God of War

[Dave Long]

Everyone's gonna have to buy this game. It's just that good. We played through the demo twice at Cathcart's tonight and I could sit down and do it like ten more times right now. Just awesome.

--Dave

[Mike Cathcart]

Yeah the demo is just insane. The animations are fantastic and the combos are just so much fun to pull off. God of War guy is a total badass and he kind of reminds me of a cross between Dante and Mark of Kri guy. Fast combos and cool moves + these totally brutal finishing moves that are as fun to watch as they are to do. When I was playing it I was thinking it's probably the best thing ever but now that I think about it there are two things that worry me.

1. In the preview thing the guy said something about puzzles. There are no puzzles in the demo and I like it that way. The only puzzle I should have to solve is which guy I'm going to tear in half first. I hope the puzzles don't slow it down too much. I can barely tolerate the slow tightrope walking parts.

2. You can pretty much mash buttons and do very well against everything that isn't a boss (and even the boss sometimes). It's actually a lot of fun regardless but this is just a short demo, it won't take much longer to get bored if the difficulty doesn't ramp up.

So who knows maybe the full game will be like the super action game of all time or maybe the demo was all of the good stuff. Either way the demo is extremely fun. Action fans need to check it out.

PS The music is really damn good.

[Thierry Nguyen]

There are a fair amount of puzzles later on. Some of them (sacrificing a dude) are really good, some are tedious (frequently pulling levers and pushing/pulling boxes). But the action is still pretty sweet.

There's also a "have a threesome" minigame early on (soon after the demo area), complete with a blood orb bonus.

(I'm not on the review, SCEA sent us two copies and I've played a fair bit of the other copy).

[Dave Long]

The mouth of the Hydra thing just never gets old, nor does ripping guys in two.

--Dave

[Gary Whitta]

When is this coming out?

[Mike Cathcart]

3/22

[Mike Cathcart]

Man, Devil May Cry 3 and God of War are both out in March. Can one month possibly contain this much action? And aren't these guys supposed to slow down in the first half of the year? I'm still playing last winter's games.

[Sockpuppet]

I'll admit that I was never a DMC fan... but even acknowledging my own bias, I can't imagine what DMC3 promises that could possibly top what I've seen in the GoW previews.

The manager at the local EB has been taunting me with assurances that there is a demo around "somewhere", but launch day can't come quickly enough for me!

[Ergo]

From the reiviews, DMC3 sounds like it's insanely difficult, so I'll pass. I'm hoping that God of War is not so unforgiving.

[Naked]

From the reiviews, DMC3 sounds like it's insanely difficult, so I'll pass. I'm hoping that God of War is not so unforgiving.
God of War seems to be just difficult enough - not quite Ninja Gaiden, but way above Devil May Cry 2, which a limbless monkey could have beaten on first try.

General Comments -- based on my limited play experience, I can safely say that God of War is just brimming with potential - it has by far the most intiuitive, flexible third-person combat control I've experienced (and I've beaten Ninja Gaiden twice...twice I tells ya!). It just feels painless, letting you focus on your timing and your combos, instead of what button does what and when.

Also, it's good to see that David Jaffe has been up to something worthwhile since Twisted Metal: Black shipped.

[extarbags]

So I guess this is out today, and I guess it's getting pretty good (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/919864.asp) reviews. Should I get this?

[VegasRobb]

Hm ... any chance of a PC port?

[TomChick]

Should I get this?

Yes.

-Tom

[Dave Long]

Hm ... any chance of a PC port?

Made by a Sony internal studio. Answer = No.

--Dave

[Bill Dungsroman]

Yes.
No.
Everyone: back away, quickly!

[Naked]

My frikkin' EB won't have 'til tomorrow because of...inclement weather. No, seriously.

Back to Rugby '05 for me then...

[Stroker Ace]

But... they were answering different...

/me backs away

[TomChick]

Nice try, Mr. Bildung! Dave was answering whether there's any chance of a PC port. I was answering whether you should get it.

Dave and I agree that there isn't, and that you should.

-Tom

P.S. And William Harms doesn't care one way or the other.

[Nick Walter]

Nice try, Mr. Bildung! Dave was answering whether there's any chance of a PC port. I was answering whether you should get it.

Dave and I agree that there isn't, and that you should.

-Tom

P.S. And William Harms doesn't care one way or the other.

You left off the FYI

[Funkman]

Wow. I don't even own a PS2 and I think this thread is great. :D

[mutt]

It should be called Wad of Gore.

Seriously, I got more enjoyment out of watching the David Jaffe interview on Gamespot than I can ever imagine getting out of this game. It looks like just another beat-your-chest, schoolboy's fantasy game to me. What am I missing?

[Reed]

It should be called Wad of Gore.

Seriously, I got more enjoyment out of watching the David Jaffe interview on Gamespot than I can ever imagine getting out of this game. It looks like just another beat-your-chest, schoolboy's fantasy game to me. What am I missing?
Apparently a lot. The reviewers are going crazy (http://www.gametab.com/ps2/god.of.war/2681/) over this one. And the demo sparked off a lot of very positive impressions.

Some key points from the reviews;
- no filler crap, no backtracking. everything in the game belongs there, nothing was added just to artificially extend playing time.
- little to no loading!
- epic world (and great graphics), epic soundtrack, epic bosses
- very smooth battle system, seemlessly transition from the middle of a move to blocking, etc.
- damn fine gameplay

As for us mere mortals, we'll get to see for ourselves tomorrow. Tried finding a copy today, but no one got it in yet, all were expecting it for tomorrow.

[Bob Cherub]

It has boobs.

[Malderi]

Holy crap, I'm getting it then.

[Funkman]

See what I mean. This thread is awesome.

[RepoMan]

Arrgh. I really don't want a PS2. (Got XBox and Gamecube already, and PC of course.) But this game actually sounds intriguing!

Oh well, looks like I'll have to skip it, and get back to Halo 2, Pirates, Freedom Force Vs. The Third Reich, Ninja Gaiden, Mercenaries, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, Far Cry, Kohan II, Painkiller, Combat Mission: BB, Spider-Man 2... and maybe Jade Empire and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory soon....

Cheers!
Rob

[Dave Long]

A couple weeks ago when I went to Cathcart's, he wanted me to bring over the demo so he could play it for like the fourth time. The game is well worth anyone's time and is just one more reason you should have a PS2 in addition to a Gamecube, Xbox, PC, GBA...

--Dave

[MattKeil]

It should be called Wad of Gore.

Seriously, I got more enjoyment out of watching the David Jaffe interview on Gamespot than I can ever imagine getting out of this game. It looks like just another beat-your-chest, schoolboy's fantasy game to me. What am I missing?

Your soul.

God of War is hack and slash action gaming at its finest. Possibly Sony's finest first-party effort ever, although it's hard to fully commit to that given my extreme and irrational love for Ico.

[balut]

I'd have to agree with the God of War love here. I really couldn't care less about the game, until I actually played the demo. Just fantastic and visceral. I really don't get tired at all of tearing people in half with my bare hands, or grabbing those harpy things and just ripping their wings off. Or impaling some poor schlub on the end of a wrist blade and then swinging him around on the chain to smack the crap out of everyone else. Or forcing open the closing jaws of the hydra so I can unleash some beautifully bloody combo on it.

So, is there a chance this will get ported to XBox, or will I be forced to pick it up for PS2?

[Reed]

So, is there a chance this will get ported to XBox, or will I be forced to pick it up for PS2?
No chance at all (well, short of Microsoft buying Sony), it's developed by Sony Santa Monica and published by Sony. But, hey, maybe we'll see a PSP port!

[balut]

:(

[Wholly Schmidt]

Crap crap crap. I already sold my PS2 once, I may break down and get one again though...

Is that Mark of Kri sequel still coming out?

[Reed]

Yep, Rise of the Kasai. That's only 2 weeks away itself. April 5th release date.

[Dirt]

Yep, Rise of the Kasai. That's only 2 weeks away itself. April 5th release date.
That's the sequel to Mark of the Kri, isn't it?

[Mike Cathcart]

Yes. And don't forget the Ico sequel Shadow of the Colossus. Plenty of good reasons to own a PS2 this year. If you can wait though there's a good chance they'll drop the price to compete with Xbox 2/360/whatever.

[balut]

Yep, Rise of the Kasai. That's only 2 weeks away itself. April 5th release date.
That's the sequel to Mark of the Kri, isn't it?

Yup, only this time you can also play as Rau's little sis, Tati:

http://ps2media.gamespy.com/ps2/image/article/580/580837/rise-of-the-kasai-20050119104510838.jpg

(obviously, pic courtesy of Gamespy)

[Dirt]

Rawr.

[Angrycoder]

holy shitballs

[Wholly Schmidt]

Yes. And don't forget the Ico sequel Shadow of the Colossus. Plenty of good reasons to own a PS2 this year. If you can wait though there's a good chance they'll drop the price to compete with Xbox 2/360/whatever.
Stop! I don't have the money right now! I had forgotten the sequel to Ico, which is weird, since Ico was one of the only three games I ever owned for my PS2 the first time around (the others being Rez and VF4).

Can you get used PS2s cheap at EB/Gamestop places, and is it worth the gamble of bad hardware? Can you get the original style PS2s anywhere new but reduced in price since the smaller ones came out? Can one of you send me some money?

[Thrrrpptt!]

Yup, only this time you can also play as Rau's little sis, Tati
I think you got the "a" and "i" keys mixed up there. ;)

Where can one find the demo for God of War? In a magazine, I assume?

[Reed]

Where can one find the demo for God of War? In a magazine, I assume?
Not yet at least. It was only sent out to Playstation Underground members.

[BDGE]

Supposedly, Rise of Kasai features online co-op...

Dunno if it has been scrapped though, but early previews reported it.

[Dirt]

Is Mark of Kri worth playing? It's worth getting at $9.99, but with all the games to be played (I haven't even gotten to the 2nd Ratchet and Clank game), do I want to invest time into it?

[Wholly Schmidt]

Is Mark of Kri worth playing? It's worth getting at $9.99, but with all the games to be played (I haven't even gotten to the 2nd Ratchet and Clank game), do I want to invest time into it?
Yes. I only rented it, but it would've been next on my list to buy for my PS2 if textbooks hadn't been more important that semester.

[balut]

I had a blast playing Mark of Kri - it's like playing as Conan the Barbarian as drawn by Disney. There's stealth, and using your hawk to scout for you, and archery, but the dripping, succulent meat of the game is fighting entire groups of badguys with a bigass sword, or axe, or what-have-you, and just cleaving and hacking and sending badguys flying to their deaths. Oh, and the one-shot stealth kills are just fantastic - varied and brutal.

Rise of the Kasai seems to be more of the goodness, only wrapped up in hot Polynesian chick shell.

[Doug Erickson]

God of War is fuckin' staggering. The level design, camera, animation and OMG GORE GORE GORE KILL KILL KILL is to freakin' die for -- and I mean that in both the literal sense and the ad-copy entendre sense.

That game much like Ninja Gaiden just FEELS RIGHT (hard-hitting strikes, tiny cinematic flourishes during kills), and the art direction is amazing. It's Rygar without the suck. It's DMC without the shitty camera and the pretty-boy Goth chic.

[TomChick]

Now that you people are actually playing God of War, if anyone figures out what the two Muse Keys do, let me know.

-Tom

[Jack Black]

In a word.

Awesome.

This is what this genre of games *needs* to be. Anything less can truly ruin your taste for this type of action.

[VegasRobb]

Is Mark of Kri worth playing? It's worth getting at $9.99, but with all the games to be played (I haven't even gotten to the 2nd Ratchet and Clank game), do I want to invest time into it?

Where'd you see it for $9.99?

[Angrycoder]

I didn't play the demo. I read all the rave reviews from the major sites and still didn't think it would be as good as they all claimed.

After just finishing up the first boss encounter, I am in awe. It feels like I am discovering video games for the first time, despite the fact that I've been playing them for 25+ years.

This is the best game I have ever played.

[MattKeil]

Supposedly, Rise of Kasai features online co-op...

Dunno if it has been scrapped though, but early previews reported it.

The co-op was scrapped some time ago, unfortunately.

But who cares? I just ripped a guy's arm off and beat him to death with it. :D

[Mike Cathcart]

I saw a poster for God of War at the mall and it cured my eye cancer.

[quatoria]

I saw a poster for God of War at the mall and it cured my eye cancer.

Seriously, he's not kidding! After reading this, I took the god of war disc and shoved it up my ass, and it cured my... hmm, perhaps I'm sharing too much.

[Wholly Schmidt]

Is Mark of Kri worth playing? It's worth getting at $9.99, but with all the games to be played (I haven't even gotten to the 2nd Ratchet and Clank game), do I want to invest time into it?

Where'd you see it for $9.99?
Dunno where he saw it, but I saw it for $9.99 at a local game store, so I snatched it up just this afternoon. Naturally, I saw it for $5.99 in a bargain bin at EB games later this afternoon, no kidding. And I saw "Here's just the disc" version for $9.99 at my local Gamestop. This is all Columbia, SC, so I have no idea what availability is like in the rest of the world, but I'd think you should be able to find it somewhere.

[Thrrrpptt!]

I picked it up for like $7 at a Toys R Us sale a while back. It's available starting at $6.39 used at Amazon Marketplace:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/B000066JRQ/all/ref=dp_pb_a/103-2260741-8987855

[Thierry Nguyen]

Now that you people are actually playing God of War, if anyone figures out what the two Muse Keys do, let me know.

-Tom

It's been a while, but I believe they're for a big door that is in a hallway next to where you meet Artemis when you turn the big wheel thingy around. Again, I'm not exactly sure where, but one of those hallways should just have insets for the two Muse keys.

[TomChick]

a big door that is in a hallway next to where you meet Artemis when you turn the big wheel thingy around.

Dude, since I have no idea which one of the big breasted chicks was supposed to be Artemis, that narrows it down to about every other room in the game. Remind me never to ask you for directions if I ever get lost. :)

So, what's behind the door unlocked by the Muse Keys? I found both of them, but my last save doesn't let me get back into the game world.

-Tom

[Thierry Nguyen]

a big door that is in a hallway next to where you meet Artemis when you turn the big wheel thingy around.

Dude, since I have no idea which one of the big breasted chicks was supposed to be Artemis, that narrows it down to about every other room in the game. Remind me never to ask you for directions if I ever get lost. :)

So, what's behind the door unlocked by the Muse Keys? I found both of them, but my last save doesn't let me get back into the game world.

-Tom

Ha, I was trying to be spoiler-free! To be more specific, it should be a hallway near the room where you get your second sword..

Anyhow, I'm pretty sure that door simply moves you forward, it unlocks another area (Challenge of Poseidon? Hades? Seriously, I did this like, three weeks ago!), it's not an optional secret or anything.

[VegasRobb]

Is Mark of Kri worth playing? It's worth getting at $9.99, but with all the games to be played (I haven't even gotten to the 2nd Ratchet and Clank game), do I want to invest time into it?

