Gamernode: Reviews - God of War II

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• God of War II
• PlayStation 2
• SCEA
• SCEA
• March 13th, 2007

Visually, the game is stunning, and easily one of the top games on the PS2 when it comes to graphical performance. Each area has a unique look, and there are some static scenes that will make you wish you could take a picture or video. For example, there's one area where you have to run down an extremely long (and large) chain to reach four horse statues built by a titan. As you run away from the camera, the camera stays stationary, and Kratos gets smaller and smaller until you can barely see him -- but the horses remain the same, and their immense size is put into perspective, as is Kratos's mortality. Small scenes like this make the game a wonderful experience, and are almost enough to make you forget how annoying it can be when you can't adjust the camera.

With how impressive the visuals were, I was surprised when I realized that the audio in the game was nearly as good. The music is incredibly well done (if you like instrumental and game music, pick up the CD), and for the most part the voiceover work is top-notch. There are a few celebrity voices in the game, but they fit the part they play, and are obviously not just cast so that Sony has a name to put in the advertisements. It's refreshing to see a title put a lot of work into the voice acting portion of a game, and it really paid off, as the cutscenes are top-notch.

With the large and dedicated fan base it has, Sony made a smart move by including the bonus DVD. The bonus DVD itself may not be something to write home about, but for fans of the games it's a nice little addition. The DVD features over two hours of content, including documentaries, interviews, music, behind-the-scenes voiceover work, deleted levels, and more. On its own, the bonus content probably wouldn't be enough to warrant purchase. Packaged with the game in a two disc set, though, it's a nice way to kill a couple of hours while you wait for your turn to play.

Like I mentioned earlier, God of War 2 doesn't really bring a lot of new stuff to the table. While the grappling hook is a nice touch, the other new additions seem to be there more for the sake of existing rather than to further improve the gameplay. The ability to climb on roof-like surfaces is fun at first, but you soon realize that it does nothing more than give SCEA an excuse to increase the wall-scaling portions of gameplay, which can be one of the most frustrating and annoying elements. The flight sequences are a fun break from the action, but even with only two present they get repetitive. Where the normal combat has wonderful locations and enemies to keep your mind off of the at-times button mashing, in flight there isn't a whole lot to do other than dodge attacks, dash, hit square or triangle and repeat.

The fact that so much of God of War II is similar to God of War makes it hard to give an accurate score. Should it be docked since it's "same ol' same ol'," or should it be praised for doing the same thing, but doing it so well that you don't care? In the end, I'm going to have to lean more towards the latter. The first God of War was never about deep, involving combat -- it was about solving puzzles, having an entertaining classical setting and hacking your way through hordes of enemies. God of War II continues the tradition, but improves in just about every area. Sure, the combat isn't something to write home about, but the scenery, design, pacing, plot, characters and fun are. In my opinion, it's the greatest action adventure game on the PS2. If you loved the first game or love insane, bloody and intense action in general, you need to pick up God of War II. There are a few promising PS2 titles down the road, but for all intents and purposes, God of War II is a fitting end to what may be the greatest console.

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