Well some sad news today former WWE Superstar and actor who did the mocap for Kratos in God of War Shad Gaspar's body was found this morning on a beach. He was swept out to sea this past weekend along with his 10 year old son. His son made it after Shad told the lifeguard to save his son before him.
Thoughts go out to his family and friends at this time.
@get2sammyb Kinda surprise there wasn't an article about this.
@Genrou Yeah, I honestly expected an article about it, he was a huge part of that game and honestly my childhood as well, used to watch him with John Cena. Truly horrible.
@nessisonett Right especially since it's been reported that he died a hero making sure his son was saved first. I mostly remember him as one half of the tag team Cryme Tyme and their back stage antics.
Well, I’m over 2 years late to party, but I finally took the plunge on God of War. So far, my main observation is what horrible parenting skills Kratos has. It’s as if he’s never heard of positive feedback. 😛
The game is beautiful though and the single camera thing is pretty cool. It’s as if the whole thing is being filmed by someone following Kratos with a video camera.
I’m not far in, but just fought the second miniboss of the game, some annoying dude named The Stranger.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@ralphdibny@Thrillho
The original games are definitely classics, although I’d consider them slightly overrated. I know that statement sounds contradictory, but I guess what I’m saying is that they were seminal games which influenced action gaming for years to come, and they were good fun and ushered in a renewed interest in Greek mythology as well. Video games, movies, and books seemed to draw upon the Olympian gods for basis of new properties, and I think God of War seemed to be at the helm of it all. As far as gameplay, the GoW DNA is pretty clear in games like Kingdoms of Amalur, Dante’s Inferno, and even DMC and Bayonetta. However, I always had a problem with the character and narrative development in the GoW series. Kratos was just so angry. Part of my issue was his one-sided rage. He didn’t seem relatable because he was this testosterone-fueled one man god-slaying wrecking ball who seemed more than slightly mad. And I guess that’s the point, but it was exhausting for me to play as him. I felt no inspiration, resolve, or satisfaction from completion of each step in his journey. Sure, other games also have broken and hopeless protagonists, but at least you feel empathy from their story or you learn something and the character grows. I don’t recall any inner progression of moral strength or resilience; Only revenge.
So far the 2018 reboot appears to have remedied that and I’m really excited about it. So far it seems to be living up to the praise as it’s so well produced and I already see a fantastic storyline and character study developing. The music and the visuals are downright fabulous and I’m only a couple hours into it.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Agreed with what I think you’re getting at - Pong was a revolutionary game, a classic that pushed limits and changed (started) gaming, and is a part of history.... but I really don’t need a PS5 port, thanks. It is now dated and there are better things out there.
@Th3solution I binged the trilogy before playing GoW2018 and honestly felt the same. They’re relics of a bygone era, not complicated enough to be as fun as Platinum games and too complicated with dull puzzles to be light and breezy enough to fly through. Kratos is a terrible character until the reboot, the one-note revenge gets old after the first half of the first game and the childish approach to violence and nudity without any plot relevance did my head in. You’re supposed to be avenging your dead wife and child but can partake in a sex minigame to earn rewards? Nonsense. The best take I’ve seen on Greek mythology I’ve seen in games is definitely Hades, nails that family soapy backstabby nature of the Olympians. Plus it doesn’t leave out all the gay bits from the original works that were omitted over the years.
@Th3solution Playing the original games is not essential to be able to enjoy the “reboot” but there are little fan service nods which I appreciated.
@ralphdibny Playing the original games isn’t really essential for this other than the nods I mention. The combat mechanics are completely overhauled and the RPG elements are new too so don’t worry about HAVING to play the other games first. I played the reboots on PS3 and they’re relatively easy platinums too if that’s your thing.
@Th3solution very interesting to read your thoughts there! having only played the first game years ago, I have to say that I must have agreed with most of your points considering I wasn't compelled enough to go back and play 2 + the psp games which I also had on ps3 even if my reasoning may have been different.
Since then I have had 3 through ps plus and I bought ascension for PS3 in that God of War sale that PushSquare posted an article on last year (I think). I didn't even know ascension existed until that point tbh.
