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A video interview from IGN was released shortly after the demo. In it, Kratos is seen looking down on the destruction of Rhodes.
Athena comes to Kratos and pleads that he stops destroying the cities of Greece, because the Gods are becoming increasingly angry. Athena warns Kratos that he is in her debt, because she gave him his throne.
Kratos ignores Athena, saying he owes her nothing, at which Athena says that then he has left her with no choice. Kratos descends to Rhodes himself. A crow-like creature flies over Kratos and starts draining his godly power, turning him into a mortal. The creature flies over the Colossus of Rhodes and brings the statue to life. Kratos then begins the battle against the Colossus, as it rages throughout the city.
Another video from Game Trailers reveals that Kratos, tired of easy Olympian life decides to help the Spartan warriors take over the entire world. After battling the Colossus, Kratos is confronted by Zeus, who stabs him with what appears to be the Sword of Olympus, then asked to join the Olympians (only this time staying in line)
Kratos refuses, and is sent to Hades. He is rescued (some believe by the real Athena, or possibly Gaia who dislikes Zeus), and goes on a quest to the Islands of Creation, where the Sisters of Fate Temple is hidden. Here, he is able to travel back in time, find the Sword of the Olympians, and "Settle the score with Zeus."
It is stated that in the E3 Interview with Cory Barlog that on the Island of Fate, "key" Greek Heroes are also on the Island trying to change their Fates as well as Kratos, these are rumored to be Jason, Theseus, Perseus, and Hercules.
It seems that in an IGN Video Review of the game that Zeus' history is going to be revealed during the game, and how Zeus became Kratos' alleged biological father.
Gameplay
The difficulties are Mortal (easy), Spartan (Normal), God (Hard), and Titan (Very Hard).
Kratos begins the game with full health, full magic power, Poseidon's Rage, and fully powered up Athena's Blades. After being stripped of most of his abilities, Kratos will be left with the lowest level Athena's Blades, lowest health and magic power, and no magical attacks.
Kratos will be able to take flight on the back of Pegasus. In a recent gameplay of flight combat with the Pegasus, it appears that the combat will be similar to rail games such as Panzer Dragoon Orta, in which Kratos can tell the Pegasus to move up, down, reverse, speed up, left, and right. Apparently if the Pegasus crashes or accelerates too quickly, it will fall into a tumble in which the player must shake the analog stick to escape.
Another story trait that has been confirmed is that the relics will be more closely tied with the story, like obtaining the Golden Fleece to ward off the gaze of a Gorgon that is emblazoned on a temple door. Items like Cyclops eyes can only be obtained by completing mini-games.
There are 7 new costumes with new abilities, and the costumes can be customized. Hacks of the God of War 2 Demo have revealed the costumes will be Kratos in a fish costume with hooks entitled "Cod of War", Kratos in armor made from the scales of the Hydra, A 'black' Kratos with a yellow tatoo, Kratos in his Spartan General Armor, Kratos in Hercules' costume, Kratos replaced with Athena, and the Ares armor from God of War.
There will be a new "Hall of the Titans" mode with 7 challenges, which is said to be very difficult, and includes a ranking system. There are bonuses for achieving the highest rank, however, the next level can be reached by achieving the lowest rank. There is a save feature in between rounds as well.
Another mode revealed is Arena of the Fates, in which the number and types of opponents can be customized. The experience points carry over to the main game. But, the Hall of the Titans must be achieved with Titan rank to play this.
New yellow orbs can be acquired from completing mini-games on enemies, they power up your meter used to stop time using the Amulet of the Fates.
There are more than twice the bosses here than in the first game, but only 3 or 4 of them are large and epic, such as the Colossus in the beginning of the game. The rest are fighting smaller enemies on 1 vs 1, against some of Greek Mythology's greatest heroes or villains.
Enemies
The cast of foes is said to be more than twice as large as the first game with many new enemies including skeletons, gryphons, and imps.
These enemies have been seen in various trailers, articles, and exclusives:
* Undead Legionnaires - Basic undead soldiers and archers are back from the first game.
* Cyclops - These creatures make their return from the original, and now have small imps which ride them; you can obtain Cyclops Eyes from completing a mini-game on them. When not armed, they can throw boars at you.
* Minotaurs - Regular Minotaurs are returning from the first game. You are still able to do the finisher from the last game to get health.
* Fat minotaurs- An uglier, beefier minotaur that breathes fire on it's own club. Kratos can use the club to impale the bull.
