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This article is about the 2005 video game. For other games in this series and/or other uses, see Gods of War.

Video game
God of War
File:Gowbox.jpgNorth American box art, depicting Kratos facing Pandora's Temple
Developer(s)SCE Santa Monica Studio
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)David Jaffe
Producer(s)Shannon Studstill
Artist(s)Dave Matthews
Writer(s)Marianne Krawczyk
Alexander Stein
David Jaffe
Keith Fay
Composer(s)Gerard Marino
Mike Reagan
Ron Fish
Winifred Phillips
Winnie Waldron
Cris Velasco
Marcello De Francisci
SeriesGod of War
EngineKinetica (PS2)
Bluepoint Engine (God of War Collection and Saga)
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3 (God of War Collection and Saga)
ReleasePlayStation 2

God of War Collection

God of War Saga
Genre(s)Hack and slash, action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

God of War is a third person action-adventure video game published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and developed by SCE Santa Monica Studio. The game was first released on March 22, 2005, for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) console. It is loosely based on Greek mythology, and is set in Ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, a Spartan warrior who serves the Olympian Gods. The goddess Athena tasks Kratos with killing Ares, the God of War, who is responsible for Kratos' accidental killing of his family. As Ares besieges Athens out of hatred for Athena, Kratos embarks on a quest to find the one object capable of stopping the god: the legendary Pandora's Box. Ultimately successful, Kratos replaces Ares as the new God of War.

The gameplay of God of War focuses on combo-based combat, which is achieved through the player's main weapon, the Blades of Chaos, as well as a secondary weapon acquired later in the game. The game features quick time events that require the player to successfully complete a series of game controller actions in a timed sequence in order to defeat stronger enemies and boss fights. Furthermore, the player can use up to four magical attacks and a power enhancing ability as alternative combat options. Players also solve puzzles and the game features platforming elements.

God of War is the first installment in the series of the same name, and chronologically the second. To date, the series includes four sequels, God of War II (2007), God of War: Betrayal (2007), God of War III (2010), and God of War: Ghost of Sparta (2010), and a prequel, God of War: Chains of Olympus (2008). A second prequel, God of War: Ascension, is in development, which will be a prequel to the entire series, and is scheduled to be released in March 2013. The series also includes a six-issue comic series, God of War (2010-11).

As of June 2012, the game has sold more than 4.6 million copies worldwide. Reviewers have said God of War is one of the best action-adventure games on the PlayStation 2, and it has won several "Game of the Year" awards. In 2009, entertainment website IGN named God of War the seventh-best PlayStation 2 game of all time. In addition to its gameplay, God of War has been highly regarded for its graphics, sound, presentation, and story. The game and its first sequel, God of War II, were remastered and released in 2009 as part of the God of War Collection, and in 2012, the remastered version was re-released as part of the God of War Saga, both for the PlayStation 3 (PS3). A novelization of the game was released in 2010 and a film adaptation has been in development since 2005.

Synopsis

Setting

God of War is set in an alternate version of Ancient Greece, populated by the Olympian Gods, Titans, and other beings of Greek mythology. With the exception of flashbacks, the game's events are set between the games Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta. There are five locations explored in the game: the Aegean Sea, the ancient city of Athens, the Desert of Lost Souls, the Temple of Pandora, the Underworld, and a brief scene on Mount Olympus.

