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LTTP: The God Of War series

D

Darklord

Banned
Having recently bought a PS3 I decided to finally buy this game. I bought God of War Saga which is all 5 games(though the 2 PSP games are DL only and need a US account).

God of War 1:

I thought it was a good game but mainly because of the combat. It's really fun and ancient Greek mythology is the perfect setting. However it was pretty flawed too. The QTE's were way too strict, especially being fairly new to a PS controller(I haven't touched one since my PSone) and even then it gave you no time to react. They were too fast. Some of the puzzles and levels were really annoying too with a few controller throwing moments. Pushing a cage up a hill which falls down if I let it go while being constantly attacked by infinite enemies? God damn. Or even worse, climbing not one but two pillars of rotating spikes and if you come close to touching one you fall to the very bottom. Fuck me. Saying that, it wasn't terrible, I still enjoyed it but probably won't be going back to it. I actually enjoyed it more when I accidentally put it on easy mode.

7.5/10

God of War 2:

A huge improvement! Graphics, sense of scale, level design, QTE's, everything. Just a massive jump forward and pretty damn impressive considering it was a PS2 game. It was longer than GoW1 but felt better paced and has better timing with the QTE's, more boss battles, more variety, explained things more, and fixed little things like X not dropping you from a rope or wall but speeding you up. I thought the secondary weapons were pretty useless though. I barely used them except for the hammer to smash enemies that were turned to stone. It had a pretty awesome ending too but I might have been annoyed at the cliff hanger had I played it without the others at my side.

9/10

God of War 3:

Duuude, what a start to a game. The soundtrack, the graphics, the constant battles and fast pacing, fuck me this is awesome. I like the new QTE style of button them around the corner of the screen so you can focus more on what's going on than the actual button prompts. A lot say 2 is the best but so far I'm loving this the most. I did notice after 2 games at 60fps that the drop to 30fps was a bit of a shame but got over it quick enough. I just ripped off Helios' head so I'm not done(no spoilers, please!) yet but really want to keep playing and kinda has me pumped for Ascension now.

???/10

I have to love just how much of an arsehole Kratos is. The developers just don't hold back at all. Someone begs for help? Smash his head into a wall and move on. A man offers you his bow to save him? Burn him alive and then take the bow. Even when a young girl asks for help he tells her to shove it. Amazing.
 
I´m playing the first GOW for the first time. I played all the others. Man The big headed hydra was something else. I laughed so much when Kratos took the key and threw the guy inside the hydra. Kratos is really an asshole.
 
The entire series is pretty damn awesome.

I recently played through all 5 myself (1-3 were a replay and Chains/Ghost for the first time), and I must say playing them in chronological order was even better this time around.

I'm really glad I took the time before Ascension drops in 2 weeks.
 
God of War 2 was one of those sequels where everything was larger in scope compared to the first one but in a good way.
 
My favorite is GoW 1, but that's probably because it was the first one, and the impact was so huge at the time, specially for someone who LOVES greek mythology.

I also loved 2 and 3. I think 2 is the most well done, although 3 had some absolutely awesome moments, and it is in my opinion the best looking game of this generation.

However 3 also had some very awful moments, like
the guitar hero moment...WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? And also the Cubic Labirynth. I just don't like the idea and the look. I thought it was sort of original, but I just don't dig it. I prefer something more traditional like we see on Clash of the Titans 2

All in all, amazing games, I still need to play the PSP ones, but I'm afraid that even with the HD remake I will find them a bit bad-looking, since to me the visuals are a big part of God of War.
 
Your scores of 7.5/10 for the original is only because you're playing it now instead of when it was originally released. It was a freaking revelation when it first came out.

The GoW series is the only video game series I've replayed. I just started replaying GoW3 again last night and was shocked at how damn beautiful it was still.
 
The reason I hated the ending of the third was that
Kratos stopped being an asshole and started with that hope bullshit. You're telling me that the piece of shit who threw a guy down in Hades in GOW1 just to help himself get up is now turning to hope and love to save himself!? Bullshit!!
 
