od of War, a third-person action game, pits the beefy antihero Kratos against his mortal enemy, Ares, in the world of ancient Greece. The god of war for which the game is named, Ares towers over of Athens like a flame-haired Godzilla. Kratos—an ex-Spartan out to rid himself of his internal demons—works his way through the battered city and many other maps around the churning Aegean Sea, fighting monsters from ancient legends on his way to face the gods.
The list of enemies Kratos fights—undead Legionnaires, sturdy Minotaurs, huge and screaming Hydras—is extensive, including every kind of mythical creature you'd expect, all splashing blood as Kratos slashes his way through the hordes. Kratos fights using two flashing blades, building up extra magic as he goes. His magic attacks include "Poseidon's Rage" (an electrical attack) and the entertaining "Medusa's Gaze," with which Kratos can temporarily turn enemies to stone in order to break them into pieces. As players progress, they're given access to new magic attacks.
The theme of ancient myth carries through to all of Kratos' skills, which can be enhanced with what he finds in often-hidden chests. These boxes offer him treats such as Gorgon eyes for additional health and phoenix feathers for more magic. Players choose which special weapons to enhance using the currency of Red Orbs, which come to Kratos from felled beasts and smaller, hidden places, such as when he smashes an urn. As he makes his way through the maps (many of which involve significant puzzles for players to solve), Kratos can swim and climb, in between bouts of melee combat.
An "M" rating that means it
God of War is rated M for "mature," and in this case the rating is genuinely warranted. Kratos' kills aren't any bloodier than in similar games—it's more a matter of how the killing is done. His special attack for stabbing the Minotaur, for example, puts the creature flat on its back while Kratos slowly pushes his blades into the beast's open mouth. God of War doesn't just get the M for violence—it also throws in some random titillation, such as Gorgons (including Medusa) with double-D boobs on display as Kratos wrestles them to the ground for gory decapitation. Sex and violence for their own sake could be funny in a dark-humor way, but instead the extremes in God of War just feel like a cheesy ploy to get attention.
Stabbing Minotaurs through the mouth, for example, grows tedious after the 50th repeat of the same trick. (It becomes a case of classic button-mashing.) True, there's more than one way to skin a Minotaur, and Kratos' basic attacks can take care of just about any beast. But the game still is significantly flawed because of its repetitive nature, and not just in combat.
God of War requires players to backtrack through large parts of the maps (to find a key, for example). New baddies are spawned to fight since the last go-round, and it can be fun to repeat sections, especially if players save the chests filled with life- and power-ups. But mostly it has the "why am I doing this again?" vibe. On a few occasions, players may find hidden chests they didn't notice the first time, but by and large this part of the game's design makes much of the game feel like a rerun.
In a year when many big games are familiar sequels, the makers of God of War at least deserve credit for trying something new. If there's a God of War 2, though, they would be better off focusing on gameplay that's a little less repetitive.
It's worth mentioning that my not-so-high opinion of God of War seems to be in the minority. Many gamers are calling it "game of the year" material and giving it higher reviews than for the similar action games Devil May Cry 3 and Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, both released around this same time.
—Jennifer
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