God Of War Ω

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Zadkiel Maldonado, Staff writer

The God Of War series is the story about Kratos, a spartan warrior, who discovers that he is a demigod, the son of the god Zeus and a mortal woman named Callisto. The story begins when Zeus hears of a prophecy foretelling his death by one of his sons, a “marked warrior.” He finds Deimos, a young spartan who has a birthmark all over his body, Kratos’ brother. Thinking this was the marked warrior, he captured him. Kratos tried to stop him, but he was struck down, leaving a scar over his right eye. Kratos feels bad about not being able to help his brother and vows to never fail like that ever again; he tattoos a replica of Deimos birthmark on himself in remembrance.

Full of rage, Kratos rose through the ranks and became the leader of the Spartan army. Eventually, he married and had a daughter. One day during the war, he was about to lose, and he made a pact with Ares, the God of War, to help him win in exchange for Kratos serving him. Ares agreed and gave him the Blades of Chaos. The blades were chained to his arms, and with them, he killed all of his enemies and became victorious. Then, he went to raid a village which Ares ordered him to and killed everyone. Before he went into the last house he was stopped by an older woman who told him to not go in because it was dangerous, but he did not listen and went in. He killed all of those who were inside. Ares had put his wife and daughter inside that house, and Kratos killed them while blinded with rage. They burned because the blades are covered with fire. When he went out devastated with what he had just done, the woman from earlier permanently covered his body in his wife’s and daughter’s ashes, granting him the name “The Ghost of Sparta.” Seeking revenge, he went on a killing spree and killed many. Athena made him the God of War after he defeated Ares, and when he was about to end Zeus, Athena stopped him and said that she wanted to stop the cycle of sons killing their fathers. This is when Kratos first finds out that he is the son of Zeus.

In the last game, he moved away from his land of Sparta to Midgard, where he marries Faye and has a son, Atreus. The game starts after Faye had passed away, and they cremated her. Faye wanted them to spread the ashes at the highest peak of the nine realms. They thought it was in Midgard, but they discover that the highest peak is in Jötunheimr, the land of the giants, a realm that was almost impossible to get to after Tyr closed it to protect the giants from Odin. A lot happens during the journey. They fought Modi and Magni, sons of Thor, Baldur, and even dragons. Atreus did not know he was a god yet and his true nature was fighting him as he thought he was a mortal. He fainted, and Kratos took him to Freya. She told Kratos that he had to go to Helheim, the Realm of the Dead, and retrieve the heart of the bridge keeper and that his current axe would not work there. The axe had ice “powers,” and Helheim is the coldest place of the nine realms.

He had to go back home and face his past, the one he wanted to escape. He retrieved the Blades of Chaos once again, and Athena told him that no matter what he could never change his past and that he will always be a monster. He retrieved the heart and Freya cured Atreus. Atreus overheard Kratos’s conversation with Freya, where he said that Atreus was cursed. He confronted Kratos about it and that is when Kratos finally told him the truth. He was a god. They continued their journey and finally made it, and they both discover that Faye was actually a Giant, the guardian of the giants.

This game gives its players a better understanding of Norse and Greek mythology, along with an interactive and enjoyable storyline. In the last edition, the game featured Kratos wanting to change for his son. He did not want to be a monster anymore, but the pact had taken his soul. There was no turning back. This moral unrest causes the game to be even more interesting and exciting.