Zeus vs Hades - Gods of War: Ultimate Battle Analysis and Powers Compared

Let me tell you, when I first picked up Gods of War expecting some straightforward mythological brawling, I never anticipated how much those vehicle segments would test my patience. You know exactly what I'm talking about - those Mode-7-style racing sections that look cool in theory but play like absolute nightmares. I've lost count of how many times I thought I'd cleared an obstacle only to watch my health bar drop because the hit detection decided we weren't on the same page. There's something particularly frustrating about watching your character get eliminated by what appears to be empty space, all while dealing with those disorienting visual effects that make judging distances nearly impossible.

What really gets under my skin is how these sections handle checkpoints. Unlike the regular brawling stages where you pick up right where you died - which feels fair and respectful of your time - these vehicle segments toss you back to what often feels like completely arbitrary restart points. I remember one particular boss battle against Hades' minion where I'd whittled down his health to maybe 10%, made one tiny miscalculation, and found myself sent back to before the entire boss sequence. All that progress, gone in an instant, facing a fully regenerated enemy. That's not challenging - that's just poor design that artificially extends gameplay through frustration rather than skill-based obstacles.

Here's the strategy that finally worked for me after numerous failed attempts. First, accept that you're going to take damage in these sections no matter how careful you are. The imprecise hit detection means you should prioritize maintaining forward momentum over perfect avoidance. I found that staying toward the center of the track generally reduces the chances of getting caught on environmental geometry - which, by the way, is responsible for about 60% of my unnecessary deaths in these sequences. When you see obstacles approaching, make smaller adjustments rather than sharp turns. The controls aren't precise enough for last-second maneuvers, so anticipate rather than react.

The resource management aspect is crucial here. On standard difficulty, you typically get only three continues per stage, and believe me, you'll need them. I learned the hard way to save at least two continues specifically for these vehicle sections. What makes this particularly punishing is that losing all three lives in a vehicle segment doesn't just cost you a continue - it sends you back to the very beginning of the entire stage. That means replaying 15-20 minutes of content you've already mastered just for another shot at the problematic racing section. My advice? If you burn through two continues on a vehicle sequence, consider restarting the entire stage to preserve your final continue for later sections where it might be more valuable.

There's a rhythm to these sections that you need to internalize rather than rely on visual cues. After my seventh attempt on the Zeus lightning chariot sequence, I stopped trying to visually judge distances and started counting beats between obstacles. The patterns are more musical than spatial, which explains why the visual feedback feels so disconnected from the actual gameplay. I'd estimate about 70% of successful navigation comes from memorization rather than real-time reaction. Take notes if you have to - I certainly did after my third full stage restart.

What surprises me most about these sections is how they undermine the otherwise excellent combat system. The core brawling mechanics in Gods of War are genuinely satisfying - there's weight to your attacks, enemies react predictably to your moves, and the progression system rewards skillful play. Then these vehicle segments come along and replace all that thoughtful design with what feels like a poorly tuned tech demo from 1992. I've spoken with other players who share my frustration, and we all agree: we'd rather face tougher combat scenarios than deal with these broken racing interludes.

The boss checkpoints represent the most egregious design flaw. Having to restart a boss battle from the beginning because the game placed the checkpoint before the fight rather than at the fight itself feels like punishment rather than challenge. My workaround involved always keeping one "sacrificial" life to scout the boss patterns before committing to a serious attempt. It's wasteful, but less wasteful than using a continue and having to replay the entire vehicle section again.

After completing the game three times - once on each difficulty - I can confidently say these vehicle sections account for approximately 80% of player frustration and about 90% of my total continues used. They're the primary reason my first playthrough took 12 hours instead of the 8 it should have taken. The developers clearly intended these sequences to provide variety, but in execution, they become the main obstacle rather than enjoyable diversions.

Here's my final piece of advice: embrace the imperfection. You will take cheap hits. You will get caught on geometry that shouldn't be solid. You will lose lives to hit detection that feels generations behind the rest of the game. The sooner you accept this and plan for it, the less frustrating your experience will be. Allocate extra lives specifically for these sections, don't get discouraged by seemingly unfair deaths, and remember that every player struggles with these segments regardless of skill level. The ultimate battle between Zeus and Hades isn't just happening on screen - it's happening between the player and these frustrating game mechanics. Once you make peace with that reality, you can focus on enjoying the genuinely excellent parts of this otherwise compelling mythological showdown.