God of War
Set in ancient Greece, God of War is the story of a mighty Spartan warrior named Kratos, and his struggle against the god Ares. Kratos is plagued by nightmarish visions of destruction from his troubled past, and pleads with the gods to relieve him of his pain. Finally, Athena responds with a request: stop Ares, who has been laying siege to Athens, since the gods themselves are forbidden by Zeus to war with one another.
After a brief introductory cinematic (with excellent narration and voice work), the first area of the game is set in the Aegean Sea, where Kratos fights off undead warriors infesting a fleet of ships. The fleet has also been attacked by a hydra, the boss of the area, which Kratos must violently dispatch.
Violence is something Kratos is very good at, and something which the game is very good at showing. Though highly reminiscent of the newer Prince of Persia titles in terms of game world interaction, God of War is much less focused on the environment, and much more on brutal combat. There is a high emphasis on chaining together combos, the rewards for which go toward upgrading Kratos with new or more powerful abilities. Slaying enemies is often a terribly bloody affair, further reinforcing Kratos' bloodthirsty character.
Contextual commands are frequent - for instance, when a hydra's head lay before Kratos, pressing the face button displayed over it initiates a special sequence where more buttons are prompted for, and pressing them correctly will yield bonus results, be it more damage, more upgrade points, or what have you. These contextual minigames are not limited to boss fights, though, as I just happened to encounter one in the process of pleasuring some women in Kratos' bed (for ability points, of course).
It is a solid game, but so far I am not as impressed with it as the hype surrounding it appears to be; probably due to in how many ways it reminds me of Prince of Persia. The gameplay for one, and the old-world setting for another; then there's the intro scene on boats at sea with zombies (sans Hydra, directly from Warrior Within), and the contextual minigames are quite similar to the speed-kill system used in The Two Thrones. Even Kratos' blade chain weapons are a bit like the Daggertail the Prince uses in both aforementioned games. Anyway, I'm counting on the upcoming areas to mix things up.
Progress: The Gates of Athens