Kratos

[jef91]

Wait, stop. Please - everyone just hold up a second.

Who here honestly plays God of War for the "character development" or "intelligence of the plot"?

At the very basic psychological angle: people play God of War because there are no coliseums that still show humans what we need to see and what we relate to the most - violence.

If you play God of War you get to kill giant monsters in imaginative ways whilst enjoying high definition and a brilliant orchestral score.

That is the selling point.

If you try and appreciate the "character development" or "intelligence of plot" you will not enjoy games like God of War.

Mindless gaming is just such a bloody relief after a decade of failed attempts at complex character development.

Leave character-driven, complex plots to Hideo Kojima or someone like that.

 

[Z(ombie)fan]

You weren't supposed to relate to the Young Ones?

And here I thought Vivian and I shared so much in common...

And I guess the explanation for Kratos' being a dick is that he feels resentment towards the Gods for not ridding him of his nightmares. He's still angry at himself, but he projects that anger on his surroundings, always looking for a reason to kill.

Then of course, not only is this a bit weak, but they try to rub it away by constantly trying to make the gods seem like bigger douchebags. And then it comes to debate: Are the Gods the bigger douchebags because they act out of selfishness to gain whatever they want, oppressing humans and titans alike (even other gods in some cases) if they disobey, or is Kratos the bigger douchebag for trying to find reasons to kill as many people as possible?

My opinion is that the Gods are bigger douchebags. You don't blame a mad dog for killing your family, you blame the guy who let the dog loose (A reference I'm sure many will understand)

I still don't like it how they try to force it down our throats that the gods are the biggest douchebags though.

cujo?

 

[sszebra]

The "I will have my revenge" motivation was certainly worn thin by the time GOW3 got past the intro. It was strange that Athena came back Obi-wan style for the purpose of telling Kratos to do something he was already trying to do, give him another set of identical fire chain blades, and send him on a massive wild goose chase.

I thought after the introduction of Pandora that maybe Kratos would find some sort of new motivation and redemption as some kind of surrogate father, but that doesn't work out.

 

[Spelonker]

I dunno. I don't think Kratos became a paradoy of himself, but rather, his personality changed. He gets more consumed by rage as the story goes on. In 1, he's grieving over his family every now and then, but wants Ares dead. And he gets especially pissed off when Ares impales him from 100 miles away JUST as he was about to open Pandora's box. From there to the final fight with Ares, he's REALLY angry and doesn't get depressed until Athena reveals the gods can't change his memories. So WAAAAA, suicide. But hold up, the gods decide to be nice for change and make him god of war. So he forgets about his family for the most part and embraces being a violent, genocidal fucker.

That's what he is by GoW2. The absolute icon of violence and war, so his family has little place in his thoughts next to all the carnage he's supposed to cause. So how could you make a god who personifies battle and hate even angrier? Stab him in the back! And this causes a fucking meltdown of rage. So much rage, it fuels him until 3. Picture it, you've went through YEARS of mental and physical suffering and the guys who pretty much determined your fate in world give you a break, and BAM, they turn on you and send you to straight to hell.

I'd be fucking angry too.

 

[A_Moose]

Dear Yahtzee, where were you when Legacy of Kain was at its best? You really missed out. I don't think we'd have God of War without Blood Omen and I still think Kain is the most entertaining video game anti-hero protagonist (Raziel not so much but the Soul Reaver contributions to LoK are no less great).

But Blood Omen 1 is so outdated and aged at this point it is unplayable to current gen gamers. At least it's on PSN, I guess.

 

[Vagabond_Samurai]

I don't know; I completely can empathize with Kratos in all three games. A downward spiral of rage started by the death of his family? In my eyes, completely reasonable in the vein of a Greek Tragedy.
I can do without a lot in life, but if you took the one thing I cared about (such as Kratos' family) and I had the ability to do so, I can identify with wanting to split the world in twain just to get whoever he feels is responsible for his ire. Especially considering the fact that he is wearing his family in the form of a coat of ash that keeps him quite warm with rage.

 

[omegawyrm]

Clearly Yahtzee has never read Last Rites, Hush, The Dark Knight Returns, The Cult, The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Arkham Asylum, Batman R.I.P. or any of the other brilliant Batman stories where he's developed as a great character.

Clearly you have forgotten to mention the majority of hero comic book writing which shows that your examples are the fortunate exceptions to a decades-old tradition of winging it.

I don't think that takes away from my refutation of Yahtzee's postulation that Batman has NEVER developed as a character and is the least interesting character in his stories.

 

[LisaB1138]

I've always felt GOW2 was Kratos throwing a giant hissy fit. I never liked it, but I still like the game. A couple of lines at the start of the game--even read by Linda Hunt--simply do not explain Kratos' behavior--mostly because his behavior is too irrational. He's pissed at the gods so he trashes cities. It's like kicking the dog when your kids don't clean up their rooms. Kratos is not a Nice Guy, but he's not an abusive father either.

They do a much better job of setting up Kratos' character in GOW3. Early on I felt what the ending would be, and I was right. These were the actions of man bent on destruction, including self-destruction. Seen through that lens, his behavior becomes, if not rational, understandable.

 

[HemalJB]

Clearly Yahtzee has never read Last Rites, Hush, The Dark Knight Returns, The Cult, The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Arkham Asylum, Batman R.I.P. or any of the other brilliant Batman stories where he's developed as a great character.

Clearly you have forgotten to mention the majority of hero comic book writing which shows that your examples are the fortunate exceptions to a decades-old tradition of winging it.

Clearly you forget that 90% of everything is crap.