Games Beaten : 2011

[DAAAAA!!]

I'm just about to beat knights of the old republic..
and i beat zelda link to the past..

so 1 about to be 2

[Ack]

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (PC)(FPS)
X-Men: Mutant Academy (PS1)(Fighting)
Street Fighter Alpha (PS2)(Fighting)
Extermination (PS2)(Survival Horror)
Spyro the Dragon (PS1)(Platformer)
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (PS1)(Platformer)
Myst III: Exile (PC)(Graphic Adventure)
Shaq Fu (GEN)(Fighting)
Spyro: Year of the Dragon (PS1)(Platformer)
God of War (PS2)(Action Adventure)

TOTAL: 10

I finally sat down and played through it. I've been told in the past that this was a must-play for the PS2, and the title was obviously popular enough to be copied by numerous other sources, hence the term "God of War-clone" used for such games as Dante's Inferno and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. That's all well and good, but I found the game didn't live up to the hype for numerous reasons, which I'll outline first:

First, I experienced numerous glitches and bugs. From time to time I would fall through a floor, get stuck on the lip of a cliff, or move through a wall, generally ending in my death. During the final leg through Hades, I died multiple times in one section because I would repeatedly get knocked through walls and then fall through nonexistent floors to my doom. If it had happened once or twice, I don't think I would have paid attention to it, but after repeated issues I felt it needed to be said. I should note I was playing the original release, so subsequent versions may not have had the same issues, but fair warning.

Other things that bothered me: the lack of camera controls hindered me, especially during the platforming segments where a misstep was fatal and the perspective had a tendency to throw me off, but also during certain fights where I'd end up behind a section I couldn't see around and then was severely pummeled. The control scheme was quite busy so there really didn't seem to be much room, but a little tweaking of the controls could have worked. Quick time events also bugged me, especially the "Tap Circle rapidly and then go into a quick time event for the final boss" segment, which I failed multiple times because I was still rapidly pressing Circle like I'd been told. Also I get a little tired of the constant wailing on enemies. Even when maxed out, my weapons never felt that powerful.

Now for what it did well: despite the lack of a controllable camera, the controls were generally quite responsive and worked out well. The dodge controls were great and incredibly useful, and once I leveled up my weapons, I found I had quite a few options to attack with, though I found the use of the block button as part of an attack command to be somewhat tiring. Level design was creative, as was the monster design, and I really liked being able to look at the unused models after I'd completed the game. That made for an excellent reward that I wish I'd get more often in games.

The level layout, design, and appearance worked out well, though the amount of deathtraps grew tiring. But visually I really liked the appearance of the world, the monster designs, etc. I could have done with a bit less blood and gore, but I suppose any conflict concerning the God of War does need to be suitably blood-spattered. It's just that after a while I felt it got to be ridiculous. I was quite surprised to discover that the Greeks had mastered silicon breast implant technology. Musically the game excelled, with great audio queues, voicework, and music to support the cultural notion of the time period and mythology. The songs never became overbearing, but kept a nice pace in the background while supporting the game.

So...yeah. Overall I don't think the game's as great as I'd heard, though it definitely has its high points. But hey, what does ever live up to the hype? I don't feel like playing through on a higher difficulty any time soon, but I know I'll have to to actually complete this game some day. Just...not right now.

I don't know what I'll play next. I have access to the second one, but I really don't feel in the mood for it either.

[jfe2]

Ack, I'm playing through God of War: Chains of Olympus right now and I would feel the same way about it as you do about the original GoW. It's not bad, but kinda meh.

