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Ranking the God of War games
- Thread starter Corpsepyre
- Start date
I can only rank the ones I've played to completion.
In order of "best"
God of War 2
God of War 3
God of War
God of War Chains of Olympus
I've platinumed all these 4 games but I can't talk about Ascension or Ghost of Sparta.
Although an opinion, I think God of War 2 is the best game of the series and surely my favorite and it's really hard argue that any other entry is the series is better. God of War 3 is just a notch below but still second place.
In order of "best"
God of War 2
God of War 3
God of War
God of War Chains of Olympus
I've platinumed all these 4 games but I can't talk about Ascension or Ghost of Sparta.
Although an opinion, I think God of War 2 is the best game of the series and surely my favorite and it's really hard argue that any other entry is the series is better. God of War 3 is just a notch below but still second place.
Alligatorjandro
Banned
2
3
Ascension
1
Ghost of Sparta
Chains of Olympus
3
Ascension
1
Ghost of Sparta
Chains of Olympus
SlasherJPC
Banned
2,ghost of sparda, Ascension = 3, 1, and chains last. 2 and Sparta just really gave me an excellent time the whole time. Ascension and 3 I loved but some parts were very lacking. 1 is the what started it all but with mostly only 1 location and lack of memorable bosses aside from the first first, just isn't as grand. Chains just feels like a low budget GOW. Not terrible just the weakest for me.
blackMamba1187
Member
God of War 2
God of War Ghost of Sparta
God of War 3
God of War 1
God of War Ascension
God of War Chains of Olympus
God of War Ghost of Sparta
God of War 3
God of War 1
God of War Ascension
God of War Chains of Olympus
It's actually the order they released for me.
1. GOW. Superior character development, story, pacing.
2. GOWII. Close 2nd. Superior level design, variety, bosses and escalation.
3. GOWIII. Superior gore, weapons and gameplay.
COO, GOS. Haven't played, heard good things, just zero interest.
Ascension. WTF happened? Shame on you SSM for this cash grab.
Bringing Barlog back is a stroke of genius. If anyone can breath legit life into GOW(after Jaffe) it's the Barlog.
1. GOW. Superior character development, story, pacing.
2. GOWII. Close 2nd. Superior level design, variety, bosses and escalation.
3. GOWIII. Superior gore, weapons and gameplay.
COO, GOS. Haven't played, heard good things, just zero interest.
Ascension. WTF happened? Shame on you SSM for this cash grab.
Bringing Barlog back is a stroke of genius. If anyone can breath legit life into GOW(after Jaffe) it's the Barlog.
God of War 2
God of War 1
God of War: Ghost of Sparta / God of War: Ascension
God of War 3
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Even though Ascension had nothing interesting to tell, I did really enjoy the (much needed) refreshing take on combat mechanics. It was also very impressive technically (except for the obvious lack of testing), kind of like how GOW2 pushed the PS2. Overall, IMO, it was underrated... maybe because of the franchise fatigue and bad story I guess.
God of War 1
God of War: Ghost of Sparta / God of War: Ascension
God of War 3
God of War: Chains of Olympus
Even though Ascension had nothing interesting to tell, I did really enjoy the (much needed) refreshing take on combat mechanics. It was also very impressive technically (except for the obvious lack of testing), kind of like how GOW2 pushed the PS2. Overall, IMO, it was underrated... maybe because of the franchise fatigue and bad story I guess.
DC1
Member
Yeeeesss! Exactly how I would have ordered.
Super_Cobra
Member
Chains of Olympus is very emotional when he finds his daughter. Holy shit that game I love that game
Ghost of Sparta was emotional too. When his brother dies and he goes crazy. Also when he asked the grave digger what he has become and the grave digger replies " death the destroyer of worlds". Then his little argument with Athena afterwards.
Both are amazing games and in my opinion better than 1&2. But 3 is just a masterpiece. My favorite game of all time.
Ghost of Sparta was emotional too. When his brother dies and he goes crazy. Also when he asked the grave digger what he has become and the grave digger replies " death the destroyer of worlds". Then his little argument with Athena afterwards.
Both are amazing games and in my opinion better than 1&2. But 3 is just a masterpiece. My favorite game of all time.
DC1
Member
But Ascension gave us the logical opening for GOW4!!!
Id go with this, but its just so hard to choose between 1&2 for the top spot. 2 was a better game, more EPIC, awesome cliffhanger, better combat...
But 1 was the first, it was fresh, new, and had a wonderfully self-contained narrative.
