Innovative platforming - God of War
Wow.
You play Kratos, hired gun of the ancient Greek gods, trying to get the horrid dreams of your tortured past to go away. By doing in Ares. Okay. The plot doesn’t really make much sense to me yet, but that’s really not the point.
While it’s very similar to Prince of Persia in many ways, the game mechanics are subtly different. I’ve only been playing for a few hours, and already I’m addicted. The action is fast. Blazingly fast, but still easy to control. The weapons are beautiful and natural. I suppose I should not be surprised to find that it’s fun to fight with whirling flaming blades on chains. The fight system is reasonably complex. There are a LOT of combos and powerups, and several types of enemies (including bosses) have their own kinds of finishing moves, which breaks up the button mashing monotony a LOT. There are several different views as well, which blend seamlessly - sometimes you’re up close, sometimes in a wide landscape, and wall climbing and ropes have different move sets.
It lacks the sense of desperation that defined Prince of Persia - it’s more about sheer carnage and revenge.
It is the most violent game I have ever played, and it seems right at home. It is common to grab enemies and just rip them in half. Unlike most games, there’s also nudity, which does seem appropriate - topless slave girls, medusas, and probably more.
Really, it’s just a ton of fun.