God of War (PS4)

[forgeforsaken]

Seems like they’ve made some big changes from the previous games though. All new control scheme, new weapon set, story looks more human with the father son stuff etc.

[Alistair]

Sure that’s not Assassin’s Creed?

[Appleseed]

@Rock8man

I don’t know where I read it first, but once I read Dad of War, I can’t think of this game any other way.

same now, too ;)

[MrTibbs]

The reviews are live and the general impression is very positive.

Your Source for the Critical Reception of Video Games.

[JD]

God of War’s 4K resolution mode isn’t the best way to play

[Paul_cze]

I did not expect it to have unlocked framerate. I wonder how it runs though. Inconsitent 30-60 is generally more annoying than 30. But if locked 30 here still drops, that would be annoying too.

[Scotch_Lufkin]

Good lord, it’s the number one game in 2018. I didn’t see that coming. I thought it would score well (you can sort of tell it’s going to be a really good game, like how Horizon Zero Dawn looked leading to it’s review embargo) but goodness. I pre-ordered this just because the reviews got me to looking into it, and the story sounds great, but also the big open exploration and the crafting system tickles me as well.

[Rock8man]

After reading the glowing review of this game on Polygon this morning, this is definitely going on my wishlist for 2019.

[Mark_Crump]

Is this a series I can pick up with this installment, or is it recommended I play the earlier games?

[Scotch_Lufkin]

I doubt it matters a huge deal, I haven’t played GoW since the second one myself, let alone all the other non-numbered titles.

That said, I’m going to watch this video I came across earlier at some point before release.

Just watched it and it’s a great little summary. I’m pretty pumped to find out what the fuck happened after what looks like the ending of the last one.

[Balasarius]

That video was a hot mess. After a few minutes on Wikipedia, I learned there are three main titles in the series, GoW1-3. The other four titles in the series (three of which were released for mobile devices…) explore Kratos’ life before GoW1 and fill in some gaps between GoW1 and GoW2.

I remember playing GoW1 and 2 on the PS2. GoW3 was released for the PS3, so I didn’t get to play that one because I never owned a PS3. I avoided the mobile ones like the plague that they surely are. Anyway, below are the plot synopsis of GoW1-3 from Wikipedia.

@God of War 1

Kratos is a warrior who serves the Greek gods of Olympus. Flashbacks reveal that he was once a successful captain in the Spartan army and led his men to several victories before being defeated by a barbarian king. Facing death, Kratos called on the God of War, Ares, whom he promised to serve if the god would spare his men and provide the power to destroy their enemies. Ares agreed and bonded the Blades of Chaos, a pair of chained blades forged in the depths of Tartarus, to his new servant. Kratos, equipped with the blades, then decapitated the barbarian king.[23]

Kratos waged war at the behest of Ares, eventually leading an attack on a village occupied by worshipers of Athena. Ares had secretly transported Kratos’ wife and daughter to the village; during his frenzied attack on its temple, Kratos accidentally killed them. Although Ares believed this act would free Kratos to become the perfect warrior, the Spartan instead renounced his pledge of servitude to the god. The oracle of the destroyed village cursed Kratos by bonding the ashes of his dead family to his skin, turning it ash-white and earning him the nickname, “Ghost of Sparta”. Plagued by nightmares of his horrible deed, Kratos vowed to serve the other gods in hope of ridding himself of the visions.[23]

When the game starts, Kratos has been serving the gods for ten years. He kills the Hydra on behalf of Poseidon, but he has grown tired of his service and suffering. He summons Athena, who states that if Kratos performs one final act—the murder of Ares—he will be forgiven for killing his family. Ares is waging war on the city of Athens out of hatred and jealousy of his sister Athena, who assigns Kratos to destroy Ares because Zeus has forbidden divine intervention. Athena guides Kratos to the war-torn Athens. After a strange encounter with a gravedigger who encourages him to continue his task, Kratos battles his way to Athens’s oracle, finds her, and learns that the only way to defeat Ares is with Pandora’s Box, a mythical artifact that grants the power to kill a god.[23]

