God of War....

[doc_bean]

...is excellent.

Play it.

Seriously.

[Kekvit Irae]

I have. Except for the pixelated breasts (something I find every day on 4chan), I was not impressed.

[doc_bean]

Really ? There are many things I like about it so far:

-The case sensitive actions, both in combat and in level design
-The intuitive little puzzles
-The fixed camera viewpoint that actually works, letting you focus on playing the game instead of toying around with the camera
-Terrific pacing, not endless fights, not overly long puzzles or jumping sections, so far it's just right
-Okay, the violence, I really needed some release last night

Things I'd hold against it for now:

-The breasts, they didn't look realistic, you'd figure they'd spent more time on those
-The amount of different enemies I've encountered so far seems pretty limited.

Still, it's one of the better (non strategy) games i've played recently.

[Fragony]

...is excellent.

Play it.

Seriously.

Yes. My second favorite ps2 title. Next gen consoles, shame on you.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

God of War? I didn't like it either. It felt like another hack-and-slash game.

Even Spartan: Total Warrior was more enjoyable for me.

[doc_bean]

God of War? I didn't like it either. It felt like another hack-and-slash game.

Even Spartan: Total Warrior was more enjoyable for me.

Have you played it to the first boss ?

The beginning was a little disappointing to me since it resembled Prince of Persia: Warrior Within so much (not sure which one came first).

Of course, it's really a genre game, so if you don't like action adventure games this game probably isn't for you. I personally love the genre.

[Bijo]

It appeared indeed to be hack 'n slash. And when it looks like hack 'n slash, it must be hack 'n slash or a very crafty disguise.

[doc_bean]

It appeared indeed to be hack 'n slash. And when it looks like hack 'n slash, it must be hack 'n slash or a very crafty disguise.

Hack 'n slash makes me think of things like Diablo, mindlessly pushing the same button again and again. God of War is not like that at all.

[Fragony]

Hack 'n slash makes me think of things like Diablo, mindlessly pushing the same button again and again. God of War is not like that at all.

Well it is, and god is it sweet. Insane production values, great story, awesome hero.
And god the cutscenes and music rock

PAPAAAADADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA TATATAAAAAAA

Awesome stuff.

[Kekvit Irae]

Hack 'n slash makes me think of things like Diablo, mindlessly pushing the same button again and again. God of War is not like that at all.

You mean you're not pushing the exact same attack button for hours on end like I did, punctuated only by an occasional jump or combo? You mean Dynasty Warriors is not a hack-n-slash game, but rather a historical fighting simulation with oddly familiar button-pressing? Right...

A rose by any other name... would still stink of fertilizer.

[frogbeastegg]

Given a choice between GoW, Onimusha 3 and Spartan: TW which would people advice a frog to play first? Having just spent the best part of 70 hours on Dragon Quest I'm in the mood to play something short and very different to an RPG.

Vital information: I don't play action games very often, so I tend to be crap at them. I already own Oni 3 (played and completed Onis 1 and 2 years ago when I first got my PS2) and Spartan (£4.99!), but would need to buy GoW (it's cheap, so not an issue).

Or other recommendations?

[Fragony]

Frag to Frog, God of War. It's very forgiving for this type of game, this is not a hardcore game like Ninja Gaiden or Devil may Cry 3. Besides, you want to know what all the fuss is about. If you even remotily think you will enjoy this game, you will have a blast, that's a promise.

[doc_bean]

You mean you're not pushing the exact same attack button for hours on end like I did, punctuated only by an occasional jump or combo?

Hey, I use all buttons on my controller regularly ! It's a button masher, but not a hack 'n slash imo, but perhaps my definition is tainted by playing virtually nothing but PC games for decades.

Given a choice between GoW, Onimusha 3 and Spartan: TW which would people advice a frog to play first?

Haven't played the other two. One thing about god of war though is that you have to appreciate or at least be able to stand the over the top violence of it all. If it's something that just makes you roll your eyes this might not be the game for you.

EDIT: as for the difficulty, I'm playing it on normal and finding it a tad too easy actually, and I don't tend to be great with these kind of games either.

EDIT2: For comparison, I think the game has more gore than PoP: Two Thrones, though a lot more fighting (better fighting system though), it also doesn't have that 'goth' vibe PoP: Warrior Within has, which was one of the reasons I waited so long to get GoW I think.
Which reminds me: I lost my PoP Trilogy edition

[The Spartan (Returns)]

Frag to Frog, God of War. It's very forgiving for this type of game, this is not a hardcore game like Ninja Gaiden or Devil may Cry 3. Besides, you want to know what all the fuss is about. If you even remotily think you will enjoy this game, you will have a blast, that's a promise.

