God of War: Plot Summary (Supremely Badass Final Copy)
Completed: 6/7/2005

Contents:

Who I Be?
The Origin of the Gods
The Contest of Athena and Poseidon
Pandora's Temple
The Origins of Kratos
The Battle with the Barbarians
The Ghost of Athens
The Assault On Athens
Pandora's Box
Escape from Hades
Final Battle
The End of a Journey
The Fate of Kronos the Titan
Thank You To...

-Who I Be?-

I am the Headcrook, also known as The Head of the Crooked Party. Aside
from writing videogame fanfiction, I'm also a devoted gamer and
recently, I borrowed God of War from a buddy of mine. The storyline
intrigued me so much I decided to write a plot summary of the game.
This text has major spoilers, so you've been warned. If you have any
questions, please send all questions, corrections and other to
[email protected]

-The Origins of the Gods-

In the beginning, Chaos, an amorphous, gaping void encompassing the
entire universe, and surrounded by an unending stream of water ruled
by the god Oceanus, was the domain of a goddess named Eurynome, which
means "far-ruling" or "wide-wandering". She was the Goddess of All
Things, and desired to make order out of the Chaos. By coupling with
a huge and powerful snake, Ophion, or as some legends say, coupling
with the North Wind, she gave birth to Eros, god of Love, also known
as Protagonus, the "firstborn".

Eurynome separated the sky from the sea by dancing on the waves of
Oceanus. In this manner, she created great lands upon which she might
wander, a veritable universe, populating it with exotic creatures
such as Nymphs, Furies, and Charites as well as with countless beasts
and monsters. Also born out of Chaos were Gaia, called Earth, or
Mother Earth, and Uranus, the embodiment of the Sky and the Heavens,
as well as Tartarus, god of the sunless and terrible region beneath
Gaia, the Earth.

Gaia and Uranus married and gave birth to the Titans, a race of
formidable giants, which included a particularly wily giant named
Kronus. Gaia and Uranus warned Kronus that a son of his would one day
overpower him. Kronus therefore swallowed his numerous children by
his wife Rhea, to keep that forecast from taking place. This angered
Gaia greatly, so when the youngest son, Zeus, was born, Gaia took a
stone, wrapped it in swaddling clothes and offered it to Cronus to
swallow. This satisfied Kronus, and Gaia was able to spirit the baby
Zeus away to be raised in Crete, far from his grasping father.

In due course, Zeus grew up, came homeward, and got into immediate
conflict with the tyrant Kronus, who did not know that this newcomer
was his own son. Zeus needed his brothers and sisters help in slaying
the tyrant, and Metis, Zeus's first wife, found a way of administering
an emetic to Kronus, who then threw up his five previous children,
who were Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Together they
went to battle against their father. The results were that all of his
children, led by Zeus, defeated Kronus and condemned him to the Desert
of Lost Souls.

Thus, Zeus triumphed over not only his father, and his father's family
of Giants, he triumphed over his brothers and sisters as well, dividing
up the universe as he fancied, in short, bringing order out of Chaos.
He made himself Supreme God over all, creating a great and beautiful
place for his favored gods to live on Mount Olympus, in Thessaly. All
the others were left to fend for themselves in lands below Mount
Olympus.

Zeus made himself God of the Sky and all its phenomena, including the
clouds as well as the thunderbolts. Hestia became goddess of the
Hearth. To his brother Poseidon, he gave the rule of the Sea. Demeter
became a goddess of Fertility, Hera (before she married Zeus and
became a jealous wife), was goddess of Marriage and Childbirth, while
Hades, one of his other brothers, was made god of the Underworld.
Zeus married his sister Hera and among the offsping that they had,
two were natural rivals: Athena, goddess of wisdom and purity and
Ares, the God of War.

-The Contest of Athena and Poseidon-

Long ago in Greece, King Cecrops established a city. It was predicted
that the city would become very famous and prosperous. Many gods wanted
to become the special patrons of the city. In the end there were two
contestants left--Athena and her uncle, Poseidon, the god of the seas.
To resolve the conflict each one was supposed to give some kind of a
gift to the city, and whoever presented the greater gift would win the
contest. Poseidon made a water spring appear in the city and promised a
strong navy to the city. Athena made the olive tree. She told everyone
how olives could be used for food, for cleansing, offerings, to light
fires, and many other uses. Athena won the contest and the city was
named Athens in her honor.

