This is old video game news but apparently if you have an account at Gamestop an automated message will eventually call you asking if you want to trade in your game. I don’t know if they still do this because I haven’t had an account with them since that one crappy year of Game Informer magazine. No, I’m not actually selling my copy to anyone because it’s a great game.
This weekend was a nice meshing of convenience via sickness. Since the weather messed me up and brought my cold back I basically stayed in all weekend and beat God of War II. I didn’t get all the health powerups (missed one I think) and didn’t get any of the extra urns but I managed to beat it by late evening on Sunday.
If you liked the first God of War then this one is a no brainer but really this game improves on the first one quite substantially. The combat isn’t terribly different but there are some new combos and also new weapons that make things a bit more interesting. I think there are a wider variety of enemies with mini-game sequences where you vivisect, bludgeon, rip apart and otherwise dismember them in. Also there are a lot more boss battles which is a really huge welcome after the first games measley three boss battles. That said I think only a few of these boss battles are truly epic in scale but when they are they really are.
The scale of the game really has been brought up exponentially and whenever you go to a new environment it’s almost always astounding. The game does a really good job of keeping things moving and never lingering in one place too long before the next section. Part of me wants to spend more time in each area because of how huge and beautiful they look but if it leaves you wanting more then I guess they’re doing their job.
A few other new game mechanics keep the combat and platforming more dynamic like being able to reflect projectiles and counterattack. Also the chain swinging lends itself nicely to some new puzzles and platforming sequences. The pegasus levels (all TWO of them) are a lot of fun too. I’m glad I read a review saying that there were only two of them because otherwise I would’ve saved over that particular game.
There were some puzzles that took me a while to figure out but I actually beat the entire thing without consulting an FAQ which I haven’t honestly done in a long time because of impatience. Some puzzles I would guess what they want me to do and then think “No way that’s impossible they can’t want me to do THAT!?” But then of course invariably they do and with enough attempts I would make it even if it involved falling into lava like a dumbass a million times. Worst was when combat was mixed into puzzles. One sequence in particular I almost gave up for the day and repeatedly slammed my head into my pillow as I would almost finish but then end up dying, but there weren’t more than a few of those moments in the game.
The last boss batlte took me a bunch of tries but actually wasn’t as punishingly frustrating as Ares in the first God of War. That boss battle I actually consulted a FAQ for strategies but still had a hell of a time beating. This one I just had to get used to and eventually I got it. The ending is pretty cool but it’s a cliffhangar which sucks because I know the next one will be for Playstation 3 which I won’t want to buy for at least as long as I waited to buy the PS2 which was a little over two years I think. Then again, with the development time God of War III probably won’t be out until then anyway, we’ll see.
There are bonus challenges and of course the more difficult levels but I’m not sure how much I’ll be trying those because well, I just beat the game and the bonus challenges are usually pretty hard. I could see trying hard mode because my playing was very button mashy but whenever I tried thinking more I fared better. Hard mode would probably require less button mashiness, but I’m not looking to play it again yet. The 2nd DVD has very in-depth and nice special features about the making of the game and makes you appreciate everything that went into it. It also makes you feel for the artists who worked so hard only to have some of their conceptual art or basically finished segments never make it into the final game.
Like I said, if you liked the first one this is already a no brainer. If you never made it to the first game and you like super violent hack n’ slash games then play the first game and then get this one because it’s awesome.
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