Kratos enters the Desert of Lost Souls, and Athena tells him Pandora’s Box is hidden in a temple chained to the back of the Titan Cronos—a punishment by Zeus for Cronos’ role in the Great War. Kratos summons Cronos, climbs for three days before reaching the Temple entrance, overcomes an array of deadly traps and an army of monsters, and eventually finds the Box. But Ares, aware of his former servant’s success, kills Kratos as the latter is leaving the Temple. While harpies take the Box to Ares, Kratos falls into the Underworld. He battles his way through the fiery realm, and with help from the mysterious gravedigger, who tells him Athena is not the only god watching over him, he escapes and returns to Athens.[23]

Kratos recovers Pandora’s Box from Ares, opens it, and uses its power to become godlike. Despite Ares’ best efforts to destroy Kratos physically and mentally, including stripping him of the Blades of Chaos and all magic, he survives and kills Ares with the Blade of the Gods. Athens is saved, and although Athena tells Kratos his sins are forgiven, the gods refuse to rid him of his nightmares. Forsaken by the gods, he tries to commit suicide by casting himself into the Aegean Sea, but Athena intervenes and transports him to Mount Olympus. As a reward for his services to the gods, she provides Kratos with a new set of blades and the seat as the new God of War.[23]

@God of War 2

Kratos, the new God of War, is still haunted by nightmares of his past and is shunned by the other gods for his destructive ways. Ignoring Athena’s warnings, Kratos joins the Spartan army in an attack on Rhodes, during which a giant eagle suddenly drains him of his powers and animates the Colossus of Rhodes. While battling the statue, Zeus offers Kratos the Blade of Olympus in order to defeat it, requiring Kratos to infuse the blade with the remainder of his godly power. Although now human, Kratos defeats the Colossus but is mortally wounded. The eagle reveals itself to have been Zeus all along, who states he was forced to intervene as Athena refused to do so. Zeus then grants Kratos a final opportunity to be loyal to the gods, but Kratos refuses. Zeus kills him with the blade and destroys the Spartan army.

Kratos is slowly dragged to the Underworld but is saved by the Titan Gaia. Gaia tells Kratos that she once raised the young Zeus, who eventually betrayed the Titans as vengeance for the cruelty inflicted on his siblings by Zeus’ father, Cronos. She instructs Kratos to find the “Sisters of Fate”, who can alter time, prevent his death, and allow him his revenge on Zeus. With the aid of Pegasus, Kratos finds the lair of Gaia’s brother Typhon. Imprisoned under a mountain, Typhon is angered at the intrusion and traps Pegasus, forcing Kratos to explore on foot. Kratos encounters the Titan Prometheus, who is chained in mortal form and tortured at Zeus’ directive for giving fire to mankind. Prometheus begs to be released from his torment, so Kratos confronts Typhon to steal his magical bow. He blinds the massive Titan with it to escape and then uses it to free Prometheus, who falls into a fire and dies, finally free of eternal torture. The Immolation releases the power of the Titans which Kratos absorbs, using it to free Pegasus and then fly to the Island of Creation.

Just before reaching the island, Kratos fights and kills Theseus to awaken the gigantic stone Steeds of Time—a gift to the Sisters of Fate from Cronos in an attempt to change his own fate—which grants Kratos access to the island. There, Kratos encounters and defeats several foes, some of whom-themselves are also seeking the Sisters of Fate, including an undead version of his old foe the Barbarian King, the Gorgon Euryale, Perseus, and Icarus. He eventually encounters the imprisoned Titan Atlas, who initially resents Kratos for his current predicament. After Kratos explains his intent, Atlas reveals that Gaia and the other Titans also seek revenge on Zeus for their defeat in the Great War. Atlas also reveals that the Blade of Olympus is the key to defeating Zeus and helps Kratos to reach the “Palace of the Fates”.

After evading traps and defeating more enemies, including the Kraken, Kratos encounters an unseen foe, revealed to be a loyal Spartan soldier also in search of the Sisters. Before he dies, the soldier informs Kratos that Zeus has destroyed Sparta in Kratos’ absence. Outraged, Kratos is further motivated and frees a phoenix, riding the creature to the Sisters’ stronghold where he confronts two, Lakhesis and Atropos. After they refuse his request to alter time, Kratos battles them. During this, the Sisters try to change the outcome of Kratos’ battle with Ares, but Kratos kills them both, then confronts the remaining Sister, Clotho. He kills her using her own traps, and acquires the “Loom of Fate” in order to return to the point at which Zeus betrayed him.

