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God of War (video game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| God of War | |
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The NTSC box art for the game, depicting Kratos overlooking Mount Olympus.
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| Developer | SCE Studios Santa Monica |
| Publisher | SCEA |
| Designer | David Jaffe |
| Picture format | 480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Released |  March 22, 2005 July 8, 2005 November 17, 2005 August 30, 2007 August 30, 2007 |
| Genre | Hack and slash, Action adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Ratings | ESRB: Mature BBFC: 18 OFLC: MA15+ CERO: 18+ PEGI: 18+ OFLC/NZ: R16+ USK: 18+ |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Media | DVD-9 |
| Input methods | Game controller |
God of War is a video game for the Sony PlayStation 2 console released on March 22, 2005. As 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" honors 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. Thanks in part to the critical and commercial success of the original, a sequel titled God of War II was released March 13, 2007.
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God of War focuses heavily on combat and puzzle-solving, in the vein of recent "extreme action" games such as Devil May Cry and the sixth-generation Prince of Persia titles. Play control is streamlined, allowing the player to engage with the game quickly.
Though God of War fits neatly into the hack and slash genre, it features several unique improvements, most notably player-character Kratos' weapons, the Blades of Chaos, two swords on chains reminiscent of sword-chucks. These curved swords can be swung on chains and function somewhat similar to non-spinning yo-yos when not being used in-hand as "normal" swords; they have a large move-set and allow Kratos great flexibility in combat without changing equipment. Kratos is also able to enter a "fatality" or "takedown" minigame when confronted with a nearly-slain opponent, in which the player must input button presses, joystick spins, or button-mashing, as prompted by the game, in order to defeat the enemy in a cinematic and often bloody fashion. All bosses and most "generic" monsters have such minigames associated with them; completing them often yields life- or magic-bar-restoring power-ups in addition to Experience orbs.
Though he starts with nothing but the Blades of Chaos, Kratos is granted an additional weapon during gameplay (a third is available only during the final battle) and four magic spells for use against opponents. These can be upgraded at any time by redeeming Experience orbs in the Pause menu. Kratos can also become consumed with the "Rage of the Gods," granting him increased speed and power, a large reduction in damage taken, and life restoration. This meter increases with every blow struck or delivered, drains upon activation, and cannot be de-activated mid-use.
God of War is notable for its movie-like presentation. While most epic games suffer from immersion-breaking loading screens (especially Half-Life), God of War's story mode switches seamlessly from the title screen to FMV sequences to gameplay and back with very little load time or frame rate dips. The load times are masked by prefetching the next area as the player traverses a long, relatively featureless area.
The story begins with Kratos on the tallest cliff in Greece, lamenting that the gods have abandoned him; hopeless, he consigns himself to the waves below. The story then rewinds three weeks into the past; as the game progresses, it also relates Kratos' past through numerous flashbacks. For reasons of simplicity, this summary covers all of these events in chronological order.
Kratos is a fearsome Spartan warrior, unmatched in strategy, tactics and ferocity; such was his success that his original fifty-man group grew into an army of thousands. However, in a battle against a barbarian horde, his army was massacred, and, in desperation, Kratos offered his life and service to Ares, the God of War, in exchange for salvation. Ares, sensing enormous power in Kratos, accepted his offer and destroyed the barbarians. He also granted Kratos the Blades of Chaos, whose chains are seared to Kratos' arms. Kratos, now Ares' servant, led his Spartans in conquering much of Greece.
In his final battle, Kratos' army came across a village that worshiped the goddess Athena and put the residents to the sword. Despite his own foreboding feelings and the warnings of the local oracle, Kratos personally entered the village's temple and slaughtered all within. Unfortunately, after his blood-lust cleared, he realized that his two last victims had been his beloved wife and daughter; Ares had engineered the battle to sever the last of Kratos' humanity and turn him into a perfect warrior: the incarnation of death itself. Despite this, Kratos renounced his service to Ares and began to wander the Aegean, lamenting his deeds and serving the gods of Olympus for ten years in exchange for redemption from his sins.
The player becomes involved in Kratos' story as he is approaching the city of Athens, under siege by Ares' army. After a battle with the Hydra, Kratos moves into the city and attempts to save it at Athena's behest. Using clever wording she tricks Kratos into helping the defending Athenian forces, believing that his haunting nightmares will cease, when in fact all the gods plan on doing is rewarding him for his efforts but never ridding him of his horrible memories. He fights his way through the attacking forces to find the Oracle of Athens, and learns from her that only Pandora's Box can give a mortal the power to kill a god. Unfortunately, due to the gods' fear of this object, the box is locked deep within the Temple of Pandora, a murderous edifice constructed on the back of the Titan Kronos, who wanders the Desert of Lost Souls.
