God of War for PlayStation 2

There's no doubt in my mind that the PS2 has positively ruled 2005 for the year's best games. Innovating far beyond the so-called next generation (and even more than my beloved GameCube), 05 has been a year of experiments and masterpieces from Shadow of the Colossus to Dragon Quest VIII but without a doubt, everyone's #1 pick for 2005 was God of War (on all platforms, not just the PS2). When I say everyone I mean respected game websites and publications.

Now, where do I stand on this game? Well, I got the demo in the mail because it seems somehow Sony got my address and won't stop sending me demos of crappy games. They also sent a demo for God of War which I thought was mildly amusing but didn't really think much about it. I thought I might pick it up after the price went down. Well, thanks to a good friend I got the game for Christmas and was able to experience this game for myself and see what all the hooplah was about.

God of War is an epic tale set in ancient Greece starring the ridiculously brutal Kratos. His skin as pale as the moon with bright red tribal tattoos covering his body, he's about as primal a hero as we've seen. He doesn't adorn armor or swing fancy swords. No, Kratos is more than a mere man. He was once a servant of the Gods and carries with him the Blades of Chaos, foul blades of fire chained to his forearms as payment for the infinite power that they contain.

When you see Kratos swinging these things you are not going to believe how awesome he looks. Everything is so incredibly smooth. Sony Santa Monica had an extensive motion capture process capturing every move and every possible transition making a flawless transition from one move to the next and then to a block to counter your enemies' advances.

The game is not only animated smoothly but it controls as such. The moves at Kratos' disposal are easy enough to pick up and you will be kicking mythological butt in a matter of minutes. But lest the pick-up-and-playability of this game fool you, there is a mine of depth hidden beneath the simple button mashing it seems to encourage.

You see, you can't just go out there attacking all willy nilly and expect to survive. These monsters are brutal. You'll be fighting famous mythological figures such as minotaurs, cyclopes and gorgons (including Medusa herself.) The game doesn't think twice about throwing lots of them at you at once. Think fighting 2 cyclopes, 3 minotaurs and 5 undead soldiers at once is challenging? Try having them drop down undead soldiers to you by the handful and then spawning new ones after each one you kill. Did I forget to mention that a spiked wall is closing in on you and if you don't kill them all quick enough you'll be shattered by the impact? Yes, it's that ridiculous at times.

All this means that as you get further into the game, you are going to have to master the art of counter attacks and dodging. The key to success is to pull off lengthy combo strings without interruption and to upgrade your skills with the red orbs you reap from huge combos (the more the merrier, my record is 235.) Kratos has a weak and a heavy attack as well as magic (such as the thunderbolts of Zeus and the army of Hades) and a grab button to toss enemies around and then to initiate mini-games on certain monsters under certain conditions. Now, this is what makes combat very interesting. Not only can you juggle your opponents around like crazy but you can grab a minotaur and shove your blades right into his mouth by rapidly tapping the circle button to overpower him. In other cases, you might initiate a mini-game that will bring up buttons on screen that you have to press in time to perform finishing moves (and these are absolutely necessary against the few bosses in the game.)

Speaking of bosses, there really should have been a lot more of them. While I found the battle with Ares a little less epic than I expected, the first two bosses are spectacular; the first being the famous Hydra from the demo. Man, you will not believe how you actually finish this beast off and when you do you might jump out of your seat when you walk into his mouth to find a person hanging on for dear life. Yeah, this game goes there.

And it is not afraid to go there because this game has most definitely earned that big M on the package. God of War isn't afraid to throw lots of spilled plasma and disemboweling as well as what can be considered an overabundance of bare breasts (I mean, I get it when they're maidens that Kratos took to bed but I don't think the Oracle of Athens should be distracting you with her sweater puppets.) Either way, keep the kids away or they'll put you away, blah blah blah, you know the deal.