Kratos surprises Zeus, seizes the Blade of Olympus, and finally incapacitates him. Athena intervenes and implores Kratos to stop, as by killing Zeus, he will destroy Olympus. Kratos ignores her and tries to kill Zeus, but Athena sacrifices herself by impaling herself upon the blade, granting Zeus escape. Before she dies, Athena reveals that Kratos is actually Zeus’ son. Zeus was afraid Kratos would usurp him, just as Zeus had usurped his own father, Cronos. Kratos declares that the rule of the gods is at an end, then travels back in time and rescues the Titans just before their defeat in the Great War. He returns with the Titans to the present, and the gods watch as their former foes climb Mount Olympus. Kratos, standing on the back of Gaia, declares that he has brought the destruction of Olympus, setting up the events of God of War III.

@God of War 3

Continuing immediately after God of War II, Kratos, Gaia, and the other Titans ascend Mount Olympus to destroy the Olympian Gods. Poseidon launches a counter-assault against the Titans but is killed by Kratos and Gaia; his death causes the oceans to flood all of Greece. Reaching the peak of Olympus, they try to attack Zeus, but he drives them back and knocks them off the mountain. Gaia clings to the mountainside and refuses to save Kratos, calling him nothing more than a pawn for the Titans’ revenge.

Kratos falls into the River Styx, where he loses the Blade of Olympus; the souls of the Underworld weaken him and ruin the Blades of Athena. Climbing from the river, he is confronted by the spirit of Athena, who had previously sacrificed herself to save Zeus from Kratos. She tells Kratos that her sacrifice has brought her to a higher existence, and she now sees truths she did not see before. She states that as long as Zeus reigns, there is no hope for mankind. She gives him the Blades of Exile and says that to kill Zeus, he must quench the Flame of Olympus. After finding the three Judges of the Underworld and the Chain of Balance, Kratos encounters the spirit of Pandora, whom he mistakes for his dead daughter, Calliope. Refusing to help the child, he continues his quest. After encountering the Olympian blacksmith Hephaestus and recovering the Blade of Olympus, he kills Hades, which releases the souls of the Underworld. When he considers searching for the soul of Calliope, Athena reminds Kratos of his quest, and he leaves the Underworld, arriving at Olympia. There he finds the wounded Gaia, who calls for help. He severs her arm, causing her to fall from Mount Olympus to her apparent death.

Kratos continues his ascent, murdering powerful foes that include the Titan Perses and the god Helios, which plunges all of Greece into eternal darkness. This leads to an encounter with Hermes, who mocks Kratos for his past sins. The Spartan chases the god, who leads him to the Chamber of the Flame. Kratos discovers that Pandora’s Box is in the Flame of Olympus and is key to the success of his quest, as it was in God of War. Athena appears, telling Kratos that the flames around the box can only be quelled by Pandora. Kratos then continues after the overconfident Hermes, whom he catches and kills, releasing a plague on Greece. At the Forum, he has an audience with the drunken Hera, who ignores his request for Pandora’s location and summons Hercules. After discussing his jealousy of his half-brother, Hercules attacks Kratos and is killed. Kratos then encounters Aphrodite, who is indifferent to his war on Olympus. She then leads him to her estranged husband Hephaestus through Hyperion’s Gate, a teleportation device. In a suicide mission, the blacksmith sends Kratos to Tartarus to retrieve the Omphalos Stone so he can forge a new weapon for the Spartan. Kratos finds Cronos, kills the Titan for the stone, and returns to Hephaestus. After forging the weapon, the god tries to kill Kratos himself. Instead, the Spartan kills Hephaestus, who claims that he was trying to protect his daughter Pandora, who was imprisoned in the Labyrinth after Kratos opened her box. Reusing the Hyperion Gate, the Spartan travels through Hera’s Gardens where he kills the taunting goddess, ending all plant life in Greece, and makes his way to the Labyrinth to find Pandora.

