God of War

God of War
The logo of God of War, the first game in the series. Subsequent titles use a similar logo.
Genre(s)	Hack and slash, Action-adventure
Developer(s)	SCE Studios Santa Monica (PS2 & PS3) Ready at Dawn Studios (PSP) Javaground (Mobile phone) Bluepoint Games (Port for God of War Collection)
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Creator(s)	David Jaffe, Cory Barlog
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Mobile Phone, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3
First release	God of War 2005

God of War is a series of action-adventure video games based on Greek mythology. The three main installments in the series are/were developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica division, while Ready at Dawn Studios developed an installment on the PlayStation Portable and Javaground developed an installment for the mobile phone. The series made its debut in 2005 on the PlayStation 2 with God of War. A sequel, God of War II, was released also on the PlayStation 2 in 2007. God of War: Betrayal was released for the mobile phone in 2007 and takes place immediately after the first installment. In 2008, a prequel to God of War, God of War: Chains of Olympus, was released on the PlayStation Portable. God of War III is currently in development for the PlayStation 3, and will be the last in the current story arc and is set to release in March 2010.

The chronological order of the series is God of War: Chains of Olympus, God of War, God of War: Betrayal, God of War II, and God of War III.

Setting

The God of War games have their basis in Greek myths. The player controls Kratos, a human warrior that challenges the Gods of Mount Olympus after being used and discarded as one of their tools, during which he unwillingly killed his wife and daughter. Kratos seeks revenge on those Gods, fueled by his anger. To stop Kratos, the Gods have unleashed numerous mythological beings, but Kratos is able to overcome these while using magical objects given to him by Athena and the few other Gods that are sympathetic to Kratos' plight. Later, Kratos gets his magical objects from the Titans and fallen foes.

Gameplay

Gameplay from God of War depicting a symbol representing a button on the controller that appears above the heads of weakened enemies.

All games in the God of War series are action-adventure games presented from a third-person camera, with the player in control of Kratos. Kratos' primary weapons are twin blades on long chains that have been embedded in his arms, allowing him to use the blades as hand-held swords or as swung flails. In addition to direct melee attacks, this gives the player a large number of attack combination (triggered by entering sequences on the controller's buttons) similar to fighting games. Certain foes, when weakened, will be marked with a special indicator; at this point, the player can initiate a "finishing move" by following a sequence of quick time events that if done properly, will instantly kill the creature, while failing to follow the events may harm Kratos. In addition to the blades, Kratos gains magical artifacts and special weapons that can also be used in conjunction with his other attacks, further expanding the catalog of moves that the player can perform. The games also feature a special meter that is filled as Kratos defeats his enemies. When it is filled, the player can unleash a temporary boost to Kratos' speed and power, among other effects. Outside of combat, Kratos must maneuver through the environment; the blades allow him to climb up certain rock faces or hang from ceilings, and Kratos' strength may be employed to push blocks and other objects in order to complete environmental puzzles.

As the player defeats foes, they collect red orbs that act similarly to experience points; at any time, the player can expend red orbs into improving Kratos' skill with weapons and magical artifacts, often gaining new combo moves at specific levels. Numerous chests around will also contain red orbs in addition to green (health) and blue (magic) orbs. There are also special items hidden in chests that, after collecting a number of, will expand the health or magic meter for Kratos. Red orbs can also be found by destroying much of the environmental objects that litter the levels.

Games

God of War

The first God of War was released for the PlayStation 2 in North America on March 22, 2005 and in Europe on June 21, 2005. Prior to the events in the game, Kratos was the youngest and most promising captain in Sparta's army, quickly gaining recognition due to his violent tactics. During an attack by a barbarian tribe, they were outnumbered. Before being killed by the barbarian king, Kratos summoned Ares, the Greek god of war, and offered his soul in exchange for a victory.^[1] He continued to serve Ares until the god tricked him into killing his own family, after which he served several of the Greek gods for a decade. After becoming tired of serving the gods to erase the memories of his family's murder, he contacted Athena, who offered him forgiveness if he was able to stop Ares' destruction of Athens. After defeating several monsters which were attacking citizens, Kratos saves the city's oracle who tells him to retrieve Pandora's box in order to defeat Ares.^[2] Kratos succeeds in this task, but is killed by Ares and sent to Hades. After escaping from the underworld he returns to Athens and confronts Ares, regaining control of Pandora's box and using its power to kill the god. When he discovers that the gods' forgiveness does not include allowing him to forget his mistakes, he attempts suicide, but is stopped by Athena who informs him that he has been granted Ares' throne on Mount Olympus.^[3]

