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 second of our two part article before the eventual release of God of War III.
In our first God of War special we detailed the early life of Kratos and his ascension from Sparta warrior to becoming the God of War, join us as we follow his story on how he would be further betrayed and what he would do about it.
God of War: Betrayal (Mobile Phone Platforms - 2007)
Although a much smaller audience, Betrayal is not to be considered a small spin off, the story is a fuller fledged God of War tale. Kratos is framed for the murder of Hera's (The God of Women) pet, Argos (not to be confused with the ancient Greek city). Argos is attacking the Spartan army in a bid to stop Kratos's war campaign against Greece, Kratos steps in to resolve this problem and remove Argos as a threat to his army. After a fierce battle Argos runs off into an old sewer where it is killed by an assassin, the unknown assassin is seeking to destroy Kratos's reputation with the rest of the Gods and sees this as a chance to strike against him.
Kratos sets off to Greece to discover who the identity of the assassin is and who they call master. This draws the attention of Zeus who dispatches Ceryx, messenger of the Gods, to deliver a message to Kratos who tells him of Zeus's displeasure at the amount of death and general destruction left by Kratos.
When Kratos refuses to listen and obey the will of Zeus, Ceryx doesn't take it well and the two engage in battle. Kratos eventually kills Ceryx, but rather than join in the celebrations with the Spartan army who observe the battle, he looks upon the body and realises that Zeus would take action against him for once again acting against his will, as Ceryx lies dying he names Kratos as "Slayer of the Gods".
God of War II (PlayStation 2 – 2007)
The Gods are somewhat displeased with Kratos as he has set about invading Greece with his Spartan army. Athena comes once again to Kratos and begs him to stop his activities before the other Gods take action against him. Still angry that the Gods refuse to take the memories of his past deeds away from him Kratos refuses and does the exact opposite of what they ask and descends to Earth to help his army in conquering Rhodes.
As he nears the city an eagle robs Kratos of most of his Godly power and then brings to life the Colossus of Rhodes, a statue of Helios, which promptly sets about attacking Kratos. The battle between the two escalates until eventually Zeus himself appears to Kratos and offers him the Blade of Olympus, a weapon Zeus himself used against the Titans. Zeus tells Kratos that he must power the sword with what remains of his Godhood, which he does, rendering him back to a mere mortal; Kratos takes the sword and enters the belly of the Colossus and attacks the statue from inside. Kratos subdues the statue and escapes as it begins to collapse, unfortunately he is injured by the falling hand of the statue.
He spies the Blade of Olympus and drags himself toward it with the objective of regaining his lost power. Before he can reach the sword Zeus once again appears before him and reveals himself to be the eagle that robbed Kratos of his power. Zeus believes that had Kratos remained unchallenged as he was then eventually the Gods of Olympus would have come to fear him as they had his predecessor, Ares. He is prepared to give Kratos another chance at being a God if he agrees to serve Zeus forever, Kratos refuses this and an enraged Zeus kills Kratos with the Blade of Olympus, taking final revenge on the fallen God. He then pulls the Blade of Olympus from Kratos's dying body and uses the remaining power to destroy the Spartan army attacking Rhodes.
Kratos once again finds himself on the way to the Underworld, however, Gaia, the mother of the once mighty Titan Gods, steps in and saves Kratos. Once worshipped themselves as Gods, the Titans had long ago suffered a defeat by the Olympians and sought revenge against them, they see Kratos as the perfect ally in their quest for revenge. She instructs him to seek out the Sisters of Fate who'll assist him in changing his past and gives him the use of Pegasus, a winged horse, to take him to their domain on the Island of Creation.
Soon after their journey starts they come across a mountain, home to two Titans, Typhon one of the most deadly Titans to have lived, and Prometheus, a champion of the human race now being punished by Zeus by being eaten alive every day and then reborn to suffer an eternal torment. As they fly through the mountain Typhon traps Pegasus in his mighty hands and forces Kratos to find a way to free his winged friend. During his folly he encounters Prometheus who begs Kratos to kill him to end his torture; Kratos is unable too at the time however and has to leave him to his fate. He continues further into the mountain and eventually has a show down with Typhon, face to face, Kratos wins the battle and acquires the Bane of Typhon, a bow capable of firing concentrated blasts of air, not unlike an arrow.
He uses the Bane of Typhon to end Prometheus's torment and as reward Kratos gains extra strength from Prometheus which he uses to free Pegasus from Typhon's grip so they may continue their quest for the Sisters of Fate. Kratos eventually reaches the island and faces many challenges until he finally meets an insane Icarus, a man who tried to escape Crete with wings of wax and feathers but flew to close to the sun and fell to his death. Icarus claims it is he alone who the sisters will grant an audience to and nobody will get in his way. He attacks Kratos and sends them both over the edge of a cliff, the two exchange blows as they fall, Kratos gains the upper hand and rips off the wings of Icarus and uses them to sail below the World, leaving Icarus to his fate in the waiting Underworld.
