A few decades ago the masses believed video games were a waste of time for lackadaisical youths to pacify themselves while ignoring their responsibilities as both kids and young adults. As more and more people started understanding the benefits of gaming so too did the perception of what a video game is and, most importantly, the benefits gaming can bestow on a person’s life changed.
Hi, my name is James Bullock and I am a gamer who has spent the better part of his existence testing the laws of physics, exploring the vastness of a world ruined, and been a champion inside various arenas courtesy of digitized worlds both driven by reality and created through pure unbelievable ingenuity unlike anything seen by human eyes. And as a gamer I’ve discovered something else video games provide: life lessons. Today I examine one of the greatest games to grace the Playstation 2 (and an entire gaming generation), “God of War”.
Never Mess With Someone’s Family
The ending of any gaming era is one of great promise. While many gamers are understandably excited & looking toward the near future, others are aware that thanks to years of works by various developers on the system(s) they own will help produce some of the best examples as to why a certain gaming console set a high standard – the Playstation 2 is a perfect example of the latter. Though Sony’s second gaming console was littered throughout its lifetime with classic offerings, the two years leading up to its successor’s release saw gamers witness greatness constantly arriving at their finger tips be it “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas”, “Okami”, “Tekken 5”, “Shadow of the Colossus”, “Devil May Cry 3”, “Metal gear Solid 3”, or “Katamari Damacy”. But few stood head & shoulders above the rest like the console exclusive “God of War”.
Set in an alternate version of ancient Greece, the player is given the task of handling a Spartan warrior by the name of Kratos who had mastered at the art of swordplay and found himself under the command of the Greek god Ares after selling his soul for more power to conquer the greatest of opposition. Unfortunately pledging his undying allegiance to Ares came a price worth more than Kratos’ soul as the Greek god wanted his war machine to become perfect warrior not held back by the believed shackles of love & family. Sending Kratos to a village occupied by worshipers of the goddess Athena, Ares secretly transported Kratos’ wife and ill daughter into the belly of the figurative beast to be slaughtered by the man who had sworn to protect them.
Instead of embracing the bloodlust that consumed him and helped him kill his own family, Kratos denounced his pledge to Ares and went on a warpath to avenge his loved ones. It would take a lot of traveling between realms known & unforeseen, a lot of negotiating with other gods, and, of course, a whole lot of killing for Kratos to reach his goal of slaying the God of War (and that’s not mentioning those hellacious spinning blade pillars). Though some may consider the first game in this illustrious franchise a simple revenge tale given a grandiose & bloody setting, the fact remains the original “God of War” offering was a perfect example of why you never bring harm to someone’s family no matter if you’re a normal person with the ability to slay a Hydra or the God of War itself.
Have you learned any major life lessons from playing “God of War” or any video game for that matter? Leave them in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.