Yes, yes, late to the party, only not really.

Lemme set up this realization's scenario for you. First, to set the mood:

So I bought my PS2 for God of War back in the spring of 2005 - which, as some of you will remember, was a very good year to own a PS2 and Gamecube. Just a very good year. I had a deep love for God of War, beat it on every difficulty, beat all the Challenges of the Gods, unlocked the special scenes that were either retconned out of existence (the backstory of Kratos and his younger brother) or revealed plot points that were used as twists in the sequel (Zeus being Kratos's father). After my surgery around that time, God of War was pretty much all I played for a while. Loved that game.

I bought God of War II on launch day in spite of also wanting a couple of Wii games at the time, because dammit, it's God of War, you don't turn that shit down. It's not done. And I played it. I beat the stuffing out of it, too - first time through was on the God difficulty (I think), I beat the Challenge of the Titans with a minimum of God ranking for every mission, I unlocked five of the seven costumes.... great time.

But I tried to play Titan mode, and it was hard enough that it actually and legitimately frustrated me. I put it down and came back to it months later, got up to the long hallway before Clotho (you know the one I mean), and got so frustrated that I put it down. I swore to myself I would not put myself through that stupidity.

I came back to it yesterday - 13 months after putting it down for the last time.

It was hard. Almost stupidly hard. But I made it through - through that damned hallway, past Clotho, and I shoved my Blades of Chaos right up Zeus's all-too-perfect ass. It was still frustrating, even for someone who'sp layed Master Ninja mode and has gotten through God Hand while on Level Die.

But you know what? It was worth it.

The great thing about God of War is that it rewards everything you do in such hedonistic, violent, stunning ways that there is almost no task that does not feel satisfying to complete. I spent 18 months or longer (....much longer) beating that particular section of the game, but when I shoved the Blade of Olympus into Zeus's chest it was as if the whole thing had never happened at all. It was beautiful.

I started up another game on Titan mode, this time using the Armor of the God of War. I intend to use the Barbarian's Hammer - fully upgraded - much more often. Nothing will stand in my way, and all frustration will be forgotten in an orgy of violence and fire.

I love this game.

I've never played any God of War, but i tell you, i'm so hyped for God of War III that i'm paying US$100 for God of War Collection (The regular price for PS3 games in Brazil).

I already love it without having touched it.

Oh, sweet music too.

Listen, when you play the first game, you can grab the more basic enemies using the O button. When you do, you can perform different moves. When you press triangle after grabbing the enemy, you tear them in half at the waist.

It is great.

Import it from www.play-asia.com or any other site. It will cost you about $50.

I never cared for it, I've played them all and the series is just a mindless button masher.

Now Ninja Gaiden on the hand. I'm a much bigger fan of that.

Good to know... *smiles evilly* Good to know.

BTW, I'm getting GoW Collecting next week. I'm having some epic battles this November.

I respectfully request that if you want to talk about Ninja Gaiden (which I am also a great lover of) then you do it in another topic.

This topic is about God of War, and how God of War is awesome.

Yeah, i heard of it. I'm gonna need my sister's card, mine is not international.

Thanks, i'll give it a try.

I decline your request...

But I don't have much else to say.

One thing that I remember a lot of people complaining about concerning God of War II is that the boss fights aren't as good as in the original game, but that's really bupkiss.

The first game's bosses were fantastic, true, the Hydra in particular, but the only sense in which they really dwarfed the bosses of the sequel was in terms of scale. Fighting the Colossus of Rhodes or the Krakken were just as exciting as the equivalent fights in the first game, and the human scale bosses like Perseus and Theseus were satisfying and difficult in entirely different ways.

I think that God of War II is the better game in more or less every respect.