Until one fine day some two years ago, when I decided that I should play this game called 'God of War' for the PS2, what I was about to go through was the same thing that many other PS2 owners would have done as well, and it was to be a game that's the all-time best seller on the PS2.
Just like popular gaming website, Gamespot sums it in a sweet paragraph.. "Action adventure games of the quality of God of War don't come around often. God of War takes a tale of vengeance, set against the backdrop of ancient Greek mythology, and turns it into an epic adventure filled to the brim with bloody, stylish, over-the-top combat, challenging puzzles, and highly impressive production values. So many games within the action adventure genre tend to limit their focus so heavily to either the combat or puzzle-solving side, while leaving the opposing side as little more than an afterthought, but God of War does nothing of the sort. Instead, it blends these two equally important parts extremely well. To put it in no uncertain terms, this is one of the best action adventure games on the PlayStation 2, and it should not be missed." Indeed, nobody who owns a PS2 should give this game a miss, and even more so as we speak of God of War II.
*Spoiler ALERT*
The protagonist in this game, Kratos, a fearless Spartan warrior who led his army of soldiers in wars and battles. There was finally this one time, where he almost couldn't get away with his act, as he faced overwhelming opposition in the form of barbarians who simply outnumbered Kratos and company. In times of need, Kratos did what would eventually be the gist of the gameplay in 'God of War', for he seeked the help of Ares, who was the real God of War, in Greek Mythology. Kratos promised that he would serve Ares if he could get the former out of this mess he was in. So, Ares, seeing great potential in someone like Kratos, would agree, and in turn, gave Kratos what would be his main weapon in the game, the Blades of Chaos. These blades, forged in the fires of Hades itself, were attached to magical chains, and were seared into Kratos' very flesh as he beheld them, becoming as much a part of him as his own arms and a permanent reminder of his servitude to the God of War.
Of course, with this new weapon of his, Kratos would effortlessly decapitate the head of the Barbarian War chief, but he wasn't really sure what was in store for him. Eventually, as Ares would train Kratos to become Death itself, he sent Kratos and his Spartan warriors to destroy a town which was dedicated to Athena (a fellow Greek god, sister to Ares, but one whom Ares didn't see eye to eye with). In this town, Kratos was to commit a sin that would haunt him for the next ten years, and one which would make him turn his back against the real God of War.
Yes, Kratos killed his wife and child, and this nightmare, as well as of those terrible things he had done, were to haunt him to the extent that he needed to seek help from the gods to erase him of these pains. Of course, at the same time, Ares was becoming too greedy and ambitious, destroying territories of other Gods. While gods were forbidden from both personally interfering with their counterparts' plans and waging direct conflict against each other, Athena and the other gods could use mortals (such as Kratos) on their behalf. So if Kratos could now kill his master, the gods would forgive him of his mistakes.
Of course, in the whole journey in which Kratos had to travel, to find this Pandora's Box, which was by far the way to kill a God. With the power from the Pandora's Box, which allowed Kratos to stand very much like the godlike height that Ares was at, together with the Blade of Olympus, he became a mortal who did something no one else has done before, to kill a god.
Sadly, the other gods played a trick of words with Kratos, and said that although they would forgive Kratos of his sins, there was never a deal to erase him of his nightmares. Feeling desperate, Kratos tried to end his life, by jumping off the cliffs of Suicide Bluffs, somewhere above the place where he killed Ares just shortly before. However, the gods wouldn't let someone who had done them a great service to die by his own hands, and since there was a vacancy in the God of War post, Kratos was offered the job and that's how God of War II starts! Hurray!!
I've looked forward to God of War II for a very long time, since God of War was so enjoyable! I was quite disappointed that shops I went to had not stocked the game, and wasted quite a few trips but to no avail. Finally got this game last sunday, and extremely pleasant, since I think due to the violent, strong themes in this game, its currently not allowed to be on for sale in shops! Hahaha.
*Another Spoiler ALERT*
God of War II picks off where GoW left off. After Kratos becomes the next God of War, he is still pretty much in touch with his Spartan warriors, and he actually continues the atrocities of Ares, destroying anything and anyone that stands against Kratos. He was much more ruthless than Ares, and the other gods were already thinking of ways to get rid of him, much like how they wanted to get rid of Ares previously.
Since Kratos was getting too difficult to handle, it only seemed appropriate that the King of Gods, Zeus was to take this matter into his own hands. Having an eagle swoop down on Kratos as the new God of War went to Rhodes to personally carry out acts of terror, the eagle stole some of Kratos's powers and transferred it onto Colossus of Rhodes, which thus begins a long fight for Kratos. Zeus would then pretentiously be kind enough to offer Kratos, again The Blade of Olympus, the same heavenly sword used to kill Ares, in order to take out Colossus of Rhodes. However, in the process, Kratos was to drain all his godly powers into the blade, leaving him nothing but a mortal again. As he returns to claim the blade and his powers after the tiring battle, Zeus appears, and of course without much effort, kills Kratos with this sword that has got all of the powers in the God of War.
As he died, in a second time (the first in GoW), he was sent to Hades. However, Gaia, the mother of the Titans, who had been watching Kratos all the while, decided that She would help Kratos, and together get rid of Zeus and company, since Gaia was pretty much intolerable towards Zeus and some of his past sins. (Of course, we thought gods were perfect, apparently not so). And so, Kratos made it back to Rhodes, where he now needs to find the Sisters of Fate, beings which controlled the fate of every mortal or god, to turn back time to the instant Zeus killed him. The main action of this game comes from the tedious journey of Kratos as he makes his way to the Sister of Fate, and change his own fate. Eventually, Kratos does manage to get back to the moment when Zeus kills him, and changes the course of things.
Just as he was about to kill off Zeus, Athena, the very same god who offered Kratos his job as GoW, takes a fatal blow from the Blade of Olympus, which was aimed at Zeus, and Athena dies. (Another god slained at the hands of Kratos) With 2 gods gone, and Zeus considerably weak as he was fighting against Kratos, it made the latter believe that the time of the gods were ending. Kratos would then make use of the threads of Fate again, and bring Gaia and the rest of her titans for one big clash against Zeus and his gods. This one hell of a cliffhanger will leave God of War fans asking for more, and it shall be the biggest single reason to buy a PS3 and wait for God of War III!!!
What you have just read is the gist of the story behind God of War. Cool right? For those of you with the PS2, please kindly play this game, you will not regret it. A deep plot aside, the gameplay is easy and instinctive. Its so easy to pick up, and the help you get as you proceed makes it helpful for beginners or veterans alike. The amazingly smooth graphics and impressive music scores makes the game better than ever. If you like blood and gore, this game is for you! I personally loved the no-holds barred tearing of enemies into halves, twisting of Medusas' heads, ripping of Cyclops' eyeball, or smashing enemies into bits. Its anger management at best!
Even though I completed the game in 3 days (and I played with extreme intensity), its still so good it makes me want to play it for a couple more times. Definitely the kind of game I will still want to play.. say 10 years down the road. This one single game justifies the price I paid for the PS2, and the game itself, and one that has prevented me from ditching my PS2, or letting it become Dust Station 2.
Cheers to Sony and its team of game designers for such a fantastic game! I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment of this great series. Hurraf!
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