God of War Mania – Ampage for God of War III!

In anticipation of one of the PlayStation’s biggest and best titles, God of War III, we’ve decided to put together a retrospective of the series, to go back down memory lane and see where it all began. However, that’s not all we’ll be doing, as we’re also going to be upping your excitement levels for God of War III (if that’s even possible!), which is due in only a couple of days. Without further delay, welcome to the God of War Mania and Retrospective, for all things God of War. Note that if you’re not up to reading all about the series’ past, you can head straight to the end of the article for a special video which features the most exciting things we’ve seen for upcoming God of War III (No, we will not be including the sex mini game you freaks!). Let’s get going!

God of War

March 22, 2005. That’s the date that the first ever God of War game launched on Sony’s PlayStation 2. Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment’s Santa Monica team, the first God of War was a monumental success both as an action adventure game and as an exclusive PlayStation title, bringing life to what is today known as one of the best gaming franchises in history. Some of you who have never had the opportunity to play God of War might be a little clueless as to why it’s so good. Well, it’s a little hard to explain in words, because you’ll only really understand once you sit down with the game and see for yourself. However, to give you an idea, God of War is the type of game that reminds you exactly what games are meant for and why you spend your time and money playing them. It’s the epitome of entertainment, and hellishly fun in every sense of the word. A game that excelled in everything it did – the action adventure genre, with its story, graphics and animation and in delivering pure entertainment.

God of War is an action adventure game that is centered around Greek mythology. Basically, to sum up this game in as few words as possible, God of War is brutal and bloody action at its best. A spectacular blend of over the top action, clever puzzle solving and good platforming, all coming together in one awesome package. In the games you play as a Spartan warrior named Kratos, who has long since become an iconic character in both PlayStation history and the gaming industry as a whole. Kratos is a popular character due to his awesomeness, manliness, complete lack of fear and crazy-and-often-hilarious brutality. The things Kratos does and the manner in which he kills and dishes out pain is often too awesome (and sometimes hilarious at the same time) to forget, and serve as some of the most memorable moments in gaming to some. You’ll be seeing some of the action in the video at the end of the article.

In the first God of War game, Kratos was on a revenge quest, one filled with hatred. Haunted by a nightmarish and inescapable past, Kratos is promised forgiveness by the god Athena, if he succeeds in destroying Ares, the God of War, who is attacking her city of Athens. Since Zeus, the Lord of Olympia, had forbidden Gods from declaring war on each other, only a mortal, and a powerful one at that, can kill Ares. Kratos was once a killer in service of the god of war, but left after he was tricked by Ares into murdering his family. It was from Ares that Kratos received his murderous weapons, the Blades of Chaos, which serve as a reminder of his hellish past (and as one of the most legendary weapons in gaming!). He later learns that the only way to kill Ares is by using the power of Pandora’s Box, which gives a mortal the power to kill a god. Basically, the story of the game followed Kratos as he fought his way to Pandora’s Box, demolishing everyone and everything who got in his way. What makes the story so much more special is how true it is to Greek mythology. Naturally, they have taken the character of Kratos and various other details and changed him to suit the game, but heavy emphasis was put on getting the facts right, and God of War’s portrayal of Greek mythological figures is excellent.

Overall, to keep spoilers to a minimum, for those who haven’t yet had the privilege to play God of War, the story is a great one, the game is awesome and you can imagine how overjoyed PlayStation gamers were when they got word that God of War II was on its way.

God of War II

Gamers could hardly believe it when God of War II arrived on the PlayStation 2. Many were wondering how exactly the guys at Santa Monica were planning on outdoing the first game in the series, but to everyone’s surprise and joy, God of War II simply outdid its predecessor in every way. The overall gameplay remained more or less identical (why fix what isn’t broken?), with some added in features of course, but the game itself and battles you got involved in dramatically improved. Overall, God of War II was just God of War with even more awesomeness. As I mentioned before, trying to explain just how fantastic and fun this game is in words just doesn’t cut it, you have to see and experience it for yourself. The video at the end of this article will play a role in “amping” you up for God of War III while also showing you some of the reasons why this game is loved by the majority of gamers who have played it.

God of War II takes place a while after the first game, where Kratos has defeated Ares, making him the new God of War. Kratos, still haunted by the memories of his past while serving Ares, has continued his streak of brutality and murder, trying to forget his pain by leading and aiding his army of Spartans in conquering Greece. As such, the Gods begin to become displeased with him, and Athena tries to plead with Kratos to stop, telling him that she can’t protect him from the Gods’ wrath forever, and that he still owes her for his divine powers. Kratos, mean as he is, ignores her and proceeds to the city of Rhodes to aid his Spartan army in taking over it. However, as he descends down on Rhodes, Zeus appears, in the form of an eagle (who Kratos initially believes to be Athena betraying him) and robs Kratos of his godly powers. Zeus fuses the stolen godly powers with the Colossus of Rhodes, which then tries to kill Kratos. Zeus tricks Kratos by offering him the Blade of Olympus, a powerful weapon which Zues used to overthrow Cronos and the Titans, and, at Zeus’ trickery, Kratos infuses his god powers with the Blade, making him mortal once again.

