One of the best games of the PS2 era
There are few games that I have played that have had me captivated from the first time I picked up the controller and all the way through to the end. Those few games that have done this for me include Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and this game...God Of War. From the first time that I took the blades of chaos and started becoming a killing machine I had a blast. And it was easy to pull off all the different moves. This is a game that anyone can learn, because you can either button mash your way through the game (although it makes it a bit tougher in my opinion) or you can take the time to learn all the different combos. Now there aren't a lot of different combos to learn. I personally think thats a great thing, because some games will have 50 + combos from the beginning for you to learn...for some that can be over whelming. But with GoW you start with a few simple combos and as the game progresses you can take the time to learn more.
Now not every move deals with the blades of chaos. There are several magic spells that you will be able to perform by the end of the game and even a sword that you can use. But for those of you who haven't played GoW yet, I will warn you, don't get too comfortable with these...there is a curveball in the game. As for the mechanics in GoW, I think they were executed perfectly. From double tapping X to do a double jump, to stringing together a combo for a finishing move, its all very easy to do. And to bring you farther into the game SCEA even went as far as to not make action that you perform just hitting X. Just like in Resident Evil 4 you will have to hit button combos or just simply keep tapping a button to perform everything you do in the game. And boy does everything you do look so beautiful! Every animation, every blade of grass, the various Greek monuments and scenery...its all made with fantastic detail. Of course the cut scenes look even better. But, they are not just all 5 or 10 min long videos, there is also still images or animated images incorporated in as well. This is by far one of the best looking Playstation 2 games ever! And the sound brings you even more into the game. The voice acting is done very well and is believable. And the musical score throughout the game would make the Star Wars Orchestra salivate.
This review barely even scratches the surface of what God Of War has to offer you. Besides playing the game once through in Hero mode you can go back and try you hands of God Mode...which is one of the hardest difficulties ever in gaming. And yes, if you want to unlock everything in the game you do have to pay God mode. Once again this is one of the greatest games that I have ever played and at least for me it has changed the way I look at the Action Adventure genre. Oh and if you need something else to convince you to play this game...its only $19.99.
