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God of War A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been po ...
'' is an
action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
series, the first era of which was loosely based on
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
. Debuting in 2005, the series became a flagship title for the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
brand and the character Kratos is one of its most popular characters. The series consists of nine games across multiple platforms; the first seven make up the Greek era of the series. Five of the Greek era games have been re-released through three separate compilations for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
(PS3) platform: ''God of War Collection'' (2009), ''God of War: Origins Collection'' (2011), and ''God of War Saga'' (2012). With the exception of ''
God of War III ''God of War III'' is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released for the PlayStation 3 on March 16, 2010, it is the fifth installment in the ''God ...
'' in the ''God of War Saga'', each collection features remastered
ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
of the games that were not originally released on the PS3. ''God of War III'' was later remastered as ''
God of War III Remastered ''God of War III'' is an Action-adventure game, action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released for the PlayStation 3 on March 16, 2010, it is the fifth ins ...
'' and released on
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
(PS4) in July 2015. '' God of War: Betrayal'', '' God of War: Ascension'', ''God of War'' (2018), and ''
God of War Ragnarök ''God of War Ragnarök'' is an action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was released worldwide on November 9, 2022, for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, marking the first cros ...
'' are the only installments that have not been remastered for a newer platform or included in a collection. Each collection was praised for how the games were remastered, as well as their price.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
claimed that the ''God of War Collection'' was the "definitive way to play the game . ''God of War Collection'' prompted Sony to make a new line of remastered games for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
(which expanded to subsequent PlayStation consoles). Although the ''Origins Collection'' was criticized for its lack of new bonus content,
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
said that "Sony succeeded at making good games better". For the ''Saga'',
Digital Trends Digital Trends is a Portland, Oregon-based tech news, lifestyle, and information website that publishes news, reviews, guides, how-to articles, descriptive videos and podcasts about technology and consumer electronics products. With offices i ...
claimed it is "perhaps the best value buy for any console available".


''God of War Collection''

''God of War Collection'' is a remastered port of ''
God of War A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been po ...
'' and ''
God of War II ''God of War II'' is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). First released for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) console on March 13, 2007, it is the second inst ...
'' for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
on a single
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
that was released in North America on November 17, 2009. It is the first game under Sony's line of "Classics HD". The collection was included in the ''God of War III Ultimate Trilogy Edition'', released on March 18, 2010, in Australia and New Zealand, and on March 19 in Europe. It was released in Japan as a stand-alone on March 18, where it was distributed by
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
, and was later released as part of the ''God of War III Trilogy Edition'', which included ''
God of War III ''God of War III'' is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released for the PlayStation 3 on March 16, 2010, it is the fifth installment in the ''God ...
'' and ''God of War Collection'', on March 25. It was released as a stand-alone in Australia on April 29 and in Europe on April 30. At the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), a
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
version of ''God of War Collection'' was announced, and it was released on May 6, 2014, in North America, May 9 in Europe, May 14 in Australia, and May 15 in Japan. ''God of War'' and ''God of War II'' were
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
by
Bluepoint Games Bluepoint Games Inc is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2006 by Andy O'Neil and Marco Thrush, the studio is known for video game remasters and Video game remake, remakes, such as ''Uncharted: The Nathan Drake ...
and feature high-definition
720p 720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcast ...
anti-aliased graphics at 60 frames per second and
Trophies A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...
. The bonus materials of the original two-disc
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
version of ''God of War II'' are included with the Blu-ray version of the collection. The port was produced as a result of feedback from fans of the series and was viewed as a means of introducing new players to the series before ''God of War III'' was released. The ''God of War III'' game demo from
E3 2009 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 (E3 2009) was the 15th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 2, 2009, and ended on June 4, 2009, with 41,000 total attendees. Majo ...
was included with early copies of the collection.
Sanzaru Games Sanzaru Games, Inc. is an American video game development company that was founded in Foster City, California in 2006. Sanzaru also has a satellite studio based in Ottawa, Ontario called Kitazaru, as well as an office in Dublin, California. Th ...
was responsible for porting the collection to the Vita. Sony's Santa Monica Studio—the games' original developer—ran a
sweepstakes A sweepstake is a type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. Sweepstakes began as a form of lottery that were tied to products sold. In response, the FCC and FTC refined U.S. broadcasting laws (creating the ...
in November 2009 for the release of ''God of War Collection''. The grand prize was an autographed "Gold" disc, exclusive artwork created and signed by a ''God of War'' team member, a Limited Edition Kratos T-shirt, and a limited edition figurine of Kratos. First place prize was a copy of ''God of War Collection'' signed by the development team. Winners were announced in December 2009. On November 2, 2010, ''God of War Collection'' was released as a digital download on the
PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
.
PlayStation Plus PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
subscribers could download a one-hour trial of each game. For a limited time, Plus subscribers received a ''God of War III'' skin with the purchase of each game: "Phantom of Chaos" (''God of War'') and "Forgotten Warrior" (''God of War II''), respectively. The bonus materials for ''God of War II'' were not included with the digital download version. Patch update version 1.01, released on September 5, 2012, allowed the PlayStation 3 version of ''God of War Collection'' to be played on the PlayStation Vita via the Remote Play function.


