God of War (video game)

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God of War
The North American box art, depicting Kratos overlooking Mount Olympus
Developer(s)	SCE Studios Santa Monica
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)	David Jaffe, Todd Papy, Jo Wright, Richard Foge, Tobin Russell, Scott Rogers
Writer(s)	Marianne Krawczyk
Engine	Kinetica
Aspect ratio	16:9 / 4:3
Native resolution	480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	NA March 22, 2005 EU June 21, 2005
Genre(s)	Hack and slash, action
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	BBFC: 18 CERO: 18+ (New D) ESRB: Mature OFLC: MA15+ OFLC: R16+ PEGI: 18+ USK: 18
Media	DVD-9
Input methods	Game controller

God of War is a video game for the PlayStation 2 console released on March 22, 2005. It is an action-adventure game based on Greek mythology. God of War was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica division.

It was very well received by critics and fans alike and was the recipient of many awards, including "Game of the Year" honours from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. In 2007, IGN named God of War as the greatest PlayStation 2 game of all time, on their Top 25 PS2 Games list.^[1] The game is now available in the PlayStation 2's lineup of Greatest Hits. A sequel titled God of War II was released March 13, 2007. A prequel, exclusive on the PlayStation Portable, titled God of War: Chains of Olympus, was released on March 4, 2008. A third title, God of War III, is also in development for PlayStation 3.

Plot

The story of God of War revolves around Kratos, a former captain in the Spartan army who sets out to kill Ares, the god of war. It is the goddess Athena who first requests him to kill Ares, as his army is attacking her patron city Athens. Since Zeus has forbidden the gods from directly declaring war against each other, only a mortal can stop Ares. But Kratos is already motivated by revenge; as the game progresses, Kratos' backstory is gradually explained, revealing that he had formerly been a murderous servant of Ares and had received from him his weapons, the Blades of Chaos (which, along with Kratos' recurrent nightmares, continue throughout the story to serve as a reminder of his past), but had renounced his service after the god tricked him into killing his own family.

After fighting through Athens, Kratos learns from the city's oracle that the only way to defeat Ares is to use the legendary Pandora's Box, which can give a mortal the power to kill a god. The Oracle explains that the Box is hidden within the Temple of Pandora, carried on the back of the last living Titan, Cronos, who has been commanded by Zeus to endlessly wander the Desert of Lost Souls, as punishment for his past actions. Kratos travels to the Desert to find Cronos, and upon doing so, gains entrance to the Temple.

Much of the game takes place within the Temple, inside of which Kratos must solve numerous puzzles and overcome hostile creatures to reach Pandora's Box. Ultimately he retrieves the magical artifact, but as he does so, Ares learns of his success and kills him by hurling a broken pillar at him from Athens. After doing so, Ares sends harpies to claim the Box for himself. Kratos meanwhile, falls into Hades, the ancient Greek realm of the dead. He manages to grab onto a ledge, however, and fights his way back into the world of the living.

After escaping from the Underworld, Kratos recovers Pandora's Box from Ares and opens it. The powers unleashed cause him to grow until he is the same size as Ares, and the two engage one another in battle. When Kratos has the upper hand, Ares traps him in an illusory world in which he is seemingly reunited of his family, and is forced to defend them against clones of himself. After saving them, Ares strips Kratos of his Blades of Chaos (and the magical powers he had acquired during his journey), and uses them to kill his family. Kratos is returned to the battleground and, after finding the ancient Blade of the Gods nearby, succeeds in finally defeating and destroying Ares.

Despite his victory, Kratos is informed by Athena that the gods cannot rid him of his frequent nightmares of the past, and can only forgive him for his sins. Thinking all his troubles have been in vain, he attempts to commit suicide. Athena intervenes, however, and takes him to Mount Olympus where, because of his service to the gods, he is offered the chance to become the new god of war. Kratos' magical abilities are restored, and he is given new weapons, the Blades of Athena.

Gameplay

A symbol appears above the heads of enemies that are weakened, representing a button on the controller. Upon pressing the correct button, the player can initiate a special attack sequence, giving larger rewards.

