I should preface I haven't played through the whole series personally. I have played through God of War 1, God of War 2, God of War 3, as well as parts of Ghost of Sparta, and Ascension. I have not played Chains of Olympus (because I do not own a PSP) or Betrayal (As I don't generally play Mobile Phone Games). I know those games storylines, having watched them, but I can't personally comment on the experience of playing them.
The God of War series is very easy to criticize as a series. Almost strangely a lot of the criticisms are of a moralistic nature (Sexualizes Women in a way that is cartoonish and demeaning, Immature Power Fantasy, Glorifies a man that is by all accounts a terrible person etc.). I say "strangely" because it was of my assumption that these were done in an attempt yes to appeal to the target market but also in fact to fit the Ancient Greek Milieu. After all it would seem to me the same kind of people who are in God of War's target demographic are also the kind that were the target of Classical Greek Myth. Classical Greek Mythology was rife with Dionysian (see what I did there) levels of debauchery, rampant sexuality (particularly rape), morality that would be seen as very blue-and-orange to us, and protagonists that were less then exemplar. It's not Plato, sure, but not every Ancient Greek was Plato.
I am well outside the "target" demographic of God of War, being:
A: Female
B: Japanese (Foreign to Greco-Roman Culture, and it has been noted on TV Tropes no less that God of War wasn't very popular in Japan due to it's excess in Hyper-Masculinity and it's lack of "Kawaii" and Bishonen)
That said I liked the God of War series. The core mechanics are fun to play certainly, and the series does a good job not only establishing atmosphere but SCALE. It is quite impressive how great a scale the God of War franchise captures. Likewise I am a history fan and a mythology fan, so the finer aspects of Greco-Roman Mythology in the games was appreciated.
Not everything was perfect though. The story of the first game very well mirrors Classical Greek Tragedy (though obviously with a slightly happier ending for our dear Kratos) but the stories of the rest of the game are less compelling. They aren't insulting to the player's intelligence as some have said, they are just far more standard fair. Also the puzzles and environmental bits were annoying more often then not. The series really was at it's best when it was depicting epic battle, and padding the game with bits that were frustrating was less then pleasant to deal with.
Overall they are an enjoyable experience game play wise, particularly in combat itself. The series is very good at making everything around you really FEEL epic and grand. It is a series that the Classical Greeks might say appeals to Pathos, rather then Logos. However the environmental bits were annoying and the story parts kinda dropped off after 1, but not enough to do much damage to the series.
Easy to Criticize, but Hard to Dislike
I should preface I haven't played through the whole series personally. I have played through God of War 1, God of War 2, God of War 3, as well as parts of Ghost of Sparta, and Ascension. I have not played Chains of Olympus (because I do not own a PSP) or Betrayal (As I don't generally play Mobile Phone Games). I know those games storylines, having watched them, but I can't personally comment on the experience of playing them.
The God of War series is very easy to criticize as a series. Almost strangely a lot of the criticisms are of a moralistic nature (Sexualizes Women in a way that is cartoonish and demeaning, Immature Power Fantasy, Glorifies a man that is by all accounts a terrible person etc.). I say "strangely" because it was of my assumption that these were done in an attempt yes to appeal to the target market but also in fact to fit the Ancient Greek Milieu. After all it would seem to me the same kind of people who are in God of War's target demographic are also the kind that were the target of Classical Greek Myth. Classical Greek Mythology was rife with Dionysian (see what I did there) levels of debauchery, rampant sexuality (particularly rape), morality that would be seen as very blue-and-orange to us, and protagonists that were less then exemplar. It's not Plato, sure, but not every Ancient Greek was Plato.
I am well outside the "target" demographic of God of War, being: A: Female B: Japanese (Foreign to Greco-Roman Culture, and it has been noted on TV Tropes no less that God of War wasn't very popular in Japan due to it's excess in Hyper-Masculinity and it's lack of "Kawaii" and Bishonen)
That said I liked the God of War series. The core mechanics are fun to play certainly, and the series does a good job not only establishing atmosphere but SCALE. It is quite impressive how great a scale the God of War franchise captures. Likewise I am a history fan and a mythology fan, so the finer aspects of Greco-Roman Mythology in the games was appreciated.
Not everything was perfect though. The story of the first game very well mirrors Classical Greek Tragedy (though obviously with a slightly happier ending for our dear Kratos) but the stories of the rest of the game are less compelling. They aren't insulting to the player's intelligence as some have said, they are just far more standard fair. Also the puzzles and environmental bits were annoying more often then not. The series really was at it's best when it was depicting epic battle, and padding the game with bits that were frustrating was less then pleasant to deal with.
Overall they are an enjoyable experience game play wise, particularly in combat itself. The series is very good at making everything around you really FEEL epic and grand. It is a series that the Classical Greeks might say appeals to Pathos, rather then Logos. However the environmental bits were annoying and the story parts kinda dropped off after 1, but not enough to do much damage to the series.
4/5