God of War is the action-adventure game that started it all, with Kratos battling his way through Greece toward the god of war himself. The campaign was completed through its credits and post-credits scene, with the texture pack transforming the experience.
The texture pack really breathes new life into the game, looking better than any of the HD collections and making the visuals a highlight. The backstory flashbacks land well, with the grave-digger foreshadowing a genuine surprise.
The Blades of Chaos progression is satisfying, with maxed upgrades changing the blades’ appearance as they level. The Hydra opening and the Poseidon’s Rage spell make the first hours memorable, and the checkpoints are a welcome surprise.
The Ares fight’s giant form is awesome, a highlight that echoes modern spectacles. The captain’s persistence gag provides dark comedy throughout, and the game clearly has checkpoints the original run did not expect.
The final family-defense clone fight is the hardest part, with overwhelming numbers, easy stuns and heavy damage. The path of Hades is the worst area, with balance-beam blade columns that punish a single hit.
The orb levelling system is odd, using level bars of three hundred orbs, and the rotate quick-time events are easy to mess up. The minotaur grab is inconsistent, and the snap camera changes make some jumps easy to misjudge.
Overall, the texture-pack visuals, the Blades progression and the epic fights make God of War very fun. The clone fight, the Hades area and the awkward quick-time events are the caveats.