Boss fights are sadly few in number. The ones included are not typical brawls however. Each one requires a little thought process, as not even Kratos' power is enough, and he'll need some assistance from the room. The armored Minotaur brawl late in the game is nothing short of programming genius.
Through this ten-hour adventure, you do wish there were more battles like that. Combat can be repetitive — just basic wailing on the attack button will likely do enough damage to get you through on the basic difficulties (the god level is unlocked after beating it and that strategy will not work here). Mingled in with the constant fighting are some inane puzzles, most of which seem out of place here.
It's obvious that the attention went towards the action engine. Most of the puzzles require boring block pushing and even fewer require any real thought. It almost seems like the development team knew just how annoying these can be, as Kratos can kick these items to move them a little faster. Still, some of these are just way out of hand requiring backtracking, platforming, climbing, swimming, and little common sense. That's just not entertaining. If you manage to avoid getting hung up on one or two of these, expect the playtime to drop to around six hours total.
Another ugly issue crops up and that's this game's "cinematic camera." There's nothing wrong with giving your game a movie-like feel, but make sure that doesn't interfere with gameplay. Certain sections require rough jumping, and if it's not the camera taking you down, it's the off-screen archers. Numerous segments require the player to traverse thin beams, and when the camera shifts here, the controls go with it, usually resulting in a death. You have no control over it, as the right analog stick allows for some fancy defensive maneuvers.
What that camera does provide, though, is an effective look at the exotic locations in ancient Rome. Detail in the backgrounds is without a doubt pushing the hardware to the limits, especially when combined with the crazy afterglow of a weapon swipe. Enemy design is top of the line and the animations to go along with them give each a small personality. There's no slowdown, fog, or polygon dropout either. It's as solid a 3-D engine as you can find on today's hardware.
Article comments
1 - sal m
God of War is a great game...I agree that the game is NOT for kids or those who have a problem with violence or sex...there's a threesome mini-game that is quite interesting.
I haven't found the game to get repetitive because of the variety of attacks and their awesome graphic representation.
A must buy for any game fan.
2 - Lindsay
God of War has got to be one of the best games ever created.
I am a girl, and I absolutely love the challenge, gore, and story.
I'm taking Greek Myth. because of it!
Props to Dave Jaffe!