The God of War franchise has the distinction of being one of the most revered and recognized action-adventure games of current and previous generations. They were games that made you proud to own a PS2.
God of War‘s brutality and beauty wowed both gamers and critics alike. It featured an addictive upgrade system, had satisfying combat and engaging puzzles, and amazed with some of the most epic set pieces of any game to date. And let’s not forget it introduced the memorably savage character Kratos, and taught us about how to violently destroy the mythological beasts, people, and places of ancient Greece.
Then, God of War II came and somehow managed to improve on everything the first one did.
So, take God of War I and II, two of the PlayStation 2’s finest action-adventure games, put them all on a single Blu-ray disc and then give them the HD treatment, and what you have is the God of War Collection.
All of the content from the original games, including the bonus features and behind-the-scenes footage is present (the GoW I stuff is accessed in the game as with the original, while the GoW II videos can be viewed under the Video tab in the XMB).
The important changes made to the GoW games are the visual upgrades and Trophy support.
The frame rate has been bumped up to a smooth 60 frames per second, which stays consistent throughout both games, and the anti-aliasing and screen tearing problems from the games’ PS2 counterparts have been fixed for this version. This all results in controlling Kratos feeling a tad more responsive.
The resolution has also been improved to 720p. I’m not much of a videophile, but what I can tell you is that both games look and play tremendously better thanks to the HD upgrade, and should be seen in action to truly appreciate the improvements. The textures, animations and models remain the same as before, but everything just looks cleaner and sharper here, so much so that you might forget they are PS2 games.
The Trophy support is a big plus for fans of the franchise and should give both newcomers and GoW veterans enough reason to play through these games, if not to experience an epic adventure of scale and scope not found in most games even today. I should add that the Trophies are pretty easy to get, too. Most of them are attained just by playing and finishing the game on any difficulty, so put aside your fears of having to beat them on the punishing God Mode to get a Platinum Trophy.
Given all these nice improvements, it’s pretty jarring to see that in-game cutscenes haven’t been touched at all. The CG cutscenes still look great in standard definition, but the cutscenes that are rendered using the in-game assets look kind of awful. Fortunately they don’t occur too often, but when they do, you’ll definitely notice the downgrade in visuals. On the bright side, it makes you realize how good the game looks now.
If you somehow managed to pass up God of War I and II when they were originally released, now is your chance to experience the definitive version of both games on the PS3. Even if you’ve played and beaten the original games numerous times, the HD visuals and Trophy support should be enough to bring you back for one more playthrough. Plus, at $40 you can’t go wrong considering you’d be getting two of the best action-adventure games ever made and a boatload of bonus content. The pain of waiting for next March’s God of War III has now been made a little easier.