The Aegean Sea setting includes a mass of shipwrecked vessels; undead soldiers, harpies, and the Hydra are attacking what remains of the living soldiers. Athens is a war-torn city under assault by Ares, the God of War; its soldiers are being overrun by Ares' army of minotaurs, Medusa and her Gorgons, cyclops, and undead legionnaires. Beyond the city is the Desert of Lost Souls, a vast and windy desert full of ancient ruins. Three sirens roam the desert; killing the sirens releases their soul, which guides warriors through the desert so that they may summon the Titan Cronos and gain access to Pandora's Temple. Zeus chained the temple to Cronos' back as punishment for his role in the Great War. The massive temple, constructed by the architect Pathos Verdes III, is full of deadly traps and a variety of enemies, including all those previously encountered, as well as wraiths, satyrs, centaurs, cerberi, and a giant minotaur known as Pandora's Guardian. The temple houses areas dedicated to the Titan Atlas and the gods Poseidon and Hades. The Underworld is a fiery realm with spiked pillars full of souls where Kratos encounters versions of previously defeated enemies, covered in flames. The brief scene on Mount Olympus shows the golden palace of the gods and the God of War's throne room.

Characters

Main article: List of God of War characters

The protagonist of the game is Kratos (voiced by Terrence C. Carson), a Spartan warrior in the service of the Olympian Gods. Other characters that appear include a host of Greek gods, such as Athena (Carole Ruggier), the Goddess of Wisdom and Kratos' ally and mentor; Ares (Steven Blum), the God of War and main antagonist; Poseidon (Fred Tatasciore), the God of the Sea; Aphrodite (Carole Ruggier), the Goddess of Love and Sexuality; Zeus (Paul Eiding), the King of the Gods; Artemis (Claudia Black), the Goddess of the Hunt; and Hades (Nolan North), the God of the Underworld. Several of the gods aid Kratos with magic or weapons. Minor characters include the Oracle of Athens (Susan Blakeslee), the gravedigger (Paul Eiding), the body burner (Christopher Corey Smith), and the boat captain (Keith Ferguson). Other characters appear in flashbacks, including Kratos' wife Lysandra (Gwendoline Yeo), his child Calliope, the Barbarian King, and a Village Oracle (Susan Blakeslee). The game is narrated by Linda Hunt.

Plot

Kratos is a warrior in the service of the Greek gods of Olympus. A series of flashbacks reveals that he was once a successful captain in the Spartan army and led his men to several victories before he was defeated by a barbarian king. Facing death, Kratos called to the God of War, Ares, whom he promised to serve if the god would spare his men and provide the power to destroy their enemies. Ares agreed to Kratos' entreaty and bonded the Blades of Chaos, a pair of chained blades forged in the depths of Tartarus, to his new servant. Kratos, equipped with the blades, then decapitated the barbarian king.

Kratos waged war at the behest of Ares, eventually leading an attack on a village occupied by worshipers of Athena. Ares had secretly transported Kratos' wife and child to the village; during his frenzied attack on its temple, Kratos accidentally killed them. Although Ares believed this act would free Kratos to become the perfect warrior, the Spartan instead renounced his pledge of servitude to the god. The oracle of the destroyed village cursed Kratos by bonding the ashes of his dead family to his skin, turning it ash-white and earning him the name Ghost of Sparta. Plagued by nightmares of his horrible deed, Kratos vowed to serve the other gods in hope of ridding himself of the visions.

When the game starts, Kratos has been serving the gods for ten years. He kills the Hydra on behalf of Poseidon, but grows tired of his service and suffering. He summons Athena, who states that if Kratos performs one final act—the murder of Ares—he will be forgiven for the killing of his family. Ares is waging war on the city of Athens out of hatred and jealousy of his sister, Athena, who assigns Kratos to destroy Ares because Zeus has forbidden divine intervention. Athena guides Kratos to Athens, which is under siege by Ares' minions. After a strange encounter with a gravedigger, who encourages him to continue his task, Kratos battles his way to Athens' oracle, finds her, and learns that the only way to defeat Ares is to locate and use Pandora's Box, a mythical artifact that grants the power to kill a god.

Kratos enters the Desert of Lost Souls, and Athena tells him Pandora's Box is hidden within a temple chained to the back of the Titan Cronos. Kratos summons Cronos, climbs for three days before reaching the Temple entrance, overcomes an array of deadly traps and an army of monsters, and eventually finds the Box. Although Kratos succeeds, Ares, aware of his former servant's success, kills Kratos as the latter is leaving the Temple. While a group of harpies take the Box to Ares, Kratos falls into the Underworld. He battles his way through it, and with the aid of the mysterious gravedigger, who tells him Athena is not the only god watching over him, he escapes and returns to Athens.

