Positives:
- Plenty of epic action throughout.
- Combat is still pretty tight today, with a good amount of variety.
- Puzzles add a little extra flavor to the gameplay.
- Boss fights are epic in scale.
- Amidst all the brutal action (and sex), there's a pretty well-constructed story here.
- Kratos is a compelling character worth following, despite his flaws.
- Strong visuals that still look good today.
- Fantastic orchestral score ups the intensity of the action-packed set pieces.
Negatives:
- Fixed camera is frustrating to deal with today.
- Some of the latter sections of the game can be really annoying.
Consensus: Well, my backlog that I've been working on for years is finally starting to wind down, which brings me to the "God of War" series. Having watched my brother play this franchise for so long, I've been more than ready to jump in myself. My first taste of the epic battles of the Gods proved to be pretty strong. For as much time has passed since this first title, the action gameplay remains extremely compelling, and the rest of the game has aged nicely around it. Sure, there are some elements that time has been a little less kind to (like the camera), but all in all, "God of War" is still a pretty strong first entry in what would go on to become one of Sony's biggest franchises.
Final rating: 8 out of 10 "Great"