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When the fist God of War came out two years ago, it caused a stir and became one of the greatest games for the Playstation 2. Now Kratos is back, continuing where he left off after the death of Aries and gaining his elevated position as the new God of War.

Kratos, obsessed with war and vengeance through his pain, has been attacking the many great cities of Greece. Fed up with his overly violent ways, Zeus devises a way to impeach Kratos from his job as the God of war. He’s fallen from grace among the Gods. Even Athena poses as a threat to stop him. Through some treacherous scheming, Zeus succeeds in taking back the power Kratos has gained.

But Kratos stills has friends in high places. With the help of Gaia and the other titans, he embarks on another journey, this time to the island of the fates, to change his fate and once again, kill a god.

The story is pretty simple, and while not playing the first God of War won’t make it any less intense, it’s always nice to have that back story.
Graphically, God of War II has gone through the motions of the updates and gained a slightly higher polygon count. The scenes are amazingly creative and massively proportioned. FMV cut scenes are still at their best and in play graphics have also improved.

Kratos himself, has, however, become a more complicated character to control as the developers saw fit to give the tormented ex-god an arsenal of new finishing moves and battle situations. Since his support from the gods is gone, Kratos is equipped with new skills and magic, like Rage of the Titians, probably one of the best special abilities in the game, but physical attacks still weigh more than anything else. While in some cases his magic is necessary it’s still not as potent or effective as some of his previous spells.

On several instances Kratos is involved in Arial battles which, in this reviewer opinion, ends all too quickly. In many battles it is required, and overall easier, to complete the quick time button sequences. They’re faster and more engaging than before. It’s well worth it to see the ever violent Kratos gouge out a Cyclops’ eye, slam an egotistical jerk’s head into a door, gut and quarter old enemies like a fresh pig, and, of course the classic ripping of the harpy’s wings.

The puzzles are a bit more clever but overall easy to figure out which add to the addictively fast pace of the game. Utilizing some Kratos’s new skills in and out of the battle has provided a well round feel of the game.

Mythological monsters are abundant with familiar faces like the gorgon and the harpies. The new monsters like the gryphon give gamers something to be excited about. In the end, there are plenty of monsters to kill. Kratos will also encounter some famous names in Greek mythology, emphasizing just how much the Gods love to make life a living nightmare.

JIVE Magazine Rating: Five out of Five