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The Gods of Olympus have abandoned me. Now there is no hope.

Kratos.

God of War is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First release on the PlayStation 2 console, it is the first installment of the God of War series, and the third chronologically. It was released in North America on March 22, 2005, in Europe on July 8, and on November 17, 2005 in Japan. Loosely based on Greek Mythology, it is set in the ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, a Spartan warrior and a demigod with superhuman god-powers who serves the God of Olympus, begins his task to exact revenge against Ares, the God of War and Kratos' former mentor, who had tricked Kratos into killing his wife and daughter. As Ares besieges Athens out of hatred for Athena, Kratos embarks on a quest to find the one object capable of stopping the God once and for all: Pandora's Box.

The gameplay of God of War focuses on combo-based combat, achieved through the player's main weapon—the Blades of Chaos—and a secondary weapon acquired later in the game. It features quick time events that require the player to complete various game controller actions in a timed sequence to defeat stronger enemies and bosses. The player can use up to four magical attacks and a power-enhancing ability as alternative combat options. It also features puzzles and platforming elements.

God of War sold more than 4.6 million copies worldwide, making it the fourteenth best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time. Regarded as one of the best action-adventure games for the platform, it won several "Game of the Year" awards.

Story[]



Kratos is a Spartan warrior with superhuman godly-powers and abilities (due to the fact that he is the demigod son of Zeus the King of the Gods, which was never revealed in the first game until in the sequel) who serves the Gods of Olympus in Greece. Numerous flashbacks revealed that he was once a successful warrior but eventually became a bloodthirsty captain in the Spartan Army as he frequently led his men into several victories before being defeated by a Barbarian King, Alrik, Kratos' arch-enemy. Facing death, but refuse to surrender his defeat, Kratos called on the God of War, Ares, whom he promised to serve if the God would spare his men and provide the power to destroy their enemies. Ares agreed and bonded the Blades of Chaos, a pair of chained blades forged in the depths of Tartarus, to his new servant. Kratos, equipped with the blades, then decapitated the Alrik while Ares destroys Alrik's men, leading Kratos to regain his victory once more.

Kratos waged war at the behest of Ares, eventually leading an attack on a village occupied by worshipers of Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. Unbeknownst to Kratos, Ares had secretly transported Kratos' wife and daughter to the village; during his frenzied attack on its temple, Kratos accidentally killed them in a blind fury. Although Ares believed this act would free Kratos to become the perfect warrior, the horrified and saddened Spartan instead renounced his pledge of servitude to the God and swore vengeance against him. An elderly Oracle of the destroyed village cursed Kratos by bonding the ashes of his dead family to his skin, turning it ash-white and earning him the nickname, "Ghost of Sparta". Plagued by nightmares of his horrible deed, Kratos vowed to serve the other Gods in hope of ridding himself of the visions.

When the game starts, Kratos has been serving the Gods for ten years. He kills the Hydra on behalf of Poseidon, God of the Seas, but he has grown tired of his service and suffering. He summons Athena, who states that if Kratos performs one final act—the murder of Ares—he will be forgiven for killing his family. Ares is waging war on the city of Athens out of hatred of his sister Athena, who assigns Kratos to destroy Ares because Zeus has forbidden divine intervention. Athena guides Kratos to the war-torn Athens. After a strange encounter with a Grave Digger who encourages him to continue his task, Kratos battles his way to Athens' Oracle, finds her, and learns that the only way to defeat Ares is with Pandora's Box, a mythical artifact that grants the power to kill a God.

Kratos enters the Desert of Lost Souls, and Athena tells him Pandora's Box is hidden in a temple chained to the back of the Titan Cronos—a punishment by Zeus for Cronos' role in the Great War. Kratos summons Cronos, climbs for three days before reaching the Temple entrance, overcomes an array of deadly traps and an army of monsters, and eventually finds the Box. But Ares, aware of his former servant's success, kills Kratos as he is leaving the Temple by hurling a large pillar into him. While a group of Harpies take the Box to Ares, Kratos falls into the Underworld. He battles his way through the fiery realm of the dead, and with help from the mysterious Grave Digger, who tells him Athena is not the only God watching over him, he escapes and returns to Athens.

