By Sean Ewing

God Of War pulls no punches. You’ll find yourself ripping people in half, killing innocents and slaying all manner of mythical beasts in a variety of violent ways. It also happens to be one of the freshest and most fun action games to come this way in many years.

You play as Kratos, a Spartan in ancient Greece. He is tormented by awful nightmares and takes his own life. You pick up the game three weeks before his suicide to see why he killed himself, and to learn about his nightmares. Honestly though, the story isn’t the driving force in this game. You keep playing because it is amazingly fun, and killing enemies as Kratos is wonderfully satisfying.

The combat is deeper than most action titles, and manages to just remain out and out entertaining. When you grapple an enemy you only have three options, but they never really get old. You can pummel them with Kratos’ short swords, impale them and throw them, or jam your hand into their stomach and literally tear them asunder.

God Of War’s graphics team deserves special acclaim. The levels are absolutely gorgeous, pushing the aging PS2 without any signs of slowdown, jagged edges, or any of the other hallmarks associated with system pushing games. The transition from cinema to real time is seamless. The characters models all look vivid and real, and the monsters are no exception. Special care went into reinventing Greek mythological monsters so they remain familiar, but look more sinister and evil than usual.

God Of War retains the standard power up scheme found in nearly every action game. You kill things and get orbs; these orbs power up your weapons and spells, granting new abilities along the way. This is standard fare, but works well. There’s enough spells so that you can’t power them all up on your first play through, but you still have a nice variety of powers.

However, one big innovation comes in combat with larger enemies and bosses. When their health is low enough, or a special condition is fulfilled, you can unleash a

“brutal kill” on them. These special kills take place in the form of a mini-game, either button mashing, or pressing certain buttons in a certain order. The payoff however, is spectacular. For instance, after thrashing around a Medusa for a while, Kratos can throw her to the ground, gain a good grip on her head, and tear it right off. These kills add a lot of originality to the game and keep the proceedings from turning into slugfests with the square button.

Boss encounters are always unique and breathtaking, from a graphical standpoint and from a gameplay standpoint. The bosses are what you are meant to remember and it shows. They all look amazingly detailed, and devastatingly powerful. The game shies away from “weak points” which works extremely well. There’s just something special about facing off against a giant Minotaur, and taking him down with good old fashioned physical violence.

There is an awful lot to unlock in God Of War, from costumes, to movies, to difficulty modes, there is plenty of incentive to come back for more. Honestly however, the main draw, the thing that brought this reviewer right back, was simply the combat. It’s just fun to run around ancient Greece, and fiercely dismember anyone or anything who stands in your way. The gameplay will keep you coming back long after the unlockables have run dry.

The soundtrack is full of drum beats and tribal chants, and it fits the environments very well. No tracks really stand out, but at the same time, it doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. You won’t hear any cheesy ballads or love songs in Kratos’ world. In fact, most non-player characters die ruthlessly within moments of meeting them. It doesn’t pay to piss off Kratos.

All in all, Sony set out to make a Devil May Cry style action game, and beat Capcom at their own game. God Of War is a great development team at the top of their game. All of the pieces come together wonderfully to make this game very playable, very accessible, and very fun. God Of War deserves the worship of any action fan.

Final Grade: A-

God Of War brings fun and ingenuity to a stifled game. (Image courtesy www.amazon.com)