Decapitations, eviscerations and snarling, ugly beasts headline Sony's God of War, the critically acclaimed PlayStation 2 videogame that plunges gamers into a mythological nightmare full of blood, guts and incredible boss fights. Now, two years after the original dazzled audiences the world over, the company's Santa Monica studio busily programs its stunning sequel, aptly named God of War II. Longer, angrier and with far more epic storyline, the game should be the PS2's swan song, a beautiful ballad that will forever etch the main character, Kratos, into the minds of millions of action starved gamers.

Having conquered the gods and claimed the title, God of War, Kratos sits atop his Olympus throne, with a lust for destruction that far surpasses that of the former ruler, Ares. Unfortunately, Sony's antihero suffers from the torment of untold horrors, and to set his mind at ease (for a homicidal maniac), he sets out, twin Blades of Athena clutched in his battle-scarred hands to rid his world of these terrors, one, horrific murder at a time. His journey takes him to various locales, where he battles the mysterious Sisters of Fate, the flying gryphon and Cyclops monsters. Fortunately, the developers dropped scores of weaker creatures across Kratos's path, poor souls that will have the privilege of being torn to pieces by one of the world's most efficient killers.

At first glance, God of War II mirror its prequel. A third person action adventure, players maneuver Kratos about the environments, swinging across chasms, busting out combos on various enemies and tackling some of the largest bosses in the history of video games. This time, he fights an enormous statue that chucks dead bodies at him, among other terrors. Some of these encounters will last well over twenty minutes, which will no doubt keep players sweating, cursing and possibly tossing controllers in frustration.

With that being said, do not go into this game expecting the same old adventure. It may look familiar, but its developers injected this game with numerous additions, most notably more content. According to Sony, God of War II sports a much longer quest than the original (though Sony PR did not cough up the number of hours). Furthermore, the game features a simplified control scheme. Instead of memorizing complex commands mapped to each of the DualShock 2's buttons, almost everything has been mapped to the face buttons. Moving Kratos around with the left analog stick and slaughtering countless baddies using the buttons feels natural. It only takes a few seconds to annihilate something.

Kratos also sports upgradeable weapons, such as fire arrows, a crystal staff, electricity, ice and wind. He may also call on Rage of the Titans, a burst of magical energy that enables him to do more damage while taking less. Players will also experiment with even more deadly combos, snapping backs, ripping off limbs and popping heads like zits. Unfortunately, time did not allow for a detailed look at these instruments and death moves.

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