User reviews

I don't like to give 10s, to me 10 out of 10 suggests perfection. Well, if there's anything that comes close, it's this game. I'm a huge fan of the first game, and as a seasoned gamer I can honestly say that the first level of the first game and the battle with the Hydra is one of my most memorable gaming experiences. The moment where Kratos is climbing the rope ladder on his way to take on the last (and easily biggest) Hydra head as the music beats out a score that is on par with some of John Williams' creations and as you climb you follow the neck going up... and up... and up... I was totally blown away. The scene was set perfectly, and the action throughout the rest of the game never let up. You'd think nothing can get more epic than the cinematic brilliance of God of War. Needless to say, I couldn't wait for number 2. Have they outdone themselves? Most certainly.

Kratos is an evil guy. No doubt about it. He has to be, because it really makes you believe that he's tough and stubborn enough to take on everything that he comes up against, even death... with a bit of help, of course. Bottom line - you don't want to cross him, or he'll make you pay. Never during this game will you be saying 'yeah right, he could never beat that', Kratos is a guy who is tirelessly fueled by being wronged and getting revenge at any cost. How can one man (former God, granted) take down the divinely-animated and superpowered Colossus of Rhodes? This is what makes him one of the most fun characters to play in any video game, ever. Each time you battle something, anything, in the game, from the smallest foe to the hugest behemoth, you know you're getting your money's worth. Just like the first game, almost every battle will end in a violent, totally brutal cinematic as Kratos dispatches anything that dares challenge him in the most horrible way you can think of, and it's these sequences that give the game its greatest strength. I never tire of seeing a hapless demon-type thing get it's own axe-wielding arm ripped off and said axe, still being held by said arm, impaling the demon's head... and this is only a very minor, quite common cinematic.

All the spectacular moves from the first game are here, with some entertaining new weapons and awesome new Godly powers thrown in, and all can be upgraded to make them more versatile and powerful, and the good thing is, they are all useful and fun. On the harder difficulty settings the game can become quite tactical, especially during the boss fights, as each one is fought in several stages until you finally wear the boss down and the final cinematic onslaught can begin. Victory can come down to what power you use, and when, along with how you manage your power meters, which is very refreshing in a pure action game like this. Sure you can use the same moves over and over, and the trusty Athena's Blades are probably still the most useful weapon in the game, but hopefully you'll find this won't get you as far as you'd think and also, where's the fun? The sound is incredible, fully digital 5.1 surround supported. If you have the means, this is definitely what you want the game to be running on. Each slash and swing of the blades and earth shaking crash and thump are spot-on, and the utterly impressive music score effortlessly complements the action and the epic scale of the game. Graphics are top notch, much more polished than the first game (can you believe it?), and really show what the PS2 can do. The environments are huge and immensely detailed - the camera angles, the jaw-dropping scenery... this is cinematic gaming at its best. I know I keep using that word - cinematic, but that's the best word to describe the game in it's entirety. All the characters are equally detailed and beautifully animated. Kratos himself moves with much more fluidity than the first game. This game definitely would not look out of place on the PS2's bigger brother as it stands at the moment, and that's really saying something. You can run the game on a PS3 and while this does give the graphics a noticeable boost, especially on a HD TV, the differences are negligible and the game still looked ridiculously awesome running with my PS2 and my 80cm curved-screen (yes, not even flat-screen) CRT TEAC. A bigger screen definitely helps, and with a game as epic as this, it's definitely a case of the bigger the better.

As with the first, the game's creators' passion for making such a memorable game really shines through, as does their passion for the classical mythology on which the game is based, and yes, I'm a big fan of that too. They really do it justice. You can tell they loved every second of making this game, and they should be very proud of their achievement. Kratos only knows what they're gonna do with the power of the PS3 to work with for the third instalment, though while after playing through and seeing the end of this game you might (like me) be shouting 'BRING ON THE THIRD", let's hope they take their time to make something even more special. After what they've done with this game on the now pre-generation PS2, it definitely should be.

God of War could be my favorite game of all-time. It had non-stop action, blood, gore, nudity, a sex-game, a great story, amazing graphics, neat puzzles....I can go on and on about how great this game is. Well, the highly anticipated sequel has come out, and man oh man, this baby does not disappoint.

Kratos is getting a little power hungry and the higher-ups are not liking this one bit, especially the big man himself, Zeus. Zeus demands Kratos to stop his actions, but unfortunately for Zeus, Kratos is a little stubborn. Zeus then takes actions into his own hands and leaves Kratos fighting for his life. From this moment on the violence kicks into extremely high gear....scratch that, for the reason there was a epic boss battle just moments prior. Well what follows after Zeus and Kratos have this little showdown is one of the most beautiful, barbaric, action bloodfests I've ever played. Like what I said above, it's the same here, but improved upon. You got the blood, you got the boobs, you got the puzzles, you got the story, the graphics, the screaming, the bosses, the torture, the....whoa.