God of War II

God of War II was released for the PlayStation 2 in North America on March 13, 2007, Europe on April 27, 2007, and Australia on May 3, 2007. God of War II begins with Kratos performing his office as the new god of war. He however had chosen to avoid the other gods, instead using his powers to aid the Spartans in battle.^[4] This angered several of the other Olympians, but after receiving an ultimatum, Kratos ignored it and decided to destroy the city of Rhodes, where the Spartan army was fighting. Upon descending to the city, Zeus brings the Colossus of Rhodes to life and tricks Kratos into transferring all of his godly strength into the Blade of Olympus, the sword used to defeat the Titans in the Titanomachy. Zeus then gains control of the sword and stabs him with it, declaring to Kratos "you will never be the ruler of Olympus".^[5] After this, Gaia aids Kratos in escaping from Hades and tells him to find the Fates in order to change his destiny. He travels to the island of the Fates, where he retrieves the Golden Fleece and the power of some of the surviving Titans. Kratos eventually reaches the temple of the Fates with the help of Atlas and confronts them. The Fates decline to help him, citing that his destiny was already determined.^[6] Seeing that the Fates were not going to help him, Kratos fights and kills them. He then rewinds the thread that controlled his life and returns to the moment when Zeus betrayed him, regaining control of the Blade of Olympus. Both engage in battle, Zeus becomes badly injured, but Athena intervenes before Kratos can kill him, resulting in her getting mortally wounded. Before dying, Athena reveals to Kratos that he is Zeus' son.^[7] The game ends with Kratos rewinding the thread a second time and returning to the moment of the Titanomachy, where he convinces the Titans to accompany him back to his time and engage in battle against the Olympians.^[8]

God of War: Betrayal

God of War: Betrayal was released for mobile phone platforms in North America on June 20, 2007. The plot of God of War: Betrayal covers the timeframe between the first and second installments. The game begins explaining that Kratos had been employing his power to help Sparta during the beginning of his reign as god of war; in this instance he was leading the Spartan army in an invasion of an unnamed city.^[9] Shortly after entering the city, the soldiers encounter Argos, a giant beast that was Hera's servant. Kratos traps the monster in a sewer, where an unidentified assassin kills it. The Spartans celebrate the victory, however Kratos realizes that he was being framed to infuriate the other Olympians and quickly chases after the culprit.^[10][11] During the pursuit, several undead soldiers attack Kratos, who suspects that Hades is behind the conspiracy.^[12] Meanwhile, the assassin continues fleeing, killing several Spartans in the process. Angered at the amount of destruction that the chase is leaving through its path, Zeus orders Ceryx to serve as his messenger and stop the violence. Ceryx confronts Kratos, but the god of war refuses to cease and engages the messenger in battle. Taking advantage of the situation, the assassin escapes. Kratos kills Ceryx and the Spartan soldiers celebrate, but he realizes that Zeus would eventually take action for this act of defiance.^[13]

God of War: Chains of Olympus

The special edition God of War PSP that came in the limited edition God of War: Chains of Olympus bundle pack.