Kratos recovers Pandora's Box from Ares, opens it, and uses its power to become godlike and engages Ares in a fierce battle. Despite Ares' best efforts to destroy Kratos physically and mentally, including stripping him of all weapons and magic and then forcing him to relive his family's death, Kratos overcomes and kills Ares with the Blade of the Gods, a giant sword that was being used as an ornamental bridge to Athens. The city is saved, and Athena tells Kratos that although his sins are forgiven, the Gods of Olympus cannot erase his nightmares. Forsaken by the Gods, he tries to commit suicide by casting himself into the Aegean Sea, but Athena intervenes and transports him to Mount Olympus. As a reward for his services to the Gods, Athena provides Kratos with a new set of Blades and the empty throne of war god; Kratos became the new God of War.

Characters[]

  • Kratos - The titular character and the main protagonist, a Spartan warrior and demigod with an incredible set of superhuman godly powers due to his blood divine heritage of a God, who swears revenge against Ares for betraying him and for making him turn his Baldes of Chaos on his wife and daughter. After exacting revenge against Ares at the end of the game, Kratos succeeded him by becoming the new God of War (which the first game explains that Kratos is the titular character of the series, not Ares).
  • Athena - The Goddess of War and Wisdom, she is the most prominent Goddess who helps Kratos on his quest.
  • Ares - The God of War who caused Kratos to murder his own family, and is now the target of his revenge. He is killed by Kratos at the end of the game. He is the main antagonist.
  • Village Oracle - An elderly woman who resides in the Village of Athena. However, Kratos and his men burned everything to the ground. She bears a glowing Omega necklace, hinting that she works for/is Ares, and warned Kratos of going into the temple, as his wife and child were inside. She attached their ashes to his skin after their death.
  • Oracle of Athens - A servant to Athena who seeks to help Kratos in his quest to vanquish Ares. It was she who told Kratos of Pandora's Box and where it was located, sending him through the Desert of Lost Souls to find The Sirens. Just before the final battle with Ares, the Oracle is found, dying and lamenting the fall of Athens.
  • Grave Digger - A mysterious man digging a grave on the edge of Athens, his exact agenda is unknown but it turns out he is digging an opening to The Underworld, just in time for Kratos to escape from that place. It is implied that he is one of the Gods of Olympus and might have been Zeus himself, this theory is furthered in Ghost of Sparta as the Grave Digger costume allows the player to play as Zeus, however, it is only possible to play as him in the combat arena.
  • Body Burner - The first person to enter the Temple of Pandora and in his own words the first to die. Punished for his failure, the Gods told him to burn the bodies of anyone who dies in the temple, he is immortal of spirit but not of the body, hence his rotting visage. Only the Body Burner can unlock the doors to Pandora's Temple for Kratos.
  • Pathos Verdes III - This man was a zealot who - according to the Body Burner - lived only to serve the Gods but went mad trying. He constructed the entire Temple of Pandora while slipping deeper into his madness and the rumor is that he's still alive, still inside, trying to appease the Gods who abandoned him years ago. Towards the end of Pandora's Temple, Kratos discovers that in his madness Pathos murdered his wife (fearing she would interfere with his completion of the temple) and then committed suicide. Pathos and Kratos share similarities in that they are both servants of the gods who lose their families and perhaps their minds in service to the gods of Olympus.
  • Lysandra and Calliope - Kratos' wife and child, In the past they were the only people who did not fear Kratos, but sadly they were both killed by Kratos when he was deceived by Ares at the massacre of the temple of Athena. They reappear later as a cruel illusion forged by the God of War in an attempt to defeat Kratos in battle when Kratos proved stronger than Ares thought. They were killed again when the Blades of Chaos were commanded to impale them by their master, The God Of War.
  • The Narrator - An unseen, omniscient voice that narrates the story of Kratos to the player throughout the game's cutscenes. In God of War II, it is revealed that the narrator is actually the voice of Gaia, the Titan, who has been watching Kratos' exploits through the story in the first game.

