God of War (2005)

God of War is an action-adventure game that tells the story of Kratos. Once he was a Spartan warrior, now he serves Olympus. The protagonist isn’t a flawless, noble warrior – he is a specialist when it comes to “wet work.”

Plot

In God of War, the gods decide to use Kratos for their own ends. Ares, the god of war, created hell in Athens by releasing hundreds of zombie-soldiers and his most terrifying beasts. Olympus orders Kratos to find the Pandora’s Box and to use it to achieve what seems to be impossible – to kill Ares. The game starts in a mysterious way – the players can see the protagonist committing suicide. Just before his death, the players are taken back in time to discover what brought him to that point.

Mechanics

God of War features spectacular battles, many logic puzzles and frequently, it combines both. The action is presented from the third-person perspective. Kratos uses two deadly blades attached to chains. With them, he can effectively kill plenty of enemies. The protagonist is capable of amazing deeds: in addition to moving in all directions, he can perform very impressive combos that send the hordes of enemies to the correct side of Styx.

In addition to using a melee weapon, Kratos can use spells of Olympus. He has access to, among other weapons, Zeus’ lightning that can be upgraded to higher levels. As the players progress through the game, they collect magic artifacts that increase the strength of spells.

The gameplay is filled with action. In God of War the players travel through Greek galleons, ruined Athens and Pandora’s temple, where they have legions of opponents to decimate. Ares’ large beasts are the true challenge – defeating them requires cleverness and quick reactions. During the combat with these monsters, an icon appears above the head of a beast and the player must hit it to move to the next combination of attacks. A few of such actions will lead to dealing a fatal blow. However, waiting too long will enable the monsters to regain their strengths and force the players to repeat the whole sequence. What’s interesting, the defeated monsters share some of their powers with Kratos. For example, a head of a medusa will enable him to change his opponents into rock. By defeating the monsters, the protagonist gains very powerful artifacts that enable him to face Ares.

Last updated on April 26, 2018