God of War: Chains of Olympus was released for the PlayStation Portable in North America on March 4, 2008 and in Europe on March 28, 2008. On June 3, 2008, SCEA released a limited edition bundle pack that included the game with a special edition God of War PSP that is "deep red" with an image of Kratos's face on the back.^[14] God of War: Chains of Olympus serves as a prequel to God of War, the events in it take place ten years before the timeline of the first game. It starts in Attica, where Kratos was sent by the gods to defend the city from the Persian army.^[15] After the battle Kratos observes when the sun falls from heaven and crashes into the city of Marathon. Kratos makes his way to the crash site and discovers both the Sun Chariot and Temple of Helios. Near the temple's entrance he encounters a statue of Athena who tells him that Helios has disappeared and Morpheus has used his absence to make the gods fall "into a deep slumber."^[16] Athena wants Kratos to retrieve Helios so he can release Morpheus' grasp on the other gods. Inside the temple, Eos uses a statue to communicate with Kratos and tells him that the Titan Atlas has kidnapped her brother Helios.^[17] After awakening the fire steeds, the horses lead Kratos into Hades, the underworld. He faces off against Charon, but is left unconscious and is thrown into Tartarus. Kratos is eventually able to climb back out of Tartarus and finally defeats Charon.^[18] He takes the boat and follows the sunlight of Helios down the river Styx, eventually coming upon a temple, where he meets Persephone. She convinces him to "release" all of his evils by surrendering all of the powers and weapons he possessed in order to reunite with his daughter, Calliope in the Fields of Elysium.^[19] Once there, Persephone reveals that she released Atlas in order to destroy Olympus and kill everyone to recover her "liberty", expressing anger at being betrayed by Zeus and being tricked by Hades.^[20] Realizing this would kill his daughter Kratos decides to sacrifice his humanity in order to recover the powers he lost. Kratos has a final battle against Persephone atop the pillar that holds the world. After chaining Atlas to the pillar, Kratos is able to defeat and kill Persephone.^[21] Helios returns to the sky but Kratos, weak from battle, falls back towards Earth. While unconscious, Athena and an unidentified god show satisfaction towards his work and remove two Olympian items before leaving him alive on top of a cliff overlooking the Aegean Sea.

God of War III

God of War III is set for release on the PlayStation 3 in March 2010. Pre-orders for the Ultimate Edition began on October 30, 2009 and includes a replica sculpture of Pandora's box, a voucher for the E3 2009 demo, and other content. God of War III takes place after the events of God of War II. Kratos must take his quest for vengeance to the stronghold of Zeus. As the Army of Olympus surges out to meet him in battle and the chaos of the Great War is reignited, Kratos must scale the summit of Mount Olympus on the back of the Titan Gaia, leading his new colossal allies in an all out assault on the Olympians.^[22]

God of War Collection

God of War Collection
Developer(s)	SCE Studios Santa Monica Bluepoint Games (Port)
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Series	God of War
Native resolution	720p
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Release date(s)	NA November 17, 2009[23] EU 2010[24]
Genre(s)	Hack and slash, action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature
Media	Blu-ray Disc
Input methods	DualShock 3, Sixaxis

Comparison of graphics of the original God of War for the PS2 (Above) and God of War Collection for the PS3 (Below)

God of War Collection is a remastered port of God of War and God of War II for the PlayStation 3 on a single Blu-ray Disc, and was originally to be released in North America on November 10, 2009^[25], however, the release was pushed back to November 17, 2009.^[23] Sony Computer Entertainment Europe are currently looking into options to bring the port to PS3 consumers in Europe, however, it will not be possible to release it in 2009.^[24]

The games were ported by Bluepoint Games and use the features of the PlayStation 3, including high-definition resolutions (720p), anti-aliased graphics locked in at 60 frames per second and Trophies. The port was derived from feedback of fans of the series in anticipation for God of War III's release, and is seen as a way to introduce new players to the series prior to that game's release.^[26] In a PlayStation Blog post on September 23, 2009, it was revealed that the God of War III game demo from E3 2009 is included.^[27] The official gameplay trailer was unveiled on October 16, 2009.^[28] The trailer can be seen in PlayStation Home's virtual theater.

