Console: PS3 Date Released: November 17, 2009 Date Reviewed: April 29, 2012 Reviewer: Reid Pros * HD update looks great * Fight mechanics work seamlessly * Amazing soundtrack Cons * Fixed camera, can’t control with right stick * Ugly title selection screen
God of War and God of War II were both remastered in HD and released on one game as the “God of War collection”. This was done by Bluepoint games, the same company who did the Metal Gear Solid HD collection I had reviewed previously. God of War I & II were games released on the PS2, and I had played bits and pieces of God of War I at a friend’s house, but never really sat down and gave it my full attention. I thought I would review them both separately, as I am really enjoying the trend as of late of playing through older games remastered in HD.
Presentation : A
Graphics / Animation / Sound
This is the first attempt by Bluepoint games at putting together an HD collection. As I mentioned on my previous reviews, I was astonished by how well done the Metal Gear Solid HD collection was, and I wasn’t disappointed by the God of War HD collection.
The graphics look great, especially since combat is so quick, its nice to see it at 60 fps. This is another game the developers took an immense amount of time adding in all kinds of detail. Temples have statues everywhere, walls and floors look ornate, and the 3D models of the creatures you fight even have small plates of armor. The reflection off of the polished floors in temples was an especially nice touch in the game. They gave an overwhelming feeling that you were actually inside temples, our outside looking at the giant statues. The only thing I noticed on the HD conversion process is there are a few cut scenes that seem blurry, or perhaps not even touched. Now, this doesn’t take away from the games overall look and most of the scenes are well done, but I did see maybe 3 or 4 scenes that could use some sprucing up, but that is just nitpicking perhaps. The title selection screen is bland, just names of the games over a picture of Kratos. Though again, this isn’t a big deal, just something I noticed.
There are MANY different types of creatures, bad guys, monsters, gods, you name it. All of them animated well, especially when in combat. None of the creatures or monsters I fought looked dumb while fighting, and that can happen especially on games released for PS2. They all had great animated attacks and when I would knock them down or kill them they would fall back or forward, then melt into the ground releasing orbs for me to collect, instead of just disappearing. Again a lot of time when into this process as well and it’s one of those things that turns a good game into a great game.
The sound track is one of my favorite parts of video games. Even game music from the days of NES (TMNT II: The Arcade Game) still play in my head sometimes, and I feel like it’s a giant element of the video game that should help you get into the game. The sound track on God of War is AMAZING. Choirs chanting and singing over orchestras not just in combat but over the entire game made me really stay focused. It’s not just back ground music then when you fight the music jumps in, it’s a constant flow of great pieces of music that change depending on where you are in the map. The sound effects in the game are appropriate, and not overdone. The sound effects during combat sound great and when you are watching entire battles, the effects definitely create a rich sound.
Single Player : A
Game mechanics / Length / difficulty
If you are unfamiliar with God of War, you play as Kratos, a warrior who asked Aries to spare his life during a battle, and in return would pledge allegiance to him. Without spoiling it for the few people left who haven’t played it, You become angry with Aries and are making your way to find Pandora’s Box, as it is the only thing that can kill a God.
The game has a great first level that lets you get a feel for the controls. The opening level is on a bunch of broken ships on the sea, and it showcases a lot of important things like combat and what boss fights will be like. After awhile progressing through the game I was getting the feeling that it would be just mediocre. I would walk down the street, fight, then walk a few more feet and fight some more. You can see a 100 story tall Aries over the hills fighting the Athens army, and I was wondering what I would go through in the game to be able to fight something so large. I had no idea what was in store for me.
There are two things your going to have to get used to when playing through the game. The fixed camera, that moves when the game lets it move is not controlled by you, which was the case of most PS2 games of the time. This does make looking ahead non-existent, and makes you blind jump into the next area. This is annoying, but you can also look at it as another part to the challenge of puzzle solving. The other thing is finding a save area. These are plentiful, and easy to locate, but when you are ready to put down the controller, you have to think back to when you last saved, and debate if how much content you’ve progressed through is worth doing over again, or finding the next save point. Again, this was the common practice of saving at the time of release, so you have to adjust to that.
Your two primary weapons are the Blades of Chaos, and the Blade of Artemis (which you get later). The Blade of Artemis is cool, and can be upgraded as well, but it is just an option in case you get tired of your primary weapon, the Blades of Chaos. I personally never go tired of the blades of chaos, as they are one of the most creative weapons I’ve ever seen. They are blades chained to your forearms that you swing around and impale people with. Pretty awesome. When you kill you usually earn a variety of different orbs. Red orbs can update your magic and weapons by pressing start. Blue orbs refill your magic bar, and green orbs refill your health. You can also come across these orbs in chests.