-Pandora's Temple-

The three chief gods, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon appeared before an
architect named Pathos Verdes III, self-proclaimed 'loyal subject and
chief architect of the gods' (i.e. religious zealot)  and ordered him
to build a temple to house Pandora's Box, a powerful artifact with
enough power to kill a god. The massive temple itself is located on
the back of Kronos, who was ordered to carry the temple chained to
his back until he dies.

While building the temple with his two sons, the elder son dies first
and the second son follows his brother into the Elusyian Fields. With
his two sons gone, Verdes begins to lose faith in the gods. It all
comes to a head when he has a heated argument with his wife and ends
up killing her by plunging a knife through her chest. Before
committing suicide, he leaves a note explaining his actions and of how
he felt betrayed by the gods he once served.

The first of many who tried to retrieve Pandora's Box was a unknown
Greek soldier who had died within the temple. As a result of this
screwup, the gods cursed him to forever watch the temple's gates and
open them to anyone who think they can brave the temple's traps and
retreive Pandora's Box. So far, no one has succeded and the soldier
ends up throwing their dead bodies into a giant funeral pyre so they
can be recycled to be used as enemies inside the temple, earning
him the name 'The Body Burner.'

-The Origins of Kratos-

Most people don't know the origins of Kratos, but he wasn't
originally Spartan. He was born out of wedlock, a product of his
shunned mother and his father, whom he will not know of until later
on. However, his mother kept his father's identity a close secret.
Because Kratos was an illegitimate son (or in other words, a bastard
child), rumors of who Kratos' father ran rampant and became more and
more brazen. Fearing for her and Kratos' life,  Kratos and his
mother fled their village and moved to Sparta. During this time,
Kratos' mother gave birth to a second son.

For most of their childhood, Kratos and his little brother were
inseperable. However, when the Spartans came to recruit the boys
into military service, that all changed. Those that were physically
and mentally fit were sent into the Spartan military. Those that were
weaker were sent to the mountains outside Sparta to fend for
themselves. Kratos' brother, unfortunately, was part of the weaker
bunch and was sent to the mountains. He died soon afterward and was
raised in the Underworld. He now spends his time brooding over his
older brother's betrayal and plans on getting his revenge on Kratos.

Kratos grew up and became a commander in the Spartan army. He started
off with fifty men, which swelled over to over a thousand soldiers.
Fighting for the glory of Sparta, Kratos' methods were insanely brutal
and ruthless. Durning this time, he also married a Spartan woman and
fathered a daughter. Despite his reputation as a war-happy commander,
only his wife was brave enough to face his mood swings and fury. His
daughter, depite being scared of her father, loves him dearly. Also a
devoted follower of the gods, Kratos' protector is Athena, goddess
of wisdom and puitry.

-The Battle with the Barbarians-

Undefeated in battle, Kratos faces his greatest challenge. From the
east, a massive barbarian army emerges, threatening Sparta, as well as
all of Greece. Kratos and his men were sent to deal with the incoming
menace, hoping to expect a easy victory like so many before them. They
were sadly mistaken. Despite the discipline of the Spartan forces,
they were not ready for the savagery of their opponents. The Spartans
put up a good fight, but the barbarians royally own the Spartans,
slaughtering them mercilessly.

Kratos and the head barbarian face off. After several moments, Kratos
is about to get his head bashed in with a giant war hammer when in
desperation Kratos calls for assistance from Ares. Sure enough, Ares
hears Kratos' pleas and saves his life by decimating the barbarians
that were killing his men. As for Kratos, he had a special gift for
him: the Blades of Chaos. Forged in the fires of Hades itself, Kratos
receives his weapons from Ares, painfully chained to his wrists as a
reminder of his servitude to the God of War.

