If you are a PS2 owner this is a MUST play, Perhaps the Best Game of its Genre on PS2, Although to Rent or Buy Hmmmm?
User Rating: 8.8 | God of War (Greatest Hits) PS2
I will be the first to admit this title suprised me, It was not even on my radar till the reviews started pouring in and placed it on a level with Ninja Gaiden, That pretty well made sure I would be in EB on the 22nd getting my hands on this bad boy, As a gaming experience its great, but my issue lays with the length of the game.. Graphics: Much like the suprise I had when I tossed Resident Evil 4 in, and the disbelief I felt that such graphical beauty was coming out of my Gamecube, the same sense of "WOW" hit me when I started playing GOW for PS2. I will go on a limb and say this may be the most graphically advanced game I have seen on PS2. The detail spent on creating Kratos is something that will not be lost on even the most casual of gamers, There is no doubt he is the most detailed and grapically enchanced title character I have ever seen. Even the enemies look fantastic, I find in alot of games in this Genre developers do cut corners and often give enemies a forced generic look simply to save time and SCEA spent the time on the little things and that really does aid the game overall and really does make the graphical experience that much better. The one aspect that really impressed me more so then the rest is the backgrounds and area's in which battle take place and that is simply impressive, I will tell you as a gamer I can see NO corners being cut during the graphic side of this game Gameplay is something that again was very well done, the storyline is well told the progression of the story is fast paced and makes you want to keep playing, I easily played six hours straight the first night I got this game. The controls are very well done for this type of game simple to learn and easy enough to get uses to that you will be able to control Kratos with ease. To make it clear I am not one of those gamers who can play the same game on an unended stream of difficulty levels I play on Hard the first time through and thats it, I don't pace myself through various levels of difficulty simply because there are other newer games to be played so I want the experience once and as hard as it comes, that being said the challenge is there and I think most gamers will throw down their controllers at least a half dozen times during the game. The puzzles are another great aspect to this game, they were smart puzzles and took me time and I did enjoy that aspect of it, but for a game of its length I was a touch let down by the fact that some of the puzzles shared similaries. Sound: Flawless, Even without the 5.1 aspect which PS2 lacks, this game was awesome the Pro Logic is really pushed to its limits and the voice acting and battle effects are unlike anything I have seen on PS2, There is NOTHING more I can say then Flawless. Value: Now here is where the game takes a rather negative turn, I played Six Hours the First Day, Four and a touch The Second, and Just about Four on the third, and that was it, it was done, My clear time was just over 14hrs? Normally in alot of "Shorter" games there is some replay factor a hidden character, or other things to do, but no GOW left me with nothing else, and that really really annoyed me, The lead up was amazing and the storyline was great but it was over far to quickly for my liking. I really think this could have been a Game of the Year Contender if only five more hours where added to this game. Overall, The game is amazing without question one of the BEST PS2 games I have played for a very long time, its an instant classic and a worthy addition to the ranks of PS2's Greatest Hits which it will no doubt soon be a part of, and the interesting thing is, if the game had only been longer this game easily could have approached Halo and Metroid Prime range, but the reality is most gamers will be able to finish this game to satisfaction during a three day rental, and even if you bought it and paced yourself I can't really find much else that I would want to do? Normally games with a short single player offer you some worthwhile Onine? ALthough for those gamers who LOVE to replay games on various difficulty then perhaps you will enjoy this game on a different level, although I guess that will depend on your tastes. -Z
