For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Bible search results. Numbers 22:10.
About midway through, Kratos and his son Atreus sit in a canoe in the middle of a lake, listening intently to a disembodied head recount the tawdry and tragic dramas of the Norse gods. The head dishes with the gusto of a gossip columnist and the smoothness of a public radio host. Kratos and son show the orator respect, only interrupting with the occasional question for clarification.
That this serene moment doesn’t ring false, let alone veer into tedium, speaks to the tremendous heavy lifting done by the creators of God of War to shift the tone, the style and the expectations of one of the most beloved but also most violent and debaucherous franchises in modern games.Last we saw Kratos, he still enjoyed getting hammered on a bottle of red, participating in a well-lit orgy and slaying Greek gods in ways that a teenager might storyboard onto the back of a ruled notebook. He and his franchise thrived on adrenaline, any inner turmoil serving as a springboard for ultraviolence, rather than an emotional well to be drawn from.
Times change, and the new God of War, part sequel (the story continues from where it left off) and part reboot (the adventure is slower and the characterization more thoughtful), has more heroic ambitions for the notorious antihero. Is our way of endorsing our favorite games. When we award a game the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the title is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive or fun — and worth fitting into your schedule. If you want to see the very best of the best for your platform(s) of choice, check out.Kratos is a parent now, older, calmer and from what I can tell, into the tiny home fad.
He’s taken part in an ancient form of witness protection by moving north and living in a modest cabin in the forests of the Norse realm of Midgard. Kratos is, however, no less a magnet for domestic tragedy. His second wife, the mother to his son Atreus, has just died and been cremated. And so, this particular adventure, at the outset at least, has Kratos and his tween on a quest to fulfill her final wish: that her ashes be carried to the highest peak in the realm.(Yes, the game kicks off with a spin on the “,” but mercifully, things become more complicated as the story unpacks itself.).
The gods and the past get in the way of good intentions, and rather quickly, Kratos and his son find themselves vivisecting undead soldiers, elves, trolls, ancients, and a number of other mythological creatures with silly names and even siller characteristics (e.g., the tatzelwurm, a poison-spitting, tunnel-burrowing walrus-tiger hybrid). Thank goodness. For all the changes to tone and ethos, this is still a God of War game, and you can feel that in the joy of the combat. Kratos doesn’t punch; he pulverizes. He moves like a boxer, shoulders set, legs grapevining back and forth. The way his ax zips into an enemy’s skull, then back to his hand, is so smooth and natural that it’s easy to overlook how challenging it must have been to animate such a thing.
(Fortunately, animation director Kristjan Zadziuk explains in this YouTube video.). In the early hours, God of War feels, if not like a follow-up to the original game, then a creative revamping. As the 2005 took the individual great combat ideas from its time and blended them together, so does the new God of War for a new era. But the game doesn’t set into any style for too long.
Without warning, the linear adventure, focused on fights and dramatic showdowns, bursts wide open, and the preset paths of past entries give way to a new, grand hub, its spokes taking the crew far beyond Midgard.The main objective must be attended to, sure, but not now, not necessarily. Kratos’ goal has weight, but the world isn’t literally rotating around his every decision —.
This relaxed pace frees you to explore, and it frees Kratos to focus more on parenting than on saving the planet. On more than one occasion, he threatens a bratty Atreus that he will turn this canoe around and head straight back home, and it feels like he might actually do it. Last we saw Kratos, he still enjoyed getting hammered on a bottle of redIn this way, the game has less in common with Homer’s epic Odyssey than with last year’s memoir, which serves as a rich, therapeutic and exploratory look at the author’s relationship with his father through the lens of the classical text. And like that book, God of War does it with wit and grace.
The dialogue doesn’t put on a faux-Shakespearean haughtiness. Atreus talks like a kid, sweet and also selfish. And Kratos acts, in turn, like a father who has no clue how to be a parent, and yet feels a profound need to protect this boy from the world and his own bloodline. God of War is awesome at times, in the true sense of the word, but its heart lives in the small ways this man and this boy are building and unbuilding their relationship.
SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment via PolygonAll of which is to say that the game is relaxed to the point of bordering on indifferent. Many of God of War’s most interesting surprises are optional, branching from the game’s sturdy throughline: secret rooms giving way to hidden caverns winding to towering statues or belligerent dragons — which I would have missed altogether had I just followed my compass to the next objective. You don’t find collectibles; you find entire chunks of story tucked behind a mossy wall or under a tropical island.
God of War, like last year’s and, rewards the player who inspects its immaculately designed world as if it were a hidden object game. This is still a God of War game, and you can feel that in the joy of the combatAlso optional are the spoken tales I mentioned earlier, the ones told by the disembodied head. Whenever you step from the canoe onto dry land, the head hushes up, and like a courteous tour guide, promises to eventually pick up his yarns where he left off. I got the most enjoyment from letting him finish, though.
This applies to everybody Kratos meets during the journey. I encourage you to hang in the water. Lounge around the shops. Don’t rush into battle when characters are speaking to you. Set down the controller, take in the scenery and listen to what they have to say.By journey’s end, of course, the fate of the world is at play — baby, bathwater — at which point God of War is thoroughly spiced with the gristle of Game of Thrones. Ice zombies, a skeuomorphic tabletop map, some occasionally stilted dialogue about the history of powerful family legacies that had hitherto been mentioned only in passing. The game’s one glaring weakness is this occasional mimicry of the iconography established by George R.R.
Martin and his fantasy forebears. The art design excels when it tries something different, such as the buglike dark elves and ghastly white elves, neither of which look like elvish cliches. The rare riff on other fantasy epics would be more bothersome if the game didn’t so confidently hold its own alongside its contemporaries when it comes to sheer scale. I’m hesitant to call the biggest moments in God of War setpieces, since they don’t operate in the fashion setpieces normally would. Some involve heavily choreographed fights and gargantuan explosions.
Others, however, make Kratos a diminutive object in the frame, like when he’s dwarfed by a sea serpent that, coiled, must be the size of a small city. One of the most memorable moments has Kratos (with the player maintaining control) parting a lake, creating long chasms of waterfalls that extend into the horizon. No blood or guts, just beauty.
Set down the controller and listen to what the characters have to sayThese visuals don’t boil down to glorified matte paintings. Unlike in other action games, where spectacle happens around the hero while they fight inside a controlled arena, Kratos and Atreus step into these dense backgrounds. That massive lane in the lake becomes a pathway to an elven kingdom, filled with fights and puzzles. The giant serpent rests languidly around the world’s central hub. And the camera never cuts away.
There are no load screens. From the opening frame, through the credits and beyond, the camera lingers behind Kratos, the story proceeding in real time.The unedited is a bit stress-inducing, at least at first, like watching a movie and not being allowed to blink. But as the game established its more chill pace, I appreciated the refusal to cut away from Kratos and company. I felt more like a participant in the world, rather than someone watching the adventure from outside it. SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive EntertainmentAs a technical achievement, the single shot is mind-bending, a never-ending “how did they pull this off?” Open-world sequences seamlessly transition into cinematic showdowns into lengthy trips in the canoe — without a stutter. Because the game can’t cut away, or skip ahead in time or space, you must follow Kratos on every step from one location to the next. As a result of the decision, the world is big and condensed all at the same time.
There’s a lot to see, but God of War’s designers have been creative in how they minimize backtracking. Generally, you can see where you’re going or where you came from, as paths through castles and cliffsides have you doubling back, creating shortcuts or secret passages back to the main route.
(You eventually gain access to a tool that makes travel simpler and faster, all without breaking the game’s single long camera take. The single camera take is a technical marvelIt sounds Dark Souls-ish because it is Dark Souls-ish.
