God of War II

Having said that, it's something of a pity that there's isn't a similar virtual assistant that pops up during some of the trickier puzzles in the game. Whether it's because of my advancing years or simply down to lack of practice, I was genuinely stumped on occasion. The hints are generally clear enough, and most of the time you're filtered right where you're supposed to be going, but I did find myself spending far too much time trying to figure out a few of the more devious mental obstacles. This situation was anticipated by the designers, no doubt, who had the gracious foresight to at least allow you to noodle your way out of a tough spot on your own rather than bombarding you with action when what you need is time to think. It's a lesson many action game designers could stand to learn.

Ditto for pacing, one of those features you almost look past when they're done properly but that are able to cripple a game when they're given too little attention. Between the varying scenes that take you to hell and back and the voluminous roster of enemies and bosses, there's scarcely a time when you'll go wanting. The hundreds (thousands?) of hours of play testing are emphasized by the intelligent placing of save points - always close enough to tempt you into playing a little bit longer but far away enough that you tense up when you land at a particularly monstrous beast.

The sheer force of Kratos's return on the PlayStation 2 brings up the natural question of whether the PlayStation 3 arrived too soon? If PlayStation 2 games from here on out were to carry the same attention to detail and push the seven-year-old hardware as hard as this, I'd be inclined to say Yes. That's a big if. Instead God of War II may well be one of the last truly fantastic games on the system.

Graphics Sound Gameplay Depth Presentation OVERALL 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 8.0 9.0

THE VERDICT: I've played a lot of PlayStation 2 games over the last seven years but few have felt as satisfying as God of War II. Sure, you could say that it's more of the same, but considering the game's pedigree, in no way is that a bad thing. But God of War II goes further. Cory Barlog and his team have managed to outdo the first game in the series no matter which way you want to slice it and they've giving the aging PS2 a last chance to truly sing. The God has returned. Come pay your respects.

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