Kratos recovers Pandora's Box from Ares, opens it, and uses its power to become godlike. Despite Ares' best efforts to destroy Kratos physically and mentally, including stripping him of the Blades of Chaos and all magic, he survives and kills Ares with the Blade of the Gods. Athens is saved, and although Athena tells Kratos his sins are forgiven, the gods cannot rid him of his nightmares. Forsaken by the gods, he tries to commit suicide by casting himself into the Aegean Sea, but Athena intervenes and transports him to Mount Olympus. As a reward for his services to the gods, she provides Kratos with a new set of blades and the seat as the new God of War.

Gameplay

Kratos (right) battles a Gorgon (left). Weakening strong foes allows the option to kill the enemy via the quick time event feature.

God of War is a third-person single player video game viewed from a fixed camera perspective. The player controls the character Kratos in a mixture of combo-based combat, platforming, and puzzle game elements. The player guides Kratos through various environments while fighting enemies, who come mostly from Greek mythology, such as Gorgons. Some enemies were created specifically for the game, such as undead legionnaires (undead soldiers). Platforming elements require the player to climb walls, jump across chasms, swing on ropes, and balance across beams to proceed to the next section of the game. Some puzzles are simple, such as moving a box against a wall so that the player can access a pathway that was unreachable with normal jumping, while others are more complex, such as finding several items across different areas of the game to unlock one door. Kratos' main weapon is the Blades of Chaos: a pair of blades attached to chains wrapped around Kratos' wrists that can be swung around to attack enemies, similar to a kusarigama. He acquires a secondary weapon called the Blade of Artemis, a large sword, later in the game which offers alternative combat options. Kratos can learn to use up to four magical abilities, such as Zeus' Fury, which allows him to throw lightning bolts, giving him a variety of ways to attack and kill enemies. Later in the game, he obtains a relic called Poseidon's Trident, which grants him the ability to breathe underwater, which is necessary as parts of the game require long periods of swimming underwater. Kratos also acquires a special ability called Rage of the Gods, which provides him with invulnerability and increased attack damage for a short period of time.

During the game, the player finds chests colored either green, blue, or red, and each chest contains orbs of the corresponding color. Green orbs replenish the player's health, blue orbs replenish magic allowing further usage, and red orbs provide experience for upgrading weapons and magic—allowing new and more powerful attacks—and replenishing the Rage meter, which, if full, allows for the usage of the Rage of the Gods ability. The player can also collect red orbs by killing foes and destroying certain inanimate objects. Additionally, the player can find Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers in plain, neutrally colored chests. The Eyes and Feathers incrementally increases the length of the health and magic meters, respectively, and the player must find a total of eighteen Eyes or Feathers to maximize the length of each meter, thus maximizing the player's power.

Combat includes a quick time event (QTE) feature, also called context sensitive attacks, that is initiated when the player has weakened a strong foe. The player performs a sequence of actions on the game controller shortly after an image of its circle button appears as an on-screen prompt. This allows for limited control of Kratos during a QTE cinematic sequence, which, if successful, ends the battle; failure usually results in damage to the player's character. Similar in function to the QTE feature, the game includes a quick time sex mini-game in the form of an encounter with female twins, which has become a regular feature throughout the series. When the game is completed, a challenge mode—ten trials called the Challenge of the Gods—is unlocked; this requires players to complete a series of specific tasks (e.g. kill all Cyclops in an area before time runs out). The player may unlock bonus costumes for Kratos, behind-the-scenes videos, and art galleries from the game's development as rewards. Completion of each difficulty level unlocks various additional rewards.