That comparison extends to the combat, which — especially in the extremely difficult postgame content — does a good (if imperfect) impression of everybody’s favorite masocore series. Borrowed inspiration isn’t limited to the Souls franchise. Fights involve an unusual but effective hodgepodge of genres: Ax melee attacks handle like an old-fashioned beat-’em-up; ax throws work like a sniper rifle, the weapon returning to Kratos with the tap of a button; Atreus (whom you can command to fire arrows) behaves almost like an RPG party member, flanking large enemies and stunning packs into position for attacks.In fact, God of War takes a good deal from role-playing games. Gear can be purchased or found, then upgraded or modified, to increase Kratos’ status, which is displayed on the pause screen like a tabletop character sheet. The ax, the shield and the bow have upgrade trees. Kratos’ fanciest attacks are called runics, and you assign one light and one heavy runic attack at a time. Runic attacks replace complex combos, and are performed with a simple tap of the shoulder buttons.
No pressure to master reflexes and motor skills. Instead, precious brain juice can be spent on strategy: Does a zone call for attacks that stun large groups of enemies, setting up a sequence of brutal takedowns, or does a big boss warrant narrow but powerful damage-dealing blows? Tough battles are made easy when treated like puzzles to be solved with the right combat approach. SIE Santa Monica Studio/Sony Interactive EntertainmentNone of this is explicitly clarified by the game, nor does it need to be. You won’t see tutorials, just small reminders of which button corresponds to which move. God of War embraces a certain degree of ambiguity, freeing the player to discover their own methods, and tackle the journey how they see fit. Same goes for the story.
Kratos and Atreus’ quest takes them in and out of the dramas of other people and kingdoms, and their involvement isn’t clearly rationalized as good or bad. Early in the game, Kratos tells Atreus a tale of sailors who drank seawater and believed they heard the call of their families, the voices both pleasing them and driving them mad. It’s a brief moment, but it subtly establishes a distrust of one’s perception that’s reflected and refracted by the central storyline. God of War borrows from the best, then blends the ingredients into something newThis ambiguity works because it’s intentional, not a byproduct of poor storytelling. Even small details pay off.
Brief anecdotes parallel core themes. Seemingly inconsequential decisions have major repercussions. Like the game’s world, the story folds in on itself, inviting you to re-examine where you’ve been and reconsider where you’re going. There’s a musicality to the structure: The central hub that Kratos and Atreus visit between adventures acts like a chorus, with each spoke of their journey its own verse. Atreus and other characters gently guide the player toward priorities, though they just as often mention a bundle of side quests that are just as worthy of your time. Simple chatter usually has a purpose, either moving the story forward, or nudging you, wittingly or unwittingly, in a new direction.I’ll skip spoilers and specifics, but even core mechanical design choices, things that seem gamey and intangible, are given narrative purpose by the end. God of War is, in a single word, holistic.
Every aspect is excellent on its own, but more importantly, it all serves and accentuates the larger vision.A decade ago, director Cory Barlog helped establish the God of War franchise as an iconic gory and debaucherous video game romp. While its antihero, Kratos, had pathos (he killed his wife and daughter in a fit of rage, his skin forever grayed by their ashes), it served little dramatic purpose, rather existing as a grimdark excuse for his god-slaying and orgy-having ways. Barlog — now older, a father — has returned to the series with a small army of talented designers, many of whom served on the earlier games, to make good on that rich but neglected potential at the francises’ core. There’s still plenty of gore, but now the guts have meatiness. Some die-hard fans may fear this isn’t really God of War. I suppose they’re right.
It’s even better. 10 out of 10. Platform PS4.
Publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment. Release Date Apr 20, 2018. PS4 Score 10. Developer SIE Santa Monica StudioGod of War was reviewed using a final “retail” PlayStation 4 download code provided by Sony. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy.
The game was played on a PS4 Pro on Performance mode. For PS4 Pro users, God of War offers a display mode with 4K resolution, but it had in our tests.
The game was also tested by the Polygon team on a standard PS4 and exhibited no major performance issues. Screenshots were captured on both PS4 Pro and standard PS4 in 1080p resolution.
Earliest attestation of the Germanic word in the 6th-century Codex Argenteus (Mt 5:34)
Part of a series on | |||
God | |||
---|---|---|---|
| |||
| |||
|
The English word god continues the Old Englishgod (guþ, gudis in Gothic, guð in Old Norse, god in Frisian and Dutch, and Gott in modern German), which is derived from Proto-Germanic*ǥuđán.