OP, whatever you do, dont skip phenomenal Ghost of Sparta. It gives new insights into the story that was told in GoW3, its long, combat system is great, and story is very strong.
 
suddenlyissoon said:
Your scores of 7.5/10 for the original s only because you're playing it now instead of when it was originally released. It was a freaking revelation when it first came out.
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I disagree personally. Outside of the insane production values I didn't think GoW1 was anything special.

God of War 2 blew me the fuck away though. I nearly finished it in one sitting.
 
george_us said:
I was referring to when the game out. I bought GoW1 when it first came out and didn't think it was that amazing.
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Ah, gottcha! I was actually very impressed by it at the time, but I guess it can't please everyone :p
Glad you enjoyed GoW2 though! Did you play 3?
 
I love them because I never have to worry about the character lamenting over some stupid moral dilemma or being sidetracked to go cry over a princess or save some woodland creatures. Kratos marches forward towards his goal and that's it, fuck everything else. GOW2 was far and away my favorite.

then he goes on later to release hope into the world. Fuckin hell stig.
 
DieH@rd said:
OP, whatever you do, dont skip phenomenal Ghost of Sparta. It gives new insights into the story that was told in GoW3, its long, combat system is great, and story is very strong.
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This OP GoS for me is one of the best if not the best GoW, it's impressive specially for being a PSP game.

I'm ready for Ascencion and my 6th platinum in the GoW series.
 
I also think 3 is the best mainly because the boss battles are absolutely awesome, but the game has some parts that are boring as fuck (Pandora's section, the maze).

DieH@rd said:
OP, whatever you do, dont skip phenomenal Ghost of Sparta. It gives new insights into the story that was told in GoW3, its long, combat system is great, and story is very strong.
Click to expand...

Long? Lol.

Ghost of Sparta is 5 hours long.
 
The opening for God of War 3 is like something you'd see conceptualized and storyboarded for a major Hollywood blockbuster. The pacing, the swooping camera work, the driving orchestral score, the various "effects" on display. It is epic beyond belief.
 
Blinck said:
Ah, gottcha! I was actually very impressed by it at the time, but I guess it can't please everyone :p
Glad you enjoyed GoW2 though! Did you play 3?
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Yeah I really enjoyed 3 but found that it ultimately didn't match up to 2. Loved the changes to the combat 3 made but the overall level design couldn't quite match the highs of 2.
 
george_us said:
Yeah I really enjoyed 3 but found that it ultimately didn't match up to 2. Loved the changes to the combat 3 made but the overall level design couldn't quite match the highs of 2.
Click to expand...

3's pacing was fucked anyway.

Best start to a game ever, falls flat on its fast quick, stays there for pretty much most of the game, picks up at a certain boss, falls down again but not as much as the first drop, end.
 
Say what you will about GOW's combat, but it did one thing that no other game of its kind did. It brought the hack n slash genre to the mainstream. I don't think there's been a new series that has been able to replicate GOW's success yet.
 
ohlawd said:
3's pacing was fucked anyway.

Best start to a game ever, falls flat on its fast quick, stays there for pretty much most of the game, picks up at a certain boss, falls down again but not as much as the first drop, end.
Click to expand...

Really? I'm not way into it but the pacing is great so far. Hades was great.
 
Always good games, good solid game play, fantastic production values, I like the Greek mythos anyway, so yea, good stuff. I always preferred the Sands of Times Trilogy to Gow 1 & 2 back in the day, it's funny to see how prince of persia dropped off, while GOW has stayed on strong.
 
I am right there with you, GoW 3 is certainly the best in the series thus far, best graphics ever, I have no idea why but I feel it is even better than Ascension.

The combat to me was far more fluid and better than any other GoW title, though Ascension may have an even better combat from what I experienced.

well keep going on, it will get more and more epic.
 
Momotaro said:
Say what you will about GOW's combat, but it did one thing that no other game of its kind did. It brought the hack n slash genre to the mainstream. I don't think there's been a new series that has been able to replicate GOW's success yet.
Click to expand...

