God Of War PlayStation 2 Game Review

Genre: Action Fantasy
Developer: SCEA Santa Monica Studios
Rating: MA15+

Forget your episodes of Desperate Housewives and Nip/Tuck; if you want storylines filled with more juice than a Tropicana factory, the salacious tales found within ancient Greek mythology will quench your thirst like no other. Revenge, murder, betrayal, and desire are just four of the themes we can mention on a family site that these stories traditionally explore in the kind of grisly, explicit detail that would make your average TV or movie censor recoil in horror (or, in some cases, revel in guilty arousal). By no great coincidence, they also happen to be the same quartet of themes that drives God of War's suitably epic contemporary take on these most timeless examples of classic literature. In short: desire for power leads to lots of murder, betrayal, and a blood-soaked quest for revenge. Greek mythology being what it is, however, this is no mere squabble between mortals - this is a grand scale face-off between one angry Spartan and Ares, the - you guessed it - god of war.

One man and his god.

Few gaming stars can count ambiguity among their traits, but Kratos is certainly a far more expertly crafted character than your traditional gaming anti-hero. This isn't some wisecracking do-gooder with 'attitude'; as a former Spartan captain, this impossibly pale, bald-headed warrior is guilty of mercilessly slaying thousands of innocent men, women, and children, and reducing towns and villages to ashes, all in the name of Ares. He's bad - irredeemably bad, it would seem - but he's also got a conscience, bless 'im. Tormented by visions of his inglorious deeds, Kratos strikes up a deal with the other gods to destroy Ares using the very powers granted to him by the belligerent deity. In return, his troubled mind will be relieved of the heinous nightmares that plague him. A fair trade, for sure, but one that sets Kratos on an ultra-violent path through some of the most famous locations in Greek legend, all of them filled with equally iconic creatures to slaughter with your Blades of Chaos. Minotaurs, cyclopes, harpies, centaurs, gorgons, and many other vile henchmonsters of Ares - all appearing in far greater numbers and varieties than the classic tales would have it, admittedly - unite to prevent the champion of the gods from fulfilling his end of the bargain.

Weapon of choice.

Greek gods don't take the task of choosing their mortal representatives lightly, no matter how insanely intent on the destruction of Athens they may be, and so Kratos is more than capable of looking after his big, bad self. Gifted with the Blades of Chaos, a pair of flaming blades forever bound to the Spartan's arms by extremely flexible chains, he is an unstoppable force in the right hands, effortlessly dishing out a mythical spanking in one seamless flurry of fiery blows. Thanks to GoW's intuitive combat system, those right hands could be anybody's - even a seasoned button basher will quickly master the impressively diverse array of combos. Most of your death-dealing relies on little more than alternating between the Square and Triangle buttons in various sequences, with the odd press of Circle (for some of the most incredibly brutal close-range grab attacks you've ever witnessed) chucked in for good measure. In addition, slaughtered foes, chests, and the wide array of destructible items that litter the beautifully detailed, epically scaled environments reap glowing red orbs that can be used to power up the Blades and earn additional strikes that gradually blow the combo system wide open. 300-plus combos are a very real, supremely satisfying possibility. Aside from straight-up pummelling, larger foes can be dispensed with via a number of gruesome finishing manoeuvres, most of which are activated via brief mini-games. Wear down a minotaur, for example, and you can ferociously headbutt it to the ground before repeatedly hammering on the Circle button to drive a blade straight through its mouth, and even wiggle it around a bit for good measure.

Gods! Show me magic.

But that's not enough; Kratos also receives extra assistance from his omnipotent supporters in the form of powerful magic such as Poseidon's Rage (multi-hit electrical nimbus), Medusa's Gaze (turn enemies to stone - then smash them), and Zeus' Fury (lob lightning at distant pests). Like the Blades, these too can be powered up with amassed orbs to increase their destructive capacity. It may sound as if the odds are actually stacked in the favour of our troubled 'hero', but you'll worshipping Zeus and co. for their kind contributions once you've attempted to tackle a group of armoured undead soldiers, hammer-wielding minotaurs, and angry cyclopes in an enclosed space.

Classic beauty.

Kratos' adversaries may have faces that even their mothers would struggle to love, but GoW itself is more beautiful than Aphrodite herself. The carefully chosen camera angles show off the expertly realised architecture of ancient Greece in truly cinematic style, bringing a sense of depth, atmosphere and scale the likes of which we've rarely witnessed before on PS2. Best of all, none of the many impressive visual effects seem superfluous - even the lighting adds to the sense of drama in certain areas. The movie-like approach to its design is complemented by the pitch-perfect soundtrack, which is worthy of being pumped out of your local multiplex's speakers, while the brief-yet-compelling cut scenes gradually uncover just enough of Kratos' tragic back story to keep you eager to discover more.

God of War's only real drawback is that its mature content - by which we mean copious amounts of violence, and a smattering of sex and partial nudity, as opposed to lengthy conversations on current affairs - means that only a fraction of PlayStation 2 owners will get a chance to (legally) experience it. For those able to bet, drink, vote and indulge in other such vices, however, this is an absolutely essential purchase and an odds-on contender for the best PS2 game of the year. As much an instant classic as the very myths it's based on.