God of War Collection Volume II - Solid bang for your buck!

This whole HD remake trend that’s been sweeping the world today was started by none other than Kratos himself. Developer Bluepoint Games allowed the new generation of gamers to experience his first two rage induced adventures on the PS3 before they stepped into God of War 3 via the God of War collection. Taking over the HD remake duties from them are Ready at Dawn studios who now bringing their very own handheld adventures to the PlayStation 3 in high definition. Both Ghost of Sparta and Chains of Olympus are now available in one bundle with a coat of HD paint as well as 3D support for the price of nearly half a PlayStation 3 game. Seriously, could there be a better deal out there?

As far as gameplay is concerned, both games remain unchanged so your typical day as Kratos would be something like this. Wake up in the morning, yell at the Gods, rip some limbs off, yell some more, stab all sorts of Greek mythology in the face, solve a few puzzles, yell even more and so on. If you’ve played all God of War games till date you’ll realise that this whole franchise is all about huge, exciting set pieces, larger than life boss fights and more gruesome ways to execute opponents as opposed to innovation. If you can deal with that fact, fine. If not, this collection will not change your mind.

In rage mode 24/7

In Chains of Olympus, Kratos loyally serves the Gods in hope that they can rid him of the nightmarish visions that plague him all the time. Unfortunately the God of dreams has other plans engulfing the land in darkness. This obviously doesn’t bode well with Kratos who then proceeds to slaughter everything that moves. Ghost of Sparta on the other hand takes place between the first and the second game where he’s on the trail of this long lost brother and it is this game that helps players understand why this dude is so angry 24/7.

Both games obviously benefit from 1080P visuals but Ghost of Sparta ends up looking a lot better. Even as far as gameplay is concerned, it surpasses Chains of Olympus with better pacing and way more intense gameplay. You have to understand that Ghost of Sparta released nearly two years after Chains of Olympus so naturally Ready at Dawn actually took a few tips from God of War III. These resulted in certain refined gameplay mechanics as well as improving Kratos’ animations making them look more fluid in the process. Each game should take you roughly eight hours to beat (depending on the difficulty you choose) so you’re looking at a ton of value for your hard earned money. On the flip side, after God of War III, this collection looks plain timid in scope. Till date Kratos’ third adventure remains one of the best looking games on the PlayStation 3 so obviously this collection is a bit of a downer after that as there’s no way it can compete with its older brother in sheer scope or size.

Kratos kicks ass on all platforms

Two well made games for just Rs. 1899 is a steal no doubt but once again, you need to understand that this collection brings nothing new to the table. PlayStation Portable owners who’ve played through both games may feel a bit cheated as they’ve seen what both have to offer. The allure of updated visuals isn’t a lot as both games looked stellar on the PSP to begin with. If you’re one of those lucky dudes who never played these games before, you’ll have a blast because even though Kratos never really changed throughout the years, tearing through Greek mythology as one of the angriest characters in video game history is always an entertaining experience.