God of War?
 

This is one of the PS2 exclusives that I missed out on by having an Xbox for a few years. Finally the time has come for me to get a PS2 and I'm curious...

Is it really as good as the reviews say? Why? Is it one of those "scream 'ZOMFG AWESOME DID YOU SEE WHAT I JUST DID?!' at the screen even though you're alone" games? Or what?

It's extremely bloody and full of gore. Yes, it's as awesome as reviewers say.

Basically, it's a really great action-adventure game with tons of gore and awesome context-sensitive deaths. The action is intense, the bosses are insane, and Kratos is badass. Yeah, it's as good as reviewers say and yes you should definitely pick it up.

And it's Greatest Hits price, as well. You really don't have much to lose here, besides a few heads and limbs...

The Greatest Hits status had nearly made up my mind but I figured I'd seek out some non-gaming press opinions before committing to getting it the same day as my PS2. The context sensetive deaths did it. I need this game :)

Yes, I completely ignored it on release (don't ask me why) and only got it a few months ago. I've since completed it, and am amazed at the fluid controls and kickass combat in the game. The presentation is flawless and the gameplay incredibly challenging. Get ready to die a lot. It's the PS2's Ninja Gaiden IMO.

Well, that tears it. Guitar Hero and Shadow of the Colossus will have to wait. This is the game I NEED. Like an infant needs food. Like a crackhead needs a rock. Like Michael Jackson needs... ok I'm done.

I got this game last weekend, and it's really good. It's harder than I thought it would be, but not too hard, especially after you get used to the controls (which doesn't take long). The music is pretty good, too, and for $20, it's an awesome deal.

Since I have my PS2 from last Christmas. I got it quite a while ago but never start playing it till last few days. It's really great! Action, effects and all kind of puzzles and stuff. I'm near the end now so soon I should know HOW will it end and give my final rating for it.

it's really a good game but for me I wasn't really amaze by hit.

sure the gameplay is really fun, but become really repetitive quickly and I didn't find those power really fun to do... I didn't really use them much beside medusa breath which make the game really easy...

I doN,t know it probably mor because I don't really like the hero and I didn,t find the decors that great.

but doN,t get me wrong it seem that i bash this game, but this game is really good, it just that I expected so much about it, with all the review, that I was disappointed. (maybe because I like DMC and Dante to much XD)

I had my doubts like I usually do with games that get hyped up so much (not to mention there was so much macho in the game I was prepared to feel ill from all the testosterone), but I eventually bought the Platinum release and was pretty much sold from the moment the Hydra first appears and you learn the block-counter system.

Gameplaywise, it's a fairly conventional third person action game, with annoying platform bits, key-lock puzzles and RPG elements, but much like RE4, it's presented with such intensity and fury, you can't help but get swept away by the glorious presentation.

The controls and combat system is pretty tight as well, hats off for that.

But yeah, definitely not "zomg best gaem ever!!!!11" material and maybe not deserving of the 9.8 scores it got, but a completely excellent action game on its own right regardless and guaranteed entertainment.

Yeah Q. If game was THAT good as they say I would start playing it right after I got it not 3-4 month later. Besides I playing it once in a while with quite long breaks. It's good but not awesome. I was playing RE4 all the time as much as I could for 3-4 days. It's not the same with GoW.

Anyway lovers of DMC will love this one to.

I played DMC and DMC 3 and I must say that God of War sounds cooler. DMC was pretty cool, Dante had this sort of arrogance and the scene where
was certainly badass the first time I saw it. DMC 3 I felt was just trying way too hard to capitalize on Dante's "cool factor" if you will. Not to mention the virtual necessity of playing the first few missions a few times to build up some points just so one could attempt to overcome the difficulty of the game. It also felt artificially difficult. Here's to hoping God of War is challenging in more of a Ninja Gaiden sort of way :)

Are you crazy, man? Buy both! Eat your cake and have it too.

If it was a tossup I'd say buy SotC first, but that's just my own personal preference. Neither game will be a waste of your money. God of War is probably a tad overrated, but it's still a damn fine game. I am still in love with the final battle sequences, especially the twist at the very end. Also boobies.

