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"God of War - king size mars bar"

Having been dropped from conversation for quite some time, I thought it was about time this stuff was resurrected. Gamespot rated is highly and IGN put it down as one of the best PS2 games ever, scoring 9.8/10. It would have been nice if its release date had been kept distant from that of Devil May Cry 3 (and perhaps that's why its now been delayed until July), but if you're into that kind of game, then this could be a good year for you.

Anybody else got this game preordered? Along with Final Fantasy XII its a game I've been looking forward to for quite some time, despite the fact that I'm not usually a fan of the slash and manic `em up genre.

Thoughts?

Heh, haven't played this for a while because of one wee section.

Im in the Cliffs of Madness, and Im at the part where you have to swing across two ropes to get to the next section. Its after you've put the two necklaces on the statue heads and then travelled across those moving blocks.

Tis annoying, tried it several times now and I can't reach the second rope no matter how low I am swinging from or at what point I jump off the first rope. Any tips?

I found that the key for that underwater stretch was the equivalent of the Hermes rush. Just charge up then sprint for a bit and you should make it to the other end before getting squished.

Last night, slightly to my surprise, I completed the game, earlier than I expected really. It doesn't take anything away from a fantastic game though, looking at the overall thing now I only have praise for it. Completing it unlocks a whole load of extras as well, including God mode. I started that last night and woah - its hard! I was beaten a couple of times in the very first fight, it was an absolute struggle just to get to the first save point!

Also, you know how you sometimes don't notice a fault until somebody points it out, then you can't stop yourself from seeing it - I now can't miss the lip sync problems, doh! There are plenty of areas where it links fine, but Athena for example often has a few difficulties. I'll put that down to the idea that she's just a statue being manipulated by Athena, so its got to be tough to get that lip sync spot on.

Anyway, enjoy the second half of the game, its a cracker!

ssxpro wrote:
> To be honest, I can hardly remember the Oracle stuff. I remember one
> with little scenes saying stuff like "stay away" then
> rather hiliariously falling off a balcony (its a game, so I can
> laugh) and I also remember the one with the timed challenge as you
> climb the walls in a small canyon to get to her before she falls, but
> neither stuck out in my mind as getting annoying. I must just have
> been in the right mood that evening.

Yeah, it's the canyon one that annoyed me. It's a very nice set piece, she just talks all the time. "Hurry up, come quickly, I'm going to die, please, come now"


> In the challenge of Poseidon, I did exactly the same thing by the
> sounds of it. I gave it a quick go before finishing a session. I'd
> just saved, but wondered what was up ahead. I dove into battle and
> was finished off rather quickly by the big three headed guys. The
> next day, when trying to tackle the problem properly, I targeted the
> little ones first, ignoring the big guy and that made things far
> simpler, since they are so much easier to kill.

Ah, yes, a similar method but with one key difference:



** SPOILERS **


I used Medusa's Gaze on the big one straight away, smashed it quickly, then had nothing but small ones until the end of the fight.



> There are some large swimming sections that were all quite
> acceptable,

I did a bit today where you go along a tunnel, and it closes in on you as soon as you go in. I got halfway down and thought "I don't like this, I'll try the other way first" and obviously died soon after.

To be honest, I can hardly remember the Oracle stuff. I remember one with little scenes saying stuff like "stay away" then rather hiliariously falling off a balcony (its a game, so I can laugh) and I also remember the one with the timed challenge as you climb the walls in a small canyon to get to her before she falls, but neither stuck out in my mind as getting annoying. I must just have been in the right mood that evening.

On that puzzle section with the constantly reappearing creatures, the thing that made it drag on longer for me was that I did notice you could move the statues, but assumed that you only needed to move them in order to get to the chests behind them. I made the decision then that they wouldn't be needed for anything, a mistake since that's exactly the opposite.

In the challenge of Poseidon, I did exactly the same thing by the sounds of it. I gave it a quick go before finishing a session. I'd just saved, but wondered what was up ahead. I dove into battle and was finished off rather quickly by the big three headed guys. The next day, when trying to tackle the problem properly, I targeted the little ones first, ignoring the big guy and that made things far simpler, since they are so much easier to kill.

There are some large swimming sections that were all quite acceptable, despite the fact that underwater stuff frequently goes wrong and I've really not met any other flaws. I also like the way that little bits of Kratos' past are revealed at a time. From the beginning you have an idea what he's about and you soon see why he's after Aries, but the game keeps a little bit of mystery throughout, allowing you to uncover more and more interesting things as you go along. I was about 3 minutes into an excellent cutscene last night before the phone rang and had to stop, but it had already gone into quite some detail on his past. I'll be quite interested to get back to that again tonight!

Oh, and the Oracle really didn't annoy you at all? I appreciate she was in danger and all, but really, her talking so often wasn't making me go any quicker. If there were a "let her die out of spite but somehow continue the game" option, I would have chosen it.

ssxpro wrote:
> From the puzzles you mentioned earlier, you're definitely past the
> bit where you have to walk across the beams from one side of the room
> to the other, whilst flappy birdie things attack (forgotten the proper
> name). Took me ages to realize that you can block their entrance with
> the statues. Doh!


