Examining God Of War Game Video Games Essay
God of War is literally based on Greek mythology and focused on protagonist Kratos. It forms part of a saga which is the series of God of War with the vengeance as a central theme. In this game, Kratos should restrict the God of War from destroying the Athens by finding the fabled Pandora’s Box.
In March 2005, God of War is released for the PlayStation 2 console by Sony Computer Entertainment’s.
God of War is a Third-Person Camera game. In that the player controls the character Kratos in combat combination, puzzle game elements and plat forming. The player needs to navigate Kratos through a long series of tests, mazes and trials to reach goals. Kratos he travels across Greece in an attempt to kill the Ares.
In PC and Video games, Third Person is a graphical perspective view from a fixed distance which is slightly above and behind the player character. Through this viewpoint players are allowed to see more strongly characterized avatar. It is most commonly found in action adventure and action games.
General Discussion:
God of War is again one of such games which made its entry. It is definitely more than just an excellent plat former. It is one of the most violent, disturbing and darkest games. The content and meaning of the game significantly exceeds the immaculately crafted gameplay.
History of Greece:
Basically, the Greece history is divided into six periods.
1. Accession of Peisistratus at Athens and Croesus in Lydia was from 776 BC to 660 BC
2. Peifflstratus Accession and Croesus to the repulse of Xerxes from Greece
3. Repulse of Xerxes to the close of the Peloponnesian war and overthrow of Athens
4. Close of the Peloponnesian war to the battle of Leuctra
5. Battle of Leuctra to that of Chaeroneia
6. Battle of Chaeroneia to the end of Alexander generation
From Peisistratus to the death of Alexander and his generation, the five periods presents the historical drama which was capable of perspicuous succession. Adventures of Sicilian and Italian Greeks were interwoven. Occasionally, Introduced notices of Grecian political constitutions, poetry, oratory and philosophy. The Greece political actions had become degraded, after the generation of Alexander.
Mainly the revolutions of Agis and Eleomenes at Sparta are instructive and affecting. Since then the value of Greeks belonged to them as individual preceptors, philosophers, astronomers, mathematicians, literary men and critics, medical practioners, etc.
In ancient times of Greece, wars were very common. Greeks used to live in a small cities which has around100, 000 people in each city. Athens, Corinth, Sparta, Thebes used to fight with each other at their borders.
Greece used to defend its cities from the invaders. Sometimes the cities within Greece used to fight together and sometimes they fight alone. Even Greece invaded other countries and took over them.
The four main wars that occurred in ancient times were Trojan War (about 1250 BC), the Persian Wars (490-480 BC), the Peloponnesian War (441-404 BC) and the campaigns of Alexander the Great (331-323 BC). Later, according to Polybius, Romans took over Greece.
Story of God of War Game:
Kratos who is known for his brutality was once Spartan armies general. Only the mighty Barbarians finally defeated the Spartans. After a long fight Kratos was entirely defeated and his soldiers were brutally killed and were around his prone body in front of the Barbarian King. Kratos shouted to the heavens, when the Barbarian swung his hammer and pledged his life to Ares. In return he got power to defeat his enemies. At that time Kratos became Ares’ servant and with the power of Blades of Chaos he defeated the Barbarian King using these new weapons.
However, these powers came at a price for Kratos. Being Ares’ servant he led his army to various victories. By following the Ares blindly he burned and pillaged a village. He murdered everyone within the local temple of Athena. In his rampage, he killed his wife and daughter unknowingly.
When the Kratos realized his mistakes, he vowed vengeance on Ares. Ares explained Kratos how he arranged this happen to him, so that he will end up serving him. During the bodies of his wife and daughter were burned, Kratos was cursed by the village’s. Later the burned ashes of his wife attached to his skin and made him pale. Since then he was named as Ghost of Spartans .
