I got this game for Christmas and can't wait to play it.

Do all your upgrades carry over for a new game? And I'd probably have to play on easy to even have a chance to make it under 5...

Picked this up on the 26th. Very fun game. So far I'm probably about 75-80% through GOW 1. Having never played either on the PS2, the graphics really hold up quite nicely with the PS3 enhancements. There are a few moments thus far that have frustrated the hell out of me (including dying so many times I was offered easy mode which I accepted) but I'm really enjoying it so far. For 40 bucks seems like a win win. While I'm sure it looks noticeably better on the PS3 I still find myself saying "wow the PS2 was capable of something like this" during some of the more graphically impressive moments.

For those that like this game, consider picking up X-Men Origins Wolverine... it's basically the same type of game, and it's pretty damned good.

Having finally played GoW for the first time, I can say I enjoyed Wolverine a lot more.

Not that I didn't have fun with this game, of course.

I'm probably about where you are. I'm in the middle of the Cliffs of Madness. I am also impressed with the graphics especially the character model of Kratos. The water effects blew me away. They look almost as good as current gen stuff. And this was PS2??

I certainly wasn't expecting a lot of puzzle solving, and the game is unforgiving in some parts where you have to time an escape or jump to the second. I thought I would never get past the balance beams with the spinning blades in Hades.

Some more complaints:

* When you die repeatedly on a puzzle section, you get prompted to drop to easy mode -- but that only effects combat so it's like a slap in the face.
* Regardless of which difficulty you're on, the game will only drop you down to easy if you're having problems. It won't simply drop you one level down.

Still, these games were a lot of fun, and prompted me to pre-order GOW3.

I was having lots of problems with that, but once I realized you could still jump while in the balance beam mode it was simple for me. I was getting pissed about the Poseidon part where you have to swim quickly to avoid being crushed by that moving wall. Sort of reminds me why I stopped playing platform games, frustrating jumps/obstacles etc. Still enjoying the game quite a bit though. I just got to the Cliffs of Madness part as well so hopefully nothing too annoying left.

^^ It took me a while to master the sprint on that underwater part. I easily did that one 10-12 times.

Not to let you down, but the most frustrating part of the game is yet to come...

It took me about 50 times to get past it the first time round.

To save you some of your sanity, the Hades pillars aren't too bad if you realize that you can hit the wall and it won't knock you off, just have to worry about the spikes. You'll know what I'm talking about, shudder...

Fuck you, spikes.

Stunningly, I did the first Hades column on my first try (and therefore got the trophy). The 2nd one took me probably 30-40 tries. Hades as a whole wasn't actually as bad as I remembered when playing it the first time.

Same thing here, I got the trophy (though it wasn't my first time the trophy is for doing it without taking damage which it seems to me is the only way to do it since you fall if you take damage) and then on about the 6th time I was at the VERY top of the second column and fell. I tried like 20 more times and couldn't even come close. I was SO frustrated I had to turn off the game. I just hope to god I don't have to do the first one again when I resume playing again. Whoever thought up this part should be beaten SEVERELY

Just so I know what I'm getting into when I presumably finish this game, is GOW2 as maddeningly frustrating at times as this one is?

Yeah, I don't know how you can do it AND take damage. If you even lightly brush against those spikes with one pixel you go plummeting all the way down.

I was pumping my fist when I finally got to the top of that column. "The nightmare is over!" Then I walked 30 feet and there was the second one.

GOW2 is slightly more forgiving in the puzzle area, but tougher in combat. There's a lot more bosses.

I think the way it works is you don't get the trophy if you get hit, causing you to fall to the bottom, then go all the way up. You have to make it without getting hit even once. You can restart from a checkpoint though and still get the trophy (at least according to a trophy guide I looked at). Unless it's glitched or something, and giving it out no matter what once you reach the top, who knows.

Agreed on GOW2, I remember it being slightly less frustrating overall, but there are more boss fights. There's really only three in GOW1.

It's been posted before, but I'm not sure if it has in this thread. One of the few Penny Arcade comics I've enjoyed.

Having only experienced GoW in Chains of Olympus, I've been having a blast with this. I just made it through 1 on normal difficulty, and it was a workout. Even though there is so much that was frustrating (O button smashing, Hades level, and finale), it kept me sucked in. Stunning graphics, too, minus the cutscenes.

Finished GOW1 last night. Amazing game. I usually don't care about the game's storyline, but this one really sucked me in.

By far, the worst part for me was the moving platforms in Hades. Spiked columns were not that hard, but I hated that I was forced to repeat a climb if I got knocked off the top.

I was surprised that the end boss battles were not that difficult.

Then 2 will leave you frothing.

I started II last night. The cutscenes are certainly less jarring for the sequel.

The controls changed between the two. Maybe not a big deal if you played them when they first game out, but annoying going straight from the first to the second.

I noticed the same thing. I played for an hour or two and was still instinctively hitting R2 at every door and chest. The one thing this needed less of was O smashing, so I'm sad to see that that's the door mechanic now too.

Other than that, 2 has been pretty intense and awesome. I now get that the PA strip above was not an exaggeration.

I noticed that the controls for III match II almost exactly, which is great. One nice addition is that the key smashing in the new game will align itself on the screen based on where the button is on your controller. Good for 360 gamers who only play the PS3 every now and then.

Yeah, I liked that in the demo as well. I ALWAYS screw up the X button.