God of War

aka: Dark Odyssey, GoW, God of War HD, God of War: The Hydra Battle
Moby ID: 17344
PlayStation 2 Specs
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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

  • 战焞 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

Groups +

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)

God of War shows not only what can be done with the PS2 now, but what developers should have been doing all along

The Good
A battlefield pledge to Ares, the God of War, gives Kratos superhuman abilities at the cost of his own humanity. After years in servitude acting as the sword Ares wields, the enormity of Kratos’ crimes catch up to him in a moment of clarity triggered by a tragic event. Here the Greek legends would end, the protagonist undone by his hubris. Kratos, though, is no mere protagonist. The embodiment of an antihero, Kratos turns his single-minded focus towards a new goal: killing the God of War.

God of War starts aboard an armada heading towards Athens, where Ares lays siege. Suddenly skeletal beings crawl aboard your ship and you must repel them. Hacking away with your twin swords, the Blades of Chaos (complete with chains, so you can chain-sword-whip opponents), you knock enemies aside, cleave them in two, grab them and rip them apart, or stylishly execute them with a quick finishing move. After the deck is cleared a hatch draws your attention. You hammer away at a shoulder button to muscle the hatch open and drop down to the lower levels.

Here you find chests to restore your health, magic, or rage meters. Moving along past flooding bulkheads and tightrope walking across narrow spans, you enter a narrow hallway leaping back just as a giant Hydra head comes crashing through the floorboards. The first miniboss, mere minutes into the game, is completely indicative of what God of War is going to throw at you.

Jumping back a step, most of Kratos’ opponents can be slain with simple sword attacks or combinations. When his rage meter fills, Kratos can unleash the Rage of the Gods on his enemies dispatching them with blinding speed in a bloody flurry. There are some opponents too powerful for such base attacks though. Bosses, like the hydra head require special attacks: quickly following a succession of on-screen button prompts. Balancing timing with finesse, these special attacks are more challenging than just hammering away at an opponent.

As he kills, Kratos earns experience he can spend on upgrading his weapons (more damage and better combos) and upgrading any magic he learns on his journey. Some gods favor Kratos’ side of the struggle and grant him abilities. Early in the game Kratos earns Poseidon’s Rage, an electrical attack which radiates from him. Later Kratos earns more magic letting him strike down enemies from afar or freeze foes in their place.

Although Ares is his main target, Kratos must fight his way through a host of fiends. Drawing from Greek Mythology, Minotaurs, Meduses, and Cyclops are just some of the varied opponents. Often God of War will introduce a new monster as a miniboss requiring special attacks to put them down, but as Kratos levels up, they just become more fodder.

As a third-person action/adventure game with equal emphasis on combat and puzzle-solving. I’ve seen God of War compared to many games: Castlevania, ICO, and Rygar among others, but I’m going to suggest that God of War is really the greatest Tomb Raider game ever made. While Kratos must solve manufactured puzzles, a good portion of the game involves exploring the environment, pulling levers, scaling cliffs and jumping to ledges. While all of this sounds like typical platforming, God of War has stunning levels and a strong fundamental design concept: you are living a part of Greek mythology.

Even after fighting your way from ship to ship to take on the Hydra, even after carving your way from the streets to the rooftops of an Athens aflame towards a mountainous Ares, and even after hunting down the last Titan in the siren haunted Desert of Lost Souls, God of War still finds a way to take your breath away. God of War looks real. It looks lived in. It looks right.

It feels right. God of War has tight controls. You use the analog stick to walk across narrow beams adjusting for Kratos’ balance. Kratos leaps when you tell him to leap, fights when you tell him to fight, and (in one brief scene) scores when you tell him to score. I’ve seen a few complaints about the repetitive nature of some of the finishing moves. At first, the only way to kill a Minotaur is by forcing your blade down its throat (rapidly pressing a button). Is this button mashing? Sure, but there’s no disconnect between what you are doing with the controller and what Kratos is doing on-screen.

Beating God of War unlocks a harder difficulty setting, Challenges of the Gods, and a wealth of DVD-like extras. There’s a lengthy “making of” featurette, deleted levels, a character model graveyard, a closer look at the game’s levels and monsters, and more. All that’s missing is the opening level commentary track available on the God of War demo disk. It’s a high quality presentation of a high quality game.

The Bad
God of War has a fixed camera system which shows Kratos, his opponents and elements of interest, but a freelook option would have been a nice touch. As it stands, the camera is great and often cinematic, but a few levels would be easier if Kratos could look around a bit. One particular area, a maze-like series of beams Kratos must creep across, would be less frustrating if the player could see what Kratos obviously could.

The frustration of this level pales in comparison to a hellish series of spiky, rotating pillars Kratos must climb. Touching a single spike sends Kratos plummeting downward past the three or four sections you managed to ascend. Frustrating, yes, but more annoying since there’s no trick to it. Finally the endgame can be equally frustrating, especially if the spells you’ve leveled up aren’t working for you. Thankfully God of War shows some mercy if you keep dying, giving you the option to continue where you are at an easier setting, with no penalty.

