As the gaming world gears up for Sony's latest instalment in the God of War franchise, we take a look at the preceding games and their stories in the first of our two part article before the eventual release of God of War III.
When the original God of War game was released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2005 nobody really saw it coming, it told a truly epic tale of Greek Gods and their precursors, the Titans. Now 5 years later gaming fans worldwide are eagerly awaiting the release of God of War 3 which is the latest instalment in the epic Greek tale of betrayal and redemption and the first in the series on the PlayStation 3.
Just in case you've never had the pleasure of meeting Kratos or you've played the games and forgotten the story being told we've cobbled together a handy time line of events in the life, times and death(s) of the games anti-hero, here's what you need to know if you don't already, in handy game time chronological order. It's inevitable there will be some spoiler type stuff below, if you've every intention of playing through the games before you get your hands on the newest incarnation then you might want to skip some bits, we've not given everything away so don't worry if you read something you think you shouldn't, they'll still be plenty for you to experience for yourself.
Introducing Kratos
Kratos is the anti-hero figurehead of the game and the God of War series tells us his story, he is often described by fans as badass, ruthless, savage and merciless and we certainly wouldn't disagree. Though, to be fair it's not without good reason, Kratos does seem to have gotten the rough end of the stick.
We're first introduced to him as a much respected Captain of Sparta's army, Sparta being the dominant military force in Greece circa 650 BC. He is a man of great power and puts himself and his Sparta's needs before anything else. Facing a battle Kratos fears he will lose against a Barbarian King he strikes a deal with the god of war, Ares, who grants him the power to defeat his enemies at the cost of his soul and servitude to the Gods, a deal which Kratos accepts. As part of this servitude he is given a weapon, The Blades of Chaos, the blades are attached to him by chains, bound to his skin forever. Kratos is haunted by his past and suffers unrelenting nightmares of his life, ever seeking to banish those memories from his mind there is nothing he won't do. Nothing.
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PlayStation Portable – 2008)
This PSP version of God of War details Kratos's early life as a servant to the Gods, we join the action 5 years into his service of the Gods. His main weapon in this game are The Blades of Chaos, bestowed upon him by Ares when he first agreed to serve him. Kratos is tasked with defending the city of Attica to help defend it from the hordes of the invading Persian army. Once he arrives at the city he spots a basilisk (a multi-legged reptile with the power to kill men with its stare) scaling the city walls, Kratos chases the creature into the city; during this chase Kratos happens across the Persian King and kills him before finally catching up to the basilisk and also defeating it.
His victory is short lived as after the battle he looks to the skies only to see the sun fall from its position and plunge the whole world into darkness. Spotting a dim light on the horizon, Kratos fights his way through the black fog of Morpheus (the God of dreams and sleep) to the city of Marathon where he finds the source of the light he was following at the temple of Helios, the sun God. After arriving at the temple he comes across a statue of Athena who tells Kratos that Helios has disappeared and that Morpheus was struck quickly in his absence and caused the other Gods to enter into a deep slumber, she asks that Kratos locate the missing sun God so he can release the rest of the Gods from Morpheus's trap and take back the power he has over the Earth.
Agreeing to take on the quest he fights his way through the temple of Helios until he comes across Eos, the God of dawn. Eos sends Kratos into the caves located in the temple of Olympus, she meets him there and tells him that she can and will relieve him of his nightmares, only if he helps save Helios from the Titan Atlas who is holding Helios captive that is. Kratos, having being lied to by the Gods before is wary of such promises; however he reluctantly agrees to help and sets off on a quest to retrieve the primordial fire he needs to awaken Helios's fire steeds who lie dormant within the temple.
Once he has the fire in his power Kratos returns to the temple and brings the fire steeds back to life, they take Kratos into the Greek Underworld before abandoning him close to the river Styx which signifies the Underworlds boundary with Earth. He meets the ferryman Charon who compares his life to Kratos's own, both are in servitude to the Gods. With this in mind he denies him entry to the Underworld, telling Kratos it is not his time to enter the Underworld. This enrages Kratos and the two fight with Charon ultimately knocking Kratos unconscious and dropping him into the pit of Tartarus, an abyss used as a dungeon of torment to punish the souls of the dead. It's here that Kratos is witness to Atlas breaking the chains that bind him to the pit before escaping himself, crawling out of the pit he resumes his fight with Charon, this time claiming victory and taking Charons ferry as his prize.
Kratos takes the ferry and uses it to follow the light of Helios, which is now illuminating the Underworld down the river styx. The river passes by the Temple of Persephone, the God of Earths Fertility and Queen of the Underworld, where he sees his daughter, Calliope, on the banks of the river. A confused Kratos races to the shore and follows his daughter inside the temple but is unable to find her but instead finds the Queen herself. At first she seems sympathetic to Kratos and tells him that his daughter is in the fields of Elysium, final resting place of the virtuous, but before he can follow her and be reunited he must release all his past evils and become worthy of entry, this will be given to him but at a grave cost. He gives up all his power, becoming once again a mortal man and is reunited with his daughter; however, this cost soon becomes apparent and is more than Kratos had feared.
Persephone appears before Kratos and mocks his decision, only then revealing her true plan; she reveals that she was the one that freed Atlas from his chains so that he could destroy the pillar which holds the world in place, taking with it Olympus, her true target. The Queen plans to kill everyone, herself included, Kratos realises she is indeed a madwoman who has used him to complete her goal and that to stop the Queen from fulfilling her plans he has to be the one to stop her, unfortunately he also realises that he is going to have to kill all the souls residing in Elysium, including that of his own daughter.
Through killing the souls he is given back his power and once again becomes the familiar Ghost of Sparta. Kratos eventually catches Persephone at the base of the pillar holding the world in place, upon his arrival she transforms into her other form, a terrifying beast clad in amour and massive black wings, she grabs hold of Kratos and takes him to the top of the pillar where the pair engage in battle. In an effort to gain advantage over Kratos she orders Atlas to destroy him; not being one to be dissuaded from his goal, Kratos chains Atlas to the roof of the Underworld before turning his attention back to Persephone and killing her.
As she lies dying she again taunts Kratos with the knowledge that his suffering will never end, her final breath is gone and she explodes, causing the pillar which holds up the world to split leaving Atlas the only thing keeping the world in place. Atlas tries to rile Kratos and hints at the Gods true plans for him, undisuaded and unable to accept Atlas at his word Kratos chooses to ignore him, heeding Atlas's final warning that he will come to regret his decision and that one day they will meet again. Kratos returns Helios to the Sky as he promised but his triumph is short lived as he remembers that he will never be pure enough to see his daughter again, his sins have now truly consumed him. Kratos falls from Helios's chariot and lands on cliffs overlooking the Aegean sea. Athena and Helios approach his unconscious body and remove the power that was bestowed upon him along his journey, but complimenting him on his good work. They leave Kratos and return to Olympus, leaving Kratos unconscious on the cliff.
