God of War

God Of War, released on March 22, 2005, is one of the best action games ever released on any console. David Jaffe and his team at Sony-Santa Monica have created a game that is better than the Japanese created Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden.

This game is noted for its deep use of Greek Mythology. Mr. Jaffe for years had wanted to make a game based on it. You are Kratos, a super-human who at the start of the game is seen falling to his death. The game then goes back to three weeks earlier where you control the chain of events that lead to him committing suicide.

Kratos has two attacks, magic, and a jump and a roll/evade move. Combat is a breeze and is very satisfying. In this game, you are powerful enough as is to combat your opponents. You gain orbs to increase your powers and the Gods themselves bestow you the magic.

The game is an absolute work of art. The graphics are some of the best you'll see with much detail on the enemies and the locales. The controls are easy to get into and the manual details everything for you. Combat features mostly hack and slash but there will be times you'll do specific button presses or Track-And-Field style button mashing against tougher enemies or bosses.

The music is outstanding; perhaps one of the best original scores ever created. The voice acting is top-notch with Oscar-winning actress Linda Hunt providing the narration. Best of all, the game is just plain fun. You can get into it right away. It can be beaten in 10-12 hours but you'll want to replay it.

One word of warning: this game is rated M and it richly deserves it. There is a lot of violence, blood and gore, and some nudity throughout the game. This isn't a game for kids or the squeamish. For everybody else, this is the PS2s best game of 2005, maybe the year's best, and a game franchise to keep your eye on.

This outstanding slice-n-dicer arises from the under utilized ancient Greek mythology. While not completely rooted in historical myth, the authors have created a well though out, intriguing storyline that brings both ambitious goals and better than most emotionality to the screen.

The interface, while very functional as most Playstation games are, is exceptionally intuitive and rewarding. When I began my first game, on a moderate setting, I was expecting to be daunted by the numerous, very beautifully rendered moves preformed by Kratos, the game's hero. Forgive me for doubting, since I've turned 35, I have found that programming VCRs has become challenging. I'm sure that a seven or fifteen year old will wonder what I'm even talking about.

This game is gory. It's not just gory for gory's sake, but honest to gory gosh gory because the hero is a violent guy. I loved the feel of this, because it reminded me of watching the swords & sandals movies, just as they slashed and wrestled their way to ultimate, noble glory, so does Kratos. In fact, if there is any real flaw, it is because there is perhaps too much hubris distributed among all the characters in this game.

I've been bored of the video game industry's fascination with anime and the Japanese spiky- haired teen heroes. There is plenty of luscious large-chested babes in slinky, barely decent attire, and then you have 'warriors' that look like ten-year-olds in safety-mom's dream football gear. I've never been a big costume fan. In God of War, Kratos is rendered bare- chested and powerfully built, with a blazing red body tattoo, scars and white skin. It's something I can relate to. He's moody, vicious, and he extracts blood and limbs like nobody's business. I can relate to this too.

The God of War world is expansive, inviting exploration as well as providing very good direction, and only once did I have any trouble with the puzzles. I spent nearly two days solid trying to place a dumb crate into a room to jump to a ledge. Apparently it had to be just so, and I kid you now, I was near destroying my console with my bare hands, Kratos style.

If this game has any educational value what so ever, it will teach patience, and that try, try, try yet again will eventually pay off. This game stays in my personal library. I love it.

God of war is an instant classic, its a visceral, exciting, intriguing adventure of a game that grips you in away that few games can .

Playing as kratos (one of the most bad ass game characters ever) god of war invites you to solve the brilliantly conceived puzzles and fight the truly awe inspiring monsters of a game that pushes the PS2 to its limits.

God of war excels in all areas -amazing graphics , a simple but brutally effective combat system, Great character designs, a beautifully haunting score and a storyline that you actually give a hoot about.The only problem (and i stress the word "only") is that it has bad replay value-to get all of the games extra goodies you have to complete the game AGAIN in a pretty darned impossible "god mode". Apart from that though, its all good.

God of war is one of my favourite games ever and if you haven't played it then i suggest you do . Now.

I have played many games in my life, and without a doubt this game is the best one of all. Production values, gameplay, and story are superb. The main character Kratos is incredibly strong and cruel, but not when it comes to his family. I really liked the parallel in his personality. From beginning to end, the game draws you in and never lets up. This is an adult title, and as long as you realize that, you will enjoy this title like no other.

Halo, GTA, and Zelda are all fantastic games in their own right, but God of War beats them because the story and environments and gameplay are done so well. Playing this game is why we enjoy consoles so much.

I picked this up two days ago in the pre-owned bucket as couldn't afford it when it came out. As soon as it was in my slimline, AWE and AMAZEMENT, brilliant cinematics and dramatic story. It gets you hooked from the start and makes you wonder what will happen to Kratos and why he's doing what he does. The game is beautiful, frame rate is excellent even with many enemies on the screen.

A lot of attention to detail is applied to all the characters including NPCs and other 'extras' that are normally very generic. The main character himself is detailed to the bone, watching Kratos walk and accelerate into a run is a feast to the eye.

The levels are beautifully designed and the puzzles are just hard enough to keep you interested but easy enough not to get you frustrated.

The action element is very present, unlocking combos, upgrading weapons and magic spells really makes a difference to the gameplay. The combos are varied and very well animated.

Gore: this game is definitely an adult title, i have played violent games before but this is a level above, not that its any grittier but its just more stylish, there isn't loads of blood just for the sake of it, you have to execute the best combos to get the chance to see what I'm talking about but the actions of Kratos really characterize him and makes you believe in the fact that he's a seasoned warrior(thats actually an understatement)

Partial nudity in there but nothing too naughty and OMG the bosses and GODS are the very best part of this game, fighting the HYDRA is a treat and watching Ares stomping in the background while you are scouring the mountains is just one of the small touches that prove that a lot of time has been put into developping this game. Definitely worth the buy!