TITAN QUEST: Immortal Throne (PC)

Almost all role-playing game fans will already know or have played the brilliant Greek mythology-based TITAN QUEST, which was released last year.
Now, game company THQ has released the first expansion pack for its best-selling hack and slash RPG, TITAN QUEST: IMMORTAL THRONE.
Both the original and the expansion pack are also available in a deluxe gold edition set, aptly titled Titan Quest: Gold Edition.
Immortal Throne picks up where the original left off, with your hero standing proudly over the lifeless body of Typhon.
As your character leaves the lofty heights of Olympus, he (or she) soon realises that not a lot has changed despite his (or her) efforts to rid the land of monsters and restore order to the villagers.
It soon becomes apparent that the evil hoards of Hades have infested your world, and you must now venture into the bowels of the Earth to bring peace again to your home.
Not a lot as changed in respect to gameplay from the original - it’s still one of the easier and more appealing RPGs.
The few minor problems that plagued Titan Quest, ie the cumbersome inventory system, have been ironed out courtesy of a new auto-sorting system, enabling your character to not only carry more, but to prioritise and then ferry the more useful tools back to a trader for some much-needed gold coins.
There are also more than 20 new monsters heading your way, as well as more than 500 new pieces of equipment, spells, potions and scrolls, and eight new character classes to help you on your quest.
While the graphics remain basically the same, your new surroundings do have a more polished feel about them and the ambient music and audio effects give the game a sinister atmosphere that is befitting the dark, dank depths of Hades.
Overall, if you were a fan of the original Titan Quest, there’s plenty to love about Immortal Throne.

WE RATE IT
Graphics: 8
Gameplay: 9
Sound: 7
OVERALL: 80%

Titan Quest Website

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%