Development

Santa Monica began production of God of War in 2002, and it was unveiled two years later at SCEA (Sony Computer Entertainment of America) Santa Monica Gamers' Day 2004. In a meeting with GameSpot at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2004, the developer said there would be 15 to 25 different attacks with the player's main weapon in the final game, with a free-form combo system allowing players to combine moves in almost any order. GameSpot said the developers described the gameplay "as merging the action of Devil May Cry with the puzzle-solving of Ico" and noted that players would be able to "sunder enemies with a single move, such as by ripping them in half."

Game Director David Jaffe confirmed the game would be a cinematic presentation, and said, "we are doing extensive focus tests, and using data compiled from E3, to find and fix the problem areas" of the cameras. Because of that, he said if players "hate cinematic camera systems, nothing we can do will help you like the God of War cameras." Although the game is based on Greek mythology, the development team gave themselves "lots of freedom" to modify the myths, and Jaffe said they took the "coolest aspects of the subject" and wrote a story around those elements. In an interview with Eurogamer, he said that while the idea for God of War was his own, the concept owed a debt to Capcom because he had played Onimusha and said "let's do that with Greek Mythology." He was inspired in part by the 1981 feature film, Clash of the Titans, saying, "the real high concept for me was ... merging it with Heavy Metal magazine." He said he liked both "the kids stuff ... with Greek Mythology" and the idea of adding more adult themes such as sex and violence.

After E3 2004, Jaffe told IGN the creative team's goal was to "make the player feel brutal, letting their inner beast free and just going nuts." He said the game's combat system would have an unparalleled degree of freedom. The team designed two systems of combat: a macro system, which gives players the choice between normal combat, magical attacks, and/or using mini games to kill a foe; and a micro system, where players press a sequence of buttons to perform different attacks which increase Kratos' damage output. Various types of puzzles were implemented, such as self-contained puzzles that span one to three rooms of the game, and global puzzles that spread across four or five areas of the game. Jaffe said the game would be unique because each puzzle is different. He said that while each puzzle in the Prince of Persia series was a slight variation of the last, "each puzzle in God of War is its own beast."

Frank Cifaldi of Gamasutra covered a speech by Jaffe on the development of God of War at the 2006 D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas. Cifaldi said "God of War was a rare opportunity for a game designer" because Sony gave Jaffe nearly complete creative control to develop a game on his terms with a substantial budget. He stated that Jaffe wanted to make the game "out of passion, not fear, and that it would be a game that himself, as a game player, would want to play." Jaffe said the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark also inspired the development of God of War, and he wanted to make players feel like he felt as a child watching that film, but he did not want to put the player in the role of an adventurer, referencing The Legend of Zelda. He elaborated that God of War was intentionally designed to be simplistic and forward-moving; but the game "is not innovative or unique, and that's intentional. Our system was so shallow that it forced the team to constantly create new content to trapeze the player from one area of interest to the next ... I understand modular game design, and the value of that, but I was feeling that if we didn't step outside those boundaries, at least for me, I was going to get bored."

Release

The demo of God of War, entitled God of War: The Hydra Battle, was released on January 1, 2005. It featured Kratos battling various opponents and ended with a portion of the Hydra battle that opens the main game. The game was released on March 22 in North America, June 21 in Europe, July 8 in the United Kingdom, and November 17 in Japan. By the end of July, the game was the sixth best selling game of 2005, and by June 2012, it had sold more than 4.6 million copies worldwide. In 2006, it became available in the PlayStation 2 lineup of Greatest Hits.