Etymology[edit]
The Proto-Germanic meaning of *ǥuđán and its etymology is uncertain. It is generally agreed that it derives from a Proto-Indo-European neuter passive perfect participle*ǵʰu-tó-m. This is similar to Persian word for God, Khudan. This form within (late) Proto-Indo-European itself was possibly ambiguous, and thought to derive from a root *ǵʰeu̯- 'to pour, libate' (the idea survives in the Dutch word, 'Giet', meaning, to pour) (Sanskrithuta, see hotṛ), or from a root *ǵʰau̯- (*ǵʰeu̯h2-) 'to call, to invoke' (Sanskrit hūta). Sanskrit hutá = 'having been sacrificed', from the verb root hu = 'sacrifice', but a slight shift in translation gives the meaning 'one to whom sacrifices are made.'
Depending on which possibility is preferred, the pre-Christian meaning of the Germanic term may either have been (in the 'pouring' case) 'libation' or 'that which is libated upon, idol' — or, as Watkins[1] opines in the light of Greekχυτη γαια 'poured earth' meaning 'tumulus', 'the Germanic form may have referred in the first instance to the spirit immanent in a burial mound' — or (in the 'invoke' case) 'invocation, prayer' (compare the meanings of Sanskrit brahman) or 'that which is invoked'.
Gaut[edit]
A significant number of scholars have connected this root with the names of three related Germanic tribes: the Geats, the Goths and the Gutar. These names may be derived from an eponymous chieftain Gaut, who was subsequently deified.[citation needed] He also sometimes appears in early Medieval sagas as a name of Odin or one of his descendants, a former king of the Geats (Gaut(i)), an ancestor of the Gutar (Guti), of the Goths (Gothus) and of the royal line of Wessex (Geats) and as a previous hero of the Goths (Gapt).
Wōdanaz[edit]
Some variant forms of the name Odin such as the LombardicGodan may point in the direction that the Lombardic form actually comes from Proto-Germanic*ǥuđánaz. Wōdanaz or Wōđinaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of a god of Germanic paganism, known as Odin in Norse mythology, Wōden in Old English, Wodan or Wotan in Old High German and Godan in the Lombardic language. Godan was shortened to God over time and was adopted/retained by the Germanic peoples of the British isles as the name of their deity, in lieu of the Latin word Deus used by the Latin speaking Christian church, after conversion to Christianity.
During the complex christianization of the Germanic tribes of Europe, there were many linguistic influences upon the Christian missionaries. One example post downfall of the western Roman Empire are the missionaries from Rome led by Augustine of Canterbury. Augustine's mission to the Saxons in southern Britain was conducted at a time when the city of Rome was a part of a Lombardic kingdom. The translated Bibles which they brought on their mission were greatly influenced by the Germanic tribes they were in contact with, chief among them being the Lombards and Franks. The translation for the word deus of the Latin Bible was influenced by the then current usage by the tribes for their highest deity, namely Wodan by Angles, Saxons, and Franks of north-central and western Europe, and Godan by the Lombards of south-central Europe around Rome. There are many instances where the name Godan and Wodan are contracted to God and Wod.[2] One instance is the wild hunt (a.k.a. Wodan's wild hunt) where Wod is used.[3][4]
The earliest uses of the word God in Germanic writing is often cited to be in the Gothic Bible or Wulfila Bible, which is the Christian Bible as translated by Ulfilas into the Gothic language spoken by the Eastern Germanic, or Gothic, tribes. The oldest parts of the Gothic Bible, contained in the Codex Argenteus, is estimated to be from the fourth century. During the fourth century, the Goths were converted to Christianity, largely through the efforts of Bishop Ulfilas, who translated the Bible into the Gothic language in Nicopolis ad Istrum in today's northern Bulgaria. The words guda and guþ were used for God in the Gothic Bible.
Translations[edit]
The word God was used to represent GreekTheos and LatinDeus in Bible translations, first in the Gothic translation of the New Testament by Ulfilas. For the etymology of deus, see *dyēus.
