God of War is the sort of visceral blood bath of a game that is fun to play and easy to play for hours on end.
God of War first and foremost, is a blood bath. There's plenty of the sticky red stuff in gameplay as well as in the cinematics. The game is centers around after all, a man who has nothing left to lose and is out for vengeance. Kratos is you character who is being requested by Athena to save the city of Athens from the God of War, Ares. Kratos is more than happy to oblige as Ares made him what he is today.
From here you gradually learn more about Kratos's past as well as the places you must go and the powerful weapons you will wield.
The combat is the main centerpiece of God of War, and it is satisfying to say the least. The combos are well orchestrated and have the same sort of system as Devil May Cry, and the more cinematic animations when you're performing a killing strike are also satisfying and gorgeous to look at.. There aren't many boss battles here, but the three that are included are absolute gems, and the lack of more bosses make them more special.
Now sure, the game isn't ALL about beating the crap out of minotaurs, there are some very advanced puzzles in the game that in my mind are "smarter" than the majority of action title puzzles. Thsi is not only great for gameplay, but it also immerses you in the world of Ancient Greece better.
Graphically God of War has some of the best texture and animation work I've seen on the PS2 in an action game. Also, there is never any drop in the frame rate making for some great non-stop action.
Audio in the game is often times fantastic, but the dialogue spoken by Athena is often lost among the orchestrated music, wether in gameplay or in cinematics.
God of War is, in my book, a must own game for those with a penchant for action games or just wants something to play when you want to rip someone's head off.