God of War

Reviewed by CL on 4/13/2006

God of War is one of the best beat-em-up games for the Playstation 2 and possibly for the entire current generation of consoles. It follows a Spartan warrior named Kratos, as he embarks on a quest to kill Ares, the God of War, for some injustice inflicted upon him long ago. In order to accomplish this task, you'll have to use a multitude of weapons and magic (all upgradeable) and traverse many different locations. The game has a lot in common with Devil May Cry. The combat feels similar and the upgrade system is nearly the same. Luckily, Devil May Cry is one of the best games available. The new addition to the play style here is these fun little minigames that take place during combat situations. When you weaken an enemy enough, you get the opportunity to engage in a little minigame which involves pressing buttons as they flash on the screen. If you successfully complete the sequence, you perform a move which deals big damage or destroys the enemy. It’s a nice addition to the combat system and keeps combat from devolving into a button mash sequence.

The production values of this game are through the roof. There are tons of beautifully rendered cutscenes and an original orchestral score that belongs in a Hollywood movie. Add this to tons of cool unlockables and a good 8-10 hour quest and you've got yourself a winner. Although this was one of the best games I've played on this console, the previous game I played on the PS2 was Devil May Cry 3 and I just seemed to have a little more fun playing that game. However, if I had played this game first, I bet the situation would be flipped.