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God of War II Review

Chris Leyton

30/04/2007

Kratos is back, showing why there's still plenty of life in the PS2 for the timebeing...

Seemingly coming from nowhere in 2005, Kratos smashed onto the PlayStation2 with an impact befitting his god-like stature and aspirations. A less-then-subtle blend between action and puzzles, Kratos and his Blades of Chaos carved their way through the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and established yet another money-spinning franchise for Sony.

Less than two years later, Kratos is back for some unfinished business in a lucrative sequel for the PlayStation2. Taking place soon after the events of the original, God of War II continues the tale of conflict between the Olympians and Titans, succeeding in narrative where many multi-million Hollywood blockbusters spectacularly slip up and fall. Filling the godly shoes of Aries as only he sees fit, Kratos has spent the years in between both games waging war, causing bloodshed, and courting the wrath of Zeus. Beginning with an ill-fated attack on the city of Rhodes, what initially seems like a straightforward conquest for Kratos and his army of Spartans takes a turn for the worse, after he looses his godly powers and comes up against the Colossus of Rhodes and the King of the Gods.

Coming at a time when the PlayStation3 is in dire need of high-profile releases with the quality to match it seems a little strange to be playing such a blockbuster on its ageing predecessor. Paying respect to the time-honoured tradition that the best games are released towards the end of a console's life cycle, God of War II is certainly that; a near-perfect sequel that packs a challenge, easily eclipsing the original and also what everybody is currently achieving on the next-generation. Following a similar blueprint to the widely acclaimed and massively popular original, God of War II offers the same blend of thumb-wrenching action and head-scratching puzzles that will keep you hooked for many evenings.

Blood & Brains

With a range of attacks, weapons, and magical spells, combat in God of War II expands upon the brutality and intensity of the original. Unlocking sub weapons, new techniques, and artefacts such as the Golden Fleece and Icarus' Wings, Kratos standard attacks develop significantly into the mean, relentless, killing machine that you'd expect from the former God of War. The button-combo finishing moves that made such an impact the first time around make a stylish return, employing dramatic close camera views to capture every drop of the bloodiest kills since Mortal Kombat first stepped onto the scene - like any good sequel, God of Way II doubles up on everything, particularly the bloodshed!

Equally as entertaining and crucial to the experience, God of War II features some of the most deviously yet ingeniously designed puzzles this side of the Zelda franchise. Beyond some cunning variations of the staple block dilemmas, God of War II presents a number of more natural, environment-based, puzzles that will challenge your lateral thinking, along with those that require the split-second timing of Kratos' new slow-time abilities. Largely taking place on the Island of Creation, level design is another quality that God of War II accomplishes with ease. There's a fantastic sense of branching away from the main core with each "level", only to come back on yourself and realise where you are; creating a strong knowledge of the surrounding environment and a strong sense of cohesion behind it all. Despite this God of War II never resorts to needless padding or backtracking, whilst the design of the world ensures getting lost and aimless wandering are never part of the game's challenge.

It's the balance between thumb wrestling and thought-provocation that makes God of War II such a captivating experience, rarely becoming repetitive or suffering from the lulls that many games find. God of War II' greatest achievement is the fine line players have to walk across in terms of challenge and captivation. Whether it's the combat sequences or the puzzles God of War II incessantly throws at you, the challenge is enough to often require a number of attempts, however the urge is always there to stick with it. A generous supply of checkpoints and the fact that the solution is always inevitably only one more go away, double up to create a strong sense of compulsion and the central hook behind what makes the game so great and deserving of all the accolades it's received. The closest game to achieving gameplay perfection in years, God of War II provides epic sequence after epic sequence, with ingeniously developed puzzles squeezed in between; where even the padding sections are superior to 99% of the action games out there.

Greek Mythology: Advanced Class

The balance between puzzles and action is heightened further by some insanely epic boss encounters, deserving of their place in videogame history and providing the memorable highlights amongst genuine moments of gaming brilliance. From the first few minutes, God of War II makes this point well known, with a confrontation against the Colossus of Rhodes, before Kratos fights his way through virtually every character to come from Homer's Illiad and ultimately leaves the conflict between the Olympians and Titans on a genuine cliffhanger.

Throughout God of War II, it's evident that Barlog and the team have been studying up on their knowledge of Greek mythology. With a large cast of the most renowned characters from Ancient Greece, God of War II depicts each of them with impressive conviction. The deluded depiction of Icarus, driven to insanity by his attempts to fly across the Great Chasm; the agonised eternal torture of Prometheus; or the newly-introduced on-rails flying sections with Pegasus; SCEA Santa Monica have remained faithful to the subject material, but at the same time taken creative liberties to ensure the storyline feels fresh in the modern day.

Some of the praise has to be saved for the cinematography and direction that Barlog and the team at Santa Monica have infused within every section of God of War II. Using the much-maligned fixed camera perspectives that typically become the source of frustration in many games, God of War II provides stylish camera shots that enhance what's happening onscreen without ever presenting difficult angles to struggle against. The overall tempo of the game is fast and frenetic; game sections collide seamlessly with interactive cut-scenes to deliver a stunningly cinematic experience, but one that never sacrifices core videogame qualities for this.