Post by George Darling on Jul 11, 2009 14:19:25 GMT -8
• Warning: This review contains spoilers •
I’m a sucker for ancient mythology. And while I’ve dabbled in Norse mythology and Babylonian myth the one that always fascinated me the most was Greek mythology. Packed with amazing characters and stories, I’m far from the first or only one to have been inspired by these tales. There have been numerous movies, books and other properties drawing inspiration from Greek mythology over the years. In the 90’s two of the more notable adaptations were Hercules the television series (which I tolerated) and Disney’s Hercules animated feature length film (which I despised). The main problem with these two franchises always bothered me though, and that’s how far from their source material they strayed. With any property based off of something else it’s expected that creative licenses will be put into effect, but these two franchises (especially the Disney movie) were so far off from their source material that it bordered on ridiculous.
When the first God of War title was released I was skeptical. It was created by a US team and seemed to be the sort of ‘blood ‘n’ guts’ title aimed toward casual players and younger players who are more amused by ‘pretty graphics’ and excessive violence than they are with actual substance… you know, gameplay, controls… things that actually matter to a game? But I had read that it was heavily inspired by Greek mythology, and so I was at the same time intrigued. I picked up a copy and played through, and was pleasantly surprised. Was it excessively violent and gory? Well yes, actually. Did it adhere to Greek mythology closely and accurately? Well no, actually. Many poetic rights were taken. However, by comparison God of War was far closer to Greek mythology than anything I had seen previously, and you could really tell that the team did heavy research into Greek mythology to make it as close to accuracy as possible to the source while still maintaining its originality as a fictional game set within that universe – something the television and cartoon adaptations of Hercules never came close to. So an American made video game beat out a US produced television series and big-name animated movie? By a long shot. When I was playing God of War I really felt immersed in the traditions of ancient Greece, unlike the two aforementioned experiences I had where I felt like they were simply ‘going through the motions.’
When I learned God of War II was coming out, I was stoked. But, sadly, it’s been on my ‘to play’ list for quite a while, as other games and financial obligations pushed it into my blind spot – until recently when, after watching some God of War III footage, I was inspired to finally pick it up and play it.
The Story:
God of War picks up an unknown amount of time after the first game. Kratos, having slain Ares in the first game, is the new God of War. He commands his army of Spartans from Mt. Olympus and is ravaging and destroying the cities below. As it turns out Kratos is as greedy and bloodthirsty as Ares ever was, maybe even worse, and his actions are angering the other gods. Athena tries to warn Kratos that he’s pushing his luck, but he brushes her off and heads to Rome to personally end the siege there.
However, shortly after arriving on mortal soil Kratos is attacked by a giant bird and shrunk down to the size of a mortal man, then an iron Colossus is animated with the purpose of slaying Kratos. Kratos is enraged, assuming Athena was responsible for this betrayal. He fights his way through Rome but is powerless to stop the Colossus without his godly powers. It’s then that Zeus speaks from the heavens, thrusting down the Olympus Blade used to end the Titan War and instructing Kratos to pool his godly power into the blade to be able to destroy the Colossus. Kratos does so and destroys the Colossus, but is mortally wounded by its falling hand as it crashes to the ground. Because he placed all of his godly power into the Olympus Blade he was made mortal again. As Kratos, severely injured, limped toward the blade to reclaim his power the giant bird landed beside it, transforming into human form and revealing itself to be none other than Zeus. As it turned out it was Zeus who betrayed Kratos, and not Athena. Zeus tricked Kratos into pouring his power into the blade so that he would be made mortal again. Kratos attempts to fight Zeus but is easily dispatched. Zeus kills Kratos and destroys his entire army of Spartans (save for a few stragglers).
Now deceased, Kratos is drawn into the Underworld. En route he is spoken to by Gaia, the Titan. She tells Kratos that it isn’t his destiny to die yet and that he must defeat Zeus, whom had betrayed the Titans. To do this he would need to find the Sisters of Fate and take control of his Thread of Fate to time travel to the moment in time when Zeus had betrayed him and alter his fate. Kratos’ death wound is healed and he fights his way out of Hades and back to the mortal world, where his quest begins.
As with the first game environments and visuals feel larger than life, making Kratos seem very small in a huge and unfriendly world.
Gameplay:
Those who played the first game will find themselves in familiar territory. The controls are very convoluted and would more than likely seem excessive to less experienced players since not only is every single button on the PS2 controller used (even L3 and R3) but many commands require combinations of buttons on top of that. And not only that, but not only are there controls for standard movement and fighting but while wall climbing, swinging, swimming and flight sequences. Whew. Despite this once you get going it’s easy to go with the flow and which buttons do what becomes second nature. In-game help menus always ease the learning curve for the first few areas of the game by explaining how to control Kratos.
Enemies frequently swarm Kratos, and the fast-paced gameplay which follows isn’t for the faint of heart.
The game is very interactive and has several saving graces to prevent it from being a simple button masher. One such feature returns from the first game; interactive cut scene-type mini games during fights which require you to input specific commands, tap buttons, or rotate the analog stick to dispatch Kratos’ enemies. These sequences require precise timing and for the player to be paying attention which prevents the game from the repetitive button mashing that a lot of these types of games suffer from, which is a breath of fresh air.