Kratos helped Athena to defeat Ares in the God of War. Finally gods removed his pain and nightmares. Kratos was told about Pandora’s Box by Athena which is an ancient artifact that will help Kratos to defeat a God. After entering into the Temple of Pandora, he had come across many challenges. He was killed by Ares after escaping from Hades. Finally, Kratos found the Pandora’s Box and acquired its power which allowed him to kill his former master. Later even the gods of Olympus were helpless to erase Kratos memories from his mind as his crimes were so terrible.
Despite the Ares death, he continued to get nightmares. He even tried to kill himself but Athena saved and offered him a position in Olympus. Later he armed with Athena s Blades in replacement of Blades of Chaos, which was lost when Ares had died. Later he ruled as a new God of War.
Later, he descended to help his army to attack city of Rhodes. An enchanted eagle breathed life into the Colossus of Rhodes, and tried to steal Kratos’ power. It was Athena according to Kratos belief as he was early instructed not to go along with Sparta. After numerous attempts he drained his powers into sword and defeated Colossus as advised by Zeus.
Zeus is the main culprit who was disguised as eagle in order to kill and send him to Hades. Gaia of Titan raised him again and suggested him to rebuild the sword to kill the gods. Later, he traveled to the Island of Fates where he comes across many challenges. Finally, he killed the Sisters of Fate which allowed him to go back in time when he was murdered by Zeus. Later Kratos will come to know that Zeus is his father. They managed to get once Athena died, but Kratos returned to Olympus with Titans by his side to kill the Gods.
Game play:
Kratos’ main weapons are Blades of Chaos and secondary weapon is Blade of Artemis. Four different attacks like Zeus’ Fury, Medusa’s Gaze, Army of Hades and Poseidon’s Rage are available. Also, the relic Poseidon’s is obtained. This allows the Kratos to respire even when submerged. During the final fight with Ares, Kratos uses the Blade of Gods temporarily.
Rage of the Gods is a special ability which increases attack damage and temporarily provides invulnerability. When the enemies are killed, it will be recharged.
In the game, Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers are Health and Magic upgrades respectively. Orbs are the other type of chests found in the game which are marked with a corresponding color (green, blue, and red). Green represents health, blue represents magic and red represents experience in tackling.
By killing foes and destroying few inanimate objects, red orbs can be collected. It also has a quick-time feature that initiates when the player has become weak. Accordingly the player presses the relative commands that appear on screen. On minor foes, grab man over is available which yields red orbs.
The presentation of Greece, depth of the challenges, simple fighting style, and the horrific finishing attacks will give you the best view of the action. The controls allow players to feel powerful, blocks, performing dazzling strikes, grapples and jumps. The sound and environments create the perfect setting for this game. On top of the fun factor, God of War is also a wonderful treat for the senses with its artistic version of ancient Greece. Once in a while every one game comes along that pushes the restrictions, that takes risks and innovates without losing the qualities that make so enjoyable God of War is one of those games.
Kratos:
In Greek mythology Kratos appears briefly to make impression towards them. He is not a nice guy. He is brother of Nike (Greek goddess of victory), Zeus (Greek god of rivalry) and Bia (Greek goddess of force). Four of them were first amongst Zeus. Though Kratos was god of strength, in modern times his name is probably most familiar as the main character in video game series God of War. Apparently the title “God of War” refers not to the character Kratos but to the Greek god of war Ares, who plays a role in the plot.
Ares:
Ares is God of War, son of Hera and Zeus and also the most powerful amongst Olympus gods. He was also an enemy of Athena. His Roman counterpart was Mars. Ares lay siege to her city Athens, out of his utter hatred and jealousy for her. Thousands of Athenians were slaughtered by the monsters that he awoke from Underworld.
Zeus:
ZEUS was the king of the gods, the god of sky and weather, law, order and fate. People thought of him as living on top of a mountain (Mount Olympus), and when he is angry he throws lightning bolts out of the sky at people. Zeus probably was not worshipped in Greece before the Indo-European Greeks arrived there in the Middle Bronze Age.
He is an Indo-European god, and he is basically the same as other Indo-European sky gods like Jupiter (this is really even the same word: Ju= Zeus and piter means father) or Odin. He’s related to Indra, a Hindu sky god, the son of Dyeus Pita.