Where'd you see it for $9.99?
Dunno where he saw it, but I saw it for $9.99 at a local game store, so I snatched it up just this afternoon. Naturally, I saw it for $5.99 in a bargain bin at EB games later this afternoon, no kidding. And I saw "Here's just the disc" version for $9.99 at my local Gamestop. This is all Columbia, SC, so I have no idea what availability is like in the rest of the world, but I'd think you should be able to find it somewhere.

Had to call 4 EBs, 7 Gamestops, 2 Blockbusters and Toys R Us before I found a used copy across town. $5.99 so I can't complain.

Looking forward to checking it out. I might rent God of War while I'm out.

[balut]

Dude. Play Mark of Kri first. God of War will ruin it if you play them in reverse order, despite how good Mark of Kri is.

[TomChick]

As much as I loved Mark of Kri back in the day, I don't think it holds up very well. The art style is still awesome, but stealth, swordplay, and graphics have come a long way since Mark of Kri.

-Tom

[Kitsune]

Not that I'll get to play it any time soon, or that I don't have enough good stuff to play, but one thing that's concerned me somewhat about this game is how is the portrayal of the main character? He looks like one of those nu rock guys with the goatee and the sneer and the body paintin' and the bald head and banging nekkid chicks on a bed and that's, well, its a real turn-off. I really can't stand playing games like Warrior Within, FFX-2 and Brotherhood of Steel that slum it up like that. Is it even all that noticable, is there a way you can completely nix the orgy mini-games? Does Kratos just for all intents and purposes act like Zangief in a loincloth?

-Kitsune

[Marcin]

Had to call 4 EBs, 7 Gamestops, 2 Blockbusters and Toys R Us before I found a used copy across town. $5.99 so I can't complain.

Looking forward to checking it out. I might rent God of War while I'm out.

I'd be interested to know how Mark of Kri holds up and whether I should spend the hefty sum of 6 bucks on it or not (really it's more about the time...). :D

[Dave Long]

Eh... I don't agree with Tom on that one. I just played through Mark of Kri recently and while there's certainly a lot of games that have done more with stealth/swordplay since, I think Kri stands up just fine. The setting and the graphic design is still brilliant. I also think the combat really holds up well because it can be very strategic.

Anyway, God of War is a different kind of game. It's all about the action. Kri is more of an adventure game with a strong combat system. A lot of the time you're thinking about how to avoid combat in Kri.

Get CGM next month for more on Kri.

--Dave

[Wholly Schmidt]

Do you know how awesome God of War is? I know how awesome it is and I haven't even played it yet, because it's so awesome that there's art printed on the inside of the cover sheet in the case.

[MattKeil]

Not that I'll get to play it any time soon, or that I don't have enough good stuff to play, but one thing that's concerned me somewhat about this game is how is the portrayal of the main character? He looks like one of those nu rock guys with the goatee and the sneer and the body paintin' and the bald head and banging nekkid chicks on a bed and that's, well, its a real turn-off. I really can't stand playing games like Warrior Within, FFX-2 and Brotherhood of Steel that slum it up like that. Is it even all that noticable, is there a way you can completely nix the orgy mini-games? Does Kratos just for all intents and purposes act like Zangief in a loincloth?

-Kitsune

Zangief always struck me as distinctly character-free, so I don't really know how he compares to Kratos. Kratos is a murderous, angry guy who got screwed over ten years ago somehow (what happened is a reveal late in the game), and runs around doing errands for gods in an effort to atone for his monstrous actions during the rest of his life. The orgy minigame is entirely optional, and in fact I missed it the first time through the game (didn't realize you had to actually jump on the bed). There's no "nu rock hip" angle to him, and he has no modern tilt to his behavior or speech. He's just an ass-kicking Spartan with some weird physical markings that tie into some kind of prophecy or whatever about the gods' chosen one.

He doesn't whine FF-style, and he doesn't really angst PoP:WW style, he just bitches at the gods once in a while. Otherwise, if you come at him he'll rip your arm off and beat you to death with it, because he's a badass godkilling motherfucker. In fact, Kratos is such a badass godkilling motherfucker, he's tired of being a badass godkilling motherfucker, and mostly just wants to rest. Unfortunately for him, I think he just became a franchise.

[Gunmetal]

I had to stop playing at 1:30am. My yelling "you cheap motherfuckers!!" at the Gorgons was keeping people awake

[Wholly Schmidt]

Wow. I doubt it was exactly intentional, but I like how the first level just pisses all over the first level of PoP:WW from a great height. I like to think Kratos had just zipped up before the game began with the scene on the mountain top.

And hey, who knew my Jet Set Radio tagging skills would pay off in the sack?

[EFlannum]

Just got through playing the first sequence... and I have to say it's an awesome game! The pacing of the game so far reminds me very fondly of COntr III: Alien Wars for the snes. The way they constantly keep changing up the action on you is fantastic.

[Doug Erickson]

Yeah, that first level is like Jaffe and Crew wanted to send a message to the PoP:WW team: here's how you make a fuckin' opening level on a ship.

Kitsune: Kratos doesn't have the Godsmack thang goin' on, but if you don't like Western-style gratuitous brooding machismo, Kratos won't win your fancy, either. On the other hand, he can rip dudes in half with his bare hands, and the game's take on Greek mythology is actually quite earnest rather than ostentatiously gothic. It's just a wonderfully brutal game with a great combo system and better level design than every DMC game combined.

[extarbags]

Please, Kratos makes Dante look like Don Knots. In the first level of Devil May Cry, Dante uses guns to shoot across the room at puppets. In the first level of God of War, Kratos rips undead pirates in half with his bare hands, then impales a humongous hydra on the crow's nest of their ship, then fucks two hot chicks. At the same time. Advantage: Kratos.

Seriously, it's just so awesome. The character is awesome, the level design is awesome, the enemies are awesome, the storyline is intriguing, and the contextual moves are just brilliant. And the opening cutscene is I think my favorite opening cutscene ever.

And Kitsune: the threesome at the end of the first level is actually implied in a cutscene, and you have the option to do it again (and again and again) afterwards if you want, but you don't have to. But it only takes a few seconds anyway... Kratos is strong, but he doesn't have that much endurance, if you know what I mean. But no, it's not one of those Warrior Within-style baditude games.

[Naked]

Yeah, I'd concur with Mr. Keil. Kratos is obviously in the "tortured badass" mold, but he's presented in a far more interesting manner than, say, the broodin' lameass that took over in POP: Warrior Within. Kartos is both terrifying and rather tragic, in the classical Greek mold, which in and of itself raises the character way above the usual. It also helps that the story is told in a relatively interesting manner - rather than the usual "big cutscene that sets everything up" there's a slow drip of information, just enough to keep you going, with very little in the way of straight exposition (despite the use of the narrator) - I don't think I'll truly understand why the man is so screwed up until I beat the whole damn thing.

I'm only a short way in, but I'm already really interested to see how the whole thing plays out - oh, and rip wings off more of those goddamn harpies.

On a side note, it's nice to see an action anti-hero who speaks so little. Not a single snazzy tagline or "dude, let's rock" to be seen, just some gruntin', some killin' and the occasional howl of immense mental anguish.

[Kevin McGuire]

Eh... I don't agree with Tom on that one. I just played through Mark of Kri recently and while there's certainly a lot of games that have done more with stealth/swordplay since, I think Kri stands up just fine.

Ok, guys, there are lots of games that have better stealth and swordplay than Mark of Kri? What have I been missing???? Are we talking Devil May Cry? Hold on, no stealth. Are we talking Ninja Gaiden? Tenchu: Wrath of Something? Or did you mean stealth OR swordplay?

[TomChick]

My point, which got compressed a bit in Dave's quote, is that the combat, stealth, and graphics in Mark of Kri don't hold up well as individual components.

Consider how fluid and visceral combat has become in games like Prince of Persia, God of War, and even Devil May Cry. Mark of Kri uses a rigid lock-on system and a limited set of combos. The stealth situations in Mark of Kri are thinly disguised puzzles. And the graphics are coarse (although the artwork is inventive and the animation is really lively).

I loved the game, and I still do, but I've also played it recently and didn't think it held up very well.

-Tom

[Reed]

It's true, they pretty well nailed it w/ God of War. Ubisoft, take notes. This is how you make a dark game without being lame about it.

Although I think that reviewers have probably been a bit over zealous, the game is definitely exceptionally good. Now this is epic action.

You know it's good when it makes you feel like all other great action games will be downright lethargic now. I mean, are you kidding, right off the bat (well, the 2nd battle) you're fighting this monster that would typically be a boss in other games. And you don't just stab them with your sword or poke them with a staff. Hell no, that's not the Kratos way. You pick that mofo on up and tear him in two.

[extarbags]

So is the whole game Athens, or what?

[Jaysun]

I just got to the part where I head out to the desert to find Pandora's Box so I don't think it's all in Athens.

[extarbags]

Me too!

[Reed]

Heh, that's exactly where I left off last night too. Just after the cutscene showing a wandering creature carrying a little something on his back... oh, wait, it was a freakin' castle.

[TomChick]

For what it's worth, the actual locations in God of War don't matter so much as what the developers do with them. Although about half of the game takes place in Athens and half in Pandora's temple, you never feel like there are *only* two locations.

-Tom

[extarbags]

So how long is this game? I was just told that as of finishing Athens, I'm a third of the way through... is that right?

[mouselock]

This game is utterly fantastic.

I'm curious about the difficulty (on normal level), though. Do people find it easy? I don't play this type of game a lot, and DMC (the original) beat the crap out of me until I just quit (fairly early on, too), but I've found this one pretty easy. I'm not that far into it.. (still trying to get into the Oracle temple) so maybe I'm still just playing the easy parts, but I really like the fact that each enemy has a method of attack that seems to work well. For instance, someone mentioned screaming about the gorgons earlier, but I find that the trick is to launch them and just beat them down from the air.

I really love some of the subtle touches like being able to just power through some of the tougher enemies (minotaur, gorgons) but losing the regenerative bonuses they would otherwise give if you do so. I find myself killing all but one in a multiple clump, then killing that one the brutal way so that I can extract the magic/health from them.

[extarbags]

For instance, someone mentioned screaming about the gorgons earlier, but I find that the trick is to launch them and just beat them down from the air.


Just be careful with that... if they manage to turn you to stone while you're in the air, you're dead.

I think Normal difficulty is just right. I can get through most of the sections in one or two tries, but the enemies aren't pushovers either.

[Wholly Schmidt]

I'd say the normal here is easier than the normal on Ninja Gaiden, has anyone tried the harder GoW difficulty levels to see how they stack up? Sorry to try to shoehorn it into comparison with Ninja Gaiden.

[drakanripper]

For Gorgon's so far, I have basically used hit and run tactics (which entails no more than an 11 hit combo and then: evade-evade-evade-jump-jump rinse repeat until stone vision gone).. but I find that I always want to do the finishers as I really like mana for the poseidan magic - for bigger combos on everything else.

Im really impressed with the learning curve - for me, on normal difficulty there is has been a real feeling that I am getting better at the game. At first it was a crap shoot with beheading the gorgon's. It would take me about 3-4 attempts to circle the analog correctly... now it is natural. Similarly for the, umm cave trolls, the variation simon says of circle, square, triangle, X, triangle etc... really had me for a while... now it is second nature.

One similarity to Gaiden - and actually an improvement I think - is the move out of the block.. I do the L1-X lift move a lot when surronded by gimps. In Gaiden it always frustrated me to have to let go of block to start into something..

Anyway - to mirror the sentiment of others in this topic and most reviews to this point - this is a great game - you owe it to yourself to give it a whirl.

[Jeff Fiske]

The only playstation titles I have ever owned have been the GT series. In general I don't go for this type of game.

This game seems so different to me as put simply it just does everything 'right', particularly the interface. At one point I caught myself laughing and shaking my head and I realized that I had not felt this way about a game since the first Half-Life.

Hopefully this means GoW will not take 7 years to make a sequel that makes me nauseous and bored.

(Disclaimer- I am a PC guy so it is probable that I might have missed a gem- but I disliked Xbox MGS2, EA's 1st LOTR, and Splinter Cell- I sucked at all of them and did not care to suffer any more.)

[Naked]

I'd say the normal here is easier than the normal on Ninja Gaiden, has anyone tried the harder GoW difficulty levels to see how they stack up? Sorry to try to shoehorn it into comparison with Ninja Gaiden.
Not first hand, but according to folks I've talked too, God Mode is pretty damn hard, e.g. The Hydra on the first level can kill you with 2-3 bites, so if you're planning to get ALL of the unlockables, it's time to brush up on the ol' evading.

Yep, and I agree, Normal is juuust right.

As an aside, prior to GoW, it's been forever since I've played a game with so many "how the hell am I going to deal with THAT thing....oh wait, I'm insanely badass, bring it on!" type moments. It is immensely satisfying to take down something ten times my size due to my character's sheer badassity, as opposed to Devil May Cry 3, where Dante spends most of the cutscenes at the center of a maelstrom of bloody death, but then crumples like a Geo Metro as soon as the control ends back in my hands - not that DMC3 is a bad game in any way, but rather that the protagonist's abilityh to both take and dish out punishment is wildly inconsistent between gameplay and cut-scene.

[Reed]

I'd say the normal here is easier than the normal on Ninja Gaiden
Man, to say the least. Ninja Gaiden was brutally difficult.

[Ergo]

I'm loving this game. One problem I did encounter was the inability to defeat the boss Hydra. I kept pounding the O button as fast as I could, but it wasn't fast enough. I finally realized that my old Logitech wireless pad probably can't send out the signals fast enough, and I'm going to need to get a new one (or use a wired controller).

Or maybe it's because I'm a pathetic old man with the reflexes of a drunken sloth.

[Naked]

Man, to say the least. Ninja Gaiden was brutally difficult
Oddly enough, I didn't find NG to be that hard - it was certainly challenging, but once you realized that it was as important to play defence as offence (and got used to the hit and miss camera) it was certainly managable. I'm no gaming ninja, as my pissweak performance in DMC3 will attest, but I beat NG twice on normal. Hard mode, on the other hand, is another story - that stopped being fun and become, well, work.

[extarbags]

What exactly are all these unlockables I keep hearing about?

[Naked]

From what I can tell, mainly additional "behind the scenes" stuff (commentary, cut-level videos etc.), some challenge games (think Onimusha), some extra costumes and a bunch of movie stuff that flesh out the backstory.

[Jaysun]

The manual has a list of everything each difficulty level unlocks in the back of it.

[Jack Black]

I'm playing on "Hard" / Spartan.

In the beginning I was getting routinely owned when I found a new monster type. (The End Hydra took me like 4 tries, and I hadn't played the demo before, actually the Sex game took me like 6-7 tries because I kept messing up the analog roll trying to be too fast)

But one of the great things about the game is if you get some badass combos or lay down some magic on most of the monsters and get you some health to keep plugging away.

I'm almost done with Pandora's Temple and on Spartan For the most part my heart is thumping as I run around (very low health). (PLAY this game on a Big Screen with Surround Sound, it's awesome)

I have found the most important aspect of playing on this level is the evasion. Kratos is hella quick and can instantly switch from laying down a punishing barrage of death and mayhem and roll his ass out to safety.

