Flashy Production, shallow substance
This game has got some of the highest production values ever to grace the PS2. The music is great, the graphics are great, the architecture is great, and all these things work together really seamlessly. So as an audio/visual experience God of War is a real treat.
The biggest downfall is the part where God of War is supposed to be a GAME. Where you make a difference in how the game pans out. God of War gives you just about as little choices as is possible in todays gaming world. On top of this, the action looks cool but does not give you enough control to get your heart pumping. I didn't feel excited very much at all during the action sequences, dying didn't make me feel bad, it just left me feeling empty.
Its way too easy to get through this game. The game seems to focus so much on the cinematic side of things and yet the story is REALLY sparse let me tell you and any character development is VERY shallow and sparse. So this to me is the reason why God of War doesn't work. The main character one track minded, focused entirely on anger and pain which is personally not my thing, but may work for others.
Don't get me wrong I love my slow less 'exciting' games, I love games that don't focus on action.. God of War is quite an experience, but seems to always grab your focus with its graphics and not its substance.