Enemies[]

Common Enemies[]

  • Undead Legionnaires - Ares' army of the undead. Dressed in the armor of ancient Greek Warriors, they appear as demonic skeletons with bits of decaying flesh clinging to their bones. A frequently encountered enemy, they sometimes come in clusters and are quite varied; early on they wear little armor and wield short swords, but as the game progresses, they begin to appear wielding larger swords and wearing heavier armor and eventually end up wielding massive shields and scythes.
  • Undead Archers - A unique variety of Undead Legionnaires, they engage Kratos in combat by attacking him from afar with flaming arrows that explode on impact, and carry no swords, shields, or other melee equipment. They usually appear either in pairs or in groups. Though their arrows are strong, and Kratos can easily be killed in a barrage of them, the archers are among the physically weakest of the legionnaires when engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
  • Minotaurs - A species of anthropomorphic bulls, appearing to be about eight feet tall. They walk on their hind legs and carry a variety of massive axes. Over the course of the game, the Minotaurs that Kratos encounters become larger, more powerful, and more heavily armored and well armed. Kratos can kill them by thrusting a sword in their open mouths and out the back of their heads.
  • Cyclops - Squat giants with a single eye in the middle of their foreheads. They resemble the stereotypical depiction of cavemen. They attack Kratos either with their fists or with giant clubbed weapons.
  • Harpies - Monsters with the heads of bald, deformed women, and the bodies of bats. They usually appear in large groups to attack Kratos. Individually weak, they can easily overpower Kratos as part of a group attack. In addition to biting and slashing Kratos with their fangs and talons, they can cause their own bodies to start on fire and dive bomb Kratos.
  • Wraiths - The vengeful ghosts of those who died in combat opposing Ares; utterly consumed by the rage in which they died, they now attack any living thing that comes near them. They appear as eyeless, emaciated humans with decaying flesh and bladed arms. Instead of legs, their waists terminate in clouds of black smoke from which they float. They can collapse themselves into this smoke and float around beneath the earth, exploding up from beneath Kratos' feet to attack him.
  • Gorgons - Humanoid-sized, green, reptilian creatures with the heads, arms, and breasts of women and the bodies of snakes; instead of hair, their heads are covered by masses of writhing asps. They emit beams of energy from their eyes which can turn living things to solid stone.
  • Sirens - Creatures which resemble deformed women with long bangs obscuring their monstrous faces. Dressed in flowing white tunics, they float around the Desert of Lost Souls, singing songs to lure treasure hunters to them, and then killing their victims. Their death shrieks emit sonic waves which reveal and open the path to Pandora's Temple. Another group of Sirens later attacks Kratos just before Pandora's Temple, and later on inside the temple.
  • Satyrs - A giant, anthropomorphic goats 6-7 feet tall that walk about on their hind legs. Skilled warriors, they wear heavy armor and wield giant ornate staves with large blades on either end, which they either use as axes or to attack with spinning motions. They are the most skilled enemies in the game in terms of hand-to-hand combat, and the most capable of putting up a sustained defense against Kratos' attacks.
  • Centaurs - They were the servants of Hades, who only appear in the section of Pandora's Temple built to honor him, and in the pits of Hades itself. They are half-human, half-horse; their human half is comprised of a demonic, armored man from the head to the waist. The waist transitions into a horse's body, the human half of the Centaur taking place of the horse's head and neck. They wield swords, spears and sometimes have bows and arrows which they shoot as they circle around Kratos.
  • Cerberus - It is a giant, three-headed demonic dogs/wolves who is approximately about 8-10 feet tall that breathe fire. They are the most physically powerful enemy that Kratos faces aside from Cyclops. They can also spawn infant Cerberi, which rapidly mature into Cerberus if not killed.
  • Cerberus Seeds - Tiny, puppy-like demonic dogs that breathe fire and are capable of curling themselves into a ball, engulfing themselves in flames, and lunging at an enemy. If left alive, they rapidly mature into Cerberus.