There are a total of 71 trophies between the two games - 36 for God of War and 35 for God of War II - including a platinum trophy for each game.^[29]

Beginning on November 24, 2009 at 4:00 pm PST, the God of War team began a sweepstakes in celebration of the release of God of War Collection. There is one grand prize of this sweepstakes, an autographed "Gold" disc (a first pressing of the game created when the assets were finalized and reached "Gold" status. These copies rarely reach the public.), exclusive artwork created and signed by a God of War team member, a Limited Edition Kratos T-shirt, and a never before released Limited Edition 10" Figurine of Kratos. First place prize is a copy of God of War Collection signed by the Development Team. To enter the sweepstakes, players simply go to the "Sign Up" page within God of War.com and enter their email address and date of birth. If players are already a member of the site, they are already entered into the sweepstakes. The only requirement is that players are over the age of 18 and live within the United States. Players have until December 11, 2009 at 11:59 pm PST to sign up and enter the sweepstakes. The winners will be announced on the PlayStation Blog and on God of War.com on December 17, 2009.^[30]

Characters in the God of War series

Main characters

• Kratos: Kratos is the main character of the God of War series. He first appeared in God of War as a servant to the gods. Prior to the start of the series, he served as the captain of Sparta's army and was only interested in increasing his power by conquering his opponents. He later became a servant to Ares in exchange for the god destroying his enimies. After accidentally killing his wife and daughter, he renounced his service to Ares and began serving the other gods in an attempt to be forgiven. The gods eventually request Kratos to kill Ares, and in doing so Kratos becomes the new God of War. Afterward, the gods forgive Kratos his sins but even they cannot free him from the memories that haunt him. Feeling betrayed, he turns against them all and seeks to lead Sparta to dominate the world. Zeus strips him of his divine power and Kratos allies himself with the Titans to destroy the gods and rule all of Olympus. He also has the nickname the "Ghost of Sparta", which was given to him for murdering his wife and daughter and having to wear their ashes on his skin forever, making his skin have no pigmentation.

• Athena: The goddess of wisdom, defensive war and industry. Though a constant companion in the first game, Athena appears only three times in the sequel: once to warn Kratos that his actions are displeasing the other gods, a second through a statue (as in the first game), and the last to save Zeus by stepping in the way of Kratos' killing blow. (Ironically, when Athena's mother, the Titaness Metis, was pregnant, Zeus attempted to kill both for fear that the child be the prophesied overthrowing son.) She first appeared in God of War and the following games.

• Gaia: Mother of the Titans, and connected to all things of the Earth. Along with the other Titans, she was banished in the War of the Titans, and seeing Kratos' quest for revenge on Zeus, offers to lend her power to his cause. She helps Kratos throughout his journey in hopes that together they can bring about the fall of Olympus. She also acts as the narrator of the series. She first physically appeared in God of War II and will be in God of War III.

• Lakhesis: The middle (matron) of the three Sister of Fate bears a feathered robe and wings along with a staff. She mocks Kratos by telling him that she was the one responsible for deciding both the defeat of the Titans in the Great War and letting Kratos reach the Sisters. She refuses to accept Kratos and tells him that he will fail in his quest to change his fate. She first and only appeared in God of War II.

• Atropos: The oldest (crone) Sister of Fate who was inside Lakhesis until she split off to fight Kratos. She mocked Kratos' attempt to change his fate, demonstrating her power by altering the event from the first God of War and attempting to destroy the Blade of the Gods so that Kratos would die by Ares' hand. Kratos is forced to fight in his own past (with the final battle of the first game raging in the background) in order to defeat her and preserve his existence. She first and only appeared in God of War II.

• Clotho: The youngest (maiden) Sisters of Fate that Kratos encounters, although she looks like anything but. She is a morbidly obese silkworm-like creature with multiple arms and breasts that sits within the multi-leveled Loom Chamber. She spins the thread of every mortal, god and titan. Kratos must defeat Clotho and learn how to work the loom in order to kill Zeus and change his fate. She first and only appeared in God of War II.

