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Classic God of War Clones

 

The release of the original God of War back in 2005 has been met with universal praise and went to be a commercial success along with receiving several awards. Of course, this success resulted in the emergence of a myriad of titles that tried to capitalize on that success.

Before we dive into the list of classic God of War clones, one thing everyone should know is that God of War took plenty of inspiration from several titles such as Tecmo’s Rygar, Conan the Barbarian, Onimusha, Devil May Cry, Prince of Persia, and more. The developers borrowed and enhanced those ideas to deliver what they deemed “ an epic game “.

Conan (2007)


Released by THQ and developed by nStigate Games, Conan is the result of what happens when you try to mimic a successful game such as God of War. Aficionados will just end up hammering your title as nothing but a dull clone, and as a result, the game goes on to become an obscure title that only a few people will play.

Still, Conan is far from a bad game. It’s actually a great title that hack and slash fans will surely enjoy. You take on the role of the legendary Barbarian warrior, Conan on his quest to retrieve his lost armor from the evil wizard. His journey won’t be a walk in the park as it’s filled with deadly creatures ready to slice Conan to pieces.

Unfortunately, Conan didn’t perform well when it came to sales. Additionally, critics tore it to pieces by labeling it as nothing but a God of War clone begging to be recognized.

Ghost Rider (Video Game)

Ghost Rider is considered an obscure title these days, and it’s a shame because the aforementioned isn’t a bad title, but it tends to get repetitive towards the end of the game.

The storyline is based on the movie but also includes elements from the original comic. You play as Ghost Rider on his quest by orders from Mephisto to prevent the demons and their rampaging from triggering an apocalypse.

Ghost Rider features on the ground level that sees you hacking and slashing your way through demons. Or, ride your motorcycle throughout the level. This fine addition helps Ghost Rider escape the clone label, even if it’s just temporary.

Hellboy: The Science of Evil


Hellboy: The Science of Evil on both the PSP and the PlayStation 3 are one of the worst titles I have ever played, and one of the crappiest clones I have ever seen as well. The latter is nothing but a button-mashing feast that’ll suck the blood out of your fingers. In short, Hellboy: The Science of Evil is a mediocre title.

The overall story is based on the 2004 Hellboy film by Guillermo Del Toro and it sees you taking control of the red man as he is on a mission to stop a wicked plot for world domination by the unhinged Hermann Von Klempt.

Dante’s Inferno

Visceral Games was always a fascinating developer to me. But before they were given that name, Visceral was formerly known as EA Redwood Shores. However, their work would shine with the release of Dead Space and Dante’s Inferno.

Dante’s Inferno took almost everything from Santa Monica’s God of War but added a unique touch. Dante plunges into the 9 circles of hell, battling deadly creatures, witnessing the anguish of the damned souls, and gazing at the frightful atmosphere of hell. If there’s anything that Dante’s Inferno did better than God of War, it has to be the meticulous depiction of hell.

The developers, while borrowing influence mostly from GOW, succeed at delivering the best depiction of hell so far. Not only that but also giving you the chance to either free the damned souls from their anguish or execute them for their sins. 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Yet another clone, they just keep coming and coming, eh? Still, when comparing this to the Thor video game, the former is much better.

As you would expect from a tie-in movie-based game, the story follows Wolverine on his quest for revenge against those who have betrayed him, Stryker and Logan’s Brother, Creed. However, the epilogue kind of makes you wish the game would have got a continuation or better yet, a DLC.

Despite being compared to God of War as a clone, X-Men Origins features some great gameplay mechanics. For instance, the ability to lunge toward enemies and helicopters is just badass. Instead, of walking directly toward an enemy, you can just do that. In addition, Wolverine can perform multiple combos and finishing moves that make the game less boring.

Garshasp: The Monster Slayer

Grashasp is an obscure title that was made by an Iranian developer by the name of Fanafzar Sharif Co. and Dead Mage Inc. The game may have fallen into the curse mimicking the success of God of War, but for an independent indie developer, that was an ambitious endeavor.

Grashasp The Monster Slayer and Temple of the Dragon are both based on the adventures of the mythological Persian monster-slayer Garshasp. The game puts heavy emphasis on combat using large weapons and heavy combo moves. Platforming and puzzle solving also play a role in the gameplay style.

Still, Grashasp is not a mind-blowing game. If you like to hunt down obscure titles, then give it a go, I’m sure you’ll like it.

Beowulf: The Game

I remember growing up with the movie, but the moment I learned of the existence of a game based on the movie, I thought I’d give it a try. Boy, I was in for a surprise.

I can’t say much about this game as I haven’t finished it myself. But from what I played, the game does the movie its justice. When compared to other clones like Conan, the controls on Beowulf are superior in my opinion. Die-hard fans of the genre will definitely like this one. Sure, it gets a bit repetitive towards the end with button mashing and the quick time events, but at the end of the day Beowulf: The Game is a title that I’ll see myself going back to anytime soon just so I can give it my full judgment.

Tehra: Dark Warrior

 

The PlayStation Portable is home to an array of undiscovered obscure titles.Tehra: Dark Warrior is one obscure title that you won’t see many talk about these days. Visually speaking, it’s understandable that the game may not succeed at attracting gamers as prominent titles like God of War: Ghost of Sparta did.

Tehra: Dark Warrior is a linear hack and slash that casts you in the role of a half-human, half-demon warrior known as Tehra as she fights evil forces during a conflict between several kingdoms. Our warrior has plenty of combos under her sleeve and plenty of enemies to try them out on.

Hero of Sparta

Hero of Sparta is an obvious mobile phone God of War clone and the fun fact? It doesn’t even try to hide it. Upon its release, every journalist compared it to Santa Monica’s title, even calling it a shameless rip-off. The game received a sequel 2 years after the initial release of the original but that didn’t add anything new to the table.

Unfortunately, you can no longer get these games from any digital store including iOS, and Android. Your only gateway to experience this clone is through downloading an APK file.

Clash of the Titans (Video Game)

Developed by the now-defunct Game Republic and published by Bandai Namco Games back in 2010 for the Xbox 360 and PS3, I tend to see Clash of the Titans as a wasted potential for a tie-in-based movie game.

The gameplay was definitely solid, although frustrating at times, but since Game Republic has made great titles such as the underappreciated Genji franchise, I thought they’d iron out their games and learn from their mistakes, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case with Clash of the Titans. Still, if you’re on the hunt for some clones, Clash of the Titans isn’t bad, it just goes down to what are your expectations. If they’re high, don’t bother. If they’re low, go for it.

Thor: God of Thunder

The God of War gameplay formula was a curse to many. A curse that many embarrassed, thinking that their game would end up selling millions, but sadly there was another side of the coin here, failure.

Thor: God of Thunder is on the list with Hellboy: The Science of Evil for being one of the worst tie-in movie-based games I have ever played. The controls feel robotic, combat can feel relentless with the amount of button mashing all the time. The lack of a lock-on is also a turn-off for those who want to perform meticulous combos. I can go on and on but I’ll leave it at that.

Comments

  1. Conan 2007 lost forever because it was not a great success. That's why I do not like exclusive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Another very notable GOW clone would be The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon.

    ReplyDelete

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