God of War (PlayStation 2, 2005)

Two words: simply amazing! The cutscenes and gameplay graphics are supurb, and the storyline sucks you in before the game even STARTS! Battling enemies gives you plenty of customization as YOU decide how you want to defeat them. You can grab an enemy, then whichever button you push next is the way you finish him off. Will you rip a demon in half, or kick it to the ground and stab it to death! It's definitely a "M" rating title, but I haven't played a game like this in quite some time. On some of the bigger enemies, once you've worn it down enough a command will appear above it's head, press this to initiate "mini-game" mode where you must follow the button combinations on the screen quickly and accurately to finish them off, or else get thrown back to the ground and battle some more! This game is engineered with button mashers out of thought! If you just mash the buttons in this game, the mass of enemies will eventually run you down.

The only minor con I have for this game is the inability to manually change the camera angles or look around. Whatever angle or view they give you is what you have to deal with, BUT sometimes that's part of the puzzle you're trying to solve. Showing too much of the room might give away the solution to the puzzle. So, in a way it's not that bad.

Save/load times are quick for the amount of data that needs to be saved/loaded. There are plenty of opportunities to save your game, and also includes "built-in" checkpoints you are unaware of in case you die to respawn on. You only get one life, so the checkpoints definitely come in handy as you have unlimited restarts from them.

As you progress through the game and collect red "orbs" you can choose which weapons/magic you want to upgrade to the next level. This was the best feature of the game because it allows you to enhance weapons you use the most, or favorites at that. The environments are almost completely playable, and you even get "orbs" for destroying random items! In a way, it entices you to check for secrets and hidden items! As you upgrade your weapons/magics, new attacks are unlocked and you attacks get stronger of course. Simply incredible!

This title is $19.99 now, as it is a Greatest Hits title, and IS the best game I've played in quite some time. They also just announced God Of War 2 coming out sometime in 2007...so make sure you pick this up and finish it by then!! :)