Now this is what I'm talking about.
GOW1 was some decent fun and engaging with its combat and story, it left much to be desired with its execution of platforming and puzzles. God of War II not only builds on the foundation that the first uniquely had, but fundamentally improves on every single aspect of the original I had a hard time dealing with.
Plotwise, it takes place many years after GOW1 with Kratos as the God of War, and we continue on his journey of revenge against the gods, especially against Zeus who betrays him in fear of Kratos killing him. The story here was pretty good and it's crazy how much worldbuilding was done here in this entry. The development of various legends like the Sisters of Fate and the Titans and appearances of other Greek icons like Prometheus, Icarus, Jason, Perseus and others. These storylines really added a lot to the game and levels we explore all the way towards the end.
Gameplay wise, it resembles much of the original while adding in more sub weapons and magic. The Barbarian Hammer got much playtime for me as it becomes incredibly powerful and versatile to one shot many common enemies and even two or three shot some others that sometimes give me trouble. The blades as usual are great and the spells were decent this time around, with the Atlas Quake getting a lot of use in the final fight against Zeus. Kratos also has the ability to grapple things, control and stop time with an Amulet, and can briefly glide with wings, which all added more dimensions and intrigue to the puzzles and general level design of the worlds we explore.
While there were a few moments of frustration with the game, I really enjoyed my time with God of War II. It's an excellent ass action game and my favorite game in the series as of right now. Hate that it's stuck on the ps2 and ps3 (and also to the highest tier of PS Plus as a streaming only option), I'd be down with a re-release or new collection for modern consoles.
GOW1 was some decent fun and engaging with its combat and story, it left much to be desired with its execution of platforming and puzzles. God of War II not only builds on the foundation that the first uniquely had, but fundamentally improves on every single aspect of the original I had a hard time dealing with.
Plotwise, it takes place many years after GOW1 with Kratos as the God of War, and we continue on his journey of revenge against the gods, especially against Zeus who betrays him in fear of Kratos killing him. The story here was pretty good and it's crazy how much worldbuilding was done here in this entry. The development of various legends like the Sisters of Fate and the Titans and appearances of other Greek icons like Prometheus, Icarus, Jason, Perseus and others. These storylines really added a lot to the game and levels we explore all the way towards the end.
Gameplay wise, it resembles much of the original while adding in more sub weapons and magic. The Barbarian Hammer got much playtime for me as it becomes incredibly powerful and versatile to one shot many common enemies and even two or three shot some others that sometimes give me trouble. The blades as usual are great and the spells were decent this time around, with the Atlas Quake getting a lot of use in the final fight against Zeus. Kratos also has the ability to grapple things, control and stop time with an Amulet, and can briefly glide with wings, which all added more dimensions and intrigue to the puzzles and general level design of the worlds we explore.
While there were a few moments of frustration with the game, I really enjoyed my time with God of War II. It's an excellent ass action game and my favorite game in the series as of right now. Hate that it's stuck on the ps2 and ps3 (and also to the highest tier of PS Plus as a streaming only option), I'd be down with a re-release or new collection for modern consoles.