It's a GameSpot-Comic Vine team-up as we get gamers and comic fans to assess titles based on Mass Effect, Gears of War, God of War, Halo, and the NES-era Nintendo lineup.
God of War
DC, softcover, $14.99
Marv Wolfman and Andrea Sorrentino
God of War tells two stories in parallel, one before Kratos gained Ares' powers, and one after.
GameSpot's take: The first thing that stands out about the God of War comic is the art of Andrea Sorrentino. Once you get past the traditionally illustrated cover, the art looks like a moody, sometimes muddy amalgamation of painting and photography with a heavy digital assist from Photoshop. Sometimes the effect is stunning, but other times the result can be distracting, or even chuckle-inducing (much like the violence in the God of War games themselves, one could argue).
Regardless of whether the art style is one you like, it's distinctive, and lends the story a very specific tone. It matches the world of God of War well enough, with one dominant color typically drowning out the rest of the scene the same way Kratos' anger overshadows any possible storytelling subtlety in the series.
That's something also well reflected by the writing of Marv Wolfman, a comics scribe with previous game experience on DC Universe Online and Planetside 2. Wolfman's story tells parallel tales of Kratos in search of the healing ambrosia of the gods, once before he kills Ares to become the God of War, and once after. Although his motivations differ on the two journeys, they express themselves the same way: through wanton violence and rage that pushes him to persevere. It's a shallow story, but a well constructed one that properly reflects the series distinctive brand of over-the-top mythology. If fans can enjoy the art style, they'll find DC Comics has produced a tale suitable for the God of War.
Sorrentino's art leans on digital manipulation, sometimes to its detriment.
Comic Vine's take: The idea here screams comic books. There is so much story to tell, so many battles that this should be a great comic book adaptation. The results were a mixed offering.
The whole premise feels perfect for a comic adaptation. There is a lot of story to tell and even though this was a six issue miniseries, the story started to feel rushed towards the end. The entire idea of Kratos embarking on this mission to save his daughter was the perfect comic book incentive. There was plenty of obstacles and threats he could face. Where things started to fall apart a little is we started getting flashbacks mixed into the present storyline. Usually there is a clear distinction between the present and the past, that wasn't quite the case here. Mixing the two has its benefits but if it's not fully clear, it ends up hindering the overall story.
I had mixed feelings on the art. Andrea Sorrentino has been blowing me away on the current DC title I, VAMPIRE. His style here is a bit different. He does capture the raw essence of the story and delivers big epic scenes required for the battles. There were moments where it felt a little too processed or photoshopped. A couple instances had Kratos with an odd expression on his face.
Because of the characters and all the threats from the gods, there is a lot of potential in this franchise (as those that have played the video games already know). This could easily have been a longer running series and perhaps one day we'll get to see more.
