Gods and Monsters: 'God of War II' best game of year so far

Doug Elfman
The GAME DORK

In "God of War II," you fight with Zeus-era gods the size of skyscrapers and tear their glowing eyes out of their huge sockets.

Birds the size of eagles pester you, so you jump up high, grab them, step on their backs and rip them in half with your hands.

Everyone tries to kill you. Gods. Dogs. Ogre-type men. Gladiators. And topless Medusas wish to turn you to stone with a glance.

You even travel to hell, where you climb out of the moaning pit. You scale walls with knives in you hands. You inch upward one hand-knife stab at a time, while you slay the arms of the damned, which grasp at you from the walls of hell.

As you can see, "God of War II" is an ambitious, bloody spectacle. It's also the best adventure game since the first "God of War" came out two years ago.

And it's the hardest game to beat in two years, since "Shadow of the Colossus."

I spent an hour killing one of the easier guys. I hit him at least 300 times with chains, knives and fiery arrows while simultaneously fending off six rhino-size monsters clubbing me with axes as the ground was attacking me with couch-size ice picks.

I literally said aloud, "OK, OK! I get it, already, it's hard!"

You play as a Spartan warrior named Kratos. In the original "God of War," Kratos sold his soul to Ares, the god of war, then went on a bloodthirsty streak of murder. One day, while delusional due to one of Ares' ploys, Kratos accidentally killed his wife and child.

So Kratos killed his way through gods, dogs and gladiators, etc., until he killed Ares and took his place as the god of war.

"God of War II" begins with Kratos full of godly hubris during a bitter killing spree. The unhappy gods dethrone him and turn him back into a warrior, so he sets his vengeful sights on Zeus and all the gods and monsters that lead to Zeus.

This is, to say the least, one of the more intricate and interesting story lines in all of video games, which usually lazy-day their way through thin plots or none at all.

The scope is astounding even in comparison to other, impressive gaming experiences. Some games draw up huge cities. Others contain entire kingdoms. "God of War II" gives us a whole civilization, cinematic film clips and stunning artistry.

In the fourth hour (of dozens of hours of game play), I stood on a horse as big as a small mountain. In the background, I saw ocean-based Olympic fortresses as tall as Las Vegas hotels, fronted by carved faces.

I had to explore not just the exteriors of these beautifully ornate fortresses, but scores of rooms and hallways and traps inside. This portion of the game takes up only a tiny fraction of "God of War." That. Is. Intimidating.

The most splendid and glorious element of "God of War II" is its peerless fighting methods. You use dozens of fight moves with the swords/knives attached to your hands ("Blades of Chaos"), a God hammer, magic spells and other means.

The one downside is it's available only for the PlayStation 2, though it does work on a PS 3.

Still, it's the type of magnificent epic that convinces gamers to feel unimpressed by summer adventure movies. You play "God of War II" and think: It must have taken 1,000 people to design this game. Actually, the credits list more than 300.

But it's just one man who gets all the attention, Kratos, who falls from grace early in the game and vows to the gods, "You will pay for this. Be certain of that." Oh, I am.

("God of War II retails for $50 for PS 2 . Also plays in PS 3 systems. Plays as fun as games get; looks spectacular; intensely difficult; rated "M" for blood, gore, intense violence, nudity, sexual themes and strong language. Four stars out of four.)