| God of War: Betrayal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developers | |
| Publisher | Sony Pictures Digital |
| Director | Philip Cohen |
| Producer | Philip Cohen |
| Designers | Philip Cohen Nathan Leland Alan Barasch[3] |
| Writer | Marianne Krawczyk |
| Series | God of War |
| Platform | Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) |
| Release | June 20, 2007[1][2] |
| Genres | |
| Mode | Single-player |
God of War: Betrayal is a 2007action-adventure mobile game developed byJavaground andSony Online Entertainment's (SOE) Los Angeles division, and published bySony Pictures Digital. Released formobile phones supporting theJava Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) on June 20, 2007, it is the third installment in theGod of War series, and the sixth chronologically. Loosely based onGreek mythology,Betrayal is set inancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonistKratos, who became the new God of War after killing the former,Ares. Kratos is framed for the murder ofArgos and pursues the true assassin across Greece, resulting in a confrontation withOlympian messengerCeryx.
Betrayal is the only installment in the series to originally be released on a non-PlayStation platform and the first to be presented as atwo-dimensional (2D)side-scrolling game. Despite the limitations of the mobile platform, in comparison to itshome console counterparts, it retains the action-oriented approach of its predecessors, with the same combination ofcombo-based combat,platforming, andpuzzle game elements. AlthoughGod of War is primarily a home console series,Betrayal was praised for its fidelity to the series in terms of gameplay, art style, and graphics: "the real deal third game in the killer franchise".[4] It received awards for "Wireless Game of the Month" (June 2007) and "Best Platform Game" (wireless) of 2007.
God of War: Betrayal is atwo-dimensionalside-scrolling game. It retains the action-oriented approach of its predecessors, with the player controlling the character Kratos in the same combination ofcombat,platforming, andpuzzle game elements. Platforming elements include jumping across chasms, climbing ladders, and swinging on ropes. Some puzzles require Kratos to move a box on top of a switch (thus activating it), or moving a box to use it as a jumping-off point to reach a pathway unreachable with normal jumping.[4] Game length is approximately two to four hours,[5] and it consists of ten levels.[6]
Kratos retains his main weapon of the previous installments, the Blades of Athena: a pair ofblades attached tochains that are wrapped around the character's wrists and forearms. In gameplay, the blades can be swung offensively in various maneuvers. Kratos utilizes themagical abilitiesMedusa's Gaze and Army ofHades acquired in the originalGod of War, as well as the secondary weapon, the Blade ofArtemis, with each offering alternative combat options, giving him a variety of ways to attack and kill enemies (e.g., Medusa's Gaze briefly turns enemies to stone).[5] Foes encountered inBetrayal primarily stem fromGreek mythology, including Gorgons,minotaurs, andcerberuses, as well as those created for the game, such as the humanoid minions of the god Hades, including dead riders and undead legionnaires.[6] In addition to the main gameplay,Betrayal includes a bonus "Arena Mode" where players must kill a certain number of enemies without dying before gaining access to the Arena's upper levels.[7]
As with the previous games in theGod of War franchise,God of War: Betrayal is set in an alternate version ofancient Greece, populated by theOlympian gods and other beings of Greek mythology. Events are set between those of the gamesGhost of Sparta (2010) andGod of War II (2007). The protagonist isKratos, a former Captain ofSparta's army who became the new God of War after killing his predecessor,Ares. Other characters includeArgos, the giant pet of the goddessHera; an unknown assassin; and the Olympian messengerCeryx, the son ofHermes and main antagonist.Zeus, the King of the Gods, is anunseen character.
Kratos is leading the Spartan army in a rampage across Greece. During the campaign, he is attacked by a number of beasts led by Argos, who was sent by the gods to stop Kratos. After a series of skirmishes, Argos is killed by an unknown assassin, who frames Kratos in an attempt to turn the gods against him. The Spartan pursues his foe across Greece to discover the identity of the assassin, but is slowed by constant attacks from the minions of Hades, the God of the Underworld. Zeus sends Ceryx to deliver a message to Kratos: stop the relentless pursuit and take heed of the destruction already caused. Kratos, however, battles and kills Ceryx, which inadvertently allows the assassin to escape. Kratos then realizes his actions have further alienated the gods, and Zeus will soon act in response to his defiance.
