Phwoar! –interjection, informal – the noise one makes when either an international model walks by, or when you play God of War 2. This is the best game on PS2, period. If you can multi-task, order this game online now while reading this review. Was that not convincing enough- Alright, here's some elaboration on what makes GoW2 so great…

Whip it Good
I hope most people who own a PS2 have already experience the original God Of War, as prior to this release it was the pinnacle of 3d action beaters. Set deep in the fantastical setting of Greek mythical times, Kratos is a mortal troubled by his own misdeeds who sells his soul to Ares, the God of War, for immense power. By the end of the first adventure, Kratos has toppled Ares and claimed the position of God of War. This story follows directly into GoW2, with the Gods of Olympus enraged by this mortal turned god attempting to conquer all of Greece with his Spartan army.

The initial level of GoW2 is mind blowing. Kratos is stripped of his godly power, and one of the displeased Gods animates the massive Colossus of Rhodes (fun fact: it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World!). Immediately soldiers descend upon you, with small tutorials popping up to give you the knowledge to begin the slaughter of these petty officers. Very quickly you are spinning your chain-blades (originally bestowed upon Kratos as Chaos-Blades by Ares, and transformed into Athena Blades by the goddess Athena toward the end of the first game) in glowing arcs of destruction and blood spurts forth in all directions. It is very quickly apparent how powerful and bloodthirsty Kratos is. By just grabbing an enemy, you can choose to split him on one of your blades, then swing him around your head and fling him into his comrades; stab him multiple times; or simply rip him in half. Ouch.

While fighting the grunts is fun, you know there is something bigger in store for Kratos. The Colossus is peering in the window, smashing the walls and trying to reach you. Once you have cut a swathe through the infantry, the key boss gameplay mechanic is quickly discovered – a Dance Dance Revolution inspired button sequence finishing move. This is the most satisfying aspect of the game, as the player can really enjoy the insane power their on screen avatar possesses, purely by following the prompts. After sufficiently whaling on an enemy with regular attacks, an icon will appear above their head indicating their imminent death at your hands. Grapple them, and you can expect to finish them off in a multitude of exceptionally gratuitous ways including: ripping off a gorgon's head; climbing up a Cyclops with your blades and extracting it's eye; stealing the huge axe a minotaur is carrying, planting it on the ground and then hooking the beast and pulling it onto it's own blade; or any of the creative and insanely destructive boss finishers which I would not dare spoil.

Colossal times
This game is gory and not for the faint of heart, but it would still be difficult not to get a wry smile from any player after witnessing some of the clever and destructive carnage that Kratos dishes out. And dish it out he does, with some of the best art direction and graphical quality seen on the PS2. Any onlooker will think this is a next gen title, as SCE Santa Monica has pushed the little black machine to the limit and squeezed out every last ounce of power to produce stunning environments, enemies and characters with zero slowdown. 

GoW2 is as polished as a Blizzard game, and if that analogy means nothing to you (firstly, shame on you! Go and get Warcraft 3!) it infers that the game has been rubbed with as many buffing cloths and sweet smelling oils as could be gathered, creating a sheen in which the Gods themselves would be proud to use as a mirror. Every animation is beautifully choreographed, from the extensive combos achievable with the Athena Blades, to the sense of weight when swinging the impressive Barbarian Hammer, and the way Kratos staggers around after being stripped of his powers. 

Sound quality is equally impressive, with a cinematic orchestral score that immerses the player in the game while never dominating the action occurring on screen. The effects are meaty and well placed, and the voice work is brilliant. Linda Hunt is great as Gaia (memorable for her work as Grandmother Willow in Pocahontas), Michael Clarke Duncan has a good cameo as Atlas (best known for his role as John Coffey in The Green Mile) and TC Carson is just as excellent and pissed off as Kratos as he was in the first game.

Finally, as a whole the gameplay is fun and challenging. The battle engine is deep enough to reward fans of the genre yet simple enough for non gamers to pick up, and the puzzles are mostly just the right level of difficulty, requiring a few retries but not too many to frustrate. I place emphasis on the ‘mostly', as there are two memorable sections that frustrated, feeling like they were made to purposefully slow down the game – namely going down a lift which needed to be manually pushed while fighting skeletons, and when trying to obtain the phoenix ashes. Kratos obtains weapons, skills and spells at a good rate throughout the game, and you can immediately appreciate the power upgrade when you spend the ‘blood orbs' you collect as new combos and attacks are unlocked. The only complaint that could be levelled at GoW2 is that it is reasonably short lived - the game is around 13 hours long, although there is some replay value in the harder difficulties and unlocking bonuses.

This is Sparta!
SCE Santa Monica has successfully crafted the next chapter of what will surely be a long and prosperous franchise. The story is written well, all technological aspects exceed all expectations of what could be pumped out of a PS2, and the gameplay again proves the mantra of if it's not broke, leave it well alone… and possibly enhance it just a little. If you dislike the idea of an involving storyline set in mythological times, a quest that involves killing hundreds if not thousands of enemies and murdering gods… then there is a slim possibility that this game is not for you. For everyone else, it is a must buy.

Graphics – 97
Sound – 94
Gameplay – 96
Longevity – 76
Overall – 96

Who needs next-gen when you've got this!