I picked up a used copy of the "God of War 1&2" combo disc for PS3 last week. Two great games for $20? I couldn't pass it up.
Despite the age of the franchise, I had no experience with GoW aside from one short playing of part of the first level on PS2, so, basically, it felt like I was playing the game for the first time. The games in this series always receive stellar reviews, so I was eager to dive in and check it out.
I believe that in order for an experienced gamer to get the most value out of a game it must be played on the hardest difficulty. GoW's part platformer, part brawler play mechanic is challenging and balanced. Some battles were a breeze, while others caused me to die numerous times. I didn't mind, because I knew each battle was winnable with the right approach.
The game has a feature that allows you the option to downgrade the difficulty after repeatedly dying a few times at one checkpoint. I found this to be very annoying as it would ask me again after I'd already declined earlier at the same checkpoint. I understand why this is implemented, presumably for gamers of lesser ilk who believe the challenge is unbeatable, but I found this frustrating.
So I was plugging along, making good progress, a sense of Zeusly pride welling up inside of me as I made my way through about 2/3 of the game when something went wrong. I booted up the game to find that at some point in my previous sitting I had indeed opted to downgrade the difficulty. However it had happened it was accidental, I assure you. This disappointed me greatly as I didn't want to backtrack and resume playing at a previous spot, and I knew that beating the game would be less of a challenge.
Despite the nuisance, I enjoyed everything (else) about this game. The soundtrack is superb, the voice acting is spot on, and the game looks sharp on the PS3. The weapon attack design offers the feeling of dishing out some serious damage.
Locked into easy mode, I breezed through the last 1/3 of the game in one sitting, wishing I was able to experience some of the tougher battles and final boss the way I had intended, knowing that it would've taken me a few more sittings to do so. Thankfully my gaffe didn't cost me a trophy, the rest of which I collected by beating "Challenge of the Gods", and beating the game again in under 5 hours, yielding me my first platinum trophy.
God of War is deserving of it's accolades, and I recommend it to anyone who owns a PS2 or PS3.
What I like:
Unique gameplay that adds life to the platform genre.
Mythological story that is well delivered.
Excellent soundtrack.
What I didn't like:
Being constantly asked if I wanted to downgrade to easy mode.
Couple of moments when I would've liked a better camera angle.
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