God of War II is undoubtedly the most thrilling and cinematic action game experience on the PlayStation 2.
Weaknesses: A few really tough spots; Occasionally some areas feel a bit like trial and error and can be immensely frustrating.
If the original God of War was any indication of what to expect from future action games, expectations for God of War II were naturally quite high. From the moment you start a new game in God of War II, it is clearly evident that the developers set out to completely outdo the original, and boy did they ever.
God of War II begins shortly after the ending of the first game when Kratos defeated Ares in combat and became the new god of war. As shown by the original game's ending, Kratos was not content with simply just becoming a god. After his ascension to Olympus the armies of Sparta left destruction in their wake, and did so in the name of Kratos. Threatened and angered by Kratos, Zeus betrays Kratos by tricking him into draining his powers into the Sword of Olympus, which Zeus then kills Kratos with. Fortunately for Kratos he is revived by Gaia and given the opportunity to seek out the Sisters of Fate, where he can hope to go back in time and change his destiny.
When you first start playing God of War II it is immediately apparent that it is going to be one hell of a game. From the very first moments you are immediately thrust into battle against a giant living statue known as the Colossus. This immediately fixes one of the biggest flaws in the first God of War. It was a fantastic game, but a fantastic game such as God of War needed more boss fights. Fortunately for us, the development team almost went overboard with boss fights in God of War II. There are tons of them, and they are absolutely amazing.
God of War II features the return of the context-sensitive mini-game sequences where when you deal enough damage to an enemy the circle button will appear and you can engage in a mini-game that will deal a brutal finishing move if properly executed. It's just great watching Kratos flying around in the air doing all of these insane moves with his blades against foes that range from twice his size, to a hundred times his size. The greatest part is that you actually get to take part in these crazy moves, and they are executed so well, displaying the button presses in the center of the screen so you can still watch what is going on instead of simply having to focus on a specific button press. This is a part of what makes the God of War series so engaging because you literally have to hammer on the buttons to do pretty much everything. Need to open a chest? Hold down the R1 button. Need to open a door? Get hammering on that circle button. It might seem like such a minor thing, and at times it can feel kind of ridiculous, but something so minor goes miles in helping the player feel connected to the game experience.
The majority of God of War II is quite similar to the original game. That being said, just like its predecessor, God of War II is a completely linear game. There is almost no room for exploration aside from discovering small troves of hidden treasure chests which contain various power-ups, such as gorgon eyes to increase your overall health, or red orbs which you can use to power-up your weapons and magic. You will spend the entirety of the game going from point A to point B fighting enemies and solving various, smart puzzles, to eventually meet a deadly boss.
The combat in God of War II is great, there are so many different moves you can perform with Kratos' chain blades that the combat rarely ever feels old. The best part is that there are multiple weapons that you can use to keep things fresh. To make the deal even better you can use the red orbs you've collected from treasure chests or slain enemies to power-up your weapons. Powering up your weapons holds many positive benefits, such as new combos, and stronger attacks. The new weapons are especially cool, you'll get the Barbarian Hammer, the Spear of Destiny, and the Sword of Olympus, all of which are fairly self-explanatory.
A pretty cool feature with the magic is that Kratos actually begins the game with Poseidon's Rage which was one of his abilities from God of War. Unfortunately this is the only one of the four magic spells that actually returns at the beginning of the game, but it isn't that big of a deal since Kratos learns a bunch of new magic spells anyways. Over the course of the game Kratos will learn a bunch of really cool spells such as Cronos' Rage, which functions very similar to Poseidon's Rage, except Kratos can run around and place up to 3 electric orbs anywhere and attack at the same time, instead of just unleashing a huge electrical storm in his immediate radius. He'll also get a new long range attack in the form of Typhon's Bane. It functions exactly like a bow and arrow, but uses magical energy.