ZEUS (Zeus), the greatest of the Olympian gods, and the father of gods and men, was a son of Cronos and Rhea, a brother of Poseidon, Hades (Pluto), Hestia, Demeter, Hera, and at the same time married to his sister Hera.
Weapons:
Kratos Weapon:
Kratos main weapons in God of War are Blades of Athena. They are the same like Blades of Chaos which Kratos first received. They have the same abilities like Blades of Chaos at the end of God of War. However, in God of War: Betrayal and God of War II their powers of attacking are changed.
Athena’s Blades give off a yellow aura with Blue-colored Glyphs and are gold in color due to the godly magic emitting from them. Also the colors of weapons changes in different levels.
Gods Weapons:
The Blade of Gods was a stone and bridge built of metal in a sword shape. Kratos used the bridge as weapon when he becomes gigantic. At the last moment he killed Ares by using the Blades of Chaos forcefully removed from his body during his final battle.
God of War Part 1:
It was released for PS 2 by Sony Computer Entertainment’s. It is Third Person Camera game. Created by Ready at Dawn Studios, Santa Monica Studios.
In this part, Kratos needs to stop the Ares from destroying the Athens city by finding Pandora’s Box. Unlike other games, God of War focused on afterthought simultaneously maintained the action and adventure genre. Definitely, this is one of the best action and adventure games on the PS 2.
God of War Part 2:
In this part, Kratos, now the God of War, attempts to overcome the betrayal of the gods by seeking out The Sisters of Fate and changing his destiny.
Mainly we can see lots of Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Themes etc which makes the game far more interesting. Also, a strong language has been used in the game.
It was released for PS 2 and PS 3 console by Sony Computer Entertainment’s.
God of War was admirable in most of the aspects. There was always a distance between the the game’s story and the player. There is no much improvements in this part compared to part I.
God of War II has all most everything that gamers would expect in sequel. It is definitely one of the exciting and interesting PS2 games in the history. It has amazing graphics, interactive sound effects, intense fights and music.
God of War Part 3:
In this part, Kratos with his Titans force attack the Olympus to kill Zeus and Olympian Gods. Pandora’s Box will be reintroduced in this part. It was released for PS – 3 consoles by Sony Computer Entertainment’s.
As in earlier sequels, even this part is full of graphic violence, hideous monsters and blood, similar to God of War: Ghost of Sparta. It has excellent action-packed set pieces, sublime combat, and epic spectacle.
The God of War Collection produces a range of visual and performance benefits. According to NPD data collected in Nov 2010, more than 180,000 copies was sold in USA in less than two weeks.
PS2 hardware emulation shots on top, God of War Collection and PCSX2 shots on the bottom.
Three types of Third person camera systems:
1. One is the Fixed Camera Systems where the positions of camera are set while the game is created.
2. The Tracking Camera Systems in which the camera is continuously follows the player’s position.
3. The Interactive Camera Systems are the advanced and are well controlled by the player s.
Some Examples of camera types:
Fixed camera:
Selection of shots in Resident Evil 2 that aim at creating tension.
In the Fixed Camera System, the properties of the camera are set by the game developers, such as its position, field of view or orientation, during the game creation. The view of camera will not change dynamically. Therefore, the same position will always be shown under the same set of views. Example for this type of camera can be found in Alone in the Dark and early Resident Evil. The background on which they evolve has been pre-rendered, while the characters are in 3D.
One of the advantages of this Fixed Camera System is that it allows the designers to use the film language. Infact, the filmmakers, can create a mood through camera work by careful selection of shots. Their cinematic qualities are often praised in such games. In Resident Evil 2 this techniques are used by Capcom in which the encounter between monster and Leon was introduced by careful selection of views that aim at creating tension.
Tracking camera:
The tracking camera follows the characters from behind. There is no need for the player to control the camera. For example move it to a different position or rotate it. In early 3D games such as Crash Bandicoot or Tomb Raider, this type of camera system is very common as it is simple to implement. But there are few problems with this type of camera system.