I really didn't find any drawbacks with this game. Some people complain about the ending, I thought it was absolutely fine, and was pretty much expected. If I were to complain about anything, I'd complain about there wasn't enough of the Hi-Res Cinematics...especially in the boob department. And that Titan Mode is ridiculously difficult. But that's just because I'm an impatient panzy who's broken around a half a dozen controllers.

God of War II is easily one of the best games on the PS2 or on any console. If you're looking for a great action game look no further. If you're into action games like Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, Rygar or just a lover of great games like Shadow of the Colussus, Gears of War, Castlevanias....this game will definitely make you one happy little gamer. And if you enjoyed God of War, there is no reason why you shouldn't be playing this baby. 9.5 outta 10

From the moment this masterpiece begins, it is the most cinematic adventure ever captured in the medium of video gaming. God of War II, the follow-up to the hit action game, follows the anti-hero Kratos on his journey from godhood back to mortality. After being stripped of his godly powers and forced to watch his armies reduced to dust at the start of the adventure, Kratos makes it his mission to do the unthinkable - kill Zeus.

From there, Kratos embarks on an unbelievable adventure that sees him battling a living colossus from the inside-out, ending up with Atlas at the bottom of the Earth, and eventually twisting the very fabric of time in an attempt to achieve his bloody goals. Every other scene is a mini artistic masterpiece come-to-life, with some of the most jaw dropping visuals ever created in any medium. From a lush green valley, filled with crumbling columns to a living, bleeding cavern - your eyes rarely have a moment to rest.

The real icing on the cake is the voice acting, which is award-worthy. Michael Clarke Duncan is wonderful - and hearing Harry Hamlin again playing Perseus (whom he played in Clash of the Titans) gave me geek chills! You simply cannot beat God of War II in terms of story, visuals, gameplay, and all-around fun. Games simply do not get much better than this.

A very long time to wait (2 years) and there we have God of War II !!! GOW I is one of the best PS2 games and this second part is even better: more action, more slashing, more weapons,... First the pros: - The voice acting is just fantastic (TC Carson - Kratos, Linda Hunt - Narrator, Gaia, Corey Burton - Zeus,...), - The environments are again beautiful (Rhodes, Typhon Mountain, Isle of Creation,...) - The game play (no explanation needed) - The soundtrack (speaks for itself) the cons: - the storyline wasn't bad but I liked the first game more, Kratos seeking revenge for what Ares did to his wife and child and hoping the gods would forgive his past. In part 2 it's just seeking revenge for what Zeus had done to him. - the additional weapons: 3 new weapons: the blade of Olympus (Strong weapons but difficult to wield and you can only upgrade it in bonus play), The barbarian Hammer (Powerful yet to slow for me) and the Spear of Destiny (Something in between the previous 2 weapons)

Overall: Your PS2 collection isn't complete without this masterpiece 9,5/10

God of war 2 is an truly astonishing game that excels in all areas and easily stakes its claim as the PS2's last great piece of software, it really is an awe inspiring gaming experience.

Continuing the bloody adventures of kratos, God of war 2 expands and improves on everything that made the first game such a classic. The play time is longer, the graphics are better, the combat is more visceral , the plot is more epic -it will make you want to play until you loose the feeling in your hands!

The games ONLY problem is the same one that plagued its predecessor: bad replay value . Just like in god of war, you have to complete the game again in an incredibly difficult "titan mode" to gain all of God of war 2's extra goodies. The game is so damn good that you'll find your self attempting to complete the game again in titan mode but there's a good chance that it will just prove to be too hard and prevent you from getting full value from the game. Hopefully things will improve with the next game.

Bad replay problems aside, God of war 2 is an essential title- its a thrilling , exhilarating game that will surprise , excite and even scare you at times! Bring on God of war 3......

'God Of War II (2007)' is a late addition to the PS2's library of titles, yet it stands out as one of its best. It's a hack 'n' slash adventure game set in Ancient Greece, the sequel to 'God Of War (2005)'. Its story centres around Kratos' journey to regain his powers after Zeus, in a trademark power play, tricks him into giving them up. The plot is probably the weakest in the mainline series but it still works well, taking you through various facets of Greek mythology and having a strong sense of pace. It has its stand-out moments and also begins to build towards a much bigger finale. The gameplay is basically the same as that of its predecessor, a mixture of combat and puzzles, but it's more refined in almost every aspect. The combos are tighter, the magic is stronger and the violence is more brutal. From set-piece to set-piece, the game keeps you hooked. As Kratos regains his strength, you gain more abilities; you can really feel the difference in power by the end. Speaking of the end, the final boss battle is great. It feels epic in scope and has a hint of tragedy to it, too. Ultimately, it sets up its sequel remarkably well. Overall, this is an excellent action title. It's really fun throughout. 10/10

This game is better in every aspect, new creatures more intense bossfights and story moments, the ending it self makes the next part the masterpiece it is.

