God of War
I just finished God of War on Hard mode. I hadn't played it before, I just started on Hard because I'm the video game equivalent of a masochist. Other examples: I play Gradius V and Ikaruga without continuing. I started Amplitude on Brutal, and got all the way through Insane, include the last bonus track and the hidden extra bonus track. I played the Killing Gameshow on the Amiga. Heheheh.
Anyway, God of War is every bit as excellent as all the hype would have you believe. David Jaffe was the director for the game. He was also lead designer on Twisted Metal 1, 2, and Black. His talent for producing games in which gameplay comes first is legendary, and God of War is no exception. There are a lot of reviews that will explain how brilliant the graphics are, how great the sound is, and how much fun it is to play. I will instead concentrate on what I think are the little details that set this game apart from most others.
First and foremost, there is the gameplay. The game centers on its combat system; there is some platforming to do, but that part feels like a means to get from one combat area to the next. A good combat engine of this type must engage the player's brain to be interesting. If the player can just mash the attack button endlessly without thinking, it gets boring very quickly. GoW's combat is in the tradition of Streets of Rage II (All praise be to its name) from the Genesis. It has a simple combo system, whereby continually hitting square results in a string of different attacks. You can switch to triangle during a square sequence for a big hit. The brain engagement comes between the hits. While each move is being executed, the player needs to evaluate the enemies' new positions to determine if the next move in the combo should be done. The player can change the direction of the next attack, add in a heavy strike, or continue with the normal combo, or combinations of these. Normal mode requires less of this than Hard mode, which brings me to the next point.
This game has properly implemented difficulty settings. Normal mode was designed for the average gamer to play and enjoy, without running into frustrating points. This gives it mass appeal. I want more challenge from a game, so I chose Hard. It was often very punishing, but that was what I wanted. Once I finished Hard and tried God mode, I got what I expected. I tried about 10 times to complete the first battle, and failed. Part of that was because I was being greedy so I could get as many red orbs as possible. :)
GoW has an excellent story, and good characterizations. I can't say much without giving away important plot elements. Kratos' character develops through the cut-scenes, and is present in every move he does in combat. Very few video games have had characters whose stories I cared about. From the first few moments after starting the game for the first time, I wondered how Kratos' story would end.
There is no harvesting. In Devil May Cry, you could kill the same monsters over and over and over, and keep getting more red orbs for it. So anytime I got stuck in DMC, I had this nagging feeling that if I had spent more time being bored at the previous fight, I would have more orbs and more power, and might be able to get past the problem area. GoW only has one place that has infinitely spawning enemies, and they eventually stop giving you red orbs if you kill enough of them. There are many hidden chests with extra orbs, so you can get more for exploring. You can also decide whether to kill enemies in ways that get you more orbs. For example, there is an enemy type that you can kill with the minigame and get health from them. If you kill them normally, you get more red orbs. So squeezing more orbs out of the game is a matter of PLAYING the game the way it was meant to be played, not abusing it.
The Interface works well. This is a small point, but an important one that reduces frustration. If you fail a spot too many times, the game asks if you want to switch to Easy mode. This is a nice option for players who accidentally chose a level too hard for them but only find out late in the game; they can continue the game without having to start over and select Easy. Because of this, the game can save the difficulty into the save file, so you never have to check the options page to make sure you're still on the right setting. Also, when it asks if you want to switch to Easy, it defaults to "no." This means that if you're stuck at a difficult place and are mashing X to hurry up and try again, you won't accidentally switch to Easy.
The things you unlock for completing the game are cool. You get God mode, Challenge of the Gods, several videos talking about the making of the game, more background on the characters, etc.
The game is rated "M," and rightly so. There is very graphic, brutal violence, and some female nudity. But neither feels gratuitous to me in GoW. This warrants an entire post, as I feel that violence in games is not an simple issue. In the case of GoW, the violence is an integral part of both the character and the story, so it seems well-placed.
Recommended: 5 stars out of 5
Definitely not for children.
