Summer is officially over. With Fall here we can expect a whole number of things. The leaves will change, Halloween will come, and most importantly, the Fall season releases are on their way. That being said, not all of us are loaded with cash to spend on the $60 a pop titles that are on the way, and to that effect, TGR is here to show you some cheaper alternatives to tide you over until you get all those nifty gift cards for Christmas. Welcome to the Bargain Bin folks.

God of War and God of War 2

Epic. If there is a single word to describe the God of War games, it is epic. We’re not talking the more low key, pre-CGI epic. We’re talking full on, “Spartans! Prepare for glory!” epic. Point in case, the goal of God of War is to kill a god. Not just any god, either. Just looking at Kratos, it wouldn’t be hard to picture him taking down Aphrodite or one of those other pansy deities without much trouble. No, you’re tasked with killing Ares, the god of war. Not right away, of course; before you do that, you get to embark on a nice long, brutal, action-packed quest in which your character, the now rather iconic Kratos, tanks his way through hordes of monsters and mythological creatures. The series literally seems to center on figuring out creative and fun ways to off mythological characters, and while that may sound a bit too over the top, God of War and its sequel both pull it off with style, keeping things flowing with stories that are at once interesting but not overbearing.

Amplifying the cool factor of God of War is the fact that in terms of aesthetics and mechanics, both PlayStation 2 games are works of art. Even today, the original God of War still looks great, illustrating its brutal take on Greek mythology with an incredible level of detail and care. Looking at God of War 2, it’s hard to believe any PS2 game could ever look this good. When it first came out, it literally was able to hold its own amongst the early next-gen games and to some extent, still does today. Some of the environments are just masterful.

The audio elements of the game are similarly fantastic. God of War 1 and 2 both feature some of the most energetic, exciting and purely barbaric scores ever produced in a game. There isn’t a moment where the music is poor or doesn’t fit. Some of the tracks do sound very similar to each other, but it still works great as for the most part, it’s meant to create a background ambiance.

The gameplay itself hasn’t been diminished at all by age. The controls are relatively simple, bypassing complicated combos for a combat structure that is centered around button tapping and timed dodges. On the lower levels it can be a bit easy, but as the player progresses to higher difficulties the game becomes a trial of your reflexes, where even a single wrong move can end up killing you. The relative simplicity of the gameplay is likely to turn off some action junkies who would prefer more complex gameplay along the lines of Ninja Gaiden, but overall the simple controls are a boon. The game can be a challenge if you want it to, but at the same time, it’s easy to feel like an unstoppable force of nature if you’re interested in a more casual experience.

Overall, both of the PS2 God of War games hold up very well. They just provide an incredibly solid play experience that was well worth the $50 price tag when they were first released. The fact that you can find them now at around no more than $20 makes them a deal that any action fan who has yet to sip of Kratos’ cup just can’t afford to pass up.

• God of War
  • Amazon (Note: used Amazon prices are subject to change)
    • New - $19.99
    • Used - $8.99
• God of War 2
  • Amazon (Note: used Amazon prices are subject to change)
    • New - $19.99
    • Used - $11.45
  • Gamestop
    • New - $19.99
    • Used - $17.99