Back to the battle, Kratos tested out his new weapons on the chief
barbarian. After decapitating his enemy, he and his forces began
to serve Ares, carrying out his will with extreme prejudice,
slaughtering anyone and everyone who was against Ares.

-The Ghost of Sparta-

In his quest for power Kratos makes his ultimate mistake. Under
orders from Ares, Kratos and his men - emboldened by the God of
War - attack a small village whose temple was dedicated to Athena.
Kratos arrives at the temple entrance, where the village Oracle
warns him not to enter, for the price he pay will be EXTREMELY
dear. Ignoring the Oracle's pleas, Kratos shoves her aside, kicks
the door down and starts hacking down villagers left and right.

The screams of his two final victims bring Kratos out of his
bloodlust. To his horror, he discovered that he had just murdered
his wife and daughter in cold blood. Ares appears to him, telling
him that he was on his way of becoming a great warrior. With his
wife and daughter gone, nothing can stop Kratos from being Death
incarnate. Full of remorse for what he has done, Kratos cremates
his wife and daughter.

Upon exiting the burning temple, the Oracle confronts Kratos.
Because of the extremity of his crimes, Kratos is cursed to bear
the ashes of his wife and daughter onto his skin, giving him the
appearance of a ghost, and as a mark to let everyone know who he
is and what he has done. Thus, the legend of the Ghost of Sparta
was born. Because of Ares' deception, Kratos has a new goal in
life: eliminate the God of War.

-The Assault of Athens-

For the past decade, Kratos has been fighting his own demons, as
well as those in physical form, in hopes that Athena and the
other gods would forgive him of his crimes. While travelling
through the Aegean Sea, Kratos encounters legions of undead
soldiers, as well as the serpentlike Hydra amid several wrecked
ships. Poseidon lends a helping hand by giving Kratos the
powerful technique: Poseidon's Rage. After killing the Hydra
and its spawn, Kratos accquires the Captain's Key...and shoves
the Captain down into the throat of the dead Hydra.

While Kratos has his hands full with scores of undead and Hydra,
Zeus calls forth Ares and Athena, the latter warning him of her
brother's impending invasion of Athens. Although the gods can't
personally interfere, Athena and the other gods can use Kratos
on their behalf.

Resuming his travels through the Aegean Sea, Kratos is plagued
with constant nightmares of his family's slaughter at his hands.
Wine nor the company of women cannot erase the horriffic
memories from his mind. He prays to the statue of Athena who
tells him that if he succeeds in stopping Ares from wrecking her
namesake city, then the gods will forgive his past sins.

Arriving in Athens, Kratos disembarks from his ship and is
personally greeted with Ares' welcoming commitee of monsters.
He hacks his way through the city and while making his way
through the city (and seeing Ares wrecking shop with his
minions, not to mention yanking Medusa's head off to use as
a weapon, thanks to Aphrodite), he is greeted by the Oracle
of Athens. However, Harpies show up and kidnap the Oracle,
forcing Kratos to progress through the city. Here, he is given
the power by Zeus himself to use the Sumpreme God's
thunderbolts as weapons.

En route to the Oracle's Temple, Kratos encounters an old man
digging a grave in the midst of Ares' assault. For a senile
old man, the Gravedigger knows a lot about Kratos. Kratos
catches up with the Oracle at her Temple and rescues her from
becoming a red stain on the pavement. She then reveals the
item that has the power to kill a god - Pandora's Box. All
Kratos has to do is go through the Desert of Lost Souls,
summon Kronos and succeed where everyone else has failed in:
conquering the Temple of Pandora and coming out with Pandora's
Box.

-Pandora's Box-

Exiting Athens with the intent of killing Ares and saving his
sanity, Kratos travers through the Desert of Lost Souls. By
elminating three Sirens, whose irreisistable song leg unwary
men to their demise, they lead the way to Pandora's Temple.
He summons Kronos by blowing on the Horns of Pandora, who
lumbers over to him. Kratos grabs a loose piece of rops,
swings across Kronos' face and latches himself to the massive
side of the temple. It takes him three days to reach the summit.

