God of War II
And of Stylish Armor.
Plotline:
After the events of the first God of War, Kratos takes up his rightfully earned throne on Mount Olypmus, dishing out war and mayhem to any that oppose his rule as the true God of War. The other Gods don't take as kindly to his... "MY SPARTANS CONQUER ALL!!!" mentality, and conspire to outcast him back to his own mortality, sapping the powers of the Gods from him. Zeus himself delivers a "helping hand" to Kratos, but can he really be trusted? Better yet, can anyone with a beard tied in braids be trusted? This is a question we should all ask ourselves...
Review:
ALRIGHT. Three, count them, three beat-'em-up games in a row, for yours truly. You all know me. This is like torture, playing the same genre three times in a row. But I suffer through it, my adoring fans. I suffer through it for you. All 8 of you. You really mean that much to me, truly. Absolutely fantastic. *thumbs up*... Seriously though. Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate playing the same genre continuously. It starts to get stale, and causes a slight amount of boredom in my mind, thus making the game harder for me to complete, as it no longer holds my attention as well as the previous games.
I am proud to tell you that this is not one of those cases. God of War II picks up what seems like a few months/possibly years after the first one, where Kratos has decided to unleash hell, and help his Spartan army conquer his enemies. First thing you notice when you start the game is that... Not a whole lot has changed. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. The formula for the first game was pretty spot-on, so why fix something that wasn't broken in the first place?
The first thing you'll notice once you get into the game itself, is that the controls have remained solid. Button presses are exact, the controls respond perfectly, and the combat system from the first one is intact. In fact, you start with everything you ended the first game with. Of course, you can't stay that over-powered the entire game, so it's sapped away from you in the first level, thus why you quest the entire game to retrieve your power/exact your revenge. And if there's anyone suited to dish out some God-loathing justice, it's Kratos. I mean, the guy flat out reamed Liam Nee-... Ares. AND THERE IT IS, FOLKS. I use the word "ream", once more. From now on? Kratos doesn't fight. He doesn't attack. He reams. REEEEEEEAM.
Anyway, continuing forward. The new powers in the game are pretty nifty. "Cronos' Rage" sticks out, which replaces the Poseidon magic from the original game. It's essentially a stationary Charged Bolt spell, like you'd find in the Diablo games. Very nifty for large amounts of enemies. And "Medusa's Gaze" has been changed to "The Head of Euryale". What a friggin' buff. This attack was absolutely useless, in GoW, but holy hell, it is absolutely epic this time around. You can charge it, and unleash a DOME of long-lasting petrification. This, coupled with the Blades of Athena, can take out an entire room of enemies in seconds. However, that's the other problem. Aside from the Blade of Olympus in "Bonus Play", after you beat the game, the rest of the weapons you unlock through-out the game, (The Spear of Destiny, and the Barbarian Hammer), are pretty much useless. I used them for the sections you gain them in, and then never again. It's really sad to have such awesome weapon models collecting dust.
The game has bosses. (NO RLY?!?!) However, they're extremely simple, and easily dispatched. The first boss is a pretty fun little fight, as it's multi-tiered. You actually go inside him, at one point, and finish him off from there. But very few boss battles in the game are that intense. The final boss of the game, this time around, is an absolute pushover, even on God Difficulty. My fight with him consisted of... "Cronos' Rage, Cronos' Rage, Cronos' Rage, Rage of the Titans, C-C-C-C-COMBO."... And bam. He was dead. I'm also disappointed to not that there was no equivalent to Pandora's Temple in this game, which made yours truly quite the sad little man. And this sequel suffers more so from the same issue the last one had; Certain battles drag on, and get obscenely boring, especially at the mid-point of the game. You find yourself having memorized all the combos, and just never losing a bit of health or magic, due to Context-Killing all your enemies.
I will state, however, that the context-based kills in this game get pretty damn brutal. One in particular involves a mace-wielding, armored soldier. You dig your blades into his shoulders, flip over his head, and yank. Long story short; decapitation. It's one of those scenes you never get tired of. However, it also refills most of your RotT meter, making the game even easier. It's a mixed bag, really. You start to feel a bit challenged, the game starts getting almost cinematic? And out of nowhere, they throw in some extremely easy moments.