I like those games better.

@doc_bean
I got to the city part, and then I dozed off. Yeah I don't really like action/adventure games that much. Some games I do.

@Frog I played Onimusha (1) and it was sweet. I didn't play Onimusha 3 but since there is a 3rd one, I can predict it's even better; you should play Onimusha 3.

[Lehesu]

I still think Ninja Gaiden is the holy grail for third-person action.

[doc_bean]

Hmm, got somewhat further in to the game...

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Trial of Hades, about 8 hours in.

I have to say that there's been a drop in quality at one point

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

after you leave the city

it's still a good game, but the excellent pacing is somewhat gone. There are also a ew other things that irk me. Still, a very good game up to this point, and still highly recommended, but I doubt it will beat Sands of Time as my favourite action adventure game by the end.

[Fragony]

That part is for GOW what the dream-sequence was for Max Payne. Frankly it sucks, but it picks up again after that. None of that in GOW2, an even better game.

[frogbeastegg]

Alright, I got it. If it doesn't click I'll move on to Onimusha 3.

So far I'm up to the first boss. I'm not feeling any magic, but nor is it dreadful. All the puzzles and variety must appear later; all I'm doing is hitting things over and over with a rather meh weapon (oddly shaped blades attached to his arms via elasticated chains!?). Ah well, I've played many games with dull or rubbish beginnings. Some improved, some did not. Only way to find out is to keep hitting things with my elasto-blades.


RE Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden: I own both and have played some of each quite some time ago. I liked them and didn't do too badly, amazingly. DMC I had to shelve after the defeating first boss due to exams, and NG I decided to come back to when I was in the mood/able to to play the game for more than an hour a week. When I've honed my reflexes in supposedly easier games I'll go back to them

[doc_bean]

Alright, I got it. If it doesn't click I'll move on to Onimusha 3.

So far I'm up to the first boss. I'm not feeling any magic, but nor is it dreadful. All the puzzles and variety must appear later; all I'm doing is hitting things over and over with a rather meh weapon (oddly shaped blades attached to his arms via elasticated chains!?). Ah well, I've played many games with dull or rubbish beginnings. Some improved, some did not. Only way to find out is to keep hitting things with my elasto-blades.

The weird weapons stay, though you get more combos when you level up which makes them more fun, some later enemies are also a bit more interesting, the next part should have a bunch of small (puzzles) and some more diverse enemies, the later parts include more elaborate puzzles, but not really complex since they're mostly key hunts.

I'm now at

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

the upper part of the pandora temple.

[frogbeastegg]

Having finished my unexpected Magical Starsign detour I'm back with God of War. It's doing better.

As I hadn't got very far into the game, and since it had been a couple of weeks since I last touched it, I restarted. On a higher difficulty. Moment of madness - I thought it might reduce the "spam square-square-triangle" tedium. It has. Reaching Athens is the other factor in my improved view of the game. That opening sequence was boring, full of the same few easy enemies and no real break from thumping them upside the head. Athens mixes things up: more enemies, tougher fights, puzzling, platforming, and bits of plot.

I'm now up to the part where you can see a Titan in the background ... 'Road to Athens', IIRC. I've died twice, both times to those big grey behemoths in the square with the fountain. All in all I find that encouraging.

I do wish they'd put roll on L1+left stick like most games, instead of on the right stick. It's awkward. This would have enabled them to give the player a degree of control over the camera, so they could tweak the view if required. There have been occasions where the default view is not the one I'd prefer.

Question: what's the point of parrying? I don't seem to be able to chain an attack from it, or do anything useful. There's got to be some reward for the fine timing it requires.

Question the second: Any recommendations for upgrade paths? So far I've done 1 level on my weapons, and can almost afford a second. I don't use magic much presently.


Anyone played the sequel?

[doc_bean]

Question the second: Any recommendations for upgrade paths? So far I've done 1 level on my weapons, and can almost afford a second. I don't use magic much presently.

Focus on the weapons first and foremost, Poseidon's Rage is very handy so i upgraded that. The Medusa head is pretty unreliable imo, so don't spend too much on that early on, Zeus Bolts are nice for far away enemies, but getting them passed level 2 is pretty pointless as far as I've gotten, Artemis' sword lacks the range of the Blades of Chaos. Army of Hades seems nice but I haven't used it much.

It's been too long since I played this game. Damn you, real life !

[Fragony]

Anyone played the sequel?

Yep, more of the same but better. Bigger, meaner, harder