• Zeus: The King of Olympus who created the Blade of Olympus. He is the father of Ares, Athena, and Kratos, which is revealed in God of War II. In the first game, Zeus aids Kratos by giving him the power to wield lightning bolts and throw them at his opponents. He betrays Kratos in the beginning of the second game and is the antagonist during the rest of it and in God of War III. He first appeared in God of War and has appeared in the following games.

• Ares: The former God of War. Ares is the main antagonist, and final boss, in God of War. Ares runs amock and assails the city of Athens while challenging the other gods and looking for Pandora's Box to maximize his power; the other gods enlist the aid of the Spartan named Kratos, a former protegé of Ares, who was tricked by the god to slay his family in the past. Since Zeus forbids the gods to fight each other, Kratos searches for Pandora's Box, which gives him the power to rival a god. Ares is slain by Kratos, who takes his position as "God of War". Ares also appeared in a flashback in God of War II.

• Persephone: Persephone is the main antagonists in God of War: Chains of Olympus. She is the Queen of the Underworld. Bitter at being betrayed by Zeus, tricked by Hades and abandoned by the gods, Persephone was the one who had freed Atlas in order to help her. Persephone was planning to kill everyone, including herself, to free her from her situation. Kratos and Persephone engaged in a bloody final battle; during the battle, Persephone tried to subdue and confuse Kratos, urging him to go back to Elysium and be with Calliope, and when he resists, she orders Atlas to destroy him. Kratos chains Atlas to the roof of the underworld before returning to battle Persephone and eventually killing her with Zeus' Gauntlet. She only appeared in God of War: Chains of Olympus.

Development

Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica division developed God of War, God of War II and are currently developing God of War III. Ready at Dawn Studios developed God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP. Javaground developed God of War: Betrayal for the mobile phone.

Film

A film adaptation of God of War was announced in 2005.^[31] Creator David Jaffe confirmed that a completed script had been written by David Self and would be sent out to an unspecified "huge-name director". Jaffe also expressed interest in seeing actor Djimon Hounsou in the role of the protagonist, Kratos.^[32]

Furthermore, at Comic-Con 2007, Game Head's Geoff Keighley introduced the creator of God of War, David Jaffe to infamous film director, Uwe Boll. Jaffe was asked by Keighley, "Would you really let [Uwe Boll] direct God of War?", to which Jaffe answered "If it was my call you ask me? Truthfully? No, I would not." Boll replied, "Wait until you see Postal, then you judge." Jaffe also confirmed that Universal Studios is behind the making of the God of War movie but was unaware of its current status.^[33] Brett Ratner was originally set to direct the film,^[34] but has since abandoned it.^[35]

Awards

The first game, God of War, has won over a dozen "Game of the Year Awards".^[36] In 2007, God of War was named best PlayStation 2 Action game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the PlayStation 2's long lifespan.^[37]

Critical reception

God of War

God of War received strong praise from gaming critics. The game was praised for its strong gameplay, graphics, and sound. A CNN review stated that "'God of War' is the type of game that makes you remember why you play games in the first place."^[38] In 2007, God of War was named the seventh best PlayStation 2 game of all time in IGN's Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time list. ^[39]

God of War II

Upon its release, God of War II garnered overwhelming critical and commercial acclaim. God of War II won a Golden Joystick for "PlayStation Game of the Year 2007" at the 2007 Golden Joystick Awards.^{[citation needed]} Many consider it to be one of PlayStation 2's best games,^[40][41] and also one of the best action games of all time.^[42][43][44] It contains four times as many boss fights and improved puzzles in comparison to the original.^{[42][45][46][47][48][49]} The game is also considered to be the swan song of the PlayStation 2 era — in other words, the last great game released exclusively for the console.^[42][50]

In North America, the game had sold 833,209 copies by the end of March 2007, twice as many copies as the next-best selling game.^[51] In its first week of release in Europe, the game took the top spot in the UK charts as well.^[52] The game went on to sell over one million copies in its first three months.^[36] As of September 5, 2008, the game has sold 2.44 million copies.^[53] On March 13, 2008, God of War II joined Sony's renowned Greatest Hits list.