[mouselock]

Okay, Zen, given how much of an issue I had with the Siren fight on normal, how the hell did you manage it on hard?

(I found all of the siren stuff bordering on cheap. I can't block, the lightning attacks are incredibly quick and almost impossible to dodge unless they're throwing the slow, seeking ones, and the stuff out in the desert was just incredibly annoying due to visibility.)

[extarbags]

Okay, Zen, given how much of an issue I had with the Siren fight on normal, how the hell did you manage it on hard?

(I found all of the siren stuff bordering on cheap. I can't block, the lightning attacks are incredibly quick and almost impossible to dodge unless they're throwing the slow, seeking ones, and the stuff out in the desert was just incredibly annoying due to visibility.)

How did you manage it on normal, by the way? I'm stuck there now.

[TomChick]

If you guys think those sirens are annoying, just wait until you get out of the sandstorm.

Here's a tip: have a Rage of the Gods handy.

-Tom

[extarbags]

Yeah, that's where I'm stuck, but I used my Rage of the Gods on the last one in the sandstorm so as not to take chances... because I didn't know what was coming :/.

[mouselock]

If you guys think those sirens are annoying, just wait until you get out of the sandstorm.

Here's a tip: have a Rage of the Gods handy.

-Tom

I was including that fight too. That's the one that really tried my patience.


How did you manage it on normal, by the way? I'm stuck there now.


There's not much to beating the one single siren you run across. I don't know if it's location specific, or fight specific (i.e. the first one you find is *always* alone). With the ones that come with minotaurs, IMO the secret is to just separate the siren out of the pack and beat the hell out of her first. After that you can deal with the minos like normal to get some health back. (2 Minos don't give me issues, 2 minos plus the siren did, primarily because to dodge mino attacks you need to be slow and dart in and out, and I'd get nailed by the siren while doing so which sucked.)

If you're talking about the fight Tom is (at the second horn), in addition to his (very sound) advice, I'll also point out that doing the brutal kills is essential since those kills seem to bleed health at about an 80% rate, and normal ones don't. Mainly dodge the long volleys, and try to focus on one enough to get the brutal kill to open up. You can as always tag the additional ones if they're in range to mess up their attacks, but don't spread lots of attacks around too much if possible. It's easier to survive 2 than 3, so getting one down (even if it's only temporary) can be useful. And use magic to the utmost effect (i.e. try to get all three of them with it, it helps a lot).

I also thought the cave trolls (or whatever the big, jawbone wielding thugs are) in the sewers were cheap with all the stuff down there. But I figure that's just me because I don't really have an effective attack method from them. (I can't figure out how to effectively block, dodge, or get much of a hit in on them, so I tend to dodge in and out. Except in the sewers you can't really dodge due to the space and the fact that there's 14 other things behind you trying to kill you.

Still, though, only the sirens felt somewhat cheap. The other stuff was difficult, but fair. It did ramp up rather quickly, IMO, though.

[mouselock]

Yeah, that's where I'm stuck, but I used my Rage of the Gods on the last one in the sandstorm so as not to take chances... because I didn't know what was coming :/.

Dude, there are two chests on the way to the fight platform that you're having to walk by every time you go to try again, no? You do know if you sit there a moment the chests flip from health to magic, yeah?

[extarbags]

Yeah, that's where I'm stuck, but I used my Rage of the Gods on the last one in the sandstorm so as not to take chances... because I didn't know what was coming :/.

Dude, there are two chests on the way to the fight platform that you're having to walk by every time you go to try again, no? You do know if you sit there a moment the chests flip from health to magic, yeah?

Yeah, but it never flips to "Rage of the Gods meter."

[mouselock]

Yeah, that's where I'm stuck, but I used my Rage of the Gods on the last one in the sandstorm so as not to take chances... because I didn't know what was coming :/.

Dude, there are two chests on the way to the fight platform that you're having to walk by every time you go to try again, no? You do know if you sit there a moment the chests flip from health to magic, yeah?

Yeah, but it never flips to "Rage of the Gods meter."

Ah, nevermind, was thinking the wrong thing. I beat the sirens without Rage of the Gods, for the exact same reason you don't have it. Maximize your Wrath of Poseidon (Rage of Gods, Wrath of Poseidon, you see my issue.. ;) ) usage, dodge the long volleys, and, erm.. try a few times, it's doable.

[extarbags]

Yeah, that's where I'm stuck, but I used my Rage of the Gods on the last one in the sandstorm so as not to take chances... because I didn't know what was coming :/.

Dude, there are two chests on the way to the fight platform that you're having to walk by every time you go to try again, no? You do know if you sit there a moment the chests flip from health to magic, yeah?

Yeah, but it never flips to "Rage of the Gods meter."

Ah, nevermind, was thinking the wrong thing. I beat the sirens without Rage of the Gods, for the exact same reason you don't have it. Maximize your Wrath of Poseidon (Rage of Gods, Wrath of Poseidon, you see my issue.. ;) ) usage, dodge the long volleys, and, erm.. try a few times, it's doable.

Maybe I'll grind out enough red orbs to upgrade it before I fight them!

Not likely.

[forgeforsaken]

Playing on Spartan and I just got to the first part that really ticked me off. In Pandora's Temple, the part where you get the two shields. There's just so many tough fights in a row there and no save point. Yeah there are checkpoints, but I swear it took me 2 hours to get to the next save, and I just wanted to quit and call it a night.

What are peopls thoughts on the Artemis sword v. the dual chain blades?

[extarbags]

It is pretty weird that they let you start over at the beginning of the room you're in as many times as you want, as long as you don't turn off your playstation in the meantime. It's like the opposite of Dragon Quarter.

[RedTide]

Well I've seen some difficulty comparisons to Ninja Gaiden, but I never played that so it doesn't help me too much. Could someone say how hard it is compared to Normal or Easy mode in DMC3? Thanks.

[Wholly Schmidt]

You guys are making me feel way cooler than I probably am; I just got through the sandstorm and the siren fight afterwards with zero trouble. I opted for the Wrath of Poseidon once or twice on the big siren fight, and that would almost always take them straight to the point where I could grab them. For the one accompanied by minotaurs in the sandstorm, for a couple moments I just concentrated on wailing on the siren (ha!) and she sort of ran off, leaving me to deal with the minotaurs alone and then the siren after I killed them. That was probably just dumb luck, but it worked.

[Reed]

For the one accompanied by minotaurs in the sandstorm, for a couple moments I just concentrated on wailing on the siren (ha!) and she sort of ran off, leaving me to deal with the minotaurs alone and then the siren after I killed them. That was probably just dumb luck, but it worked.
The Sirens in the desert will all take off like that. They only stick around if you keep on fighting them. I think they just do a big circle? So, those having trouble with a siren + minotaurs, try letting her go until you take them out.

I didn't have any trouble w/ the desert either, but Pandora's Temple and the big spikey trolls are another story... two of those at once always beat me within an inch of my life. Evade seems to be the way to go, but my strategy still sucks.

[MattKeil]

For the sirens, I used the Blades of Chaos power combo (triangle three times, Blades must be level 3). Generally I'd just stay away from enemies for the first two moves, then direct the final double blade slam down on the siren's head. This usually stuns or knocks her away, so you can hammer her with square button attacks until she recovers or one of her minions tries to tag you in the back. The sirens are annoying, but not very strong. As long as you're ready with the R stick to dodge if things get out of hand, you should just be able to overwhelm them with a constant barrage and the occasional power hit to keep them off-balance.

[Jaysun]

I guess I just got lucky with the Sirens or something because I had no problem killing the first batch. The second large fight killed me the first time, but the second time I killed them all.

I don't want to spoil anything, but there's another part in the temple that I thought was a major pain in the ass to complete with essentially a timer before you are instantly killed. Argh. That one kicked my ass so much that the game asked if I wanted to drop the difficulty to easy. Hahah.

Fucking Cerberus forced me to turn th game off in disgust. Anyone past this part yet? I think I need to cool down and try it again, but I'm really pissed off right now.

[Jaysun]

Playing on Spartan and I just got to the first part that really ticked me off. In Pandora's Temple, the part where you get the two shields. There's just so many tough fights in a row there and no save point. Yeah there are checkpoints, but I swear it took me 2 hours to get to the next save, and I just wanted to quit and call it a night.

What are peopls thoughts on the Artemis sword v. the dual chain blades?

The Sword of Artemis is really nice for beating down craploads of grunts, but I usually switch out to the Blades for quicker and further-reaching attacks. I love the way he swings that gigantic sword though and cleaves dudes in half with one swing. Not like I didn't feel like a badass before.

[mouselock]

For the one accompanied by minotaurs in the sandstorm, for a couple moments I just concentrated on wailing on the siren (ha!) and she sort of ran off, leaving me to deal with the minotaurs alone and then the siren after I killed them. That was probably just dumb luck, but it worked.

A) One accompanied by minotaurs? 2 out of 3 were when I did it.

B) You mean the minotaurs stop? After killing 5 I just figured they went on forever until you killed the siren so concentrated on her. Then I got tired of killing minotaurs that I couldn't really see for no real reason.

[ToutSuite]

Yeah, that's where I'm stuck, but I used my Rage of the Gods on the last one in the sandstorm so as not to take chances... because I didn't know what was coming :/.

extarbags, I find it odd you never ask me any of this stuff on Caltrops. But don't bother NOW. >:[

[extarbags]

Yeah, that's where I'm stuck, but I used my Rage of the Gods on the last one in the sandstorm so as not to take chances... because I didn't know what was coming :/.

extarbags, I find it odd you never ask me any of this stuff on Caltrops. But don't bother NOW. >:[

I used to ask my GoW questions (like that one (http://www.caltrops.com/pointy.php?action=viewPost&pid=15402)!) there, but I never got an answer from you, so I'm TAKIN IT TO THE STREETS.

Edit: also, until someone posted under my name the other night, I assumed everyone ignored me.

[forgeforsaken]

You talking about the shrinking hallway of a million zillion grunts Jaysum?
That part caused me no end of pain. Or is there something worse coming, oh please no!

I found medusa to be pretty usefull there as you can crush huge swaths of guys, but still it killed me way more than I like to admit.

[mouselock]

You talking about the shrinking hallway of a million zillion grunts Jaysum?
That part caused me no end of pain. Or is there something worse coming, oh please no!

I found medusa to be pretty usefull there as you can crush huge swaths of guys, but still it killed me way more than I like to admit.

Something worse. That one frustrated me, but after about the fourth try I got it. The trick is to concentrate on the guys who would otherwise be invulnerable first, and use magic liberally. (I tend not to use magic in normal fighting, only for the tricky set pieces.)

But I'm stuck right after that, in the room with the two levers that compliment each other. I would have thought given my gaming background it'd be more likely I'd have trouble with the action parts, not the puzzle parts, but apparently I suck. Someone want to give me a gentle nudge on getting those bars off? (Is the solution completely contained in that room? Is it just timing it better than I have been? I can't tell if the bars switch because I pull the other lever, or just on a timer and I don't have time to run between them and need to get better there.

[Reed]

Yep, mouselock- it's timed, you just have to haul ass.

[Reed]

You talking about the shrinking hallway of a million zillion grunts Jaysum?
That part caused me no end of pain. Or is there something worse coming, oh please no!

I found medusa to be pretty usefull there as you can crush huge swaths of guys, but still it killed me way more than I like to admit.

Something worse. That one frustrated me, but after about the fourth try I got it. The trick is to concentrate on the guys who would otherwise be invulnerable first, and use magic liberally. (I tend not to use magic in normal fighting, only for the tricky set pieces.)
That's exactly how I ended up beating that part too. Almost gave up on it for the night, kept getting down to one or two left and running out of time.

[Reed]

Fucking Cerberus forced me to turn th game off in disgust. Anyone past this part yet? I think I need to cool down and try it again, but I'm really pissed off right now.
Yep, and no worry, it won't be long until you see them again... ;)

Those damn things grow fast.

[mouselock]

Fucking Cerberus forced me to turn th game off in disgust. Anyone past this part yet? I think I need to cool down and try it again, but I'm really pissed off right now.

The first time you meet him? (Poseidon's Test)

Had zero problem at all. You can block the pups.. little bit of the AE magic and some attacks here and there left me with just pups and no cerberus. They're kinda annoying, but weren't hard to clean up. I used a lot of the air-helicopter chain attack. (Which, incidentally, you get to play with all over the demo despite it being pretty locked away in the main game a few levels in.)

[mouselock]

Dear Lord Poseidon,

Blow me!

P.S. I did all three of your daughters.

Love,

Kratos

[Jaysun]

You talking about the shrinking hallway of a million zillion grunts Jaysum?
That part caused me no end of pain. Or is there something worse coming, oh please no!

I found medusa to be pretty usefull there as you can crush huge swaths of guys, but still it killed me way more than I like to admit.

Actually, I beat that part on the first try. I just muscled myself through with the Sword of Artemis and Poseidon's Rage (racked up 120 hits with that spell!, Woo-hoo!). The Sword of Artemis ability (L1+ Square) is really good against all those grunts.

[Jaysun]

Fucking Cerberus forced me to turn th game off in disgust. Anyone past this part yet? I think I need to cool down and try it again, but I'm really pissed off right now.

The first time you meet him? (Poseidon's Test)

Had zero problem at all. You can block the pups.. little bit of the AE magic and some attacks here and there left me with just pups and no cerberus. They're kinda annoying, but weren't hard to clean up. I used a lot of the air-helicopter chain attack. (Which, incidentally, you get to play with all over the demo despite it being pretty locked away in the main game a few levels in.)

Yeah, I just can't kill the main Cerberus fast enough before the little runts begin growing into big brothers of him. I'm going to try again this afternoon using different tactics.

[extarbags]

Fucking Cerberus forced me to turn th game off in disgust. Anyone past this part yet? I think I need to cool down and try it again, but I'm really pissed off right now.

The first time you meet him? (Poseidon's Test)

Had zero problem at all. You can block the pups.. little bit of the AE magic and some attacks here and there left me with just pups and no cerberus. They're kinda annoying, but weren't hard to clean up. I used a lot of the air-helicopter chain attack. (Which, incidentally, you get to play with all over the demo despite it being pretty locked away in the main game a few levels in.)

Yeah, I just can't kill the main Cerberus fast enough before the little runts begin growing into big brothers of him. I'm going to try again this afternoon using different tactics.

Use the Blades' heavy move, not the sword, and feel free to pop Poseidon's Wrath/Rage to keep the pups at bay if it will hit the big one too.

[mouselock]

Yeah, I just can't kill the main Cerberus fast enough before the little runts begin growing into big brothers of him. I'm going to try again this afternoon using different tactics.

Use the Blades' heavy move, not the sword, and feel free to pop Poseidon's Wrath/Rage to keep the pups at bay if it will hit the big one too.

I tend to disagree. I used the chains for their extended range, and did a lot with the extra-heavy attacks (L3 Tri-Tri-Tri, L2 Sq-Sq-Tri). I do think you want to use Wrath to keep the pups off your back.

Also, I find most (but not all) of the game is easier to hack your way through without worrying about dodging/blocking because you have some huge threat that needs to die now. Don't sit there and block the pups and let them live, just power through them.

