God of War released on the PS2 on March 22, 2005 in North America. It’s actually a fairly late release for the console, since Sony was already talking a pretty big game in regard to the PS3 at this stage. That said, it didn’t make much of difference, because the game sold extremely well on top of getting high marks from the press. Even though Kratos isn’t as cuddly as Crash Bandicoot, he is still one of Sony’s biggest mascots. The series has graced every PlayStation platform since its debut.

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Yes, even the PS Vita got some love. It was a collection and not something original, but it still counts. There are technically nine God of War games in existence. That does not count ports and remasters either. However, this list is only going to rate seven of them. The reasons why are pretty obvious: God of War: Betrayal was a 2D game made for web browsers and mobile phones. The other oddity, God of War: A Call from the Wilds, was a text-based browser game made to promote the PS4 reboot/sequel last year. As they are both obscure and not really main games in the series, they won’t be added. So, let’s get to the other seven!

7 God Of War: Ascension

By the time God of War: Ascension came out, the fan base had been treated to two prequels already. Introducing a third pushed the limits to what even they could take.

The real reason this was seemingly made wasn’t to make another story-driven action game. Sony wanted to try their hand at multiplayer, which was admittedly fun for a short period and put an interesting twist on God of War. However, that wasn’t enough to make this any less lame. It's just... not what the franchise is about.

6 God Of War: Chains Of Olympus

While the PSP was viewed as a failure in the West, that didn’t mean that Sony didn’t try its darnedest to get AAA games made for it. A bunch of their console series made it onto the portable, including God of War, via Chains of Olympus.

For a portable conversion of the console games, it was a great attempt. Even though it falls just after Ascension, make no mistake, this is a good game. In fact, every single game on here is still worth playing. All except for Ascension, which is indeed a bad entry.

5 God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta

After Chains of Olympus we have another PSP title. Now, Ghost of Sparta didn’t really rethink the series. It was merely an improvement to the few things wrong with the first portable installment, and is overall a better game. It pushed the portable to its limits for the better. Sony's handheld really was quite a little powerhouse, when developers took the time to let it show that.

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Unfortunately, by the time 2010 rolled around, even the most die-hard PSP fans were kind of over the system. As a result of this, Chains of Olympus is often regarded as one of the PSP's most underrated titles. Thankfully, Sony ported it to the PS3 along with Chains of Olympus, remaking them in HD goodness in the process. Now, if only that collection came to PS4...

4 God Of War II

Speaking of pushing systems to their limits, God of War II did just that for the PS2. For those that don’t remember, it launched on March 13, 2007, which was just a few months after the November release of the PS3.

Whenever games debut after a new generation, they often get overlooked. That was not the case with God of War, as the PS2 was practically in every home by that point. On top of that, the very early PS3 lineup was lacking to say the least. History aside, even though it had a late launch, it was still worthy of a Game of the Year contender in 2007 because it was that good.

3 God Of War III

Even though the second game released into the next generation, PS3 owners didn’t have to wait too much longer for a proper new entry in 2010. Video game developers like to talk about scale all the time, and if there was ever an example of epic scale being brought to life, it would be God of War III.

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The game opens up with Kratos riding on a Titan’s back, while that Titan is scaling up Mount Olympus as another Titan attacks. Simply put, it was beyond epic. On top of that, the kills were more brutal. Putting an end to the gods once and for all was satisfying to say the least.

2 God Of War (2005)

The second and third games upped the ante and are technically better in a lot of ways. However, without the first game, they would not exist.

The original God of War is a legend among video games and one of many reasons why the PS2 outclassed every console of that generation. The plot surrounding Greek myths was new for the time and those twin-chained blades are as iconic to video games as Link’s Master Sword. Because of its impact on the industry, God of War belongs at number two.

1 God Of War (2018)

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As we said earlier, Ascension left the series with a sour note in 2013. Because of this, many believed the series had run its course. Even though this reboot --five years in the making-- looked good, it had a lot to make up for.

Well, it did that in spades. Like the first game, it redefined video games. It was the perfect way to both reboot the series and continue what had come before. It is easily the best game in the series and one of the very best games on PS4. It is an epic achievement and the next game can only build on that even further. Who would have ever thought that Kratos would make a compelling father figure?

NEXT: 10 PS4 Games With The Best Storylines