This review was originally written by me for another (now defunct) gaming site. It has not been altered from its original 2005 verbiage, including the screen-shots.
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The PS2 has been around since 2000, and it finally has a killer app. Sure, there have been lots of good games like Rez and Final Fantasy X, but thus far the PS2 has been missing a flagship title, something that the system will truly be remembered for. Remember how the Genesis had Altered Beast, Golden Axe, and Revenge of Sonic the Hedgehog? Seminal games that are forever tied with the hardware they originally worked with. God of War is that title for the PS2.
God of War is your standard beat-em-up-cum-platformer-adventure title with violence, nudity, and the best boss battles of this generation. A throwback to the old school style of gaming, God of War would fit perfectly with the 16-bit Ghouls and Ghosts or Streets of Rage if it wasn't for the fact that it's beautifully rendered in 3D with superb voice acting and bosses that are scaled beyond all comprehension.
As a Spartan warrior who is out to kill the titular god of war, Aeries, you hack, slash, kill, dismember, murder, burn, decapitate and defenestrate your way through ancient Greece in order to recover Pandora's Box, the only item powerful enough to let a mortal kill a god. Why you are out to do so is one of the game's best points, as the story unfolds violently through flashbacks of your life -- and death.
Since 90% of the gameplay is hack-and-slash, how well the combat holds up over the eight or so hours it will take to conquer the game is of vital importance. The good news is that it holds together extremely well, offering up a good challenge without being impossible. To get to the point, you, as Kratos the Spartan, kick a lot of ass. So much ass that within a few minutes of playing, you can pull of spectacular looking moves against a wide range of enemies. To top it off, most enemies have custom death animation of the most gruesome nature that are pulled of in a series of quick button combinations flashed on the screen. If you've played Shenmue, you know these as Quick Timer Events. It works surprising well, and allows you to pull off finishing moves that would make Mortal Kombat participants quake in their boots.
Throw in magic attacks, great puzzles, bosses so large they look like NEXT generation models and a suitably gory and interesting story and you have a winner all around. If you like good games you should play this game. It's a great achievement in game making, a great work of art, and a damn great amount of fun.