Kratos makes his way to the Temple, defeating many foes and evading the many traps built into the Temple, and recovers Pandora's Box (a process that contains most of the game's content). However, as he pushes the Box out of the Temple, Ares senses his success and slays him with a thrown pillar. Kratos, despite this, is able to escape the Underworld and return to the mortal realm, conveniently in Athens, where he regains Pandora's Box and confronts Ares.
When Kratos wins their opening exchange, Ares attempts to drive Kratos mad by making him relive the death of his family. Ares traps Kratos in an illusion of that ill-fated temple and then forces him to defend his family against murderous clones of Kratos himself. When Kratos succeeds, Ares strips the Blades of Chaos from Kratos' arms and impales Kratos' family with them before dissolving the illusion. Freed from his own mind but now weaponless, Kratos is at the mercy of Ares until he spots the Blade of the Gods, serving as an ornamental bridge inside Athens. As he pulls it out, he engages in a sword battle with Ares. After being defeated, Ares reminds Kratos that he helped him in his time of need and then told him he was trying to make him a great warrior. Kratos responds: "You succeeded", then runs Ares through with the sword through his neck and chest. Ares collapses, and dies in a massive explosion.
After receiving congratulations from the Gods, Kratos asks Athena to remove the nightmares of his past. Athena explains that the gods can only forgive him for his sins; the nightmares are beyond anyone's power to remove. Feeling abandoned, Kratos climbs to the bluffs overlooking the Aegean Sea and tosses himself over the edge, bringing the story full circle. However, as he plummets through the waves below, he is pulled out by Athena. He has served the gods well, she explains and the Gods cannot allow one to die who has done them such a great service, and there is a throne on Olympus that lacks an occupant: the one belonging to the God of War...
- Kratos
- The main character, a ruthless, powerful Spartan warrior who swears revenge against Ares for betraying him and for making him turn his sword on his wife and daughter.
- Athena
- The goddess of wisdom, arts and war and the patron goddess of Athens. She guides Kratos on his quest, though she speaks only through statues of herself (The true Athena only appears in the game's sequel).
- Ares
- The God of War who caused Kratos to murder his own family, and is now the target of his revenge.
- The Village Oracle
- An oracle of the village that Kratos and his men burned to the ground. She bears a glowing Omega necklace, hinting that she works for/is Ares, and warned Kratos of going into the temple, as his wife and child were inside. She had attached the ashes of his dead family to his skin after their death. It is unknown what happened to her afterwards.
- The Oracle of Athens
- A servant to Athena who seeks to help Kratos in his quest to vanquish Ares. It was she who told Kratos of Pandora's Box and where it was located, sending him through the Desert of Lost Souls to find The Sirens. (It should be noted that in actual Greek mythology, there is no "Oracle of Athens"; however, there is the Oracle of Delphi who serves Apollo, not Athena. It is probable that the makers of God of War simply decided to use the title "oracle" to denote the high priestess of any given location.)
- The Grave Digger
- A mysterious man digging a grave on the edge of Athens, his exact agenda is unknown when he is first encountered. Later in the game, he is discovered to be digging an opening to Hades, which Kratos uses to escape. His dialogue implies that he is one of the gods of Olympus.
- The Body Burner
- An ambulatory rotting corpse, self-described as the first mortal to enter the Temple of Pandora as well as the first to die in it. Punished by the Gods to burn the bodies of all who die in the temple, he is immortal of spirit but not of body. He is also the only person who can unlock the doors of the Temple.
- The Architect, Pathos Verdes III
- a zealot who, according to the Body Burner, lived only to serve the gods but went mad trying. He constructed the entire Temple of Pandora while slipping deeper into madness, having either lost or sacrificed both of his sons to its construction. Towards the end of the Temple, Kratos discovers the corpses of both Pathos Verdes and his wife. In the architect's madness, he murdered his wife and then committed suicide. Kratos and the Architect share similarities in that they are both servants of the gods who lose their families (and perhaps their minds) in service to the gods of Olympus.
- Kratos' Wife and Child
- In the past, they were the only people who did not fear Kratos, yet both were sadly slain due to Ares' treachery and Kratos' bloodlust. They reappear later as a cruel illusion forged by the God of War in an attempt to defeat Kratos in battle when Kratos proved stronger than Ares thought. They were killed again when the Blades of Chaos were commanded to impale them by their master, The God Of War.
- The Narrator
- An unseen, omniscient voice that narrates the story of Kratos to the gamer throughout the game's cutscenes. In God of War II it is revealed that the narrator is actually the voice of Gaia the Titan, who has been watching Kratos' exploits through the story in the first game.
