God of War II

• 1. Introduction

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  God of War II begins with a god being killed by his own king. Kratos, the Spartan warrior who became the God of War by killing Ares, joins an attack on the city of Rhodes. A giant eagle swoops in and drains a huge share of his powers. It uses them to bring the Colossus of Rhodes to life. The eagle is Zeus, who then tempts Kratos with the Blade of Olympus, the sword he forged to end the Great War. The price is the rest of Kratos' godhood. Mortal again, Kratos still topples the statue, though its falling hand crushes him. Zeus offers one last chance at loyalty. Kratos refuses. Zeus kills him with the blade and destroys the entire Spartan army in a supernatural blast. As he dies, Kratos swears revenge.

  This 2007 action-adventure game was made by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the second game in the God of War series. Who would drag a murdered warrior back from the Underworld, and what would they ask of him? Why did the team build a major sequel for the PlayStation 2 when a newer console already existed? And how did a story built on vengeance end up on lists of the best games ever made?

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• 2. Allies Among the Titans

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  Gaia, the Titan who once raised the young Zeus, reaches Kratos while he is being dragged toward the Underworld. She explains that Zeus later betrayed the Titans, angry at the cruelty his father Cronos had inflicted on Zeus' siblings. Her advice is simple. Kratos must find the Sisters of Fate, who can alter time, prevent his death, and give him his revenge.

  Pegasus carries Kratos to the lair of Typhon, Gaia's brother, a snow-topped mountain where Titans are imprisoned. Typhon is furious at the intruder and traps Pegasus. That forces Kratos to continue on foot. Inside he finds Prometheus, chained in mortal form and tortured at Zeus' command for giving fire to mankind. Prometheus begs to be released. Kratos steals Typhon's magical bow, uses it to blind the massive Titan, and escapes. He then frees Prometheus with the same bow. Prometheus falls into the Flames of Olympus and dies, at last free of his torment.

  The burning of Prometheus releases the power of the Titans, and Kratos absorbs it. He spends that power on freeing Pegasus, then flies toward the Island of Creation. Just before landing, he fights and kills the hero Theseus to awaken the Steeds of Time. Cronos gave these gigantic stone horses to the Sisters of Fate in an attempt to change his own fate. Waking them opens the island to Kratos.

  On the island, Kratos meets other travelers who are also hunting the Sisters. They include an undead version of his old foe the Barbarian King, the Gorgon Euryale, the hero Perseus, and a deranged Icarus. Icarus hurls himself and Kratos down into Tartarus. Kratos defeats him and rips off his wings to keep them for himself.

  In Tartarus, Kratos finds Atlas, the Titan condemned to hold the world on his shoulders. Atlas at first resents Kratos for his own predicament. Then Kratos explains that he has become the enemy of Zeus. Atlas reveals that Gaia and the other Titans also want revenge for their defeat in the Great War. He names the Blade of Olympus as the key to defeating Zeus and helps Kratos reach the Palace of the Fates. The Sisters themselves will prove far less willing to help.

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• 3. The Sisters and the Son

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  The Island of Creation lies at the edge of the world, and it is thick with deadly traps, puzzles and monsters. Its Bog of the Forgotten is the place where Jason of the Argonauts fought his last battle. Beyond the bog, the Lowlands lead to the Great Chasm, a huge divide that blocks the road to the Palace of the Fates.

  A loyal Spartan soldier, also searching for the Sisters, gives Kratos terrible news before he dies. Zeus has destroyed Sparta while Kratos was away. Enraged, Kratos defeats the Kraken, frees a phoenix, and rides it to the Sisters' stronghold. There he confronts Lakhesis and Atropos, who refuse his request to alter time. During the fight they try to rewrite the outcome of his battle with Ares, but Kratos kills them both. He kills the last Sister, Clotho, with her own traps. Then he takes the Loom of Fate, which lets him return to the moment Zeus betrayed him.

  Back at that moment, Kratos surprises Zeus, seizes the Blade of Olympus, and finally incapacitates him. Athena begs him to stop, warning that killing Zeus will destroy Olympus. Kratos ignores her. Athena throws herself onto the blade. The shock holds Kratos still just long enough for Zeus to escape.

  Before she dies, Athena reveals that Kratos is the son of Zeus. Zeus vehemently denies it. He had feared that Kratos would usurp him, just as Zeus had usurped his own father, Cronos. Kratos declares that the rule of the gods is at an end. He travels back in time and rescues the Titans just before their defeat in the Great War. Then he returns with them to the present.

  Standing on the back of Gaia, Kratos tells Zeus that his son has returned to bring the destruction of Olympus. The gods watch their former foes climb the mountain, and the story stops there, with the war unfinished.

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• 4. Weapons, Magic and Relics

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  Chains wrapped around Kratos' wrists and forearms carry the Blades of Athena, his main weapon. He swings them in combination attacks that form the heart of the combat. Along the way he gains the Barbarian Hammer, the Spear of Destiny, and, at times, the Blade of Olympus. Quick time events ask players to complete rapid controller actions to defeat stronger enemies and bosses. This game has more than double the number of boss fights in the first one.