No doubts about that, but why is this good in itself? It's good if you're making money out of it, otherwise why should you care?
 
In almost any other game Kratos would be the antagonist. In other games you'll most likely play as some generic white knight pleb, and they'll try to build up the bad guy as some terrifying badass with mysterious backstory to hype your inevitable showdown with them.

GOW was the first time (for me) that you were that badass. You play through GOW and everyone is shit scared of you. Some guy locks himself in a freaking cage on a sinking ship to get away from you. The Oracle is shocked when she reads your past etc. On top of that, Kratos does not give a single ****. When a giant Hydra eats a few people in front of him then roars, he calmly unsheathes his blades like he is about to swat a fly.

Everything he does is for his own gain, he is an enormous asshole. Making the translator read the pages, the boat captain etc. This was before most of the morality shit so he was a breath of fresh air.

The way Kratos' backstory is revealed via flashbacks in the first was amazing IMO, kept me glued to the screen to find out how the Ghost of Sparta legend had been made.
 
What a great franchise. I've played them all but Ghost of Sparta (which is a sin I know) but I plan on playing that one before Ascension drop. That first fight on GOW 3 was almost too epic. I couldn't hardly believe what I was seeing. Can't wait to see what these guys can do on the PS4.
 
After playing the Acsension demo I needed a fix of GoW sooner rather than wait 2 more weeks so I booted up III again. I've Platinum'd the whole series already and replayed them probably 3-4 each already. But I gotta say III is still after a few years one of the, if not the, best looking console game out. It's truly stunning. OP you're still in for a few more treats to come. I'm just passed where you are.

I don't know which one is my favourite. I love them all. Somewhere out of II or III but what I played of Acsension it's looking to be very interesting what else they pull out.

Oh and quite honestly I don't know if my eyes will be able to take what Santa Monica could do on PS4 :o
 
Loved this series, platinumned all 5 games. For some reason GOW1 had the most impact on me. I know that people complain about a few tough sections, but it's really an awesome game regardless. Hey, after the spikes, there's a fist pumping adrenalin rush to the gameplay section leading up to Aries. Very well done imo, with great music to boot.
 
I liked GoW 1 when I played it back in '05 and GoW 2 in '07 and I liked both of them even more after playing the HD collection,same goes for the PSP games.

Darklord said:
Really? I'm not way into it but the pacing is great so far. Hades was great.
Click to expand...
The pacing was fine for me too,the Poseidon battle while amazing didn't bog down the rest of the game for me.

CoachKevin said:
Don't forget the PSP games. They are even better on the Vita!
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This,especially GoS.
 
Glad that GOW3 is blowing your mind, it blew mine too and it still does. My favorite game of the series.

Anyway, fantastic series all around.
 
Love this series. Like Ghost of Sparta most, God of War 3 and Chains of Olympus least. Overall an outstanding series I've been playing ever since day 1.
 
just picked up Saga the other day when I preorded Ascension from amazon... really surprised at the quality of the PSP games!

great series and if the Ascension demo is any indication, its going to be awesome and epic as per usual
 
Amjad said:
The reason I hated the ending of the third was that
Kratos stopped being an asshole and started with that hope bullshit. You're telling me that the piece of shit who threw a guy down in Hades in GOW1 just to help himself get up is now turning to hope and love to save himself!? Bullshit!!
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that
Pandora's Box also released some of that evil into him, as well as the gods, which caused him to go even more crazy by the time 3 takes place and only think about revenge. At the end, he can finally see the light, and releases the hope into the world.

Think about it, all of the other gods were affected by the evil, even Dead/Ghost Athena. Kratos practically is a true god, and does have Zeus' blood in him. Why wouldn't he be affected by the evil in Pandora's Box?

Also, very upset that Ascension dropped 3D (with my other big disappointment this year being Metal Gear Rising, which had previously been in 3D).
 
I dare to say that the original God of War is has one of the best writing/pacing in gaming, rest of the series, not so much even though II is the overall best game but have far worse writing.
 