After defeating Ares in the first game of God of War 2, the new god of war Kratos is punished for a mistake, and then he swears to kill Zeus. REVISED

Absolute phenomenal sequel. I personally preferred the first overall, but the majority of this is more of the same -- and I welcomed it! Must-play for hack 'n slash fans.

As a first-timer, I've never really played a God of War game before. This will be the first of many for me. I absolutely enjoyed every last aspect of the gameplay down to the plot line, as well as the character development. Nothing is extensively flawed, which is a nice touch for a change, and I'm already experiencing the bitter seduction of God of War III.

...At times, especially after beating the games, I feel rather drawn to the plot line. Perhaps it's the warped view on Greek Mythology or the addicting gameplay. Or maybe it's both. Either way, this makes this incredible sequel an instant smash. I hope to see where the plot goes when I fight my way through Mount Olympus in the next installment.

any one who ever says a bad thing about this games needs to be eating ...no really ... this game, holy crap, is the greatest thing since the first one ..and it was the greatest game i have ever played ... same basics as the first one so they didn't screw up the mechanics (thankfully) same great look in scenery, characters, and the general over all feel of game play is great. it combines all aspects of good gaming... and the puzzles ... they are good but not so complex and boring like some games named resident evil ... where yo u spend 5 minutes killing 5 zombies then another 3 hours solving one puzzle to do it all over again ...in this game you don't need "3 pieces of the painting to unlock the heart door to get the square key to .." instead you need to pound this guys face into a book so he can traslate his own scrafice to the fates so you can fight giant demonic sea monsters ...lol.... and it does take 3 long boring hours to do it because one puzzle is a part of another and its a part of another and so on ....so its all linked and really well ... your doing so much all the time its keeps you to busy to be bored ...and thats the point of a video game .... and honestly if they make the movie it ad better be done by the exact same people as the game and they need full controll other wise it will be the same crap thats been falling out of the now "poop shoot" cinima super cloner known as Hollywood, big visuals and nothing else .....so we can only hope

(4), vocalist - GOD IN A MACHINE

Yes, Kratos is back and he is the God of War. At least for a couple of minutes into the game he is. It really is not all that long before he is stripped of his godly powers so that he can defeat this giant statue with this really powerful sword. Well this turns out to be a trick by the king of the gods himself, Zeus and Kratos is killed. However, this is only the beginning, with the aid of Gaia one of the titans Kratos begins a search for the sisters of fate in a quest to undo the betrayal by Zeus and to kill Zeus. You get to go through more levels this time as there is less backtracking than there normally is in a game like this. So the game stays fresh throughout. Then you get to see other characters from Greek mythology and you normally get to see Kratos rip them apart in very unpleasant ways. There are a couple of good boss fights in this one, most you have to figure some trick to defeat them. At one point when I was fighting the Kraken I just could not figure out why it was not dying, then I figured out the trick necessary to kill him. The fighting is pretty much the same as the first game, but then if it is not broke do not fix it. Though as with the first game they give you extra weapons, but the default blades are still the best. All the other weapons just tend to lag while with the default ones, combat is so much smoother. Though there are a couple of really nice spells in this one as the earthquake spell really did some damage. The game is not perfect though, there are one to many timing puzzles that drove me crazy, and the game is once again on the short side. Still, it is nice to play a game that is not tailored to the online crowd and I am hoping that God of War III is also just a very grand single player adventure.

God of War could be my favorite game of all-time. It had non-stop action, blood, gore, nudity, a sex-game, a great story, amazing graphics, neat puzzles.... I can go on and on about how great this game is. Well, the highly anticipated sequel has come out, and man oh man, this baby does not disappoint.

Kratos is getting a little power hungry and the higher-ups are not liking this one bit, especially the big man himself, Zeus. Zeus demands Kratos to stop his actions, but unfortunately for Zeus, Kratos is a little stubborn. Zeus then takes actions into his own hands and leaves Kratos fighting for his life. From this moment on the violence kicks into extremely high gear....scratch that, for the reason there was a epic boss battle just moments prior. Well what follows after Zeus and Kratos have this little showdown is one of the most beautiful, barbaric, action bloodfests I've ever played. Like what I said above, it's the same here, but improved upon. You got the blood, you got the boobs, you got the puzzles, you got the story, the graphics, the screaming, the bosses, the torture, the....whoa.

