Game Groups > God of War series

God of War is a series of action games with puzzle-solving elements, set in the fictional world of Greek mythology. The games in the series are united by a common storyline and feature a recurrent protagonist, the ruthless warrior Kratos, who, during the course of the series, defeats popular heroes, monsters, and deities of the ancient Greek myths. The series started its life with God of War (2005), created by David Jaffe.

Story

The overarching story is dedicated to Kratos, originally a mortal warrior, on a quest for revenge - initially against Ares, the god of war, but in later installments also against other Olympic gods. Each main entry in the series is a direct continuation of the previous installment's story; the spin-offs are mostly "interquels", i.e. their events take place between those described in the main games.

Gameplay

The gameplay of the series has elements of "beat-'em-up" games, with their heavy emphasis on close combat with combo moves. Kratos' main weapons are always double chain blades; in each game, he learns a variety of combo moves, special attacks, and magic. Quick-time events are used liberally in many fights. By collecting orbs dropped by defeated enemies, the player can upgrade Kratos' physical attacks and magical abilities.

The games also incorporate many elements of a 3D platformer, with timed jumps and other precision-based tasks. Puzzle-solving usually involves manipulating the environment (pushing, pulling, and otherwise re-arranging objects), as well as using Kratos' special abilities to solve the puzzle. These abilities (such as for example gliding, stopping time, and others) may be shared by the entire series or limited to individual installments.

God of War games are notable for their large amount of brutal and gory scenes, many of which depict actions committed by the protagonist. An additional indicator of the adult-oriented nature of the series are sex mini-games, which allow the player to control Kratos' movements during the act.