- Undead Legionnaire
- Ares' army of the undead. Dressed in the armor of ancient Greek warriors, they appear as demonic skeletons with bits of decaying flesh clinging to their bones. A frequently encountered enemy, they sometimes come in clusters and are quite varied; early on they wear little armor and wield short swords, but as the game progresses, they begin to appear wielding larger swords and wearing heavier armor, and eventually end up wielding massive shields and scythes.
- Undead Archers
- A unique variety of Undead Legionaires, they engage Kratos in combat by attacking him from afar with flaming arrows that explode on impact, and carry no swords, shields, or other melee equipment. They usually appear either in pairs or in groups. Though their arrows are strong, and Kratos can easily be killed in a barrage of them, the archers are among the physically weakest of the legionaires when engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
- Minotaurs
- A species of anthropomorphic bulls, appearing to be about eight feet tall. They walk on their hind legs and carry a variety of massive axes. (and sometimes a spiked hammer) Over the course of the game, the Minotaurs Kratos encounters become larger, more powerful, and more heavily armored and well armed. Kratos can kill them by thrusting a sword in their open mouths and out the back of their heads.
- Cyclops
- Squat giants with a single eye in the middle of their foreheads. They resemble the stereotypical depiction of cave men. They attack Kratos either with their fists or with giant clubbed weapons.
- Harpies
- Monsters with the heads of bald, deformed women, and the bodies of bats. They usually appear in large groups to attack Kratos. Individually weak, they can easily overpower Kratos as part of a group attack. In addition to biting and slashing Kratos with their fangs and talons, they can cause their own bodies to start on fire and dive bomb Kratos.
- Wraiths
- The vengeful ghosts of those who died in combat opposing Ares; utterly consumed by the rage in which they died, they now attack any living thing that comes near them. They appear as eyeless, emaciated humans with decaying flesh and bladed arms. Instead of legs, their waists terminate in clouds of black smoke from which they float. They can collapse themselves into this smoke and float around beneath the earth, exploding up from beneath Kratos' feet to attack him.
- Gorgons
- Humanoid-sized, green, lizard-like creatures with the torsos of women and the bodies of snakes; instead of hair, their heads are covered by masses of writhing asps. They emit beams of energy from their eyes which can turn living things to stone.
- Sirens
- Creatures which resemble deformed women with long bangs obscuring their monstrous faces. Dressed in flowing white tunics, they float around the Desert of Lost Souls, singing songs to lure treasure hunters to them, and then killing said treasure hunters. Their death shrieks emit sonic waves which reveal and open the path to Pandora's Temple. Another group of Sirens later attacks Kratos just before Pandora's Temple, and later on inside the temple.
- Satyrs
- Giant, anthropomorphic goats 6-7 feet tall that walk about on their hind legs. Skilled warriors, they wear heavy armor and wield giant ornate staves with large blades on either end, which they either use as axes or to attack with spinning motions. They are the most skilled enemies in the game in terms of hand-to-hand combat, and the most capable of putting up a sustained defense against Kratos' attacks.
- Centaurs
- Servants of Hades, they only appear in the section of Pandora's temple built to honor him, and in the pits of Hades itself. They are half human, half horse; their human half is comprised of a demonic, armored man from the head to the waist. The waist transitions into a horse's body, the human half of the centaur taking place of the horse's head and neck. They wield swords, spears and sometimes have bows and arrows which they shoot as they circle around you.
- Cerberi
- Giant, three-headed demonic dogs/wolves about 8-10 feet tall that breathe fire. They are the most physically powerful enemy that Kratos faces. They can also spawn infant Cerberi, which rapidly mature into Cerberi if not killed.
- Cerberi Litter
- Tiny, puppy-like demonic dogs that breathe fire and are capable of curling themselves into a ball, engulfing themselves in fire, and lunging at an enemy. Left alive, they rapidly mature into Cerberi.
- The Hydra
- A massive sea serpent roughly the size of a small island, with innumerable heads; one head is significantly larger than the rest and sits central on the serpent's body, directing the movements of the other heads and, as stated by one sailor, reviving them as well. As the game's main narrative begins, Kratos has been assigned by Poseidon, god of the sea, to kill the beast, which has been challenging his sovereignty by destroying ships and killing sailors. Kratos kills it by impaling the dominant head on the mast of a ship; when the main head dies, the rest follow, bursting open in grisly fashion.
- Medusa
- The queen of the Gorgons. Medusa resembles the minor Gorgons in shape and size but her skin is colored pink instead; she has the ability to turn others to stone with her gaze. Aphrodite promises to grant you Medusa's power if you are able to defeat her.
