So this is for anyone who is a regular viewer of Extra Credits and has seen the episode covering God of War and its failings in the storytelling department.
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/no-redeeming-value#
btw !!!(SPOILERS)!!! If you want the quick version, skip to the end of this post.
Quite simply, James and co. forgot a few things about the story that, when considered, make Kratos out to be a little more heroic and sympathetic than you might think.
While the EC team praises the original God of War for making its lead character out to be- if nothing else- more deserving of our attention to his struggle and psychology than, say, Ares, their opinion of the mad Spartan falls off a bit when they witness his behavior at the start of GoW II. Behavior that negates the redemption he achieved at the first game's conclusion.
But is that really a fair criticism?
Half the reason Kratos is so angry and bitter is because the gods refused to take away his nightmares. When he attempts to end his suffering through suicide, he is denied again and practically forced to take the throne as Ares' successor.
Just imagine the trouble that could have been avoided if just one of Kratos' wishes had been granted. Even if erasing his nightmares is too kind a service to offer to such a monstrous person, at least allow him to end his torment through a death of his own choosing.
Before I go on, let me be clear: at the end of the day, Kratos is an asshole. Even if you can kind of see where he's coming from, there are better ways to provoke the gods than by killing a bunch of people, even if you are the god of war.
The fact that he murders innocents who do not stand a chance against him and are not even trying to stand in his way proves that his view of the world is thus: Spartans > everyone else
The thing to keep in mind here is that the death of his family did not shift his feelings on the whole of humanity in the slightest.
The EC team seems to have this idea that Kratos- having experienced a wrenching personal loss- would naturally identify with the suffering of others and avoid it in the future. If this is their assumption, it is a sad and naive one, indeed. If Kratos had lived in Germany during WWII, he would've been a Nazi. Perfectly capable of functioning as part of a loving family, but ready to commit senseless murder of 'the others' should orders demand it.
So how can Kratos be a character to root for much past GoW I? It is because of Zeus. Sure, he did right by the people of Rhodes by draining Kratos of his power, but he didn't stop there. He killed his son and wiped out all of the Spartans. As Gaia explained when the Spartan was ready to throw in the towel upon learning his homeland was no more, he intended to have Kratos suffer in Hades for all eternity. Overkill much?
Of course, the real reasons behind Zeus' actions are made tragically clear in GoW III. Ever since the War of the Titans, his fear has paved the way to his demise and the writers on the series end up framing his eventual destruction as a necessary evil (although why Kratos didn't simply rewind time at the end of GoW II and kill Zeus at birth or something isn't explained very well).
Unfortunately for all of humanity, every god under Zeus save the soul of Athena stands against Kratos. The world is more or less rent asunder, but at the end, it is the very bringer of death who at last gives hope for renewal. In defiance of Athena, he gives hope away to the mortals, though they may not know what to do with it.
Now, I liked the ideas here far more than the execution. It got too preachy and I agree with EC that players deserved a stronger handling of the narrative.
I've gone on a bit with this, so let me just sum up a few things.
- Kratos had reason to be upset with the gods because they denied him release from his nightmares and refused him death. Until Zeus was happy to oblige. But it would not be the same, as Gaia pointed out. Zeus would torture his son's soul for eternity. Who's the biggest jerk here again? Be honest: how far would YOU go to avoid that fate?
- Having said that, Kratos did not vent his initial rage toward the gods in any way deserving of our sympathy. Showing up at city after city in his Super Mega Ultra Mario form and smashing the denizens to bits. Nice one, big guy.
- However, Zeus' overreaction (thanks to the fear from Pandora's Box and its iron grip on him) to his son's misdeeds set into motion more senseless violence, culminating in his brutal death.
- Even when Kratos is murdering all in his path on the way to Zeus, he is still meant to be seen as heroic. The fallen god who rises up to end a corrupt system that has a choke hold on the mortals. I admit that this is never explicitly shown to be the case, diminishing the effect of this claim somewhat. Also, Kratos certainly isn't getting revenge on their behalf. On the other hand, you have to think that any god who would torture a soul- any soul- for all eternity can't be that good of a guy to the little people either. Therefore, for all the terrible, terrible things Kratos has done in the past, his very final act in GoW III is about as redemptive as anyone could expect.
Does God of War's story eventually turn its back on the Greek tragedy that was its foundation? Yes.
Does the story God of War decides to tell deserve better at the end than a lot of vague moaning about hope? Yes.
Does the story prove to have no redeeming value? No.
