When players last saw Kratos, the homicidal maniac in Sony's PlayStation 2 game God of War, the ex Spartan defeated the mighty Aries. A tyrannical rule ensued, with the newly appointed God of War slaughtering thousands of mortals. In the upcoming sequel, aptly titled God of War II, Zeus strips Kratos of his armor and makes him mortal, plunging him into Hades. Undaunted, he vows to exact revenge against the king of the gods, grabbing players and taking them on a fantastical journey full of beasts, bloodshed and astounding boss fights.

From the get go, God of War II forces gamers to tackle a titanic colossus statue in one of the greatest boss fights ever conceived. Stretching across an entire level and lasting for well over thirty minutes, players do battle with the beast, cutting into the stone using Kratos' Athena's Blades as well as use the environment to their advantage. After that breathtaking sequence, developer SCEA Santa Monica provides players a few minutes to catch their breaths before sending them on yet another quest, this time to the three Sisters of Fate, who hold some mysterious power/information Kratos needs in order to defeat Zeus.

Over the course of the epic adventure (two times longer than the original) Kratos rides atop a Pegasus, slashing Griffins and tearing their wings off. He also kills a poor, tormented soul, freeing his spirit and gaining access to one of the game's new additions, Rage of the Titans. As he beats the crap out of things, a meter (located at the bottom right corner of the screen) fills with energy. Once players simultaneously press L3 and R3, Kratos harnesses Rage of the Titans to perform ridiculously fast moves, racking up combos and shredding opponents; a neat effect indeed.

Outside of that special ability, Kratos terrorizes enemies with his twin blades, among other weapons. Pressing face buttons in combination with R1 unleashes a host of moves, while tapping Circle while near an enemy causes Kratos to grab opponents. From there, he rips off wings, breaks necks, forces sharp objects down throats (while his victim gurgles), plunges swords into eyeballs and breaks bodies into several pieces, all the while blood gushes from the bruised and beaten. Weak stomachs need not apply.

To get around, Kratos uses grapple points, which let him swing about. These help when navigating past chasms and narrowly escaping a crumbling bridge in one of the more dramatic sequences. As each pillar from the bridge tumbles into the abyss, he narrowly escapes death, holding onto the falling pieces right before they break apart.

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