Top Greek Mythology Week – Yell! Magazine’s Editor Picks

MC ClapYoHandz’s Pick

God of War Series (video game)

Video games steal from Greek Mythology all the time. Final Fantasy does it with its Summons and weapons, Kid Icarus environments are modeled after Mount Olympus and Hades, and I’ve fought Medusa in every Castlevania I’ve ever played. One of the best uses of Greek Mythology in gaming is the God of War franchise. If you’re gonna pick a God to base an entire series on, Kratos the God of War is your best choice, because if there’s one thing games do very well, it’s war.

I never got into the series until the third installment on the PlayStation 3, but once I got a taste, I was hooked. I picked up the God of War Collection soon after, and the gameplay was just as solid. For the longest time, most third-person action games consisted of mashing one or two buttons over and over again until you got to the end of the game. They were mindless beat ’em ups, but God of War changed all that. It did free-flow combat before Batman ever went to Arkham. No other game character has ever ripped off limbs with such ferocity. Anyone could do gratuitous violence, but God of War was the first game to make brutality almost elegant.

Ripping a guys arms off has never felt so satisfying, and done with such grace. That kind of believable intensity was only possible with a character such as Kratos. Throughout his entire life, he never cracked a smile, he was constantly pissed, and his rage was palpable. There was no question that this guy was a bad-ass, and he never faltered from this persona. Even when he gets what he wants, he finds some way to get madder. If you ever need to let off some steam, pop in any God of War, and go to town.