Day 70, Game 70 - God Of War

---

Well, it's that time of the month once again. Not that time of the month, but this time of the month. Well, it's not really on a schedule, either, but it's a new month regardless, which means it's that time of this month.

Stop. Let me try that again.

...

Hey everybody, do you remember last month (February) where I played every game in the Halo series for an entire week and then blogged about it? Well, that was actually one of the coolest, most fun things I have done with this blog project in the few months of it's existence. I actually received a lot of feedback and praise for that one week, which was awesome to see that so many other people not necessarily had the same opinions as me, but rather had a deeper connection to the Halo series past the fact of them being video games, like I did. I feel like I really connected with you all during that week, like we were cave explorers spelunking in a previously undiscovered cave (this year of gaming project) and we took an offshoot path that looked like it had some sort of light at the end of the tunnel (my week of Halo). And in the end, in the mini sub-adventure we took, we found a huge, glorious cave within the cave, with stalagmites and stalactites and everything.

Following my drift? Man, I hope so, because my analogies are getting stranger, longer and more complicated by the day. So let's just put it this way: My Week of Halo was really awesome, fun for me and a good read for the readers, as far as I can tell. So, because of that, I decided to have a special week in every month, with each week featuring a new series of games.

And this month, on the eve of the release of the newest addition to the franchise, I have decided to have a God of War Week. All Kratos, all his games, all week long.

Now, let's clear up a few things first before I jump into the original God of War game breakdown.

First, I realize that God of War is not everyone's cup of tea. It doesn't hold a special place in as many gamers' hearts as Halo does, and that's fine. Despite it's commercial success as a franchise, it's still a niche game. For one, it's Sony exclusive, which until recently, meant that not that many people we able to keep up with the series as a Microsoft franchise, or especially a cross-platform franchise. Also, due to the violent nature, game play mechanics and style, and adult themes, the God of War series isn't intended to be for everyone's liking. It just is what it is. It's a bloody, violent, fast-paced, button-mashing, hack-and-slash, sexually aggressive adventure built on the human principals of love, hatred, jealously and revenge.

It never pretends to be something its not. Never, not once. And I have LOTS to say on this topic, as the week progresses. You have been warned.

Secondly, if you pull out your abacus and do some quick math, you will count a total of six God of War games, including the newest one tomorrow, to be commercial released, right? God of War 1,2,3, Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta and now Ascension. Well, there was also a hidden, long-ago-forgotten-about gem in the series, but we will get to that one later on as the week progresses.

So yeah, there are seven days in the week, and seven God of War games in the series. It's like it was meant to be.

The God of War series, unlike a lot of fans of the series, doesn't go very far back for myself. Actually, I just played the first game for the first time last September, when I picked up the newly released God of War Saga that Sony put out to pay homage to one of their most successful franchises. It was part of the PlayStation Collections line of games they have released, including other popular franchises like Killzone, inFamous and Resistance. Unlike the other Collections, though, it featured five games for the low, low price of only $40! Five games in one bundle? Oh yeah!

You see, I didn't actually own a PlayStation 3 until last March, where I bought a Vita and the PS3 on the same day - because when I jump in to something, I go all in, head first, with no life jacket. I owned a PS2 for a brief moment in my life, but that went away with my gaming hiatus as well. So, I never had a chance to play any of the awesome Sony exclusives until recently, which sadly enough, is taking up a large portion of my backlog. God of War was always a game series that intrigued me, that I thought I would like, but due to circumstances, could never enjoy.

When Sony announced their God of War Saga, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to start from the beginning.

Playing this game tonight, I remembered what I thought about it several months ago when I played it for the first time. Yes, even with the HD updates, it's still a dated game, graphically speaking. The fire in the background of the menu screen is an instant headache, due to the lack of graphics to actually make it look like real fire. But then you get a pretty awesome looking cut-scene, with Kratos jumping off the cliff in a suicide attempt, setting up the story that would play out of the next 5 games as well: Kratos' rise to the throne as the God of war.

From there, you are pretty much thrown in to battle right off the bat, learning simple techniques as you go, instead of having the separate tutorial. Everything is going nice and kosher, and then BAM! You get your first glimpse at would eventually be one of many, many huge bosses to fight - The Hydra.

It's pretty clear from the first several moments of the game, what kind of game this will be. It will be a violent, bloody hack-and-slash game. It will feature some platforming and puzzling solving elements, as well. Also, the now infamous Quick Time Events will play a crucial role in big fights, and the bosses you will encounter along the way will be massive, intimidating and downright awesome.

I remember how fulfilling beating this game was a few months ago, because the story, while pretty simple and basic in it's truest form, is still quite engaging and fascinating, especially for fans of Greek mythology. Tonight, I didn't play through the whole game, obviously, but I did get a healthy start at a 5 hour or less play through that I need to complete for a gold trophy. Will I ever get it? Hopefully, thanks to the great head start on it I got tonight. But with so many games in the series to play this week, it won't be finished this week, that's for sure.

I can't wait to continue this, as I haven't even played most of the games yet, so yo will get a lot of first impressions and varied opinions from me, in this God of War week.

---