God of War

aka: Dark Odyssey, GoW, God of War HD, God of War: The Hydra Battle
Moby ID: 17344
PlayStation 2 Specs
Buy on PlayStation 2
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Description official descriptions

God of War is set in the age of ancient Greek myths. The hero of the game is a mortal warrior Kratos. Long time ago, Kratos was the leader of Spartans, a fearless and brutal general who waged wars for the glory of his city. Today, he is known as the Ghost of Sparta. For the past ten years, he is tormented with terrible nightmares, unable to forget the tragedy that happened in his past. He has to serve the gods of Olympus, who promised to forgive his sins if he becomes their champion. Finally, the goddess Athene tells Kratos that redemption will be granted to him if he defeats her brother, the god of war Ares, who was the very reason for the tragic event of his past...

God of War is a 3D action game with platforming and puzzle-solving elements. Kratos has two default swords that he will always carry with him, called the Blades of Chaos. They allow the player to perform combos, which will constantly climb until the fight is over or until it takes too long to register another hit. The higher the combo total, the more red orbs Kratos receives from defeated enemies.

Similar to Devil May Cry, the red orbs collected from fallen enemies can be used to purchase upgrades. It is possible to upgrade the default weapons, learning new moves and striking faster, or put the orbs into different weapons acquired throughout the game, such as Blade of Artemis. Kratos will, over time, also have access to a selection of magic spells. At specific points in the game, he will be able to generate an arc of electricity, courtesy of Zeus, or use the decapitated head of a Gorgon to turn enemies into stone with Meduza's Gaze.

The game features several unlockable extras, which are only acquired when the player has beaten the game on different difficulty modes. Most of the features are a behind-the-scenes look at various aspects of the game, such as creating the world, modeling Kratos, and a look at deleted levels that didn't make the final cut of the game.

Spellings

  • 战神 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

453 People (402 developers, 51 thanks) · View all

Game Director / Lead Designer
Producer
Lead Programmer
Art Directors
Coordinating Producer
Associate Producers
Project Coordinator
Game Programmers
Lead Engine Programmer
Design - Level Design & Scripting
Design - Combat Scenarios
Design - Combat System
Design - Camera
Design - Level Design
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 93% (based on 104 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 166 ratings with 11 reviews)

An excellent fighting adventure, marred only slightly by a heavy overdose of pointless gore

The Good
God of War is one of the better action / adventure games to come out in some time. It incorporates a Greek mythological theme, a solid & intuitive fighting game engine, mild platforming action sequences, intriguing puzzle sections and top-notch graphics in a successful blend.

One of the elements that I found refreshing were the mini-challenges required to dispatch different foes with. In some cases, one must enter a button sequence quickly to finish off an enemy (such as a hydra), or in others, one must button-mash quickly to defeat a Minotaur.

I very much enjoyed the puzzle elements. God of War is not by far a puzzle game, but the puzzles / riddles included in the game are just enough to separate the many fighting action sequences. As well, they're challenging without being too difficult. Some particularly rewarding puzzles involve moving stone blocks in such a sequence that you can hop up to reach a special weapon or health bonus, choosing the right path on some girders so that there are fewer enemies to fight, and resting statues on top of switches that allow you to pass though gates.

The best accomplishment of the game, however, I think would be the fighting engine. It's difficult to make a "brawler" of this kind without it become boring and repetitive. God of War manages enough in the way of weapon and enemy selection and combos available that it never truly becomes tedious. There are a huge variety of ways to attack opponents, including multiple throws, jump attacks, jumping throws, throw-combos and all kinds of crazy nonsense. In a few sequences your character is climbing on a horizontal rope and you must basically fight other climbing enemies on the same rope with your feet. I took especially devilish pleasure in catching foes in a head-scissor and then hurling them into the dark chasm beneath.

The Bad
While God of War makes no secret that its theme is dark and not for the feint of heart, it goes too far in the way of over-the-top blood and nasty stuff. I'm not offended by it by any means, but it's clear that the makers spent just a little too much time catering to the fourteen-year-old boy crowd who will surely coo and yelp with delight over how gross their new bloody game is. You spend time cracking harpies' spines, jamming a dagger into the pried-open mouth of a Minotaur, ripping foes ribcages apart with chains and all kinds of fairly unnecessarily rough stuff. The end effect of all these things on me was a general feeling of slight disgust and distaste, which unfortunately discolor my enjoyment of the game significantly. And no, I wasn't expecting Super Mario Sunshine or anything along those lines. But this game is many, many levels dirtier and more gory than any Mortal Kombat or similar title, and I didn't see why it needed to be. On a related note, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is a pretty "gross" game that never really seemed to overdo it in a way that turned me off like God of War did.

The Bottom Line
God of War is a really great game in terms of almost every level of design. It's a superbly put together product that is only slighted by me for being pointlessly dark, bloody and full of gory grime at almost every turn. The action, graphics, puzzles, control and nearly everything else that really affects gameplay are all top notch. It would easily be one of my favorite games if it didn't take on the personality of a teenage boy trying to impress girls with boogers and dead frogs. "Hey everyone, look at how gross I can be!" is a pick up line that just simply doesn't work for me at all.

