There's hype in any game that's released. Some games has millions of dollars to advertise and go about a multi-month process such as Halo 3, but others aren't so lucky and have to rely on word of mouth from game site previews and play testers. God of War falls somewhere in the middle. Upon the release, excitement went into high gear for an action game that was going to not only revive the genre, but also the gaming platform it was on. Releasing on March 22nd of 2005, God of War gave Greek mythology a new story where players were glued to their screens though an intense storyline, mixed with some superb gameplay.

In the beginning, you find yourself as Kratos, a Spartan warrior who unleashes his carnage across the land only to find him and his men in a predicament where he has to call upon the god of war, Ares, to help him. Giving his life and soul to Ares, Kratos and his men are saved and Kratos becomes Ares' leading warrior, but things take a turn for the worse when Ares tricks his greatest warrior into killing his own family and now Kratos is out to kill the god of war. There's more to the story than what was just described, and the story is something that truly shines in God of War even though most games in the action genre usually are more about the gameplay. As you progress through the different levels that are seamless from one to the next, you'll be presented with different cinematic movies showing you Kratos past and how he game to be who is he today. The developers definitely took their time in creating an intriguing storyline through the well known Greek mythology we all know today. A plotline that'll keep you entertained from start to finish over the course of the game's eight to ten hours of play time, but don't be dismayed by what would seem like a short amount of gameplay time, because with the different difficulty levels, you'll find yourself making up new strategies for different battles as you progress through the game.

Even though it may have a superb storyline, the gameplay is what puts God of War on a higher pedestal than most games in action genre. SCEA, the developers, found the perfect combination of button combination and interactivity during the entire game that not only keeps the player engaged through every battle, but also creating new combinations of moves with every single fight that they come to keeping everything fresh. Keeping the button configurations simple enough, any player is able to create massive hit combos throughout any battle which makes the overall gameplay fun for a person who has just picked up the game and also for the hardcore action gamer who wants to create devastating combos upon their enemies. Another creative idea that the developers implemented into the battle sequences is the button sensitive combos that can be pulled off when certain buttons flash upon the screen. In most boss battles, while you're towards the end of the battle, certain buttons will flash across the screen and if you hit them in a timely matter, you'll see Kratos pull off some pretty amazing stunts as he puts the finishing touches on defeating the different bosses, but these timed attacks aren't only for the boss battles. Throughout the game, you'll be able to pull off some of these sequences on certain types of your enemies which also keeps the everyday combat interactive. One more feature that keeps the game flowing is the real lack of load times in the game; from beginning to end, there are virtually no levels that switch you from one area to the next with long load screens and for how large and beautiful this game looks, you have to admit that's a pretty impressive feat by the developers on the Playstation 2 console. Every once in a while, you'll see a simple 'loading' across the screen, but it's for mere seconds and with that, you have to be happy.

From a graphics standpoint, God of War is simply beautiful. From the different locales you'll be traveling across to the many different monsters you'll be battling against, this game looks superb, even for being on the Playstation 2. From the city streets of Athens where you'll be constantly battling enemies up close as you're constantly viewing Ares as he destroys the city around you. Massive landscapes are spread across the screen. That's not to say that the game has expansive open areas that bring a non-linearity to the game, because even through there are some side paths, God of War is a linear game through and through, And that's okay, because that's what you expect out of an action game. For the roughly eight to ten hours you'll spend playing through this game, it'll be rare that you won't know where to go, but it's the different artistic designs of many different areas that really impressive. The developers truly hit the nail on the head when making mythology of the Greek culture come alive. The story of Kratos and all the events you become apart of could have easily been something that you read about. Because of the limitations of the system and the impressive graphical power of God of War, there will be some screen tearing throughout your travels from beginning to end, but this doesn't take away from your overall experience.

The sound of the game is just as impressive as the rest of the game. Sound effects from the different powers and moves that Kratos does sound great, especially the voice acting. Both during cinematics and during the rest of the gameplay when different characters talk with Kratos and Kratos himself, you'll be engaged because of the voice acting throughout the game. And you can't move through the game without talking about the musical score. The soundtrack behind the game keeps the pace and flow constant and fun from start to finish and keeps you engaged from one battle to the next, especially during the boss battles. The developers just took their time and made each aspect of God of War enjoyable and impressive overall.

Even though it's an action game which will have you traveling along the same path each time through, the different difficulty levels do make you rely on different strategies when fighting against the many different enemies you'll be battling. The different difficulty levels do provide quite a bit of replay value overall from easy to hard, you'll be spending quite a few hours with this title. With the amount of different combos that can be pulled off or the multiple types of magic to spring onto your enemies, you'll enjoy each and every battle your progress through.

Overall, if you own a Playstation 2, you should but this game, if you don't own a PS2, you should buy one to play this game. God of War breathes new life into an aging system and proves that the Playstation 2 can still pump out great titles with the next generation systems already out. With some of the most impressive graphics on the PS2, a superb storyline, a great soundtrack, and some of the most fun gameplay to be had on the last generation system, God of War is a must own game.

Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Story/Plot: 10
Replay Value: 9
Stability: 9

Overall: 9.20