A fantastic action game, worthy of it's title.
The best way I think I can describe how fun God of War is, is this way: You know when you're playing a game, and your really should stop, so you say to yourself "I'll stop at the next save point." Then you get to the save point, and you say "Well, maybe one more save point." but deep down you know you really mean two more. That's this game.
The presentation of this game is top notch. Usually I find cut scenes get in the way, and I hope that they're short. The style of the cinematics in this game are fantastic, and kept me engaged. It's just too bad you can't skip them the second time around. They also chose the perfect woman to do the voice over. The sound overall is well crafted, including the beautifully executed music which gets you hyped up for the action.
Most other aspects of the game are just as impressive. The controls respond very well, and are easy to both work with and execute special moves. I only wish that you could move more easily to a block in the middle of a combo, instead of the animation taking priority. The button layout is easy to learn, but I found there was too much unnecessary abuse placed upon the R2 button. Do I really need to repeatedly bash the R2 button to open gates? I mean, it's not like it makes gate-opening fun. There's no control for the camera, however the camera in this game is incredibly helpful. This is one of the best cameras on rails I've seen.
Then there's what makes this title really shine. The game-play: it's fun! I felt it was broken up into three types of game-play, all of which were of great design. There's the puzzle solving aspect of the game. There's a decent number of switch puzzles in the game. Nothing too hard, but interesting enough to give a break from that combat that I really didn't mind. Add to this the odd maze, trap puzzle, and hidden rooms, and it made for a nice balance among the bloodshed. There's also some area's that had a little bit of a platforming feeling to it, which was also a welcome experience. It's kept the game-play variety going, and broke up the fighting sequences. The final, and most prevalent part, is the combat. This is where it's at. It's straight-forward, smooth, exciting and engaging. Thanks to those controls again, it feels like you are doing more than just button mashing. Through it all you get a real sense of the strength behind each of your hits. Throughout most of the game you get 2 melee weapons and 3 magic spells, with a 4th spell that comes in closer to the end. it may not sound like munch, but with upgrades available for each, you don't get bored with the tools at hand, and you get to feel like your mastering what you do have at your disposal. It's important to say that none of these game-play elements felt tacked on, or thrown together at the last minute for the sake of variety. The only aspect that interrupted the fun for me were balance board sections you'll come across. In certain parts you have to walk across narrow boards. I wasn't a fan of these balancing acts, and could have lived without them.
When you put all these pieces together, the game also gives you that feeling of special something. On paper it may sound like a standard game, but like many great games it takes a simple core concept, and refines it to the point of undeniable fun. But most of the fun would be found the first time around. It does not seem like there would be a lot of new experiences if you were to play it twice.
Also like great games before it, it has the characteristic that's most important to me: it feels right. It's hard to put my finger on where the feeling comes from, but it's there.
Not for the faint of heart, but a definite treasure for those that like intense action.