I really didn't find any drawbacks with this game. Some people complain about the ending, I thought it was absolutely fine, and was pretty much expected. If I were to complain about anything, I'd complain about there wasn't enough of the Hi-Res Cinematics...especially in the boob department. And that Titan Mode is ridiculously difficult. But that's just because I'm an impatient panzy who's broken around a half a dozen controllers.

God of War II is easily one of the best games on the PS2 or on any console. If you're looking for a great action game look no further. If you're into action games like Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, Rygar or just a lover of great games like Shadow of the Colussus, Gears of War, Castlevanias....this game will definitely make you one happy little gamer. And if you enjoyed God of War, there is no reason why you shouldn't be playing this baby. 9.5 outta 10.

The first God of War is a brilliant game... the second is damn near perfect. My biggest gripes with the first God of War title were it's sizeable but unvaried levels and infrequent boss encounters. This game's levels are sprawling and unique, each corner feels different and is a joy to explore, packed with puzzles to put your brain to the test and varied enemy types to brutalise. The epic boss battles of the first have also been doubled and improved upon, pushing the PS2 to it's limits without sacrificing performance. The story here is also every bit as gripping as the first; although not as emotionally charged as it's predecessor it makes up for it in sheer scale and stakes and leaves you on a cliff hanger of which I haven't seen it's equal before or since.

Verdict: A 9 out of 10

God of War 2 has the Wilhelm scream. You can hear it when the barbarian king shoots an arrow at a Spartan and the Spartan gets hit in the neck and blood goes everywhere. There is another Wilhelm scream when Kratos attacks a young Spartan off the walkway. The Wilhelm scream was created by Sheb Wooley and was first used in the movie Distant Drums. Sheb Wooley appeared in the TV program Rawhide as the cow hand Pete. Other games and movies that have the Wilhelm Scream are Tropic Thunder, The Command, Ninja Assassin, A Man Apart, Star Wars, The Beast Within, Don't forget 174 titles of the Wilhelm scream congrats, Plot keywords: Wilhelm Scream, Action adventure, Fantasy, Kraken.

As we return to the adventures of gaming's shoutiest protagonist, I must wonder exactly whose idea it was on the Olympian council that the man who spent the entire last game stabbing minotaurs in the throat as a coping mechanism was perfectly suited to, and wouldn't abuse the position, of the new god of war.

I guess that might as well lead in to the fact that I don't find the story in this game anywhere near as interesting as it was in the last one, as the majority of it begins and ends with "Zeus killed me. I kill Zeus now." There is one stand-out moment towards the end of the game that brings it back to the heights of the first game, but overall, story-wise, it's not as good. Better paced, maybe, at least half of the game isn't spent in one singular location, but nevertheless it does slightly feel like they didn't have anywhere else to take Kratos' character in after the first game.

But, then again, story isn't a huge selling point for this game, and what is there is still entertaining enough. It's the ultra-violent, ultra-satisfying, ultra-angry combat that lies at the heart of God Of War, and on that front, it's back and better than ever. It feels less monotonous, there's extra weapons to muck about with, the spell balance is much better than the last one (where spamming Poseidon's Rage was typically how you got from A to B when using spells), and there's a wider enemy variety, more bosses, and even more puzzles.

The game looks great too, it fully deserves the title of the PS2's swan song, and the environment design is utterly gorgeous, much more so than the first game in my opinion.

And overall, I think it's ever so slightly better than the first.

God of War II is another classic in PlayStation's boldest franchise to ever grace the PS2: and its ramping up of the story and Kratos' lust for vengeance and destruction make for some of gaming's finest set-pieces, even fifteen years since the game's release.

God of War II has crazier action, bolder scale and a story to match the ambition of the game's scope and inspiring awe in the minds of everyone who played it all the way through. Fantastic stuff for a fantastic system.

5/5 stars. A sequel that lives up to its predecessor and even surpasses it in certain respects.

God of War II is an extraordinary sequel to its glorious predecessor and expands on combat system and story.

Story: The story of the second part is in my opinion a little bit better than that of the first part. Especially the ending let me really looking forward for the third game. Surely it should not be as great as the end of the saga... (8/10)

Gameplay: The gameplay sets forth what the first game established. Combat system and enemies are quickly recognized so there is no need for explanation. Some actions got better (f.e. Opening doors/chests). In summary it feels even a bit better than the first. There are the beloved puzzles too, so there is always a mix between action and thinking. (9/10)

Graphics: Like the first game I played the HD version. Original gameplay looked great aswell so I think it was good for its time. Animations of finishers got a bit better. (8/10)

Combat: Nothing to say about this. The combat is as amazing as in the first game. (8/10)

Verdict: God of War II expands the franchise in an epic way even getting better in case of story and gameplay. Like the first one this is the best you can get when you're interested in greek mythology so use your ps plus premium and play it for FREE(!).