God of War II

9.0
Excellent

Gameplay	8.0	"Kratos is completely believable as the new God of War. "
Graphics	9.0
Sound	9.0
Value	9.0

By Sherrin English

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If ever there was a setting begging for a game, it has to be ancient Greece. Grecian myths and legends literally teem with gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, magic and mayhem, varied settings – both lofty and low - and creatures. Enormous creatures, creatures who scuttle, creatures who fly, creatures with a single head or creatures with many heads, creatures who are nice and creatures who are downright nasty, and creatures… well, you get the idea. So what happens when you face them off against a mortal with the guts to take on all of them, and the temerity to win? You get the recipe for an excellent game.

God of War II begins with Kratos, the new god of war, lolling on his throne on Mount Olympus. But he’s not a happy camper. It seems that being a god wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. There’re no slaves peeling grapes, no scantily clad dancing girls, no ‘boys only’ poker nights and above all, no smiting, raping or pillaging. What’s a mortal-made-god supposed to do for eternity? To fill in the time Kratos watches his beloved Spartans as they lay waste to Greece. But tired of merely watching, Kratos decides to go to Rhodes and lend a hand. This is when he learns that the other gods have been doing what gods do around the water cooler – they gossip. And Kratos is the object of their ire. So when they hear that he wants to go and get knee-deep in blood and guts they realise that this is the perfect opportunity to be rid of him once and for all.

The first thing Kratos must do is fight through hordes of Rhodes soldiers out into the open, and once outside we see what the spiteful gods have in store for him. Athena has brought the Colossus of Rhodes to life, and it’s this humongous gilt statue that tests our existing button skills while teaching new ones. And during the battle we see that the King of Gods, Zeus, has a particularly nasty surprise in store when he offers Kratos the Blade of Olympus. However, before Kratos can wield it he must release his godly powers into it. And with the duly imbued Blade, Kratos sets about reducing the Colossus to a pile of scrap metal. But in the Colossus’s death spasm he slams his fist down onto Kratos and the Blade goes spinning away. As Kratos struggles to reach it and be reunited with his powers Zeus appears, and the trick that he has played becomes clear. A battle ensues, and it is one that Kratos, a weak mortal, cannot win. But as Kratos sinks down into Hades he hears the voice of the Titan Gaia as she offers to help him defeat Zeus. To do so he must find the Sisters of Fate and do something no one, mortal or god, has ever done before: turn back the hands of time to the minute before his death so that he can fight Zeus again. And win!

Kratos begins the game with the twin Blades of Athena chained to his wrists, and with these blades he is able to carry out some spectacular combos. This time, though, some dazzling new moves have been added, and they’re as smooth and easy to carry out, as they were last time. Along the way he acquires other weapons and more magic so that Kratos steadily evolves into an efficient killing machine.

God of War II is certainly not a game for the squeamish. If you like games with buckets of blood and gore, then this is right up your alley. Whether you’re disemboweling a soldier, pulling out a Cyclops eye or ripping the wings off Griffons, there’s blood in everything you kill. And you do a lot of killing. Actually, the foes that you encounter have a slight feeling of ‘more of the same’, even though they’re different from the first God of War. Indeed, the entire game could be said to be more of a rehash than a sequel if it wasn’t for the redeeming factor of the boss fights. God of War really only gave us a couple of bosses, but God of War II gives us several. And they’re big! And dangerous! And bloody!

A couple of things really stood out for me in God of War II. One of them is flying on Pegasus. It wasn’t a gentle canter through the clouds - griffons, ravens and dark riders continually attack both Kratos and Pegasus, and - true to form - Kratos isn’t one to sit and take it. It takes some getting used to, but soon you’ll be leaping from Pegasus onto a Griffon, ripping its wings off, snapping its neck then smoothly jumping back onto Pegasus like a pro. The other thing that stood out was the sheer size of everything. Running around Atlas brought home to me just how puny Kratos really is. And picturing riders for the Steeds of Time gave me a headache. So on your journey to the Sisters of Fate, prepare yourself to be amazed – many times.

Of course, God of War II would be nothing without its sound and graphics. And it’s in these two areas that it easily surpasses the first game. The voice acting is completely believable, the sound effects are fitting and realistic, while the rousing soundtrack is simply stunning, and lifts God of War II out of the realm of ‘ordinary’ and into ‘epic’ - which is something that no other game I’ve played has managed to do. Graphically, you’d be hard pressed to find anything else on the PlayStation 2 that even comes close. Everything is crisp and clear, and the lack of loading times earns God of War II four gold stars. But then, God of War II is a winner all around.

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