Why Ultra-Violent Video Games Make Me A Better Person
With the recent release of the new God of War this month, I wanted to take the time to address one of the biggest points of contention surrounding video games: Ultra-Violent titles.
Now, as we all know, the God of War franchise is famous for 3 things:
· Kratos’ tight af make up
· Anatomy 101 classes presented in an entertaining, mythological format
· Kratos’ side work as the Ron Jeremy of Ancient Greece
However, there is a very important thing on display across all of these games that we frequently overlook. Something outwith the extreme gore and violence that, I believe, presents Kratos as a figure to aspire to.
Yes, I said aspire to. Sure, he may be a little rough around the edges. And sure, there may be one or two instances that would suggest some latent anger issues that he should probably address……
What I am talking about, however, is Kratos’ indomitable will. For better or worse, what you cannot say about the man is that he doesn’t put the effort in. When people tell you to aim for the heavens, the dude took that pretty literally.
Let’s just take a quick look at some of the goals Kratos has set himself throughout his journey:
· Kill Ares, the God of War, for revenge
· Kill Zeus, the King of Olympus, for revenge
· Kill the Titans, the forebears to the Olympian Gods, for revenge
The astute amongst you may have noticed a common theme here: bullet points present information in an efficient and clear fashion. Also, Kratos likes revenge.
From what he has accomplished, we can easily conclude that Kratos’ greatest skill was never his prodigious strength, nor his genius level capability for inventive brutality.
No, where Kratos really shines is setting clear, defined goals and putting his all into achieving them. And I believe that is something very powerful, a statement that we can all learn from.
“If you’re not happy with where you are, change it”
— Kratos, 338 BC
Kratos’ sheer dedication to achieving the impossible is actually quite moving. I mean, it’s not like his life has ever been easy.
The very first game in the series starts with Kratos trying to kill himself (what a way to set the tone). As you progress throughout the story, you start to understand very well why he’d be driven to do so.
He killed his own wife and child and was forsaken to wear their ashes on his skin forever. He’s a social pariah, infamous for his brutality and forever reminded of his sins by his moniker “The Ghost of Sparta”.
Hell, even the Olympian gods don’t want to touch him with a 10ft long shitty barge pole (quite possibly in fear that he would use it against them as a weapon).
The odds are consistently against the dude, and yet he presses on regardless. He regularly faces challenges that seem insurmountable, but he remains undeterred.
Some of his feats are truly ludicrous. For instance, scaling Cronos the Titan for 3 days without rest to acquire Pandora’s Box — 3 freakin’ days!
Then, as soon as he gets the box, he goes and gets murdered by Ares and sent to the Underworld.
Does Kratos give up here? Like Hell he does.
This total BAMF (you know what it means) breaks out of there, opens Pandora’s Box, and proceeds to beat 50 shades of Grecian wall paint out of Ares.
This is actually where we reach the crux of my point.
To quote one of my favourite movies….
Contained within Pandora’s Box was two things: all the evils of the world, and Hope.
When Kratos opens the box, the evils of the world are released, infecting the world and twisting the minds of the Gods. The power of Hope, however, proceeds to reside within Kratos. It’s with this very power that he defeats Ares and takes the title of God of War for his own.
As the series continues, Kratos is continually assailed by those who would destroy him. Demi-gods, Gods and even the Titans have It our for our main man.
Throughout all of this, however, Hope remains inside him. Despite literally ALL of the pain and misery in the world coming for him, Hope never leaves him.
Kratos remains unaware of this power until his final confrontation with Zeus. The King of the Gods bombards his soul with the anguish and trauma of all the nightmarish things he has done throughout the years at once.
As you can imagine, that’s quite a lot to deal with.
However, by coming to terms with his actions and accepting his past, Kratos is finally able to access the power contained within him all along.
Kratos has Hope.
And with it he proceeds to mercilessly beat Zeus’ face in.
Now, I did mention previously about Kratos methods not exactly being the most…..diplomatic. Although having achieved his purpose, his actions did leave the world in a pretty sorry state.
Plagues of locusts. Famine. Shitty weather.
You name it, it was pretty messed up.
With his mission complete and left with a world on the brink of collapse, you could maybe understand Kratos feeling a little lost. What does such a driven man do now that he’s completed his objective?
I’ll tell you what he does.
He tops himself.
Maybe you’re thinking:
“eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhh, that’s not exactly a happy ending.”
And I’d agree with you. What his death causes, though, is for Hope to leave his body and spread throughout the planet. His sacrifice allows the world a power to fight against all of the evils that have now beset it.
Brutal Killer? Yes.
Morally questionable? You bet.
Noble?
……Perhaps.
The story of Kratos is an extremely bloody one — a saga exemplified by brutality, chaos and misery.
It is also, however, a story of determination and tremendous self-belief. A mortal man going against the world and coming through the other side.
In those dark moments, where I feel alone, where I question what I’m doing with my life, I raise my face to the stars and think:
“What would Kratos do?”
I dismiss the initial notion of stabbing my problems through the chest with an overly large blade, and get straight to the inner message:
Attack, and never give up!
In the quest to be the best me I can be, Kratos taught me to never, ever stop until it becomes a reality. He also taught me that accepting my actions and my past is the only way I can move on with my life.
They may be the only lessons that don’t involve dismemberment, but dammit if they aren’t lessons we should internalise!
So, what I’m saying is: Be like Kratos, kids. Push forward, attack your dreams with all the might and fury of a God of War,
and never,
ever,
give up Hope!
(Okay, Kratos technically does “give up” hope at the end but come on, you know what I mean)
(Also try not to murder people)
