Top Tier Recommendation
You are Kratos, a violent warrior covered in war paint who has recently placed himself in a bit of a predicament. His master, Ares, the God of War has gone rogue with power and is on a march of chaos to bring an end to Greece. The Gods come to Kratos, they want him to destroy Ares' but it's not that easy, Ares' is about 500 feet tall and a pretty tough warrior. Kratos is a savage, a warrior, but about 6 feet tall; the Gods aid him on his quest and if Kratos succeeds, he'll be forgiven of his actions. The game uses a very effective 'slow burn' type of storytelling; we learn more about Kratos, Ares and their ruthless past. There are also some nicely intertwined connections to a range of Gods, Monsters, and Ancient Greece's landmarks. God of War tells a very well constructed tale of revenge that ceases to ever become boring. It has the same grand adventure feel of films like Jason and the Argonauts (1963) or Clash of the Titans (1981), but it's much more violent and vengeful.
You are given a unique pair of weapons called 'Blades of Chaos'; they're basically a pair of dual swords with around 8 feet of chain length so you can whip them around with ease. They're good for close to medium range combat and are highly useful due their whip-fast speed and variable attacks. One attack has you whip an enemy into the air and lets you wail on them for a moment. Along the way you'll get 4 different magic attacks, some of these are mostly strategic while others are more for crowd controlling. You also receive one other weapon but none of those quite trump your 'Blades of Chaos'.
Enemies are nicely varied; some fly, others come in groups, use charge tactics, respawn / call in backup, turn you to stone, shoot arrows, and one even burrows. They all come from the classic lineup of Greek monsters including Centaurs, Cyclops, Minions, Gorgons, Cerberuses, and quite a few more. Batter an enemy till they're hurting and you can perform a very violent and gruesome execution on them, if you match the prompt from the Quick-Time Events. Best of all, each enemy has a different type of fatality:
-You'll stab your blade into a Minotaur's mouth causing him to violently erupt blood right back out.
-After a few quick moves and dodges, you'll be on the top of a Cyclops and will tear his only eye right out.
-Grab a Harpy to pin it with your foot and rip in half from the wings.
That is the level of mature violence this game is talking about; not even driving over used hookers in GTA could match this! You can even find a sex mini-game, from this context, it might sound weird; but in place of the game, it fits in more than I would have ever thought. What makes all of these great ideas work is the strong controls, they're responsiveness allows the game to keep up with the speed of combat and other actions. Killing enemies gives up orbs, magic, health, and power for a super attack mode; orbs upgrade weapons, everything else is self explanatory.
You also have simple sections of jumping and 3D block based puzzle solving to give some additional variety. Neither of these activities intends to hold you back for more than 5 minutes at a time and they're not nearly as impressive as the combat or range of varied enemies. Of course, that's why they're only around for a moment or so, they're meant to be a breather from combat. Anyways, this game is as straightforward as a board of plywood; occasionally there's an open area or a nicely hidden collectible but there are no, I mean no other paths to take other than what's shown. You don't even have camera control, but it's well programmed to show everything you need to see at any given time. It does decide to switch perspectives sometimes when you're leaping across a gap, but that's forgiven easily when you use the right analog stick for a very helpful dodge maneuver. The camera shows off some of the largest and most impressive vistas on the PS2 including sand swept deserts, massive cliffs, very large statues, Athens in a state of crisis, and some staggeringly sized boss battles.
The graphics are of a super high caliber; you just don't see games look this good and end up having such a well crafted, strong look from top to bottom. To add to this is just how much activity is going on in the game and the cut scenes: Ares is smashing buildings, monsters are ripping apart ships, blood is getting spilt everywhere, and you're trying to navigate a massive death trap! Then we have the sound side and the music just blew me away; the orchestral talent really does speak for itself and drives home what this game is about all the more. Sound effects are all excellent and the actors have some really strong vocal performances that breathe life into these characters; it's a case where talent makes the difference.
God of War's Achilles' heel definitely has to be its' length and replay. Its average length of 10 -12 hours is decent but it's not really a game that lends itself well to replaying when it's so linear. But of course, it's worth replaying just because it is so good; furthermore, there are some sweet extra videos behind the game's creation and a handful of rudimentary challenge rooms.
Overall, God of War earns what ESRB gave them; an M for slaying the greatest beasts of Greek mythology, plentiful yet artistic blood splatter, and the best way to be taught about Sex education. This game belongs in your library not as just a rental, but as a definitive purchase even if you do not own a PS2 because this could very well be the pinnacle of what all mature action adventure games ultimately aspire to be.
9.5/ 10 SUPERB (PS2)
+Incredibly epic scale and size
+A fantastic tale of revenge interwoven with memorable performances
+Combat flows easily and is a ton of fun
+Great amounts of blood, sex, and nudity