Platform: Playstation 2
Genre: 3rd-Person Action Adventure
Developer: SCE Studios Santa Monica
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: US: March 13, 2007 - Europe: March 20, 2007
If there’s one thing that the Hammered Brothers love, it is visceral over-the-top combat and raw, punishing violence. And that’s just when we’re drinking. But for those who still own a PS2, God of War 2 provides all that and more with one of the most wildly entertaining and thoroughly polished games of this generation. The latest effort from the folks at SCE Studios Santa Monica is easily the best PS2 gaming experience of the year to date and is one of the best action-adventure games you might ever play.
Steeped in Greek mythology, God of War 2 continues the saga of the anti-hero Kratos, the fallen Spartan warrior who has just exacted his revenge on the god Ares for ruining his life. He now finds himself forced into assuming the fallen god’s role against his will and has showed his displeasure by going on the warpath against all of Greece, gods included. Zeus, threatened by this, ultimately tricks Kratos into relinquishing his godly powers and attempts to kill him in the process. Unfortunately for Zeus, Kratos is one tough sum’ bitch.
It is your job to guide Kratos to the Sisters of Fate in order to avenge this betrayal. These divine Sisters control the threads of fate and have the power to send you back in time so you can curb-stomp Zeus prior to his stealing your godly powers. During your journey you will encounter other characters and gods from the Greek mythos. You can also expect to run into quite a few more boss fights than in the original God of War, the lack of which was one of the few complaints about the original game.
Along the way you will find yourself immersed in some of the most epic and visually impressive settings ever produced on the PS2. A few examples include the snowy mountains where the massive titan Typhus calls home, the overgrown forests leading up to the outskirts of the Palace of the Fates, to the stone and steel of the Grecian temples and the fire and lava of the underworld just to name a few. All of these set pieces are beautifully designed and never feel like they are arbitrarily thrown into the game. Each of the settings manages to feel important to the story and seems well-done in general. All of these sections look gorgeous and push the PS2 hardware further than you’d ever think possible. Clean and detailed textures, vibrant particle effects, and some other tricks such as floor reflections really sparkle here. All of this is done without any frame-rate issues; however you will get semi-regular visual tearing while playing. But given how impressive the graphics are and how little it impacts the game, you won’t be complaining.
Also impressive is the sheer amount of scope and size given to some of these areas. Images do better than words here, but suffice it to say that some of these backdrops are simply enormous for a game of this genre. Other than maybe Final Fantasy XII, I don’t know of another game out for the PS2, or any system for that matter, that makes better use of backgrounds and sense of scale to create such imposing and flat out huge backdrops. And unlike most games that would be happy to have such large backdrops just for atmosphere, God of War 2 takes it a step further by making most of the visible world a part of the actual gameplay, although it might take you a few hours before you actually reach these places.
The epic nature of your journey is further enhanced by an absolutely flawless musical score that puts big budget Hollywood productions to shame. The score can be both powerful or subdued depending on what is occurring on screen. It pulses and flows with the gameplay perfectly and never seems out of place.
And while atmosphere in God of War 2 might be awe-inspiring, don’t expect things to be a walk in the park. Just like the previous entry in the series, you’ll be doing battle with a wide variety of mythologically inspired beasties such as minotaurs and giant Cyclops on your way to revenge. Kratos has more than enough moves and combinations to slice, dice, and otherwise eviscerate his enemies like a man possessed by a blender.
Some of these combinations can be very button-mashy at times, but given the over the top brutality that is encouraged throughout the game it hardly seems out of place. Also returning from the original game are the ultra-violent death moves that have you using timed button presses while engaged in brief mini-games of sorts with morbidly satisfying results. The game rewards you for performing these savage combinations and death moves by giving you red orbs that you can use to power your abilities even more. None of these elements are new to the series, but considering how successful they were in the previous iteration, you’ll be glad to have them back.
While the nuts and bolts of the game play haven’t change much, there are still some new touches added to the already great blend of action, adventure, and puzzle elements already firmly rooted in the original God of War. One of these new inclusions will have you rocketing through the skies on the back of a Pegasus. This mostly serves as an intermission between the main levels of the game but is a total blast to play. You control your flying steed as you battle foes in the air and dodge aerial attacks almost as if you were playing a flying shoot’em up game.
The most impressive part of all of this is the incredibly gory finishing moves you are able to perform while airborne. These are some of the most brutal and sadistic finishers in the entire game and will have you saying ‘holy shit!’ more than once.
Kratos also has the ability to use the dual blades that are chained to his arms as a grappling hook in some areas. This new gameplay mechanic, along with some very creative level design, has Kratos defying gravity in ways never possible before.
You can also expect the occasional puzzle designed around the new grappling ability as well. Some of these can be very frustrating at first, but for the most part they are done without feeling cheap and give a great sense of accomplishment once you figure them out. This can also be said for the rest of the puzzles you’ll encounter. Many of them are clever to the point of being devious, but they never ruin the pace of the game. In some cases they might actually improve the overall pace by giving you a chance to rest your fingers and give your a brain a welcome challenge.
My one complaint about the puzzles is that they seem to follow the same basic routine of pull this lever and push this block, etc. By the time you complete the game you’ll probably never want to see a lever again. That being said, the majority of the puzzles introduce something fresh and unique to bust your brain on without getting too repetitive. Be warned though, some of these areas can be extremely frustrating. Don’t be surprised if you have to take a break and complete some parts after you’ve had a chance to calm down a bit.
This also brings up one of the most important core aspects of God of War 2 - it’s challenging gameplay. It is one of the rare titles of this generation that is unapologetically difficult. In today’s world of games with toned down difficulty for mainstream consumption, this is truly a god-send for the hardcore gamers out there who can still appreciate a challenge.
Some of these challenges, especially in the Titan mode available after beating the game, are borderline psychotic. But like all good challenges, the large amount of unlockable content holds up it’s end of the risk versus reward equation. And when you factor in the tight controls which improve upon the nearly flawless first game, you’ll find that the unforgiving difficulty of these extra challenges are still beatable and are governed by skill. There is also an easy mode for the more casual gamers who need a reprieve from the sometimes intimidating degree of difficulty.
God of War 2 takes all of the great things from the original game and further refines them into what is guaranteed to be one of the best releases of the year. Every aspect of the game oozes the type of production value and attention to detail that you just don’t see very often in any type of media, let alone a video game. The result is one of the most engaging action games you will ever have the enjoyment of playing. The last great PS2 game is here and you owe it to yourself to invest the 13 or so hours it’ll take you to fully experience it.
2 comments
well you about covered everything, great review, same jock-fest but for good reasons
Yep, damn good review. At first I thought, “oh man, that’s long” but the whole thing is totally relevant and on-spot.