How God of War PS2 Embraces Anger | God of War 2005 Contextual Review
82An analytical and contextual, retrospective review of God of War 2005 for the PS2. God of War 2005 give us positive outlet for anger and I think this is a beneficial thing.
Conceived in 2004, God of War aimed to cherry-pick ideas from Devil May Cry, Prince of Persia, Onimusha and Ico and to bring it all together into something resembling a Harryhausen film. God of War director David Jaffe said the goal for God of War was to "..make the player feel brutal, letting their inner beast free and just going nuts".
I think at this point the designers started dialling in on the idea to make anger the core concept of the game. By taking violence and anger and building it into the core concept of the game, God of War 2005 made a bigger impact on the wider gaming culture than God of War 2018 could ever hope to.
God of War really isn't that story driven so a lack of emotional depth isn’t a negative observation. Jaffe even admitted that God of War didn’t aim to be innovative or deep, it was an intentional to create something familiar and focused. You could easily accuse God of War of lacking the subtlety or the emotional and intellectual range of its PS2 contemporaries. God of War intended to concentrate on only one emotion.
Although basic, the combat is rapid, robust and on-message. God of War builds on its strengths like this, not its weaknesses. Over 10 years on I would admit that God of War’s combat feels a bit primitive. So many games have taken this formula and polished off those rough edges, it doesn’t feel negative to say that although fun, God of War is a product of 2005.
God of War launched during the summer of 2005 and before long it was in the top ten best-selling games of the year. Less than a year later the game achieved platinum status. Sony reported that the game sold near enough 5 million copies worldwide, putting it in the top 50 best-selling games of the decade. God of War was selling PS2s even with the PS3 just over the horizon. Director of Product Development Shannon Studstill said "I don't think we really realized how big and how much of a place on the map God of War was going to carve out for the studio..." When asked why God of War resonated so well with audiences, Santa Monica Creative Director Corey Barlog later said "What has made God of War so successful for so many years is the concept of the core singular vision"
This video is part of my Spirit of 2005 series where I look at games from the 2000s, before the industry really took off and focus on creative, innovative games which avoided the pitfalls of the mass market. Coming in at about 8 or 9 hours, God of War typifies the Spirit of 2005 in that it’s quite a short game but it’s content-rich. If God of War 2005 came out now then, yeah, it wouldn’t compare to big AAA games. But if it came out exactly as it is here, as a 20 quid double-A indie game, I could see this still being a smash.
By investing in their theme of anger, Santa Monica Studio made a compelling action game in God of War. One which I would play again and once which I would recommend. God of War PS2 told a story through the lens of a single emotion. Something the modern God of War didn’t attempt. While God of War 2018 is probably a better game in all respects, but we’re all already onto the hot new thing. I don’t think that game will prove to leave as indelible a mark on gaming culture as the original God of War 2005.
Special thanks to Nevyn at Indie Bytes for looking over this script. Cheers mate.
#godofwar #retrogaming #spiritof2005
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQCYouiFQ4M
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_godofwar_ps2
https://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/03/21/the-house-that-god-of-war-built-sony-santa-monica
https://uk.ign.com/articles/2004/06/10/god-of-war-interview
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130957/dice_feature_the_search_for_.php
http://us.playstation.com/corporate/about/press-release/454.html
https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/negative-emotions/
https://www.elitedaily.com/life/negative-emotions-good-for-you/881761
http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar03/whenanger.aspx