I haven't had any problems with the pups or Cerberus. In fact, I suspected they grew big if you weren't quick, but I haven't actually ever seen it.

The underwater channel under Lord Poseidon, however, has really ticked me off. :(

[forgeforsaken]

What difficulty all you folks playing on? First Cerberus fight I found tough, finally aced it when I switched tactics to wiping out the pups first and leaving the big one for last. Playing on Spartan. Also I had no problesm at all with the multilever room. Weird.

[mouselock]

I'm playing normal. I think it would probably be a far different game on spartan, because my "Offense over all" approach would likely get me killed. However, on normal Cerberus didn't bother me.

The Sisyphean task/human sacrifice thing was pretty brutal though. Had to start over multiple times, and it seems like if you don't get it right off (more or less) you're screwed.

[MattKeil]

Yeah, I just can't kill the main Cerberus fast enough before the little runts begin growing into big brothers of him. I'm going to try again this afternoon using different tactics.

Don't even bother with the big Cerberus. Kill all the pups until they stop spawning, then deal with the big guy.

[mouselock]

Now that you people are actually playing God of War, if anyone figures out what the two Muse Keys do, let me know.

-Tom

Hidden for possible spoilerage: (Not IMO, but.. *shrug*)


They unlock a sort of bonus area where you get the effective benefit of a health and magic boost, as well as about 3000 orbs. It's one of the outer ring stops in the rings of pandora.

[extarbags]

Now that you people are actually playing God of War, if anyone figures out what the two Muse Keys do, let me know.

-Tom

Hidden for possible spoilerage: (Not IMO, but.. *shrug*)


They unlock a sort of bonus area where you get the effective benefit of a health and magic boost, as well as about 3000 orbs. It's one of the outer ring stops in the rings of pandora.



How, specifically, do you get there? I fear I may be too deep into the temple to get back to that part.

[mouselock]

Now that you people are actually playing God of War, if anyone figures out what the two Muse Keys do, let me know.

-Tom

Hidden for possible spoilerage: (Not IMO, but.. *shrug*)


They unlock a sort of bonus area where you get the effective benefit of a health and magic boost, as well as about 3000 orbs. It's one of the outer ring stops in the rings of pandora.



How, specifically, do you get there? I fear I may be too deep into the temple to get back to that part.

More spoilerized text:


If you can get back to the "Temple dump room" (the one that every portion of the temple so far has spit you into once you're done with that section) you can get there. If you run around the outer ring of the temple, you'll come back upon the handle/crank on the outer ring that you originally used to select paths. Just keep cranking until you find the doorway that leads to the muse door. You probably saw it earlier, and it said something about there being two muses missing from the door. So if you can still get to the Rings of Pandora and the outer ring, you just need to rotate the outer ring until you find it.

[extarbags]

Now that you people are actually playing God of War, if anyone figures out what the two Muse Keys do, let me know.

-Tom

Hidden for possible spoilerage: (Not IMO, but.. *shrug*)


They unlock a sort of bonus area where you get the effective benefit of a health and magic boost, as well as about 3000 orbs. It's one of the outer ring stops in the rings of pandora.



How, specifically, do you get there? I fear I may be too deep into the temple to get back to that part.

More spoilerized text:


If you can get back to the "Temple dump room" (the one that every portion of the temple so far has spit you into once you're done with that section) you can get there. If you run around the outer ring of the temple, you'll come back upon the handle/crank on the outer ring that you originally used to select paths. Just keep cranking until you find the doorway that leads to the muse door. You probably saw it earlier, and it said something about there being two muses missing from the door. So if you can still get to the Rings of Pandora and the outer ring, you just need to rotate the outer ring until you find it.

Oh that door! I remember it now. I'm underwater now, I don't think I'm too far gone.

[TomChick]

Rats, well, I totally missed that one. I was so proud of myself for getting both muse keys, since I don't normally hunt around for collectibles. When the game ended and I still had them, I was dismayed to discover I couldn't go backwards. Hey, I got gyped! Damn you, Athena!!!!!!

-Tom

[mouselock]

Rats, well, I totally missed that one. I was so proud of myself for getting both muse keys, since I don't normally hunt around for collectibles. When the game ended and I still had them, I was dismayed to discover I couldn't go backwards. Hey, I got gyped! Damn you, Athena!!!!!!

-Tom

Heh.. I'm not normally a completist for any game, much less this type, but the game has been so solidly designed to reward people who look for things without making them jump through horribly contorted hoops (a la Ratchet and Clank's gold bolts and the like) that I think up until Hades Blades I had found everything. Then I had to go and forget to stop off for a phoenix feather there and make it all the way around the second obnoxious set of rafters, and I tried a few times to go back and redo it, but couldn't, and gave up. I'll keep the save I have from right before there lying around in case it looks like 100% completion unlocks something.

Plus, that'll give me a convenient spot before the Minotaur to go back and fight him again. And again. And again. That is the single coolest boss fight I've ever seen. I think I was actually giggling with excitement after it was over.

I think the real problem with God of War is a whole hell of a lot of games are going to look sub-par afterwards. I've run out of words that don't sound like drooling fanboy-ism to describe this game. I wonder if there are people out there who don't absolutely abhor action games of any type who aren't horribly impressed by this game.

[Backov]

You people are awful.

At least tell me how long it is so I can somewhat justify buying a brand new PS2 game to the powers that be.

[mouselock]

You people are awful.

At least tell me how long it is so I can somewhat justify buying a brand new PS2 game to the powers that be.

I'm guessing it will weigh in at somewhere between 10 and 12 hours for a run through on normal. The frugal gamer in me is screaming at the concept of paying $50 for a game that only lasts 10 hours or so. The rest of me can't think of anything that would provide as much entertainment for 3x the price, though. (I do plan, unless it gets abysmally harder really fast, to go back and try hard mode too, though. Just so I can beat the crap out of more stuff for a while longer.)

[MattKeil]

Stuck nice and firm on the final boss. Holy shit, what shitty, shitty design on this one, especially after all the other fantastic boss fights in the game. They had to have run out of time or something.

Here's a tip, game designers: Changing the way the game plays entirely and making half the enemy's moves unblockable and uninterruptable is a lazy ass way of making something hard.

If anyone figures out a foolproof way to take this shithead down, please lemme know. :evil:

Edit: Finally got him, but had to resort to a pretty cheesy method. Disappointing finale to a fantastic game.

[RobotPants]

I'm getting my ass beat by the big, armored Minotaur boss. I spent several tries thinking that level that spits out the flaming logs was my only weapon against him, so I died lots before I figured the whole thing out. It's still pretty damn hard, though. I ended up turning the game off, though, when I *finally* had him almost gone when he knocked me back and I fell through the map. :x

But this is definitely one of the most enjoyable action games I've ever played and qualifies as one of the best games period. I'm blown away that they got a PS2 game to look like this.

[mouselock]

[quote="RobotPants"]I'm getting my ass beat by the big, armored Minotaur boss. I spent several tries thinking that level that spits out the flaming logs was my only weapon against him, so I died lots before I figured the whole thing out. It's still pretty damn hard, though. I ended up turning the game off, though, when I *finally* had him almost gone when he knocked me back and I fell through the map. :x

[quote]

Sounds like you've already sussed this out, but I recommend only fighting from the platform. Up there he only has a minimally damaging non-blockable attack (the lava one), whereas down on the floor with him he's got some decently annoying attacks that you can't block, only evade and dodge. He'll occasionally pull you back off, but you can just dodge back over and up the stairs again.

I loved this fight. Absolutely loved it, and the way it kept going on and on.

[forgeforsaken]

I left off at the Minotaur Boss this morning. I can completely own him from the ground for stage 1 and 2, and go into stage 3 with full health and magic. Stage 3 he adds that fist pound eruption thing and I go down fast. I'll have to try fighting him from up on the platform for stage 3. Once again though I'm on Hard mode where I think most of you folks are playing on normal, so strategies may vary.

[Gunmetal]

Gotta agree on Matt with the final boss fight.... Please, please, please - don't change fundamental game mechanics for the final level. I hated it in Halo 1, I hated it in Prince of Persia: SoT and I hated it here.

Also, what the hell is up with the spinning cylinders with blades on them? Are you kidding me? I must have died twenty times in a row there! It basically made me never want to play the game again, which is a real shame because I was pretty hyped about it up until that point.

[quatoria]

The only thing that I didn't like about God of War that I encountered in any great number were the instant-kill scenarios, where one failure of split second timing resulted in instant death. I was sick of that by the time I quit playing Dragon's Lair, I don't need it in my hack and slash masterpiece.

As a positive comment, I was really impressed with how well the cgi sequences were integrated into the game. No loading, no black screens, no interruption whatsoever for the cinematics. Very very nicely done.

[mouselock]

The only thing that I didn't like about God of War that I encountered in any great number were the instant-kill scenarios, where one failure of split second timing resulted in instant death. I was sick of that by the time I quit playing Dragon's Lair, I don't need it in my hack and slash masterpiece.

I have that complaint. See my Poseidon comment above (referring to the swim past the fast moving plate). I gave up for the day at the block/spiked floor puzzle. Three deaths in and I know *how* to do it now. But it'll likely take me another 4-8 to actually do it.

I like the puzzle puzzles a bit better. The one for Hera's necklace was great fun when it dawned on me what to do. Could have lived without the timing puzzles in general, though. Replace that with more random carnage or thinking puzzles.

Nevertheless, it's hard to get too upset about these things in the long run.

What this game needs (and may have hidden somewhere?) is a nonstop arena-mode of fighting where I can take Kratos and just face off against streams of enemies in progressively more challenging clumps. The fight mechanics are so damn compelling I could see actually enjoying the effort of just stringing combos together and accomplishing maximum carnage. (So far in the normal game my best count is about 115 or so, due to the Hades magic. Now, alas, my blades of Chaos are so strong at level 5 that stuff dies before I can get in high combo counts.)

[quatoria]

My best combo is 1024 - in one of the areas of pandora's box, it might have been the hades shield, not sure anymore, a huge stream of enemies falls on you in a giant clump. With max level blades, you've got infinite magic in rage of the gods mode, so I triggered it and just spammed poseiden's wrath, getting fifty or more hits per cast. It was beautiful - I was boggling as I went up combo categories, past brutal, ultimate, herculean, olympean, godlike, all the way, finally, to 'impossible'. Talk about satisfying.

[bago]

How the fuck did halo 1 change tactics at the end? You had to mowdown the flood and covenant until you got your warthog, which is pretty much the game in a nutshell.

[RedTide]

I've got to agree with Bago, the last level was tricky, but hardly different then the ones coming before it.

[JamesL]

How the fuck did halo 1 change tactics at the end? You had to mowdown the flood and covenant until you got your warthog, which is pretty much the game in a nutshell.

While I, personally, agree with you, I could see how one could argue that it became over-the-top vehicle centric and cinematic, and less FPS (I.E. One could say you basically need a warthog for that level.)

[RobotPants]

Sounds like you've already sussed this out, but I recommend only fighting from the platform. Up there he only has a minimally damaging non-blockable attack (the lava one), whereas down on the floor with him he's got some decently annoying attacks that you can't block, only evade and dodge. He'll occasionally pull you back off, but you can just dodge back over and up the stairs again.

I loved this fight. Absolutely loved it, and the way it kept going on and on.

On my first few attempts I was fighting him on the upper level, but that's when I thought I was supposed to fire the log at him from the beginning to do damage. I died a few times before I realized that my tactics were completely wrong. I finally beat him on the ground just by evading a lot and rolling behind him when his did his stompy thing. He can't do anything to hit you when you're back there. Of course, he jumps to the far end of the room pretty quickly, but you can get in a good amount of hits before he does. Also, I had Zeus' Rage powered all the way up and throwing lightning bolts at him does a good deal of damage when you aren't in melee range.

Defintely one of the coolest boss fights I've played, though. If there's one thing that bothers me a lot in this game it's that there just aren't enough bosses. The ones that are there are fantastic. Just give me more!

[Gunmetal]

How the fuck did halo 1 change tactics at the end? You had to mowdown the flood and covenant until you got your warthog, which is pretty much the game in a nutshell.
Oh, I dunno... the part where you have to drive the shitty-handling jeep out the back? And I didn't say "tactics" I said "game mechanics." What, going from a FPS to a timed driving game isn't changing game mechanics?

You Halo fanboys, jesus christ!

[mouselock]

Defintely one of the coolest boss fights I've played, though. If there's one thing that bothers me a lot in this game it's that there just aren't enough bosses. The ones that are there are fantastic. Just give me more!

I understand what you're saying, but I wonder how fantastic they would be if there were more. For the most part, I think the boss fights (at least the ones I've seen so far, I'm in the upper temple maze at the moment) are more of a reward than a challenge. They're the cool "Alright, you just fought through all these really hard scenarios, here's some cool eye-candy and a flat-out fun fight for you" set pieces. I enjoy them, but I wonder if lots more of them would make me enjoy them less as it actually affected my net perception of the game play.

I certainly find some of the "non-boss" fights harder than the boss fights: The two club-wielding thugs at the beginning of Pandora's temple were brutal, the first "super-minotaurs" sucked pretty badly, the close-quarters, multi-gorgon fight before the shield door, and the annoying-as-hell egyptian-themed multiple fight at the beginning of Pandora's temple (and, currently, anywhere else those bastards show up, too!) all struck me as far more challenging than the bosses. Hell, the only boss fight I remember being nasty was the siren fight, and that had nothing to do with huge, monolithic bosses. However, I'm with you in that the satisfaction doubles or triples from taking down this huge, huge boss. I'm really looking forward to the eventual (assumed) showdown with Ares just for that reason.

[farley2k]

How the fuck did halo 1 change tactics at the end? You had to mowdown the flood and covenant until you got your warthog, which is pretty much the game in a nutshell.
Oh, I dunno... the part where you have to drive the shitty-handling jeep out the back? And I didn't say "tactics" I said "game mechanics." What, going from a FPS to a timed driving game isn't changing game mechanics?

You Halo fanboys, jesus christ!


Exactly. I was playing a FPS and suddenly I was playing a driving sim (and not a very good one)

I would call that changing the game mechanics.

[RobotPants]

I understand what you're saying, but I wonder how fantastic they would be if there were more. For the most part, I think the boss fights (at least the ones I've seen so far, I'm in the upper temple maze at the moment) are more of a reward than a challenge. They're the cool "Alright, you just fought through all these really hard scenarios, here's some cool eye-candy and a flat-out fun fight for you" set pieces. I enjoy them, but I wonder if lots more of them would make me enjoy them less as it actually affected my net perception of the game play.

I don't think it would for me. But I guess the number of bosses is due mostly to the game just being so short. And all those hard skirmishes you mentioned, I think those really should qualify as boss fights. They're just not officially bosses since only bosses get the giant health meter. But yeah, now that I think about it the bosses do seem like bonuses for completing the loads of other hard stuff.

[Matthew Gallant]

I may be pointing out the obvious, but the driving mechanics were a part of Halo that you had encountered several times up to that point and in fact were unchanged from your earlier experiences with driving. Well, except during the other times you used it, you weren't "driving" in a straight line down a long tunnel. Up until then you were either actually driving or you were speeding straight down a couple of very short tunnels.