God of War is a third-person action video game, focused on the player using melee attacks, magic abilities, and combinations of the two to defeat foes. The player controls Kratos' movements, including jumping, swimming, and climbing, as well as his attacks. Kratos' primary weapons are the Blades of Chaos, which can be used in a number of different types of attacks, varying in power, speed, and range of damage. Throughout the game, Kratos also gains the abilities of several magical artifacts, such as the head of Medusa that can be used to turn foes into stone. Damaging and killing an enemy will release one of three types of orbs: red orbs can be redeemed to power up Kratos' attacks, and green and blue orbs immediately restore Kratos' health and magic, respectively. As the player fights, a meter reflecting the "Rage of the Gods" begins to fill; when the meter is full, the player can activate the power by pressing the L3 and R3 buttons at the same time. Kratos is engulfed by electricity, and the power of his attacks are temporarily increased. Should Kratos lose all his health, the game is over, but the player has the option of restarting at the last checkpoint; the game will also offer the player the opportunity to attempt the game at a lower difficulty level if they have restarted from the same checkpoint several times in a row. The lower difficulty only changes the enemies skill, and does not help in the many puzzles throughout the game.

When certain enemies, in particular certain boss battles and larger foes, are low in health, the player can initiate a special Quick Time Event killing sequence as indicated by a marker over the enemy's head (the Circle button symbol). This starts a sequence of moves by Kratos that will display a controller button or an analog-stick action briefly on the screen during the attack; the player must hit that button or move the analog stick as indicated within a short time for the killing sequence to continue, otherwise the sequence will be broken and the enemy will grab Kratos and toss him away. However, if the player successfully responds to each sequence, then Kratos will finish off the enemy in a bloody and spectacular fashion, and gain a higher yield of orbs. Most bosses can only be killed using these "fatality" minigames, increasing the cinematic feel of the game.

In addition to the melee aspects of the game, the player will also need to solve environmental puzzles, such as sliding boxes or statues around to depress switches, turning levers to open doors, or similar moves. Chests are scattered about the levels, and can be opened to reveal orbs, gorgon eyes, or phoenix feathers, the latter two can be collected to expand Kratos' health and magic capacity, respectively. Destructible environmental objects can also be broken to retrieve red orbs. Each of Kratos' abilities can be improved using the red orbs; each of the abilities have several levels that improves that ability's effectiveness as well as introducing new combination moves the player can use.

Most of the foes in the game are inspired by creatures from Greek mythology, including Medusa, the Minotaur, and the Lernaean Hydra, among others.

Soundtrack

The score of God of War was composed by Gerard K. Marino, Ron Fish, Winifred Phillips, Mike Reagan, Cris Velasco and Winnie Waldron and released as an exclusive product for the Sony Connect Music Store on March 1, 2005. It was also offered as a free download via a coupon code found in the game's manual.^{[citation needed]} Several of the tracks feature voice over passages from the video game.

Cultural impact

Critical reception

God of War received strong praise from gaming critics. The game was praised for its strong gameplay, graphics, and sound. A CNN review stated that "'God of War' is the type of game that makes you remember why you play games in the first place."^[9] Reviews did find that some of the puzzle and platforming aspects, particularly while escaping Hades, were not as strong as the rest of the game.^{[citation needed]}

Awards

The game has won over a dozen "Game of the Year Awards".^[10] In 2007, God of War was named best PlayStation 2 Action game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the PlayStation 2's long lifespan.^[1]

Film

A film adaptation of the game was announced in 2005.^[11] Creator David Jaffe confirmed that a completed script had been written by David Self and would be sent out to an unspecified "huge-name director". Jaffe also expressed interest in seeing actor Djimon Hounsou in the role of the protagonist, Kratos, saying that "You'd have to get past the fact that Djimon is African and Kratos is Greek, but in terms of the way he looks and his acting ability and his physique — I can't think of a better choice."^[12]

Furthermore, at Comic-Con 2007, Game Head's Geoff Keighley introduced the creator of God of War, David Jaffe to infamous film director, Uwe Boll. Jaffe was asked by Keighley, "Would you really let [Uwe Boll] direct God of War?", to which Jaffe answered "If it was my call you ask me? Truthfully? No, I would not." Boll replied, "Wait until you see Postal, then you judge." Jaffe also confirmed that Universal Studios is behind the making of the God of War movie but was unaware of its current status.^[13] Additionally, no word was heard of the film adaptation until May 2008, when it was suggested that Brett Ratner direct the film.^[14]

References

External links

• GodofWar.com
• Official European Site
• Metacritic Reviews
• God of War at the Open Directory Project
• God of War (video game) at the Internet Movie Database
• God of War Wiki