Kind of like trying to choose between Dead Space and Dead Space 2
SolidSnakex
Member
TheSpaceBetween
Member
No it isn't. At least not here on GAF. Ascension is underrated. At the very least it is far better than the mediocre PSP titles.
SSM may yet redeem their status. I cannot wait to see how GOW4 looks. After the panel last PSX it really seems he understands how to move forward with GOW instead of going the typical angrier Kratos route.
This.
I got mad faith in Barlog.
DC1
Member
Kind of arrogant on multiple fronts.... Just an observation on my part.
Trust me. I'm a PhD
Member
I remember one very fondly, but going back to them on my Vita, 2 is actually the better game (as often happens in gaming Sequels). That being said, 3 holds up the best overall, so I guess it goes 3/2/1/PSP games/Accention. All of them 8.5-10 kind os games, so I am just going by my experience with them, not a comment on quality.
Edit: As a side note, I am team "Kratos is the villain you must kill to become the new God of War" for the next installment. Have it start out as a revenge thing that highlights how much Kratos has lived through and done so that death is a reunion with his family and is actually a "bittersweet" ending for him. A new setting and mythology would also be great. Egyptian? Chinese? Nordic? The latter would be pretty awesome^^
Edit: As a side note, I am team "Kratos is the villain you must kill to become the new God of War" for the next installment. Have it start out as a revenge thing that highlights how much Kratos has lived through and done so that death is a reunion with his family and is actually a "bittersweet" ending for him. A new setting and mythology would also be great. Egyptian? Chinese? Nordic? The latter would be pretty awesome^^
SodiumBenzoate
Member
If 3 was not just a rehash of 2's story, I'd feel much better about it. That being accounted for, GoW 2 Is the best game by far
For me;
God of War
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
God of War II
God of War III
God of War: Ascension
God of War: Chains of Olympus
God of War: Betrayal
I've enjoyed all the games; Betrayal was fine for what it was (a mobile game from pre-everyone has a smart phone days), and Chains of Olympus feels kinda rough to go back to without the novelty of it being the first PSP God of War, but overall I'm a big fan. Looking forward to the next game.
God of War
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
God of War II
God of War III
God of War: Ascension
God of War: Chains of Olympus
God of War: Betrayal
I've enjoyed all the games; Betrayal was fine for what it was (a mobile game from pre-everyone has a smart phone days), and Chains of Olympus feels kinda rough to go back to without the novelty of it being the first PSP God of War, but overall I'm a big fan. Looking forward to the next game.
Augemitbutter
Member
i've ran through everything but Ascension, which i haven't played yet. i have no real ranking but i didn't like III too much, while Sparta was a pretty nice surprise.
M
Macapala
Unconfirmed Member
GoW 2, GoW 1 and then who cares?
GoW 2 > GoW 1 > Gow 3 > Rest I still didnt play.
GoW 2 have the most interesting story and a big ammount of locations and mithologic places. The sense of adventure is unmatched.
GoW 1 is a bit worse than 2 because the scale off everything felt more random, and in 2 everything seemed to fit better. The story was interesting too, but less than 2's IMO.
In GoW 3 I loved everything except the plot. Too much rage nosense.
I enjoyed 1 and 2 more in the first playthrough.
GoW 2 have the most interesting story and a big ammount of locations and mithologic places. The sense of adventure is unmatched.
GoW 1 is a bit worse than 2 because the scale off everything felt more random, and in 2 everything seemed to fit better. The story was interesting too, but less than 2's IMO.
In GoW 3 I loved everything except the plot. Too much rage nosense.
I enjoyed 1 and 2 more in the first playthrough.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
2 > 1 = 3 > A
Haven't played the portable ones.
Haven't played the portable ones.
Triggerhappytel
Member
Are you saying that "YOU'VE BETRAYED ME I'M GOING TO KILL YOU" isn't a good story to build a whole series around?!
If they'd have updated it for smartphones I would have.
Which is?
I don't think I've watched that panel. Do you have a link?
Anyway, I would rank them as:
GoWII > GoW > Ghost of Sparta > GoWIII = Ascension >> Chains of Olympus
PlayStation Experience | God of War Retrospective Panel
Also, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend you all check out the Game Directors Live video. It was done shortly before the release of Ghost of Sparta and featured all of the game directors up to that point. Hearing what Jaffe originally wanted God of War 3 to be makes the game Stig shit out that much more disappointing.
God of War: Game Directors Live
Triggerhappytel
Member
Thanks; just watching it now.
Quick fact - Cory definitely introduces himself as 'Cory Balrog'; i.e. not Barlog.
