It’s been a long and winding road for Kratos. On his quest to thwart the plans of Zeus, the battle hardened warrior has endured much suffering. From seeing his family die by his own hand to taking out some of the most well known and, let’s be honest, kick-ass Gods and creatures in Greek mythology, he’s undoubtedly had a hard time of it. Now, however, his quest for vengeance comes to an end in the Playstation 3’s first outing for the Santa Monica team and their extremely well loved series.

To say this has a reputation to uphold would be one of those understatements that would stick in folklore, much like saying the sky is blue and the grass is green (unless you’re colour blind, as then it can be any shade you like, I suppose). The first game brought about a high-octane, massively impacting change to the more standard sword hurling genre it tried to re-define. Combos became commonplace and the pace was well met, with some rather meaty boss battles mixed with some rather cunning puzzles to keep the grey cells working, usually to help remind them to pick your jaw up off the floor from how the game looked.

The second God of War took what the first had done and didn’t just enhance it; it honed it to such a precise level in both graphics and structure that it became to many people the game of the Playstation 2’s lifespan. Some battles would last for a long time, running at such a smooth and silky frame rate that it was a joy to behold. It was pushing the hardware so much that 60 frames a second on a constant basis was never going to be possible, but it was never far off, producing an extremely good mid section for this three act play.

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