God of War II is ranked eighth on Game Informer’s list of The Top 10 Video Game Openings.^[54] In 2007, IGN listed God of War II at number two on their top 25 PS2 Games of All Time list, five ahead of its prequel.^[55]

God of War: Betrayal

God of War: Betrayal received a rating of 9/10 from IGN.com. The review extolled: "Have no fear, this is no watered-down God of War experience. It's the real deal third game in the killer franchise and if you are any kind of God of War fan, you'll put aside whatever grudge you might have against mobile gaming and seek out this download ASAP."^[56]

God of War: Chains of Olympus

God of War: Chains of Olympus displaced Lumines as the highest composite score for a PSP title on both Metacritic^[57] and GameRankings.^[58] The game has an average score of 91% based on 74 reviews on GameRankings,^[59] and an average score of 91 out of 100 based on 74 reviews on Metacritic.^[60]

IGN gave the game a score 9.4/10, citing its unprecedented graphical achievements and improved control scheme.^[61] Similarly, GamePro rated Chains of Olympus 4.75/5 praising the game's "fantastic" graphics and "tight and responsive" controls. The review criticized the game's relative lack of variety in enemies and the fact that, "You still have to lug boxes around to solve environmental puzzles." The reviewer still concluded that, "Chains of Olympus is the best PSP game yet."^[62] 1UP.com gave the game an A saying, "as a God of War game, Chains of Olympus is slightly lacking, but as a PSP game it's fantastic, and as a technological achievement it's off-the-charts phenomenal."^[63] X-play has given the game a perfect 5 out of 5, making only the second PSP game (after Lumines) to get a perfect score from that publication, and Diehard GameFAN gave the game its Best PSP Game award for 2008^[64]. The game sold 340,500 copies in the first month it came out^[65].

God of War Collection

God of War Collection has received extremely positive reviews so far. The game received a rating of 9.4 out of 10 from IGN who also gave it an "Editor's Choice" Award who praised the enhanced resolutions, lower price point as well as smoother frame rates of the game, saying that it was a "definitive way to play the game" and that it was "a collection that you shouldn't pass up".^[69] 1up.com gave the game an "A" praising the tremendous increase in visuals and equating it to as if the player was playing a new game. However it noted that though rather insignificant the in-engine cut-scenes seemed blurrier and at lower resolution than the gameplay due to the increased resolution of the gameplay which also highlights certain blurry textures that were previously unnoticeable.^[70] GamePro gave the game 5 out of 5 stars stating that it's "two fantastic games on one disc for a low price; puts you in the right mindset for God of War 3."^[71] PlayStation LifeStyle gave the game a 5 out of 5 noting that for those who are "familiar with Kratos will enjoy the extra polish the Collection brings to two of the best games from the PS2 era."^[72]

Featured in other games

On August 20, 2008, Kratos was made as a playable character in the PlayStation 3 game, Everybody's Golf 5.^[73]

To promote the release of LittleBigPlanet on the PlayStation 3, as a GameStop pre-order bonus, users received a character costume of Kratos to dress their SackBoy as. They also received character costumes for Medusa and a Minotaur, as well as God of War stickers for users to create their own God of War level for LittleBigPlanet.^[74] The character costumes and sticker pack was released on the PlayStation Network Store on January 26, 2009.^[75]

The "God of Wharf" billboard in The Simpsons Game.

Kratos also appeared in a parody of God of War called "God of Wharf" in The Simpsons Game. He appears on a billboard advertising a chowder restaurant.

Kratos, also appeared in the PSP game, Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, as a guest character, along with a few other elements from the God of War series, like the Isle of Creation arena and a battle theme.^[76]

In the North American version of PlayStation Home, the PlayStation 3's online community based service, there is an advertisement poster for God of War III on The Mall. The trailer for God of War Collection can be seen in PlayStation Home's virtual theater in the North American version as well.

References

External links

• Official God of War website
• Official God of War II website
• Official God of War: Betrayal website
• Official God of War: Chains of Olympus website
• Official God of War III website