Actually a bit of good news since that. My GF is getting me the PS2 for our 1 year anniversary and she misheard me. She thought a PS2 was $199 when I had told her $99. So I'm going to be starting my PS2 collection with all 3 of those presumably awesome games :)

It's really $99 from new in US? Damn...
Anyway, you get some first class entertainment, no matter what game of those three you choose. Guitar Hero has the ability to make you look cool, while you play awesome rock music. SotC gives you dozens of honking great being you have to slay and GoW gives you what's probably the best of its kind on PS2. Not the best ever, I'm sure, but incredibly solid entertainment.

I would have to say that God of War is single-handedly the best game to come out in recent years. Definately play it, if you haven't already. RPGs nowadays could learn from God of War's storytelling.

And the most excellent news is that God of War 2 is due out in only 7 mere months.

Want some MOSTEST excellent news? Here's an excerpt from David Jaffe's (director of God of War) blog:

Sweet! And by sweet, I mean mostest excellent.

As long as they don't change any of the gameplay and keep up the quality, this will be a perfect series.

Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition is the answer to this problem. Also at a Greatest Hits price as well.

Back to topic. Played GoW last year and awed by it. As many have said, it's not like you'll pull off insane moves like in DMC but the combat is pretty damn fluid and it does have its moments where you'll be simply amazed. Even puzzles are challenging but not to the point where you'll just throw your controller down in extreme frustration.

Pick it up. I'm sure you will be greatly entertained.

DMC. What a horrible-ass series. Worst story-representation ever. Never got into the games. Tried #1 & #3 ><

Buy SotC. It's not a game, it's an experience /__\ God of War is damn fine. But SotC is gaming *perfection*. Pure. And. Simple.

I expect so. When I played through Ico I had a wad of paper towels taped to my chin to catch all the drool :)

There's so much wrong with this post. Mainly the praising of SotC and the dislike for DMC (except for 2, that just sucked.)

Fix that.

I fixed yours, if that's any consolation.

SotC seems to use the same graphical appearance/engine that was used in Ico. Up close it isn't gorgeous and there is slow-down at some points, I'm afraid. The main thing? Zoomed out landscapes, and details on the colossi are gorgeous. Plus, I love how edged-off the controls were. It wasn't picky on how you would snag onto the colossus if you were falling down. It wouldn't be like "NU UH. BAD ANGLE NO GRAB." When playing it, avoid using a FAQ =p It's very awesome to figure out how to injure them so you can get to their weak points. Wish I didn't remember how to hurt them all... /_\

Vampiro --
Sorry for my opinion, but DMC had a horrible way of conveying story if there even *was* one. Dante is such a trite and overused character-type. Plus it gets way too mindless on hack & slash. God of War & Ninja Gaiden are hard and creative enough to keep you on your toes. And my praise toward SotC is for originality. Something that has been absent from the gaming industry for years upon years. When I first played DMC, I thought "hey, this is almost exactly like Onimusha." And it held my interest for about as long (which wasn't terribly).

Just watching the various trailers and gameplay videos of SotC have had me impatient to one day get a PS2. Some people might think "WTF all you do is run between a bunch of boss battles and that's all there is to do?!" I say that's brilliant. Especially considering I've heard that some of the colossi take an hour just to figure out how to get to the weak spot. How can you honestly watch a video of one of the guy riding his horse up to this massive being, running up the sword and trying to climb up it and NOT want to play it? IMO, it's games like that which seperate those who view games as a (potential) artform and those who view games as an opportunity to do something with their TV besides stare at it.

Couldn't have said it better myself FR. I have yet to play SotC but I already know it will knock my socks off, just like ICO did. Everybody and their neighbour seems to praise it beyond belief and I will get it one day but I will NOT play the game... No no... Instead I'll submerge myself completely in the experience and BE in the game. I have the right state of mind to be able to lose myself for 200 % in certain games so SotC will be a mindblowing experience I'm sure. Now if only I could stop yapping about it and buy it. :)

Hey guys, what would happen if Kratos just jumped out into the SotC universe. Not just swords and bows here, anymore. This would be most interesting.

::MEDUSA STARES BOSS # 3::

Heh, the story in all three games was terrible. Not arguing that.

Well, from what I know of the game, the boy has a sword which shows him the direction of the next colossus. Without such assistance, I think Kratos would be found mumbling in some field "there's nothing to kill... it's so pretty... but there's nothing to kill..."

