The nadir & zenith of gaming

I played two video games virtually back to back today, and I have to say that, as far as games are concerned, I almost reached both high & low points of gaming genius simultaneously.

I've been playing "God of War" on & off for a couple of months, and the game is just beautifully rendered. The atmosphere is remarkable, and there are tons of little things that make this game phenomenal. Like the mini-games involved in taking down certain characters. The mid-game "conquest" of two Greek female twins (take THAT, San Andreas). The pacing. The layout of all the levels. The quest for the McGuffin (in this case, Pandora's Box). It's just an incredible game. And Ares .... that's one tough mother fucker.

Now, I contrast this with "Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows." It's almost like the original Gauntlet, only rendered in 3D. It's "hack & slash" taken to unfortunate literal contraints; you can manage to put a lot of distance into the game with just one button. Now, don't get me wrong, there's something here to recommend, as it is mindless fun. Which, since I'm looking at two games simultaneously, doesn't exactly make it a great game. "God of War" excels in the limits to which you push your character & gaming abilities; mindFUL fun, as it were. I literally took out two of the titular Sorrows (i.e. the game bosses) with just two "special moves" (square-X and X-X-X), with no strategy or illusions that I wouldn't make it through the battle.

I can't wait to see what happens at the end of "God of War." And I haven't felt like that about a game since ... maybe "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time."

But, on the flip side, I can't wait to see what happens at the end of "Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows," either. 'Cause that'll mean I can move on to the next game I haven't played yet. Maybe "Shadow of Rome."