#gow2

Ahh, God of War 2. The miracle game that served as the perfect send-off to the PS2 era, as it took all the vacuous words that would be used to describe a big, innovative AAA game (then and now), and actually live up to it. Yes, it is epic, grandiose, daring. But above all else, it's a fucking fantastic hack-n-slash/spectacle fighter, and unquestionably my favorite entry in one of my favorite game franchises.

Straight off the success of its predecessor (and before all the comics, books, and lovely prequels sans Ascension), back we are at the helm with Kratos, as he goes from god to empty-stomached mortal in a single tutorial level. An astounding tutorial level, mind you, as we slice and dice the forces on the Island of Rhodes, pursued by a sentient Colossus, only to have the spiffy, uber-powerful Blade of Olympus dangled in our faces, and snatched away at the last second... along with Kratos' innards. But I suppose a paper cut like that is reason enough to get a guy who's been double-crossed by several Olympians to go on a quest to the ends of the Earth, and find a way to change his fate. And also murder gods.

Say it with me: GoW2 is the right kind of sequel, taking what worked in the original, building it up, and filling the game with more AND better content. Not only are the stakes raised, the world expanded, the environments more varied, but every aspect of gameplay is improved upon. Enemy types are far more distinct, so tactics and approach more frequently alter compared to GoW1, from killing riders and taking control of cyclops, to deflecting projectiles, magic, and even melee strikes using the Golden Fleece. Key items such as the Amulet of the Fates and Icarus' Wings, improved exploration and puzzles thanks to their mechanics. The new magic abilities have a more distinct flair and usage than those attained in GoW1, from Typhon's Bane going from simple magic arrows to creating giang tornados, Cronos' Rage generating chain-lightning that would tag and damage every monster that came near, to the brutal Atlas Quake cataclysming everything around you. Oh, and Euryale, Medusa's fat sister, also loses her head in this adventure.

But the weapons, oh-ho-ho BOY! You liked the Blade of Artemis, how it provided a bit of different melee combat compared to the Blades of Chaos? Well in GoW2, you get THREE completely distinct weapons to brutalize these poor creatures of myth alongside the newly minted (in blood) Blades of Athena. Barbarian Hammer for heavy impact, pushback, and the ability to summon some soulsy minions (in the same vein as Army of Hades); Spear of Destiny, with greater range and piercing ability, faster but more focused strikes, and generating crystal bombs; and as your reward for clearing the game, the Blade of Olympus, which... is just great, and I'm glad that it isn't given to you until the final boss fight against Zeus, because from first gutting to last, the antecipation, the little taste you get during the tutorial, and the narrative reasons why you're trying to get it back, makes it all worthwhile to use it in New Game +. Alongside a wider range of costumes, all with different abilities and effects, to spice up your experience and replays.

I would say that God of War 2 wins out among all God of War games, not because the other entries in the series that I've played (so no God of War 4 yet) are bad, but because there's never really the same indulgence as there is in GoW2. Numbuh 3 is far more generic in terms of level design and environments, but it might've won out thanks to its pay-offs, if it hadn't been for what felt like a more limited and less varied arsenal, with magic assigned directly to its four melee weapons, three of which seemed redundant and could have had more done to make their usage more distinct. And while it is one of my personal 10/10 games, the ending of GoW2 really is the worst part of it, as even when it originally came out, having a blatant "To be continued" AFTER you establish a huge climax didn't really go down well with me, in spite of everything leading up to it being balls-to-the-walls mind-blowing.