- Hades' Minotaur
- A 20 foot tall, skeletal minotaur wearing nearly impenetrable armor. It guards the tomb of the Architect's son in the segment of the Temple of Pandora dedicated to Hades. Judging by the fact that a ballista is present in the Guardian's chamber, it was apparently placed there as a final test to anyone who had made it that far through the temple in an attempt to claim Pandora's Box. Kratos kills it by first chipping away its armor and then firing the ballista at it, impaling it to a door; in its death throes, the beast's hoof smashes open a sealed door, allowing Kratos to proceed.
- Ares
- The Greek god of war, Ares appears as a gigantic man whose head touches the clouds. His hair and chinstrap beard are made of fire and he wears battle armor. Prior to his confrontation with Kratos, he reveals that he has two rows of spider-like "legs" made of iron protruding from his back. Kratos faces him twice, once in hand to hand combat, and then in a sword duel.
The game was in development for about three years before it was released. Before coming up with the final design for Kratos, he was originally an African with dreadlocks but this design was soon changed after it was decided they would go with Greek mythology. Kratos went through many different designs before it was decided on what he would look like for the final game.
A film adaptation was announced in 2005. [2] Nearly one week prior to the release of God of War II in the U.S., creator David Jaffe confirmed that a completed script had been penned by David Self and would be sending it out to an unspecified "huge-name director." Jaffe also expressed interest in seeing actor Djimon Hounsou in the role of the protagonist, Kratos. "You'd have to get past the fact that Djimon is African American 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." [3]
Furthermore, on Comic-con 2007 Game head's Geoff Keighley introduced creator of God of War, David Jaffe to infamous film-director, Uwe Boll. David was asked by Geoff "Would you really let him direct God of War?", David answers "If it was my call you ask me? Truthfully? No, I would not." Uwe replied "Wait until you see Postal, then you judge." David also confirmed that Universal Studios is behind the making of the God of War movie and that he has no idea "Where it's at".[4]
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God of War received rave critical acclaim at the time of its release, scoring an unprecedented 94% at the aggregate review site Metacritic. Critics praised the game's effective controls, highly polished presentation, storyline and the sheer entertainment value of playing it. Some criticism was leveled at its linear storyline, relatively short play-through time and excessive focus on combat; concern was also expressed over the game's Mature rating, given for ultraviolent content and female nudity. Another common complaint is the lack of replayability due no "carry-over" option; accumulated items, power-ups and learned abilities cannot be carried over to a new game (for example, Resident Evil 4 permits the player to keep his inventory from the end of a completed game into a new game). With God of War, each new game makes the player start from scratch.
EGM - 10/9.5/10 16th place on The Sales Chart Game Informer - 10 out of 10 X-Play - 5 out of 5
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]
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- Kratos was also parodied as "Kratos Jones" in a segment that aired on G4 advertising the (fake) E3 Grindhouse.
- He has also been parodied in several popular webcomics: in VG Cats, comic 151 parodies the Oracle of Athens' revealing clothing which heavily distracts Kratos and the second part of comic 221 shows Kratos on the cover of a book titled If I Did It, Here's How It Happened, the joke being that the title is similar to the cancelled book of O.J Simpson, who was accused, but found not guilty of killing his wife and Kratos having actually committed mariticide; in Penny Arcade, he goes to therapy in order to change his brutal nature.
- In the game itself, during a cutscene where in Kratos slaughters the inhabitants of Athena's temple, one of his victims emits a Wilhelm scream as he is struck to the ground.
- A Wilhelm scream is also heard when the soldier keeping the bridge closed in Athens is slain.
- A child prodigy version of David Jaffe tries to pitch the game to a video game company in the 80's in the TV show Code Monkeys
- The Simpsons Game has a level parodying the Hydra boss fight, but with dolphins. The level is called The God of Wharf, in reference to the level setting. A billboard of Kratos selling a hot drink is present.
In fan made video clips Kratos fights his enemies with the ability to transform into the movie version of Optimus Prime. He also travels with the infamous Gamatatsu, who is very annoying but has rare moments where he is useful to Kratos.
- ^ a b IGN PlayStation Team (2007-03-16). The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time. IGN.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ^ Games to Film: God of War, IGN.com
- ^ The 'War' Within, ew.com
- ^ [1]
- Official Site
- Official European Site
- Metacritic Reviews
- 1UP Review
- God of War (video game) at the Internet Movie Database
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| Console releases | God of War · God of War II · God of War III |
| Portable releases | God of War: Chains of Olympus · God of War: Betrayal |
| Related articles | Kratos · Soundtrack |