I'm not really sure how it's unfair, either, since it's extremely possible to make it through on your first try. I know it is because I did it. Also it's the best ending to any FPS I've ever played, so if it's unfair then every other game is somehow worse than that, which is odd because I know that I've liked several other FPS games before and after Halo.

[Aszurom]

SPOILER WARNING ----

Holy crap... I can't believe it! Before anybody else argues about whether the game changed play styles or not with the final boss, I think you need to actually SEE it before tossing in your opinion, ok?

I'd never have believed it if I hadn't seen for myself that it turns into a Space Channel 5 style dance game. Yes, that's right... Kratos and the final boss have a DANCE OFF.

Who'da thought? Dance, Dance Mythology Revolution!

[Wholly Schmidt]

Haha, the Minotaur! His armor seemed a little goofy and doesn't quite jive with the rest of the game stylistically—he would look more at home as a boss in Doom—but he sure was fun to beat the crap out of with my newly maxed-out Blades of Chaos. One Tri-Tri-Tri from the platform was almost always enough to blow a gasket off his armor or send him crying to the other end of the tunnel. Until I had his armor completely stripped off and had to face him a little more directly, I was actually gaining life over the course of the fight. I agree that the boss fights like this actually feel like more of a reward, I love them!

Now on to The Cliffs of Insanity!

Ok, the cliffs of madness

[farley2k]

I may be pointing out the obvious, but the driving mechanics were a part of Halo that you had encountered several times up to that point and in fact were unchanged from your earlier experiences with driving. Well, except during the other times you used it, you weren't "driving" in a straight line down a long tunnel. Up until then you were either actually driving or you were speeding straight down a couple of very short tunnels.

I'm not really sure how it's unfair, either, since it's extremely possible to make it through on your first try. I know it is because I did it. Also it's the best ending to any FPS I've ever played, so if it's unfair then every other game is somehow worse than that, which is odd because I know that I've liked several other FPS games before and after Halo.


Except it was the only time you were *required* to drive. All the other times driving was a different tactic to use but the level could be completed without doing so.


I think if you ask people if Halo is a FPS or a driving game they would say FPS so it does make sense that people would expect the final level to involve *shooting*

[Wholly Schmidt]

Give it a rest. I think if you asked people if Halo is a FPS or a grenade throwing game they would say FPS, I think if you asked people if Halo is a FPS or a hit people with the butt of your rifle game they would say FPS, but you sure did a lot of those things in the game. Oh, I think there was one part in the game where they made me jump too! Imagine the nerve, asking me to jump up on a platform when I was clearly just here for the shooting! Weren't there also one or two parts that you had to fly somewhere in a Banshee? I realize that the warthog was absolutely required in the end, but if you turned tail and ran everytime you saw a warthog earlier in the game, you had a pretty screwed up perspective of the game in the first place. I'm amazed you made it all the way to the end to complain about it.

[mouselock]

Also, what the hell is up with the spinning cylinders with blades on them? Are you kidding me? I must have died twenty times in a row there! It basically made me never want to play the game again, which is a real shame because I was pretty hyped about it up until that point.

I was all set to chuckle quietly to myself because while they were a bit annoying toward the end, the ability to jump off and fight some harpies and such and then get back on broke it up pretty well.

Then I got to the ones you were actually complaining about. The first set wasn't bad, but the second set is friggin' brutal.

I've never had the game offer to make itself easier for me due to fights. I've had it offer to make itself easier for me due to puzzles, though. Of course, if I let it go to easy mode it doesn't affect the puzzles. (Not that I want to, but..)

I like the idea of the end section (not saying what it is so as not to spoil it, and I just assume it's the end section since I'm still stuck at the spinning blade cylinders), but I must say that for the last hour or so of gameplay I've missed the fighting as I've had to deal with puzzle after puzzle and all-too-brief fighting interludes in between. I like a good PoP style puzzler, and while this isn't quite there, it's pretty close. But for goodness' sake, didn't they realize the combat was the strong selling point? I still am enjoying the game, but it's gone from sublime to just really good. I hope there's tons of shit to beat the hell out of soon.

[RobotPants]

Well, I finally beat it. Very impressive, if not a bit frustrating towards the very end. Every game developer should look put as many extras in games as this one has. Very well done. I've already started it on God Mode and it makes me very sad. Mostly angry, though. I was surprised when I almost died at the very first part of the game. :o

[Wholly Schmidt]

Just finished it too. "Ok, got Pandora's box, must be about time to wrap this up..."

Couple hours longer than anticipated later, done! I don't see what the big deal is about the final boss fight at all ladies, it wasn't shifting any paradigms or suddenly turning the game on it's ear. Spoilers:
So you've gotta fight with a different sword. Who cares? It's not like you're suddenly in a FPS, or faced with a dialogue tree with tricky questions, or something totally off the wall. You whoop Ares with your blades. You beat a million of yourself. Then you whoop Ares with a different blade, but really it might as well have just been like fighting with Artemis's sword. It was hardly different at all, I really expected something a lot different from the complaining I saw. Maybe I just misread your displeasure.
I actually thought Aszurom was serious in his post, I thought maybe the last boss was just a big mini-game button pressing sequence in a style reminiscent of DDR. To anyone still playing the game that got a little upset about the idea of it being a let down in the end, it's not.

And the extras! I've only played around with the creature graveyard, but cyclops used to have a penis!

Oh, so what all did you guys find/get? I got the muse keys and actually used them, which led to a room full of red orbs and instant upgrades to both health and magic, which left me maxed out at the end because I believe I found all the gorgon eyes and phoenix feathers as well. My health and magic were both pushed out to the end of the UI graphic, and I didn't have any odd leftover eyes or feathers, so I assume I got them all. I upgraded everything all the way except for Zeus's lightning and Medusa. I didn't touch Medusa at all, and only upgraded Zeus once.

[Aszurom]

Was there a message on screen about that?

*DING* Cyclops Penis Has Been UNLOCKED!

Given the nature of the rest of the game, it's obvious they removed it to alleviate temptation to allow the player to rip it off and start swinging cyclops cocknballs like a pair of nunchuks.

[JamesL]

Except it was the only time you were *required* to drive. All the other times driving was a different tactic to use but the level could be completed without doing so.


I think if you ask people if Halo is a FPS or a driving game they would say FPS so it does make sense that people would expect the final level to involve *shooting*

It did involve shooting, that was just the last 1/4th of the level; they wanted to make it as epic an ending as possible.

Up to that point, vehicles were always an important part of the game, it's just that you were required to use them for about 5-6 minutes during that level, as opposed to usually using them by choice (Remember, there were other parts of that game where vehicles were not optional). I don't see how that's "switching game mechanics", requiring do to something you've been doing for much of the game anyway (vehicles played a decently large part in Halo). It's like saying Mario is switching game mechanics when it forces you to beat an enemy, as you could skip all the enemies before that.

Plus, the Warthog driving controls were great.

[mouselock]

Spoilers:
So you've gotta fight with a different sword. Who cares? It's not like you're suddenly in a FPS, or faced with a dialogue tree with tricky questions, or something totally off the wall. You whoop Ares with your blades. You beat a million of yourself. Then you whoop Ares with a different blade, but really it might as well have just been like fighting with Artemis's sword. It was hardly different at all, I really expected something a lot different from the complaining I saw. Maybe I just misread your displeasure.

A different sword.. with none of the combos you're used to, a different range, and a different combat mechanism. Oh, and let's not forget you're stuck in a small arena in which, unlike pretty much every other place in the game, you can be pinned. Finally, every time you get hit you not only lose life, but Ares gains it. This fight is barely similar to the others. Especially, if, like me, others didn't spend much time with Artemis' sword. It's poor form to require me to learn combat mechanics that were neither required nor particularly useful anywhere else in the game just for the last fight which is (justifiably) much harder than any other single fight out there. Oh yeah, and I lost all my magic too, so I don't even have any of the equalizers that I used to be able to use to gain equilibrium. Basically, if you've been playing on normal mode like I am, it feels like they just kicked you into God mode for the end fight. That's frustrating because, frankly, while I don't want Ares handed to me on a platter, I've gone through all sorts of stuff up to this point, and I also don't want him feeling essentially unassailable. Maybe another three hours of practice and I'll have him. If only I could save after the previous two fights that might almost be on the lower edge of reasonable.

[Gendal]

END GAME SPOILERS:




I have to agree the very ending was jarring. I blew through everything else but the final fight was hard, hard, hard. I died countless, frustrating times because I had to relearn every combo and delay on the sword before I could beat him. I did not like the final fight, which is a shame because I enjoyed everything immensely up to that point, including the two Ares fights before he takes your weapons.

[forgeforsaken]

Oh now it's not like the original DMC that turned into Space Harrier at the end.

[Wholly Schmidt]

Still spoilingI guess maybe it's just all down to luck and what we were good at. I didn't use the Artemis sword a ton, but enough not to suddenly feel powerless when I didn't have my blades or magic, I only died once in that final fight against Ares. You can still evade pretty well, his attacks have an easy to pick up on pattern, so I got it pretty quickly the second time around. For me, the fight against millions of my self was considerably harder. Oh well.
The only point I hope we can agree on is that not everyone is let down by the final boss, it's just down to opinion, so if you're still playing, don't get worried until you've played and decided for yourself. No use ruining the game worrying about the end till you get there.

[mouselock]

Still spoilingI guess maybe it's just all down to luck and what we were good at. I didn't use the Artemis sword a ton, but enough not to suddenly feel powerless when I didn't have my blades or magic, I only died once in that final fight against Ares. You can still evade pretty well, his attacks have an easy to pick up on pattern, so I got it pretty quickly the second time around. For me, the fight against millions of my self was considerably harder. Oh well.

I didn't use the Artemis sword at all past when I first got it for the Hades shield I think, so it was very unfamiliar. My main complaint isn't them changing it up, but rather them changing it up with no chance whatsoever to practice. I had to die to Ares probably 20 times to get moves and timing/ranges down. After that it was better, and it just became more like one of the defensive 3D fighters (which is rather cool in and of itself). He does have some cheap moves that will break you out of block and aren't telegraphed, though, which I find annoying. And yeah, the infinite me fight was pretty tough, but I finally just switched over to Poseidon's Wrath and would whack until things were pretty nasty, then Lv. 3 Poseidon's the crap out of whatever was up at the time, transfer some health if needed, and go back to whacking again.


The only point I hope we can agree on is that not everyone is let down by the final boss, it's just down to opinion, so if you're still playing, don't get worried until you've played and decided for yourself. No use ruining the game worrying about the end till you get there.

This seems pretty true. In any other game the final boss fight would be mildly annoying, but honestly there'd been so little let down anywhere else in the game for me (I felt the last bit was a bit too precision jumping/puzzle-y, but manageable), that even a little bit of a let down felt huge. I also have a few unresolved questions about the ending itself, and tying up bits of the story. I can tell that they kinda just ran out of time (as Joffe has mentioned in a few of the interviews he has floating around). Still a fantastic game, though. One of two I've finished in the last 3+ years, and I'm looking forward to starting Spartan mode tonight. (I figure I should make it through spartan after normal before trying God mode, which I want to do, but I think the jump would likely frustrate me if I didn't stop off at Spartan in between.)

[VegasRobb]

It's $39.99 on kbtoys.com if anyone is still looking.

Here. (http://www.kbtoys.com/genProduct.html/PID/3851239/ctid/19/INstock/Y/D//SkuNo/309711)

[Gary Whitta]

I just traded in a bunch of shit at EB and got my copy of God of War. I haven't started playing it yet. If there are three things I should know before I do, what are they?

[curst]

I just traded in a bunch of shit at EB and got my copy of God of War. I haven't started playing it yet. If there are three things I should know before I do, what are they?

It's a bit easy until you play the harder difficulties, whereupon it gets DMC-style difficult.

There are moments of pure frustration to go hand-in-hand to balance out the moments of pure giddy joy, but luckily that balance still leans heavily towards joy.

And finally, I agree with one of the guys in the "making of..." video that GOW is fucking rad. I say that in all sincerity.

[RobotPants]

If there are three things I should know before I do, what are they?

1. You can block almost everything

2. Use magic lots

3. God Mode is the most impossiblest thing ever!

[forgeforsaken]

And try and parry not just block. After one weapon upgrade you can come out of a parry with an end of combo heavy attack. Also don't forget to evade. On easy/normal you can probably just power through most combats, but if you attempt Spartan or God you'll need to get good at parry/evading.

And don't stay airborn if fighting Gogons.

[mouselock]

There seem to be some notable exceptions to "block everything" even on normal mode, such as minotaur charges and the wraiths that will really mess you up if you get overly reliant upon blocking.

Also if you get knocked out of block it's not immediately apparent, but you seem to have to "re-block" or things well keep tearing you up.

[RobotPants]

That's why I included the qualifier "almost". ;) But yeah, I pretty much tore through just about everything all the way through normal mode, with the exception of that damn giant Minotaur and the clone fights without blocking much at all. On God and Spartan, however, if you don't immediately get good at blocking and evading, you won't last at all. In God mode, I had to replay the Medusa fight 10 or so times because you can only withstand 2 or 3 hits from her tail or claws and she's so damn quick. The first cyclops fight in Athens gets you killed in 2 hits. I can't wait to get to the room with all the Gorgons. :/

[RobotPants]

I'm on level 8 in the Challenge of the Gods and it's making me very very angry. :x I had to leave my PS2 on to go to work because I don't want to replay all the other aggrivating challenges just to get back to this one.

[Nick Walter]

So I picked this up after all the effusive praise in this thread, and I'm wondering what all the fuss was about. The game starts strong and just slides slowly downhill from there. Early on in Athens the levels are interesting, the setting is great, and the challenges are just right in normal mode. Later on in Pandoras temple it devolves into a second-tier Tomb Raider wannabe.

I also think the bit with sacrificing a live friendly soldier by burning him to death was a bit tasteless.

[TomChick]

Nick, dude, are you trolling? A second-tier Tomb Raider wannabe? I don't recall Tomb Raider having combat this fluid and visceral. I think that's a big part of God of War's appeal. Let me guess, you're stuck turning those rings around in that circular hallway? :)

Also, I agree that the burning of the friendly soldier was tasteless, but so is much of the game. The tone is set early on when Kratos lets the ship's captain fall into the hydra's throat, followed by a series of really stupid big-breasted chick scenes, all of whom are intent on showing you their nipples. It's a loud amoral violent kind of juvenile game.

In other words, perfect for gamers. And I loved it.

-Tom

[Nick Walter]

Nick, dude, are you trolling? A second-tier Tomb Raider wannabe? I don't recall Tomb Raider having combat this fluid and visceral. I think that's a big part of God of War's appeal. Let me guess, you're stuck turning those rings around in that circular hallway? :)
-Tom

I'm fairly close to beating the game I think, I just finished the Hades challenge. I'm certainly not stuck anywhere, I've found all the puzzles manageable though some went past challenging and registered annoying on my pocket puzzle-o-meter

The Tomb Raider comparisons were not an attemp to troll, I really am profoundly disappointed with the level design and the plot in the later portion of the game. The Athens section had inventive levels set against the awesome backdrop of a ginormous Ares personally taking the field of combat. The wonderful combat was the focus and the levels were a delectable combination of simple puzzles punctuated by satisfying fights.

