why this battle system resorts to button mashing.

Most of the battles are so fast paced that it is too frustrating to type in a button combination and use a real combo. Instead players will simply mash the buttons in hopes of creating a combo that will fend off the ensuing attackers. This seems to be the best route to most people, and that makes the gameplay almost worthless. Why would you make an extensive combo system if it won’t be used? The Blades of Chaos have enough combos that it may seem deep, but it really isn’t. The bulk of the combos will never be used purposely simply because they are too long to initiate during battle. The only time they will be seen is by accident when someone is randomly pressing in buttons.

That doesn’t affect the graphics though. In fact, the graphics in God of War are some of the best that can be found on the Playstation 2. The characters look amazing, especially during cut scenes. Every vein on Kratos’ body can be seen. That’s how much work was put into making the graphics on this game. The environment is equally as perfect. From the burning streets of Athens to the hallowed halls of Pandora’s Tower, every detail is covered. Whether it be the lush green vines lining a building, or the simple detail on an enemy’s sword, they covered it. The battle graphics are extremely detailed, especially with the overuse of blood. Even though they may take gore to a great length it does make the battles feel more realistic. Just as if you were in Greece fighting through hoards of demons on your way to kill the god of war. This is what most people want from graphics in a game. They need to either be realistic or match the mood of the game.

The sound must be equally realistic to give players that in-game feeling. The simple sound of footsteps can add so much to a game’s overall feeling that they need to be taken into careful consideration. Obviously Sony knows that because they capitalized on every sound in the game. The battles not only look real, but they sound real as well. Every time an enemy is hit he will make a screaming sound, as if to say, “Ow, that hurt!”. This, once again, makes players feel more involved with the game giving it a better feel. Even just walking down a temple corridor and hearing your footsteps echo off the empty walls is amazing.

God of War may seem like the best action title of the year, but in reality it is only the bloodiest. A quality action game needs a quality battle system possibly even extraordinary to be considered the best action title of the year. God of War does deliver in other areas though. The graphics and sound departments are amazingly detailed, and make the game look and sound perfect. Even though the story is short the overall game is decently long since it does include an extra mode after the initial story is beaten. This will keep players interested a bit longer, but not long enough to be worth the fifty dollars. God of War, therefore, is deemed a great rental and nothing more.

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Feedback
	zigfried - February 17, 2006 (09:29 PM) I disagree with you (I intentionally chose specific combos to use at different times), but this is a nice review! //Zig
	Genj - February 17, 2006 (09:48 PM) I share both of Zig's sentiments. That said, God of War is still too fucking easy.
	radicaldreamer - February 17, 2006 (11:28 PM) God of War was alright, definitely got more praise than it deserved. I had quite a few problems with it; for one, developers have got to learn that the whole "MASH O NOW" thing is really fucking stupid.
	gumbercules - February 18, 2006 (12:15 AM) Even though the review is a long way from being finished I must say thank you for the compliment. I still need to have it critiqued and then give 'er another go. I wrote this one as a rough draft in about forty-five minutes today.
	zigfried - February 18, 2006 (11:55 AM) See, I actually like the whole "MASH O NOW" thing. I guess you could blame too many years of playing Decathlon. //Zig
	radicaldreamer - February 19, 2006 (01:50 PM) I'd rather blame wrong opinions.
	fighter86 - March 07, 2006 (12:44 AM) Pretty damn good for fourty-five minutes! I could take fourty-five minutes to review it, and it would be trash!