The imprisoned architect Daedalus tells Kratos to unite the Labyrinth. Completing this task, Kratos fights his way through the aerial puzzle and rescues Pandora, who tells him to break the Chain of Balance so the Labyrinth can be raised, and she can reach her box. Neutralizing the three judges and breaking the chain, Kratos raises the Labyrinth, and Pandora tries to enter the Flame of Olympus. Zeus intervenes and fights Kratos; after a brief battle, Pandora sacrifices herself and quenches the flame, despite Kratos’ protests. Finding Pandora’s Box empty, Kratos attacks the mocking Zeus. Gaia returns and tries to kill them, but they escape through a gaping wound in her chest where they continue their battle. Gaia is killed when Kratos impales Zeus against her heart with the Blade of Olympus, which apparently also kills Zeus. When Kratos recovers the blade and tries to leave, he is attacked by Zeus’ spirit and loses all of his weapons in the process. Before Zeus can land a fatal blow, Kratos is saved by Pandora during a journey into his psyche. With help from the spirits of his wife Lysandra and daughter Calliope, Kratos forgives himself for his past sins. After discovering the power of hope, he regains consciousness and beats Zeus to death with his bare hands, thus ending the reign of the Olympian Gods.

Athena reappears, demanding that Kratos return what she thinks he took from Pandora’s Box. She refuses to believe the box was empty, explaining that when Zeus sealed the evils of the world in the box, she placed her power of hope in it, foreseeing that it would eventually be opened. Athena realizes that when Kratos opened the box to defeat Ares, the evils escaped and infected the gods while Kratos was imbued with hope, which enabled him to kill Ares. She tells Kratos to return her power, saying that she knows how to use it to rebuild what had been destroyed. Distrusting Athena and tired of being used as a pawn, Kratos refuses; saying his vengeance has ended, he impales himself with the Blade of Olympus and releases hope’s power to heal all that he had destroyed. An angry Athena pulls the sword from him, saying that he has disappointed her and leaves empty-handed. Near death, Kratos collapses as Athena leaves.

In a post-credits scene, a trail of blood leads away from an abandoned Blade of Olympus, with Kratos’ whereabouts unknown.

[MrTibbs]

The no camera cuts choice, where the game always stay with your character, sounds very intriguing. I loved how that impacted my experience when watching Victoria (2015), so I’m seriously considering finally pulling the trigger and picking up a PS4 to play this (and Bloodborne for different reasons). Apparently the game director left Sony shortly after God of War 2 shipped and had been pitching this “one shot” idea for Avalanche’s Mad Max project and later one of the Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raider games, but couldn’t get the support.

[Profanicus]

@MrTibbs

The no camera cuts choice, where the game always stay with your character, sounds very intriguing.

So it’s like Half-Life? :)

I’m considering getting this but I didn’t really get on that well with the remaster of 3 (only got a couple of hours in) so I’m not sure if I’ll like it. Maybe I should give 3 another go first? I didn’t play 1 or 2.

[MrTibbs]

@Profanicus

So it’s like Half-Life? :)

Agh, that’s a good point, Profanicus!

I guess I’m just excited about staying with a character, and seeing them emote and interact across a big adventure without ever cutting. This reboot was written by two of the guys behind Anachronox and Lost Planet 3, both which are games with storytelling ambitions that are executed in a way that are a shade more interesting than most others in their respective genres.

[Profanicus]

Haha I don’t mean to rain on the parade! It’s great to be excited. :D

[rei]

It’s better to start fresh here in my opinion. He was a loathsome, vile character to me in all the previous games.

[MrTibbs]

Yeah, I couldn’t stand Kratos. I played a bit of the first one but never came close to finishing it. I’m mostly interested in the reboot because of the Norse setting and the fact that people who didn’t like the previous games (the Waypoint crowd, The Guardian reviewer) are saying he’s a great character this time around.

[IkeVandergraaf]

Bah! I desperately want this but I’m in the middle of several other games. Any idea how long of a game this will be. I know very little about it except what I’ve seen in this thread and having played 1 back in the day.

[Scotch_Lufkin]

@IkeVandergraaf

Any idea how long of a game this will be.

I think the IGN review said about 25 hours, which sort of blew my mind. He wrote in the review that he put 10-15 hours in after beating it to keep playing/exploring in the world, but I don’t know if that’s included in the 25 hour figure, or if really has near 40 hours into the game?

EDIT - A quick Google search shows a Gamespot article saying 25-35 hours

[SadleyBradley]

Really. That’s surprising. Most non-open-world, story-heavy games seem to only go about half that.