God of War: Betrayal was announced bySony Online Entertainment at a press conference inLos Angeles, California in May 2007. The game utilizes a total of 110 different animations and features a 2D rendition of the series'three dimensional (3D) graphics.[5][8] The character art and animation were done byWayForward Technologies, who were contracted byJavaground, who then revised and implemented it all. The only audio components are an orchestral score in the main menu and background sounds (e.g., clashing weapons).[9]
Phil Cohen, the producer, designer, and game director forBetrayal, said that although developing the game was enjoyable, the greatest challenge was creating a single tileset and palette swapping scheme that was diverse enough to portray multiple environments with only several hundredkilobytes, and that met series creatorSanta Monica Studio's high standards.[10] He wrote the initial design document between September and October 2005, and revisited it in August 2006, the month development started. The versions for high-end handsets were completed in April 2007, with final versions for low-end handsets completed by June 2007. Theporting team adapted the game to over 200 handsets in a matter of weeks.[10]
Cohen stated that one challenge was capturing the feel ofGod of War's visual look and gameplay design, given the limited processing power and memory on most handsets at the time—complicating puzzle design, traps, environment interaction, and enemy behavior. He noted that bothDavid Jaffe andCory Barlog (game directors ofGod of War andGod of War II, respectively) ensured theBetrayal development team captured the feel of the combat and visual style, and were "helpful with feedback and positive support". The team also worked closely with Eric Williams, the console game's lead combat designer. In keeping the "look and feel" true to the franchise, theBetrayal development team played the originalGod of War extensively to study its pacing and tricks.[10] The development team also worked closely withMarianne Krawczyk, the writer of the Greek-basedGod of War console games. Krawczyk usedBetrayal to bridge the events betweenGod of War andGod of War II, include additional backstory, and to explain why the relationship between the gods and Kratos had changed.[10]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| GamesRadar+ |   [11] |
| IGN | 9.0/10[4] |
| Blogcritics | [12] |
| Pocket Gamer | 8/10[13] |
| Modojo | [14] |
Betrayal received mixed-to-positive reception, including praise for its fidelity to the series in terms of gameplay, art style, and graphics. Levi Buchanan ofIGN called it "the real deal third game in the killer franchise".[4] Similarly, Matt Paprocki ofBlogcritics wrote, "Betrayal [was] a full-fledged extension of theGod of War franchise, and it [earned] its title". He said it was "one of the best mobile games you’ll ever play", also praising its relevancy for the mobile games format at the time.[12] In regards to violence, Chris Antista ofGamesRadar stated that it was "quite possibly the goriest thing your mobile's ever seen".[11] Although not a "revolutionary experience",Pocket Gamer's Will Freeman said "it [was] a thoroughly impressive, utterly solid release that mobile platform fans [would] relish".[13]Modojo's Justin Davis said that whileBetrayal was compelling enough to play all the way to the end, "[it did not] feel like I was having fun".[14]
The context-sensitive attacks received praise and criticism. Antista claimed that fans would be thankful for the addition of the contextual attacks, but criticized the control limitations as the sensitivity of the cursor button could result in a failed combo, and the jump button would automatically send the player forward in the direction they were facing.[11] Buchanan noted that the contextual attacks could be "frustratingly tricky" due to the limited input time, especially considering the small size of most handsets at the time.[4]
Commenting on the combat, Paprocki said that despite the simplified combo system, the developers "managed to infuse the sheer brutality and forceGod of War [was] known for within the confines of the [mobile] platform". Because of the simplified system, situations that called for Kratos' magical abilities were rare. However, if players chose to use these abilities, selecting them was a "burden in the haste of a battle", requiring players to cycle through their entire inventory. Paprocki also criticized the lack of anautosave feature, as progress was not automatically saved in the event of receiving a phone call, which could cause "unbearable frustration".[12] Freeman said that the combination of the weapons andquick time events made the combat "a convincing interpretation of the action in the original console games".[13] Davis said that although there were puzzle and platforming elements, the focus was "clearly on the combat" and felt that the combat system was "a little shallow". He said it seemed as if the abundance of enemies "[existed] solely to act as punching (or slicing, as it were) bags for Kratos".[14]
IGN namedBetrayal "Wireless Game of the Month" for June 2007.[15] In their Best of 2007 – Wireless Awards, they named it the "Best Platform Game".[16]
HELP Menu:Arena Mode
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