The decomposing, zombielike Body Burner is still at work,
burning the bodies of the fallen that the Harpies bring to him.
Skeptical that Kratos can do the impossible, he gives the Spartan
a word of warning and urges him to return home. Kratos refuses
and enters the temple. He enters the temple and while making his
way through the massive structure, two more gods give Kratos their
aid: Artemis, the maiden goddess of the hunt, who bestows upon
Kratos her weapon which bears her name; and the Lord of the
Underworld itself, Hades, who gives Kratos the power to summon
the spirits of the dead to help in his battles.

Kratos then goes on to passing the three challenges to gain access
to the upper levels of the temple: The Challenge of Atlas, Poseidon,
and Hades. Once he finds his way to Zeus Mountain he faces new
traps, as well as new enemies. Despite these setbacks, Kratos hacks,
slashes and breaks his way to his ultimate goal: Pandora's Box.

Athena congratulates Kratos on doing the impossible: he is the first
human ever to retrieve Pandora's Box since its construction. However,
Ares also senses that Kratos was successful in his task. Not wanting
to see Pandora's Box used against him, Ares picks up a broken, jagged
piece of column and chucks it towards the Temple of Pandora. Kratos
is impaled by the column and he watches helplessly as several Harpies
take Pandora's Box as he dies.

-Escape from Hades-

Kratos finds himself in the Underworld, falling toward the Styx River.
He reaches out and ends up clinging onto the captain he had killed
earlier, who is clinging onto a huge bone pillar. Kratos stabs him,
pulls himself up, and knocks the captain into the blood red river.
From the bottom of the Underworld, Kratos carves a path of
destruction through Hades' minions and makes it to the highest point
of Hades' realm.

A rope with a huge stone attached to it drops from above. Not one to
ask questions, Kratos climbs the length of rope and when he reaches
the top, he finds himself back in the world of the living. The
Gravedigger, with his insane digging, has saved Kratos from an
eternity down in Hades. With a message that the gods were rooting
for Kratos, he disappears. There is a possibility that the
Gravedigger was Zeus in disguise.

While Kratos was making his way though Hades, Ares gained control
of Athens and has trashed the Oracle's temple. Kratos finds the
fallen Oracle in a pool of her own blood. She is surprised to see
Kratos alive but she says that Ares has won the battle. Kratos at
this moment could care less, since his revenge is at hand.

-Final Battle-

Kratos comes upon Ares, who is gloating to Zeus over his victory in
the Battle of Athens, as well as his bad choice in favoring Athena
over him. In one hand, dangling from a chain, is Pandora's Box.
Ares is surprised to see Kratos standing behind him. He is even
more surprised to see that he has escaped the Underworld. Ares then
mocks his father's choice of champions, assuming that Kratos was
not a threat. Once again, Ares underestimates his enemy, as
Pandora's Box is sent crashing to the ground, courtesy of a well-
aimed thunderbolt from Kratos.

Kratos opens the box and the power of the gods is unleashed on
him. He grows to Ares' height (about 50-75 feet tall) and prepares
for mortal combat. Area reminds him that all of his skills and
weapons were taught to Kratos by Ares himself. In a show of UNFAIR
sportsmanship, six spiderlike limbs emerge from his back as his
sword is at the ready.

For a coward, Ares is a formidable opponent, but Kratos' resolve
allows him to win the first round. Always not one to play fair,
Ares sucks Kratos into his subconscious.

As Kratos falls, Ares explains to him about the many ways how to kill
a man. But to Ares, the most effective way to kill a man is to break
his spirit. And for Kratos, that means he has to relive the moment he
invaded the temple and killed his family. He kicks the doors open and
his wife and child are there, alive. This time, they are surrounded by
numerous doppelgangers of himself. In a rage, Kratos vows that Ares
will never take his family a second time, that he has a chance for
some serious retribution.

Kratos charges into the array of clones, defending his family at all
turns. The temple breaks away, but he fights on, using the extreme
ruthlessness he used while as commander of his Spartan troops. After
the extraordinary feat of singlehandedly defending his family, Kratos
declares to Ares that he has taken his family once, but not a second
time, and that the price he had to pay was not worth the power he
gained.