On the graphics side, the game looks just as good as the first. Not the absolute best the PS2 has offered, but awfully close. The upgrades to certain effects, and animations, are welcome. The locales of the game are as beautiful as ever. The level design is spectacular, but sometimes underwhelming in terms of "Why would they design it that way in ancient Greece??". The magic effects, and stylized camera moves during boss fights and context-based attacks are still absolutely top-notch, with one sticking out in particular. A fight at the Palace of the Fates, involving a silhouette of you and your opponent fighting against the backdrop of a stained glass window, from a 2D perspective. It was a top-quality scene, and whoever had the idea of doing it in a 2D perspective deserves a god-damned raise.
Audio is better than ever, with the sound effects ringing out perfectly. Everything makes the sound you'd imagine. From Kratos' Blades, to the minotaur snarl. Even the creepy, almost gag-inducing sound of the Kraken tentacles slurping on a surface. Ambiance in the game is a lot more noticeable this time around. Nature in the background, gears rotating and chains clanking together. Everything is done to great detail. The score for the game is nice, as well. The track that plays during the ascension of Atlas is absolutely golden, in terms of providing atmosphere. You really feel like you're scaling a Titan, as opposed to a brick wall.
Summary:
The game has it's moments. Disappointing boss battles, and sometimes tediously long combat aside? The story manages to entertain, the animation is fluid, and the characters always seem to drag your imagination further in. It's not perfect, but it's worth the purchase. The graphics are good, but not astounding. The level design is fun, but could be better. The audio is as perfect as you could expect, and the "Bonus Play" feature makes subsequent playthroughs more and more enjoyable. If you liked the first game, you'll like this one too.
What the ... :
Gaia. Leader of the Titans. "Mother" of Zeus... HAS MAN BOOBS. I say "man", because her face model is manly, and she has a tree-mullet. Yes. Read that again, if you have to; TREE-MULLET. Also, this one requires absolutely no description: Cod of War.
Story
5
Gameplay
3
Graphics
4
Audio
5
And of Stylish Armor.
Plotline:
After the events of the first God of War, Kratos takes up his rightfully earned throne on Mount Olypmus, dishing out war and mayhem to any that oppose his rule as the true God of War. The other Gods don't take as kindly to his... "MY SPARTANS CONQUER ALL!!!" mentality, and conspire to outcast him back to his own mortality, sapping the powers of the Gods from him. Zeus himself delivers a "helping hand" to Kratos, but can he really be trusted? Better yet, can anyone with a beard tied in braids be trusted? This is a question we should all ask ourselves...
Review:
ALRIGHT. Three, count them, three beat-'em-up games in a row, for yours truly. You all know me. This is like torture, playing the same genre three times in a row. But I suffer through it, my adoring fans. I suffer through it for you. All 8 of you. You really mean that much to me, truly. Absolutely fantastic. *thumbs up*... Seriously though. Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate playing the same genre continuously. It starts to get stale, and causes a slight amount of boredom in my mind, thus making the game harder for me to complete, as it no longer holds my attention as well as the previous games.
I am proud to tell you that this is not one of those cases. God of War II picks up what seems like a few months/possibly years after the first one, where Kratos has decided to unleash hell, and help his Spartan army conquer his enemies. First thing you notice when you start the game is that... Not a whole lot has changed. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. The formula for the first game was pretty spot-on, so why fix something that wasn't broken in the first place?
The first thing you'll notice once you get into the game itself, is that the controls have remained solid. Button presses are exact, the controls respond perfectly, and the combat system from the first one is intact. In fact, you start with everything you ended the first game with. Of course, you can't stay that over-powered the entire game, so it's sapped away from you in the first level, thus why you quest the entire game to retrieve your power/exact your revenge. And if there's anyone suited to dish out some God-loathing justice, it's Kratos. I mean, the guy flat out reamed Liam Nee-... Ares. AND THERE IT IS, FOLKS. I use the word "ream", once more. From now on? Kratos doesn't fight. He doesn't attack. He reams. REEEEEEEAM.
