An excellent follow up to God of War, with the same mind-blowing action as before, and even better boss fights.
The story picks up right where it left off in the conclusion of the first God of War. Kratos, the newly crowned God of War is back for even more vengeance as he sets out to wreak havoc on city after city. During an attack on the city of Rhodes, Kratos' powers are drained away by a mysterious eagle. After some early fighting sequences and a boss battle, Kratos unsurprisingly runs into some trouble and is finished off by the God, Zues. However this isn't quite the end for the ever increasingly pissed off Kratos as he escapes from Hades again, and is rescued by the Titan Gaia. The Titan informs Kratos that he must reach the Sisters of Fate so he can have control of time and reverse what happened in his encounter with Zues.
God of War II definitely keeps the journey interesting throughout the admirable story telling. The story doesn't just keep moving forward, it fills in moments of Kratos' dark past along with other various events from the past that gives a more clear picture of what is going on. Greek mythology of course plays an important role on practically all of the characters and settings. Anyone interested in mythology will surely get a great taste of it. Obviously the story telling and the story itself aren't the best aspect of God of War II, which is found out the moment you take control of Kratos.
The game play itself is essentially identical to its predecessor. Even the powers, some of which are new, are virtually the same. There are a few exceptions of course, like the Wings of Icarus, and a few new weapons that include a Barbarian Hammer and Spear of Destiny. The ability to pause time for short periods of time is also another additional feature. However, even with an assortment of new abilities and powers, the game play is much of the same in comparison to the first God of War. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the combat can be a bit repetitive, and at times, rather simple. Button mashing is inevitable throughout the game. On the bright side, the result of said button mashing often leads to satisfyingly bloody and gory results. There are many combos to perform as well as additional ones to unlock via upgrades.
Upgrades from collected red orbs boost the power of Kratos' weapons and abilities. And like before, Gorgan eyes and Phoenix feathers improve the amount of health Kratos has, and the amount of magic that can be used before it needs refilled. In addition to these items, there are other things to collect, like Urns, which can unlock bonus features. Some of these items can be well hidden, and as a result makes finding them an excellent sense of accomplishment while fighting or jumping your way through a level.
There are a number of mini-platforming sequences along with several puzzles. Luckily, the majority of them aren't nearly as frustrating as some of them were in God of War. That said, this game is overall significantly less challenging than before, but that doesn't mean it isn't as fun. Nor does it mean the quality of the puzzles and platforming moments are lacking. One of the areas in God of War II that shines the most would be the boss fights. There are a good number of them, and overall they are quite entertaining. The techniques for defeating some of these large foes are often a bit too simplistic, but there are some a tad more complicated and tougher to get through. Either way, these battles usually end in fascinatingly gruesome ways.
Almost no other game on the PS2 surpasses the visuals of God of War II. Playing in HD on the PS3's God of War Collection make the graphics look even better. The cut-scenes appear to be grainy and lower in quality than the actual game itself, but it does not blemish the overall experience. The level designs themselves are truly remarkable, especially when considering how large some of the locations are, and how well they flow together from level to level. The background music and overall sounds are also outstanding. The orchestra styled music is back, and it's almost as epic as it was in the previous title. The voice acting is also impressive, and improves the overall atmosphere of the game.
Playing through God of War II is never really a chore as there is almost always something exciting waiting around the corner. This amazing near-masterpiece of awesomeness will last about 10 hours or so on a first play through. The difficulty levels match accordingly with their descriptions of "easy", "medium", and so on. The puzzles, while neatly designed, aren't nearly as frustrating as before. The story wraps up nicely, except it doesn't really end. Now that God of War III is out, it's obvious to expect that God of War II's story leaves a lot of room for a sequel, so in the end you'll be wanting more. Nonetheless, a lot is still gotten out of it, and is all in all an excellent follow up to the successful God of War. Not only that, it will likely remain as one of the last, and best, exclusives for the PS2.