Contrast this video gamey goodness with the Pandora section of the game. Compared to early on, in the Pandora temple the setting and plot have sunk to a cheesy cliche level. Ancient temple full of magic traps, inexplicably obtuse puzzles, and fantasy beaties? How inventive, never been to one of those in a game before!

The game just plays differently in Pandora's temple. Satisfying combat takes a back seat to time spent wandering around mazes and figuring out puzzles. The fights that do crop up are less pleasing since a lot of them are gimmick fights where stacked odds or infinitely respawning enemies rob the player of the joys of slaughter.

Overall, God of War is a good game but it has an inexplicable linear drop in quality as progress is made. I haven't fought the end boss yet but I doubt anything will top the wicked hydra boss fight and that happened in the first hour of play.

[mouselock]

The Tomb Raider comparisons were not an attemp to troll, I really am profoundly disappointed with the level design and the plot in the later portion of the game. The Athens section had inventive levels set against the awesome backdrop of a ginormous Ares personally taking the field of combat. The wonderful combat was the focus and the levels were a delectable combination of simple puzzles punctuated by satisfying fights.

Contrast this video gamey goodness with the Pandora section of the game. Compared to early on, in the Pandora temple the setting and plot have sunk to a cheesy cliche level. Ancient temple full of magic traps, inexplicably obtuse puzzles, and fantasy beaties? How inventive, never been to one of those in a game before!

I'm sorry. I see your point; it went from action-combat game to puzzle-action game. I think it's a valid complaint. However, did you just call a game firmly rooted in the midst of ancient greek mythology lame and cheesy for including puzzles? This is greek mythology we're talking about. How the hell are mazes in a greek-based game cliche? Traps and trials and Sisyphean tasks seem pretty de rigeur for such a game. (And speaking of Sisyphean tasks, surely I'm not the only one who saw the parallels in the soldier sacrifice there?)

I could have done with more combat towards the end, but I do think part of it was the fact that the game just ramped the difficulty up perfectly. When I started beating medusa was a large, hard thing. By the end, after powering up, multiple medusae (well, gorgons) was far less so. I had worked hard and was progressing toward a nadir of badassity. And that's right in line with the game.

I don't think it ever got cheesy or copped out. I think, however, that folks haven't done as good a job as they could have making the point that this really is an action/adventure game, rather than something like DMC which is far more just action.

[RobotPants]

Just to point something out, I don't recall any areas with "infinitely respawning enemies". Well, there were a few, but none of them required you keep fighting, so I don't see the beef there. They even stop giving you orbs that should tell you it's a good idea to move on. By the time you get to the area you're complaining about, Kratos is pretty damn powerful. "Stacked odds"? Yeah, that describes pretty much every action game ever made :). This one managed to make it immensely enjoyable, though, because you play as an incredible badass with every tool you could possibly need at your disposal to dispatch of the waves of bad guys.

The game does slow down a bit when you get to Pandora's Temple, but while playing, I never found myself frustrated or wishing there was a big group of enemies around the corner. Plus, Pandora's Temple contains one of the most enjoyable bosses I've ever encountered in an action game.

Also, I think I'll probably just give up on God Mode. I'm just now to the part in Athens where you push over the statue to use its head to climb up to the rope you shoot out to climb back across. I can't find any way to fight on the rope without getting hit. When you have 3 undead soldiers coming at you from both sides that can all hit you from behind before you can turn around, I just don't see how to do it since getting hit 3 times kills you. I can try grabbing them and throwing them off as quickly as possible, but you take damage when even when the leg grapple animation's still going. I know God Mode is supposed to be extremely hard, but so far it's just ridiculously frustrating. At the very least, my badass combos should interrupt the soldiers' stupid blue streak strikes instead of the other way around.

[Talisker]

I'm almost done with GoW -- started the Hades sequence last night. Very fun game; the O-button minigame kill sequence thingies are a great idea.

My biggest frustration with the game have been a couple of the perform-series-of-actions-just-right-or-DIE sequences -- one was swimming, the other was pushing a box. Both stopped my play session dead when I first hit 'em, but I made it past them relatively easily when I fired it up the next time. Which wasn't so bad.

Why mention it? 'Cause after getting killed a half-dozen times, it stops and asks "Would you like to switch to Easy mode? (Note -- this only affects combat)". Uh.... how 'bout offering to give me an extra two seconds on whatever death stopwatch is controlling the trap instead?

[mouselock]

When you have 3 undead soldiers coming at you from both sides that can all hit you from behind before you can turn around, I just don't see how to do it since getting hit 3 times kills you. I can try grabbing them and throwing them off as quickly as possible, but you take damage when even when the leg grapple animation's still going. I know God Mode is supposed to be extremely hard, but so far it's just ridiculously frustrating. At the very least, my badass combos should interrupt the soldiers' stupid blue streak strikes instead of the other way around.

Someone else pointed out elsewhere that a quick jab kick stuns them momentarily. So theoretically you can jab one, flip and jab the other, then go back to throw the first, at which point you go back to jab the second, jab the third (which has replaced the first), throw the second, etc..

Seemed to work reasonably well when I was playing around with it on hard mode. Don't know about god mode, but in hard those guys will throw out some health for you too, so if you can limit it to just one hit per trio, you can probably continue. (The walls would personally strike me as more challenging, though maybe not since you are immune there while throwing, unlike the rope.)

[forgeforsaken]

Having beat Spartan mode I can tell you there is no way I will even attempt God mode. Plus God mode just doesn't unlock anything really worthwhile. Most of the cool stuff can be unlocked via Spartan, and the Costumes you get in Challenge of the Gods, so....

[Jack Black]

I've finally beaten GoW this weekend on Spartan.

I can say that I thoughoughly enjoyed my playing time with the game 90% of the time.

The other 10% is divided between 1.) The feeling of supreme letdown at Ares and 2.) Having to do certain checkpoints again and again and again, and again, and again. Until you get your timing just right.

Number 2 I could handle, I expected it playing on Spartan (I actually thought it was going to be a roll over up until the Desert). But Number 1 was really kind of blindsiding. Based on how much everything else meshed so well, I thought a good ending fight was guaranteed since everything up to that point was fun and a feeling of accomplishment.

Now that I've played it on Spartan I can tell you I'm not going through the game again, however. I could maybe see if you played on normal (and it wasn't too repetitive to do certain battles) but after the grueling fight to the end then the disappointing end, I have a hard time recommending it to people who I think would like to finish the game (everyone but kids ;).

I hope that God of War was popular enough to have a new, innovated spiritual successor. But with it I hope they understand they can't cheap on the ending.

[RobotPants]

Someone else pointed out elsewhere that a quick jab kick stuns them momentarily. So theoretically you can jab one, flip and jab the other, then go back to throw the first, at which point you go back to jab the second, jab the third (which has replaced the first), throw the second, etc..

Yes, well, "theoretically" I'm not supposed to feel like chewing my controller in half while playing God Mode, but that theory hasn't held up so far. :)

[Backov]

Is the Blade of Artemis worth upgrading?

I just got it a while back and have enough orbs to get it to level 2.. I love using it (although the blades of Chaos are better for crowds, by far) - but is level 2 worth the juice?

[Wholly Schmidt]

Well, I had enough orbs by the end of the game to max out everything but Medusa's head and the Lightning, neither of which I ever used at all (except the few places you have to use lightning). So while I only used the Artemis sword a couple times, I went ahead and maxed it since I didn't have anything better to put the orbs into.

[mouselock]

So, I'm going back through on Spartan, and for the most part the skills I learned on normal are serving me well. I've even managed to develop a method for dealing with the cyclops.

However, the wraiths are still beating the shit out of me. Specifically the room in Athens where there are 2x3 in the bottom, then 3 up top with one of the big spinning-club ogres. As near as I can tell when the wraiths go underground they are:

a) Unblockable
b) Un-evadable (i.e. you can evade, but they don't just stay underground for a set time, they'll keep coming for you until they can pop up under you)
c) Not limited to any specific type of terrain

As such, I'm getting torn up by the higher damage they do in Spartan combined with the fact that I can't seem to not get hit by them at least a few times.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Jeff Fiske]

I find Medusa's gaze very effective, despite never using it at all before the first time through. You can stone two or three at a time.

Otherwise, block a lot (you can block them-timing is tough to attack safely)... roll away, plume of promo or throw in air and O them.

END BATTLE SPOILER-






Funny, I thought the end battle(s) was fine. Yes it was a let down in some ways but the fact I even played to the end is a plus. To me the end battle really is all three fights as one. I don't know, when I think of crappy ends to games I think of Half Life 2, and things like that. How many games have 'great endings'? I put down the controler and went "phew", sat back and enjoyed the video. I would give the ending three battles a B, A-, B-. The first two Bosses, even the hydra head in the ship were an A.

[Nick Walter]

So, I'm going back through on Spartan, and for the most part the skills I learned on normal are serving me well. I've even managed to develop a method for dealing with the cyclops.

However, the wraiths are still beating the shit out of me. Specifically the room in Athens where there are 2x3 in the bottom, then 3 up top with one of the big spinning-club ogres. As near as I can tell when the wraiths go underground they are:

a) Unblockable
b) Un-evadable (i.e. you can evade, but they don't just stay underground for a set time, they'll keep coming for you until they can pop up under you)
c) Not limited to any specific type of terrain

As such, I'm getting torn up by the higher damage they do in Spartan combined with the fact that I can't seem to not get hit by them at least a few times.

Anyone have any suggestions?


I accidentally discovered in normal mode that the fight up top is very easily winnable by cheating. The little barricade you jump to get to that up-top area is one that enemies cannot cross. So jump the barricade, wait for the enemies to come, then jump back over the barricade. Now just hit them as much as you'd like from the safe spot behind the barrier

[Drastic]

The underground-tunnely-shadowy attack is definitely blockable, at least on Normal. It works pretty well to block when they come at you, and continue to through the moment when they pop up out and perform their little helicopter maneuver. Right when they're done with that, you can either use the ubiquitous square-square-triangle, or you can circle-grab them--sometimes that'll launch them, which is a good time to do the circle-tapping "say hello to the ground! Say hello again! And again!" thing. Other times, it generates one of my favorite fatalities in the game so far.

[Jack Black]

a) Unblockable
b) Un-evadable (i.e. you can evade, but they don't just stay underground for a set time, they'll keep coming for you until they can pop up under you)
c) Not limited to any specific type of terrain


As others have said, wraiths are blockable. When you get 3+ (which is a bitch), you have to use their offense against them. You can either block while waiting for an opportunity to attack until one ports up behind you and whacks you (or a normal skelington comes from a bad side with his blue chop on you) or the first one that comes at you, block then grab throw into the air and do the bouncy chain combo and that will usually kill them and you are pretty much invulnerable while you do it.

For the ogre part above, I did what Nick did, which was stand behind the pillar and whack the wraiths dead (jump on the pillar to have them aggro you then jump back behind) before you handle the Ogres.

Also medusa and P. Rage work wonders if you have the mana to burn.

[RobotPants]

One thing I *really* love about this game is the fact that enemies can hurt each other. I've been saved lots of times by this. The one time it has adverse effects is in challenge 7 (I think) of the Challenge of the Gods where you have to kill 4 minotaurs without killing any of the undead soldiers while they all attack you. I failed that challenge many times because the minotaurs would kill one of the soldiers.

As for the knock up and slam down bouncy combo, that's definitely the most satisfying way to kill a pesky jerk of an enemy in the game. I've killed many of those annoying as all hell Egyptian things with the staffs (satyrs?) just because it feels so good to believe I'm causing them a slow, painful death.

[Luke M]

This game is just ridiculously, sickeningly difficult in some places. I just flung my controller into a pillow, and I didn't do that a single time when I played through Ninja Gaiden. I'm completely stuck in a room in Pandora's Temple where gold sheild weilding undead and sirens are relentlessly flung at you until the floor drops out. I've died at least 10 times now. I don't want to switch to easy. It's fucking near impossible to pull off one of the combos that ends with the triangle button attack, the only attack that will knock the sheilds off those fuckers and make them damageable. Everytime I roll to evade, every enemy in the room charges and goes for an attack. So I roll again to try to knock off their sheilds. Still no luck. So fucking frustrating. All the while, the floor: tick tick tick tick drop!

I think the thing that bugs me most about this game is that, unlike Ninja Gaiden, which is the god of the action game genre, the combat system in GoW is much looser and less elegant. Oh sure, you can target individuals...if you can get to the guy you want to hit while being mobbed by 10 of 'em, but, overall, it just doesn't have the ultra satisfying precission of NG's combat system. The combat system in GoW is still good...it's just not great.

Also, how do you pull off counter attacks in this game? I've tried millions of times to tap the block button right as the enemy hits, and then quickly follow up with square, triangle, or R1. The action slows down to indicate I've blocked and attack, and then nothing happens. Any tips?

edit: grammar

[mouselock]

This game is just ridiculously, sickeningly difficult in some places. I just flung my controller into a pillow, and I didn't do that a single time when I played through Ninja Gaiden. I'm completely stuck in a room in Pandora's Temple where gold sheild weilding undead and sirens are relentlessly flung at you until the floor drops out. I've died at least 10 times now. I don't want to switch to easy.

Do you have your blades powered up to the point where triangle/triangle/triangle is a combo? If so, try that. I recall that being tough, but the thing is you can't really evade then. It takes too much time, and time is very, very scarce at that point. I recall having to make liberal use of magic to help me through that part (I don't recall if magic hits shielded folks.. if so, there you go. If not, what I did was focus on the shield guys with the triangle triple combo, then went into magic once I got them deshielded.)

If you don't have the triple triangle combo I'd imagine it's harder because you'll have to rely on square-square-triangle. I did think the combos were a bit wonky in that I couldn't generally get 3x triangle to trigger the overhand smash, but 4x would do so reliably. Similarly, it was tougher to do the cross combo because it seemed to want me to start off with an extra square sometimes, and an extra triangle others. Go back somewhere safe and just get the combos down to start with.


Also, how do you pull off counter attacks in this game? I've tried millions of times to tap the block button right as the enemy hits, and then quickly follow up with square, triangle, or R1. The action slows down to indicate I've blocked and attack, and then nothing happens. Any tips?


That should be it. generally if you hit the square/triangle/R1 button while you're in the slow motion blocking animation you'll follow up with the appropriate counterattack (triangle is an overhead slam type attack I believe, square may be the cross the body scissors.. not sure I ever did the R1 one, though it ought to be the rush and stab type attack.)

As for targeting single critters, I always found that I just had to aim in the direction and go for it, but of course if things are around they'll knock you out of your combos. The game really can punish you for launching into a huge combo string when you're not supposed to. That's what Poseidon's Rage (level 2+ especially!) is for.

[Luke M]

Thanks for your tips, I'll give them a shot.