Greek 'θεός ' (theos) means god in English. It is often connected with Greek 'θέω' (theō), 'run',[5][6] and 'θεωρέω' (theoreō), 'to look at, to see, to observe',[7][8] Latin feriae 'holidays', fanum 'temple', and also Armenian di-k` 'gods'. Alternative suggestions (e.g. by De Saussure) connect *dhu̯es- 'smoke, spirit', attested in Baltic and Germanic words for 'spook' and ultimately cognate with Latin fumus 'smoke.' The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greekte-o[9] (plural te-o-i[10]), written in Linear B syllabic script.
Capitalization[edit]
KJV of 1611 (Psalms 23:1,2): Occurrence of 'LORD' (and 'God' in the heading)
The development of English orthography was dominated by Christian texts. Capitalized, 'God' was first used to refer to the Judeo-Christian concept and may now signify any monotheistic conception of God, including the translations of the ArabicAllāh, PersianKhuda, Indic Ishvara and the MaasaiNgai.
In the English language, capitalization is used for names by which a god is known, including 'God'. Consequently, its capitalized form is not used for multiple gods (polytheism) or when referring to the generic idea of a deity.[11][12] Pronouns referring to a god are also often capitalized by adherents to a religion as an indication of reverence, and are traditionally in the masculine gender ('He', 'Him', 'His' etc) unless specifically referring to a goddess.[13][14]
See also[edit]
- Anglo-Saxon paganism also called Wodenism
- Bhagavan (Hindi word)
- El (deity) (Semitic word)
- Jumala (Finnish word)
- Khuda (Persian word)
- Tanri (Turkish word)
References[edit]
- ^Watkins, Calvert, ed., The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000.
- ^A New System of Geography, Or a General Description of the World by Daniel Fenning, Joseph Collyer 1765
- ^See the chant in the Medieval and Early Modern folklore section of the Wikipedia entry for Wōden.
- ^Northern Mythology, Comprising the Principal Popular Traditions and Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany and the Netherlands: Compiled from Original and Other Sources. In Three Volumes. North German and Netherlandish Popular Traditions and Superstitions, Volume 3, 1852
- ^Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ^Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ^θεωρέω, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ^Dermot Moran, The Philosophy of John Scottus Eriugena: A Study of Idealism in the Middle Ages, Cambridge University Press
- ^Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages
- ^Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages
- ^Webster's New World Dictionary; 'God n. ME < OE, akin to Ger gott, Goth guth, prob. < IE base * ĝhau-, to call out to, invoke > Sans havaté, (he) calls upon; 1. any of various beings conceived of as supernatural, immortal, and having special powers over the lives and affairs of people and the course of nature; deity, esp. a male deity: typically considered objects of worship; 2. an image that is worshiped; idol 3. a person or thing deified or excessively honored and admired; 4. [G-] in monotheistic religions, the creator and ruler of the universe, regarded as eternal, infinite, all-powerful, and all-knowing; Supreme Being; the Almighty'
- ^Dictionary.com; 'God /gɒd/ noun: 1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. 2. the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute. 3. (lowercase) one of several deities, esp. a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs. 4. (often lowercase) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the God of mercy. 5. Christian Science. the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle. 6. (lowercase) an image of a deity; an idol. 7. (lowercase) any deified person or object. 8. (often lowercase) Gods, Theater. 8a. the upper balcony in a theater. 8b. the spectators in this part of the balcony.'
- ^The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge. The New York Times. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
Pronoun references to a deity worshiped by people in the present are sometimes capitalized, although some writers use capitals only to prevent confusion: God helped Abraham carry out His law.
- ^Alcoholic Thinking: language, culture, and belief in Alcoholics Anonymous. Greenwood Publishing Group. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
Traditional biblical translations that always capitalize the word 'God' and the pronouns, 'He,' 'Him,' and 'His' in reference to God itself and the use of archaic forms such as 'Thee,' 'Thou,' and 'Thy' are familiar.
External links[edit]
Look up God in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=God_(word)&oldid=947389117'