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God of War, Sony's action-adventure hybrid, is as brutal as it is beautiful. This mega-violent take on Greek mythology begins with the suicide of a ruthless Spartan warrior, Kratos. While plunging to his death off the side of a mountain, our protagonist has a flashback to the last three weeks of his life. As Kratos, you get to relive those final days by battling all kinds of vicious enemies with the aid of a double-bladed weapon chained to your wrists, all the while navigating through bizarre locations littered with fatal traps and challenging puzzles.
And talk about intense -- the first "boss" enemy comes just five minutes into the game-play. A multi-headed Hydra sea creature, easily ten times Kratos's size, rears its huge head through a sinking ship, so the baldheaded and tattooed hero must carefully time his jumps and attacks, and evade the serpent's bite by rolling and strafing side-to-side. Other familiar baddies in the game include the one-eyed giant Cyclops, the bull-headed Minotaur, Cerberus dogs, bird-like Harpies and Medusa, a female Gorgon creature with snakes for hair.  "God of War" also includes some platforming elements such as jumping between ledges over an abyss or cautiously walking across wooden beams just two feet above a raging ocean. Despite Kratos's wealth of moves, which also includes attack upgrades, swimming, climbing and swinging, the game's controls are a breeze to learn. The intriguing story (with multiple endings) is told throughout the many colorful cut-scene sequences. The game-play itself is equally as good-looking. Graphic violence and liberal doses of gore notwithstanding, "God of War" is a worthy title for mature gamers. 
Yes, the game is a poster child for gore and violence but ultimately God of War is a throwback, almost, to the days of Boss Creatures and Final Fight style combat. Envigorating, fun, and fairly harmless if it wasn't so bloody and violent. There's also nudity and, gasp, sex. Well, kind of. We'd heard about the sex scene and my wife was pretty disgusted with the idea. When I found that part of the game, I showed it to her. Was she offended? No, actually, she thought it was funny and, er... how did she put it?
"That's pathetic! What kind of losers made this game?" ﾖ GamerMom Yeah um ﾖ ouch. Why this reaction? Well, early in the game you get a cutscene showing two nude girls in Kratos' bed (topless nudity only). Then the game starts up again and Kratos wants to get on with the mission. If you try to talk to the girls (still topless) they urge you to come back to bed. Kratos refuses ﾖ he's all business you see. But, if you jump onto the bed and hit the "grab" button, then the action starts! The camera discretely shows the rocking nightstand (and the girls' moaning) and the player is challenged with hitting buttons and moving the joysticks to simulate Kratos' "performance." Fail and the girls heave a sigh of disappointment and Kratos can continue his mission. Succeed and, well, it hits a crescendo and Kratos gets rewarded with several red powerups he can use to make himself more powerful as the game continues. It's clever, silly, not nearly as erotic or demeaning as you might have thought, and ultimately ... pathetic. Well, that's what my wife told me to write anyway. So, violence, sex, brief nudity, and some occult imagery (Greek, not Satanic) and such and now you know why it's getting our Adult Seal. Kid Factor by Andrew Bub Check out this Reader Review of God of War Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "God of War" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: God of War |
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