Now violence is a fairly common place in the game world, whether it's the headshots in your by-the-numbers FPS, a kick in the chest in your average beat 'em up or the mass murder and mutilation in God of War.

That's right, mass murder and mutilation.

The first thing to know about God of War is that is the most visually graphic game on the PS2. Ever. Ok, so maybe Mortal Kombat features ripping the spine out of an enemy with the "Finish Him" encouraging you, but that is nothing compared to this. GoW has it all, decapitation, mouth stabbing, eye gouging and limb tearing, it is violence to the max.

The game is the ultimate twisted myth, and although based on Greek mythology, it only has the good (read bloody/gory/violent as fuck) bits left in, so that means no wax wing making mini-games. It all starts with Kratos, the 'hero' of the game, looking down from the Suicide Bluffs ready to end it all on the sharp rocks below. Once a general in the Spartan army, his deeds and the Gods had driven him to a never ending madness leaving death his only relief. But it wasn't always this way, as the game tells us. The game starts three weeks before his end.

So Kratos is the 'hero' you play as, and I use this term lightly. He is a screwed up bastard, there are many places in the game when this is shown. For example, once you have defeated the Hydra, you find the captain of the ship hanging on for dear life in the monsters throat.
"I knew you'd come back for me," the captain says, gratefully after being saved by Kratos grabbing the key hung around the captain's neck.
"I didn't come back for you," and so Kratos removes the key and the captain falls to his death.
Bastard
But as time develops, we see what pain Kratos has been through and almost start to sympathise with the man. Almost.

So that's the plot taken care of, but what about the actual gameplay? It's amazing. The controls are simple enough:
the 'X' button is jump, 'square' is fast attack, 'triangle' is strong attack, 'circle' is grab.
Of course the shoulder buttons do things to, but first I want to talk about the main combat. Kratos is hard, so hard his swords are attached to chains and he swings them around like a ninja on steroids. The combat is so fluent, it just never seems to get boring. The combos you can chain together are incredible to watch, with the blood flying everywhere and the occasional slow-mo effect, it is like poetry in loco-motion.

The game's main factor is the fighting, but there is the occasional puzzle, and best of all, they don't frustrate and they make you feel clever. And with any adventure game with a jump button, there's the spot of platforming and this is fairly straightforward stuff; step on switch, platforms go up, jump on platforms before switch goes down.

Now the best part of the game: The Graphics.
Never before has such a game (other the Twilight Princess) has made me gawp in awe. This game has all the great gameplay mechanics of a classic game, and all the visual production values of a top-class blockbuster. As you cross the bridge to Pandora's Temple, the camera pans out showing the building in it's full glory, it will bring a tear to the eye. And best of all about the graphics, it uses the same streaming technology as Jack III, which means you will hardly ever notice the game loading and if you do it will be for only a few seconds which means no break in the carnage.

The sound is great as well, with epic scores and great voice acting, it just helps draw you into an already gourgeous title.

Graphics: 10 Defies the PS2's limits

Sound: 10 Epic in every sense of the word

Gameplay: 10 Like the best bits of games multiplied by 5

Lifespan: 9 A long time of playing, which you'll want to repeat and repeat

10
Not even an army of undead soldiers should stop you getting this. If you love games, get this, probably the most essential PS2 title.

Bastard, I'll have to buy this game and a PS2 (again).

Good review told me what I needed to know in a way that made me trust the reviews judgement. Cheers.

You forgot to mantion the boobies...



I'd broadly agree with your review, although I wouldn't say that the lifespan's that great - 10 or so hours to complete the game isn't that much, really, even with the 'Challenge Of The Gods' to play afterwards. I started replaying in God Mode but it's so stupidly hard I can't see myself finishing it. Still an excellent game though, but maybe not quite of the standard of Ninja Gaiden.

I don't think I've ever seen anything about this game before!

Finger obviously not on the pulse - probably jammed straight up my ass!

I love this game, but i beat it in 3 days and was finished with it in two weeks, The single player wasn't good enough to keep me playing forever. A lower replayibility score. Everything else is perfect.

i just started playing this today and so far its alright, i just got past the Hydra, I'll play some more later

It is a class game, and still looks cool, even with the sequel being out soon. The sub game of doing rude stuff to a pair of greek Ho's was just a fun addition to a very cool game.
Lets hope the 2nd one lasts a little longer :angry