List of war deities

A war deity is a god or goddess in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic religions.

Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their mythologies as commanding war in order to spread their religion. (The intimate connection between "holy war" and the "one true god" belief of monotheism has been noted by many scholars; including Jonathan Kirsch in his book God Against The Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism and Joseph Campbell in The Masks of God, Vol. 3: Occidental Mythology.)

The following is a partial list of war deities.

African mythology

Armenian mythology

God of War (video game)

God of War is a third-person action-adventure video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). First released on March 22, 2005, for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) console, it is the first installment in the series of the same name and the third chronologically. Loosely based on Greek mythology, it is set in ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, a Spartan warrior who serves the Olympian Gods. The goddess Athena tasks Kratos with killing Ares, the God of War, who tricked Kratos into killing his own wife and child. As Ares besieges Athens out of hatred for Athena, Kratos embarks on a quest to find the one object capable of stopping the god: the legendary Pandora's Box.

The gameplay of God of War focuses on combo-based combat, achieved through the player's main weapon—the Blades of Chaos—and a secondary weapon acquired later in the game. It features quick time events that require the player to complete various game controller actions in a timed sequence to defeat stronger enemies and bosses. The player can use up to four magical attacks and a power-enhancing ability as alternative combat options. It also features puzzles and platforming elements.

God of War: Chains of Olympus

God of War: Chains of Olympus is a third-person action-adventure video game developed by Ready at Dawn and Santa Monica Studio, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It was first released for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld console on March 4, 2008. The game is the fourth installment in the God of War series, the second chronologically, and a prequel to the original God of War. It is loosely based on Greek mythology and set in ancient Greece, with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls Kratos, a Spartan warrior who serves the Olympian Gods. Kratos is guided by the goddess Athena, who instructs him to find the Sun God Helios, as the Dream God Morpheus has caused many of the gods to slumber in Helios' absence. With the power of the Sun and the aid of the Titan Atlas, Morpheus and the Queen of the Underworld Persephone intend to destroy the Pillar of the World and in turn Olympus.

The gameplay is similar to the previous installments, with a focus on combo-based combat, achieved through the player's main weapon—the Blades of Chaos—and secondary weapons acquired throughout the game. It features quick time events that require the player to complete game controller actions in a timed sequence to defeat stronger enemies and bosses. The player can use up to three magical attacks as alternative combat options. The game also features puzzles and platforming elements. The control setup was reconfigured for the PSP, as it has fewer buttons than the PlayStation 2's controller. Ready at Dawn's solution for the controls received praise from critics.

God of War video game collections

God of War is an action-adventure video game series loosely based on Greek mythology. Debuting in 2005, the series has become a flagship title for the PlayStation brand and the character Kratos is one of its most popular characters. The series consists of seven games across multiple platforms. Five of these have been re-released through three separate compilations for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) platform: God of War Collection (2009), God of War: Origins Collection (2011), and God of War Saga (2012). With the exception of God of War III in the God of War Saga, each collection features remastered ports of the games that were not originally released on the PS3. God of War III was later remastered as God of War III Remastered and released on PlayStation 4 (PS4) in July 2015. God of War: Betrayal and God of War: Ascension are the only installments that have not been remastered for a newer platform or included in a collection.

Each collection was praised for how the games were remastered, as well as their price. IGN claimed that the God of War Collection was the "definitive way to play the game[s]". God of War Collection prompted Sony to make a new line of remastered games for the PlayStation 3 (which has expanded to the PlayStation Vita and the PlayStation 4). Although the Origins Collection was criticized for its lack of new bonus content, IGN said that "Sony succeeded at making good games better." For the Saga, Digital Trends claimed it is "perhaps the best value buy for any console available."