The Bottom Line
Based solely on visuals and gameplay, God of War is a strong candidate for Game of the Year. But its epic story, wonderful acting, and incredible sound push it over the top. You can’t play God of War and think of the PS2 as being an aging platform. God of War shows not only what can be done with the PS2 now, but what developers should have been doing all along: providing seamless levels, cutscene-quality graphics, epic environments, and unnoticeable load times. God of War is a rich, satisfying gaming experience which leaves you waiting for the next installment and apathetic about the glut of toothless games currently out there.

PlayStation 2 · by Terrence Bosky (5397) · 2005

Kratos is quite simply just one big "pee yoo es es why"

The Good
If videogames have had a hard time being accepted by society like other “big city” art forms, it is in no small part of the “small town” attitude proffered it by video gamers themselves. This can be seen in the “small town” reviews that are made by the vast majority that you’ll see everywhere. When a game is either good nor bad depending on whether or not it is enjoyed, it is not a criticism worthy of any art form. While this is something that you’ll see more akin in a small town newspaper about the local play, this is not an attitude that propels the form of videogames forward. Basically speaking, games are fun or not fun; art is good or bad regardless of enjoyment, but interesting to talk and discuss about. If you treat videogames as just a game, then why should society at large respect something you regard just as fun?

The main thing often seen in a review of a videogame is the opinion that something is very good or very bad, and then the reasons why. Like you’ll see on this site, reviewers try to outdo each other but end up talking about the same thing; usually it has to do with the tech side of things: frame rates, texture mapping, pop-ups, collision detecting and all things geek. However, if videogames are indeed art like many say then a successful videogame has to marry the scrawny, technical geek with the beautiful, emotive art. Videogame reviews should reflect this: sure, a game is fun but as a work of art how does it make you feel, make you think? Such thinking is sure to be condemned, and with cardigan sweater and pipe is ripe to be banned to the rural countryside of some pre-industrial nation.

Is free thought on videogames so radical? Are videogames an art form that is suitable for criticism despite fanboyism and casual gamers? Or do people just want things to blow up real good? With that in mind, I offer this opinion on the hero of the PS2’s crowning achievement, 2005’s “God of War”:

Kratos is one big pussy. And because the game operates on such an epic level, I think it’s fair to say Kratos is a pussy on a MASSIVE scale.

First off, to “Donald Rumsfield”: “Is this game fun?” “Is this a good game?” Yes and yes. Like many before me have so eloquently said before, this is a fun and well-done third-person action game that successfully blends excessive violence and sex with action game play, paces it correctly with puzzles and platforming to maintain a balanced overall experience and serves it on a platter that is nothing short of epic and breathtaking. Lots can be said on that alone, which already has had a lot said about it.

However, the fact that Kratos is a terrible protagonist seems to have eluded everyone. While he does have a cool body length tattoo, a bald head, a deep and dark scowl and the mandatory weapons of destruction chained permanently to his wrists, he is not the “bad-ass” the game purports him to be. (next section may contain spoilers)

The beginning of God of War has the game’s hero, Kratos, step off the highest cliff in Greece to his death in the Aegean Sea below. This beginning of the game is also the “end’ of his story. The game play is the middle of the story, and then throughout the game flashbacks occur that show the beginning of the story. If you haven’t played the game, I will save you the trouble of doing so because nothing at all during the game matters. Kratos’ story is such that he could have skipped from the beginning to the end; if he thought about it he could have just committed suicide right where the game begins and saved himself and the legions of dead he will send to Hades the hassle. This, of course, is no fun for the gamer but it does cancel out any kind of a point to the story.

The reason why he commits suicide is thus: he can’t forgive himself. Without trying to give the story away, Kratos did an unpardonable sin and wants redemption. Kratos is not out to eradicate evil; that the object of his vengeance, Ares, is evil is neither here nor there. The character Marv from Frank Miller’s “Sin City” has an awesome pulp fiction line: “I’m killing my way to the truth, one body at a time.” However, this is inversely the opposite for Kratos: every one he kills takes him further from the truth.

Kratos is an asshole, one on an equally epic scale as his being a pussy. He is extremely selfish and arrogant. There is a Chinese saying that suits him, â€œæ€šć€©ć°€äșș” (yuan4 tian1 you2 ren2)—to blame god and man. It means to blame everyone except oneself, and that’s what this game is about: to fault someone else for one’s own actions by killing lots of things that are mostly evil but sometimes not. Kratos believes that Ares tricked him into committing that awful act, but who indeed is responsible? In the “God of War” universe you can murder gods (God of War) and also change your fate (God of War II)—is this not the ultimate assertion of the power of the individual? It’s Kratos himself who begged Ares for power to destroy his enemies at any cost, and so Kratos got exactly what he wanted, and it may even be said what he deserved. If any is responsible, it Kratos himself; he, however, finds it easy to blame others.

