God of War (video game)

God of War is an action adventure video game for the PlayStation 2 first released by Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica division in March 2005. It was the first game to be released in the God of War franchise.

Loosely based on Greek mythology, the game focuses on protagonist Kratos and forms part of a saga (chronologically the second chapter in the God of War series) with vengeance as a central theme.

Kratos must stop the God of War, Ares, from destroying the city of Athens by finding the fabled Pandora's Box.

Gameplay

As a third-person camera game, the player controls the character Kratos in a combination of combat, platforming and puzzle game elements. The player typically has to navigate Kratos through a long series of tests, trials and mazes to reach goals.

Kratos' main weapons are the Blades of Chaos, with secondary weapon the Blade of Artemis also being acquired. Magic is also acquired, with four different attacks being available: Poseidon's Rage, Medusa's Gaze, Zeus' Fury, and Army of Hades. The relic Poseidon's Trident is also obtained, which allows Kratos to breathe underwater. Kratos also temporarily wields the Blade of the Gods during the final fight with Ares.

A special ability called “Rage of the Gods” is also acquired, which provides temporary invulnerability and increased attack damage. It can be recharged by killing enemies.

Health and Magic upgrades - Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers respectively - are found throughout the game in chests. Six of each are needed to upgrade the Health and Magic bars respectively. Other chests found in the game, containing orbs, are marked with a corresponding color for the orbs (green, blue, and red). Green Orbs replenish health, blue orbs replenish magic and red orbs provide experience, which in turn allows the upgrading of magical abilities and weapons.

Red orbs may also be collected by killing foes and destroying certain inanimate objects. Combat includes a quick-time feature, which is initiated when the player has weakened a stronger foe and a icon (the circle button on the controller) appears above them. The player then presses the corresponding button commands appearing on screen, with success ending the battle, and failure usually resulting in damage. A "grab" maneuver is also available for use on minor foes that yields experience points in the form of red orbs.

A quick-time sex mini-game is included (an encounter with two hand maidens on Kratos' ship). A Challenge mode (ten trials called “ Challenge of the Gods”) is also included in the bonus features, which unlocks secret costumes and behind-the-scenes videos.