  Kratos starts with the Blades of Athena and the magic of Poseidon's Rage, both at full strength. His encounter with Zeus cuts the blades' power and strips away the magic. A certain urn lets him win Poseidon's Rage back. In all, he can learn up to four magical abilities. Typhon's Bane works like a bow and arrow against distant targets. Cronos' Rage, Head of Euryale and Atlas Quake are also new.

  Rage of the Titans replaces the first game's Rage of the Gods. Its meter does not need to be full before the ability can be used, and the player can switch it on and off at will.

  Poseidon's Trident carries over from the first game, and three new relics join it. Each is required to pass certain stages. The Amulet of the Fates slows time without affecting Kratos, which allows puzzles that normal time cannot solve. It can only be used for a limited stretch, then recharges on its own, tracked by a meter. The Golden Fleece throws enemy projectiles back at the enemies. Icarus' Wings let Kratos glide across chasms too wide to jump.

  Most foes come from Greek myth, including harpies, minotaurs, Gorgons, griffins, cyclopes, cerberuses, Sirens, satyrs and nymphs. The team also invented monsters, among them undead legionnaires, beast lords and rabid hounds. The army of the Fates adds sentries, guardians, juggernauts and high priests. Between fights, Kratos climbs walls and ladders, swings on ropes, and balances across beams. Some puzzles only ask for a box to be pushed into place. Others send the player across several areas to find items that open a single door.

  The Challenge of the Titans offers seven trials, such as killing every enemy without being hit. A new mode called Arena of the Fates lets players set the difficulty and choose their own opponents. Three Uber Chests are hidden in the world. Two add to the Health and Magic meters, and the third holds a large store of red and gold orbs. Hidden urns, including the Urn of Gaia, grant special abilities such as unlimited magic once the game is finished.

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• 5. Making the Sequel

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  Kratos Will Return. Those three words closed the credits of the first God of War and promised a sequel. The game was officially announced at the 2006 Game Developers Conference. David Jaffe, the first game's director, stepped down to become Creative Director. Cory Barlog, who had been lead animator on the original, took over as Game Director.

  In a June 2006 interview with Computer and Video Games, Barlog described studying Greek mythology closely while drafting the early script. He said the real difficulty was "picking things that really fit within the story of Kratos as well as being easy to swallow for audiences." He also gave a warning about teaching through storytelling: "you can't let your story get bogged down by that."

  Santa Monica reused its Kinetica engine from the first game. Senior combat designer Derek Daniels said the magical attacks were built around elements such as air and earth. In the first game, magic played a small role. This time the aim was to make it an integral part of the combat system, flowing smoothly with attacks and weapon changes. Barlog also wanted more boss battles, along with new creatures and heroes from the mythology.

  In a February 2007 interview with IGN, Barlog said he wanted more epic moments during play instead of cutscenes. He also hinted at more to come. In his words, "The story has not yet been completed. The end has only just begun." On multiplayer, he felt God of War is a single-player experience, and said it did not appeal to him to work on. A PlayStation Portable installment, he said, was Sony's decision to make.

  Jaffe and Barlog told IGN they saw the game as a continuation of the first rather than a sequel. They explained the choice of the PlayStation 2 by pointing to the audience: "there's a 100 million people out there that will be able to play God of War II as soon as it launches." The PlayStation 3 had arrived four months earlier, but it could play PlayStation 2 games.

  Terrence C. Carson returned as Kratos, and Keith Ferguson again voiced the boat captain. Linda Hunt came back as the narrator, now revealed to be Gaia. Carole Ruggier voiced Athena for the last time until a brief cameo in 2018's God of War. Paul Eiding and Fred Tatasciore returned in new roles, as Theseus and Typhon. Corey Burton took over Zeus, having voiced him in the 1998 Disney film Hercules: Zero to Hero. Michael Clarke Duncan played Atlas and Leigh-Allyn Baker played Lakhesis. Harry Hamlin was chosen as Perseus because he had played the same hero in the 1981 film Clash of the Titans. Cam Clarke is credited as the voice of Hercules, though that role was removed early in development.

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• 6. Launch and Backlash

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  God of War II reached North American stores on the 13th of March 2007. Europe followed on the 27th of April and Australia on the 3rd of May. Japan received it on the 25th of October, published there by Capcom. The North American box held two discs, the game and a DVD documentary about its development. PAL regions offered a single-disc standard edition and a two-disc Special Edition with different box art and a bonus DVD. On the 6th of April 2008, the game joined the PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits line.

  On the 1st of March 2007, Sony held a media event in Athens that featured scantily clad women and a dead goat. The following month, the Daily Mail learned of it from the UK Official PlayStation Magazine and called it a "depraved promotion stunt." Keith Vaz, a Member of Parliament and campaigner against video game violence, said he would understand a boycott of Sony products. Sony answered that the event had been sensationalized with hyperbole and that the article contained several inaccuracies. It still apologized for the event.

