Story & Setting

Kratos begins the game a god, and the story does a decent job of stripping him of all his powers so there's, you know, a reason to play - not unlike the Metroid mechanic of enjoying a brief moment of powered-up Samus before the deadly lady is stripped back to square one, God of War II shows you the scope of Kratos' potential, then sends him flying across the city of Rhodes to land, mortal and besieged, on the first step of his journey. It also gives him a killer reason to hunger for vengeance against the gods. Oh Kratos, what's with the anger management issues?

Betrayed by the gods of Olympus, Kratos is rescued by the titan Gaia - whose brethren hunger for revenge against their ancient enemies, led by Zeus. So Kratos begins a legendary trek to battle his way to the three Sisters of Fate, who are the only powers in existence that can turn back the clock and allow Kratos to prevent Zeus from stealing his godhood and sending the erstwhile god of war screaming into Hades.

The Greek mythology that underpins God of War II is rich, detailed, and shamelessly exploited to tremendous effect. Any fellow mythology buffs will notice that a suspicious number of legendary notables appear with rather convenient regularity - but far from bastardizing the culture and integrity of its source material, GoW2 treats Greek mythology as a palette from which to paint as intense a story as possible, dense with rich characters like Prometheus, Icarus, Perseus, Atlas, Gaia, Typhon, and all the usual gods and goddesses in the main Greek pantheon.

Graphics & Sound

The visuals here are astounding by PS2 standards and impressive by any other standards, including next-generation consoles. Playing the game in widescreen and progressive scan modes opens up the PS2 to near next-gen standards, and the character models and environments are both beautiful and terrifying. The environments themselves are immense but easily navigated thanks to some truly inspired camera movement - I often find myself frustrated playing games with pre-determined camera angles, but in GoW2 the camera plays an active role in steering the player toward the right course of action and making the most of the impressive physical world. In many ways, GoW2 is a better movie and a better adventure than 300, despite that film's nearly universal condemnation as a mere "video game" of a movie. Here, a video game outdoes a film almost effortlessly.

Sonically, the most important aspect of the game is the voice work. Many sound effects remain from the original game, but the best reprisals come from voice actors Linda Hunt (Narrator/Gaia) and T.C. Carson (Kratos), who do absolutely phenomenal jobs keeping the tone and urgency of the game taut while adding their talents to the mythological scope of the story. Joining the cast is ageless hottie Harry Hamlin as Perseus (a role he played over 25 years ago in the classic Clash of the Titans) and Michael Clarke Duncan as Atlas - Duncan's a bit disappointing, which isn't a terrible surprise since the guy almost always sounds like he's reading his lines for the first time. Otherwise, the voice talent is remarkably impressive and definitely raises the bar in terms of quality and what gamers should expect in the future.

Gameplay

God of War II plays much like the original - lots of button-mashing combos, flashy moves and abilities accrued as the story progresses. While the starting weapon is again the most useful, some of the secondary weapons prove entertaining, while the magic abilities add an impressive list of feats, such as long-range damage and area-of-effect powers that damage multiple enemies, which can be extremely useful when mobbed by legions of grotesque baddies. An identical weapon/magic upgrading system increases Kratos' lethality and unlocks new moves, as do some accessories you'll find along the way, like Jason's famous Golden Fleece, which lets Kratos reflect incoming missiles and magic rays.

The combat is hyperbolic and filled with blood-lust, which fits Kratos' temperament but unfortunately causes some confusion - so enthusiastic are the combos that they often can't be stopped. This means if you need to block an enemy's attack mid-combo, you're out of luck. It also means you'll miss some all-important red orbs when, again mid-combo, the enemy you're attacking becomes stunned with the super-awesome-kill-me-please minigame circle floating above its head. But if Kratos is on a rampage, there's a good chance you'll simply plow through some enemies - killing them the regular way and missing the chance for a timed-button kill move. That's a shame, because the kill moves are some of the best moments in the game: for instance, during the flying sequences (which aren't a big deal, game-wise, but are a ridiculously fun addition to the game formula) leaping from your flaming pegasus onto the back of an airborne enemy, hacking off its wings one by one and diving back onto the back of your trusty steed... well, that's just too cool to miss. Moments like this are scattered throughout the game, and it's a shame you can't control the character well enough to enjoy them all, should you so wish.

In terms of level design, GoW2 is very, very linear. What might feel myopic in other games is here a crucial element of the storytelling and pace of the game; so tightly-wound is this adventure, and so relatively brief, that the linear nature of the game is simply part of its construction. An open-ended God of War II would feel unfocused and less intense: while some games demand freedom to explore and solve puzzles in different way, GoW2 is just the opposite. The simplicity of the spine of the game allowed the developers to make each scripted moment as cinematic and dramatic as possible: sweeping vistas of titanic environments as you enter a new area hint at the path Kratos will take while supporting the illusion of a lush and complicated world.

Puzzles are another important and well-executed aspect of GoW2 - they're not difficult, in general, but they're executed in such a way that solving them often requires several attempts and some occasional head-scratching. Mostly, though, what strikes me most about the puzzles in GoW2 is how integrated into the story they are. The occasional block-moving puzzle shows up, of course, but more often than not the pushing and pulling and jumping and swinging incorporate some fantastically expansive element of the environment, such as swinging Tarzan-style across a field of collapsing pillars, destroying enormous eye-beam-shooting statue faces, and gliding across cogs suspended above a sea of fire.

Nutshell

If you haven't played God of War II yet, do so. If you've got a PS2 or a PS3, the game is worth buying for the value of seeing the pinnacle of game design alone, simply as a reference point. The game's shortness and the abruptness of its ending may count as drawbacks for some, but I found that brevity to contribute to the punch the game delivers - this is no lingering quest or endless series of repetitive battles. It's a story, an epic experience, and an absolute delight to play. Any drawbacks are offset by the otherwise stellar production values and the simple joy of being a sick, twisted bastard whose only purpose is to destroy anything that gets in his way in the most gratuitously violent way possible. Being a god looks like hard work, but sign me the hell up!