The God of War franchise has been lucrative for Sony much like the Halo series has been lucrative for the Xbox.
I purchased the bundled version containing the first two installments in the God of War series ahead of the PS3 release of God of War III.
What drew me to it was the promise of high definition gaming in 720p over the 480p PS2 versions.
In case you are not familiar with the story lines of the GOW series, the main character is Kratos, the ghost of Sparta. Kratos is a powerful Spartan general who is victorious in battle and extremely brutal. Eventually Kratos meets defeats at the hands of huge army of
Eastern Barbarians, and at the moment Kratos is about to be killed, he pleads with Aries, the God of War, to grant him victory.
Kratos then becomes a servant of the Gods, and is blessed with superhuman powers and throughout GOWI you play Kratos as he embarks on several quests to fulfill his duties to the Gods. In GOWII Kratos is betrayed by Zeus and the quests are more about Kratos getting revenge against the Gods.
The original games are breathtaking graphically, with lush environments that include an amazing color palette that makes you feel like you are in ancient Greece. The sound is equally amazing with a soundtrack that shifts from soft ambient tracks to pumped up orchestrations for battle sequences and boss levels. The character acting is very impressive overall as well with the voice of Kratos appropriately tough and rugged sounding.
The 720p resolution is fantastic! Where the transfer loses marks though, is when game play gives way to cut scenes that give you back story or additional narrative information. It seems Sony got lazy and left all the cut scenes in standard definition which can be quite noticeable at times. Boo!
The original sound is the same format as the PS2 predecessors, a Dolby Pro Logic II soundtrack that does give you some spatial organization to what is happening onscreen if you have surround sound. I am a little disappointed that Sony did not do a full 5.1 Dolby Digital remix as both GOW titles have sound effects and soundtracks worthy of the full surround sound treatment.
There aren't many extra features except the bonus disc features from the original GOWII special edition which includes deleted levels. You do get trophies for reaching achievements which is kind of neat, and there is a code to download a demo of GOWIII with the game when you buy it brand new.
Overall, for the price of 29.99 plus tax, this GOWI and GOWII PS3 addition is a great price for hardcore fans who desire better resolution picture quality wise and anyone who hasn't tried the franchise and has a PS3.
Graphics: 4 out of 5: 720p during the cut scenes!?
Sound: 4 out of 5: 5.1 Dolby Digital, no excuses!
Play control: 4.5 out of 5. You can't control the camera angle in game which is a little annoying.
Replay value: 5 out of 5. With puzzles mixed in with visceral action and four difficulty settings, this package is well worth the price.
Rating: M for Mature. Blood and dismemberment and some frontal nudity so parents watch out!
Hopefully I will be able to review GOWIII soon! May the Gods be with you!
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