GOD OF WAR II (Playstation 2)

As a game company, how do you follow up with a sequel to a game that is regarded by most as the finest ever.
That’s the conundrum that faced Sony Computer Entertainment when it made the decision to produce God Of War II for the Playstation 2.
It’s predecessor, God Of War won accolade after accolade when it was released in 2005.
The game won game of the year honours at almost every industry award presentation, and in 2007, IGN named GoW as the greatest PS2 game of all time.
So when GoW2 was released this year, it truly was a case of trying to living up to expectations.
Fortunately for Sony, those expectations have been met and surpassed with flying colours.
GoW2 is arguably the finest game ever produced for the Playstation 2, sadly at a time when its lifespan is coming to an end.
GoW2 picks up the storyline of the anti-hero Kratos where it left off in the original.
To cut a very long and complicated story as short as humanly possible … after disposing of the former god of war Ares, Kratos now finds himself stripped of his powers by Zeus himself, trapping them inside the Blade Of Olympus.
His only way of redemption, and to regain his godly powers, is to set forth on a journey to seek out the Sisters Of Mercy, who have the power to turn back time so that Kratos can set the record straight, so to speak.
Armed with his main weapons, Athena’s Blades (basically short-swords on the ends of chains, which are strapped to his arms), Kratos sets off on a long and at times, rather difficult quest to find the Sisters Of Mercy.
But like many action RPGs, he will first have to cross paths with many foul creatures, solve a number of in game puzzles, and ultimately defeat a number of heroes, monsters and bosses, including Theseus, Colossus of Rhodes, the Barbarian King, Perseus, Icarus, and finally Zeus himself.
Graphically, the game is as good as anything ever produced on a sixth-generation console machine.
In fact, at first glance, it would be forgiven for believing it could have been a PS3 game.
The background settings are highly detailed and visually satisfying, giving the player a feeling of enormity on a scale never-before-seen on a PS2 game.
Gameplay itself is fairly simple to take on board, but later in the game you’ll be required to undertake some nimble-fingered combinations, particularly when battling against boss creatures.
Overall, the attention to detail put into GoW2 is nothing short of breath-taking, and any fan of RPG gameplay can only marvel at the time and effort that has gone in to the production of this wonderfully addictive and immersive game experience.

WE RATE IT
Graphics: 10
Sound: 9.5
Gameplay 9.5
OVERALL: 97%