The game and its sequel, God of War II, were released in North America on November 17, 2009, as part of the God of War Collection, featuring remastered ports of both games for the PlayStation 3 platform, with upscaled graphics and support for PlayStation 3 Trophies. It was released in Japan on March 18, 2010, Australia on April 29, and the UK on April 30. The God of War Collection was released as a digital download on the PlayStation Store on November 2, 2010; it was the first product containing PlayStation 2 software to be available via download. PlayStation Plus subscribers can download a one-hour trial of each game. By June 2012, God of War Collection had sold more than 2.4 million copies worldwide. On August 28, 2012, the remastered version of God of War—along with God of War II, God of War III, God of War: Chains of Olympus, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta—was released as part of the God of War Saga under Sony's new line of PlayStation Collections for the PlayStation 3 in North America.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings93.62%
Metacritic94/100
Review scores
PublicationScore
1Up.comA+
Eurogamer9/10
GamePro
GameSpot9.3/10
GameSpy5/5
GamesRadar+10/10
IGN9.8/10

God of War received "universal acclaim" from critics, with aggregate scores of 93.62% from GameRankings and 94/100 from Metacritic. The game has been highly regarded for its gameplay, graphics, sound, production, presentation, and story. Tom Lane of CNN wrote, "God of War is the type of game that makes you remember why you play games in the first place." He called the gameplay addictive and the action balanced with a modest amount of puzzle and platforming elements. He praised how quickly the game progresses and said it "is one of the most violent on the market."

Raymond Padilla of GameSpy said the gameplay is excellent and that the game has "some of the goriest, most exaggerated, and over-the-top violence I've ever seen." He praised the combo system for being generous, with players easily able to execute attack combinations, but added that it can challenge players who "throw themselves into the system." Chris Sell of PAL Gaming Network wrote that the most enjoyable aspect of the game's combat is its simplicity. He said the QTE's are "superbly enjoyable", "highly satisfying", and most entertaining during boss fights. In regard to combining combat with platforming, Sell said, "God of War pulls it off perfectly."

Lane said the game's story is "compelling," while Sell stated that it is well laid out and rarely stalls. Padilla wrote that it is excellent, stating, "God of War is the best thing to happen to Greek mythology" since Harry Hamlin played Perseus in the 1981 film, Clash of the Titans. He praised the sound as very strong. Kristan Reed of Eurogamer said the game's audio is "a stunningly evocative example of a well-judged dramatic soundtrack and thunderous effects."

Sell complimented the graphics, stating that they are "quite possibly the best on the PS2" and rival games on the Xbox. He said the character models are excellent and each level has its own distinctive feel. Eric Blattberg of PlayStation Universe praised the graphics for being seamless, realistic, and capable of being able to run at 480p on a widescreen television. He said the textures are great, and the environments are "stunning and unbelievably detailed." Mikel Reparaz of GamesRadar noted the amount of detail in the game, elaborating that as a consequence of the aging hardware of the PS2, "the graphics occasionally stutter or even slow down." He still gave the game a perfect score, concluding, "these problems are minor nits next to God of War's creative design, riveting plot and sheer balls-out fun. One of the best action titles on the PS2, God of War stands out as an ultraviolent masterpiece."

Sell said God of War has very few flaws and that the only one worth mentioning is the camera system. He said that although the cameras do a great job of following Kratos, "there are a fair few annoying moments when you're attacked by something off-screen, or you fail to make a jump because you couldn't really see the jump properly." Other minor complaints from Sell include the game's lack of replayability, the amount of time it takes to upgrade items, and the final fight with Ares, which he said is "a little disappointing." Kristan Reed said there are a few notable occasions where he found some of the platforming balancing acts "a little bothersome." He said players may be overwhelmed by the amount of enemies, but players will eventually get their "brain and reactions in gear and move onto the next gripping section and feel hugely satisfied". Padilla felt some of the voice acting and music tracks are overstated.