[Gamerforlife]

Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (PC)(FPS)
X-Men: Mutant Academy (PS1)(Fighting)
Street Fighter Alpha (PS2)(Fighting)
Extermination (PS2)(Survival Horror)
Spyro the Dragon (PS1)(Platformer)
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! (PS1)(Platformer)
Myst III: Exile (PC)(Graphic Adventure)
Shaq Fu (GEN)(Fighting)
Spyro: Year of the Dragon (PS1)(Platformer)
God of War (PS2)(Action Adventure)

TOTAL: 10

I finally sat down and played through it. I've been told in the past that this was a must-play for the PS2, and the title was obviously popular enough to be copied by numerous other sources, hence the term "God of War-clone" used for such games as Dante's Inferno and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. That's all well and good, but I found the game didn't live up to the hype for numerous reasons, which I'll outline first:

First, I experienced numerous glitches and bugs. From time to time I would fall through a floor, get stuck on the lip of a cliff, or move through a wall, generally ending in my death. During the final leg through Hades, I died multiple times in one section because I would repeatedly get knocked through walls and then fall through nonexistent floors to my doom. If it had happened once or twice, I don't think I would have paid attention to it, but after repeated issues I felt it needed to be said. I should note I was playing the original release, so subsequent versions may not have had the same issues, but fair warning.

Other things that bothered me: the lack of camera controls hindered me, especially during the platforming segments where a misstep was fatal and the perspective had a tendency to throw me off, but also during certain fights where I'd end up behind a section I couldn't see around and then was severely pummeled. The control scheme was quite busy so there really didn't seem to be much room, but a little tweaking of the controls could have worked. Quick time events also bugged me, especially the "Tap Circle rapidly and then go into a quick time event for the final boss" segment, which I failed multiple times because I was still rapidly pressing Circle like I'd been told. Also I get a little tired of the constant wailing on enemies. Even when maxed out, my weapons never felt that powerful.

Now for what it did well: despite the lack of a controllable camera, the controls were generally quite responsive and worked out well. The dodge controls were great and incredibly useful, and once I leveled up my weapons, I found I had quite a few options to attack with, though I found the use of the block button as part of an attack command to be somewhat tiring. Level design was creative, as was the monster design, and I really liked being able to look at the unused models after I'd completed the game. That made for an excellent reward that I wish I'd get more often in games.

The level layout, design, and appearance worked out well, though the amount of deathtraps grew tiring. But visually I really liked the appearance of the world, the monster designs, etc. I could have done with a bit less blood and gore, but I suppose any conflict concerning the God of War does need to be suitably blood-spattered. It's just that after a while I felt it got to be ridiculous. I was quite surprised to discover that the Greeks had mastered silicon breast implant technology. Musically the game excelled, with great audio queues, voicework, and music to support the cultural notion of the time period and mythology. The songs never became overbearing, but kept a nice pace in the background while supporting the game.

So...yeah. Overall I don't think the game's as great as I'd heard, though it definitely has its high points. But hey, what does ever live up to the hype? I don't feel like playing through on a higher difficulty any time soon, but I know I'll have to to actually complete this game some day. Just...not right now.

I don't know what I'll play next. I have access to the second one, but I really don't feel in the mood for it either.

Just out of the curiosity, did you max out Poseidon's Rage? I agree with you that Kratos attacks were not that great, but the Poseidon's Rage spell could destroy almost everything in the game with relative ease. I ended up beating the game's highest difficult setting with a Kratos who felt more like a mage than a warrior by abusing that spell

Ack, I'm playing through God of War: Chains of Olympus right now and I would feel the same way about it as you do about the original GoW. It's not bad, but kinda meh.

There is one thing I actually liked about Chains of Olympus, it did away with some of God of War's more pointless and annoying elements like those stupid sections where you have to balance Kratos across narrow beams. It felt a bit more focused than the original God of War I think

[dsheinem]

Ack, I'm playing through God of War: Chains of Olympus right now and I would feel the same way about it as you do about the original GoW. It's not bad, but kinda meh.

you are both crazy.

Also, I don't know how you experienced those bugs Ack - it is the first I've heard of it. I have a release day copy myself, and never experienced any glitching with the game - the series is renown for its polish in those areas...

I like each game in the series, and it is a series that I feel has improved from game to game. If you thought the first was ok, you might find GOW2 to be great, GOW3 to be amazing, etc.