Another -1 for those naughty pillars. They made me say very bad words and gave me heart palpatations.

Also, the QTE's are dire. They're not fun and the split second timing for some of them was just ridiculous. Especially when there's a bunch of them in a row. The boss fight with Zeus in the second one comes to mind - what a PITA that was. And for no good reason.

Aside from that, it's a very solid series. Still haven't played the third one, but it's in my backlog and I think my QTE rage from the second game has finally subsided.
 
Sid said:
This,especially GoS.
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It is actually funny because I think that GoS is the best GoW out of all five currently released.
GoW1 and GoW2 are great but they feel a bit dated in the controls department now.
And GoW3 would be much better without all the backtracking.
 
Dipswitch said:
Another -1 for those naughty pillars. They made me say very bad words and gave me heart palpatations.

Also, the QTE's are dire. They're not fun and the split second timing for some of them was just ridiculous. Especially when there's a bunch of them in a row. The boss fight with Zeus in the second one comes to mind - what a PITA that was. And for no good reason.

Aside from that, it's a very solid series. Still haven't played the third one, but it's in my backlog and I think my QTE rage from the second game has finally subsided.
Click to expand...

Go for it. I've just finished it again and thoroughly enjoyed it all over again.
 
I have yet to play GOW3 or the PSP titles, but GOW1 and GOW2 are both two very solid games, among the best of the best on the PS2.
 
What is wrong with me? I own them all.. on the PS3.. get into each of them for one night and then never go back. Perhaps I should just power through them.. I think this style of game while it looks awesome to me I just dont enjoy actually playing.

This thread has inspired me to give it another go!
 
I've played them all when they released and GoW1 didn't do much for me. I love greek mythology so I was glad to see a game use it how they were attempting here, but it wasn't until GoW2 where I really found something to like. Something about the length, scale, and variety of environment made the game feel like a genuine adventure moreso than it did before.

GoW3 is pretty sloppy to me. It takes the plot and goes full stupid with it, making Kratos a character I already didn't care for much and making him just outright unbearable. It has some amazing looking areas, some of my favorite boss fights in the series, but also the lowest points of all 3 games. Spoilers that go beyond where the OP is:
I loved Hades and Hercules fights, but on the other end the scorpion boss and especially the Cronos segment are terrible. Cronos was done so poorly that the fact most people love the segment baffles be beyond pure eye candy. They made him into a fucking idiot, and the way he actually fights you just breaks any sense of epic they were attempting.

I also didn't like the reuse of environments like the box room. The game felt short as it is, and this certainly didn't help.

I hope Ascension is much more like 2, because that's the only game in the series I felt was truly worthy of the accolades the series gets.
 
U2NUMB said:
What is wrong with me? I own them all.. on the PS3.. get into each of them for one night and then never go back. Perhaps I should just power through them.. I think this style of game while it looks awesome to me I just dont enjoy actually playing.

This thread has inspired me to give it another go!
Click to expand...

I kind of feel the same way about the series. It looks fantastic, but trying to play 1 and 2 back to back made me less interested in the games overall. I think it's because combat 'felt' the same to me.

I gave up on GOW 2 at about the halfway point. Picked up the 3rd and maybe only played a few levels total. Isn't the HD collection on PS+ this month? Might try and actually finish 2; give it another chance.
 
I loved the series until God of War 3, which was like the first two games, except less inspired. Like compare the
Zeus
boss fights in the two games. GoW3's is blander, less varied, and less "epic" than GoW2's. Shouldn't it be the other way around? And characters like
Hermes--basically an ordinary dude who could run fast and do some parkour --
were disappointing, too. They seemed like strong supernatural humans, not hugely powerful divine beings. And where the first two GoW games had pulpy but entertaining stories, GoW3 had a boring, cliched mess that failed at delivering the closure it should have. It felt simultaneously safe and disrespectful of the story established in GoW1/2.

God of War 3 had its moments, sure, and it was competent technically and mechanically, but it's clear that David Jaffe and Cory Barlog were in a different league creatively than Stig Asmussen.
 
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