Awards and accolades

God of War has won over a dozen "Game of the Year" Awards. At the 2005 Spike Video Game Awards, God of War was named the "Action Game of the Year" and David Jaffe won "Designer of the Year" for the game. It was also nominated for the "Game of the Year", "Best Performance by a Human Male" (TC Carson as Kratos), and "Best Original Score" awards. At the 2006 Interactive Achievement Awards, the game won several awards, including "Overall Game of the Year", "Console Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement for Animation", "Outstanding Achievement for Original Music Composition", "Outstanding Achievement for Sound Design", "Outstanding Character Performance for a Male", and "Action/Adventure Game of the Year". In 2009, God of War was named the seventh best PlayStation 2 game of all time by IGN. In November 2012, Complex magazine named God of War the eleventh best PlayStation 2 game of all time.

Other media

Soundtrack

Untitled

God of War: Original Soundtrack from the Video Game, composed by Gerard K. Marino, Ron Fish, Winifred Phillips, Mike Reagan, Cris Velasco, Winnie Waldron, and Marcello De Francisci, was released on CD by Sony Computer Entertainment as an exclusive product for the Sony Connect Music Store on March 1, 2005. Several of the tracks feature voice-over passages from the video game. Dave Valentine of Square Enix Music Online rated it 8 out of 10 and praised the composers for avoiding the production of "a neverending dullness of action themes". He complimented the soundtrack for having "a large number of well-developed orchestral themes, with a noticeable creative use of ancient and ethnic instrumentation." Spence D of IGN gave the soundtrack 6.9 out of 10 and also praised the use of ancient and ethnic instrumentation, but criticized the uneven transitions between tracks. At the 2005 Spike Video Game Awards, the score was nominated for Best Original Score.

Track listing
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Escape from Madness"Gerard Marino0:38
2."The Vengeful Spartan"Marino1:21
3."Kratos and the Sea"Marino2:21
4."Have Faith"Marino1:21
5."The Splendor of Athens"Mike Reagan2:09
6."This City Will Be Your Grave"Marino0:24
7."Ares Destroys Athens"Reagan1:13
8."Mind the Cyclops"Reagan2:09
9."Athenian Battle"Reagan3:07
10."Exploring the Ruins"Winifred Phillips2:02
11."Athens Rooftops Fighting"Marino2:39
12."Save the Oracle Challenge"Marino1:35
13."Kratos' Evil Past"Marino2:01
14."Too Late"Marino1:58
15."The Great Sword Bridge of Athena"Marino2:17
16."What the Oracle Spoke"Marino1:09
17."The Story of Chronos"Marino1:17
18."Battle the Lethal Sirens"Reagan2:28
19."The Temple of Pandora"Ron Fish0:36
20."Pandoran Cyclopes Attack"Fish1:42
21."The Architect's Mysteries"Fish2:00
22."Zeus' Wrath Divine"Cris Velasco3:04
23."The Underwater World of Poseidon"Phillips3:04
24."Minotaur Boss Battle"Velasco1:57
25."Burning Visions"Fish1:15
26."Pandora's Box"Phillips1:00
27."Hades, God of the Underworld"Velasco1:13
28."The Fury of Ares"Fish1:26
29."Duel With Ares"Reagan, Velasco2:26
30."Enthroned on Mount Olympus"Phillips1:57
31."God of War End Title"Marino5:06
Total length:58:55

Novel

An official eponymous novelization of the game was written by Matthew Stover and Robert E. Vardeman. It was released on May 25, 2010 by Del Rey Books. In an interview with Play (UK) magazine, Vardeman said a mythology book written in the 1930s got him interested in Greek mythology, and the chance to work on the God of War novel "was an opportunity not to be missed." He said it was necessary to give the readers a solid plot foundation and the novel required extra material so it did not simply follow the action of the game. Although he has not played the game, he said God of War was based on the traditional Edith Hamilton Greek mythology, essentially "the accepted mythology on steroids." Vardeman called Kratos a substantial character, continuing, "This conflict of motives makes him a great, if troubled, hero." He confirmed his working on the second God of War novel, saying there are many potential story ideas for Kratos and that "it would be a shame" if there were not additional books to fill in the details of his quests, such as stories of the time while he was a minion of Ares or before he met the Barbarian King.

