God of War for PlayStation 2

I'm not a big fan of the hack 'n slash genre but I have to admit there is something to be said for games like Dynasty Warriors or Devil May Cry. They offer of a good challenge of mindless, button mashing fun. I was apprehensive when I bought this game, worrying that my fingers would get tired with repetitive movement and that I would have to slave through another game with a ridiculous, hard to follow or simply pointless story. But God of War is, to me, a cut above the rest of the genre featuring a great story, awesome graphics, challenging puzzles and fantastic gameplay.

Set in a mythological Ancient Greece, where pretty much every monster of note from that civilization's past roams the Earth, you play Kratos, a Spartan warrior. The game acutally begins with Kronos committing suicide. The suicide is actually the end result of the game: The story flashbacks to a couple weeks prior and this is where you being to play as the Spartan hero. What I really like Kratos is that he's a nasty guy who takes killing to an artform. Yet, as the story progresses you actually start to feel differently about a man who, it seems, has been abandoned and betrayed yet is giving a huge responsibility. It's all the more tragic sense you know, sort of, what his fate is in the end. The main story, however, is Kratos search for Pandora's Box which is actually a weapon with the power to kill a god. In Kratos' case, the god he must kill is Ares, the god of war. No small feat, that.

Kratos has two chains fused to his arms with blades on the end. His basic combat manuevers involve him whipping the chains around to slice up enemies. But as the game progresses you're able to learn a whole array of moves that are truly stunning. Really, there's times where you'll laugh with dark delight as you artfully dispatch a horde of, say, undead warriors. You get more tools of destruction as well: thunderbolts, swords,the power of Medusa (to freeze enemies). Really, the variety of combat in this game is almost enough to make you forget about all the button mashing you're doing. I had a fun time putting to getting amazing looking combos.

The gameplay is actually quite challenging, in addition to be fun. I find Devil May Cry to be an extremely hard game and God of War is no less in that respect. There are a few difficulty modes. The easiest is actually a piece of cake but the normal/default level can be very hard at times. There are insstances when you're up against what seems a ridiculous amount of enemies or perhaps, just one enemy that is ridiculous in it's ability to inflict major damage. But again, the combination of moves and weapons allows you to get into a sort of killing zone, once you've leveled up properly.

There are a host of really deep, involved and long puzzles to figure out as well. Really, to me, the puzzles are top notch, reminiscient of Prince of Persia or even Ico (if anyone else besides me has played it). The puzzles can be really tough, hard to figured out or sometimes so obvious you miss the solutions.

What I really love about the game is the bigger enemies and bosses. Simply put, the bosses are the best I've played against in a while. First, many of them are huge in the sense of their size but also in the time it takes to beat them. The first boss you'll be pitted against, for instance, is the Hydra. Picture yourself on a ship, on the high seas, with a multiple headed dragon coming at you. Mind you, you take on one head at a time but each head, based upon where you fight it, takes a unique approach to kill. In addition, there is are often special moves that you often have to complete to kill a boss. These moves usually involved timed button hitting, like a DDR game or the like. It's not as stupid or distracting as it sounds and the moves you complete are usually spectacular. These moves can often be done on certain enemies and if you can actually perform the actions, the enemies will be killed quicker or often yield health, magic or points used to level up your weapons.

Speaking of spectacular, the graphics and sound may be the best yet featured on the PS2. God of War really pushes the console to it's limits even though there is little slowdown. The character animations are second to none (including any PC or X-Box) game and what I love most- almost no load times!

God of War is in no respect a kids game. First, there's blood, lots and lots of blood. The amount of red stuff you'll see, as well as all the gory ways one can dispatch a person is, at times, quite revolting. In addition, there's nudity. Mostly breasts but lots of them. Most of the time their in no sexual situations but there is one mini game in which you can actually, ahem, "be" with two ladies. This is a game for adults. Besides a few games that purposely try to be obscene, I can think of none other game that is as mature as this one. God of War is deserving of it's mature rating.

My initial review of this game was actually a little tame in terms of the rating I gave it. Having finally beat the game once and now well into my second time through, I have to say that this is the best PS2... no, the best game on any system I've played in a long, long time. The story, graphics, controls, sound... everything has really enthralled me. Ever game should aspire to be as well made and interesting as God of War. This is the game to get.