Anyway, God of War is every bit as excellent as all the hype would have you believe. David Jaffe was the director for the game. He was also lead designer on Twisted Metal 1, 2, and Black. His talent for producing games in which gameplay comes first is legendary, and God of War is no exception. There are a lot of reviews that will explain how brilliant the graphics are, how great the sound is, and how much fun it is to play. I will instead concentrate on what I think are the little details that set this game apart from most others.
First and foremost, there is the gameplay. The game centers on its combat system; there is some platforming to do, but that part feels like a means to get from one combat area to the next. A good combat engine of this type must engage the player's brain to be interesting. If the player can just mash the attack button endlessly without thinking, it gets boring very quickly. GoW's combat is in the tradition of Streets of Rage II (All praise be to its name) from the Genesis. It has a simple combo system, whereby continually hitting square results in a string of different attacks. You can switch to triangle during a square sequence for a big hit. The brain engagement comes between the hits. While each move is being executed, the player needs to evaluate the enemies' new positions to determine if the next move in the combo should be done. The player can change the direction of the next attack, add in a heavy strike, or continue with the normal combo, or combinations of these. Normal mode requires less of this than Hard mode, which brings me to the next point.
This game has properly implemented difficulty settings. Normal mode was designed for the average gamer to play and enjoy, without running into frustrating points. This gives it mass appeal. I want more challenge from a game, so I chose Hard. It was often very punishing, but that was what I wanted. Once I finished Hard and tried God mode, I got what I expected. I tried about 10 times to complete the first battle, and failed. Part of that was because I was being greedy so I could get as many red orbs as possible. :)
GoW has an excellent story, and good characterizations. I can't say much without giving away important plot elements. Kratos' character develops through the cut-scenes, and is present in every move he does in combat. Very few video games have had characters whose stories I cared about. From the first few moments after starting the game for the first time, I wondered how Kratos' story would end.
There is no harvesting. In Devil May Cry, you could kill the same monsters over and over and over, and keep getting more red orbs for it. So anytime I got stuck in DMC, I had this nagging feeling that if I had spent more time being bored at the previous fight, I would have more orbs and more power, and might be able to get past the problem area. GoW only has one place that has infinitely spawning enemies, and they eventually stop giving you red orbs if you kill enough of them. There are many hidden chests with extra orbs, so you can get more for exploring. You can also decide whether to kill enemies in ways that get you more orbs. For example, there is an enemy type that you can kill with the minigame and get health from them. If you kill them normally, you get more red orbs. So squeezing more orbs out of the game is a matter of PLAYING the game the way it was meant to be played, not abusing it.
The Interface works well. This is a small point, but an important one that reduces frustration. If you fail a spot too many times, the game asks if you want to switch to Easy mode. This is a nice option for players who accidentally chose a level too hard for them but only find out late in the game; they can continue the game without having to start over and select Easy. Because of this, the game can save the difficulty into the save file, so you never have to check the options page to make sure you're still on the right setting. Also, when it asks if you want to switch to Easy, it defaults to "no." This means that if you're stuck at a difficult place and are mashing X to hurry up and try again, you won't accidentally switch to Easy.
The things you unlock for completing the game are cool. You get God mode, Challenge of the Gods, several videos talking about the making of the game, more background on the characters, etc.
The game is rated "M," and rightly so. There is very graphic, brutal violence, and some female nudity. But neither feels gratuitous to me in GoW. This warrants an entire post, as I feel that violence in games is not an simple issue. In the case of GoW, the violence is an integral part of both the character and the story, so it seems well-placed.
Recommended: 5 stars out of 5
Definitely not for children.
posted by Almo at 4:05 PM
3 Comments:
Can you change from easy BACK to normal or hard?
I don't really know... but given the interface, I doubt it.
Yeah, that is really lame. I took the option and accepted putting it on easy to get through this really difficult multi-enemy section, but now I want to put it back up to normal or hard and I can not. I am stuck on easy mode! It is so easy it is boring! I have to start the whole game over or else be unchallenged the rest of the way.
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