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Tawkn.com Review: God of War Collection

Written by Dana Olson Published at 2009-11-24 14:01:01 4 43 200 944     13

1-player Third-Person Action, Adventure, Compilation for the PlayStation 3. Developed by Bluepoint Games - SCE Santa Monica. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Released 2009-11-17. Rated M (Mature).

God of War is one of Sony's biggest franchises, and there are massive amounts of people waiting with baited breath for the third and potentially final adventure of the bad man himself, Kratos. It is a nice treat, then, that Sony would remaster the first two games from last generation and put them out on a single Blu-ray disc, at a reduced price. For the same cost as buying both PS2 discs at the store, you can get the God of War Collection, which features both games tweaked to run at 720p HD resolution, with a heathly dose of anti-aliasing applied. Both games in the set has its own set of trophies - including platinums - so for trophy whores, this is like a dream come true and a no-brainer purchase. The disc is getting our highest award, the platinum trophy. Now let me tell you why.

The gameplay of each has been unchanged, and are, as far as I can tell, nearly if not identical to the PS2 versions. If this is your first foray into the series, then the basic way it works is you play as Kratos, the Spartan captain badass, who is out for the blood of Ares in a classic revenge plot. To say much more would spoil the story of the Greek mythology-infested games, but suffice it to say that Kratos is pissed, and he kills things, and a good time was had by all (or at least by the player). Each game has its share of big boss battles, puzzles, and some really minor platforming, with a huge focus on the action. The puzzles are better, tougher, and more plentiful in God of War 2 than in the first game, even stumping me on a few occasions. As Kratos, you are given various magics and weapons throughout the two adventures, and each can be leveled up with red orbs you collect from defeating enemies. Leveling up each of these will increase attack power and/or unlock new combos and abilities. Kratos can also collect gorgon eyes and phoenix feathers to increase health and magic meters. All of this just compounds into making Kratos a more efficient killing machine, enabling him to take out the various enemies he encounters on his quest. A hallmark of the God of War series is quick-time events, but even if you really can't stand them, they're not too difficult to get the hang of, and checkpoints are usually generous throughout, removing much frustration. Speaking of frustration, one thing I did notice is that the dreaded pillars of cutty doom toward the end of God of War seemed easier than my first time through on the PS2. I don't know if this section was tweaked or if I was just more patient or what the deal was. Maybe I'm just awesome at games now.

The guys at Bluepoint handled the porting to PS3, and they did a fine job of it. They're probably the smoothest games I've seen run on the PS3 to date, with the least amount of jagged edges. Being that both were PS2 games, it shouldn't really be a surprise that recent games outclass them in every area; instead, the surprise comes in when you are deep in the game and forget you're playing a port. Either one could have stood up against many launch day titles, especially God of War 2. The framerate is locked at 60 fps, as opposed to the variable framerate on the PS2. The texture resolution was bumped up in most places, and it all looks slick under the sheen of 2X anti-aliasing. It's hard to spot a jagged edge, and after playing through both games back-to-back, I feel spoiled when I pop in something with less polish, like Modern Warfare 2, which is technically better, but looks rougher. The lighting and magic effects look really, really good. The characters animate well, and it really is about as polished as a PS2 game can get.

The one downfall of the visuals in the package is the pre-rendered cinematic story presentation. Some of the cutscenes look great, and have been noticeably touched up. Others look downright nasty; from blocky hands and limbs, to blurry textures, to horribly aliased edges. These stand in stark contrast to the rest of the games' presentations, and serve as a reminder of the work that went into making the rest of the game look so good. It's unfortunate that the entire game wasn't done in the engine, because these cutscenes really stand out as bad and are distracting. Still, the vast majority of your time will be spent inside the game, whacking enemies with the Blades of Chaos, so it is just a minor blemish on an otherwise pretty face.

The audio seems to be virtually untouched, as it is presented in stereo format with encoded Dolby Pro-Logic II being the only option for those of us with modern sound systems. I found it sometimes hard to hear what was being said in the game, so I had to turn the music down a bit. This didn't help with the cutscenes, however. Having a true surround mix is a bit much to ask, but a clear center channel for voices would have definitely been a great addition. It's hard to complain, though, because the sounds and music are as great as ever. The orchestral score sounds epic and sets the mood for these romps through ancient Greece.

Once you complete the games, there are unlockable bonuses in both games, including a set of grueling challenge levels in each, where you are given a task to complete. You'll get trophies for these, if you can make it through. Other bonuses include unlockable costumes, such as the Cod of War fish outfit, and behind-the-scenes videos. God of War 2's bonus videos can be accessed directly from the XMB under the video section, which allows playback via the PS3's built-in movie player, but does not allow copying to the hard drive.

For people who already played both games on the PS2 and aren't interested in revisiting them one more time before God of War 3 ships in March, there's nothing added here to warrant a purchase. Everything, gameplay-wise, is in tact from the PS2 versions. For people who are new to the franchise or who were considering buying a PS2 just to play these two games (as I did), this is a must-have disc. The entrance fee for the God of War Collection is low, and you get two complete sets of PSN Trophies, and two of the greatest games from the last gaming generation. The ability to play the God of War Trilogy on a single platform is great, and could only be bested by having a port of Chains of Olympus also available, though I think it would not fare as well, given the PSP's much lower resolution and texture detail.

I hope that more PS2 games get a similar treatment to God of War, as it's a great way to reward fans of a series and to build up anticipation for upcoming titles. Forty bucks for an ICO Collection, with ICO and Shadow of the Colossus in 720p to release shortly before The Last Guardian? I, and many others to be sure, would be down for that.

If I can leave you with a warning, it's that this disc packs a LOT of God of War. I'd recommend playing through the first, and saving the second for a later date. I played through both of them to completion, and it was rough - almost a God of War overload; I would liken it to watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy back to back. Some people can do it easily, but I am a variety man, myself, and so it's tough. They're great games, but too much of anything can wear on you. If you feel you need a break after your first eight or so hours, do it. God of War 2 will still be right there waiting for you to come back to after you've gotten your fix of Peggle or Battlefield. If you just want to let the blood keep flowing, you can do that, too.

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