Review: God of War 2

This is the type of game that a console maker would want to be among either its very first or very last releases. It's so good that it may even move a few PS3's along the way. It's impressive when a game from the last generation has the chutzpah to stand its ground against its bigger, younger brother. Kratos the God of War is back and has another god-sized chip on his painted shoulder.

I'm going to break the review down into 5 main categories: Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Staying Power and WOW-factor.

Graphics
Graphics are as good a place as any to start. Now I don't think that graphics are the most important part of the game, but they might be most important part in regards to the bottom line. Gameplay might ultimately sell the game, but graphics sell the box. I can tell you that GoW2 looks astonishing and squeezes just about every drop of power out of the PS2.

Right from the opening FMV that leads to the now-famous Colossus of Rhodes boss fight (which basically IS level one); you know you are looking at something special. The details in the buildings and background environments are amazing. That's apparent right away. It becomes more apparent as the buildings get destroyed around you by the big, angry statue.

Rest assured that this remains constant throughout the entire game. Every environment you encounter--from Rhodes, to a snowy Titan mountain, to a secluded and oppressive swamp and on to the Temple of the Fates-looks rich and detailed. The game takes you there and makes the environments into a breathing part of the game and sometimes even makes them into a puzzle or foe. To top it off, the game does all this seamlessly throughout its entirety.

There are almost zero load times in the game. The importance of that should not be understated. The effort that was made to really keep you in the game is admirable. If I had to offer any criticism at all, I would point out that there are some reused animations from the last game and an overall graphical similarity in a lot of the interactions and fights. I'm not necessarily sure these are bad things though.
** Please note that there are profuse amounts of blood and gore as well as some nudity in this game so it's definitely not for little kids. It just all happens to be extremely graphically impressive.

Sound
The sound is definitely on par with the graphics. The musical accompaniment rises and falls with the action and is always appropriately foreboding when something big is about to happen. The music always seems to match its environment as well. It gets a little more moody and chilly when you reach the snowy mountain and matches the awe and majesty of the gigantic Horses you encounter a little later.

This theme carries right throughout the game as well. Wherever you are in the game; it sounds exactly like it should there. The voice actors are all professionals and it shows. Oh yeah---Harry Hamlin is in it. That would be worth a point all by itself.

Gameplay
I'm sure it's become apparent that I'm a fan of this game, so it should be no surprise that I would consider the Gameplay top-notch. There are violent battles with numerous foes. There are button-press minigames. There are rail-shooter sequences. And there are boss fights. Wonderful, difficult and inspired boss fights.

If you've played the first then you know that the game uses a weapon-based combo system. You will acquire a few different weapons throughout the game and they can all be upgraded via the collection of red orbs to become more powerful and of course, more deadly. The combo system is very well done and keeps you from having to resort to button-mashing the vast majority of the time.

There are also certain god-like powers that you acquire throughout the game that can be powered up like weapons to unlock more abilities and increase their potency. You also have a "Rage of the Titans" ability (the counterpart to GoW1's Rage of the Gods) that slowly fills during combat that when activated, turns you near-indestructible and envelops you in flame.

Various chests scattered and hidden throughout the levels will give you a health or magic power refill. There are also collectibles located throughout the levels that will give you rewards like increased health or magic meter or give you certain cheat abilities that can be activated later.

Everything is expertly done overall, however there were a few spots that shined a little less brightly. For example there are some sequences where the combat and environment are set against you in such a way that resembles excessive repetition and you might get the feeling that the game is being kind of cheap. There are also some scenes in the FMV's that create plot holes which might be tough to fill in with the imagination.

There is one such hole that shows someone who is a big part of the game has a softer side. Maybe it's just me but I really could have done without seeing that. I would feel remiss if I didn't mention that how much you enjoy cliffhangers will determine how you feel about the ending of this one. The gameplay overall was definitely astounding but just shy of perfect.

Staying power
The game is fairly long for an action-adventure title. It will probably take between 12 and 14 hours to finish a play-through on the Normal setting. Considering all the hidden items, the stuff you weren't sure how to reach and really just how fun the game is anyway; there is every reason in the world to play through at least twice.

There are also special costumes and additional game types that become available after you beat it the first time. The higher the difficulty you can beat it on the more content you unlock. Sadly, the higher difficulties may be a bit much for many players, but there are always codes and cheats I suppose.

There is also a bonus disc already included that contains commentary and making-of materials. There's no charge for the bonus stuff either which is unlike most special/collectors edition games. Anyone that saw the bonus content on GoW1 will know that they put quality stuff in their extras with minimal fluff.

The WOW factor
The WOW factor should be pretty evident by now I suppose. This game packs everything you'd want in this type of game and presents it as a mythological tale of epic proportions. It looks, plays and sounds great and will keep you coming back for more. If he hadn't already with GoW1; Kratos has taken his chained blades and carved his name into video game legend.