PlayStation 2 · by Greg Mitchell (37) · 2006

Outstanding game, very movie like.

The Good
I loved everything about this game, from the great and challenging gameplay. Right down to the cinematic storyline, and beautifully rendered backgrounds and characters. I loved the storyline of this game also, very well thought out, and very well put together. I also loved the music in this game, beautifully performed, and every track went with what was happening in the game.

The Bad
It was way too short for my liking. I would have liked to see more length to the general gameplay. I finished this game within 5 hours my second time through about 8 hours my first time through. Now on the other hand, the extra's did add some length to this game, but still the main game just wasn't as long as it should be.

The Bottom Line
I would describe this game as an instant classic. It's beautiful, and very well presented, and very well put together. It's just plain good, nothing wrong with how this game is put together. I suggest you buy this game if you have not, it's excellent and well worth your time.

PlayStation 2 · by David Bryan (21) · 2007

You are Kratos, and you will MURDER the God of War!

The Good
God of war is an over the top fighter / platformer that will keep you glued to your console. Its not just the gameplay, which is awesome for this genre, it the total style that will absolutely suck you in.

Style and Graphics:

Think Greek mythology, you know satyrs, minotaurs, gorgons. Think of that mythos, jealous gods fighting over petty things which larger than life consequences. Now, add some attitude to that mix. No, add some super attitude that will chop you up and grind you into some hamburger meat. That is this game and that is Kratos.

Kratos is the center of this game, and you are going to learn a lot about this guy. He's bad, I mean tougher that any stinking junkyard Cerebus. He's mean and nasty, and if you get in his way, he won't mind sticking his nasty weapons in you. Thank goodness he is only interested in killing Aries, and only some of the nastiest versions of your favorite Greek monsters are in his way.

And these are not your claymation monsters from Clash of the Titans. These beasts come straight from hell and are made that way with powers that fit well to the combat ethos. Minotaurs are big and strong and love to slash you, Gorgons are quick and snakelike, but will often try to turn you to stone with their lovely gaze you must avoid. And harpies are annoying enemies that will drive you crazy when you need to concentrate on more difficult enemies. And the Cerberus and Cyclops are as big and bad as ever. Meeting Aries is almost a let down after defeating all those other enemies.

And this style is never laughable, never falters. It holds you up and grabs you and makes you actually sympathize with what you might consider a monster of monsters, Kratos.

Gameplay: Kratos is a bad ass, and he gets a bad ass weapon. He fights with two serrated blades that are welded to his hands with chains, so you can throw them quite a ways and still have them for your next fight.

You use those chained swords and magic to kill your enemies and gather red orbs from them. The more you get, the more experience you can add, so your skills in magic and weapons increase, making them stronger and adding new combos.

And, you'll need those combos, as each enemy is different, requiring different fighting techniques. You also will need to block as well, but be careful. The block key can unleash some of the most powerful combos, as well as a devastating parry.

But enjoy, for the battle promise to challenge you, especially the end fight. Its a well made ending that never feels cheap, though you will be screaming at the screen at times trying to finish it.

Music/ Sound: The music is very good, especially the main theme which never gets too tiring. It adds to the action without overwhelming. The sound effects are good and visceral, sometime too gross. The sound of swords hitting stone or wood is well differentiated, and using a large siege crossbow sound every bit as difficult as I'd imagine. Finally, the voice acting is superb, especially Kratos and the Narrator. I love the narrator, as this is a voice that fits with a movie on Greek mythos and truly sets the tone.

Graphics: I'm impressed with what they did with the PS2. They really pushed the limit on this, though sometimes that creates problems. Each visual is well designed and harsh as is needed for this game. Each place feels super real, and some of the amazing scenes, such as seeing Aries for the first time, crushing armies with his feet, are just amazing to behold. You can't believe this is not a PC game if it weren't for the limitations.

And the cut scenes are well worth it. You'll want to see them all again at the end of the game, with great visuals and voice acting. They really are as good as any Squaresoft title, with much more of an edge. It really is like seeing a movie between the gameplay.

The Bad
There is little I did not like, but here it is anyway.

The graphics can sometimes overwhelm the PS2. Sometime scenes can blur if too much action is going on. Other times cut scenes won't appear for a few seconds.

Also, the second to last level is completely frustrating and gets boring. You will die a lot because of cheap gameplay where one misstep leads to your fall to doom. Really, tough it out because the finale is worth it.

Finally, the game can be too violent. There are cut scenes where soldiers are bursting with blood like a bad pimple. One or two times seeing this is enough, but they show such scenes over and over, really feeling gratuitous and not mood setting.

