It's often maybe 2 or 3 (in GOW:3's case it was the first freakin level) levels into a God of War title that I get cozy with Kratos's character again and settle into his mind set of "I am rage beast. Hear me fuck your earhole with a 10 pound blade." and i love every second of it.
Even other games with anti hero or "bad boy" characters that star in some capacity as the protag of the game or part of the main characters team have the obligatory redemption scene where you learn that deep down they harbor real feelings and genuine sadness/regret/love/compassion for one thing or another that redeems them as a more human and kind character with a gruff and rough exterior through necessity.
Kratos aint having none of that shit. And that's why i love it. It gets so good in 3 because he's reached a certain pinnacle of his power and is just stomping his way through Olympus but at EVERY FUCKING POINT where he has to interact with the gods once again they underestimate his anger/dedication/strength and treat him once again like a lowly sub human demi-god who can just be swatted away and summarily ignored. Then he tears their legs off to get at their boots.
It's a fantastic show of the character that you can quite honestly call him a genuine "bad guy" if you look at the game from the perspective of almost ANY other major player. I don't know if i can really trust someone who has played a majority of the GOW games and went into 3 and came out the other side calling his character flat or boring or uninspired or predictable or whatever.
And it's not because their opinion has no merit... it's because at that point in the game - holding the dual shock in my hands with my jaw on the floor staring at my big screen I AM Kratos. I get fucking INTO these games.. i have time and thought invested in this character. And when it comes time to take off someones head so i can get my mits on an all natural lite brite... you can bet your ass I am fuckin AMPED when i pull it off with my bare hands.
GOW gets you angry and aggressive and psyched to murder gods. Just like Kratos. I love every second of it.
Day1 for surely.
Exactly! For me, God of War 3 was the release of years of frustration and rage on my part. I could not
wait to finally get my hands on Zeus after all the shit that went down in God of War 2. I really wanted Kratos to knock that smug smirk off of Zeus' face. That final battle between Kratos and Zeus in GoW3 was just amazing catharsis for me. I didn't mind that GoW3 took place in just Olympus, because over the course of GoW1, 2, and Chains of Olympus (Ghost of Sparta released after GoW3, of course), I felt like I had already gone on this grand adventure, and it was all culminating to
this one moment. Storming Olympus, and tearing it down piece by piece. LOVED IT.
