So, I was going to do a post that wasn't video game related, but I just beat God of War 2 (My second time actually, but the last time I played through it was about 3 years ago when the game originally came out) and I wanted to sort out some of my own thoughts about it. Not in terms of the game itself, mind you (which is stupendous), but about the character of Kratos and whether his spree of revenge is actually validated. This post will most definitely contain SPOILERS for the first God of War game, and probably will for the second game as well.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Kratos works extremely well as the protagonist to God of War because he's a pretty simple dude. Essentially, he's a little bit psychotic and basically angry all the time, which makes him an extremely fun character to play as. This is because of how totally unhinged and brutal the violence of the God of War games are; if you're ever in a pissed-off mood, this is the game for you:
Yipes.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
Kratos works extremely well as the protagonist to God of War because he's a pretty simple dude. Essentially, he's a little bit psychotic and basically angry all the time, which makes him an extremely fun character to play as. This is because of how totally unhinged and brutal the violence of the God of War games are; if you're ever in a pissed-off mood, this is the game for you:
Kratos's design itself perfectly encapsulates his character and personality; the general lack of clothes reflects a raw, animalistic brutality; his albino white skin and weapon of choice (well, not really "choice" per se) serve story purposes; And the tattoos? Well, they make him look more badass, and they're red, a colour often symbolizing violence, fury, and aggression. For more on this, check out Yahtzee's excellent article about character design:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/7071-Extra-Punctuation-Darksiders
Of course, a protagonist such as Kratos needs a motive that still makes the player want him to prevail; otherwise, he's just a super-violent villain. Kratos was a great general for the Spartan army who conquers like no other. That is, until he fights a barbarian that is able to overpower him. Instead of accepting his fate, Kratos sells his soul to Ares, the God of War, who chains a bunch of blades to Kratos and makes him his servant. This goes pretty well until Ares decides to be a dick and fools Kratos into killing his family. Whoops. Then, adding insult to injury, he covers Kratos's skin in his dead family's ashes. What an asshole!
Most people would probably say that Kratos's quest for revenge against Ares is valid, but I'm not so sure. We don't know what Kratos's life was like before becoming the servant of Ares, but it's safe to say that there was much killing and conquering. We don't even know how his life with his family was; how strong of a bond could he have with his family when he's constantly going around and brutally murdering people? For that matter, while Kratos never really smiles, he is so vicious towards his enemies even before losing his family that you can tell he clearly enjoys his job. It certainly doesn't help that all of these problems are probably increased after he becomes a servant of Ares. While serving the God of War himself, Kratos probably had even less time to go back home to his family, and those blades grafted to his forearms must have made intimacy with his wife and/or child quite difficult. Granted, this is all conjecture, and I guess it's possible that Kratos did have a good relationship with his wife and daughter, but I think that's rather unlikely.
In the second game, I would argue that Kratos's new target, Zeus, is more deserving of the wrath of Kratos. Newly-crowned the God of War, Kratos is tricked by Zeus into having all of his power sucked away and is then promptly killed. Luckily for him, the Titans, imprisoned since the Great War between them and and the gods, see that they have a use for Kratos and help him come back to life, go back in time, and hopefully kill Zeus.
One thing that I never understood about the second game is why exactly Zeus decides to do this to Kratos. We find out later in the game that it's to stop the cycle of sons killing their fathers (Kratos is Zeus's son! Gasp!), but Zeus's reasoning, at least in the beginning of the game, makes no sense. Why is Kratos penalized for conquering civilizations with aplomb? Isn't that his job? What else does a God of War do if not assist with wars? It made sense to stop Ares because he was taking over Athena, but as far as I know Kratos wasn't stepping on any other god's toes. I could be wrong though. If so, comment!
