The God of War franchise has won over the hearts and minds of action/adventure gaming junkies the world over. With the looming release of God of War III in April 2010, SCEA Santa Monica – the studio responsible for the development of the franchise – felt it necessary to re-release the two original God of War PlayStation 2 games on a single Blu-Ray disc at an extremely attractive and unmissable price. If you read my preview, you know exactly what this package entails. It’s not merely a collection of both games in their original format. Quite the contrary…sort of.
Since this collection is really nothing more, at base level, than a re-release of two PS2 games, I don’t feel it necessary to review the games themselves. I want to review the collection as released on the PS3. I asked myself questions like, “I have these already for my PS2, my PS3 is a backward-compatible model, do I really need these?” The fact of the matter is that I sold off my two PS2 versions several months ago to prepare for this release, and I scored enough money for them to buy this collection outright with no loss. You just have to know how to work online auction magic, really, and pay attention to the industry for stuff like this. Many folks still haven’t upgraded to a PS3, so the market is still very good for re-selling mint condition games. Keep that in mind.
Recall what you get with the God of War Collection:
- God of War
- God of War II
- God of War II Bonus Content
- Single Blu-Ray disc
- Remastered in High Definition (HD) graphics, both titles
- Full-time 60 frames-per-second (fps), both titles
- Full list of PS3-specific Trophies, including Platinum, for both titles
For $40, I don’t really see how it can get any sweeter, and the Trophies alone are worth it, in my view. I’m a Trophy junkie, for reasons I will brief you on in an upcoming editorial I will do regarding the state of gaming as a 32-year-old sees it. But you don’t simply get shiny virtual trophies to brag up your God of War prowess. The titles are remastered in full 720p HD output…
…this comes with a catch, though. See, the gameplay is the only aspect of the title that’s 720p. The CGI cut-scenes – which are the pre-rendered movies in high resolution already, even on the PS2 releases – are untouched and look fantastic at widescreen 720p. Realistically, though, the CGI movies look identical to the originals. The problem exists with the game engine cut-scenes, which are the ones done in real-time by the game engine itself, NOT a pre-rendered movie. In a word: YUCK! The horrific pixelated, screen-tearing, low-resolution nastiness of the PS2 shine through and really breaks the awesome translation of the gameplay to 720p. For whatever reason, whether it was time or money or care, SCEA Santa Monica didn’t touch the in-game cut-scenes whatsoever, and the difference is stark. It’s a detraction, in my view, especially to those of us who have played the God of War series before and were expecting a 100% conversion to HD with this collection.
But, as with most games, the real beauty of God of War lies not with the in-game cut-scenes, and quite frankly I got over it rather expeditiously. 
The rest of the game looks like it was coded originally for the PS3! Yes, the graphic overhaul is that well done. And the silky-smooth frame rate boasts 60fps NON-stop, a fact I can verify as 100% true. The games look gorgeous when you’re playing, and you see detail and color and effects like never before. The Blades of Chaos were never wielded with such style!
In summary, if you are a die-hard God of War fan, this collection can’t be missed. Trophies, full 720p gameplay, a crushing 60fps, and all the bonus content on a single Blu-Ray disc…what more could you want while you wait for God of War III? If you’ve never played the God of War games, and you own a PS3, then, my friend, you really owe it to yourself to play these two, especially if you’re at all geeked about God of War III. You’ll need to play both of these to really comprehend and understand Kratos and his past, and what he’s fighting for in the third installment. Lastly, if you’re over the first two games and were possibly looking for something completely new, you’re not going to miss this one. The games play identically like their original counterparts, just a lot prettier and smoother.
But for $40, I don’t see how any action/adventure genre fan would want to miss these regardless of their God of War experience or lack thereof.
FINAL SCORE: 9.5/10
This is one of the best marketing moves by a company, not only to make some money on an existing product, but to also prepare and promote and the next game in the God of War series.
Pablo,
You’d almost wonder why publishers don’t do this more often with PS2 titles.
I want to believe they will do this with more PS2 titles. I’ve suggested Shadow of the Colossus and every Final Fantasy title released for the PS2.
Not sure if those will happen, but since ICO is releasing a new PS3 title next year, perhaps we’ll get to see a revamped SotC a few months prior to release? If it’s not a direct sequel, then it’s probably not going to happen. God of War is rather unique in this way, so it makes marketing sense. It’s a no-brainer. I, for one, would love to see SotC in full 720p and 60fps, wouldn’t you? And there are lots of other titles on my conversion wishlist, but I doubt if many will follow God of War’s path, sadly.
The God of War collection is awesome and a must own! It looks beautiful to me too, but I’m not a graphics whore.
And I have to chime in about the ICO thing too. Ever since I heard about the GoW set I’ve been trying to drum up support for an ICO/SotC Collection. I already own both titles but I’d gladly shell out some cash if they got the HD, 60 fps, trophy treatment. Sony has heard our cries and I know Ueda san has too. Although Fumito said it might not be possible as SotC really pushed the PS2 hardware to it’s limits. I’m still gonna ask for it though! The squeaky wheel gets the grease or; the nail that sticks up gets the hammer!
Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus will surely go the same route as The God of War Collection. If you read about The Last Guardian in Wikipedia, Ueda said he will like to do the same thing. Its only obvious that they will because those 2 games are one of the best games ever made for the PS2. I’m sure the Metal Gear series and Final Fantasy series will follow.
Nice, bullet. That’s what I assumed would happen, but it’s nice to see confirmation. Shadow is an amazing game. And I also thought of Final Fantasy and Metal Gear. FFX, XI, and XII on a two-BD collection set?
I forgot to post up in here when I scored my Platinum Trophies.
I nabbed both of them back in December, before Christmas. The Challenge of the Titans was exceptionally brutal and fiendishly difficult, but it was well worth the challenge.