REVIEW: God of War

God of War

Platform: Playstation 2
Genre: Action
Developer: Sony Santa Monica
Publisher: Sony

“To play God of War is to experience greatness on the grandest of scales.”

Few games truly achieve a level of prominence brought forth by its impeccable gameplay design that it becomes an art form. God of War is such a game. With its large landscapes and fluid control, God of War excels in almost every category, thus emitting the feel of something designed by an artist staring into his canvas. And for a game to have such huge gameplay, it must take place on the largest canvas it can find. And what is larger than a mythological landscape created by the Gods? From Zeus to Hades’ hell, you will traverse the most beautiful environments that ever graced game consoles. Just wait until you reach the resting place of Pandora’s Box. Where it sits is a sight no gamer will soon forget. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say that Kronos the Titan is one big guy.

Near perfect comes to mind when I think of describing the control in God of War. Even when it comes to Kratos traversing across a beam high above the beautifully landscaped ground below, control is tight. If he slips, he immediately grabs the edge allowing the player to tap X to pull him up again.

Combat is a wonder to behold. Never have I seen such grace since Vanessa Z. Schneider danced around her foes in P.N.03. It is ballet at its finest, albeit very bloody and very deadly, to maneuver Kratos around swarms of enemies. In fact the more enemies I fought at one time, the greater satisfaction I got from combat. It was at these moments that the fluid and responsive controls shinned the brightest.

God of War may appear to be the average action game at first glance, but make no mistake. The grandness of the environments and story as well as intense action make this game beyond the realm of the average action game.

If not for the unbelievably awesome action coming to a screeching halt every time I had to drag a box around, this game would have been perfect. As it stands, I am a firm believer that push/pull box puzzles do not belong in action games. However, do not let that deter you from experiencing GoW. Run, don’t walk to your nearest game store and buy this game today. Games like this only come around so often. God of War may not be perfect, but it is good enough to earn a permanent position on this generation's must buy list.


4.5 out of 5