God of War

The Good
Greek Mythology has always been a treasure-trove of storytelling and scale for me: it's such a rich source of material to draw any story upon and its steeped history relating to Greek culture itself is fascinating, and I LOVE it when modern works try and critique the concept of Gods playing and using men as means to achieve their own omniscient ends. And God of War is probably the only game that can be described as a zeitgeist piece emphasizing the concept of 'Impact': everything you do, boss battles, the lives you save or take feel like they're all part of something HUGE and significant. It's an incredible journey of spectacle and scale.

The character Kratos, the player's character for the entire game, is a revelation in modern gaming: he's an anti-hero who's tragic yet relatable in that he's become a victim of his own hubris, pride and a pawn of the Gods of Olympus. He's a modern character that feels right at home; pop-culture's first true organically conceived extension of Greek Mythology.

God of War is a masterpiece in gaming history and one of Playstation's finest titles ever conceived. It's fast-paced, challenging, bloody and meaty in its hack-and-slash gameplay that it leaves you wanting more, in that you'll play IT again and follow on with the game's sequels.

The Bad
There's not really anything faulty with the game. I suppose the cut-scene rendering can sometimes range from amazing to so-so, give or take the PS2 or PS3 versions of the game. Aside from that, it's flawless.

The Bottom Line
God of War is one of the BIGGEST and most important games you'll ever play in your lifetime; truly. It's an experience, not just a game that you sit down and forget about later on. The same applies for the sequels too, especially God of War II. Imagine Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts movies updated for a gaming audience and made new again.