As the player does not control the camera may jerk or end up in awkward positions when a character turns or stands face out against a wall. This type of system is not suitable when occluded by an object.
Interactive camera:
In Super Mario 64, the camera intelligently rotates to show the path, instead of staying behind Mario. This is an improvement over the tracking camera system. Some of its parameters like camera s orientation or distance to the character will be changed even while the camera is still tracking the character. The camera is often controlled by an analog stick to provide a good accuracy on videogame consoles. However, in PC games it is normally controlled by mouse. Best examples are Tomb Rider, Matrix, Super Mario Sunshine or The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
It is often very difficult to implement the fully interactive camera systems. Super Mario Sunshine faced many difficulties in controlling the camera and thus been argued by Gamespot. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was more successful and rarely needs manual correction.
Super Mario 64 was one of the first games to offer an interactive camera system. It has two types of camera systems by which the player can switch accordingly. Except that it was partly driven by artificial intelligence, the first one was a standard tracking camera system. The system was responsive to the structure of the game level and thus can anticipate the change when required. For example, in the first phase, when the path to the hill is going to take left turn, the camera automatically starts looking towards the left by anticipating the player’s action. The second type allows the player to control the camera relatively to player position. By pressing up or down arrow keys camera moves closer or away from Mario, and by pressing on the left or right buttons, the camera rotates around Mario.
Sound:
Both sound and music are very well composed. This makes the game much more interesting and lively to play. In order to get a truly Greek feel, the score is provided. The graphics in the game are amazing on any TV. However, they are even better on progressive scan mode. Everything from semi-interactive surroundings to background details feels like a truly interactive world.
Releases & Awards History of God of War:
God of War was released on June 21, 2005 in Europe and March 22, 2005 in North America and is also available in the PlayStation 2.
God of War II was released on November 17, 2009 in North America. Both games are launched with up-scaled graphics and support for PlayStations. It was released in on UK 30 April 2010 Japan on March 18, Australia on 29 April 2010.
God of War received the “Game of the Year” award from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. God of War is ranked amongst the top 25 PS2 games list.
It won twelve “Game of the Year Awards”. In 2007, it was named as the “seventh best” PS2 game of all time in IGN’s feature reflecting on the history of the PlayStation.
God of War (series):
God of War is a video game for the PlayStation 2 and the first in the series
God of War II, video game for the PlayStation 2
God of War Betrayal, video game for mobile phones
God of War Chains of Olympus, game for the PlayStation Portable
God of War Collection reissue of God of War and God of War II, premastered and compiled on a single disc for the PlayStation 3
God of War III, game for the PlayStation 3
God of War: Ghost of Sparta, a 2010 video game for the PlayStation Portable
About PlayStation:
PS 2 is a very popular console. It has thousands of games which are liked by everyone. We can opt to play LEGO Batman with family or sit for hours on hunting mythical deities in God of War.
With DUALSHOCK 2 analog controller they all come alive. It delivers a sensitive gaming experience. Every action button has pressure sensitivity (up to 255 levels of sensitivity) and analog thumbsticks has enhanced mobility.
Every PS 2 system has a controller and even we can use another DUALSHOCK 2 controller in order to play with friends.
PS3 has in-built Wi-Fi and also can store huge amounts of data like game files, music, videos, photos and add-ons. HD movies at 1080p will be shown by Blu ray player to get pristine picture quality. Streaming movies can be downloaded by using Netflix.
Conclusion:
God of War is a revolutionary game created in the gaming world. The audio and graphics used in this game were extraordinary and eye-catching. The player feels as if he is the main character. No wonder it is ranked in the top 20 list. Even the storyline of the game is scripted very well.
God of War’s greatest strength is fun. God of War is a perfect game, and also a great one. The game contains so much energy and confidence, so much skill and spirit. Anyone can addicted because of the action and detailed storyline.
God of War is superbly designed and executed action adventure game that is the finest ever made.