* Harpies - Harpies have been given a new look, appearing to be much larger and darker than they were in the original.
* Skeletons - Skeletons that rebuild themselves after being cut down.
* Cerberus - Cerberus is involved in a minigame in which Kratos must use three different devices to behead the creature. Cerberus pups are back as well.
* Wraiths - Wraiths are standard soldiers from the original with blades grafted onto their arms.
* Sirens - Sirens make their return from the original with the same attacks.
* Gorgons - Gorgons make their return from the original, but with the exception that now the gorgon freezing ray can petrify other gorgons, which was not possible in the first game.
* Soldiers of Rhodes - Human soldiers will fight Kratos in Rhodes; ask Zeus to guide them in their battles as they fight. They include archers too.
* Satyrs - Satyrs have returned from the original holding new spear-looking weapons as seen in the IGN Review.
* Gryphons - half eagle, half lion enemies fought on top of Pegasus. These can have warriors atop piloting them.
* Boars - a Cyclops can pick these up and throw them at Kratos.
* Imps - Freakish little creatures that can mount a Cyclops to give it more power.
* Hordes of the Barbarian King - Barbarian soldiers resurrected by the Barbarian King to help kill Kratos.
* Giant Moths - Large, flying insects that spew venom and webbing that can immobilize Kratos.
* Large Armored Mutant - seen in IGN Review, is shielded and uses a flaming flail to attack.
* New sirens/ Banshees - Can scream, temporarley stunning Kratos. If they do, you must shake the analog stick to recover.
* Hades Hands - arms that stretch out from rocks and crevices in the Underworld.
* Stymphalian birds - in the Preview on gametrailers.com, small orange birds are seen fighting Kratos, these are rumored to be Stymphalian birds.
Bosses
* Colossus of Rhodes - The first boss in the game. It has been brought to life by Athena by draining Kratos' Immortal power and giving it to the statue. This battle is fought through the entire level (ex: On top of buildings). During a couple of the minigames durring the battle, Kratos will jump onto the Colossus and scratch both of it's cheeks.
* Euryale - Medusa's sister, a much larger, heavier gorgon. Eruyale's Head is earned by ripping it off and used just like "Medusa's Gaze" from the original God of War. During the fight, when she gazes at you, you have to tap the circle button to stop it.
* Dark Cerberus - In a recent gameplay video, we see Kratos fighting a monstrous Cerberus. When this beast is hurt, it eats dead bodies in the area to gain health. May only be a sub boss.
* Icarus - Kratos will fight Icarus for the use of his wings (Kratos rips his wings off).
* The Barbarian King - Fought and defeated Kratos in his days as a Spartan Commander (and led Kratos to making his deal with Ares). The Hammer of Souls is earned by defeating him. At first he is riding his horse and a button sequence must be pressed so Kratos can follow him. Kratos kills his horse and several undead minions summoned by him before stealing his weapon and smashing him several times with it to destroy him.
* A human with a green scroll.
* A human with a shield and a slingshot. Seems to be the owner of the cap of invisibility, as during the fight against Kratos he turns invisible. Possible identity: Perseus.
* Theseus- The famous greek hero carries an ice spear. Can summon ice pillars from the ground. During the fight summons Frost Minotaurs to his aid.
* The four Titans Kronos, Atlas, Prometheus and Typhon
* The Sisters of Fate - the Moirae, they are Clotho, Atropos, and Lachesis.
* Zeus (possible)
Weapons, magic, and relics
Weapons
* Blades of Athena: Given to Kratos by the goddess Athena. Much of the combo moves from the original have carried over. The Cyclone of Chaos maneuver is still the same (as seen in the video "Stabby" on IGN as the first move that Kratos makes), while a similar move displays Kratos spinning both blades on the same side, instead of one on each side.
There are many more new moves with this weapon, as opposed to it having the same move set as the Blades of Chaos from the first game. At the beginning the Blades are at maximum power with the complete move set, but after being cast down to Hades they are reduced to the lowest level, and have to be upgraded by collecting red orbs (obtained by defeating enemies).
* The Hammer of Souls: This hammer comes from the Barbarian King and can summon the dead souls of Hades; Has the spell "Army of Hades," incorporated into it.
* Spear of Destiny: Giant purple spear seen in the IGN video review. Seems to be able to change length.
* Blade of Olympus: Giant sword sent to Kratos by Zeus, Kratos will have to sacrifice his remaining godly power, red orbs and the Poseidon's Rage spell to power it up. The sword absorbs enemies power when you kill them with it.
