God of War Series - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

As of June 2012, the series, including God of War Collection and God of War: Origins Collection, has sold more than 21.65 million copies worldwide. God of War, God of War II, God of War: Chains of Olympus, and God of War III have received universal critical acclaim from several reviewers as compiled by review aggregates GameRankings and Metacritic. Although God of War: Betrayal did not receive this level of positive feedback, it has been critically acclaimed for its fidelity to the series in terms of gameplay, art style, and graphics. Similarly, God of War: Ghost of Sparta did not receive universal acclaim, but has been praised for its graphics and story. 1UP said it is "a more personal story than the other GOW games..." Raymond Padilla of GameSpy wrote that God of War is the "best action game ever to grace the PS2" and one of the best action games of all time, having received over a dozen "Game of the Year" awards. In 2009 it was named the "seventh best" PlayStation 2 game of all time on IGN's "Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time" list. God of War II was also on IGN's list, and was named the "second best" PlayStation 2 game of all time. God of War II has similarly been called one of the best action games of all time and is considered the swan song of the PlayStation 2 era. In November 2012, Complex.com named God of War II the best PlayStation 2 game of all time—where God of War was named the 11th best—and consider it better than its successor, God of War III.

God of War: Chains of Olympus has been praised for "fantastic" graphics and "tight and responsive" controls. In 2008, Chains of Olympus was awarded the Best PSP Action Game, and in September 2010, Chains of Olympus was listed as the best PSP game on GamePro's "The 10 Best PSP Games" list. God of War III received praise for its graphics, in particular of Kratos; IGN stated that Kratos is "perhaps the single most impressive-looking character ever in videogames." IGN also said that God of War III "redefines what the word 'scale' means with regards to videogames, as it throws you into scenes with Titans that are larger than entire levels in some other games." God of War III received awards for "Most Anticipated Game of 2010" and Best PS3 Game. The game also won the "Artistic Achievement" award at the 2011 BAFTA awards. God of War: Ghost of Sparta received several awards at E3 2010 including Best Handheld Game, Best PSP Game, and PSP Game of Show, and won Best Handheld Game at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards.

The series also received criticism because of problems with puzzles, weapons, and technical problems. God of War: Chains of Olympus was criticized by G4, who stated that the game "occasionally suffers from screen tearing and framerate drops", and that some of the puzzles "are so maddeningly difficult to solve". The game was also criticized for its lack of variety in enemies, players still having to move boxes to solve puzzles, and its relatively short story. God of War III was criticized for one of its mini-games; X-Play said it was "particularly inappropriate." IGN complained about the game's weapons, and said "that two of the three additional weapons that you'll earn are extremely similar to your blades. They have unique powers and slightly different moves, but by and large, they're more of the same." Gamestyle criticized the script, and said it "gets downright hokey at times". God of War: Ghost of Sparta received criticism from Eurogamer, which said that the "game's primary problem ... is in its in-built focus" and that "there is a sense that Ghost of Sparta is a step back for the series if you've played ."

The collections have also received praise. IGN (9.4/10) awarded God of War Collection the "Editor's Choice" Award and praised the enhanced resolutions, lower price point and smoother frame rates, and stated it was the "definitive way to play the game". Due to the success of the God of War Collection, Sony announced that further titles would receive similar treatment for release under its new "Classics HD" brand. God of War: Origins Collection was similarly well received. IGN (9/10) stated "Sony succeeded at making good games better." Although GamePro criticized it for it's lack of new bonus content. God of War Saga also received praise. Ryan Fleming of Digital Trends wrote that the collection "is perhaps the best value buy for any console available," although the collection is not likely for fans of the series, but rather inexperienced players or newcomers.