Reception

''God of War Collection'' received critical acclaim from critics. Aggregating review websites
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
and
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
gave the PlayStation 3 version 90.78% based on 43 reviews and 91/100 based on 50 reviews and the PlayStation Vita version 75.00% based on 15 reviews and 73/100 based on 28 reviews. The PlayStation 3 version received critical acclaim.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the game an "Editor's Choice" Award, praised the enhanced resolutions, lower price point, and smoother frame rates, and stated it was the "definitive way to play the game". 1up.com noted the tremendous increase in visuals but said the in-engine cut-scenes appeared blurry. ''GamePro'' stated the collection is "two fantastic games on one disc for a low price; puts you in the right mindset for ''God of War 3''". PlayStation LifeStyle (5/5) said "Those … familiar with Kratos will enjoy the extra polish the ''Collection'' brings to two of the best games from the PS2 era". Due to the success of ''God of War Collection'', Sony announced that further titles would receive similar treatment for release under its new "Classics HD" brand. By June 2012, ''God of War Collection'' had sold more than 2.4 million copies worldwide, making it the eighteenth best-selling PlayStation 3 game of all time.


''God of War: Origins Collection''

''God of War: Origins Collection'' (known as ''God of War Collection – Volume II'' in Europe and Australia) is a remastered port of the two
PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
installments in the series—'' Chains of Olympus'' and '' Ghost of Sparta''—for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
on a single
Blu-ray Disc The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
. It was announced at the Sony press conference at
E3 2011 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 (E3 2011) was the 17th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 7, 2011, and ended on June 9, 2011, with 46,800 total attendees. E3 201 ...
and was ported by
Ready at Dawn Ready at Dawn Studios LLC (RAD) is an American video game developer located in Irvine, California and is composed of former members of Naughty Dog and Blizzard Entertainment. Formed in 2003, the company has primarily worked on games for the PlaySt ...
, the developer of the PlayStation Portable games. The collection was released on September 13, 2011, in North America, September 16 in Europe, September 29 in Australia, and October 6 in Japan. ''God of War: Origins Collection'' was also released in North America as a digital download on the
PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
on September 13. ''God of War: Origins Collection'' features native 1080p high-definition video, anti-aliased graphics at 60 frames per second,
DualShock 3 The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...
rumble features,
Trophies A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...
, and is the only ''God of War'' release to feature
Stereoscopic 3D Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
. The ''God of War – Game Directors Live'' documentary, Kratos Legionnaire bonus skin, and Forest of the Forgotten combat arena (originally pre-order bonuses for ''Ghost of Sparta'') are also included with the ''Origins Collection''.


Reception

''God of War: Origins Collection'' received positive reviews from critics. It received a score of 86.62% based on 41 reviews on
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
and 84/100 based on 58 reviews on
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
stated, "Sony succeeded at making good games better" and that it "acts as a time lapse experiment for players to get a really good look at how a developer evolves from one game to another". ''GamePro'' noted the lack of new bonus content, and said, "3D doesn't necessarily radically redefine the experience. It does, however, make things like boss fights and magical effects much more mesmerizing", but added that, "all of the in-game cinematics are not in 3D, which is … unfortunate considering how cutscenes are such an integral part of the storytelling in any ''God of War'' game". By June 2012, ''God of War: Origins Collection'' had sold 711,737 copies worldwide.


''God of War Saga''

''God of War Saga'' is a collection of five of the ''God of War'' games for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
released as part of Sony's PlayStation Collections line on August 28, 2012, in North America; it was not released elsewhere. The collection includes ''God of War'', ''God of War II'', ''God of War III'', ''Chains of Olympus'', and ''Ghost of Sparta''. It features two Blu-ray Discs—''God of War I'' and ''II'' on the first and ''III'' on the second—and a voucher to download ''Chains of Olympus'' and ''Ghost of Sparta''. The games retain the same features as their first PS3 releases. The collection also includes exclusive bonus content and a voucher for a one-month trial of
PlayStation Plus PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
. The games, with the exception of ''God of War III'', are also available to download from the
PlayStation Store The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
. From September 27 until October 5, 2012, to celebrate the release of ''God of War Saga'',
PlayStation.Blog is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divis ...
ran a weekly countdown of the top five ''God of War'' epic moments as voted by the ''God of War''
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
community. "The Death of Ares" from the original ''God of War'' was voted as the "#1 most epic ''God of War'' moment of All Time". In Latin America, an exclusive version of ''God of War Saga'', titled ''God of War: Omega Collection'', was released in November 2012. The ''Omega Collection'' features three Blu-ray discs, as opposed to two, with ''Chains of Olympus'' and ''Ghost of Sparta'' included on the third disc. It also includes a SteelBook game case with exclusive artwork and a limited edition bronze statue of Kratos, created by an Argentine artist.


Reception

Ryan Fleming of
Digital Trends Digital Trends is a Portland, Oregon-based tech news, lifestyle, and information website that publishes news, reviews, guides, how-to articles, descriptive videos and podcasts about technology and consumer electronics products. With offices i ...
wrote that the collection "is perhaps the best value buy for any console available", and that for fans of the series, "this collection is not for you" as all games (with the exception of ''God of War III'') are available for download, and it will "likely be redundant". However, new or inexperienced players should buy it. Fleming added that it was odd that the PSP games were included as downloads, and would like to have seen content migrate over to the
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
. Jeffrey L. Wilson of ''
PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...
'' gave the collection a 4 out of 5 and called it "an excellent purchase for anyone looking for cinematic, blood-drenched action—especially newcomers who get five titles for the price of one", but added that long time fans may not find much value in the collection.


References

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''God of War'' video game collections 2009 video games 2011 video games 2012 video games God of War (franchise) PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Vita games Sony Interactive Entertainment game compilations Video game remasters Video games based on Greek mythology Video games developed in the United States Video games set in antiquity