A sequel better than its predecessor? You betcha! God of War II features all of what the original did, plus tons more.
As a whole, God of War II still relies solely on somewhat frenetic and ultimately engaging battle sequences, with puzzles thrown in here and there for a small change of pace. Lucky for us, we've been graced with a much larger amount of said puzzles, but the combat system is more or less identical to that of the first God of War. Is this a bad thing, you ask? Absolutely NOT. I mean, was it bad to begin with? Exactly. A few new moves have been thrown in for good measure though, most of which obviously require little to no effort to execute due to the constant mashing of buttons, providing you're not a God of War veteran of sorts; a connoisseur of the combo arts.
To aid you in achieving the aforementioned incessant bloodshed, you obviously have your trademark Greek arsenal of might and magic (might being, you know, weapons). Since Athena is the only person you can trust at the moment given the circumstances, Kratos is still in possession of Athena's Blades, the powerful weapons that you were endowed with at the end of the first game. In addition to these, two others eventually become available to you, these being the slow but deadly Barbarian Hammer and the Spear of Destiny. New magical abilities are available to you as well, all of which are granted to Kratos by Titans rather than the gods that have very recently betrayed him. You can obviously upgrade your entire arsenal via hefty amounts of Red Orbs once again, something that must be done regularly in an attempt to stay one step ahead of the enemy. Overall, the combat mechanics are definitely what they should be, and the new additions really make them stand out even more over the game's predecessor.
Boss battles are also much more plentiful this time around, another definite plus, and the NEW gameplay mechanics that have been implemented, such as the riding of Pegasi (plural of Pegasus) are most certainly entertaining. In terms of the puzzles well, they're back too, AND in larger quantities. I mean, each puzzle is almost welcome in a sense, as some actually offer you a break from the riotous display of violence that'd taken place moments earlier. With that being said, enemies will sometimes attack you just as you begin to figure them out, which provides us with an extra challenge, but the sad part about it is that some of these puzzles seem a tad unpolished and incredibly unrewarding. As a matter of fact, this is really the only gripe I have about the gameplay; everything else is damn near flawless.
On another note, the Challenge of the Gods is also back, this time with fewer stages (7 instead of the original 10) and the ability to save after each one! It's actually quite like Devil May Cry in a way, as after you complete each one of these challenges, you're given a rank based on your overall performance: Mortal, God, or Titan. There's also a new arena mode that allows you to pit yourself against the enemies of your choice, but to unlock it you'll have to complete the Challenge of the Gods and achieve a "Titan" ranking on all stages. As a matter of fact, a majority of the bonus content is really only available after you complete everything else on the highest difficulties, something that most definitely isn't easy to do right off the bat.
Graphically, nothing touches God of War II on the PS2, period. The environments this time around are much bigger in both scope and scale, not to mention beautifully crafted. God of War II's attention to detail here is unmatched by any other game of its type, and if you're looking for a graphical powerhouse of massive proportions, you've come to the right place. Even the character modeling is impeccable; there's not a rough edge to be found on anyone, and yes, minor framerate issues ARE present, but only during instances where the screen is flooded with enemies and you're hacking away at them like a madman.
To expand upon this titles growing list of positive... everything, the voice acting is superb and I simply LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the musical score. By GOD do I love it. Call it a soft spot for epic Greek battle music, but the music in this game can keep you playing longer than the actual gameplay can. Okay, slight exaggeration but still, it's damn good. Sadly, Kratos has seemingly developed the habit of uttering the same grunts and moans characteristic of him fighting for long periods of time and dying. Judging by the game's relatively hard difficulty, you'll be hearing said noises over and over again, to the point where they'll almost start to be annoying.
In conclusion, God of War II is a fitting end to the PS2's legacy, a more than appropriate "swan song" if you will. The gameplay mechanics, old and new, along with pretty much everything else this title has to offer will undoubtedly be talked about for years to come. All in all, if you own a PS2 and like your fair share of Greek mythology, blood, gore, great voice acting, and (of course) boobies, God of War II is the game for you. Hell, even if you're not into a majority of these things, it should still be played by anyone and everyone.