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Steeped in Greek mythology and soaked in the blood of revenge, SCEA's God of War for the PS2 transports players into an incredible adventure through ancient times. This action-oriented title should please hardcore gamers with its extensive combat sequences, chaining combos and more. There will also be plenty of puzzles and strategic elements. Graphically, the game is set to push the PS2 to its limits with incredibly lush environments, vividly animated enemies and breathtaking speed. God of War is one of the most impressive titles to date for the PS2, so join us as we discover the origins of what's looking like a major new franchise. There can be little doubt that God of War is one of the most-anticipated PS2 titles of the year. Developed by SCEA's Santa Monica studio and designed by Dave Jaffe, the man who brought players the Twisted Metal series, God of War looks to mix breathtaking visuals with brutal combat to create one of the most viscerally exciting games of this console generation. Mining the rich territory of Greek myth, the game will bring players into this ancient landscape and force them to battle many minions of evil through many levels. Players take the role of a fearsome Spartan warrior named Kratos made a deal with the God of War Ares in order to save his mortal life. Unfortunately, Ares betrayed Kratos and he finds himself becoming increasingly mad as the game progresses. Kratos must face off against legions of undead soldiers, mythic beasts and massive boss characters throughout the course of his adventure. As he begins his adventure, Kratos relies on his dual Blades of Chaos in order to slice through enemies with its' brutal whipping attack. These powerful weapons have been permanently attached to his arms and offer the player a variety of methods to slice through enemies. There will be different moves available depending on whether Kratos is on the ground or in the air. The Blades of Chaos enable you to perform loads of different moves including both short and long-range attack. These weapons are quite versatile and players can perform multi-hit attacks and devastating combo moves to wipe out entire groups of attackers easily. These weapons are incredibly powerful. At certain points, icons will appear over enemies where players can perform special moves and attacks. All of these elements come together nicely to give God of War's gameplay a unique feel and style.
God of War's fierce action is going to draw in legions of players, but the game will also feature extensive puzzle solving sequences as well, with many going beyond the standard parameters players have come to expect. In addition to fighting enemies, players will face other challenges from the environments themselves. They'll have to traverse massive levels full of traps and tricks that they'll have to escape or defeat. This definitely adds to the game's design. In addition to using Kratos' blades, players will find themselves climbing up walls, swimming underwater, gliding down zip lines to add to the challenge. From a gameplay standpoint, the game's structure is inventive and clever, with an excellent mix of strategy, combat and puzzle solving that should make this one of the most immersive and exciting titles to date. Even better, the developers have also spent as much time on the aesthetics as the gameplay, since the title is looking to be a stunning technical achievement at this stage. The game's engaging story unfolds in a series of cinematic sequences that really bring the character's motivations to life. Kratos himself is an entertaining anti-hero with a very dark side. His brutal personality and devastating moves should make God of War stand out from the pack. Expect some outstanding voice-over acting to bring the characters to life and explain the backstory. The levels you'l traverse are quite elaborate and are looking absolutely breathtaking with massive environments rich in detail that should push the PS2's processing power to its limits. Look for extensive lighting and weather effects such as water and wind to really bring these ancient legends to life. Obviously, with so much inspiration taken from Greek myth, you can expect God of War to be saturated with the style and archetypes of its historic period. The developers have placed their focus on creating an authentic, believable recreation of ancient Greece and it shows in the detailed environments. As you'd expect, there's outstanding character design with accurate monster designs, creatures and characters prevalent throughout Kratos' adventure. An appropriately epic orchestral score will accompany the game, adding drama and tension to the action as well. God of War has been in development for several years, but the attention seems to have been worthwhile with the game showcasing some of the slickest and most impressive production values seen on the PS2 to date.
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addition to his devastating blade attacks, Kratos has a number of moves that
allow him to grab and throw enemies. As he progresses deeper into his mission,
the gods themselves will grant him special magic powers that let him kill even
more enemies. What's really cool about this is that they'll tie-in perfectly to
the game's Greek theme. For example, players will be able to use Medusa's head
to freeze enemies and electrify them using Zeus' thunder bolts. God of War's
combat will be fast and frenetic with an ingenious level design that will match
the game's intensity.. The game's pacing is also quite unique, with numerous
massive boss battles early on presenting players with a massive challenge almost
immediately. The boss characters themselves will take a lot of skill to defeat
with many featuring not-so-obvious weak points. Adding to the game's cohesive
Greek feel, many of the boss creatures are taken directly from Greek mythology
with the player facing off against Cerebrus, Cyclops, Minotaur, Harpes and the
Hydra to name just a few. Each boss will present a unique challenge to the
player, making God of War considerably more difficult than most other
action/adventure titles on the market. Obviously, the game's difficulty will
test even the best players, but the combat sequences don't make up the entire
experience.
While
the comparisons to games like Devil May Cry are obvious, God of War's unique
mythological setting and brilliant level design should help it stand out from
the pack. The game's unabashedly brutal combat system offers players plenty of
flexibility with a variety of cool attacks and moves to master. The abundance of
cool character designs, massive bosses and unique play mechanics makes for a
decidedly different atmosphere than most action/slasher titles on the market.
It's deeper backstory and twisting plot will feature different branches and
multiple endings. With it's incredible polish, sleek production values, stylish
visuals and, brilliant game design, this looks to be one of the most impressive
titles for the PS2 to date from both a gameplay and technical standpoint. With
so many elements seemingly firing on all cylinders, God of War looks to be an
almost certain hit when it comes out next month.