*DISCLAIMER: As I like to make clear when doing these kinds of things, this review will only look at the "God of War Collection" as a remaster collection, without taking the quality of the two games as heavily into account. If you'd like to see my original reviews of the games, you can find those on my profile.*
Positives:
- Two great games packaged onto one disc.
- Both titles still play well here.
- Graphical upgrades are very nice.
- Having a stable 60 FPS is a blessing.
- Essentially a new "definitive way" to play these games.
- It deserves some credit, as it was one of the first (if not THE first) "HD Collection" of its kind.
- $40 launch price made the collection a steal at the time.
- I'm glad they also included the bonus material from the original second disc of "God of War II."
Negatives:
- Cutscenes are still kinda blurry.
- Not a whole lot of extra content to fully justify the purchase for longtime fans.
- I wish there was a way to switch games without having to go back to the XMB.
Consensus: It's kinda interesting to look back at the "God of War Collection" today. Even though I wasn't playing these at the time, I distinctly remember when the collection first came out. Beyond the fact that it was my brother's first introduction to the series (and by proxy, my first introduction), it was one of the first times (and maybe the first time) I had seen an "HD Collection" of two games. Sure, multi-game collections had existed for decades (that "Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt" cartridge comes to mind), and "Super Mario All-Stars" sort of serves as the de facto "first remaster collection" in gaming, but this was the beginning of the trend of "take previous games and give them an HD remaster and pack it into one disc" during the seventh generation and beyond. And with that in mind, it's a pretty strong collection. While it may not have a ton for old-school fans, this is the definitive way to experience the first two "God of War" games, and it was a good way to prep players for "God of War III," which launched just a few months later. Even now, if you're seeking out these games, I recommend you find this collection. It's a great way to experience some titles that have aged rather nicely.
Final rating: 8 out of 10 "Great"