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 ‘God of War’ fun but too familiar A Review By Glen Osterberger “God of War” embarks upon a quest to deliver a truly memorable game that is familiar and yet brings life into a somewhat stale genre. It begins with a cinematic epic telling of the days of Sparta and of Greece. Kratos is a great, though ruthless, warrior and he cut a bloody swath through the ancient world. You learn bits of his story as you play the game. The cinematics progress directly into the game and you begin your quest to find your past and to, basically, kill everything in your path. “God of War” takes place in an updated ancient Greece. The basic idea comes from mythology but the attitude and designs are much more contemporary and slightly campy. Adversaries are often covered in spikes that look like rejects from KISS’ costumes and things are generally over the top. Theatrics aside, the game’s general story is fairly sound. Kratos is a warrior for Sparta who killed thousands and ended up becoming the unwilling minion of Aries, the Greek god of war, who then uses Kratos to kill thousands more. That basic back-story is learned via flashbacks throughout the game. As the game begins, Kratos receives a message from Athena that Aries is causing havoc in her city, Athens. She wants him to do something and who better to kill Aries than a servant of his with a grudge and special powers. Kratos is the perfect anti-hero. He is merciless and grim, endowed with godlike powers from the gods themselves and single-purposed in his revenge. True mythology would have used someone gallant and noble, but this is a video game and people seem to have to be gritty and grim to be cool these days. It is a game that feels very familiar as the player delves into the depth of myth, but it also manages to bring new qualities to the action genre. “God of War” is basically a very bloody version of “Gauntlet” or “Champions of Norrath” or any of the numerous action games that occupy the store shelves these days. It pulls from other things like “The Two Towers” and “Prince of Persia” by adding a leveling skill and some platforming areas. It also adds elements, such as violence and nudity, that make it for mature audiences only. “God of War” does have some new things that it offers, such as a simple super-combo that you can use when you have beaten a foe to a certain degree. It allows you to do very cool and cinematic moves. Press X, then circle, then triangle as the buttons appear on the screen and you can then chain it into the special move. It is very original, and I expect other games to copy it. Other than that, “God of War” is a fairly standard action game. From reading so many of the glowing reviews, I expected a bit more. It has a decent story and it involves you. It also has a well-integrated series of cinematics that reveal the story. It has a story that is much deeper than most of the action platformers, but it still lacks a certain something. It probably ranks up there with the original “Tomb Raider” though. For the genre, it is definitely one of the strongest stories out there. The basic problem I have is that it isn’t as truly innovative as I had hoped. |
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