  The United Arab Emirates banned the game on release because of "one topless scene." Customers who pre-ordered elsewhere received a demo disc.

  None of this slowed sales. By the end of March 2007, North America had bought 833,209 copies, twice as many as the next-best selling game. In the United Kingdom, it was the best-selling game of its first week. It passed one million sales within three months. By June 2012, Sony reported more than 4.24 million units, making it the sixteenth-best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time.

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• 7. Critics and Awards

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  Review aggregator Metacritic recorded "universal acclaim" for God of War II. Chris Roper of IGN called it "one of gaming's most intense and engaging experiences available." He found the combat nearly identical to the original and had no complaints, since it was "already perfect the first time out." Kristan Reed of Eurogamer called its design "one of the most satisfyingly honed game designs we've ever come across." He thought the magic attacks were more useful than in the first game.

  Alex Navarro of GameSpot praised the pacing and puzzle design, and found the story interesting because it concerns what happens around Kratos more than what happens to him. Matt Leone of 1UP said the game excels as both a story and an action game. On visuals, Reed saw no frame-rate drops. GameTrailers said few PlayStation 2 games were in the same league. GameZone noted some clipping but still called the game "unbelievably gorgeous."

  The criticism was narrower. Roper found a couple of puzzles rough and said some requirements for bonus items were "punishingly hard for most everyone." Navarro called the combat "overly straightforward" and prone to button mashing, and disliked the cliffhanger ending. GameTrailers pointed to invisible walls. Leone's only real disappointment was that the game did not evolve the series.

  Awards followed. God of War II won "PlayStation Game of the Year" at the 25th annual Golden Joystick Awards, and UGO named it "PS2 Game of the Year." At the 2007 BAFTA Video Game Awards, it won "Story and Character" and "Technical Achievement." The 12th Satellite Awards gave it Outstanding Platform Action/Adventure Game. The Spike Video Game Awards nominated it for "Best Action Game" and "Best Original Score."

  The score came from Gerard K. Marino, Ron Fish, Mike Reagan and Cris Velasco, and Sony Computer Entertainment released it on CD on the 10th of April 2007. Dave Valentine of Square Enix Music Online gave it 8 out of 10. Spence D. of IGN called it an impressive orchestral accomplishment, though more suited to playing the game than to standalone listening.

  IGN and GameSpot both call the game the swan song of the PlayStation 2 era. In 2009, IGN ranked it the second-best PlayStation 2 game ever, five places above its predecessor. In November 2012, Complex magazine placed it first, with the original eleventh, and rated it above God of War III.

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• 8. Beyond the Game

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  The God of War Collection arrived in North America on the 17th of November 2009, bundling remastered versions of the first two games for the PlayStation 3. It offered upscaled graphics and PlayStation 3 Trophies. The second disc's bonus materials from the original release came with the retail version. Japan received it on the 18th of March 2010, Australia on the 29th of April, and the UK on the 30th of April.

  On the 2nd of November 2010, the collection became a digital download on the PlayStation Store. It was the first product containing PlayStation 2 software to be sold that way. PlayStation Plus subscribers could try each game for one hour, but the digital version left out the bonus materials. A PlayStation Vita version followed on the 6th of May 2014. By June 2012, the collection had sold more than 2.4 million copies worldwide. On the 28th of August 2012, it was folded into the God of War Saga.

  A novelization was announced in July 2009 alongside one for the original game. Robert E. Vardeman wrote it. Del Rey Books published it on the 12th of February 2013 in North America, and Titan Books followed on the 19th of February in Europe. It appeared in paperback, Kindle and audio formats.

  The novel gives the Sisters of Fate far more to do than serve as the next-to-last boss fight. They appear from Chapter 2, and several chapters follow their actions during Kratos' journey. In this version, boredom led them to let the Titans return, and Lakhesis in particular liked to toy with Kratos. Typhon also gets a motive. He refuses to help Kratos because failure would mean Zeus killing his wife Echidna and their children.

  Iris, the Goddess of the Rainbow, is a new character with a substantial role. Atropos has her lie to Zeus about Kratos, and the rumors breed distrust among the Olympians. Iris briefly replaces Hermes as the Messenger of the Gods. When Hermes finally convinces Zeus of the lies, Iris is banished from Olympus. She appears only at sunrise, at sunset, and when it rains. The novel also differs from the game on Atlas, who is among the Titans brought back from the past to reignite the Great War.

  The story continued in 2010 with God of War III. In February 2026, a State of Play presentation announced a remake of God of War II as part of the God of War Trilogy Remake compilation for PlayStation 5, alongside remakes of the first and third games. Terrence C. Carson, who appeared in a video message for the announcement, is attached to voice Kratos in all three.

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