Your God Not Mine

Some weeks ago, a new God of War was announced. Well I suppose a new God of War game is, by now, inevitable as the tide, regardless of actual quality.

Honestly, I think the God of War games have the same problem the Tomb Raider games one faced: The trap of formula. Both franchises had a big hit with the first game but everything that's followed in it's wake is the same formula - hindered by a Player character who has plenty of brand recognition but is handled by writers who don't seem to have a clue what to do with the them.

Really, what can you do with Kratos? It's fair to say that the God of War games that aren't no.1 have wrecked what made Kratos initially interesting: Now he's just being angry for the sake of it. Kratos is a parody of himself and he's stuck there. Now, he's been angry for so long that it's now expected of him: if he isn't tearing shit up, his fans will call foul - and if he were to have a moment of introspection and/or actual character depth, he'll be called a pussy.

Personally, I can see some potential in the idea of Kratos being confronted with the constant carnage he's caused. What if he was cast into a desert where he has no one to fight? There, in amongst the silence, he is confronted with his actions and the countless people he has killed. Only problem there is a) the afore-mentioned danger of making Kratos a pussy and b) that doesn't sound like much of a game.

Another idea, which continues the wavelength from the previous idea is having someone else as the Player Character. They saw their wife being cut down by Kratos so the player character takes it upon himself to take out Kratos himself. True Yahtzee suggested this before but it would make an interesting iteration on the themes established in the first game. Only problem there is that game franchises without their established lead tend not to do well (Metal Gear Solid 2 anyone?).

Still Tomb Raider managed to do something new with it's latest iteration, so there may be some hope for the God of War games - but I sincerely doubt it.