Incredible sequel to an incredible game, and likely the last great game for the PlayStation 2
The premise for God of War 2 is that as the new God of War, Kratos is getting tired of the gods, and as he watches his beloved Spartans battling in the city of Rhodes, Kratos decides he wants in on the action. Arriving on the scene in massive form, Kratos helps his brother Spartans with the destruction of Rhodes, but a bird flying around the city, believed to be a god by Kratos, zaps Kratos causing to lose some of his godly powers, but he still some of his powers, which include the Poseidon AoE lightning magic attack from the first game, and you work your way around Rhodes, occasionally fighting the gigantic Rhodes Colossus which was brought to life by the bird. I won't ruin what happens from here, but safe to say that it kick starts a new adventure for Kratos, this time with help from the mighty Titans, rather than the Gods of Olympus.
If you played the original God of War, then you'll feel right at home with the gameplay in God of War 2. The combat system and button pressing 'mini games' are back, with a few new sequences thrown in. Added this time is a couple of Pegasus flight sequences where you hop on the legendary flying horse and fight off other flying enemies, Star Fox or Panzer Dragoon style. The rest of the gameplay didn't change much at all, which is not a bad thing in God of War's case b/c, in my opinion, it has one of the best combat engines I have ever played. Combo chains are fluid, easily cancelable (if that's a word), and also look very very cool. Your main weapons are still the Blades of Chaos, renamed the Blades of Athena in GoW2, but you'll also have access to 2 subweapons that put the Blade of Artemis from GoW1 to shame. You'll acquire a giant hammer and a spear along the way, and the hammer, despite its slow attack speed, lays enormous beats. A few times I preferred using the hammer to the blades. Combat remains the same, horizantal attacks begin the Square button, vertical attacks with the triangle button, grabbing enemies with the O button (which also begins the button pressing 'Finish Him' mini games), X jumps, L1 blocks, R1 interacts with objects (and now when you open doors you hit R1 then the O button), the RA stick dodges, L2 activates magic, D-Pad selects magic, R2 changes subweapons. There are 3 new magic spells Kratos acquires on his adventure, another AoE lightning attack (smaller range this time), a magical bow and arrow, and a huge AoE earthquake attack. Returning is the Medusa turn enemy to stone magic. The new magic is just as good as the old magic, and works just as well. So like I said, the gameplay has not changed much since the first game.
What has changed, and this is not a major thing but something I wanted to mention, is a few of the little things. In the first game, Kratos had the assistance of the Gods in his quest to defeat Ares, so the magic he obtained was from the Gods, and when you saved, the message Zeus has given you an opportunity to save your game appeared. Now in GoW2, Kratos has turned his rage against the Gods, and receives assistances from the mighty Titans, so its Gaia has given you an opportunity to save, rather than Zeus. Its minor, but I thought it was very neat in the first game, and wanted to mention this about the second game.
Graphically everything still looks amazing, particularly since the PS2 is so old. Dave Jaffe and his Santa Monica studios did a remarkable job pushing the PS2 to create such amazing graphics. In addition to the in-game cutscenes, more CGI cutscenes are in GoW2 to help tell the story, as well as give background to the conflict. Everything in-game looks incredible. The scale of the game is still just remarkable and the environments Kratos visits are incredibly well made. Same goes for the various bosses you meet along the way and do battle with. The sound effects in the game are also handled well, and the voice acting is just as superb as it was in the first game. Same goes for the orchestral music that plays throughout the game, again just like in the first game. Whereas the first game was over in an epic 8-ish hours, the sequel does take a few hours more, clocking in around the 10-12 hour mark, which is still pretty good for an action adventure game. Returning is the Challenges, just like the first game, although this time you can save between challenges. Outside of not liking the gameplay, the only thing you can really complain about GoW2 is its length. That's about it. Overall God of War 2 may not quite match up with its predecessor, but as far as sequels go, God of War 2 is another masterpiece. Another epic storyline pitting humans against the Gods, more great combat, and more beautiful and well designed environments await those who want to continue Kratos' quest for revenge against the mighty Gods of Olympus. And if this is the last great game released for the PlayStation 2, and it probably is, then the PS2 is going out with a mighty big bang.