That being said, Kratos is actually MORE brutal in the second game, killing several mythological figures (Prometheus, Icarus, Perseus, and the list goes on) and innocents to further his own tasks. I think it's at this point that he becomes a little bit less sympathetic and a little bit more unsettling. Kratos leaves a disgusting trail of death and destruction behind him; he's rather selfish but also unable to accept any responsibility for his own actions. In fact, he blames the gods for almost every sour fate that he comes across, even though his killings are very much his own decisions and actions. Kratos was obviously brutal in the first game, but the second game brings him to new levels of psychosis. Seriously, look at this shit (MASSIVE GAMEPLAY AND PLOT SPOILERS): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5YBl0QJERQ
In conclusion, Kratos is one crazy motherfucker.
-Daniel
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/7071-Extra-Punctuation-Darksiders
Of course, a protagonist such as Kratos needs a motive that still makes the player want him to prevail; otherwise, he's just a super-violent villain. Kratos was a great general for the Spartan army who conquers like no other. That is, until he fights a barbarian that is able to overpower him. Instead of accepting his fate, Kratos sells his soul to Ares, the God of War, who chains a bunch of blades to Kratos and makes him his servant. This goes pretty well until Ares decides to be a dick and fools Kratos into killing his family. Whoops. Then, adding insult to injury, he covers Kratos's skin in his dead family's ashes. What an asshole!
Most people would probably say that Kratos's quest for revenge against Ares is valid, but I'm not so sure. We don't know what Kratos's life was like before becoming the servant of Ares, but it's safe to say that there was much killing and conquering. We don't even know how his life with his family was; how strong of a bond could he have with his family when he's constantly going around and brutally murdering people? For that matter, while Kratos never really smiles, he is so vicious towards his enemies even before losing his family that you can tell he clearly enjoys his job. It certainly doesn't help that all of these problems are probably increased after he becomes a servant of Ares. While serving the God of War himself, Kratos probably had even less time to go back home to his family, and those blades grafted to his forearms must have made intimacy with his wife and/or child quite difficult. Granted, this is all conjecture, and I guess it's possible that Kratos did have a good relationship with his wife and daughter, but I think that's rather unlikely.
In the second game, I would argue that Kratos's new target, Zeus, is more deserving of the wrath of Kratos. Newly-crowned the God of War, Kratos is tricked by Zeus into having all of his power sucked away and is then promptly killed. Luckily for him, the Titans, imprisoned since the Great War between them and and the gods, see that they have a use for Kratos and help him come back to life, go back in time, and hopefully kill Zeus.
One thing that I never understood about the second game is why exactly Zeus decides to do this to Kratos. We find out later in the game that it's to stop the cycle of sons killing their fathers (Kratos is Zeus's son! Gasp!), but Zeus's reasoning, at least in the beginning of the game, makes no sense. Why is Kratos penalized for conquering civilizations with aplomb? Isn't that his job? What else does a God of War do if not assist with wars? It made sense to stop Ares because he was taking over Athena, but as far as I know Kratos wasn't stepping on any other god's toes. I could be wrong though. If so, comment!
That being said, Kratos is actually MORE brutal in the second game, killing several mythological figures (Prometheus, Icarus, Perseus, and the list goes on) and innocents to further his own tasks. I think it's at this point that he becomes a little bit less sympathetic and a little bit more unsettling. Kratos leaves a disgusting trail of death and destruction behind him; he's rather selfish but also unable to accept any responsibility for his own actions. In fact, he blames the gods for almost every sour fate that he comes across, even though his killings are very much his own decisions and actions. Kratos was obviously brutal in the first game, but the second game brings him to new levels of psychosis. Seriously, look at this shit (MASSIVE GAMEPLAY AND PLOT SPOILERS): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5YBl0QJERQ
In conclusion, Kratos is one crazy motherfucker.
-Daniel
2 comments:
I can't read this because I have yet to play GOWII (it came out right when my ps2 broke). But I'd like to express how jealous I am at the fact that you've beaten it twice.
Man, you should really get on that. Great game. If you liked the first one (and I assume you did) you'll love it. I don't have a PS3 but when GoW3 comes out I'm renting it and staying over at my friends house for like 3 days to beat it.
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