Anyway, continuing forward. The new powers in the game are pretty nifty. "Cronos' Rage" sticks out, which replaces the Poseidon magic from the original game. It's essentially a stationary Charged Bolt spell, like you'd find in the Diablo games. Very nifty for large amounts of enemies. And "Medusa's Gaze" has been changed to "The Head of Euryale". What a friggin' buff. This attack was absolutely useless, in GoW, but holy hell, it is absolutely epic this time around. You can charge it, and unleash a DOME of long-lasting petrification. This, coupled with the Blades of Athena, can take out an entire room of enemies in seconds. However, that's the other problem. Aside from the Blade of Olympus in "Bonus Play", after you beat the game, the rest of the weapons you unlock through-out the game, (The Spear of Destiny, and the Barbarian Hammer), are pretty much useless. I used them for the sections you gain them in, and then never again. It's really sad to have such awesome weapon models collecting dust.
The game has bosses. (NO RLY?!?!) However, they're extremely simple, and easily dispatched. The first boss is a pretty fun little fight, as it's multi-tiered. You actually go inside him, at one point, and finish him off from there. But very few boss battles in the game are that intense. The final boss of the game, this time around, is an absolute pushover, even on God Difficulty. My fight with him consisted of... "Cronos' Rage, Cronos' Rage, Cronos' Rage, Rage of the Titans, C-C-C-C-COMBO."... And bam. He was dead. I'm also disappointed to not that there was no equivalent to Pandora's Temple in this game, which made yours truly quite the sad little man. And this sequel suffers more so from the same issue the last one had; Certain battles drag on, and get obscenely boring, especially at the mid-point of the game. You find yourself having memorized all the combos, and just never losing a bit of health or magic, due to Context-Killing all your enemies.
I will state, however, that the context-based kills in this game get pretty damn brutal. One in particular involves a mace-wielding, armored soldier. You dig your blades into his shoulders, flip over his head, and yank. Long story short; decapitation. It's one of those scenes you never get tired of. However, it also refills most of your RotT meter, making the game even easier. It's a mixed bag, really. You start to feel a bit challenged, the game starts getting almost cinematic? And out of nowhere, they throw in some extremely easy moments.
On the graphics side, the game looks just as good as the first. Not the absolute best the PS2 has offered, but awfully close. The upgrades to certain effects, and animations, are welcome. The locales of the game are as beautiful as ever. The level design is spectacular, but sometimes underwhelming in terms of "Why would they design it that way in ancient Greece??". The magic effects, and stylized camera moves during boss fights and context-based attacks are still absolutely top-notch, with one sticking out in particular. A fight at the Palace of the Fates, involving a silhouette of you and your opponent fighting against the backdrop of a stained glass window, from a 2D perspective. It was a top-quality scene, and whoever had the idea of doing it in a 2D perspective deserves a god-damned raise.
Audio is better than ever, with the sound effects ringing out perfectly. Everything makes the sound you'd imagine. From Kratos' Blades, to the minotaur snarl. Even the creepy, almost gag-inducing sound of the Kraken tentacles slurping on a surface. Ambiance in the game is a lot more noticeable this time around. Nature in the background, gears rotating and chains clanking together. Everything is done to great detail. The score for the game is nice, as well. The track that plays during the ascension of Atlas is absolutely golden, in terms of providing atmosphere. You really feel like you're scaling a Titan, as opposed to a brick wall.
Summary:
The game has it's moments. Disappointing boss battles, and sometimes tediously long combat aside? The story manages to entertain, the animation is fluid, and the characters always seem to drag your imagination further in. It's not perfect, but it's worth the purchase. The graphics are good, but not astounding. The level design is fun, but could be better. The audio is as perfect as you could expect, and the "Bonus Play" feature makes subsequent playthroughs more and more enjoyable. If you liked the first game, you'll like this one too.
What the ... :
Gaia. Leader of the Titans. "Mother" of Zeus... HAS MAN BOOBS. I say "man", because her face model is manly, and she has a tree-mullet. Yes. Read that again, if you have to; TREE-MULLET. Also, this one requires absolutely no description: Cod of War.
Story
5
Gameplay
3
Graphics
4
Audio
5
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