However, using the Blade’s power he is able to destroy the Colossus of Rhodes, but as he defeats it and stands screaming at the Gods, the giant falling hand of the Colussus crushes him from behind, severely injuring him. As Kratos tries to get to his Blades of Chaos, Zeus appears in his true form, revealing him to be the “eagle” that stole Kratos’ god powers and tricked him into becoming a mortal once again. Zeus explains the reasons behind his betrayal and then offers Kratos one final chance to be a god, but at the cost of being his eternal servant. Kratos refuses, and Zeus, claiming he has no other choice, kills Kratos, who vows that Zeus will pay for what he’s done. Basically, Kratos escapes the clutches of the underworld and goes, once again, on a revenge quest in order to kill Zeus, the Lord of Olympia, and everything else that stands in his way.

Story wise, God of War II sets the stage quite brilliantly for God of War III, especially with its epic cliff hanger ending. God of War III is the last game in the trilogy, and is due very soon, on the 16th of March in North America and on the 19th of March in Europe and South Africa.

God of War: Chains of Olympus

God of War: Chains of Olympus is, to this day, one of the best PSP games ever made. Even with the scaled down graphics and animation and the various other limits on a handheld system, the game truly captured the God of War feel and delivered a solidly entertaining and brutal experience. For the PSP, the game featured fantastic graphics, bloody, gory and oh-so familiar combat and a new story, one that is set before the time of God of War I and II. So effectively Chains of Olympus was a prequel to the series, but was not essential to the story, it just added to it. It was a very short experience, unfortunately, but one that proved to be extremely awesome.

Chains of Olympus is set halfway through Kratos’ 10 year service to the Gods. In the beginning, the Gods sent Kratos to the city of Attica to aid in defending it from the Persian army. After an epic battle, in which Kratos kills the Persian King by crushing his head with a box (no lies), and snaps the jaws of a basilisk, the sun “falls” from the sky, placing the world in darkness. Following visible light in the horizon, Kratos continues clearing the way, making his way towards the Temple of Helios and the Sun chariot. Along the way he comes into contact with the black fog of Morpheus (the god of dreams and sleep), which is the darkness covering the city.

Kratos finds himself at a statue of Athena, which tells him that Helios has mysteriously disappeared and that, because of this, Morpheus has taken control and used his powers to make the gods fall into a deep slumber. Athena wants Kratos to locate Helios in order for him to remove Morpheus’ control over the other gods and the Earth. This forms the idea of the story, where Kratos does what he does best in order to find Helios and put a stop to Morpheus’ control, only to discover a much more terrifying enemy.

It’s not often that an “on the side” (a non-essential) game in a series can provide such an awesome experience, where even the story feels very important in the grand scheme of things. It’s a really great story, especially since it involves a number of personal experiences for Kratos.

God of War: Betrayal

God of War: Betrayal was an interesting game to say the least. Most were very surprised to hear it being made, but when it was released, it proved to be a great game. The reason why it was so surprising was because it was a cellphone game, and we all know how those turn out. However, God of War, ever ready to prove that it can be awesome on any platform, turned out quite nicely on the mobile. I mean, it’s a cellphone game, we don’t really expect much from them, but this was a nice surprise. It definitely excelled as a mobile game, most likely being one of the best around for its time – I’m not really a mobile gamer, so I’ve had to trust others who I’ve heard this from and, of course, various critics. Sure I’ve played the game myself, but I haven’t played many other mobile games.

Interestingly enough, Betrayal is a 2D side scroller, one that is, just like all other games in the series, purely action orientated. It’s definitely a quality game, as you took control of Kratos in a roughly two-four hour action experience. You play using five buttons on your mobile, which control Kratos’ movement and attacks. Your primary weapon is Athena’s Blades, from God of War II, and there are a number of combos and special moves available, including grabbing enemies for brutal finishers. Other weapons include the Medusa’s Head, Army of Hades, and the Blade of Artemis. The game featured familiar combo attacks, puzzle solving and quick time events for slaying bosses, which were all excellently pulled off. Praise also needs to be given to the game’s visuals and animation, which, at the time, were fantastic for a cellphone game.

The game is set between God of War I and II or, more accurately, a little while after the first game. In Betrayal, Kratos is framed for the murder of Hera’s pet, Argos, by an assassin in an attempt to tarnish Kratos’ already unsteady reputation with the gods of Olympus. Pursuing the assassin through Greece, Kratos discovers the identity of the killer’s master, who plots to turn the gods against Kratos. Meanwhile, Zeus sends Ceryx, the son of Hermes, as a messenger to Kratos, to emphasise his concern regarding the level of destruction Kratos leaves behind in each place he visits. Ceryx locates Kratos, who refuses to stop and attacks Ceryx, eventually killing him. During their battle, the assassin escapes. As Kratos observes the dead body of Ceryx, he comes to the realisation that Zeus will be angered by his defiance, and will take action against him.

The Chronological Order

After taking a look at all of the games in the series, we’re going to list the chronological order of the games, to show how and where each game fits into the story’s time line.

• God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
• God of War I (PS2)
• God of War: Betrayal (Mobile)
• God of War II (PS2)
• God of War III (PS3)

God of War III

At last, we’ve come to the final game in the God of War series. There are no words to describe how much we’re looking forward to this game, which will conclude the God of War trilogy. God of War III will pick up where God of War II left off, and with such an epic premise at hand, we just know the result will be an epic game. At this point, you should be fully equipped with the necessary knowledge to go into God of War III, so we’re not going to be wasting any more time. Everything can be summarised with one video, which will fully illustrate exactly why we’re looking forward to this game so much and exactly why it’s the business. Check out the video below, we hope you enjoy it!

[Credit to IGN for the screenshots]