God of War’s MDA

God of War is an action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the first installment in the God of War series, and it was first released for the Playstation 2 console on March 22, 2005.

It is based on Greek mythology, and set in ancient Greece, with vengeance as its central motif. This provides dynamics that create the fantasy and discovery aesthetic. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, a Spartan warrior who serves the Olympian Gods. The goddess Athena tasks Kratos with killing Ares, the God of War and Kratos’ former mentor who tricked Kratos into killing his wife and daughter. As Ares besieges Athens out of hatred for Athena, Kratos embarks on a quest to find the one object capable of stopping the god once and for all: Pandora’s Box. This provides the dynamics that create a narrative and challenge aesthetics.

The gameplay of God of War focuses on combo-based combat, achieved through the player’s main weapon—the Blades of Chaos—and a secondary weapon—Blade of Artemis—  acquired later in the game. It features quick time events that require the player to complete various game controller actions in a timed sequence to defeat stronger enemies and bosses. The player can use up to four magical attacks and a power-enhancing ability as alternative combat options. It features platforming elements that require the player to climb walls and ladders, jump across chasms, swing on ropes, and balance across beams to proceed through sections of the game, and puzzles. Some puzzles are simple, such as moving a box so that the player can use it as a jumping-off point to access a pathway unreachable with normal jumping, but others are more complex, such as finding several items across different areas of the game to unlock one door. Throughout the game world, the player finds green, red, and blue chests that contain orbs of the corresponding color. Green orbs replenish the player’s health, blue orbs replenish magic, and red orbs provide experience for upgrading weapons and magic and replenish the Rage meter, which, if full, allows for the usage of the Rage of the Gods ability. Red orbs are also collected by killing foes and destroying certain inanimate objects. The player can also find Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers that increase the length of the Health and Magic Meters, respectively. All these provide dynamics that create the challenge aesthetic and dramatic tension. 

When the game is completed, a challenge mode—ten trials called the Challenge of the Gods—is unlocked; this requires players to complete a series of specific tasks. The player may unlock bonus costumes for Kratos, behind-the-scenes videos, and concept art of the characters and environments, as rewards. Completion of each difficulty level unlocks additional rewards. These provide dynamics that create expression aesthetics.

 

 

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