I was going to say something as empty as 'the Norse setting sounds better anyway" but that's not really true as I love the stories that I've heard of the greek pantheon. I'm not like a Stephen Fry on the matter but I am a big fan of the adaptations like the original Ray Harryhausen Clash of the Titans movie and of course Disney's Hercules which is probably my favourite Disney film!
In fact I was watching Jason and the Argonauts again the other day because I was reminded of the big statue/robot villain from playing The Talos Principle that week
Either way though, they've been in my backlog for donkeys years and they are some major PS exclusives so I am quite happy to tick them off the list even if as @Thrillho says, that they don't have a huge bearing on the newest title. I suspect I might (but hope I don't) get a little burned out on them though like I did with the Xbox G(ears)oW franchise. I only really came to appreciate Gears once I'd had a long break and started playing the newest titles which kind of expand on the backstory.
I'm not much of a trophy hunter @Thrillho but I must admit that there is a satisfaction that I receive as my number gets larger and I'll normally go for the last couple in a game if I've already unlocked the rest as long as they are not too ridiculous!
@ralphdibny If you’re going for the base experience and not trying to platinum then the older games will be pretty quick as they each can be beaten in just a small handful of sessions, especially the PSP games. Amd I don’t mean to sully your playthroughs of the originals, I hope you do enjoy them. And like I say, despite my memory of them not being stellar, I remember having a measure of fun with each. Not every gaming experience has to be a character driven and emotionally satisfying one, I’ve had plenty of fun with Tetris and Crash Bandicoot, and so for just the gameplay satisfaction piece I think you’ll like them. I am curious to hear your thoughts too as the series evolves, since as I say, it’s been a while for me and I really just blew through the original titles randomly at odd times in years past before I really knew what I was doing as a gamer.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution the crash story is timeless 😂, must save the poor tawna bandicoot from the wretched clutches of Dr neo cortex. I am kind of joking of course!
Don't worry, you wont sully anything. I normally take games at face value and only go deeper if it catches my interest. They should be OK but I'm not expecting anything like Uncharted. I never had a PS2 when it was popular so I don't have a lot of nostalgia for PS2 games in general because I was a GameCuber! One HD classic PS2 game that I absolutely loved though was ICO, I really just loved that castle that stretched out into the horizon. It's another I wanted to revisit in 3D but never got around to. I played through about half of shadow of colossus afterward and I didn't think it was as good as ICO at the time so I really need to get around to playing it again at some point!
@ralphdibny Oh man, the Ueda games are amongst my favorite. Agree on ICO. It was one of my first gaming experiences that had a significant emotional impact and where I came to know gaming as an art form, although I didn’t realize it at the time. I personally found SotC to be even better. I’ve said it before, but I can’t refute the mechanical niggles of the game, and in some ways it’s a little annoying to play, but the aesthetic and the deeper lore of the game is just so fantastic that it’s one of my favorites of all time. The Bluepoint PS4 version is definitely the absolute best one. Then try out The Last Guardian as well 🙂
But yes, I guess you make a great point — when an older game relies solely on its gameplay to be entertaining then it’s more likely to age poorly and become more obsolete. But when it contains deep narrative, beautiful art direction (different from graphical fidelity), timeless characters, wonderful music, or emotionally resonant themes — well, then it will live as a replayable classic.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution There has just got to be something good about it thats worth replaying I suppose. I played Crash 3 when it came out on PS1, I replayed it taking turns with friends about 12 years ago and will probably replay it again on the remastered version. I've replayed MGS1 countless times, probably like 15 times in the years after it came out (to unlock the tuxedo and the cyborg ninja outfit lol). But normally its now as part of a replay of the whole or part of the larger MGS canon every 4-5 years (though i have played it twice since this time last year lol - Twin Snakes and original)
I think I do see it as art but it is also just as broad as other art forms. Like the difference between Meet the Fockers and 2001: Space Odyssey, both are brilliant films in my opinion and I'd be happy to sit down and rewatch either given the right mood. But I wouldn't like to denigrate Meet the Fockers because it's not considered as arty as 2001. Both films are art and i enjoy both films for different reasons. Like I might enjoy Crash for its wicked hard platforming and enjoy MGS for its bonkers narrative tapestry
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