Pissed that Kratos had given him the kiss-off, Ares takes his Blades of
Chaos from Kratos and uses them to kill his family...again. Kratos is
on his kness, lamenting the loss of his wife and child as he and Ares
are transported back to Athens. As Ares taunts Kratos and prepares to
deliver the final bow, Kratos sees the final gift given to him by the
gods: the Sword of the Gods, which was acting like a bridge. Kratos
avoids the blow, and grabs the weapon, telling Ares that he still has
allies with him.

The two enemies, one a god, the other a mortal, teacher and student,
square off. Now that he has the Blades of Chaos back in his posession,
Ares has some of Kratos' old attacks, but that didn't stop Kratos
from gaining the upper hand. Weakened by the constant assault, Ares
sees that his end is near. He reminds Kratos that he came to him in
his most desperate hour and that he was only trying to make him a
great warrior. Kratos flatly replies that Ares had succeeded, right
before running Ares through with his sword. Ares falls over and dies,
his godlike essence releasing in a massive explosion.

-The End of a Journey-

Athens has been saved and will be rebuilt. However, the nightmares
continued to plague Kratos. He pleads with Athena to take his
nightmares away. Athena says that eventhough his sins were forgiven,
they never made a deal for Kratos' nightmares to vainsh. Feeling
abandoned by the gods, Kratos makes his way up to the Suicide Bluffs
in an attempt to rid himself of his nightmares. He flings himself
off the cliff and into the waters below, hoping that his misery
would end with his death.

The gods, however had other plans for Kratos. As Kratos sank into
the water, he felt a powerful force grab him and pull him out the
waters and back onto the bluffs. There, the statue of Athena spoke
to him, saying that a man like Kratos should not die after doing
the gods a great service. Also, due to the fact that Ares was now
dead, there is an opening for the position for God of War. Athena
opens a portal to Mount Olympus, the home of the gods and tells
Kratos to enter. As a added bonus, she gives him the Blades of
Athena, the exact opposite of the Blades of Chaos.

Kratos does so and approaches the empty throne of the God of War.
Trophies from his past conquests hang on either side, one of them
happens to be Ares. Kratos takes his seat, as the new God of War
and for eternity as man goes to war with one another, they did so
under the watchful eye of Kratos, the God of War.

However, Kratos was not satisfied. He had defeated Ares and
avenged himself and his family, but there was something missing.
Ever since he was a child, he never knew who his father was.
Tracking down his mother, who was on her deathbed, Kratos demanded
to know who was his father. Knowing full well of the consequences
if she told him, she barely got a word out before she transfrormed
into a monstrous beast, intending to make her son her last meal.
Putting aside the affection he had for his mother, Kratos executes
the beast. As she laid dying she uttered only one word before
passing on.

"Zeus..."

Zeus was Kratos' father. He was the son of a god. That made Ares
and Athena his half-brother and half-sister (Christ. Can't Zeus
keep his rolling thunder in his toga for one freakin' minute?!).
Now Kratos plan on getting revenge for the god who ditched him
and his mother. (Note: You really can't blame Zeus for abandoning
them. If your wife was the queen of the gods with an insanely
jealous temper, you'd watch you back too. Just ask Apollo,
Artemis and Hercules.)

-The Fate of the Titan-

Wait a sec...I almost forgot about ol' Kronos...

Following Kratos' retrivial of Pandora's Box, the temple laid
silent as Kronos wandered the Desert of Lost Souls for another
thousand years before dying. The Legend of Pandora's Temple was
told throughout the centuries. And just recently, Pandora's
Temple - along with the huge bones of Kronos were discovered.
As the discovers will soon find out, the temple has many
secrets...as well as many traps. Also, as with the myths of
the past, soon a new hero will emerge...

-Thank You To...-

The Man Upstairs, for giving me the skills to work on my
writing

My best bud, for letting me borrow his game

Sony, for making a kickass game up to par with Devil May Cry 3

Last...ME!

Thanks for reading this faq.

Keep on gaming,

The Headcrook

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