God of War II
PlayStation 2
When the original God of War came out back in 2005, I was completely blown away by the quality of the game. The cinematic presentation grabbed me, along with the in your face storyline. The graphics, music, and sound effects were amazing. The action was fast-paced, brutal, and hardcore. Kratos himself was a complete bad-ass, the likes of which I had never seen in a video game before. The settings of the game were beautiful, and there were so many fun and memorable moments along the way. I LOVED the first God of War game.
Of course it was only natural that I would get the second God of War game as soon as it came out. However when I look back, I don’t remember much of anything at all about my time with the game. I remember liking it. I remember a few added wrinkles like the ability to fly around on a Pegasus from time to time, but beyond that: not much else.
I thought my opinion would change playing the game in present day. It did not. While this is a good game and I had a fun time playing it – there is not a whole lot about this game that makes it stand out over the original title. I am sure that technically it is an improvement. They had time to tweak the graphics and the controls, after all. But there really were not any big moments or super cool looking environments that made the game memorable to me.
God of War II’s storyline picks up right after the first game ends. Kratos is the new God of War. He has let this power go to his head a little bit, and the other gods feel threatened by that power. They launch a plan to drain Kratos of his power and kill him, and they succeed. Kratos can’t seem to ever stay dead in these games, however. He is resurrected by the Titans, where he is encouraged to visit the Sisters of Fate. The Sisters have the ability to rewind time and allow Kratos to escape the trap that the gods had laid for him. So that is where Kratos decides to go. We’re off to see the Sisters, the wonderful Sisters of Fate! Or something like that. Of course, there is more to the storyline than this, but that is just my bare bones setup for the game. If you want to know more, you are just going to have to play this yourself!
As far as gameplay goes, not much has changed from the first game. There are a few new magical powers and weapons at your disposal, but nothing game changing. On the weapons front, I still only use the Blades of Chaos. They are what I am used to, and I am not going to learn a new fighting style just so I can play around with different weapons. They work. They do their job. Might as well stick with what I am familiar with.
What else is new with God of War II? Not a whole lot. As I mentioned, there is the ability to ride a Pegasus in battle. Truth be told, although it is a fun concept I actually didn’t like these fighting sequences. The hit detection is really poor when you are on that thing. Plus the fights go on for too long and can get boring. I didn’t die on this current playthrough, but waaay back in the day I recall dying on these flying segments over and over again and getting frustrated. It was a nice thought, and I appreciate that they tried to do something different here, but it just doesn’t work for me. There are a few new accessories that add a little bit of a wrinkle to the tried and true God of War formula. You get the Wings of Icarus, which allow you to glide after jumping. Definitely a useful item. You will also pick up the Golden Fleece, which allows you to fire enemy projectiles back at them. This weapon requires a lot of really precise timing to get it to work properly, but it did save my buns on more than a few occasions.
The game itself if as straightforward as they come. You are Kratos. You travel to see the Sisters of Fate. That’s pretty much it. Point A to point B. All action, all the time. There are a few switch throwing or block pushing puzzles, but absolutely nothing that is going to break your brain. As mentioned, there aren’t as many memorable moments as in the first game. The opening battle sequence against the Colossus of Rhodes is a highlight of mine, but that is not a good sign when the first fight of the game is one of the game’s most memorable moments. Since I just played the game and it is fresh on my mind, a few other standout areas/sequences include the rescue of Prometheus from his eternal fate, activating the Steeds of Time, and fighting Icarus and stealing his wings. Memorable for a BAD reason: those freaking tower defense areas where you have to protect the scholars from enemy attacks while they recite the old text. These areas are terrible. I struggled with them in the past and I struggled with them on my current playthrough. Why they have to include these types of missions in games I have no idea. I LOATHE tower defense.
Despite the game not being as memorable as its predecessor, I still enjoyed it. It is fun to play. It is also really hard to stop playing once you pick it up. It is difficult for me to describe. It is fun, but not memorable at the same time. Ever play a game or watch a movie, and really enjoy it – but at the same time try to think back on it two days later and find that you can’t remember a single damn thing about it? That is what God of War II is like for me. I am never going to be like “OMG this game is GreaT!!!!” but I am never going to say the game sucks either. It is good. It’s solid. It is just not memorable. That is about all I can say about it. Fun game? For sure. Does it leave any kind of lasting impression on me whatsoever? Not really.
Overall: C+
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