The novel recounts the events of the game and offers deeper insights into its story, explaining that Athena wanted Kratos to kill Ares and manipulated the other gods, except Zeus, into aiding Kratos. After learning of Athena's plans, Zeus decides to aid Kratos (with magic and as the gravedigger) with intent of Kratos becoming the new God of War after killing Ares. Poseidon is persuaded by Athena when she convinces him that Ares brought the Hydra into his domain. Artemis is convinced by Athena for the fact that Ares' minions are destroying the wilderness and its wildlife. Athena manipulates Aphrodite into believing that Medusa is plotting against her. Hades, however, is omitted from the book, as Kratos does not meet him or gain his magic. Kratos receiving new blades from Athena is also omitted and it is revealed that the Blades of Chaos were forged by Hephaestus in Tartarus.

The god Hermes, who is not in the game, is responsible for informing Athena that Kratos is committing suicide. New characters not seen in the game include Coeus, who is Kratos' ship's First Officer, and the two servants of Medusa: Jurr and a blind man. The twins encountered in the sex mini-game are revealed to be the daughters of Aphrodite named Zora and Lora. The book also explans how creatures of the mythology who were slain by heroes are alive. For example, Zeus recollects that Hercules slayed the Hydra, and Athena confirms this, but informs Zeus that the new Hydra is a newborn spawn of the Titans Typhon and Echidna, and was released by Ares.

Film

A film adaptation of the game was announced in 2005. Jaffe confirmed that a script had been completed by David Self and would be sent to an unspecified "huge-name director". He confirmed that Universal Studios had committed to making the God of War movie, but he was unaware of its status, and eventually expressed doubt the film would ever be released. During the God of War – Game Directors Live documentary (filmed on September 1, 2010), Jaffe said the "script went out a year and a half ago to Daniel Craig who plays Bond, but he turned it down." He indicated an actor had since signed on for the role of Kratos, and said, "this new person is pretty good, if that ends up true." In July 2012, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the writers of the film, Pacific Rim, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, had been hired to adapt God of War into a film.

On August 30, 2012, Melton and Dunstan spoke to IGN about the film. They said they were hired to rework David Self's screenplay, but since it was written before Clash of the Titans (2010), Wrath of the Titans, 300, and Immortals, which they said had borrowed ideas from the God of War stories, they considered Self's script to be outdated, and they want to differentiate God of War from other movies of the same genre. Dunstan said the first step is to humanize Kratos. According to Melton, the barbarian attack during which Kratos calls upon Ares will be the movie's first act break, and before the attack, Kratos will be mortal and have his family. Melton added, "We're going to learn about and understand how he operates. So it's potentially 30 minutes ... of building up this character so that, when he does turn and becomes the Ghost of Sparta, we understand him as a human and we understand the journey that he's going to take." According to Dunstan, "with a bigger movie like God of War, you have to go quite a bit deeper into the character as opposed to a horror film." Melton and Dunstan also have "big plans" for Ares. Melton said they are "trying to build up a bit more ... so that he can become a true villain" beyond his raid of Athens. To date, the movie is without a director and has a budget of $150 million.

See also

References

  1. Hight, John (November 17, 2009). "God of War Collection Launches Today for PS3!". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment America. Archived from the original on November 22, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
  2. Thach Quach (November 17, 2009). "God of War III: Ultimate Trilogy Edition". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Archived from the original on November 22, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2009.
  3. ^ SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. (2005). God of War (Instruction manual). Sony Computer Entertainment. pp. 16–17.
  4. SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), pp. 18–19
  5. SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), p. 20
  6. ^ SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), pp. 22–27
  7. SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), p. 21
  8. "God of War – Credits". Allgame. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  9. SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), pp. 32–35
  10. SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), p. 5
  11. SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), p. 15
  12. SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), pp. 12–14
  13. ^ SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), p. 29
  14. SCE Santa Monica Studio, ed. & (2005), pp. 6–7
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