God of War: Retrospective

God of War first rammed it’s way onto our PS2 home console in 2005. Since then the game has been the topic of appraisal, controversy, and other unmentionables. Next year we will see the supposed final installment in the epic mythological trilogy. The games lead character, Kratos, did not cease to amaze and, in a way, inspired us throughout both the first God of War and its sequel released over the past few years. With his arrogant charm, pale skin, and scared torso, Kratos ventured his way into the hearts of anyone who played the game. The game also spawned many other smaller installments like God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP and God of War: Betrayal for mobile phones. The plot of Chains of Olympus was set as a prequel to the first God of War and Betrayal was used to bridge the gap between the first and second installments.

The first God of War introduced us to all the intense battling and puzzle solving we know and (sort of) love today. The story seemed like an epic mythological tale in itself, and so did it’s star characters. In the first game Kratos is hellbent on taking down the god of war, Ares. But the only way he could possibly accomplish this was to find Pandora’s Box and use it’s power to defeat Ares. So in searching for Pandora’s Box, Kratos set out toward the titan Cronos, who resides in the Desert Of Lost Souls. Kratos has to scale the titan to reach the back of Cronos and begin his search for Pandora’s Box. Ares, after discovering that Kratos has discovered the box, kills him and takes it for his own. But this was not even close to being the end for Kratos. In an undying quest to kill the god of war, Kratos fights his way through the Underworld, ultimately reaching the surface. Then begins the epic fight between he and Ares, where after many gruesome levels and trials, Ares finally takes down the god of war with the Blade of the Gods in hand. After this occurs Athena speaks to Kratos and gives him the offer to be the next God of War. He accepts, and this leads unhindered into God of War II.

Now what happens in God of War II is much more loaded, plot-wise, than the first. The game begins with Kratos sitting at his throne when an urgent message from a Spartan soldier comes to him asking for his aid. Kratos, despite warning from Athena, heads down to aid his soldiers in their conquer of Greece. After landing Athena strips Kratos of most his godly powers, and uses them to animate the Colossus of Rhodes which sets out to destroy Kratos. Soon after, Zeus, in aid of Kratos, sends him the Blade of Olympus, in which he places the rest of his god powers to destroy the colossus. After doing this, Zeus comes to Greece and kills Kratos with the Blade of Olympus. What happens next is very similar in what happens in the first, Kratos escapes from the underworld, but this time he has help from the titan, Gaia. Gaia offers to help Kratos gain revenge on Zeus and the gods, mostly because of the humiliation they suffered at their hands. Through the rest of the game you venture through various lands and speak to the other titans gaining their word, and their alliance. A while after this you use a time portrait to return to the point where the Titans are defeated by the gods, and save them from their ultimate defeat. After you do all this, you reach a point where you are able to return to the point where Zeus betrayed you with the Blade of Olympus. A battle ensues with the one and only King of the Gods, Zeus. Near the point when you are able to defeat Zeus, Athena interrupts you in the worst of moments, which leads to her death. Zeus escapes and goes to warn the gods of an upcoming war like they have never been seen before. The game ends with a view of the titans climbing Mount Olympus, and with the gods preparing running for the fight. At that point Kratos shouts, “Zeus! Your son has returned! I bring the destruction of Olympus!” Then you see the final line: The End Begins.

This definitely is a game for the books, it has spawned numerous copycats and has created a large following amongst all video game fans. So as expected for God of War III, Kratos and the titans will scale Mount Olympus to take on the gods in a war unlike any war the world had seen before. There are a few questions that flood all of our minds. Will Kratos take down the mighty Zeus? Will Mount Olympus fall? Or will the Gods succeed Kratos and the Titans and keep their respected reins? It is quite an amount of time before we get to dive into all the action and strike down the gods with our fearsome and mighty blades, but after all this another question is raised: Will we ever see Kratos again? At this point it’s very unsure, but due to the success of the first two and the much expected success of the third I’m sure we will get our hands on another incarnation of God of War.

At this point everything is little more than a tease thus far with God of War III. Trailers and gameplay footage roam across the internet like the superb and valiant Pegasus. This does not whet our appetites, it just makes us salivate and want more, but the more we get the more we’ll salivate. We just want it! I guess with patience great things will come, so hopefully this extra year will benefit the game and overall ourselves greatly. I’m sure a teaser demo would work wonders on all of the fanboys at this point, just to tide us over until next year. Hopefully there will be no delays to prevent us from playing as Kratos when we are promised. (Knock on wood.) For now we have the other games to play to hold us over until something is released. So make sure you go back and collect and unlock everything if you haven’t done so already. This might seem old, but it’s better than starving yourself.

God of War III could possibly be the most epic, most brutal, goriest, awesome game on the PS3. Most of us will love to see the mighty Zeus fall at the feet of Kratos with his blades pierced through various areas of his body. We would all love to see the titans destroy the other gods and ruin Mount Olympus. We would all love Kratos to return as the unquestioned God of War. Now all we have to do is wait.