God of War

[Kendrik]

Soooo... I got God of War Collection during Black Friday sales at Wal-Mart. Sold off my PS2 copies and pretty much got a free upgrade thattaway.

Anyway... I've already beaten God of War back in the day on PS2. I didn't love it. I never got around to actually playing God of War II.

Now that I have the Collection (which doesn't look like crap on my TV), I'm gonna be playing through both.

Just started up the first God of War today (though put it back down for more Infamous). It reminded me how much I hate the tightrope segments of the game.

Still, beating up hydras is always cool.

[Keero]

MASH MASH MASH MASH MASH.

Blood.

Shouting.

X CIRCLE X SQUARE MASH MASH MASH MASH MASH.

Angry faces.

/God of War series in a nutshell

[Spartan_117]

MASH MASH MASH MASH MASH.

Blood.

Shouting.

X CIRCLE X SQUARE MASH MASH MASH MASH MASH.

Angry faces.

/God of War series in a nutshell

Pretty much. It was fun for a few hours and then I couldn't take anymore.

[Drewsov]

Way to miss the deeper aspects of the story, Keero.

[Keero]

Way to miss the deeper aspects of the story, Keero.

Something about angry people, naked people, gigantic people, and bloody people shouting. What other aspects are there?

[Kendrik]

The problem, in my eyes, is that the depth of the story stands in harsh contrast to the repetitive button-mashy gameplay.

I like the story, but the formal narrative can be reduced to a little over ten minutes of exposition.

[Drewsov]

The reason that I love God of War is the story.

It takes on heavy subject matter: familicide, death, authority, and even ventures into areas such as faith and love. And it does this under the guise of a very angry, seemingly one-dimensional character that is surrounded by refined, button-mashy combat.

The series may not be for everyone, but don't paint it as something it's not.

The problem, in my eyes, is that the depth of the story stands in harsh contrast to the repetitive button-mashy gameplay.

I like the story, but the formal narrative can be reduced to a little over ten minutes of exposition.

Perhaps for the first game.

As you go on, it gets far more elaborate, far more complex. The second game is worth seeing for that. The third act is brutal - to a disgusting extreme - but wraps things up very well, even as it leaves the game open for something more. And the PSP sidestories aren't anything to thumb your nose at, either.

[Keero]

The series may not be for everyone, but don't paint it as something it's not.

Sacred cows. I kick dem.

/troll

[Kendrik]

@Kratos: u mad? y u mad tho?

Frankly, my dear Drew, I think you're overvaluing the merits of the story. Of course, I'm speaking solely for the first God of War. I believe you (habeeb it!) when you say that the later games are much better, but the first game... it's not the best thing since sliced bread. The themes you mention are certainly there, but they really do take a back seat to the "HOLY CRAP! LOOK AT THAT!" design of the game. The devs were their own worst enemy in this.

And, again speaking of the first game, the combat is hardly refined or creative. It's solid, but it's nothing more than Action 101 with Shenmue's quick-time events thrown in. Though, again, I believe that the second (and third) game definitely improve upon this.

[Drewsov]

@Kratos: u mad? y u mad tho?

Frankly, my dear Drew, I think you're overvaluing the merits of the story. Of course, I'm speaking solely for the first God of War. I believe you (habeeb it!) when you say that the later games are much better, but the first game... it's not the best thing since sliced bread. The themes you mention are certainly there, but they really do take a back seat to the "HOLY CRAP! LOOK AT THAT!" design of the game. The devs were their own worst enemy in this.

And, again speaking of the first game, the combat is hardly refined or creative. It's solid, but it's nothing more than Action 101 with Shenmue's quick-time events thrown in. Though, again, I believe that the second (and third) game definitely improve upon this.

Eh, if my experience was simply God of War 1, I'd agree with you. But I'm looking at the series as a whole.

[Keero]

Including the PSP iterations?

Yuh, I got u thar, pal.

[Drewsov]

Including the PSP iterations?

Yuh, I got u thar, pal.

Main series as a whole. I doubt that the PSP iterations, from what I've heard, would detract much if at all.

[Keero]

From what I've heard, you can shup 'bout dat.

[Kendrik]

Eh, if my experience was simply God of War 1, I'd agree with you. But I'm looking at the series as a whole.

Which is why I believe your statements (HABEEB IT!) to be true of the series as a whole.

@Keero... didn't you rather like the PSP one?

[Kendrik]

Okay... so here it is.

I am definitely not a fan of the first God of War. It's so... boring. Keero's description is far more fitting than I'd like. The story is interesting, and I love Greek mythology, but 90% of the time spent with the game is mashing buttons... and very little of that comes close to being exciting. Overall, so not a fan of the game. It could die in a fire, and I wouldn't really care.

Today, I booted up God of War II for the first time.

It's a totally different game. It actually is exciting. The platforming elements are stronger (and more prominently featured) without much tightrope running. The story runs much deeper. Enemies fall faster and are fewer in number.* On paper, it looks just like the first game, but in practice, I'm actually really enjoying it rather than asking myself why the heck I'm still playing it.

Still not sure why the first game got all the praise it did (aside from the obvious "DID YOU SEE THAT?! I JUST KILLED A HUGE MONSTER!!!" thing), but the second one actually seems to earn its cred.


*I like a challenging game, but difficulty isn't the issue here. The first God of War's enemies would stay standing forever... and you'd have to fight a million of 'em just to move on to the next million. It's probably a factor in why I hate the gameplay of God of War so much; it feels much more like a grueling task than an enjoyable game.