Bosses[]

  • Hydra - A massive multi-headed sea serpent. As the game's main narrative begins, Kratos has been assigned by Poseidon, the God of the Sea, to kill the beast, which has been challenging his sovereignty by destroying ships and killing sailors. Many of Hydra's heads attacked the fleet, forcing Kratos to battle them until he found the Hydra King, the central, largest head that controlled all others, which also heals the other heads. Kratos kills it by impaling its main head on the mast of a ship; when the Hydra King dies, the smaller heads follow, bursting open in grisly fashion. The Hydra is the first boss in God of War and may be considered to be the one which started the God of War' tradition to implement epic, gigantic boss fights.
  • Medusa - The Queen of Gorgons appears as a sub-boss early in the game. She is amongst the army of Ares which besieges Athens. Her attacks and appearance are similar to other Gorgons, but she has more health. Aphrodite considers her an abomination and requests Kratos to kill her. Kratos obeys the Goddess and rips off her head and uses it against his enemies.
  • Pandora's Guardian - A twenty (20) feet tall, undead minotaur wearing nearly impenetrable armor. It guards the tomb of the Architect's son in the segment of the Temple of Pandora dedicated to Hades. Judging by the fact that a ballista is present in the Guardian's Chamber, it was apparently placed there as a final test to anyone who had made it that far through the temple in an attempt to claim Pandora's Box. Kratos kills it by first chipping away its chest and hand armor and helmet and then firing the ballista at it, impaling it to a door; in its death thrones, the beast's hoof smashes open a sealed door, allowing Kratos to proceed.
  • Ares - The God of War himself. He is the one who gives Kratos his power, Blades of Chaos and madness, and the one responsible for the death of Kratos' family. He appears as a giant, massive human with flaming hair, wearing dark red armor. When Kratos claims Pandora's Box and takes all its power into himself, he becomes nearly the same size and capacity as his nemesis, and the final battle ensues. In one-on-one battle, Ares summons six sword-like tentacles out of his back. During their battle, Ares trapped Kratos in an illusion which required Kratos to battle his Doppelgängers, having to prevent them from killing his family again. Although Kratos did succeed in killing the Doppelgängers, Ares made the Blades of Chaos redo the killing of Calliope and Lysandra. Kratos defeated Ares using Blade of the Gods, and then impaled him, causing him to explode.

Items & Abilities[]

Weapons[]

  • Blades of Chaos - Powerful blades Given to Kratos by Ares, the God of War after pledging his allegiance to him. They're a pair of large curved blades that are attached to Kratos' arms via chains. He can swing them about to strike enemies.
  • Blade of Artemis - This is a large, curved, cumbersome blade given to Kratos by the Goddess Artemis. It is quite slow but also does more damage to enemies than the Blades of Chaos.
  • Blade of the Gods - Kratos used this powerful blade to kill Ares.

Magic[]

  • Poseidon's Rage - This is a magic given to Kratos by Poseidon. It allows him to unleash radiating lighting upon multiple foes. It also does more damage.
  • Medusa's Gaze - Upon killing Medusa for Aphrodite, Kratos takes her head and can use it to turn his enemies to stone.
  • Zeus' Fury - A power given to Kratos by Zeus. It allows Kratos to summon bolts to throw them at distant enemies.
  • Army of Hades - This power is given to Kratos by Hades in Pandora's Temple. With it, Kratos can summon the souls of the Underworld to attack any nearby foes.