As for targeting single critters, I always found that I just had to aim in the direction and go for it, but of course if things are around they'll knock you out of your combos. The game really can punish you for launching into a huge combo string when you're not supposed to. That's what Poseidon's Rage (level 2+ especially!) is for.

Yeah, it's not that you can't target single units. It's just that it doesn't feel as precise and satisfying, overall, to attack single units (or groups of units) as in Ninja Gaiden.

[jeffd]

Dandy that fight was miserably difficult - IMO the hardest in the game thus far (I'm about 3/4 through).

The only advice I have is to use the three triangle combo to get their shields down as quckly as possible. This isn't always easy - sometimes they will just interrupt your combos no matter what. If those shields don't go down relatively quickly you're hosted.

Once their shields went down I spammed Poseidon a few times to get rid of the grunts and then popped Rage of the Gods to deal with the Sirens. I used lots of Poseidon then too - you have unlimited magic while raging.

Do NOT be shy about using magic or Rage to get through a fight. Rage you should be somewhat conservative with, but with Magic - there are usually a TON of chests around to refill it. I pop Poseidon a lot while facing the little puppies, for instance.

This game is just ridiculously, sickeningly difficult in some places. I just flung my controller into a pillow, and I didn't do that a single time when I played through Ninja Gaiden. I'm completely stuck in a room in Pandora's Temple where gold sheild weilding undead and sirens are relentlessly flung at you until the floor drops out. I've died at least 10 times now. I don't want to switch to easy. It's fucking near impossible to pull off one of the combos that ends with the triangle button attack, the only attack that will knock the sheilds off those fuckers and make them damageable. Everytime I roll to evade, every enemy in the room charges and goes for an attack. So I roll again to try to knock off their sheilds. Still no luck. So fucking frustrating. All the while, the floor: tick tick tick tick drop!

I think the thing that bugs me most about this game is that, unlike Ninja Gaiden, which is the god of the action game genre, the combat system in GoW is much looser and less elegant. Oh sure, you can target individuals...if you can get to the guy you want to hit while being mobbed by 10 of 'em, but, overall, it just doesn't have the ultra satisfying precission of NG's combat system. The combat system in GoW is still good...it's just not great.

Also, how do you pull off counter attacks in this game? I've tried millions of times to tap the block button right as the enemy hits, and then quickly follow up with square, triangle, or R1. The action slows down to indicate I've blocked and attack, and then nothing happens. Any tips?

edit: grammar

[TomChick]

Yeah, that fight was pretty annoying. But like most fights, once I figured out the best combos to use, it wasn't that difficult anymore. IIRC, it takes the shieldbusting combo (Poseiden's wake?) to break the shields and finish off the ghoul fellows. Then some supercharged Zeus lightning bolts finished off the sirens pretty quickly. It still took me a few tries, but once I worked out those moves, it was just a matter of getting the timing right before the floor fell out.

I pop Poseidon a lot while facing the little puppies, for instance.

I have to admit that Cerebrus fight with all the damn puppies (http://touch-ds.jp/mediagallery/st14.html) is where I finally dropped down to easy. I am lame.

-Tom

[Luke M]

Well, I finally made it past the floor dropping area using the area affect lightning spell and the triangle-triangle-triangle combo. Now I'm stuck in the area with the Cerebrus and the puppies. It's even more frustrating. Woohoo. I'm done with the game for a day or so. Sure is great when it's not pissing the player off with too hard combat scenarios.

[jeffd]

It's not immediately obvious but there's a finite amount of puppies. Concentrate on killing them and utterly ignore the big dog. Use Poseidon liberally - if you can get all the pups near you a single poseidon will kill them. after about 3 waves of puppies you can kill the big one.

JD

Well, I finally made it past the floor dropping area using the area affect lightning spell and the triangle-triangle-triangle combo. Now I'm stuck in the area with the Cerebrus and the puppies. It's even more frustrating. Woohoo. I'm done with the game for a day or so. Sure is great when it's not pissing the player off with too hard combat scenarios.

[GregB]

Those puppies also give a generous amount of heath if you finish them off with a grab attack (square button). Whenever my heath was getting low, I'd just do that to a few of them and I'd be back up to snuff.

That was a tough battle though. Took me about a dozen tries.

[forgeforsaken]

Like they said, kill the puppies and ignore the full grown cerb. Grab them when you can. Also, you can block almost all attacks here, and if you can blck that means you can 'hades pose' parry too. Try get a few parry counter attacks off throughout the fight, that should help a lot.

[Jeff Fiske]

When doing something like SQR, SQR, TRI you don't have to be facing your victim.

First time through the game- When I went through the room with the floor dropping out, I could not do it for long time- I felt the same as others. Same issues as everyone else.

When I went through it in God mode I did it on my first try.

The difference was what I was facing when I did my combo's. If you face away from a soldier with a shield for the first and second SQR and then turn and hit TRI, he will have been following you as you walk away from him. (Notice you step whenever you attack). From his POV you are slowly walking away from him, so he follows, and you turn to him and your first attack is the big smash that shatters his shield. Then your Poseidon’s rage will be equally effective on everyone in the room and two 'castings' should pretty much do it.

This walking away from monsters technique works equally well when fighting all those gold soldiers, or any nasty fight, and using the SQR,SQR,SQR attack that comes out from both sides and flings everyone. You can do SQR & SQR as you walk away from them, then turn and send a whole clump of them flying. Turn back away and do SQR, SQR then turn to them again and they will just arriving just in time for you to launch them again with the final SQR.

One other tip. Rolling between attacks to string your combo counter is a great technique (When you roll, you suspend the timer for connecting hits so you can whack a guy three times, roll, whack someone else three times and your counter will climb to 6. This is key in God mode where you need the extra damage from chaining the numbers together & where any monster will kill you if you try and square off with them. Move around a room distributing pain fairly and use the 20,30,40 hits on the main baddy in the room.)

Puppies die nicely to Posidens rage, and grabbing. Also, L1 & Square is good on the pups. (I believe this is the counter they are talking about.) God mod Cerebes fight would have been nigh impossible without magic.

Kratos can block faster and more effectively than you think, and you can keep the hit counter climbing after blocking.

You can grab Satyrs for a fun strength battle.

[RobotPants]

dandylife, you sound like you're just thinking too hard. I find it amazing that you had less trouble with Ninja Gaiden than you are with God of War. Ninja Gaiden was pretty much all about flawless combat, while GoW's a little looser. Just don't be afraid to use every tool you have at your disposal and upgrade frequently.

I found pretty much all the really difficult parts in the game to be hard in the sense that I felt I was failing because of my own mistakes instead of flaws in the game's design. I don't mind that at all. It's still frustrating at points, but more along the lines of "Why won't you work, stupid fingers?!" instead of "FUCK YOU, GAME!" Now, when I went though the Challenge of the Gods, I did have several teeth-grinding, controller twisting moments and screamed both of the aforementioned comments quite often. But it was worth it to be able to use the milkjugs of chaos.

[farley2k]

On the topic of the shield holding guys - upgrade your blades till you get the L1+Tri combo. This does the shield smashing move in one button press and makes them much more manageable. They were giving me fits but once I got that they are just pesky flies.

[mouselock]

Those puppies also give a generous amount of heath if you finish them off with a grab attack (square button). Whenever my heath was getting low, I'd just do that to a few of them and I'd be back up to snuff.

That was a tough battle though. Took me about a dozen tries.

Okay.. I'm not getting what's tough about this battle (and I didn't the first time folks said this too). Maybe it's just like me and the wraiths, where I think they're hard and others don't. I always just blocked the puppies when they jumped and then poseidon'd them when they were all (or mainly) in range. Never had any problems, and have never had a pup live long enough to grow up to be big in any of the cerberus encounters. (Also L1 + Square for the flying helicopter of doom thing can be useful if you can get them all on one side and herd them. If you can't they'll pop in from behind you and knock you out of the combo.)

[RobotPants]

I died a few times during the Puppy Battle, too. I think people find it hard just because it can be pretty overwhelming compared to what you faced up to that point. It's the first time in the game the enemies get worse if you don't kill them quickly enough and many people, myself included, tried ignoring the puppies completely until the big dog was down. All that did was allow the puppies to grow up. Those little guys doing cannonballs at you ends up killing you rather quickly if you don't do anything. You just have to change your playstyle a bit after being able to use pretty much the same tactics up to that point. It also helps if you had upgraded your Blades and mine weren't as high as I know now they should've been.

[TomChick]

Man, I hated the Puppies of Cerberus. And I had no idea they were finite. *Now* you guys tell me. I might have finished on standard difficulty if I'd known that...

-Tom

[jeffd]

That's the real problem Tom - and apparently one a lot of people (including myself) have. It's not at all obvious that the puppies are finite - so the first few times through I was trying to both wail on the big guy & kill puppies. Inevitably I'd miss one, it'd get big, and the route was on... It wasn't until a buddy told me the puppies didn't keep respawning that I was able to beat it.

In retrospect I don't know why I assumed the puppy spawning was infinite - there hadn't been any infinite spawns up to that point of the game (I don't think I've encountered any at all, as a matter of fact).

JD

Man, I hated the Puppies of Cerberus. And I had no idea they were finite. *Now* you guys tell me. I might have finished on standard difficulty if I'd known that...

-Tom

[mouselock]

In retrospect I don't know why I assumed the puppy spawning was infinite - there hadn't been any infinite spawns up to that point of the game (I don't think I've encountered any at all, as a matter of fact).

JD



There are infinite minotaurs at the first part of the game as part of a puzzle, but it's necessary that there be infinite minotaurs there.

I want to say there was some other place too, but it's not coming to me.. ah yes.. when moving the soldier for the sacrifice, the reapers are infinite too I believe.

[TomChick]

Yeah, there are definitely a few infinite monster spawns. Add the harpie room and the conveyor belt battle to what mouselock mentioned. It's not unreasonable to assume the puppies are going to keep getting belched up until you kill the big dogs.

-Tom

[mouselock]

Yeah, there are definitely a few infinite monster spawns. Add the harpie room and the conveyor belt battle to what mouselock mentioned. It's not unreasonable to assume the puppies are going to keep getting belched up until you kill the big dogs.

-Tom

The conveyor belt isn't infinite; it unlocks when you've killed everything (unless we're thinking about different conveyor belts -- I'm thinking of the one right before the end of Pandora's temple)

Forgot the harpies though.

[TomChick]

I'm thinking of the puzzle where you have to move the crate along the belt and trap it at certain points to fight off enemies. It's like the puzzle where you push the soldier in the cage uphill.

-Tom

[Thomas Wilde]

Funny thing about that block-belt sequence: you can destroy the crusher at the right end of the belt with one of those heavy overhead lash combos. I found that out by accident when I was trying to throw a zombie into the crusher.

[mouselock]

I'm thinking of the puzzle where you have to move the crate along the belt and trap it at certain points to fight off enemies. It's like the puzzle where you push the soldier in the cage uphill.

-Tom

Oh.. outside.. I'd totally forgotten about that one. Umm.. there were monsters on that?

[jeffd]

I don't remember the Minotaurs. Unless - are you talking about the one where you have to medusa the mintoaur on the switch to hold a door open?

The reapers weren't infinite, there were just lots of 'em. They spawned in waves, and as you got the block higher a new wave would start spawning. It took me forever to do that part, but eventually they stopped coming. I guess it's possible that they're spawned by switches and if the block falls you're going to trigger the switch again, though.

JD


In retrospect I don't know why I assumed the puppy spawning was infinite - there hadn't been any infinite spawns up to that point of the game (I don't think I've encountered any at all, as a matter of fact).

JD



There are infinite minotaurs at the first part of the game as part of a puzzle, but it's necessary that there be infinite minotaurs there.

I want to say there was some other place too, but it's not coming to me.. ah yes.. when moving the soldier for the sacrifice, the reapers are infinite too I believe.

[mouselock]

I don't remember the Minotaurs. Unless - are you talking about the one where you have to medusa the mintoaur on the switch to hold a door open?

Yeah, that's them. Obviously they have to keep coming so you can get out.


The reapers weren't infinite, there were just lots of 'em. They spawned in waves, and as you got the block higher a new wave would start spawning. It took me forever to do that part, but eventually they stopped coming. I guess it's possible that they're spawned by switches and if the block falls you're going to trigger the switch again, though.

No shit? I must've killed like 30 of them at one go until I decided it was just impossible to do any more because I was up to waves of 4 and I couldn't kill them fast enough to make any progress with cage boy, so I restarted and very deliberately made sure to make progress after each wave and everything went okay. I may have slid the cage down all the way the other times causing problems, though. If I can get back to my hard mode game I'll try just beating them all down first this time.

[Andrew Mayer]

I've been playing this the last few days and loving it.

Integrating the "experience points" into the environment was genius, and an idea that I'm sure I'll be borrowing one of these days.

[SolomonGrundy]

Oh...My...God.
I usually can't stand these types of games...DMC just bored me for example.
This is the best game I've played all year-I'm actually been putting the kid to bed early so I could get more playing time:)
The combo system is good enough to be interesting- and not crazy memorizing keys of 25 motions.
The fatalities are fun- and they are thier own little minigame.
timed puzzles usually freak me out, but that rescue the Oracle this was so fun I didn't even notice the timer.
Puzzles are also fun instead of frustrating. I've had 3 or 4 moments of 'I wonder if I can do this...there is no way the developer put this in, but let's try it anyway-wholly crap it worked'
Look any game that you have to infiltrate a castle on the back of a giant titan wandering endlessly in a desert so you can get the woozle to kill a god , that you have seen already that is HUGE is good by me.
enough hidden stuff to be interesting, and taking the 'wrong' branch always has it's rewards, a nice view, treasure or a good fight.
The monsters are actully fun to fight- there hasn't been a single - oh man, not these stupid things again' I love fighting Cyclops and the puppies.
My only bads are not at all design releated but I have had some slowdowns, and studdering during movies, but these are just showing the PS2 age.

I always wanted a Jason and the Argonauts game, and this is as close as I'll get until the GoW clones start coming out next year.

DEVELOPERS: Look at the crazy enviroment of this game. It is OK to have bizzare stuff in your game. No need for 'real world' settings or yet another marine base/gothic castle/egyptian temple/spaceship. I'm all for giant castles on the back of titans, or whole worlds on the back of a couple of elephants....

[TriggerHappy]

I can't get past the three sirens on my way to Pandora's temple. I have double upgraded swords and single upgraded Zeus' Lightning, but there isn't enough room in there for me to pick them off one at a time, and they attack so fast I can't get any decent combos or damage going. I'm mashing the O button as soon as it appears over any of their heads, but I have yet to take out a single one of them before dying, and I've tried at least 10 times now, on normal difficulty.

[Nick Walter]

I can't get past the three sirens on my way to Pandora's temple. I have double upgraded swords and single upgraded Zeus' Lightning, but there isn't enough room in there for me to pick them off one at a time, and they attack so fast I can't get any decent combos or damage going. I'm mashing the O button as soon as it appears over any of their heads, but I have yet to take out a single one of them before dying, and I've tried at least 10 times now, on normal difficulty.

I used Poseidon magic on them. Since they replenish magic when beheaded, feel free to be magically trigger happy when fighting them.

