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[MattKeil]

Also, Walter White in Breaking Bad and Don Draper in Mad Men are responsible for a great deal of their own suffering and they're some of the best characters on TV.

They also have many more dimensions to their characters than Kratos does, and they are put in varied and interesting situations that range beyond "yell at other character, have fight, kill in gruesome manner." The God of War games have plenty of spectacle, but the story and characters are just there to hang a game design on. And that's okay.

Really, if you did something like Red Letter Media's "characterize a prequel character without describing their appearance or what they do for a living" thing with God of War, I would bet most people couldn't come up with much for Kratos beyond "angry" and maybe "doesn't think about consequences very thoroughly." He's a very flat character, but the games don't need him to be more than that to work.

 

[Deleted member 81567]

They're making it seem as if we haven't seen Kratos' more humane, mortal side. I'm pretty sure 1/3 of their games, Kratos isn't even a god.

 

[Drencrom]

Okay, that is a pretty awful tagline.

Yeah he was never a man, he was born a demi-god dammit!

 

[Kinyou]

Now on the Facebook page for Playstation....mock if old

Yeah I played that part.

 

[Corto]

So now he is... MANOWAR. *cue heavy metal riff*

 

[jett]

Yoshida definitely made the right call.

As much as Barlog and Jaffe's ideas for the 3rd one would have been cool Im glad they weren't implemented, it's just too outThere. The trilogy needs to be stylistically consistent, and even though GOW3 had its problems story wise Im glad it ended the way it did. Now to bring full circle we need to go back to the beginning of Kratos before the really crazy ideas are added like Norse Gods and such.

I agree, Jaffe's idea although cool on paper was complete nonsense to be honest. Barlog's was mostly realized in GOW3, with Athena ascending to a higher plane of existence and everything.

 

[Skilletor]

Again, the difference is that I don't think the writers are aware of this the way the writers of breaking bad are. There is no character that points out the flaws of Kratos' logic like they do with Walter or anything, just "DAMN YOU KRATOS" "RAWR EAT MY BLADE". I keep getting the impression everywhere that I am somehow suppose to be rooting for kratos, which is just...

Yeah, I mean, I really didn't want to continue destroying the world in GoW3. I was not on the side of the character I controlled. I wanted him to stop, lol.

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

Okay, that is a pretty awful tagline.

before he was magneto. he was Erik.

 

[Criminal Upper]

Yeah I played that part.

Yeah, but now it's being done by SSM!!! So it totally matters, and it's really fresh and exciting.

 

[gutter_trash]

well he die go the Hades and work his way out of Hades again?

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Kratos hasn't been tested against Akhilleus yet has he or Diomēdēs for that matter, who actually bested Ares in combat during the Trojan War.

 

[Skilletor]

well he die go the Hades and work his way out of Hades again?

At least they don't have to come up with a creative way to strip him of his powers, again.

 

[excaliburps]

I hope that's the case. It seems that the franchise is a directors curse. I would prefer to have a strong creative direction of one guy and let him follow that to its fulfillment.

Tweeted Jaffe about that and he said Stig is still with Sony Santa Monica. No idea why he left though. I mean, the game was received well both critically and commercially, right? So chances are he left on his own accord.

If so, this franchise might be burning people out for some reason.

Oh, and yeah, I'm pumped for a new God of War! I'm guessing they're reserving God of War Motherfuckin' 4 for PS4? Makes sense if they are...

 

[Papercuts]

The stupid thing about that tagline is Kratos is a demigod either way...so it isn't even right, haha.

Characters bringing pain upon themselves is a key element of tragedy. Kratos isn't the best realized character, necessarily, but the fact that his stubbornness and inability to take responsibility cause all his problems isn't a good reason to call him a "bad character."

Also, Walter White in Breaking Bad and Don Draper in Mad Men are responsible for a great deal of their own suffering and they're some of the best characters on TV.

Well, when 2 of the 3 games is Kratos yelling about a betrayal that never happened, it's more like what Generic just mentioned above. The games seemingly wanted you to be on Kratos' side, but I really didn't care what happened to him.

