An interesting precursor to my time with God of War II saw me revisiting classic movies I grew up watching. Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts, to be precise, and while watching these movies my interest in Greek mythology [re]piqued. So I went to my old history books (an interesting side note to this is I always wanted to be an archaeologist, so have a huge collection of literature), and after reading just a few of the old tales I came to the realisation Greek mythology is the perfect parallel to videogame design.

In most ancient Greek mythologies characters start off relatively weak in strength, but powerful in will. They have a journey to partake in and perils at every turn, heck, they even have boss battles (we’re looking at you Cerberus). Usually they acquire items along the way that make them much more powerful (the Golden Fleece comes to mind), and at the end of their arduous journey they’ve saved the land, slain the beast[s] and ascended to ultimate hero (often times as a God, of sorts). Any of that sound familiar?

What’s interesting about this is how few games have ever actually tapped into the core resource that is Greek mythology. It’s certainly one thing for game design to parallel these classic stories, but it’s quite another for them to actually draw on them for narrative foundation. This is why God of War and God of War II are such perfect concepts – their very formula is grounding for an excellent action game having origin in the world of Zeus, Hades and the like, but not content with building off this convenient precipice, Santa Monica Studios has created a character who is the complete opposite to all of ancient Greece’s mythical heroes. Kratos could be considered the Clint Eastwood of Greek mythology and so becomes the perfect modern hero for ancient times.

It really is sheer brilliance.

However, that being said, simply having one helluva tough dude as your protagonist isn’t going to reshape anything – to do that you need a game that plays well, looks great, tells an awesome story and coalesces every strength into a coherent product worth both monetary and period investment. It needs to be memorable, driving and most of all, fun.

God of War II is all of this and more.

It’s fitting this game should be the last great exercise for the PS2. On its last legs and facing major competition and technological growth in the face of Wii, Xbox 360 and its new sibling, PS3, the PS2 has literally gone out with a bang. “Swansong” I believe is the term. And oh, what a swansong indeed. God of War II picks up directly where the last game left us – Kratos is the new God of War on Olympus; all powerful and deserving of his throne and title. However, his seat is a restless one, most notably because he’s the God of War.

What results from this unrest is more war and, invariably, more uneasiness from the other Gods on Mt Olympus. At the risk of Kratos’ power overthrowing the very balance of Zeus’ reign, it is decided the God of War must be stopped and so he is tricked into giving all of his power to the Sword of Olympus and ultimately sent to Hades at the very hand of the King of the Gods himself, Zeus.

Other forces are at play though, and Kratos’ life is saved by the Titan Gaia, mother of all Earth. She tells our fallen God of the Sisters of Fate (no, not these sisters) who can help him go back to the very moment of Zeus’ doublecross so that Kratos can change his providence and seek revenge against Zeus for his hand in destroying the Spartan’s people and turning his back on him. Thus a new quest for revenge begins with the search for the Sisters of Fate.

Much like the Metroid school of design, we find ourselves in control of Kratos sans Godly powers. It’s back to square one and the power you wielded in that amazing first level is naught but a memory. Now you must search for the Sister’s of Fate, but the trek to the Isle of Fate is a long and perilous one, and as such the Ghost of Sparta will need to regain much of his lost strength, and so he sets off at the bequest of Gaia to finally bring Zeus to his knees once and for all.

That first level really is a doozy. And while the pacing does take a slight step back after you bring the Colossus down, the overall picture is clear – it’s never going to be easy for the fallen God of War. Throughout the adventure you’ll find very little has changed from the first outing in terms of game structure, level design (at least from an aesthetic point of view), battle and magic. In fact, from afar, you could go so far as to just shrug this off as nothing more than a cashed-in update at the end of a console’s lifecycle with a game that succeeded the first time. But you’d be gravely wrong. Yes the game looks the same, yes the overall approach and presentation are consistent with God of War and yes much of the battle system and magic system have remained intact, but the game’s narrative, subtle changes in combos and finishers and general vision and scope so far eclipse the first game, going back will make you feel a little like this.

To begin with, things like activating switches and moving items has been streamlined and opened up so as to feel less like a chore. Kicking items will push them much further now and opening doors has been moved to tapping the Circle button repeatedly as opposed to the more uncomfortable R1 button. Combos feel like they flow a little easier (though this is very, very subtle) and the new finishers will put even the goriest MK “Finish Him” animations to shame. Moreover, there are newer minions added to the sword fodder manifest and it no longer feels like you’re facing the same old bad guys over and over again. This goes hand in hand with the new finishers and minion specific deaths are always a treat with monsters like the Cyclops and the Minotaur.

Puzzles have been seriously ramped up since the last game, and the creative way in which you need to apply all of your accrued abilities to them throughout your journey is a real lesson to all other developers out there. There is no one specific way in which an ability is utilised to solve a puzzle and you’re always forced to think outside the box, which keeps the cerebral stuff coming in as thick as the button-mashing euphoric stuff.

In keeping with the concept of familiarity, much of your power and magic management has remained the same from the first game. Each monster your kill and most items you smash will give you red orbs which can then be traded for maxing accrued abilities and combos. You’ll also collect sub-weapons from certain characters and finding hidden chests with Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers will go towards increasing your health and magic bars, respectively.

But as mentioned above, it’s the ultimate scope of things that wins out here. Your adventure will really feel like a massive journey. From your visit to the underground Titan, Typhon, to scaling Cronos’ giant horses, the absolute size and scale of God of War II is mesmerising. Giant beats, titans, buildings, islands and more stand tall and strong before you in the God of War II game-world. It’s intensely engrossing and immersive and you’ll begin to feel you’re rewriting those history books I mentioned earlier to form your very own version of these mythical events – did Jason really collect the Golden Fleece and defeat Medusa? Heck no! It was you, the God of War.

If I did have to find fault with the game at any point though, I’d have to swallow hard and admit I would have liked to see the game shifted to a next-gen machine. Sure, we’re most definitely going to see God of War III on PS3, but in the face of the new consoles, it doesn’t *quite* look as visually appealing. But remember, I am grasping to find something to complain about. Beyond this small gripe (and it’s not even really a gripe, it’s more wishful thinking than anything), God of War II is arguably the greatest action game ever made, and, at least in this reviewers opinion, the best PS2 game ever released. It’s just crazy we had to wait more than six years for a game so perfect to hit the console, and that it is also the last great game the PS2 will ever see. Now we just have to wait the development time for the inevitable God of War III.