Topic: God of War OT

@RR529 Like @JohnnyShoulder says, you have to come back to take those guys on later. I’m a stubborn bugger and was sure I could take them in anyway.

I really couldn’t.

It makes it all the sweeter when you do come back and blitz them later on though.

@JohnnyShoulder, yeah, I know about the color coding indicating enemy strength in relation to Kratos, I just didn't know the rift was going to be a fight, and the enemy came out swinging, so I didn't have time to react, lol.

Woah! When did God of War join the PlayStation Hits lineup? I might just purchase the game now. I'm not a huge fan of the series, but I hear the PS4 title is vastly different so it's pretty tempting.

@TowaHerschel7 Definitely do. It’s very different from the rest of the series but with lots of nods to the old games for people who have played them.

@TowaHerschel7 I didn't really like the previous games but enjoyed the hell outta this one. Enough so to get the plat which is rare for me.

Well some sad news today former WWE Superstar and actor who did the mocap for Kratos in God of War Shad Gaspar's body was found this morning on a beach. He was swept out to sea this past weekend along with his 10 year old son. His son made it after Shad told the lifeguard to save his son before him.

Thoughts go out to his family and friends at this time.

@get2sammyb Kinda surprise there wasn't an article about this.

@Genrou Yeah, I honestly expected an article about it, he was a huge part of that game and honestly my childhood as well, used to watch him with John Cena. Truly horrible.

@nessisonett Right especially since it's been reported that he died a hero making sure his son was saved first. I mostly remember him as one half of the tag team Cryme Tyme and their back stage antics.

Well, I’m over 2 years late to party, but I finally took the plunge on God of War. So far, my main observation is what horrible parenting skills Kratos has. It’s as if he’s never heard of positive feedback. 😛

The game is beautiful though and the single camera thing is pretty cool. It’s as if the whole thing is being filmed by someone following Kratos with a video camera.

I’m not far in, but just fought the second miniboss of the game, some annoying dude named The Stranger.

@Th3solution I can’t believe I never noticed that The Stranger was Jeremy Davies, from Justified and the Arrowverse!

@nessisonett Yeah, he apparently won a BAFTA for his GoW performance.

@Th3solution Enjoy! Such a fantastic game thanks to some fantastic writing and some really fun combat.

Have you played the original trilogy?

@Thrillho I’ve played some of it. I played GoW1-3 and Ghost of Sparta, all ages ago. I never played Ascension.

@Th3solution I've ordered it too as it was £8, I think I will play the prior 6 games first though... Could be an interesting December!

@ralphdibny @Thrillho
The original games are definitely classics, although I’d consider them slightly overrated. I know that statement sounds contradictory, but I guess what I’m saying is that they were seminal games which influenced action gaming for years to come, and they were good fun and ushered in a renewed interest in Greek mythology as well. Video games, movies, and books seemed to draw upon the Olympian gods for basis of new properties, and I think God of War seemed to be at the helm of it all. As far as gameplay, the GoW DNA is pretty clear in games like Kingdoms of Amalur, Dante’s Inferno, and even DMC and Bayonetta. However, I always had a problem with the character and narrative development in the GoW series. Kratos was just so angry. Part of my issue was his one-sided rage. He didn’t seem relatable because he was this testosterone-fueled one man god-slaying wrecking ball who seemed more than slightly mad. And I guess that’s the point, but it was exhausting for me to play as him. I felt no inspiration, resolve, or satisfaction from completion of each step in his journey. Sure, other games also have broken and hopeless protagonists, but at least you feel empathy from their story or you learn something and the character grows. I don’t recall any inner progression of moral strength or resilience; Only revenge.
So far the 2018 reboot appears to have remedied that and I’m really excited about it. So far it seems to be living up to the praise as it’s so well produced and I already see a fantastic storyline and character study developing. The music and the visuals are downright fabulous and I’m only a couple hours into it.

@Th3solution Agreed with what I think you’re getting at - Pong was a revolutionary game, a classic that pushed limits and changed (started) gaming, and is a part of history.... but I really don’t need a PS5 port, thanks. It is now dated and there are better things out there.

@Th3solution I binged the trilogy before playing GoW2018 and honestly felt the same. They’re relics of a bygone era, not complicated enough to be as fun as Platinum games and too complicated with dull puzzles to be light and breezy enough to fly through. Kratos is a terrible character until the reboot, the one-note revenge gets old after the first half of the first game and the childish approach to violence and nudity without any plot relevance did my head in. You’re supposed to be avenging your dead wife and child but can partake in a sex minigame to earn rewards? Nonsense. The best take I’ve seen on Greek mythology I’ve seen in games is definitely Hades, nails that family soapy backstabby nature of the Olympians. Plus it doesn’t leave out all the gay bits from the original works that were omitted over the years.

@Th3solution Playing the original games is not essential to be able to enjoy the “reboot” but there are little fan service nods which I appreciated.

@ralphdibny Playing the original games isn’t really essential for this other than the nods I mention. The combat mechanics are completely overhauled and the RPG elements are new too so don’t worry about HAVING to play the other games first. I played the reboots on PS3 and they’re relatively easy platinums too if that’s your thing.

@ralphdibny The first game has a speed run trophy (under 5 hours) which even I managed to get!

@Th3solution very interesting to read your thoughts there! having only played the first game years ago, I have to say that I must have agreed with most of your points considering I wasn't compelled enough to go back and play 2 + the psp games which I also had on ps3 even if my reasoning may have been different.

Since then I have had 3 through ps plus and I bought ascension for PS3 in that God of War sale that PushSquare posted an article on last year (I think). I didn't even know ascension existed until that point tbh.

I was going to say something as empty as 'the Norse setting sounds better anyway" but that's not really true as I love the stories that I've heard of the greek pantheon. I'm not like a Stephen Fry on the matter but I am a big fan of the adaptations like the original Ray Harryhausen Clash of the Titans movie and of course Disney's Hercules which is probably my favourite Disney film!

In fact I was watching Jason and the Argonauts again the other day because I was reminded of the big statue/robot villain from playing The Talos Principle that week

Either way though, they've been in my backlog for donkeys years and they are some major PS exclusives so I am quite happy to tick them off the list even if as @Thrillho says, that they don't have a huge bearing on the newest title. I suspect I might (but hope I don't) get a little burned out on them though like I did with the Xbox G(ears)oW franchise. I only really came to appreciate Gears once I'd had a long break and started playing the newest titles which kind of expand on the backstory.

I'm not much of a trophy hunter @Thrillho but I must admit that there is a satisfaction that I receive as my number gets larger and I'll normally go for the last couple in a game if I've already unlocked the rest as long as they are not too ridiculous!