[SolomonGrundy]

Yeah I did the same thing. I use that spell more than the others by far.That was a tough fight.

the one I had problems with were the shield guys in the room where the floor falls out...finally figured it out,another DUH moment.

[Nick Walter]

Yeah I did the same thing. I use that spell more than the others by far.That was a tough fight.

the one I had problems with were the shield guys in the room where the floor falls out...finally figured it out,another DUH moment.

There was something to figure out there? I just did it again and again till I was fast enough to kill them all inside the time limit.

[Uncle Larry]

Yeah I did the same thing. I use that spell more than the others by far.That was a tough fight.

the one I had problems with were the shield guys in the room where the floor falls out...finally figured it out,another DUH moment.

Was there a trick to this fight? Because I just assumed it was timed, and it took me like 6 tries in a row before I finally WHOOPED ITS ASS.

Edit: Whoa, didn't see that Nick said exactly the same thing.

I'd also like to add that I've heard more than a few people speak derisively of the "mini-game-fatality" moves, and I couldn't disagree more.
Every single time I'm force-feeding the Blades of Chaos to some scumfuck minotaur, I'm all like, "TAKE IT! TAKE IT YOU FUCK!"

Mashing the circle button has never been more satisfying.

[RobotPants]

Heh, no kidding. The fact that it gives you health makes it all the better. The only gripe I have with the "mini-fatalities" is the fact that I don't really get to watch them because I'm paying so much attention to the button that appears. Watching someone else do it is pretty sweet, though. :)

[TomChick]

Watching someone else do it is pretty sweet, though.

God of War is a spectator sport. Me and Amanpour had a fine time barking out all manner of sexual innuendo during the minotaur fatalities ("Suck it! I said, suck it!"), trying to get the other guy to laugh and screw up his button mashing rhythm.

-Tom

[mouselock]

Watching someone else do it is pretty sweet, though.

God of War is a spectator sport. Me and Amanpour had a fine time barking out all manner of sexual innuendo during the minotaur fatalities ("Suck it! I said, suck it!"), trying to get the other guy to laugh and screw up his button mashing rhythm.

-Tom

How much concentration does "Hit it as fast as you can" take, though?

If you actually had a rhythm, I can only assume that not only is God of War a spectator sport, but one open to interpretive dance as well. :P

(I did like the fact that, in normal mode at least, as you got farther into the game the mechanics actually got less forgiving about the fatalities. While killing the gorgons was easy at the start, at the end you had to be pretty facile with your stick in order to get them dead. Come to think of it, I guess I can understand how yelling out comments about people being facile with their stick might distract enough to keep them from fatality-ing the gorgons.)

[Naked]

Pulling off the "blade to the gullet" move on the uber-minotaurs near the end of the game damn near broke my thumb...after a while, I decided to take it easy on myself and just behead the bastards.

[TomChick]

How much concentration does "Hit it as fast as you can" take, though?

As you noted, the later you get in the game, the harder it is to pull off some of the minigame fatalities. If you get someone to giggle because you're yelling things like 'Take it long and hard down your throat, Trebek!', you can easily mess them up.

Of course, it helps if it's you and friend who are easily amused by each other. I'm sure stoic, grim, and humorless folks wouldn't have a problem. :)

Here's another one to try: yell out the name of a different button during the cyclops fatality sequences. Better yet, get a room full of people to randomly yell 'Circle!', 'Square!', and 'Triangle!'. You're almost 100% guaranteed to fuck someone up.

-Tom

[Andrew Mayer]

Tom, don't you know you're supposed to be playing video games alone?

You're always writing about all this social gaming. It's very disturbing and unnatural.

[RobotPants]

Just the image of a room full of people yelling shapes is enough to make me laugh. :)

[mouselock]

How much concentration does "Hit it as fast as you can" take, though?

As you noted, the later you get in the game, the harder it is to pull off some of the minigame fatalities. If you get someone to giggle because you're yelling things like 'Take it long and hard down your throat, Trebek!', you can easily mess them up.


Aha.. see, learning to game while having a significant other, a dog, AND a cat around means I can quite literally keep the same input going while doing other things. (Such as yelling, "Doggetoffthecatforchrist'ssakebeforeshescratchesyo urdamneyesout!" and nudging the dog off the cat with my foot while shooting the SO a glance that clearly says "Quit laughing at me and help me out here, would you!")

Here's another one to try: yell out the name of a different button during the cyclops fatality sequences. Better yet, get a room full of people to randomly yell 'Circle!', 'Square!', and 'Triangle!'. You're almost 100% guaranteed to fuck someone up.

This, however, would mess me up. I'm no good as the shouter, though, because I like to be odd, so everyone else is shouting "Square", "Triangle", "X", and I'm shouting "Octagon" and "Icosahedron".

[Kevin Perry]

I recall reading somewhere that the game R&D guys at Wizards of the Coast staged large public competitions of Rock-Paper-Scissors, with the interest being in the crowd chanting one of the options and seeing how that would affect the actual players. Some players would choose that option more, and others would choose the option that beat the chanted option, while another group would choose the third option just to be perverse. You had to figure out what your opponent would do while reacting to the crowd in your own way.

[Wholly Schmidt]

You had to figure out what your opponent would do...
"Clearly I can not take the glass in front of me..."

[Luke M]

1 part fun + 1 part sloppy, overrated, but fun combat system + 3 parts frustratingly difficult platforming sections and combat encounters = God of War.

What is with game designers these days? Is it hip to make super hard sections in games that frustrate the hell out of players? Is that how to get street cred with your game? Jesus, the section in Hades where you have to climb the vertical cylinders adorned with blades is just absolutely fucking ridiculous. I've just about lost all my health trying to climb the same damn one over and over. And I always fall off near the top. This is just stupid. It really detracts from the experience. I'm having flashbacks of the Omega Pirate in Metroid Prime. Super game killed by a ridiculous difficulty spike near the end. Work not play. Ruins the experience.

This one might be taking a quick trip to the used rack at the local EB, especially since I can get $30 for it until May 1.

[Naked]

Jesus, the section in Hades where you have to climb the vertical cylinders adorned with blades is just absolutely fucking ridiculous. I've just about lost all my health trying to climb the same damn one over and over.
Come on, it's not that hard. I think it took me around 45 minutes to get through the entire Hades section, rotating spiky things and all, and my twitch skills are miles away from what they used to be.

[farley2k]

Jesus, the section in Hades where you have to climb the vertical cylinders adorned with blades is just absolutely fucking ridiculous. I've just about lost all my health trying to climb the same damn one over and over.
Come on, it's not that hard. I think it took me around 45 minutes to get through the entire Hades section, rotating spiky things and all, and my twitch skills are miles away from what they used to be.

Perhaps it isn't that hard in the scheme of games as a whole but compared with the other parts of GoW it is very hard.

It is a section which just stands out like a sore thumb to everyone. It doesn't fit. It is less forgiving, it has less health, and it has less save points than the other sections of the game.

[Naked]

I guess so....it didn't seem egregiously different, just a bit harder (certainly not Devil May Cry 3/Ninja Gaiden harder, but tougher nonetheless) and more unforgiving - it certainly would've been nice to not die every time you plummet from those horizontal rotating spiky things.

Still, it didn't kill the game for me. Then again, I beat the Omega Pirate first time too...I'm obviously awesome :wink:

[Wholly Schmidt]

Jesus, the section in Hades where you have to climb the vertical cylinders adorned with blades is just absolutely fucking ridiculous. I've just about lost all my health trying to climb the same damn one over and over.
Come on, it's not that hard. I think it took me around 45 minutes to get through the entire Hades section, rotating spiky things and all, and my twitch skills are miles away from what they used to be.

Perhaps it isn't that hard in the scheme of games as a whole but compared with the other parts of GoW it is very hard.

It is a section which just stands out like a sore thumb to everyone. It doesn't fit. It is less forgiving, it has less health, and it has less save points than the other sections of the game.
Consider that, from what I've heard, if you're playing on God Mode, that section is probably a welcome relief.

[Andrew Mayer]

Finished this at 4AM this morning.

I really enjoyed it, although it's definitely lightweight at its heart.

[Thrrrpptt!]

I've drafted the following e-mail to SCE Studios in regards to God of War. Anyone got an address I could send it to?

Dear SCE Studios,

I've recently been playing your God of War game and I have to ask: What's it like to be possessed of your special kind of idiot savant mind?

You do so much in this game that's so completely, over the top, crotch-hardeningly awesome. The environments are amazing, replete with inspired layouts and scenery that got me to stop every so often just to look at it. That's a rare achievement, so thanks! But out of this entire hearty stew of bad-assitude, the combat in God of War is particularly superlative. I could have spent hours (and come to think of it, I did) just trashing enemies with the tight, easy to learn and fun to master combat, slapping the hordes of Ares around like undead step children. Remember that part where Kratos has the attitude-off with the giant minotaur guarding Pandora's Temple? Dude, I was like totally cheering at the TV at that point, shaking my PS2 controller at the big bad wolf (bull, whatever) and telling him that if that was all he's got, I was going to totally kick his ass. And I did! And it was great!

Then, shortly after that highlight the "idiot" part of the "idiot savant" equation kicked in. It was like you thought to yourself, "Hey, this sublime blend of combat and exploration has worked so well so far, I think it would be great if we utterly screwed it up." And so the game promptly devolves to The Adventures of Kratos, The Amazing Hopping Hoplite. In Hell. Hades, whatever. Log rolling across beams with spinning blades? Death defying (or more often than not, death accommodating) jumps across floating platforms? Are you kidding me? What happened? It was like you had this big tub sloshing over with brilliance and then someone yanked the plug and guffawed like a moron while it all drained away. I quit playing your game when it asked me to climb up a spinning column decorated with also spinning blades. I hear that there's actually more game after that point, but I couldn't get myself to give a crap after the 20th time I died on that thing.

So, to recap: Your game makes me want to come over to Santa Monica and alternatively hug you and punch you in your flabby throat. Thanks a lot.

[Cog]

I thought that part was great. I really enjoyed how all the elements of a platformer were taken to the next level. Yes, that part was a little frustrating, but still fun. All-in-all, I love EVERY element of that game where your timing, patience, and reflex skills are tested.

[Nick Walter]

I've drafted the following e-mail to SCE Studios in regards to God of War. Anyone got an address I could send it to?

Dear SCE Studios,

I've recently been playing your God of War game and I have to ask: What's it like to be possessed of your special kind of idiot savant mind?

You do so much in this game that's so completely, over the top, crotch-hardeningly awesome. The environments are amazing, replete with inspired layouts and scenery that got me to stop every so often just to look at it. That's a rare achievement, so thanks! But out of this entire hearty stew of bad-assitude, the combat in God of War is particularly superlative. I could have spent hours (and come to think of it, I did) just trashing enemies with the tight, easy to learn and fun to master combat, slapping the hordes of Ares around like undead step children. Remember that part where Kratos has the attitude-off with the giant minotaur guarding Pandora's Temple? Dude, I was like totally cheering at the TV at that point, shaking my PS2 controller at the big bad wolf (bull, whatever) and telling him that if that was all he's got, I was going to totally kick his ass. And I did! And it was great!

Then, shortly after that highlight the "idiot" part of the "idiot savant" equation kicked in. It was like you thought to yourself, "Hey, this sublime blend of combat and exploration has worked so well so far, I think it would be great if we utterly screwed it up." And so the game promptly devolves to The Adventures of Kratos, The Amazing Hopping Hoplite. In Hell. Hades, whatever. Log rolling across beams with spinning blades? Death defying (or more often than not, death accommodating) jumps across floating platforms? Are you kidding me? What happened? It was like you had this big tub sloshing over with brilliance and then someone yanked the plug and guffawed like a moron while it all drained away. I quit playing your game when it asked me to climb up a spinning column decorated with also spinning blades. I hear that there's actually more game after that point, but I couldn't get myself to give a crap after the 20th time I died on that thing.

So, to recap: Your game makes me want to come over to Santa Monica and alternatively hug you and punch you in your flabby throat. Thanks a lot.

Let me know if you find that address. I'd like to share the exact same sentiments with them.

[Union Carbide]

Found this amusing machinima using God of War:

http://www.heavy.com/index.php?channel=pimpMyWeapon&partner=aff36

[Wholly Schmidt]

Found this amusing machinima using God of War:

http://www.heavy.com/index.php?channel=pimpMyWeapon&partner=aff36
Does it get funnier after the first one?

[RobotPants]

I think those are supposed to make me hate the game.

[Thrrrpptt!]

Does it get funnier after the first one?
Not really. They are pretty well done from a technical standpoint, though.

[Thierry Nguyen]

I've drafted the following e-mail to SCE Studios in regards to God of War. Anyone got an address I could send it to?

Dear SCE Studios,

I've recently been playing your God of War game and I have to ask: What's it like to be possessed of your special kind of idiot savant mind?

You do so much in this game that's so completely, over the top, crotch-hardeningly awesome. The environments are amazing, replete with inspired layouts and scenery that got me to stop every so often just to look at it. That's a rare achievement, so thanks! But out of this entire hearty stew of bad-assitude, the combat in God of War is particularly superlative. I could have spent hours (and come to think of it, I did) just trashing enemies with the tight, easy to learn and fun to master combat, slapping the hordes of Ares around like undead step children. Remember that part where Kratos has the attitude-off with the giant minotaur guarding Pandora's Temple? Dude, I was like totally cheering at the TV at that point, shaking my PS2 controller at the big bad wolf (bull, whatever) and telling him that if that was all he's got, I was going to totally kick his ass. And I did! And it was great!

Then, shortly after that highlight the "idiot" part of the "idiot savant" equation kicked in. It was like you thought to yourself, "Hey, this sublime blend of combat and exploration has worked so well so far, I think it would be great if we utterly screwed it up." And so the game promptly devolves to The Adventures of Kratos, The Amazing Hopping Hoplite. In Hell. Hades, whatever. Log rolling across beams with spinning blades? Death defying (or more often than not, death accommodating) jumps across floating platforms? Are you kidding me? What happened? It was like you had this big tub sloshing over with brilliance and then someone yanked the plug and guffawed like a moron while it all drained away. I quit playing your game when it asked me to climb up a spinning column decorated with also spinning blades. I hear that there's actually more game after that point, but I couldn't get myself to give a crap after the 20th time I died on that thing.

So, to recap: Your game makes me want to come over to Santa Monica and alternatively hug you and punch you in your flabby throat. Thanks a lot.

You can try emailing Jaffe through his blog (http://davidjaffe.modblog.com/).

[farley2k]

I thought that part was great. I really enjoyed how all the elements of a platformer were taken to the next level. Yes, that part was a little frustrating, but still fun. All-in-all, I love EVERY element of that game where your timing, patience, and reflex skills are tested.


???? Now is 'instant death' the next level? It is about as retro as a fat guy in red coveralls jumping around.

It was much more of a "throwback" to classic platformers where timing, patience and reflexs were all that mattered.


Now you can like that, but it is silly to say that is somehow creative or "the next level"

[Jim Preston]

The only way to properly take jumping puzzles to the next level is to never see them in a game again, ever.