The God of War Collection includes the first two games in the God of War series, appropriately titled God of War and God of War II. These games originally appeared on the PS2, so if you didn't get a chance to play them in the past and don't have your old PS2 still hooked up to your TV or you own a PS3 that doesn't play PS2 titles here's your chance to get caught up on the series before God of War III releases in early 2010. If you've played these two games or can still do so in their original PS2 format, you won't be getting any new gameplay in the The God of War Collection. However, rather than simply slap two old games into a new package, Sony has give the original games a graphical overhaul – at least as far as can be done without remaking the games from scratch. Now on the PS2 the God of War games were probably the best looking games on that system and it was amazing how the developers were able to get such good graphics out of a console of that generation. On the PS3 the graphics have been bumped up to 720p, so the result is that God of War and God of War II look better than they ever have before, but the games can't match the best the current generation has to offer in terms of graphics. Also, the graphics overhaul doesn't include the cutscenes that were originally rendered in-engine, and the jump to a lower resolution during these scenes is a little jarring.

As for gameplay, the games pushed the PS2 to its limits in terms of the number of enemies faced and moves at your disposal but on the PS3 the advanced hardware churns through it all with ease. Everything runs smooth as silk without any jitter, slowdown, or other bugaboos of a processor pushed past its limits. I don't want to rehash a complete review of both games as they've already been reviewed on the site here and here. I will however tell you that the gameplay has held up quite well and The God of War Collection delivers more exciting gameplay than many games that are native to the PS3. Have you ever played a rerelease of an older game that you once loved, only to find that the gameplay hasn't held up too well? Well that's certainly not the case here, and even though I played both of the games before each one was able to pull me in like they did the first time around. Both games open with intense battle sequences that lead to memorable boss fights versus the hydra in one and the Colossus of Rhodes in the other – you don't have to wade through hours of killing rats before things get really good, your pulse will be racing and your brow covered in sweat in your first session with either game.

When you startup the game you'll be taken to a selection screen that gives you a choice between God of War and God of War II. Select one and you'll be taken to that game's main menu just as if you had started the game from the original disc. The good thing is that this keeps the experience of each game intact, but on the downside there's no real way to switch between the two except to exit out of the game completely and then start it again from the PS3 system's main menu. All of the original bonus features that were included with the games are included in this release as well, although the bonus video has not been given the hi-def treatment. As a bonus, trophies have been added to both games, so you'll be able to work on your trophy count while reliving the opening stories of the God of War saga, or while experiencing it for the first time.

God of War and God of War II hold up very well to the test of time and are still very exciting, engrossing, and just plain fun action games. This collection is highly recommended to any PS3 owner who hasn't experienced the games before, or to anyone who wants to relive the experience as a lead in to the release of God of War III.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 94%. God of War and God of War II are gaming at its best and this collection is recommended to anyone who missed the games the first time around.