I kind of found myself doubting whether or not I should write this preview. I mean, really…who out there hasn't played a God of War game? Chances are, you at least the played a demo of any three of the games (I'm including the PSP one). But, hey, the realistic side of me said, 'there are 140 million PlayStation 2 owners, and only 7 million of them played it. So clearly, 133 million didn't". Then, of course, you have the Xbox owners, the GameCube owners, and the PC gamers who didn't own a PS2, and own a PS3 now. So if you're looking at getting the remastered God of War Collection for your PS3 in preparation for GOWIII, and you've never played the games before, this preview is for you.
So the basic story is simple: you are Kratos, an apprentice to the God of War by the name of Ares. In exchange for a victory against a barbaric tribe, Kratos gives up his soul to the God, only to be betrayed by him later on. I won't say exactly how Ares tricked and betrayed Kratos, but the plot twist is quite a nice one. Regardless, the betrayal sends Kratos into a fit of rage. Kratos would go on to serve a number of other Gods, all of which bestow tasks of gruesome brutality on Kratos, until he could take it no more and calls upon Athena for help. He asks her to rid his conscious of the wretched memories he has to live with. But it is Athena who has a favor to ask of Kratos, and that is stop Ares' destructive path in Athens and kill him.
Gameplay is as fast-paced and action packed as you could possibly hope for. It is without a doubt the smoothest playing action series out there, yes, even besting Devil May Cry. Everything flows seamlessly from one attack to the next. Kratos' list of attacks is not only expansive but extremely brutal, as God of War is known for its gory and violent nature, capturing the absolute chaos and ruthlessness depicted within Greek mythology. Kratos can string hits of attacks simultaneously, with 100 hit combos made possible thanks to the amazing game mechanics.
Wielding a pair of chain blades permanently affixed to his forearms, Kratos is well equipped for any situation, and with solid upgrade features, even dealing with tougher enemies is a breeze for this Spartan. But it is the boss fights in the God of War games that many call absolutely epic, and you simply have to see them for yourself and marvel at the kind of events many of us saw unfolding on our wimpy little PlayStation 2's. If there was one series that was the pre-cursor to the epic games we have this generation, God of War is it – it really did pave the way for the genre.
In this compilation, you get both God of War I and God of War II. I'll leave the story of God of War II for you to experience, so as to not spoil what occurs at the end of the first game. But I will say that the sequel did expand and even improve on nearly all of the aspects that made the first game so great. And now with the collection arriving on the PlayStation 3, these ports come packing an all new game resolution of 720p. And it isn't just an upscaled resolution, either, as Sony calls it a "remastered" visual experience. On top of that, the games will be fully anti-aliased, and retain their signature 60 frames per second benchmark. Lastly, to further bring these games up to speed, Bluepoint Games, the developer responsible for this port, is implementing fully trophy support for both games, which should make many happy.
God of War Collection is scheduled to hit November 10th, and will come complete with a downloadable demo of God of War III! We've yet to see any screenshots of the games in action on the PS3, but we have faith they'll look good.
I'm a ps2 owner who never played god of war because i wasnt aloud to have games rated m….
you missed out on some of the finest gamins ever
I liked the preview Arnold having played both God OF Wars 1 and 2 but I want this in my collection, gonna be a purchase on Ebay as it is for USA peeps only still I think.
i think i heard somewhere that itll go to the EU a little later, but still before the third game comes out
dont quote me on that though
I never played either of them. But, from all of the talk up they have been getting and after seeing everything I have seen about the third one I really want to pick this up. Though I really want to pick up Uncharted 2 as well. So man good games so little monies.
blasphemy. you have to play these games.
36.99 at Amazon. It's not expensive and they are absolute MUST plays. You'll be able to get this and UC2 on the same dime.
RENT
I have only played the psp one and loved it so this is on my must get list.
Uh…sorry to be off topic but the 250GB PS3 slim has been announced. (PS blog)
Great review Arnold, my favorite games of all time, Day 1 purchase for me,, keep up the awesome work!
I played Olympus on my Red Kratos limited psp bundle. It was really awesome, def gonna buy this.
No screens? Does anyone know where I can find any?
Sony hasn't released any yet, which totally sucks.
I have the originals but still gonna pick this up!!!!!
Well yes as her predicted i played the dmeo for chians of olympus and it was kickass man i haven't played the first one and the second i;m looking forward to this undle becasue i could be the next big fan that will get # 3
So did you get a chance to get your hands on the collection?
Godsman: No, haven't played the Collection.
And wow, I'm quite surprised how many have never played the games before.
i cant wait to play this as soon as i fix or replace that ylod sitting in my basement…. =[
I just pre-ordered this from Amazon for $31.99. They gave a $5.00 discount for pre-ordering Uncharted 2. That's a great price for 2 video games and a demo.
Hah! I just did the exact same thing you did
I wonder how good the graphics are actually going to be. GOW3 – standards? Below? Then how far below? It's definitely not everything in these games, but I have GOW1 and a 60gb ps3 already, so I'm not sure how worth it it is to buy this collection… Although the GOW3 demo is a big selling point.
It'll look like the PS2 games with slightly sharper visuals. Don't expect anything huge.
Can't wait even though I have a BC console and both games I have this collection on preorder 🙂 Can't wait.
I was not playing games when these came out. I'd been too busy to know what the inside of my house looked like, let alone played any video games. I am looking forward to this collection.
i had both these games and played them however both got massive scratches on the discs and they would always cut out halfway through the game so this i a definite purchase for me…however i think i gotta wait til christmas for it…damn empty wallet
never bought/played them when they came out,even though i owned,(and still do) a ps2,maybe i should give them a try…
Dont forget it also has trophies for both the games in the collection.
I had gowII and sold it, i couldnt get into it.
i might have to get this and play through the first one, then the second.
Yup, sounds like a trophy whores wet dream.
Ohhh yes…
Yummy.
Last edited by Banky A on 10/15/2009 10:50:14 PM
Yeah, not interested anymore. I'd like a DMC redux collection thank you very much.
God of War 4 lyf, Westside whhhhat. LOL kidding.
Kratos will own your soul!
And yeah Arnold, I'm surprised at how many people here haven't played the 1st two games.
so will there be a review? just wondering.
i only played the first installment, because i stopped supporting the the PS2, now that it's getting remastered, it's definitely another reason to play the second installment.
Great job – SONY.. But b..u,,t how come you always read my mind??
cant wait till the collection comes out because ive never played the first.
only played the second one on my 60GB ps3 because a friend convinced me.
than i could not find the first one and eventually gave up.
now i only wished capcom would do the same for devil may cry, i still have not played DMC and its impossible to find and have not played DMC2 in ages.
same for R&C i have not played the first 2 games.
wow come to think of it, my 3 favorite series ive missed out on the first addition.
ive got allot of catching up to do, curse you uncharted 2.
Do you guys have any HD screen caps that you could put up?
I thought they said it will be full 1080p resolution? Either way I will definitely be getting this on day 1…
God of War is one of my all-time favorite gaming series. I own all three and have beaten them, but I still can't wait for the collection to come out and do it all again.
And Kudos to Sony for only selling it at $40. You know they could get away with charging more. Day one purchase for me.
Cant wait 4 this, however its gonna have 2 b Ebay 4 me
i have already preordered it on amazone. just waiting, but i have demon's souls to fill in the void, and it will be good for very very long time