Those About To Die: Slaughtering Greek Mythology

I have always had an admiration for Greek Mythology and the history of different Greek Gods. I researched it in school and not a day would pass where I would wonder what it would be like to live in that sort of world.

What if I were to stumble upon the gates of Hades and be face-to-face with a snarling, teeth-baring Cerberus, the three-headed beast? Would I be a mere mortal or a legendary creature that was either feared or adored by all? How awesome of a world would it be to feed Minotaurs, have sex with Nymphs, ride Griffins and avoid Sirens like the present-day Detroit hooker? A world where you were sent out on missions to exterminate swarms of importunate Harpies, everpresent Undeads, sexy Gorgons and other creatures along the way. Of course, between all of the battling, have a traditional break for a quick threesome with two hot women.

I wanted to experience this world and I don't know about you but Disney's Hercules didn't quite do it for me. What did throw me into this wonderful, fabled universe was God of War.

I found myself in the greaves of Kratos, wielding the cursed Blades of Chaos, staring down the Undead who are ready to rip me limb from limb... If they are quick enough. Battling under a sky that burns obsidian black, I was forced to take out the walking skeletons by (button mashing) hacking and slashing them. After several dismembered spines and shattered skulls in only a matter of a few minutes, I was hooked on annihilation. Swinging the fiery blades around to slice up enemies is so much more fun than it sounds. The sound of the chains attached to the Blades, slamming into them is just exhilarating.

With the stench of blood and death filling my lungs and broken bones of the weak Undead underneath my feet, I made my way inside of the damaged ship to get some health. Just when I thought it was safe in the narrow corridor, I had the pleasant surprise of meeting with one of the many heads of the Hydra. The reptile-like monster screeches at me through teeth that are thicker than my torso and snaps at me like a five-hundred ton Pitbull.



I remember when I was first playing this I was thinking "No way I have to fight this thing so early in the game..." Then I noticed the boss health bar at the bottom of my screen...

Drastically, I swing my blades to strike the foe right in the face. Every enemy that dared to stand before me before was eradicated; Why should this Hydra be any different? The creature lets out another gutteral roar and snaps his jaw again. Too slow for Kratos. I jump out of his reach and bring the Blades down upon him again. The creature's eyes burn with primal hunger. Drenched in blood and gore from the fallen, I would be the perfect snack for him. I wouldn't let it go down like that.

Of course, not so early into the game.

One third of his life is gone and suddenly, boom, he drops his head. What's this, fierce Hydra, are you too weak to battle me? Just when I think this is my chance to lay some quick hard hits on the beast, a button combination appears. Taking what appears to be my only chance, I impale the mongrel's head and slam it into the side of the corridor. I continue to do it until the Hydra drops it's head again in defeat. Oh ho, but I'm not done with it just yet.

The gloriously green triangle button appears over the Hydras head and Kratos leaps onto his snout, raising both Blades of Chaos high above him and plummets them into the iris of the sea monster. He roars a pathetic sound of defeat and pulls his head away from Kratos in angered fear. He's not dead but I'll deal with him later.

God of War was the first game to throw quick button combinations at me to execute amazing ways to take down my enemies. I love this series to death and will never forget this first epic battle with, one of the nine, Hydra heads. This game really threw me into the action and made me feel all high and mighty early on. There was no ten minute tutorial on pulling off combos. I had to fend for myself and get the hell out of that damaged ship before I would be swimming with the fishes. Little did I know that there would be even bigger beasts that I had to annihilate later in the game (and in the series) but at that exact moment that I knew I had to fight the Hydra, I was scared, exhilarated and giddy to take it down. I was ready for the challenge and I succeeded.