“God of War II” captivates

Now that all three major next-gen gaming consoles are on the market, support for older systems such as Xbox, Gamecube and Playstation 2 has been steadily dwindling. But even though these consoles are headed into the twilight of their lives, some aren’t going down without a fight – especially the Playstation 2.

Since Sony’s Playstation 3 was the last major console to be released, support for the PS2 continued longer than support for the Xbox or the Gamecube – which is excellent for PS2 owners like myself who are still largely unsure about buying a PS3. Also, being that the PS2 is on its way to retirement, it is quite lucky for gamers that excellent games like “God of War II” are still being released.

After the events of the first game have concluded, everyone’s favorite anti-hero, Kratos, has taken his spot on Mount Olympus as the god of war. Since ascending to the throne and becoming a god, Kratos has amassed an enormous Spartan army and sets out to conquer as much of Greece as he can. Unfortunately for Kratos, his actions since becoming god of war have severely angered the gods of Olympus, most importantly Zeus himself. As Kratos’ army begins to attack the city of Rhodes, Zeus and Athena devise a plan to betray Kratos and trick him into giving up his godly powers, essentially making him mortal again and, if you’ve played the first game and know Kratos’ demeanor – being stabbed in the back and taken advantage of is not something he will take lightly. After his betrayal at the hands of Zeus, Kratos sets out on an adventure to find the Sisters of Fate and change his destiny. Along the way, Kratos will find new allies in his quest to kill Zeus and bring Olympus to its knees.

If I could only use one word to describe this game it would be “epic” because all aspects of this game feel larger than life. Kratos will explore massive, beautifully detailed levels, take on gigantic bosses and enemies and eventually do battle with Zeus himself.

To me, the greatest asset of the “GoW” series is the developer’s ability to pull parts from all aspects of Greek mythology to create an amazing story and this game is no different. The story is so enthralling that even if you aren’t a fan of action/adventure games with platformer elements (the term used to describe a game where the main character is often faced with a series of platforms which he must find a way to traverse), “GoW II” will still entertain.

But even if the story somehow doesn’t quite grab you, “GoW II” found a way to be even more brutally violent than its predecessor. Kratos has all new weapons, magical powers and fatality moves to employ as he slices, dices, and eviscerates his way to the Sisters of Fate. Though the new weapons, such as the barbarian hammer and the spear of destiny, are decent additions to this game, I found myself still using the default weapon, the blades of Athena, for a majority of the game.

“GoW II” also introduced “new” magical spells and I write new in quotations because the spells in this game are essentially the same from the first game, only modeled and named differently.

This game also introduces many new gameplay features to aid Kratos in his quest, with perhaps the most interesting of these being the new grappling hook ability which allows Kratos to swing from certain points on a level, increasing the game’s platforming depth. “GoW II” also gives Kratos a new parry ability which rewards players for well timed blocking as well as a new time slowing ability which aids Kratos in completing many puzzles throughout the game.

But perhaps my favorite improvement in this sequel was the addition of more boss battles. In the first game, bosses were few and far between but this game is literally littered with them. Plus, many of the bosses aren’t just larger enemies who take longer to kill, but rather adventures all their own – most notably the very first level of the game in which Athena brings the Colossus of Rhodes to life and Kratos must find a way to bring the behemoth down.

Though this game improves on practically all aspects of the first game, it is not without imperfections. First, being that this game is a platformer as well as an action game, it is important that gamers be able to see the environments which they must jump around in and unfortunately for this game, the camera often hinders more than it helps. Also this game feels and plays a lot like the first game, which is both good and bad. It is great because the first game was a classic but it is not so good because it almost feels like you’ve played the same game before. Plus, this game is over way too quickly – granted I played it almost nonstop once I bought it, I still managed to finish it in around eleven to twelve hours.

But even with these minor gripes and complaints, “GoW II” is still an incredible game that any PS2 owner should not overlook.