I'm aware of it being a key element of a tragedy, and I think GoW1 set it up decently enough with him being the one to kill his family. His own hand causes the issue, but it does so in a way people can understand(family loss), and he has some merit to actually want vengeance. But when it comes to 2 onward, the main hook is Kratos grossly abuses his power, is warned many times about it, and as punishment loses his power. That isn't tragic or relatable, that's him being dumb. Then he calls it a betrayal and wants vengeance, when it wasn't, which is more stupidity and further, not relatable or sympathetic. Then it pretty much keeps escalating from there.

While I haven't watched much of the shows you mentioned (I know, I know), I love a good tragic character. From what little I know of Breaking Bad, Walter still had good intentions originally, so he has a sympathetic quality. When he gets screwed over, it's something he has coming and it isn't something he denies. There's more complexities to him already just from that compared to Kratos, who is one note blaming everyone for everything. I may be off base with BB specifically, but still.

 

[Loudninja]

I am really interested in who you would fight and the bosses.

 

[Criminal Upper]

I am really interested in who you would fight and the bosses.

The gods, I bet.

 

[gutter_trash]

I am tired of Hades (not the god but the place).

Hades stages were always my least favorite stages in GOW games

 

[Veelk]

I completely agree that the writers don't deal with Kratos in a very sophisticated way. As for whether the intention is for the player to root for him, well, it probably is, because he's the protagonist of a video game, but I didn't get that impression as strongly as you, or maybe I did but it didn't bother me. I think they're aware that Kratos is an anti-hero. It's one of the first things they establish in the opening level of GOW1. Again, it boils down to execution for me. In GOW3 we started to see Kratos confronted with the consequences of his actions, but it wasn't developed well enough nor did it end up being the main thrust of the story. (Pandora, ugh.)

Kratos gets no points from me for being the protagonist, no.

And the problem is that when people see kratos do horrible things, they don't think "Whoa, this guy is fucked up." they think "whoa, this guy is fucking awesome". I've had numberus discussions where I'm relatively sure that people played this some alternate dimension of this game that had a much nicer protagonist than we have. Hell, just look a few pages back and you'll find a poster that was stating that Kratos - KRATOS, who has been portrayed as ridiculously bloodthirsty and warmongering even before Ares noticed him - was somehow going to be miserable being the god of war because he had to oversee humanity being cruel to each other.

Kratos isn't an exploration of an antihero with few morals that bring his own pain down upon him. Kratos is a retarded brute that does nothing but wreak havok and people cheer him on because they have a 13 year olds idea of what a badass is. It's ridiculous.

 

[adamsapple]

I am really interested in who you would fight and the bosses.

The barbarians ? They've already done two prequel games with him having the blades, they might as well do one before he signed the pact with Ares.

 

[RoboPlato]

I am really interested in who you would fight and the bosses.

I hope they use more of the crazy monsters for bosses. There's still plenty of them explore.

 

[Endo Punk]

Kratos is an evil character but his my evil character. Playing a good guy all the time gets boring, sometimes you need to be bad in order to bring down a corrupt system. The Gods created Kratos and it's on them.

 

[Liquidus]

Another one? Do we need a 6th GoW game? It's been milked enough and I really don't feel like playing another Hades level again. GoW3 was more than disappointing so let's not tarnish this franchise anymore.

 

[gutter_trash]

no Hades = insta buy
if he sets foot in Hades = no buy

 

[Endo Punk]

Another one? Do we need a 6th GoW game? It's been milked enough and I really don't feel like playing another Hades level again. GoW3 was more than disappointing so let's not tarnish this franchise anymore.

Sit back and relax. Gameplay coming on April 30th.

 

[KevinCow]

Ten bucks says there's a scene where you walk into a room and kill some monsters, then it's revealed that Kratos was actually hallucinating, that was actually his family, you monster, why did you kill Kratos's family???