Oh Christ, yeah. I didn't realise until it had shown me the entrance again once or twice, and then I noticed I could move the statues. Like you said earlier, it's frustrating, but once you figure it out you realise you should have been frustrated at yourself. It's all so simple with hindsight.

Today I got up to the Challenge of Hades, made the sacrifices and then died a stupid death for the umpteenth time. I like the fact that it's brutal and unforgiving, but sometimes it just seems to go too far, and kills you when you had no way of knowing what you were in for. I suppose there are regular save points though.

And the first fight of the Challenge of Poseidon was excellent. You know, the one with the little critters that get bigger. I tried it twice and died miserably, then completely changed tactic and did it almost perfectly, losing very little health and finishing them all off speedily. It rewards you for thinking in a slightly different way, it's one of the games strong points for sure.

I want to play more of it now, but I'm tired and getting frustrated easily, so I figure it's best to just talk about it instead. :)

I'm glad to say that the faults you mentioned haven't bothered me. I hadn't even noticed the lip sync and as for the jumping blade attacks, I was happy enough to believe that no matter how hard you hit them, they have so much momentum, they're still going to get you. Certainly helps you get used to the blocking command.

Last night I got to Pandora's box. I won't say anymore so as not to spoil anything, but I was worried that the game was about to be over, despite only being about 8 hours in. From the cutscene though, I think there's a fair amount of the game still to go. Also, reviewers would definitely have complained more if it was that short.

However, one thing that slightly suggests otherwise is that I already have blades of chaos up to max, as well as Poseidon's rage and Zeus's Fury. Medusa's gaze and Hades' watsit are on the way, but perhaps there is more to it yet. From the cutscene I just saw... I won't say too much, but its possible I might be playing as a different character for a while, I'm not sure.

From the puzzles you mentioned earlier, you're definitely past the bit where you have to walk across the beams from one side of the room to the other, whilst flappy birdie things attack (forgotten the proper name). Took me ages to realize that you can block their entrance with the statues. Doh!

I've been playing this recently, I've found it really good. Currently up to the Challenge of Poseidon, and the serpent boss is still the coolest in my opinion. The whole atmosphere of it, on the high seas, hundreds of enemies seemingly coming from nowhere, the hydra crashing through the decks etc. I also like that it puts you straight into the action, and pieces the storyline together as you go along. Like a good novel, in many respects. I found it quite refreshing, really.

It does borrow (read: plunder) a lot from Onimusha and Devil May Cry, but I'm a big fan of both of those franchises, so it's not something that puts me off. And it actually works, it doesn't feel like a cheap knock off for stealing techniques from elsewhere, you just want to call it a cheeky rascal and get on with the game.

Excellent setting as well, strange that no one's done it before really. Very good idea. The few annoyances I've had so far are:

- The enemies that jump in the air and slash you with their blade glowing blue. The problem is, even if you hit them while they're in mid air, the attack still goes through, so you still get hit. So sometimes you can't really avoid the attacks.

- The Oracle of Athens being so annoying when I'm trying to rescue her.

- Sometimes the lip synch seems slightly off, I'm not sure if that's a problem with my TV or something, and also the lips don't seem to move quite enough in some cut scenes, as if they're badly miming. Although they do quite clearly mouthe every word, it's not a random opening of the jaws as with most games.



ssxpro wrote:
> Once again though, the music - absolutely awesome! I was extremely
> impressed by it last night. Brilliant! I really can't fault the game
> at all yet. There was one puzzle area that I thought I could do
> without solving the puzzle (well, I didn't realize there was a puzzle
> to solve) and began to get quite frustrated when I kept failing.
> Eventually I looked around, found what I was supposed to do and all
> my annoyance at the game vanished as I realized it should be directed
> at myself.

My Dad saw it last night, and he said "It sounds like a feature film." Brilliantly fitting, epic music.

And the puzzles are top notch as well - I was particularly impressed with the puzzle to get one of the shields for the Challenge of Atlas, involving depressing a button on the floor and a turny door. Nice piece of lateral thinking needed. They've all been pretty good, actually.

Also the length of it; when I first saw Ares from the hill, I thought "Blimey, this is short," but that was ages ago and I still feel like I'm some way off. It dangles the God of War in your face and then whips it away again. Which is a good thing.

Absolutely! Everything seems to fit the era quite nicely, putting together a more believable package. The 18 rating simply comes as a result of it being more accurate for the time. Battles in those days would involve the same level of blood and violence as much of the game depicts and women had breasts then too, they really did. It was pointed out to me that Ancient Greeks had excellent views on equality of the sexes, so the threesome scene may have been a slight detour, but we also observed that perhaps a warrior of his stature might expect that as a reward, but perhaps not from the more respectable women.

Once again though, the music - absolutely awesome! I was extremely impressed by it last night. Brilliant! I really can't fault the game at all yet. There was one puzzle area that I thought I could do without solving the puzzle (well, I didn't realize there was a puzzle to solve) and began to get quite frustrated when I kept failing. Eventually I looked around, found what I was supposed to do and all my annoyance at the game vanished as I realized it should be directed at myself.

I know.

I was glad to find a game that's not afraid to earn an 18 yet be enjoyably good at the same time.