March 25th, 2005. A day that many gamers with PS2s (basically all of Singapore and Malaysia) will remember. Probably because that was when the first God of War came out and blew every other action-adventure game out of the ballpark and claiming its throne. Not just as a great action-adventure game, mind you, but as one of the major iconic representations of Sony. At the very least, one icon that still remains relevant and persevering as time went by.

It’s hard to imagine that the hit action game that tells an alternate tale of Greek mythology stemmed from its creator’s love for, of all things, Raiders of The Lost Ark. In a way, designer David Jaffe did follow the model of film in developing God of War (game mechanics intertwining with plot points and macguffins, and so forth), though in the end he realized that games are never going to elicit that same dramatic power movies usually garner from audiences.

But what makes the God of War franchise sell a heck-ton of copies? Here’s my personal take in all of this:

An Iconic Main Character

Kratos is a well-designed videogame entity from the top of his bald head to the hard-laced sandals made for walking all over his enemies. He’s got a reason to be pissed-off at the world and his circumstances; he got backstabbed by the duplicity of the Olympus pantheon.

He covers himself with his wife and dead kid’s ashes to remind him of his past mistake. Said ash somehow made him white and pale-skinned (or albino; let’s not argue semantics here) and make him stand out from the gobs of enemies who want a piece of him, therefore making it easy for players to spot him amidst the chaos on the battlefield. His blade chains signify his former servitude to the gods, not to mention a staple weapon in his arsenal that’s both versatile and quick. The fact that he’s not fully clothed and is also bearing his red line tattoo shows his animalistic side.

It’s usually characters with simple descriptions that are remembered by many people. Kratos deserves his place alongside Samus, Master Chief, and even Mario himself as icons of their generation.

A New Kind Of Action-Adventure

While few chided that it was derivative of the action-adventure formula that Rygar and Devil May Cry established, God of War evolved into a beast of its own. God of War takes a deft pinch of the aforementioned game’s combat, a dose of Shenmue’s Quick Time Events, and Legend of Zelda’s exploratory and item-acquiring bits to earn its own identity.

All of these conglomeration of design fit into place. Weakened enemies will have an X or Circle on the top, which then initiated a QTE where you kill the poor sap with unbridled enthusiasm. Cinematic kills aren’t now for show thanks to this implementation of QTEs, making gamers involved when besting one of Kratos’ large adversaries. Acquiring new relics give our anti-hero the ability to reflect projectiles, slow down time, and turn enemies into stone. Said relics are also used in getting through formerly-blocked areas on a level. The balance shifts more towards combat than puzzle-solving and exploration. Combos are part and parcel of Kratos’ arsenal and are easily pulled off, and different weapons give different styles of attacks for Kratos.

It also helps that everything you do is blown out of proportions. You don’t flip a lid off of a chest; you kick the damn thing until it opens for you. You don’t slowly push stone blocks to activate a touchpad, you kick the damn thing so that it gets there faster. Everything Kratos does is filled with a combination of gusto, determination, and righteous fury, that it’s hard to not look at everything he does and smile like a kid getting ang pows during Chinese New Year.

It never lets up on the action, and makes you take a brief pause on certain sections of the game (usually a long stretch accompanied with a beautiful vista) before you go back into the fray. And never has the first game and its sequel flinched when it comes to delivering over-the-top acts of violence. Be it ripping off heads of medusas and repeatedly slamming the door on Theseus’ thick head (which reminded me of Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels for some reason), God of War satisfies the action quota very well.

While Rygar may have been the first game to use a Greek setting for an action-adventure game, God of War perfected it thanks to its no-holds-barred approached and its clever use of melding past ideas into something seemingly brand new.

The First 10 Minutes

Let’s just look at the beginning of God of War 1. You control Kratos as you start off in a city under siege, with a fight with a three-headed Hydra on the side of a boat. Other videogames have used the giant-aquatic-beast-on-the-side-of-a-boat fight, but God of War 1 presented it in a unique fashion. You jump onto two platforms to pin the first two heads onto the boat, then you have to climb atop and finish off the third head. All this is just a means to get a key from some poor sap in the hydra’s belly. Coupled with a screen-blurring high pitched scream from the third head, and you wonder how God of War 1 captivates its audience.

God of War II starts off with a short fight with the Colossus of Rhodes as soon as you get out of a section of a besieged city. Not only do you fight it face-to-face, but you also have to get through segments of the city while it’s pursuing you, stomping you out, and even unwittingly flings you away to another part of the city, as well as work your way inside the statue itself to deliver the coup de grace.

Most games save up their best boss fights. The God of War series start their games off with one. And if the first 10 minutes of part III we checked out before were any indication, there’s no need for Santa Monica Studios to change that surefire formula.

Push It To The Limit

Both God of War 1 & 2 basically utilized the PS2’s engine to the fullest. From what little load time both games have to the visuals and orchestral music that takes advantage of its processors, along with the much perfect timing of a cheaper PS2 SKU out for grabs (and also living longer than its presumed 5-year cycle), God of War helped reshape many developers into thinking that there’s still life in the PS2 in an environment filled with promises of a new Microsoft and Nintendo console.

I won’t be surprised if God of War 3 pulled off the same tactic to make it look and feel as epic as any Greek story could.

Stick With The Times

Unlike the disposition of its main character, God of War was forgiving.  Checkpoints just before epic battles were there, and sorely needed. Timing of button inputs weren’t strict. The game patronizes those who die frequently with the option of tuning down the difficulty. This isn’t to say that the game was easy, but rather that modern conveniences make the challenge palatable and creates that fine balance between fairness and cheap one-hit kills. The game gets tough, but at least you won’t be tempted to hurl that PS2 controller due to game design issues and controls.

Sure, David Jaffe may not have helmed its sequel and the upcoming God of War III, but that doesn’t mean that the franchise has diminished in quality. Far from it; God of War II (directed by Corey Barlog) was deemed by the press as a worthy sequel that surpassed the first game in a lot of ways. With yet another different director (Stig Asmussen, also with the original God of War team) to helm the creation of the third game, the “larger than life” scale the franchise revels in will show no signs of diminishing.

Fun Fact: Kratos’ voice actor, Terrence C. Carson, used to star in a show called ‘Living Single’, which is the African American equivalent of Friends which also starred Queen Latifah.

Fun Fact: God of War III took US$44 million dollars to make.