There's also a rather impressive presentation to be had. God of War could easily be mistaken for an XBOX game and is probably the best looking game on the system (with Shadow of the Colossus close behind.) I mentioned earlier about the fantastic animation of Kratos but the enemies are definitely not too far behind. Watch as the Hydra grabs you in his mouth while you fight to keep him from crushing you with his jaws. Marvel as Ares crushes an army in the distance and wonder how the hell you are going to even be able to get him to notice you, let alone kill the giant.

Let's not forget these amazing environments. From Athens to the back of the mighty Titan Chronos down to the depths of Hades itself, it seems as if the game tops itself from one moment to the next. The art direction is astounding and I really feel as though I'm in ancient Greece. The only area I had an issue with was Hades. I'm not going to spoil it for you but needless to say there's a lot of untapped potential.

The story is perfect for the setting it's in. Heavily borrowing from Greek mythology, you are sent by the Gods to kill the God of War, Ares. But you also have a vendetta against Ares and so while God of War is essentially a revenge story, it's so epic in scope and execution that you really feel like you're watching a movie about a mythological tale. The story is completely original but manages to somehow feel like it could be an actual part of the mythology surrounding it. Kratos is a brutish man with few words but while he may not say a whole lot, there's never a misspent line. Every word he says has a meaning. So while there is not a lot of dialogue, what's there is spectacular and just as well acted.

Now, one of the reasons the game feels so epic is because of the score. This soundtrack is easily the best game soundtrack of the year. The music is orchestrated and huge. You can't imagine how satisfying it is laying the smackdown on minotaurs and hearing this choir flaring up with intensity with each successive hit. There are some softer songs but the game benefits by keeping the intensity high since you are going to be spending a lot of time fighting these creatures.

The game is about 80% sweet, sweet combat and 20% environmental puzzles. It actually feels like a platformer in some spots when you hop from one pedestal to the next, balance your way across unsteady beams and climb up walls. Indeed, the puzzles can be a bit intrusive at times, seemingly there just to vary up the game but I do appreciate them all the same. None of the puzzles are overly taxing and they're all completely logical (and some completely brutal.)

But the one thing the game has above all other games is this incredible sense of brutality and anger. Never have I seen a hero (or anti-hero) completely tear apart these monsters and without flinching, in the same instant, slaughter innocent people and reap the health they drop. And at the same time, it's so believable and endearing. Kratos may be an incredibly ruthless man but because he's so uncompromising we believe he really has gone off the deep end. He is the epitome of anger and manages to have reasonable angst unlike Warrior Within's cowardly Prince (who is only angry in the face of his own death.) You'll find yourself rooting for him after you find out about his past and fully understand his quest.

The game clocks in at a somewhat short 10 hours but man, none of those 10 hours are wasted. It may be a bit shorter than similar action games but you can be rest assured that there are no wasted moments in this game. No areas that could have been cut or encounters that seemed to be too much. Everything fits together into this cohesive whole that manages to make the best game I have played in 2005.

Not only is it a fantastic game for those 10 hours but the replayability is pretty solid as well. After beating it on Hero (Normal) or Spartan (Hard), you can play the absolutely insane God Mode (Very Hard.) This bonus mode is for the hardest of the hardcore so if you're a girly gamer then you need to turn away. Enemies can wipe you out in 5 hits or less and your attacks do about half the damage they do in Normal mode. By beating the game on the various modes you unlock new special features. The extras in this game are very good. You have special Making Of featurettes as well as inside looks on deleted levels and concepts and even a Character Graveyard, showing you character models that didn't make it into the game. Not to mention there are bonus clips unlocked by beating the game on the harder modes that reveal more backstory about Kratos and include one that seems to be a set up for the sequel.

The more I play this game, the more in-tune I become with the fighting. The more I want to keep moving onto the next room just to see how the game will amaze me again. Even after having beaten this game on Normal, I'm going at it again on Hard and I'm just as addicted to it as I was on the first playthrough. If that's not a testament to the quality of this game then I don't know what is.

If you like your action brutal, your combat deep, and your stories epic then you will fall in love with God of War. Even after playing the amazing Shadow of the Colossus, I can't help but think that it pales in comparison to God of War. God of War is the truth and it's the next generation of gameplay on the PS2. Go make it yours.