Why do you resist me Spartan?

Trying to keep these posts shorter these days so…

I finally got around to backtracking the series and just got through the first game. Did anyone else find it really difficult? Just me? I had no trouble with the third. I’m just about to set off on the second journey using every ounce of willpower not to buy Ascension and play that first. I’m not sure if it was just getting used to the differences or the many many enemies, maybe the annoying balancing and dodging exercises that need to be conquered in order to progress… Don’t get me wrong, I like a challenge and I didn’t take THAT long to complete it I just recall a lot of deep breathing in order to get through it. Either way, I still had fun and it was nice to go back to Kratos’ roots (man that guy gets impaled a lot!) and to see more of his family. It was also interesting to actually battle dozens of other Kratos’s…Krat-i? Like I said it was a challenge, however the trophies were mostly attainable. Without trying I think I got about 65/70% of them, whereas I seem to recall with games like Resi 6 when you pure play it through you’re left with about 70% worth of trophies undiscovered. Anyway lets talk about the usual components…

Enemies:
Each more ferocious than the next, you have your classics in Greek mythology. There are centaurs, minotaurs, gorgons, harpies; not too different from the enemies in the third game. Then theres little annoyances like Cerebrus puppies that start out cute but irritatingly determined then evolve into huge three headed dogs that are pretty difficult to deal with when you’re cornered by a group of them. I found the best way to get around (besides hacking the little pups to death whilst still adorable) is to just try to anticipate their fire ball attack and block, roll away when they swipe and either mash your L1 and square spin move/ L1 and triangle (if acquired) or to whip out your blade of Arteris and show no mercy, again L1 and square helps I think. As for Satrys, they can be a pain due to their constant blocking and when forced to battle on a small service they can knock you a long way leaving you plunging to your death. They are quite easy to take down when they fail to block your moves or attack you back. Again the big boy blade is good. There are tons more enemies, whether its a more advanced form of an old foe or an interesting new acquaintance they all have their weak spots so all you have to do is trial and error until you find it, or ask someone who’s played it before. The larger boss battles can be tricky but again its all finding your routine.

Weapons:
So we have our old reliable blades of chaos, our big sword option and our magic induced attacks. The difference is mainly in the latter. In three we have the magical secondary attacks per weapon, ie. Summon souls with the claws of Hades, pound the ground and create a shattering earthquake with the Nemean Caestus gauntlets etc. In this game I only discovered the blades and the sword but acquired certain powers to be executed with magical blue orbs. All can be upgraded the way you would with weapons. These included Poseidon’s rage, which is a huge rippling current that covers the areas all around you to a certain diameter; Medusa’s gaze, which as the name suggests can turn creatures to stone (the smaller the creature, the faster the transformation); Zeus’ fury which consists of small lightning bolts that work as a long-range weapon, like the bow of Apollo you can use it to stun or kill enemies at a distance, ideal for taking out archers. Finally there is the Souls of Hades power which involves a fair bit of magic that allows the souls to be unleashed, to hover and attack anyone around them that isn’t you. Very useful in tight spots with multiple enemies and quite powerful.

Areas:
Visually, I know I always say it but this game is beautiful. Ancient Greece has always looked amazing to me and considering its just a retouched ps2 game that I played the graphics were very good. Obviously there are just odd moments where its hard to see which way to go because its too dark or too undefined but honestly, very rarely. They really made an effort. To be honest I’m a woman, I’m not that great with directions so it could just be that

Overall I think this is a good game but definitely can be infuriating so if you enjoy being tested then I’d definitely advise you give it a go. I was wary of how dated it might be but it didn’t let down in any way. Go play it.

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