Violence is Kratos’ favorite word by far, and in fact you’re encouraged to dispatch every hapless foe you come across in order to collect Red Orbs which can be used to power-up Kratos’ weapons and magic. There are multiple ways to slay his enemies which range from ‘gory’ to ‘holy crap I won’t eat for hours.’ Decapitation, dismemberment, the snapping of necks and spines and even disembowelment will net Kratos Red Orbs, Green (health) Orbs, Blue (magic) Orbs and Rage of the Titans Orbs depending on how you dispatch your foes, promoting experimentation to see which methods work best. Kratos also can obtain alternative weapons and magic spells to help him deal with enemies and solve puzzles, as well as Rage of the Titans which powers up Kratos’ attack power and prevents him from being phased or knocked back by enemy attacks (he still takes damage though, careful!). If variety is the spice of life then Kratos is one well seasoned video game ‘protagonist’ (and I use the term loosely), which keep things interesting.
You’ve got a little something in the corners of your eye. Here, let me help you get it out.
Exploration and puzzle solving are returning elements to the game, but awkward camera angles can sometimes make exploring off the beaten path dangerous and irritating. That aside, God of War II does hold many secrets for the curious player hidden in nooks and crannies and behind destructible objects where Kratos can find items which increase his maximum health (Gorgon Eyes) or magic (Phoenix Feathers), as well as items which unlock bonus content. Unfortunately God of War II has quite a lot of ‘points of no return’ after which time it becomes impossible for Kratos to backtrack. Your first time playing through the game you’ll never know when these points occur and you could very well find yourself missing out on an important secret. Thankfully to help ease this problem the programmers put ‘extra’ Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers in the game – if you miss one on your journey a treasure chest which would have contained Red Orbs will instead hold an eye/feather further on. As for the relics, sadly if you miss one it’s gone for good.
The first game had a noticeable lack of boss fights. In fact, it only had three – the Hydra in the introduction stage, an iron-clad Minotaur boss late game and then the final battle against Ares himself. This lack of epic boss clashes was not lost on the developers, so in God of War II there are numerous boss fights sprinkled throughout the game, which make things more interesting.
Thankfully God of War II has far more boss encounters than God of War, making the game more exciting. Because who wants to just cut through swarms of incompetent cronies all the time?
To help promote replay value there are unlockables to be had, including a Titan Mode which is the most challenging difficulty, alternate costumes and special missions. The game also comes bundled with a special features disk, which is odd to see packaged with a game when that’s usually associated with DVDs. The bonus content was a good effort to promote continued play time even after the player has cleared the game.
Characters:
Kratos is quite possibly the worst video game ‘protagonist’ (again, I use the term loosely) ever conceived. That’s not to say he’s a poor character; I literally mean that he’s a horrible individual. He doesn’t care about anyone, or anything, other than bloodshed and destruction, and will murder absolutely anyone in his way. Monsters, mortals, gods, women, children, injured men… it doesn’t matter. If you’re in his path, you’re dead. The character is extremely arrogant, selfish and completely unappreciative. Oddly enough he wishes to be freed from his dark and bloody past yet he continues to stain his hands with blood. While we won’t be seeing Kratos in any Saturday morning cartoons informing kids to brush their teeth after every meal any time soon, he is an interesting character and you’re always interested to see what he’s going to do or say next, even though you’re technically playing as a villain.
Almost all other characters are taken straight from Greek mythology and are represented surprisingly well. The focus of God of War II is on the Titans rather than the Olympians, and Kratos will encounter Titans such as Typhon and Prometheus during his travels. The game also nods to other prominent characters from Greek mythology, including Jason from Jason and the Argonauts (a shame he was devoured by a Cerberus-like boss… oh well).
The better portion of these characters aren’t ‘nice’ or friendly – Characters such as Kratos, Gaia and Zeus self-centered and care only about what they want, whether it be praise or revenge. But that’s how it really was in Greek mythology – Many modern adaptations of Hercules (Heracles) depict him as a nice-guy hero, but did you know he actually murdered quite a few people – even innocent and helpless people such as his music instructor? Greek mythology does not consist of the cookie cutter ‘nice guy heroes’ stories that a lot of entertainment adaptations would lead you to think, and God of War does well to hold true to that truth.
Graphics & Presentation:
You can really tell that the hardware is being pushed to its limits with stunning visuals such as this.
For the PS2 hardware this game is stunning. Character models and environments were expertly crafted and the attention to detail is commendable, to say the least. For a US made video game which isn’t a sports game or FPS this game is very impressive, and holds up well even in modern times from a visual standpoint. The glow of Kratos’ blades, the burbling bubbles of the swamps, the flies surrounding the carcasses of the fallen; all of these little elements of detail add up to a visual feast.
Music
The music is intense and epic, and really fits well with the theme of the game. While it isn’t anything I’d listen to outside of the game itself it’s very befitting of the Greek theme and was well placed.
In Closing:
God of War II takes everything that worked with the first game and expanded upon it. It doesn’t break any new grounds compared to the first installment; in fact the feel and gameplay of the sequel is very similar in formula to the first game, but it offers an epic tale of adventure using a rich mythology and utilizing it to its full potential, working with it rather than trying to re-shape everything to appeal to modern audiences. The end result is a game which is very fun to play and makes you feel like you’re really exploring the secrets of the old world. I’ll look forward to filling Kratos’ shoes again when I play God of War III.
Kevin Sorbo ain’t got nothin’ on me!
Story - 9
Gameplay - 8
Characters - 9
G&P - 10
Music - 7
Total Rating: 43/50
