The events of God of War take place at the time of ancient Greek mythology. Kratos, a human warrior, plays the role of the game’s protagonist. Kratos used to be the leader of the Spartans a very long time ago. He was a courageous and terrible general who fought in battles for the honor of his city. In modern times, people refer to him as “the Ghost of Sparta.” Because he is unable to let go of the awful event that took place in his past, he has been plagued with terrifying nightmares for the past ten years. As a condition for receiving forgiveness for his transgressions, the gods of Olympus have mandated that he perform his duties as their champion. Last but not least, the goddess Athene reveals to Kratos that he will be redeemed if he is successful in vanquishing her brother, the god of war Ares, who was the direct cause of the terrible catastrophe that occurred in his past…

God of War is a third-person action game that also features aspects of platforming and puzzle-solving. Kratos is equipped with two swords known as the Blades of Chaos, and he will always take them with him wherever he goes. They grant the player the ability to perform combos, which will continue to increase in length until the battle is over or until it takes too long to register another strike. Kratos will collect more red orbs from vanquished foes in proportion to the total number of combos he has completed.

In a manner very similar to Devil May Cry, the red orbs obtained from defeated foes can be spent on purchasing various types of upgrades. You can either place the orbs into different weapons you’ve earned during the game, such as the Blade of Artemis, or you can upgrade the weapons that are already in your inventory to learn new skills and strike more quickly. In due time, Kratos will also get access to a variety of spells that are cast by the gods. At some stages in the game, he will be able to generate an arc of electricity with the help of Zeus or use the severed head of a Gorgon to turn adversaries into stone with Meduza’s Gaze. Both of these abilities are provided by the game’s namesake, the Greek god Zeus.

The player can only gain access to the game’s unlockable extras after successfully completing the main campaign on one of the game’s three different difficulty settings. The majority of the extras include an in-depth look at various components of the game, such as the process of constructing the environment and modeling Kratos, as well as an examination of levels that were omitted from the game but are still included on the bonus disc.