Relics[]

  • Rage of the Gods - An ability that is gained for upgrading the Blades of Chaos. The meter appears at the bottom of the screen, and when it's full, you can activate "Rage of the Gods". While activated, Kratos does a lot more damage to his enemies and also takes less damage.
  • Poseidon's Trident - Kratos finds this within Pandora's Temple. It allows him to dive, swim, and breathe underwater indefinitely without being able to drown.
  • Muse Keys - Both keys can be found in Pandora's Temple and together they open a passage to a room where Kratos is endowed with a massive amount of red orbs as well as upgrades to his life and magic meters.

Treasures[]

The game contains three unlockable cut scenes which are intended as potential avenues of continuing the story. These cutscenes are "Birth of the Beast", "A Secret Revealed", and "The Fate of the Titan". Additional costumes for Kratos are also unlocked by beating the Challenge of the Gods. Other features unlocked upon beating the game and doing certain tasks are documentaries surrounding the game's creation (like Deleted Levels) and secret messages from Kratos himself.

In God of War soundtrack, "God of War End Title" by Ron Fish, there is a secret message around 4:29, where Kratos questions himself about his brother's return.

Costumes[]

  • Chef of War - Kratos wears the traditional chef uniform, and his blades are replaced by skillets. Gains more magic from blue orbs.
  • Bubbles - Outfitted in snorkeling gear and wielding fish, Kratos gains more health from green orbs but suffers from low attack power.
  • Tycoonius - Kratos wears his business suit and uses a pair of briefcases to do battle. More experience, but low armor.
  • Dairy Bastard - Strike fear into the enemy with the dreaded cow suit! Unlimited magic offsets low attack power.

Cast[]

Critical Reception[]

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 93%[5]
Metacritic 94/100[6]
Review scores
Publication Score
1UP.com A+[7]
Eurogamer 9/10[8]
GameSpot 9.3/10[9]
GameSpy 5/5[10]
IGN 9.8/10[11]
X-Play 5/5 [12]

God of War received strong praise from gaming critics and is widely considered one of the best PlayStation 2 games of all-time. The game was praised for its strong gameplay, graphics, and sound. A CNN review stated that God of War is the type of game that makes you remember why you play games in the first place. Reviews did find that some of the puzzle and platforming aspects, particularly while escaping Hades, were not as strong as the rest of the game.

Trivia[]

  • In the PAL version and also the NTSC-J version of the game, there was a minor controversy over a piece of censorship, in which the soldier in the Challenge of Poseidon was replaced with an Undead Legionnaire, who was crushed rather than burned.
  • Because of the Japanese video game age rating system (CERO), the Japanese version (NTSC-J version) of the game and other God of War games that came before God of War (2018) censored some extreme violent scenes and nudity were topless women are covered and monsters were either covered or their nipples have been removed in both gameplay and cutscenes including the Pre-rendered cutscenes, and also you can't kill innocent people to obtain Green Orbs.
  • God of War is the only game in the series that does not involve reflecting projectiles.
  • Right after Kratos says "The Gods of Olympus have abandoned me" in the opening cutscene, the voices of the choir in the background sing a chorus that sounds like they are saying "Kratos, Son of Zeus" or "Kratos, Sparta Ghost". While this is most likely a mere coincidence in that that's how the pronunciation of the Greek lyrics sounds, it is interesting to note that this could be a foreshadowing of the revelation that Kratos is in fact a son of Zeus. But the latter would make more sense, because it doesn't give away that he is a part God. What they're really saying is "Kratos, Thanatos" the latter meaning death.

Sequel[]

Due to its success, a sequel was released on the PS2 (God of War II). Later, three interquels were released; two on the PSP titled God of War: Chains of Olympus, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta, as well as game for cell phones, God of War: Betrayal. The very-anticipated God of War III released on the PS3, ending the God of War trilogy. A prequel to the entire series, God of War: Ascension was released also on the PS3.

Game Series[]

Main Entries[]

Handheld Consoles[]

Mobile Phones[]

Other Media[]

Gallery[]

God of War/Gallery

External links[]

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