The original God of War won game of the year honors back in 2005. It even beat the highly touted Resident Evil 4 to win the award. The game had a style of art direction that was ahead of its time. God of War II meets and exceeds the quality of God of War. The storyline revolves around none other than everyone’s favorite Spartan Kratos. This adaptation is a direct sequel to God of War and transpires after the event of Kratos slaying Ares. As Kratos is sitting atop his throne, he begins to contrive a plan to conquer Greece. Athena, who is at the mercy of Kratos, implores Kratos to withdraw his Spartan troops from Greece. Although Athena did transform Kratos into the God of War, he angrily dismisses her request and exists the room. As a result, Athena calls upon the assistance of Zeus (who was revealed to Kratos in God of War to be his father). Zeus pilfers Kratos’ abilities and summons the Colossus of Rhodes to annihilate Kratos. This is where the gameplay ensues. I do not know if it was the fact that God of War 2 reminded me of the movie 300, or if it was if Kratos reminded me of King Leonidas. But for whatever reason, the plot in this game is flabbergasting.

It goes without saying that the spiteful violence in God of War remains intact in this sequel. Gamers can hack and slash their way through just about any adversary. The gameplay is more of the same in a positive way. Instead of being armed with the Blades of Chaos, you are using the Blades of Athena. It serves as the predominant weapon of choice and has a similar functionality as the Blades of Chaos. These blades can be excellent for long and short ranged combat. Other weapons entail the Barbarian Hammer, Spear of Destiny, and the Blade of Olympus. Most of your time will be spent utilizing the Blades of Athena, but the three other weapons provide some variety. The controls are intuitive, so there is never any guessing as to which button to press. For example, the weak but swift attack is executed by hitting square. The overpowering but slow attack is done by pushing triangle. Circle initiates a throw, L1 allows players to block, the X button is for jumping, the right analog stick for evasive maneuvers, and the L2 button for magic. Speaking of magic, you have four magic types in your arsenal. These magical powers are called Typhon's Bane, Cronos' Rage, Head of Euryale, and Atlas Quake. Typhon's Bane supersedes Zeus’ Fury which was seen in God of War; Medusa’s Gaze is replaced with the Head of Euryale; Poseidon’s Rage is substituted by Atlas Quake. Regrettably, there is no Hades ability in this version. Typhon's Bane is a bow that shoots wind projectiles and other wind oriented moves. Cronos’ Rage creates a circular ball of lighting that harms nearby enemies. Head of Euryale enables gamers to petrify hostiles into stone. Atlas Quake surrounds Kratos with an impenetrable force field and makes him invulnerable. It is by far the most proficient of the four because it can make even the most challenging rivals crumble in a matter of seconds. All of the magical skills are mapped to the directional pad for easy access, and they can all be upgraded to a maximum level of three. Kratos can even link up the moves to perform brilliant jaw dropping attacks that will make foes tremble in fear.

All of the enemies have their own distinction to them that give a unique feel to them. Avid fans of the first game will recognize the return of the undead troops, minotaurs, harpies, archers, sirens, gorgons, cyclopes and cerberuses. Not every single monster is exactly like its predecessor. For instance, ogres are introduced as these creators capable of jumping on top of and riding a gorgon. If anyone thinks that the controls are unresponsive, then they will be sadly mistaken. Every single maneuver that Kratos performs is done with smooth fluidity. The contact sensitive moments are as prevalent as ever, and they are a treat to view. One way to describe these sections of the gameplay is like God of War on steroids: the death scenes are bigger and better.

Another addition to this time around gives Kratos the opportunity to ride atop a Pegasus (a horse with wings). This action sequences are never incongruous, and may very well be as satisfying as the ground combat. You will notice Kratos will slice his opponents in half and then jump back on the Pegasus. Soaring through the air is more engrossing than I initially expected. The sound effects, voice acting, and live orchestral musical score is as exemplary as in the previous game. In terms of graphics, the visuals are the best ever seen on a PlayStation 2 console. There are some few drawbacks to the presentation such as the lack of a map and convoluted puzzles. But those two gripes do not tarnish the overarching cinematic experience. Overall, God of War II would have won game of the year in 2007 if it was not for the next generation consoles. With that said, it is still a must play for any enthusiast of the action genre. If anyone is looking for the perfect way to send their PlayStation 2 out with a bang, then God of War 2 is the answer.