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1. God of War = EPIC
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on Apr 13 2009

   About a week ago, I got to thinking about Devil May Cry and thought about playing DMC 2 and 3 to beat them and get them out of my backlog. However, I realized that I had God of War waiting to be beaten too. I had never played God of War before, so that took priority since I had played DMC before.
   
   God of War is without a doubt, one of my favorite titles to date. The story is well written, and doesn't offer much in the way of foreshadowing, which means everything that happens really is unexpected. It really does a good job with explaining who Kratos, the protagonist, is, was, and why he's doing what he's doing. The ending is also done really well. Since I knew there are sequels, I was expecting an ending of the cliffhanger variety - one that doesn't necessarily provide closure and leaves the story open for further expansion in the next installment (aka "The Halo Syndrome"). This ending is unique in that it does provide closure for the game, but also leaves itself a small window in which the game could have a prequel or sequel if it really wanted to.
   
   It's ironic that I played this game while thinking of Devil May Cry, because at its core, this game IS Devil May Cry. It plays almost exactly the same, with the player collecting red orbs for experience and upgrading powers, fighting giant bosses, having a "devil trigger" (called rage of the gods instead), the "enemy doors" that won't let you through until you kill all the baddies, and just generally feeling the same. God of War however, ends the similarities there.
   
   There is much more of an emphasis on platforming in this title. Most sections are fairly easy to get through, but there are a few sections that are very tricky and will likely require you to try a few times. There are also some puzzles thrown into the mix, but none are so complex as to stop the flow of the game. On top of that, I felt DMC had some pretty bland graphics. It makes sense that since GoW came later in the PS2 lifecycle that it would have better graphics, but I didn't expect them to be so....awesome. The environments are heavily atmospheric, which actually adds a sense of immersion into the game. Outside of RPGs, I have rarely been drawn into a game, but GoW managed to do it. Enemies are also very detailed, and most, if not all of them, are derived from Greek mythology. Minotaurs, skeletons, harpies, gorgons, etc. are all present.
   
   Combat itself is a very fun activity that never gets old. Through putting experience into different attributes, you gain new moves to use, ensuring that you're never stuck performing the same actions throughout the whole game. Combat can be surprisingly brutal too. Some enemies have special mini-game battles where you can perform an instant death move on them, in a pretty gruesome manner. Take for example, the gorgons (what Medusa is). Once you wear them down a bit, a circle icon appears of their head. If you can get close and grab it, you are put into an animation and icons will flash that tell you to rotate the analog stick in a certain direction. If successful, you'll instantly kill the gorgon and get some magic-refilling orbs as a reward. None of the minigames take very long to perform, which again, doesn't break the flow of the game.
   
   You will also come across a variety of magic spells, which are actually useful. There are far too many games where it seems like magic is an afterthought, and you never need to use magic to get through it. You get 4 different spells. One is an attack that hits all around you, another is one that freezes enemies in place, the third one shoots lightning, and the fourth is like a homing missile barrage. I didn't name them because I don't want to potentially spoil anything.
   
   Anyway, God of War is a great game. It takes already well-established gameplay and simply polishes it a bit to make it better. If you enjoyed Devil May Cry, or want a great action title, God of War is a title worthy of purchasing.
   
   Overall rating: 9/10

   
   

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Dynafire has 1 comment on this chronicle.

1. BEN
   Posted On Apr 13 2009

   Kupo Cakes would be proud of you! I'm glad to see you liked it so much too...which makes me much more interested in giving this game a try. Thanks for the thorough video game review sir!