Therefore, this asshole quality is what propels the game story forward. Furthermore, this redundancy of the “middle story” that the gamer plays through is not in fact redundant to Kratos because it’s exactly what he wants. Kratos is doing it because he can’t give up the power he has amassed and so can’t give up being an asshole. It’s very apparent he likes the Blades of Chaos-end of the deal he has with Ares but not the bad end of the deal that always happens when you make a deal with the devil; this makes Kratos not a man of his word, but he is an asshole after all. If he was a good man he’d walk away from it all and try to start over again, but then we wouldn’t have a “kick-ass” video game. Instead we have a protagonist who isn’t fair, can’t accept defeat and thinks only of himself.

Not the qualities of a hero; a hero wouldn’t fight through a horde of monsters in disillusionment. A hero is someone who does things unselfishly for the greater good. Kratos isn’t much of an anti-hero either due to the epic scale he is thrust upon. Sadly, the story is pointless that even though Kratos battles giant monsters and does things scarcely hinted at in other video games, the real battle is occurring within his heart for the ability to forgive himself. Athena does “promise” to end his visions but then again in this individual empowered world of “God of War” if a mortal has the ability to murder gods and change his fate, why can’t he forgive himself? Why is this only in the providence of the gods? Perhaps those gods that Kratos despises may have a use after all


And that’s why Kratos is a pussy: even though he has the courage to fight armies of ferocious beasts he does not have the courage to face the demons in himself, something unavoidable as this is what he is trying to conquer in this game. Kratos is a pussy for taking the ultimate coward’s end by not taking responsibility for his life’s actions and committing suicide. Kratos’ death isn’t even a hero’s suicide that will benefit others (like any number of Bruce Willis’ movies, like Sin City or Armageddon); no, Kratos kills himself conceding failure in his life, EPIC FAIL as they say, if you’re going to lose well then you might as well lose BIG.

If it were not set in mythical ancient Greece it would be more apparent how much of a “gangster mentality” God of War has: I want what’s coming to me, and I want it all. The affinity towards Kratos as a role-model is similar to the way people look at “Scarface” (1983), Brian DePalma’s gangster rags-to-riches epic about the Cuban refugee who made it very big before falling very far. “Saying hello to a little friend” and “what capitalism is” as well “two things in the world will not be broken” are bandied about in modern pop culture references as a testament to how revered the movie and it’s hero are, as is the “Scarface” DVD seen in any number of hip-hop artists homes on MTV “Cribs”. However, “Scarface” was great and made sense because it was about a man’s rise and fall. Tony Montana failed, failed massively. (spoiler ending coming up on a 25 year old movie) He killed his best friend out of jealousy, couldn’t protect his sister, had his wife leave him, never got the love and respect of his mother and personally engineered the downfall of his criminal career. While Tony Montana did get everything he deserved as he is personally responsible for each of the movies end result, Kratos is absolved of his responsibilities—if for no other reason than the upcoming cash cow sequels.

It is still never explained why Kratos is so powerful. Sure, “kratos” means power in Greek, but if that connection holds any water it’s a wonder why more parents don’t name their child “Money” or “Twelve-Inch Penis” for that matter. It is a real clichĂ© in games or movies that the hero is able to escape from a impossible situation by sheer chance or luck, but then we accept it because they are heroes: they are good people who do good things, and so naturally good things happen to them. In God of War, you have Kratos: a bad person who does bad things. There’s no reason why good things should happen to him, and none is given. Kratos is just a powerful mortal who overcomes his obstacles for two reasons: he wants to, and he’s powerful. That equation adds up to one cheap story.

All this doesn’t matter to people who won’t delve into the real story and just want a game to play that is fun. That would be okay if gamers didn’t walk around with a chip on their shoulder wanting membership to the exclusive “art club”. But, gamers do, and then there are games like God of War, a fun game but about as anti-art as you can get.

Fun game aside, God of War is about as insincere and convoluted as they come. It has a maturity that keeps the idea of videogames as just toys, and not the idea as a expressive art form to which it will one day be dragged kicking and screaming. This is a great game that proves without any doubt that video games are a poor medium in which to tell a story.

If the gaming public attitudes towards videogames doesn’t change as it hasn’t so far, we’ll be playing more juvenile and immature videogames to come because it is the video gamers themselves who treat games as toys.

The Bad
Can’t carjack any cars. No dialogue tree available that explores Kratos’ development as a child growing up in WWII France and his discovery of sex through his older sister. No inclusion of Japanese gravure stars or Korea’s hottest export, RAIN!

The Bottom Line
You know, I like this game as it has everything I could ask for. Great action, over the top gore, and a grown-up sensibility that combines violent and sexual themes. But this isn’t one of my favorite games because of all the contradictions inherent in the story. I don't identify with Kratos. Sadly, I can't bear to do another time through in "God Mode".

Sadly, if this game had no story if would be better off that the self-important version that takes itself so seriously now. This game is not mindless as others have said, but it requires you to be mindless to enjoy this game even though a lot of thought has been put into this.

I think immoral games are better enjoyed when they don’t explain themselves, like State of Emergency or Grand Theft Auto III. Sometimes we don’t need to understand to like something. Just like Chewbacca from Star Wars.

PlayStation 2 · by lasttoblame (414) · 2008

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

[ 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 (ÎșÏÎ±Ï„ÎżÏ‚, "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.