God of War Collection

So say you’re watching the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and you’re ticked off. Maybe because you’re of Aboriginal descent and the Opening ceremonies were a complete fiasco to you. Or perhaps you’re a native of a country that isn’t doing so hot. Maybe you’re from Mexico and the one single Mexican competitor was robbed. Or perhaps your spouse just made you watch 8 straight hours of speed skating, I don’t know. But if your dander is up from the Olympic spirit, then what better way to vent your anger than unleashing it on the very gods the Olympians worshipped?

God of War Collection contains God of War 1 and God of War 2. All of their original bonus features are there, along with nothing else. If you want to know what all the fuss about, I’ve got individual reviews for both. But to surmise, you play as a pasty white steroid dude from Ancient Greece, and organisms surrounding you have a tendency to bleed.

Okay, there are two new features. You can now play in widescreen High Definition, for the people who feel insecure when faced with two black bars on the sides of their HDTVs. I remember being vividly impressed when I first witnessed the opening CG sequence for the first time in HD. Then I remember subsequently cringing at the sight of blocky enemies appearing like abstract sculptures. While playing in high definition may be slightly better than playing in not-so-high definition, these aren’t the games you’ll be using to show off your 52’ megabeast television.

And there’s trophies, for the very small percent of the population that gives a damn. Each game has a separate set of trophies and you’ll get most for playing through, for people that must have a decorated online mantle. And this is a small complaint, one that I’m sure I could’ve corrected by turning off the trophy prompt messages on my PS3 somewhere. But all of the trophies having such goofy puns for names sure kills the serious tone of the actual game. Trophies like “Breakin’ Wind”, “What’cha got on the hot plate”, and “Spread ‘em” both contradict what Kratos is about as a character, and show just how little thought the developers of the game put into creating these trophies.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that there’s nothing new in God of War Collection that warrants purchasing if you already own the first two games. But that said, the game currently retails for $30 as of this writing, and that’s a heck of a deal for two solid action games. So if you never bought either game and the Olympics have got you down, well my friend, take the plunge. Kratos himself takes many plunges…of his knife into other people’s abdomens.

4 stars