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God of War 2
If all those on Olympus would deny me my vengeance,” shouts the angry Spartan warrior Kratos “then all of Olympus will die”. And so heralds the arrival of the sequel to one of the Sony’s most popular and acclaimed games in its history. God of War set the benchmark for hack and slash action-adventures, but this has really lived up the series’
already legendary status and will surely be a centrepiece of anyone’s PlayStation 2 collection.
The story follows immediately on from the first game where after defeating Ares and getting revenge for the death of his family, Kratos was made the new god of war and took his place on Mount Olympus. But he soon fell foul of the other gods due to his lust for bloodshed and constant wars against cities. At the start of the game he is betrayed by Athena and eventually tricked out of his power by Zeus. After being beaten and left for dead in the underworld, Kratos is rescued by Gaia, a Titan, who tells him about a mysterious power on a far away island that will enable him to go back in time and kill the King of the Gods once and for all.
God of War 2 immediately throws you straight into a heated and multi-levelled battle against the enormous Colossus of Rhodes, which has been granted life by Athena in order to kill Kratos. Although you begin with all your powers from the previous game, it’s still quite a difficult opening especially for those who are new to the series. This first stage takes place during the middle of the war, so not only do you have a 100ft statue to contend with but also hordes of enemies attacking you from every angle. It certainly sets the tone of the game early on, so if you like this right away you’ll definitely enjoy the rest of it.
Obviously Greek mythology plays a big part in this series, particularly in the locations and characters that Kratos interacts with on his journey. This gives way to some breath taking visuals that really push the PlayStation 2 to its limits, as you can see over vast distances and enemies stand over hundreds of metres tall. Anyone familiar with Greek legends will recognise some of the characters and enemies, including gorgons and minotaurs, that frequently make an appearance.
The pace and setting of this game feels very similar to the first and although there are new special abilities to master, the gameplay hasn’t been altered too much from the original and is quick to learn. By using a simple combat system, mainly the square (weak attack) and triangle (strong attack) buttons, it’s very easy to pull off damaging and impressive looking combos. But this also means that you can simply button bash and just alternate between the two forms of attack when surrounded by enemies. This takes away some of the challenge, especially in the early stages, but makes the game more accessible and, more importantly, fun.
If anything this game is more violent than the original. The 18 certificate is entirely justified as eye balls are torn out and heads are ripped off. Kratos is an anti-hero in every sense; what other game allows you to use the dead bodies of fallen comrades in order to solve a puzzle? The bosses in particular meet nasty ends. For example, the way in which Kratos finishes off Greek hero Perseus is certainly one of the most sadistic and brutal moments to ever grace the PS2. But that’s not to say the violence rules over the game. There’s also some brain teasing puzzles to keep you entertained when you’re not hacking your way through levels. Depending on your wits, these might end up taking up most of your game playing time. They’re challenging but not to the point of frustration.
However the developers have obviously been listening to fans demands and have added about four times as many boss battles that was in the first game. It seems that every 15 minutes of wading through a temple ther e’s another huge monster that needs to be chopped down to sthis is a problem, these fights provide the wealth of the games enjoyment even if they do take several attempts to complete. As ever you have to battle and dodge your way around, learning the routine and timing of the bosses’ attacks, until you can do enough damage to unleash a devastating blow in one of the game’s many QTE (Quick Time Event) moments. These work by pressing the correct sequence of buttons and moving the analog sticks as the commands appear on the screen so you can finish off many of the bigger enemies and bosses in style. This interactivity is definitely better than just watching a bunch of cut-scenes all the time.
The music on the game is superb and really adds to the whole epic feel.
The voice acting is also excellent and the game is given a bit of star value with the addition of a few Hollywood names (such as Linda Hunt and Michael Clarke Duncan). Although some of the extras sound a little wooden at times, the cinematic feel really sucks you into the world of gods and magic and the story is full of twists that keep you on the edge of your seat.
But the game is not without its faults. Fights against legions of un-dead monsters usually resort in a bit of slowdown and the occasional pauses for loading between sections do become a little annoying. It really does spoil the flow when you’re about to enter into a fight and the game suddenly slows down. But perhaps this is a small price to pay in order to make the game look as beautiful as it does. The game is also let down by the lack of manual camera control, meaning that you sometimes miss an attack coming from behind or you fall down a hole and die when backtracking. Occasionally puzzles are hard to solve because the camera angle won’t let you see the thing you’re supposed to be looking for.
God of War 2 is probably the last great game that will ever be released on the PS2 and one of those rare occurrences when a sequel actually manages to improve on the original. It’s certainly the perfect swan song for one of the most successful and longest running consoles of its generation. The ambiguous ending makes it somewhat clear that there will be a third instalment on the way, but that surely isn’t a bad thing.
Right?
Overall 9/10
Genre: Action/adventure
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: SCE Studios Santa Monica
Ages: 18+
Available on: PlayStation 2
