MY VIEW
Games: 'God of War'
By Jeffrey Davis
Special to The Advertiser
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| The Verdict: 5
THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely play it. 3 — Good: Worth playing despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the license or series, don't bother. 1 — Poor: You'd have more fun playing Pong. |
Console: PlayStation 2
Developer/publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Genre: Action/Adventure
Number of players: 1
ESRB: Rated M, for blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, sexual themes, strong language
The premise: The place is ancient Greece during the age of gods and goddesses. You are Kratos of Sparta, an enigma whose story and background are a mystery. Your goal, with the help of the Greek gods, is to kill Ares, god of war. Using your enchanted Blades of Chaos, anger, skill and powers of the gods, can you help a mortal man defeat a god?
Gameplay: You move using the moving/fighting engines made famous by such games as Devil May Cry and Onimusha. Your character moves like a gazelle, is as strong as a gladiator and powers up like a weight-lifter.
On its surface, this looks like an average hack-and-slash game —until you realize the reason your character is so small is to allow smoother game play, show the size of the levels, increase gaming speed, help with background interaction (breakable objects, switches) and add more enemies.
When you string together a 20-hit combo and rip someone in half with your bare hands, that's when you realize there is more to this game than meets the eye.
The good/bad: The main characters' movements and the gameplay are so fluid, the battles run smoothly instead of slow and choppy like some other games. The "knocking the vase over" mini-game after the first boss is an entertaining way of powering up. You can power up Kratos the moment you need it.
On the downside, there is no map function and you cannot save anytime. There are points in the game where the Kratos character has to balance on tiny surfaces. These "balance beam" acts slow the game's momentum and falling will cause instant death from "endless" chasms.
Tips: Focus on upgrading your Blades of Chaos; they will be your main weapon. These blades are quick and require no magic to wield. Concentrating on the blades unlocks a massive combo leading to a spin move that comes in handy for the game's bigger, tougher enemies. When battling the medusas, keep to the ground attack from a distance and keep moving. When a medusa has a circle over its head, that is the time to strike. If you jump and the medusa's gaze hits you, your petrified body will shatter.
My take: Do yourself a favor and buy this one; add it to the shelf space reserved for must-keep video games, because there is a whole list of goodies waiting to be unlocked.
Jeffrey Davis of Honolulu is a video game enthusiast. Do you have a game or CD you want to review? Reach Island Life assistant editor Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.