I love the team at EC as much as the next person, but they dropped the ball on this one.
http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/no-redeeming-value#
btw !!!(SPOILERS)!!! If you want the quick version, skip to the end of this post.
Quite simply, James and co. forgot a few things about the story that, when considered, make Kratos out to be a little more heroic and sympathetic than you might think.
While the EC team praises the original God of War for making its lead character out to be- if nothing else- more deserving of our attention to his struggle and psychology than, say, Ares, their opinion of the mad Spartan falls off a bit when they witness his behavior at the start of GoW II. Behavior that negates the redemption he achieved at the first game's conclusion.
But is that really a fair criticism?
Half the reason Kratos is so angry and bitter is because the gods refused to take away his nightmares. When he attempts to end his suffering through suicide, he is denied again and practically forced to take the throne as Ares' successor.
Just imagine the trouble that could have been avoided if just one of Kratos' wishes had been granted. Even if erasing his nightmares is too kind a service to offer to such a monstrous person, at least allow him to end his torment through a death of his own choosing.
Before I go on, let me be clear: at the end of the day, Kratos is an asshole. Even if you can kind of see where he's coming from, there are better ways to provoke the gods than by killing a bunch of people, even if you are the god of war.
The fact that he murders innocents who do not stand a chance against him and are not even trying to stand in his way proves that his view of the world is thus: Spartans > everyone else
The thing to keep in mind here is that the death of his family did not shift his feelings on the whole of humanity in the slightest.
The EC team seems to have this idea that Kratos- having experienced a wrenching personal loss- would naturally identify with the suffering of others and avoid it in the future. If this is their assumption, it is a sad and naive one, indeed. If Kratos had lived in Germany during WWII, he would've been a Nazi. Perfectly capable of functioning as part of a loving family, but ready to commit senseless murder of 'the others' should orders demand it.
So how can Kratos be a character to root for much past GoW I? It is because of Zeus. Sure, he did right by the people of Rhodes by draining Kratos of his power, but he didn't stop there. He killed his son and wiped out all of the Spartans. As Gaia explained when the Spartan was ready to throw in the towel upon learning his homeland was no more, he intended to have Kratos suffer in Hades for all eternity. Overkill much?
Of course, the real reasons behind Zeus' actions are made tragically clear in GoW III. Ever since the War of the Titans, his fear has paved the way to his demise and the writers on the series end up framing his eventual destruction as a necessary evil (although why Kratos didn't simply rewind time at the end of GoW II and kill Zeus at birth or something isn't explained very well).
Unfortunately for all of humanity, every god under Zeus save the soul of Athena stands against Kratos. The world is more or less rent asunder, but at the end, it is the very bringer of death who at last gives hope for renewal. In defiance of Athena, he gives hope away to the mortals, though they may not know what to do with it.
Now, I liked the ideas here far more than the execution. It got too preachy and I agree with EC that players deserved a stronger handling of the narrative.
I've gone on a bit with this, so let me just sum up a few things.
- Kratos had reason to be upset with the gods because they denied him release from his nightmares and refused him death. Until Zeus was happy to oblige. But it would not be the same, as Gaia pointed out. Zeus would torture his son's soul for eternity. Who's the biggest jerk here again? Be honest: how far would YOU go to avoid that fate?
- Having said that, Kratos did not vent his initial rage toward the gods in any way deserving of our sympathy. Showing up at city after city in his Super Mega Ultra Mario form and smashing the denizens to bits. Nice one, big guy.
- However, Zeus' overreaction (thanks to the fear from Pandora's Box and its iron grip on him) to his son's misdeeds set into motion more senseless violence, culminating in his brutal death.
- Even when Kratos is murdering all in his path on the way to Zeus, he is still meant to be seen as heroic. The fallen god who rises up to end a corrupt system that has a choke hold on the mortals. I admit that this is never explicitly shown to be the case, diminishing the effect of this claim somewhat. Also, Kratos certainly isn't getting revenge on their behalf. On the other hand, you have to think that any god who would torture a soul- any soul- for all eternity can't be that good of a guy to the little people either. Therefore, for all the terrible, terrible things Kratos has done in the past, his very final act in GoW III is about as redemptive as anyone could expect.
Does God of War's story eventually turn its back on the Greek tragedy that was its foundation? Yes.
Does the story God of War decides to tell deserve better at the end than a lot of vague moaning about hope? Yes.
Does the story prove to have no redeeming value? No.
I love the team at EC as much as the next person, but they dropped the ball on this one.