God of War (2005 video game)

North American boxart, depicting protagonist Kratos and his Blades of Chaos

Bluepoint Games (PS3)
Sanzaru Games (PS Vita)

**PlayStation 3**
NA: November 17, 2009
JP: March 18, 2010
EU: April 30, 2010

**PlayStation Vita**
NA: May 6, 2014
EU: May 9, 2014
JP: May 15, 2014

***God of War*** is a 2005 action-adventure hack-and-slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 console. A remaster of the game, developed by Bluepoint Games, was released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3 as part of the *God of War Collection*, which was later ported by Sanzaru Games to the PlayStation Vita in 2014. It is the first installment in the *God of War* series.

Loosely based by Greek mythology, *God of War* is set in ancient Greece and follows the vengeance quest of Kratos, a Spartan warrior who serves the Olympian Gods. Kratos, having been betrayed by his former mentor - the God of War Ares - into murdering his family, is tasked by the goddess Athena to kill the rogue god as he lays siege on Athens. Kratos journeys throughout Greece to find Pandora's Box, the one object capable of defeating Ares.

Played from a fixed-camera, third-person perspective, *God of War* focuses on a combo-based combat system in which the player utilizes the Blades of Chaos - a pair of blades attached to Kratos' wrists through chains - as well as a secondary weapon and magic abilities. A core element of the combat system is the inclusion of quick-time events in which Kratos performs timed controller actions to damage and defeat stronger enemies and boss encounters. The game also includes puzzles and platforming segments between its combat encounters.

*God of War* began development in 2002 under the codename *Dark Odyssey*, headed by director David Jaffe. Influenced by Capcom's *Onimusha* franchise as well as 1980s action movies, the team sought to make the player feel brutal as they execute various combos and finishers. Santa Monica designed the game to be simplistic and forward-moving, intentionally avoiding innovative designs. The game was eventually unveiled in 2004 and released throughout 2005.

Upon release, *God of War* was universally acclaimed by gaming publications and won several end-year awards, with particular praise directed towards its combat system, set-pieces, boss fights, visuals, storytelling and cinematic quality, though it also drew some controversy for its graphic content; it has been hailed as one of the greatest video games ever made since its release. A commercial success, *God of War* sold over 4.6 million copies and is one of the best-selling PlayStation 2 games.

The game's success led to several sequels and spin-offs, beginning with 2007's *God of War II* which continued the first game's story arc and concluded with 2010's *God of War III*. The game's remastered re-releases on the PlayStation 3 received positive reactions for their enhanced visuals and framerate, as well as the overall value of the game. A prequel, *God of War: Ascension*, was released in 2013.

## Gameplay

*God of War* is a linear action-adventure hack-and-slash video game played from a fixed camera third-person perspective. Players control Kratos, a Spartan warrior who serves the Olympian gods before getting betrayed by the war god Ares. Kratos primarily uses a pair of chained blades called the Blades of Chaos, which are wrapped around the character's wrists.

Gameplay focuses on combo-based combat, platforming and puzzle solving, with particular emphasis on the first. Kratos can perform chain attacks, combos and quick-time events (QTEs) during combat, and throughout the game fights against a variety of enemies based on Greek mythology including undead warriors, satyrs, minotaurs, harpies, cerberuses and boss opponents such as the Hydra and Pandora's Guardian, a giant minotaur. Boss encounters are usually concluded with a chain of quick-time event actions.

## Reception

### Reviews

*God of War* received critical acclaim. On review aggregator site Metacritic, the game holds a score of 94/100 based on 75 reviews; classified by the site as "universal acclaim". It was publisher Sony's highest-rated game of 2005, and the second highest-rated PlayStation 2 game of the year after Capcom's *Resident Evil 4*. As of 2022, it ties with 2018's *God of War* and 2022's *God of War Ragnarök* for the highest-rated title in the series and by developer Santa Monica Studio, on the site.

Eurogamer's Kristan Reed declared it to be one of the best games ever released on the PlayStation 2, deeming it "an absolute colossus that towers over the competition". GameSpot's Alex Navarro lauded *God of War* as a "high-class production in every single facet of its package". IGN's Ivan Sulic was enamored with the final product, believing it was the first action title in a long while he was "completely absorbed in", and felt that its various elements were "tied together with seamless grace".

## Legacy

The critical and commercial of *God of War* helped establish a franchise of the same name. *God of War* received a direct sequel titled *God of War II* in 2007, which was followed by another sequel, *God of War III* (2010), and a prequel titled *God of War: Ascension* (2013), all developed by Santa Monica Studio. *God of War* also received three spin-off titles in the forms of *God of War: Betrayal* (2007), *God of War: Chains of Olympus* (2008) and *God of War: Ghost of Sparta* (2010); *Chains of Olympus* serves as a prequel to the main events of the first game, while *Ghost of Sparta* serves as an interquel between it and *God of War II*.

A reimagining and soft reboot to the series taking place in Norse mythology, also titled *God of War*, was released in 2018. A second title, *God of War Ragnarök*, was released in 2022 as a sequel.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-2/god-of-war
2. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/year/all/filtered?year\_selected=2005&distribution=&sort=desc&view=detailed
3. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/year/all/filtered?year\_selected=2005&distribution=&sort=desc&view=detailed
4. ↑ https://www.eurogamer.net/r-godofwar-ps2
5. ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/god-of-war-review/1900-6120758/
6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170308090917/http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/03/18/god-of-war?page=1