[Bradtemple87]

I just finished Klonoa on the Wii. I loved the polished look from my ps1 copy. Maybe now I can finally get back to finishing Lost in Shadow. O wait, Marvel 3 is coming out next month! Maybe not

[Gamerforlife]

I played about halfway through GOW 2 and I would agree that it was a better game. They definitely cranked up the epicness, that's for sure

However, I also agree that the series is a bit overrated, but I have had fun with the ones I've played. I often feel like GOW games start out with the bang, but then sort of get less interesting the further you get into the games.

Hey Bradtemple, I can't wait to eventually play that Klonoa remake. So how is Lost in Shadow? The game sounds interesting

[Ack]

Ack, I'm playing through God of War: Chains of Olympus right now and I would feel the same way about it as you do about the original GoW. It's not bad, but kinda meh.

you are both crazy.

Also, I don't know how you experienced those bugs Ack - it is the first I've heard of it. I have a release day copy myself, and never experienced any glitching with the game - the series is renown for its polish in those areas...

I like each game in the series, and it is a series that I feel has improved from game to game. If you thought the first was ok, you might find GOW2 to be great, GOW3 to be amazing, etc.

Says the man who disliked Ico and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Seriously, the bugs were a major distraction for me, and I didn't mention the one time it froze on me either. Maybe it was just the particular copy I was playing then, but it definitely influenced my thoughts on the game.

Just out of the curiosity, did you max out Poseidon's Rage? I agree with you that Kratos attacks were not that great, but the Poseidon's Rage spell could destroy almost everything in the game with relative ease. I ended up beating the game's highest difficult setting with a Kratos who felt more like a mage than a warrior by abusing that spell

I can see that. I did max out Poseidon's Rage, the Army of Hades, Zeus' Thunderbolt, the Blades of Chaos, and alternatively Artemis' Blade and Medusa's Gaze on different loads at the end of the game, but I rarely used anything but Poseidon's Rage. I'll admit that it was the only time I felt like I was doing any damage. It bothers me though that ultimately things come down to just that one spell. There was never any reason to use anything else beyond the odd archer or two for Zeus' Thunderbolt.

[Gamerforlife]

Ack, I'm playing through God of War: Chains of Olympus right now and I would feel the same way about it as you do about the original GoW. It's not bad, but kinda meh.

you are both crazy.

Also, I don't know how you experienced those bugs Ack - it is the first I've heard of it. I have a release day copy myself, and never experienced any glitching with the game - the series is renown for its polish in those areas...

I like each game in the series, and it is a series that I feel has improved from game to game. If you thought the first was ok, you might find GOW2 to be great, GOW3 to be amazing, etc.

Says the man who disliked Ico and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Seriously, the bugs were a major distraction for me, and I didn't mention the one time it froze on me either. Maybe it was just the particular copy I was playing then, but it definitely influenced my thoughts on the game.

Just out of the curiosity, did you max out Poseidon's Rage? I agree with you that Kratos attacks were not that great, but the Poseidon's Rage spell could destroy almost everything in the game with relative ease. I ended up beating the game's highest difficult setting with a Kratos who felt more like a mage than a warrior by abusing that spell

I can see that. I did max out Poseidon's Rage, the Army of Hades, Zeus' Thunderbolt, the Blades of Chaos, and alternatively Artemis' Blade and Medusa's Gaze on different loads at the end of the game, but I rarely used anything but Poseidon's Rage. I'll admit that it was the only time I felt like I was doing any damage. It bothers me though that ultimately things come down to just that one spell. There was never any reason to use anything else beyond the odd archer or two for Zeus' Thunderbolt.

I felt the same way actually. I was surprised by just how much I was able to abuse that spell in what was suppossed to be a melee combat oriented game

[Bradtemple87]

I played about halfway through GOW 2 and I would agree that it was a better game. They definitely cranked up the epicness, that's for sure

However, I also agree that the series is a bit overrated, but I have had fun with the ones I've played. I often feel like GOW games start out with the bang, but then sort of get less interesting the further you get into the games.

Hey Bradtemple, I can't wait to eventually play that Klonoa remake. So how is Lost in Shadow? The game sounds interesting

Lost in shadow is worth picking up but not top tier. I enjoy the various ways you can manipulate light to change your surroundings, but the game play is very repetitive up to this point.