Now that God of War, from Santa Monica Studios, has been officially released we can officially rejoice at the awesome that we have all been presented. There is very little to complain about in this game.
Upon getting in to the game, I noticed not only the amazing graphics which reminded me much of watching Hellblade for the first time. Every little detail is crystal clear and Kratos looks tired, so very tired. He’s been journeying for some time now and it’s no surprise that he has aged. Along with him is Atreus his son who Kratos must now teach how to survive in the world after the death of his mother. Nurturing a young child is going to be difficult for Kratos and he must learn to contain his rage.
There are four modes to the game: Story, Normal, Balanced and God. Each one is a different difficulty level with God mode being the absolute hardest. I chose a balanced experience to get the full effect off the story and battle system. God of War does a good job at letting you explore the area without bombarding you with a massive tutorial. When the enemies start the controls become crucial. Sometimes the camera isn’t as forgiving as I would like but the overall experience and control is a lot like playing a Dark Souls game. As exciting as this is, to use a shield requires holding down the trigger and button all the time instead of just a onetime click of the control. So, this becomes tiresome. Luckily the shield doesn’t have to be used all the time.
Gaining experience in the game is crucial because of the tree system. There are a lot of things to power up such as weapons and skills. At first this was all very overwhelming because there are at least five tabs containing different trees to work on. Luckily, the game gives you small enemies and boss battles very early on to start getting you the experience you will ultimately need. This is a God of War game, but the different battle mechanics and the level up system is changed dramatically. Combat used to be about slashing everything always, now you must pick and choose when to attack. When you make the right choices, Spartan Rage becomes available and the real fun begins.
Kratos and Atreus are the true focus point in this game. These two seem to have little in common, and one suspects that the mother was the glue holding them together. Kratos has learned from his earlier adventures. He now knows that his anger must be contained or else it will destroy the one family member he has left. Atreus does not know what his father was before and his belief that they are no one special will be challenged. There are other friendly characters in the game, from a pair of feuding dwarf brothers, to a mysterious woman who has a past of her own. Kratos does not trust any of them, but he now tolerates them.
Can a man change? Are we who we once were, or can we better ourselves? This is the main question God of War wants to answer. As the journey continues, we see that while Kratos might have tired of fighting, the rest of the world is not so forgiving. A huge risk was taken by this new setting and story, but it pays off beautifully. To make Kratos more powerful, the developers made him less of a god and more of a man. Gone is the action stereotype, replaced by a more well-rounded character. Here’s hoping that the Ghost of Sparta has many more adventures ahead.
10/10
God of War is available now for PS4