Quick fact - Cory definitely introduces himself as 'Cory Balrog'; i.e. not Barlog.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
My personal ranking:
2 -> 1 -> 3 -> Ghost of Sparta -> Ascension -> Chains of Olympus
2 -> 1 -> 3 -> Ghost of Sparta -> Ascension -> Chains of Olympus
1. God of War 2: Best gameplay the biggest one too excellent bosses and level design all in all my favourite action game ever made.
2. God of War: The original one and an excellent game on its own almost as good as the 2nd one it also has the best story of the series.
3. God of War 3: Thats where I think the quality started to drop a bit but still remained an excellent game. The game started strong had some of the best bosses in the series but the ending was a disappointment.
4. Ghost of Spata
5. Chains of Olympus: both the psp games were really good but smaller in scale and everything esle than their console counterparts.
6. Ascension: This one was a disappointment in all departments the combat was weirdly designed and the bosses were a joke.
2. God of War: The original one and an excellent game on its own almost as good as the 2nd one it also has the best story of the series.
3. God of War 3: Thats where I think the quality started to drop a bit but still remained an excellent game. The game started strong had some of the best bosses in the series but the ending was a disappointment.
4. Ghost of Spata
5. Chains of Olympus: both the psp games were really good but smaller in scale and everything esle than their console counterparts.
6. Ascension: This one was a disappointment in all departments the combat was weirdly designed and the bosses were a joke.
Monocle
Member
I've only played God of War and God of War 2, but I have to say, GoW2 is such a better game that there's really no contest between the two. While I love GoW1's setting and story, it's severely flawed:
- far too short
- incredibly uneven difficulty, particularly the rotating blade column you all know and hate, and the entire final boss sequence
- riddled with game-breaking glitches (I experienced one in the Temple of Pandora that forced me to lose several hours' progress)
- no real reason to replay the game. Your skills and abilities don't carry over to subsequent playthroughs.
GoW2 is better than the original in almost every way. Its only real drawback is that it's a sequel, so for some players it can never equal the impact of the first game. Let's make a brief catalog of GoW's many advantages:
- longer than the original, but not too long
- extremely varied and well paced, in terms of boss and enemy design as well as the environments
- has useful alt-weapons along with an instant weapon switching system
- has an expanded combat system that allows for something resembling combo-oriented high level play (Nothing on the Devil May Cry series' level, but still very respectable for an action/adventure game.)
- loads of bonus content that extends replayability and enriches the base game, including...
- a Bonus Play feature that lets you take a (nearly) fully equipped Kratos through the full campaign
- a customizable arena mode
- better bonus costumes that change Kratos' attributes
GoW2 is an extraordinary sequel. I'm confident that if anyone were to revisit GoW1 and GoW2 right now, the sequel's considerable design improvements would be obvious.
- far too short
- incredibly uneven difficulty, particularly the rotating blade column you all know and hate, and the entire final boss sequence
- riddled with game-breaking glitches (I experienced one in the Temple of Pandora that forced me to lose several hours' progress)
- no real reason to replay the game. Your skills and abilities don't carry over to subsequent playthroughs.
GoW2 is better than the original in almost every way. Its only real drawback is that it's a sequel, so for some players it can never equal the impact of the first game. Let's make a brief catalog of GoW's many advantages:
- longer than the original, but not too long
- extremely varied and well paced, in terms of boss and enemy design as well as the environments
- has useful alt-weapons along with an instant weapon switching system
- has an expanded combat system that allows for something resembling combo-oriented high level play (Nothing on the Devil May Cry series' level, but still very respectable for an action/adventure game.)
- loads of bonus content that extends replayability and enriches the base game, including...
- a Bonus Play feature that lets you take a (nearly) fully equipped Kratos through the full campaign
- a customizable arena mode
- better bonus costumes that change Kratos' attributes
GoW2 is an extraordinary sequel. I'm confident that if anyone were to revisit GoW1 and GoW2 right now, the sequel's considerable design improvements would be obvious.
GeordieMark
Member
2, 1, 3.
The first introduced the formula, the second perfected it, and the third was more of the same but because the 2nd game had used all of the best ideas, it was never quite as exciting.
The first introduced the formula, the second perfected it, and the third was more of the same but because the 2nd game had used all of the best ideas, it was never quite as exciting.
IbukiLordSA
Member
God of War 2
God of War 1
God of War : Ghost of Sparta
God of War 3
God of War : Chains of Olympus
God of War Ascension
God of War 1
God of War : Ghost of Sparta
God of War 3
God of War : Chains of Olympus
God of War Ascension