You take control of Kratos and using his main weapons, the Blades of Athena, kill mythological creatures, solve puzzles, and visit the lands of mortal men and of the gods.
Gameplay
God of War gained commercial success and critical acclaim for its massive set pieces and context sensitive actions. GoW2 improves upon this formula with smoother and more powerful moves, and even larger set pieces. Standard action sees Kratos battling normal henchmen using his upgradeable weapons to perform a variety of combos. Using the face buttons Kratos has access to different types of attacks that link together to form flashy, fancy and brutal combos. Introduced with GoW2 is a grapple button that lets you perform even more brutal kills.
Alongside the standard combo system is the quick-time events when fighting against larger enemies, or against bosses. During specific moments a button icon will flash on the screen, pressing that button in time will make Kratos perform a specific action that leads into more icons and buttons presses to the sequence. These moments serve as interactive cutscenes as they further the game along while providing a much more cinematic experience.
The game features some light RPG elements that let you upgrade your weapons and magic using red orbs that are collected by killing bad guys and busting open crates and chests. Power-ups, new magic, and new weapons can all be found, earned, and upgraded through the course of the game to aid in killing the increasingly stronger enemies.
Outside of the action elements of the game are some puzzle and platforming aspects. Puzzles usually take the form of moving some boxes to the correct place, or putting the correct item in the correct place. Platforming involves swinging around from ledge to ledge, scaling cliff walls and maneuvering through other precarious locations.
Story
God of War isn't about black and white, good and evil. All the characters are looking out for themselves, and Kratos is no different. The game begins where the first left off with Kratos killing the old God of War Ares and taking his place. Kratos is shunned by the other gods which obviously gives him a chip on his shoulder. Kratos gets involved in a mortal battle between Rhodes and Sparta which angers the other gods which then trick Kratos into losing all of his powers ending with the death of Kratos by Zeus.
In Hades Kratos comes into contact with one of the Titans that was beat by the gods and offers Kratos a way to revive himself and exact revenge on the gods that betrayed him. The rest of the game follows Kratos seeking out the Sisters of Fate so that he can go back in time to change the past and destroy Olympus.