As you progress in the game, you are given magic powers from the god’s: Zeus’s Fury (lightning), Medusa’s Gaze (after you rip off of her head) can turn enemies to stone, Poseidon’s Rage (create’s an energy circle which hits enemies), and the Army of Hades, which is insanely powerful as you can call up soul’s of dead warriors to attack all the enemies on the screen. All of these magic powers can be upgraded to different levels which give you a variety of extra moves and making them more powerful. This is controlled by a magic bar which will deplete and must be refilled. The magic in the game really add’s to the fun of combat, and really keeps it from getting boring as there are an insane amount of moves.
You increase your health and magic bar by finding Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers that are also in chests. Once you collect 6 of either one you can sacrifice them to the god’s and increase your meter bars. This is very important, as is upgrading your magic and weapons, so you need to open every chest you find and hunt around for the hidden ones.
The combat in the game is fun. I mixed my Blades of Chaos with my magic and performed all kinds of cool ways for Kratos to slice and dice the enemies. Your move list, accessed by the start button, will show you all kinds of moves to use, and you will get more moves the more you upgrade your items. The combat is seamless, and is very effective. The creatures you fight have decent AI, and when they are not being pummeled by your blades and magic, will gang up on you, so it does provide a nice challenge.
Combat happens a lot in the game, but the other main part of the game-play is the puzzle solving. When you are on your quest for Pandora’s Box, the game puts you through all sorts of crazy challenges you must figure out. This might be finding an item and placing it on a statue to open the next door. The main part of the game takes place in Pandora’s Temple, which is on a moving mountain, chained to the back of Kronos the Titan, wandering in the desert of Lost Souls, which you have to find your way through. Yeah. Crazy awesome. Pandora’s Temple is one large dungeon with a ton of mini dungeons that all affect one another. The game does a good job of letting you know what it wants you to do, which is nice because there are so many puzzles to solve it would be hard to find a good start.
I’ll admit that I am pretty good at solving game puzzles, but not great at it. The thing I found about puzzle solving in God of War is the puzzle difficulty is not a mind bending to solve. When I played through the game, I never felt like the game was out to stop my progress, in fact I felt the opposite. The game gave me every opportunity to earn thousands of Orbs for upgrades, open tablets containing riddles close to the puzzles that once figured out would give me great advice I could use to solve them.
On Normal difficulty, the game has its challenges, but has just the right amount of difficulty. Though going back to replay it on easy, I would say that it is TOO easy. So I recommend it being played on normal (default setting), though if your anxious to play through it just to see the entire game, Easy is the one for you.
On Normal difficulty, my game save was about 10 hours. So it’s not too long of a game, but long enough to give you a feeling of satisfaction when you beat it. I didn’t feel it was too short, considering the massive amount of content and scenery change during game-play.
Multiplayer : –
Game mechanics / features / Online features
There is no multiplayer at all. This does not take away from the game in any way. After all, it’s not called God’s of War now is it?
Replay Value : B
Lasting appeal / Bonus Content / DLC
There is no DLC, But you do have the new option of replaying the game on “God Mode” setting, which is VERY difficult. If you do that, the game will reveal a true ending in the “Treasures” section that will lead you right into God of War II. Good luck on unlocking that! (and don’t cheat and watch it on youtube! Even though I did.)
There is a wealth of bonus content item’s you can unlock after completing the game. Among behind the scenes video’s and 3D model viewing, you can unlock costumes by completing the “Challenge of the Gods” mode. This contains ten difficult mini dungeons to complete. You can also view deleted levels and monsters that didn’t make the game. I also really enjoyed the Heroic Possibilities unlock, which shows you different versions of Kratos that didn’t make the game.
God of War, especially having been remastered in HD, is an instant classic. It is one of the most well-thought out game I’ve ever played. Though we all know, the problem with puzzles in games is once you figure them out, well, now you know for next time. But since these puzzles are in a dungeon setting, the challenge of getting to the puzzles before you can solve them is half the fun, so it is fun to go back after a while and replay them.
I will warn those who haven’t played this game that it is VERY dark, many times requiring blood sacrifices, and is filled with nothing but blood and gore. If this bothers you I would not recommend the game.
Overall : A
Incredible games, made even better in HD