Those blades of grass, and those damn pesky lizards and those apple trees. POWER OF ZEUS!

Poor Kratos :(
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...hecolossus.jpg

Just started God of War earlier, and all I can say is POWER TO THE GODS!

God of War is pretty cool. I got it recently and have been trying to figure out what makes it great.

Really, it's nothing more than your standard button-mashing beat 'em up, but the game has so much polish to it that you can't help but appreciate it. Excellent soundtrack, great animations, and unlike most games of its genre (like Onimusha), the gameplay is smooth and virtually free of glitches. The game is just mindless killing, but it's just done so well.

I think it's good for the same reasoning as Ninja Gaiden (XBOX). The main character is so maneuverable, even amid full combos you can pull off an angled strike to pop and enemy trying to whittle his way in.

The story is quite good, the combat builds onto itself with nice strikes & upgrades, the atmosphere & music is superb, and the graphics are very impressive for PS2, amid other reasons. Polished doesn't begin to describe it ;) I plan on buying it relatively soon.

I tried it myself just recently, and I gotta say, I'm disappointed. Just off the top of my head here...

- The combat is essentially a stripped-down version of Devil May Cry, with less flexibilty for experimentation. Outside of some puzzles where the Powers of the Gods are necessary for completing a puzzle, there's very little need (or reward) for using anything other than the blades, over and OVER. DMC rewards a skilled player with grades and cash bonuses. GoW treats a skilled player no better than a button-stomping hack.

- Kratos is a prick. Yes, I know characterization doesn't really matter in an action game, blah-de-blah. But you know, in a game this much in love with its own storytelling, it kind of DOES. And it's hard to like a guy that stands back and lets those he deems unimportant die (or in at least one case, sends one to his death for no good reason). I don't give a crap with his tortured backstory is, that's just cold, unappeallingly so. And outside of the cutscenes where he bitches about his past, there's no real feeling that revenge or desire for freedom drives his actions. Soul Reaver made this sort of character much more interesting.

- The 'mature content' is RIDICULOUS. Seriously. One light swipe of the blades and a low-level baddie gushes like a fountain. The context-sensitive finishing blows are even more ridiculous. Take the minotaur. You knock him on his back, engage in a tug-of-war, and drive the blades through the back of his head. This is shown from the same angle every single time. Even if you knock the minotaur down in the opposite direction, he will SPIN ON THE GROUND to give you that exact same view to a kill. You can almost hear the designers giggling like four-year-olds going, 'Hey! Looklooklooklooklook! BAM! Dude, that's SO AWESOME!' The first ten times, maybe. The next hundred or so, not so much. And the whole sex thing seems to have been put in so that GoW could be known as the Game That Lets You Have Sex. For a game that hits you over the head with its constant adult content, it's stupidly juvenile about executing it.

OK, so...is there anything good about it? Absolutely. The environments themselves are amazing to look at, the puzzles are solid, the soundtrack is nice (if very, very conventional), and the sound effects and voicework are superb. Given that, in the end, I'd say it's a game you'd be better off watching your friend play through than doing so yourself. But that's just me.

It's funny about the Mature Content rating that my 9 year old sister finds dismembered limbs and heads rolling and blood here, there, and everywhere extremely entertaining. She's not very good at fighting the Cerberuses though.

Kratos is supposed to be a prick.

Best post in this circle-jerk of a GoW thread. Quoted for truth, too.

God of War is by no means the greatest PS2 game available. What it does accomplish is creating an atmosphere of the time period the entire way through the game whilist tossing in the developers own take on various enemies, gods, and whatnot.

The game is full of production value, and I thought that despite the game being overly short it was something that held me through to the very end. The game doesn't get boring, which is what I like about a game. Even dying and repeating something over isn't frustrating - it's entertaining.

The hack and slash elements are clean, brutal and fun. Although a bit excessive with the blood gushing and flesh rending, it really did make me laugh out loud.

I like big bosses and I cannot lie. Well, there's not a lot of bosses to fight in God of War, but the ones that you do fight are extremely fun.

The difficulty of the game on standard is not any Ninja Gaiden, but God mode is ridiculous with normal enemies at the begining wiping you out in about 2 powerful strikes. Working through this mode right now... slowly...

Good game, and for a greatest hits price... anyone that has cash should be getting God of War. :/