Hello friends. I suppose it's time to return to my days of Forumotion posting with reflections on some of the noteworthy games that I've been playing. What better way to start than with the HOTTEST PS4 EXCLUSIVE ON THE MARKET RIGHT NOW?!?!?!
I guess I should begin this with my history with the God of War series. Having not owned a PS2 back in its glory days, when I got a PS3 in 2012 one of the first games I got was the God of War HD Collection, featuring the main trilogy and two PSP spinoffs. While the PSP ports weren't anything too special, I found myself enjoying the trilogy quite immensely. They hold up very well in the modern day, with great mythology, simple to learn yet difficult to master combat, epic boss battles, and insanely high production values all-around. My biggest gripe through the series though was the main character himself, Kratos. While his motivations are sympathetic, his careless and raging personality throughout the entire series was repetitive and exhausting. He had literally no remorse for anyone he killed, no inward reflection, nothing. He was basically a testosterone-filled ball of rage that merely served as a middle-man between the player and the balls-to-the-wall boss fights the series is so great at. In 2013, with the release of series prequel God of War: Ascension, I just couldn't be able to play for more than an hour due to a lack of interest in its story.
When the E3 2016 trailer for God of War 4 (retitled as simply God of War) dropped, I had mixed reactions. It seemed to clearly take a lot, almost too much, influence from another Sony exclusive, The Last of Us. The Last of Us, in my mind, is a great game (I've beaten it twice now, and plan to again for a third time on a harder difficulty soon), yet is up there with Red Dead Redemption for me as being an excellent game, but not quite the almighty masterpiece that a lot of people view it as. Anyway, as time passed and the release of the new God of War inched closer and closer, I simply wasn't interested in what seemed to be a bland and uninteresting take on a series I previously enjoyed quite a lot. A week before the game's release, though, a conversation with a friend who was extremely excited for the game convinced me to try the new one out.
It's been nearly a week since I beat the game. Right off the bat, I have to say that the production value that goes into Playstation exclusives is second to none. So much attention to detail has been handled for this game, and it shines through nearly every facet. The slight controller vibration whenever you recall your axe, the top-notch voice and motion capture acting, the polished combat, the quality boss battles (from a Western game in 2018!), the graphics, the well-crafted and personal story, everything comes together quite nicely in a well-wrapped bow. I'm normally hesitant when it comes to extremely hyped games, but I'm happy with how this new God of War turned out. It's a very refreshing return to the series, and I'm excited for its future and already craving more. Now, onto the pros and cons:
PROS:
The behind-the-shoulder camera adjustment works SO well that it's hard to go back to how the originals played
While barebones at first, once you start opening up the skill tree, combat becomes far more complex, with multiple different combos to remember and room for improvisation
The semi-open world of Midgard is very well-done, taking much influence from Bloodborne (my favorite game of this generation)
Atreus is a surprisingly not-annoying sidekick that, once upgraded properly, becomes absolutely vital to late-game levels and bosses
The story is well-written and emotional at times, with plenty of surprising moments, and convincing motivations for its villains. This time around, Kratos feels far more relatable
Really great and epic setpieces, on top of the rich Norse mythology backdrop, create an engrossing and immersive world that's equal parts fantastical and believable
A surprising amount of satisfying and difficult puzzles
Mimir and The World Serpent are seriously great supporting characters, some of the best I've seen in a game in a while
A midgame reveal that I won't spoil is one of the coolest segments I've played in a game in a LONG time. You'll know it when it happens
CONS:
Since takedowns are limited to one unique kill per enemy type, the animations can quickly get repetitive
While the ones there are well-crafted, there's simply too few sidequests that you'll blow through quickly after beating the main story
The new camera angle, while generally being a welcome addition, occasionally can lead you into being cornered into what will feel like a cheap death
Dark elf warriors are one of THE most annoying enemies I've encountered in a game lately. Luckily you'll rarely fight them, but a segment late in the game where you have to fight two at once led to a frustrating amount of retries
INDIFFERENT:
This new God of War is similar to the original from 2005, where the first game of the series holds a lot back in terms of featuring characters and locations from the mythology, instead choosing to do a lot of world-building that will be fleshed out in future sequels, in a similar vein to the original trilogy
SIDE NOTE:
Immersive HUD is the way this game was meant to be played. The lack of health bars hovering over you and your enemies may seem daunting at first, but it generally only takes a few hits for you or your enemies to go down, so it won't take long to get readjusted. It seriously makes the game so much more enjoyable than it already is
FINAL SCORE: A-
I look forward to writing more of these. Some more reviews I have planned for the future:
Bloodborne
Overwatch
Prey (2017)
A Retrospective of The Witcher Trilogy
Kingdom Hearts 1.8: Thoughts from a First-Time Player of the Series
Persona 5 (once I finally beat it)
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Subject: God of War 4: Godern Warfare 
Wed May 02, 2018 6:21 am