Unsurprisingly God of War II further tries to incorporate even more platforming elements into the franchise despite the fact that it is still heavily action oriented. The greatest thing about this is that God of War II feels like it successfully combines the best aspects of platforming games like Jak & Daxter and action games like Devil May Cry into one kick-ass combination. Fortunately there is no completely random and irrelevant item collecting in God of War II, but the best aspects of platforming games, which is the action platforming, and the puzzle solving, shine brightly. There is a new 'chain swing' aspect introduced in God of War II which is fairly simple but works wonderfully. There are certain locations that will have a small glowing circle that you can latch onto by pressing R1 and can thus swing to new areas. You can gain momentum by holding the button down, and you'll have to do things like swing through an area quickly to get through a door before it closes. The craziness doesn't stop there though, Kratos will even eventually get a pair of wings that he will have to use to help him through a bunch of other crazy puzzles, and he can even use the wings to help him in battle which is pretty damn cool. The development team at Crystal Dynamics might want to play God of War II for a while and learn what it takes to make a proper action game, maybe then they can apply what they've learned to a new Legacy of Kain game if they ever make one.
The boss fights in God of War II are just simply astounding and come in by the truck load. In the first game they were sparse at best, but epic and memorable regardless. Fortunately the development team has read our minds and created some of the most memorable boss fights ever seen in a video game. It's really hard to talk about any other boss fights other than the Colossus fight because it would be spoiling them, but you are definitely in for a treat. The most memorable moment of any boss fight is near the end of the fight when you just perform some crazy-ass brutal move like slamming a guys head into a door twenty times in a row by hammering on the circle button while blood is flying everywhere. God of War II is definitely an extremely violent game, but it's not the type of violence that will make you squeamish, it's more of the type of violence that is just so ridiculously absurd that it's just plain awesome. If you want a definition of God of War's finishing moves, think: Mortal Kombat fatality.
God of War was for the most part, a fantastic looking game, but God of War II surprisingly raises the graphical level quite a bit higher than the original. There is a ton of really amazing lighting throughout the game, and the character models all look much better. You can really tell the PlayStation 2 is working up a sweat, especially due to the occasional screen-tearing. It can be kind of annoying at times, but this was also present in the first game. If occasional screen-tearing is the price to pay for amazing graphics and no slow-down whatsoever, then there isn't much to complain about. Chances are you won't pay much attention to it anyways. The cinematics in God of War II deserve a special mention because the cinematics are absolutely breath-taking. The cinematics in God of War II are also effectively placed at key points in the game and the ending cinematic is especially awesome.
As with all games, even the best games need a memorable soundtrack to get things going, and the musical score definitely delivers. You can expect to hear a lot of crazy orchestral tracks that will get you absolutely pumped when the action gets crazy on screen, and at some parts is ridiculously epic. Especially at the beginning of the game when it throws you into the crazy boss fight against the Colossus you've just got this crazy orchestral music blaring through your speakers and it's just really cool and is a part of what helps the whole God of War experience seem so cinematic. Like the previous game the voice acting is top notch, and you'll even get some surprising guest appearances like Michael Clark Duncan, who provides the voice of one of the Titans you will meet early on in the game. It's also worth mentioning that just like the previous game, the sound effects are as good as ever, and don't really need much elaboration.
God of War II is one of the few games that actually comes with a bunch of really cool bonus material at absolutely no extra charge whatsoever. The type of stuff you get with God of War II are the type of things that most publishers would be trying to charge you $10 extra for on top of the retail price, but no, with God of War II they throw that out the window, and it's great. Everyone gets the same experience for the same price, and maybe some more publishers might take note of this and start including some of these bonus features without trying to rip people off for them. It actually comes with a second disc which is a DVD with a ton of 'making of' content that is pretty cool if you are into that kind of stuff. As for the main game there are some really cool things you can unlock for bonus plays, such as alternate costumes like Kratos' god armor, and the 'cod of war' where Kratos wears a fish suit. A lot of this stuff can either be unlocked by completing the game on the various difficulty modes, or by successfully completing extra challenges like the Challenge of the Titans mode.
Despite the fact that God of War II was released during the end days of the PlayStation 2's golden age, it is still an absolutely phenomenal game and is the perfect swan song for one of the best platforms in video game history. The best thing about God of War II is that it is such an amazing experience, but there is still some room for improvement, and it will be amazing to see what the future holds. That being said, if you want to send your PlayStation 2 out with a bang, and then some, don't hesitate to pick up God of War II, you will not regret it.