 

[Deleted member 81567]

Ten bucks says there's a scene where you walk into a room and kill some monsters, then it's revealed that Kratos was actually hallucinating, that was actually his family, you monster, why did you kill Kratos's family???

Holy fuck, this post is hilarious.

 

[Loudninja]

The barbarians ? They've already done two prequel games with him having the blades, they might as well do one before he signed the pact with Ares.

I hope they use more of the crazy monsters for bosses. There's still plenty of them explore.

Yeah i bet we get to fight in his very first battle that would be cool.

 

[KalBalboa]

I am tired of Hades (not the god but the place).

Hades stages were always my least favorite stages in GOW games

I thought Hades was excellent in GoW3, particularly the boss fight.

 

[Robot Pants]

spoilers: kratos gets mad at a god for something that's kratos's own fault. then kratos places his trust in another god who eventually screws over kratos, and kratos is shocked. at one point kratos loses his powers.

There it is.

 

[gutter_trash]

I thought Hades was excellent in GoW3, particularly the boss fight.

GOW3 is my least favorite GOW game of all time

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Another one? Do we need a 6th GoW game? It's been milked enough and I really don't feel like playing another Hades level again. GoW3 was more than disappointing so let's not tarnish this franchise anymore.

Two GoW games in the lifespan of the PS3 isn't milking to me. Also disagree about 3 being disappointing: best combat and biggest wow moments in the series for me.

 

[REMEMBER CITADEL]

Kratos is an evil character but his my evil character. Playing a good guy all the time gets boring, sometimes you need to be bad in order to bring down a corrupt system. The Gods created Kratos and it's on them.

That's great, but they're constantly trying to present him as this tragic (anti-)hero, when he's clearly as villainous as the gods that created him. Probably the only more annoying character that I ever had to play as was Warrior Within era prince of Persia.

 

[KalBalboa]

GOW3 is my least favorite GOW game of all time

Hyperbolic much?



At any rate, I've yet to play a God of War game that wasn't fun. Even Chains of Olympus, which should have had the hardest time succeeding, broke 3 million in sales due to how genuinely fun the God of War playstyle is.

For that reason, I'm pumped for this game. It'll be, at least, a great time.

 

[Kinyou]

I thought Hades was excellent in GoW3, particularly the boss fight.

Jumping from the top of mount olympus down into hades, just to fly right back up was just freaking awesome.

Yeah, but now it's being done by SSM!!! So it totally matters, and it's really fresh and exciting.

:'-(

 

[KalBalboa]

Two GoW games in the lifespan of the PS3 isn't milking to me. Also disagree about 3 being disappointing: best combat and biggest wow moments in the series for me.

 

[Struct09]

Two GoW games in the lifespan of the PS3 isn't milking to me. Also disagree about 3 being disappointing: best combat and biggest wow moments in the series for me.

This guy knows what's up. I agree. I went back and played some GoW3 after completing the Origins collection and was reminded how much I loved that game.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Kratos gets no points from me for being the protagonist, no.

And the problem is that when people see kratos do horrible things, they don't think "Whoa, this guy is fucked up." they think "whoa, this guy is fucking awesome". I've had numberus discussions where I'm relatively sure that people played this some alternate dimension of this game that had a much nicer protagonist than we have. Hell, just look a few pages back and you'll find a poster that was stating that Kratos - KRATOS, who has been portrayed as ridiculously bloodthirsty and warmongering even before Ares noticed him - was somehow going to be miserable being the god of war because he had to oversee humanity being cruel to each other.

Kratos isn't an exploration of an antihero with few morals that bring his own pain down upon him. Kratos is a retarded brute that does nothing but wreak havok and people cheer him on because they have a 13 year olds idea of what a badass is. It's ridiculous.

Your points are all well-reasoned, but I think you're going back and forth a bit carelessly between what the creators intended the character to be and what a subsection of the fanbase perceives him to be. Yes, shitty 13 year olds probably see Kratos a certain way, but that has never prevented me from admiring certain things about his character (in the context of video games, not compared to characters from TV, film, or literature).