ADDED AS EDIT: I forgot one other bad thing that may drive the short of time a little mad. The save spots can seem somewhat arbitrary. You can finish a big battle, only to find no save space until much later. It’s not too bad in the main game, as you will discover all the areas between saves can usually be done in under an hour with practice. But, the Challenge of the gods will drive you crazy as it takes quite a long time without a save spot, especially when one of the challenges takes a half hour by itself. I just left my console running so I did not have to fight through all the challenges again and again to get to the difficult one

The Bottom Line
You are Kratos, and you Will kill the God of War.

It’s a simple premise, but aaaah, it so much more than that.

You will be fighting on the edge of your seat, desperately trying to make it to the next save spot. And you will love every minute of it. It’s a grand, bloody, heart pulsing epic, and it’s worth every penny you will pay for it.

PlayStation 2 · by Dwango (298) · 2005

[ View all 11 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Kratos Unicorn Lynx (181780) May 19, 2008

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The PS2 version of God of War appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Athena

In the God of War series, the Greek Goddess Athena is voiced by Carole Ruggier. Co-incidentally, she also voiced the same role in the game Age of Mythology.

Development

According the "Making of" materials, A number of elements were removed from the finished game. Kratos, for example, underwent a number of incarnations before his final design. Some of these included a tribalistic, African design with dreadlocks, a "Lone Wolf and Cub" theme that included a child or small dog (which may have inspired the Cerberus Pups), a vaguely futuristic, armoured look, and various gladiator designs, which were rejected because they didn't look savage enough.

German version

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's original intention was to release this game in Germany alongside the other countries in June 2005. They even had a cover art for the Germany release ready, as you can see on this back cover, yet there was one big problem.

The USK, Germany's age rating organization, refused to give the game a rating. And while it is not illegal to sell games in Germany without a USK rating (in this case it acts in most cases as it were rated USK 18), Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland decided to not release the game in Germany.

For this, SCED's Marketing Director Ulrich Barbian gave a statement telling that:

"The publication of a title without an age rating does not fit Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland's company philosophy. As a pioneer of a whole category, we can't expect that the public accepts video gaming as a natural entertainment like music and video if we release titles without age ratings. We hope our Action-Adventure fans understand us. Besides, there are many very good Action-Adventures available for the PlayStation 2, which got an age rating from the USK."

Besides this marketing speech, there is another reason. Games released in Germany after April 2003 without a USK rating tend be be indexed shortly after. And this means that most of the sales drop to zero after a short time.

Essentially, publishers only have two choices once the USK rejects the game. Give up or cut it so much until the USK is satisfied. The latter of course runs the risk that the publisher is investing tons of money in cutting it down and the public won't take it anymore, because it is cut way too much.

A similar thing happened with Activision's Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil, where Activision decided not to release in in Germany after the USK refused it. And ultimately, the game found its way to the index.

But for God of War, don't cutting it down went to success, as the USK revised the decision two days ago, on 13 February 2006, when it got its USK 18 rating (and therefore the protection from being indexed). However, there is one change: during the sacrificing sequence the human victim was replaced with a monster.

Kratos

Kratos, the name of the game's main character, is Greek for strength or power. Even though he is not part of the canonical Greek mythology, a deity named Kratos (κρατος, "power") is mentioned in several classic works, including Hesiod's Theogony, the primary source for Greek mythology.

Kratos was one of the four children of the titan Pallas and Ocean's daughter Styx. He had a brother named Zelos ("rivalry"), and sisters Bia ("force") and - the most famous of the four - Nike ("victory").

The four sided with Zeus when he fought the titans, and became somewhat of "bodyguards" to him. Interestingly enough, in the few myths that mention Kratos, his portrayal is not dissimilar to the protagonist of God of War. His loyalty to his master and his brutality are particularly noticeable.

Awards

  • 4Players
    • 2005 – Best Game Without German Release of the Year
    • 2006 – #2 Best Game of the Year
    • 2006 – #2 Best PlayStation 2 Game of the Year
    • 2006 – Best Action Game of the Year
    • 2006 – Best Hero of the Year (for Kratos)
    • 2006 – #2 Most Impressive Boss of the Year
    • 2006 – #2 Best Original Soundtrack of the Year
    • 2006 – #2 Best Voice-Acting of the Year
    • 2006 – #2 Best Graphics of the Year
    • 2006 – #3 Best Story of the Year
  • Computer Games Magazine
    • March 2006 - Console Game of the Year 2005
  • GamePro (Germany)
      1. February 2006 - Best Console Action Game in 2005 (notable is that the game was not released in Germany at this point)
  • GameSpy
    • 2005 – #3 Game of the Year
    • 2005 – PS2 Game of the Year
    • 2005 – PS2 Action Game of the Year
    • 2005 – PS2 Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed b< Mark Ennis, PCGamer77, Supernintedo Chalmers and Unicorn Lynx

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by JPaterson.

PlayStation 3 added by MAT.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Xoleras, formercontrib, DreinIX, Caelestis, Patrick Bregger, Charly2.0, FatherJack.

Game added April 13, 2005. Last modified January 28, 2024.