Into the wonderful (k3nshi)

I just completed God of War. I bought it on a whim on Friday. Initial impressions were underwhelming - sure it looked great and very, very slick, but the combat just wasnt clicking for me. Fast forward five hours later. I'm still there playing. It fact this game has consumed my entire weekend, a near unprecedented achievement. Sure it mocked me by somewhere along the line downgrading the difficulty from Hero (normal) to Mortal (easy), but I just shrugged it off. It was just too damned compelling - CANT STOP PLAYING UNTIL I FINISH.

But is it utterly AMAZING? No. Its good, very good but not quite the Ultimate Arcade Adventure I was hoping for. I cant really pin down why it wasnt amazing, it has no discernable faults as it were, it just doesnt have anything that really raises it and the genre to exceptional levels. Its probably the best arcade adventure game of the generation, but not the Perfect Theatre Of Violence I was hoping for. But it is part of my formula for Arcade Adventure Perfection. Pay attention, games designers:

Ultimate Arcade Adventure = fuseAndEnhance(Halo, God of War, Devil May Cry, Ico) + SprinkleOfMagic

Oh and Greek Mythology as a game setting is such a no brainer - I'm surprised we dont see more of it. The Making Of features at the end drop some heavy hints about a sequel for "more powerful hardware". The potential for something awesome is certainly there. Hmm... my weekend appears to be over. Maybe its the perfect swan song for my gaming habit.

PS: Amongst the many, MANY things I should have done today but didnt because I was busy playing God of War, was going for a run. I feel like a complete LAMER now. Games are bad for you: QUIT THE HABIT.