He's simple but well realized in the sense that his narrative character and his mechanical character (his animations, his combat style, even the way he opens doors and hits switches) are wholly consistent with one another. I've never fixated much on the story aspect; I think it's pretty good for a character action game. I won't pretend it's anything more than that. What I like best about GOW is how physical it feels, and that happens to be related to their aim of making his anger feel manifest in all of his actions (mechanically speaking).

 

[Criminal Upper]

Kratos is one of the most vile, evil characters in video games. He should have been the villain.

 

[Skilletor]

Hyperbolic much?



At any rate, I've yet to play a God of War game that wasn't fun. Even Chains of Olympus, which should have had the hardest time succeeding, broke 3 million in sales due to how genuinely fun the God of War playstyle is.

For that reason, I'm pumped for this game. It'll be, at least, a great time.

I don't see how it's hyperbole. It's my least favorite GoW game yet as well.

 

[Deadbeat]

Ten bucks says there's a scene where you walk into a room and kill some monsters, then it's revealed that Kratos was actually hallucinating, that was actually his family, you monster, why did you kill Kratos's family???

Use the spoiler tags asshole. Some of us havent played this game yet.

 

[apana]

Kratos hasn't been tested against Akhilleus yet has he or Diomēdēs for that matter, who actually bested Ares in combat during the Trojan War.

To a certain extent I wish we could be free of the Kratos character and all this vengeance stuff and just be free to explore a world based on Greek mythology. You can do whatever you want, participate in the Trojan war, go off to an island to search for some nymph, rule a city, etc.

 

[KalBalboa]

Having three years between releases also has me hungry to play through an epic like God of War again. Fighting monsters, blowing off some stream, experiencing bleeding-edge tech that realizes some incredible art design, and simply being entertained by it all is honestly why I keep coming back (that and the fact the game just feels so good).

It's always refreshing when a God of War game hits shelves, to me. I can get away from shooting, racing, or role playing for a while and just dive in.

I don't see how it's hyperbole. It's my least favorite GoW game yet as well.

I won't get into a pissing match, but the whole "of all time" adage always makes me roll my eyes.

 

[Loudninja]

Kratos is one of the most vile, evil characters in video games. He should have been the villain.

You really don't get it do you?

 

[Papercuts]

I don't see how it's hyperbole. It's my least favorite GoW game yet as well.

Same. I think certain parts of it, specifically the Hades and Hercules bosses, were some of the best moments in the series, but as a whole I find it to be pretty weak. Especially compared to 2.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

Kratos is one of the most vile, evil characters in video games. He should have been the villain.

The implicit assumption being that in video games you should only play as a hero. Why impose such a limitation in an already homogenous landscape?

 

[ScOULaris]

Yeah I played that part.

Precisely what I was thinking when I read that tagline.

 

[KalBalboa]

The implicit assumption being that in video games you should only play as a hero. Why impose such a limitation in an already homogenous landscape?

Some people have that issue with all sorts of media, unfortunately. If a main character makes a less than admirable decision a story can sometimes lose people (I actually know several people who hated Scott Pilgrim due to his mistakes early on in the film).

Kratos, to me, is a metaphor for the wrath of man against any high power or fate itself. A punkish interpretation of an atheist, wrapped in Greek trappings, in a way?

 

[Corto]

Kratos is one of the most vile, evil characters in video games. He should have been the villain.

I don't know. That Nathan Drake smug is a walking crime against humanity.

 

[BHK3]

Another new director? This series is such a mess, it's embarrassing.

 

[ScOULaris]

Another new director? This series is such a mess, it's embarrassing.

There's nothing wrong with having a different director for each game. It's still the same incredibly talented team making each main entry to the series, and it has always been someone who was previously in another important position on the team moving into the director role for each subsequent game.

I think it's kind of cool, actually. It gives each game its own "flavor," while still consistently delivering that God of War experience.

Jaff and Barlog were the best, though.