Video from GameTrailers has shown the following Moves:
Divine Absolution- L1+Square
Divine Retribution- L1+Triangle
Divine Retribution (Air)- L1
Magic
* Poseidon's Rage: Kratos starts out with this magic, and the level one spell appears to be more powerful than the starting spell in the first game. The Wrath of Poseidon, the attack where Kratos spins around, returns at level two. Earned in the first game from Poseidon. It is only available during the first level, when Kratos finds himself in the underworld, he no longer has any magic.
* Typhon's Bane: Level one shoots out supernatural wind arrows; level two shoots out a charged shot in the form of a whirlwind which will send multiple enemies skywards; level three will shoot out a massive tornado. This tornado is not an arrow-shot but an actual tornado which rips and tears enemies to pieces.
* Kronos' Fury: A new thunder magic from Kronos which lets Kratos place thunderbolts that will essentially tie-down enemies and shock them.
* Euryale's Head: The new 'Medusa's Gaze', it transforms enemies into stone as in the original but it weilds new attacks and features. Earned by defeating Euryale.
* Atlas Quake: The last magic has been confirmed to be an earth spell which will shoot boulders at enemies at level one. Level two creates earthquakes and, at level three, fissures that enemies fall into.
* Rage of the Titans: Similar to the "Rage of the Gods" attack in the original God of War, Kratos is covered in flames and inflicts massive damage toward enemies. Unlike the Rage of the Gods power in the first game, Kratos is able to use it without having to get the Rage of the Titans meter filled.
Relics
* Amulet of the Fates: Slows down time for a certain amount of time when in range of a fate statue.
* Wings of Icarus: Allows Kratos to glide.
* Golden Fleece: Allows the reflection of projectiles and reduction of some % of melee attacks
Critical reception
* IGN.com — 9.7 out of 10
* 1UP.com — 9.5 out of 10
* Gaming Trend — 9.4 out of 10
* Game Informer — 9.75 out of 10
* GameZone — 9.5 out of 10
* Gamespy — 5 out of 5
* Metacritic — 96 out of 100
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_of_War_II
Athena comes to Kratos and pleads that he stops destroying the cities of Greece, because the Gods are becoming increasingly angry. Athena warns Kratos that he is in her debt, because she gave him his throne.
Kratos ignores Athena, saying he owes her nothing, at which Athena says that then he has left her with no choice. Kratos descends to Rhodes himself. A crow-like creature flies over Kratos and starts draining his godly power, turning him into a mortal. The creature flies over the Colossus of Rhodes and brings the statue to life. Kratos then begins the battle against the Colossus, as it rages throughout the city.
Another video from Game Trailers reveals that Kratos, tired of easy Olympian life decides to help the Spartan warriors take over the entire world. After battling the Colossus, Kratos is confronted by Zeus, who stabs him with what appears to be the Sword of Olympus, then asked to join the Olympians (only this time staying in line)
Kratos refuses, and is sent to Hades. He is rescued (some believe by the real Athena, or possibly Gaia who dislikes Zeus), and goes on a quest to the Islands of Creation, where the Sisters of Fate Temple is hidden. Here, he is able to travel back in time, find the Sword of the Olympians, and "Settle the score with Zeus."
It is stated that in the E3 Interview with Cory Barlog that on the Island of Fate, "key" Greek Heroes are also on the Island trying to change their Fates as well as Kratos, these are rumored to be Jason, Theseus, Perseus, and Hercules.
It seems that in an IGN Video Review of the game that Zeus' history is going to be revealed during the game, and how Zeus became Kratos' alleged biological father.
Gameplay
The difficulties are Mortal (easy), Spartan (Normal), God (Hard), and Titan (Very Hard).
Kratos begins the game with full health, full magic power, Poseidon's Rage, and fully powered up Athena's Blades. After being stripped of most of his abilities, Kratos will be left with the lowest level Athena's Blades, lowest health and magic power, and no magical attacks.
Kratos will be able to take flight on the back of Pegasus. In a recent gameplay of flight combat with the Pegasus, it appears that the combat will be similar to rail games such as Panzer Dragoon Orta, in which Kratos can tell the Pegasus to move up, down, reverse, speed up, left, and right. Apparently if the Pegasus crashes or accelerates too quickly, it will fall into a tumble in which the player must shake the analog stick to escape.
Another story trait that has been confirmed is that the relics will be more closely tied with the story, like obtaining the Golden Fleece to ward off the gaze of a Gorgon that is emblazoned on a temple door. Items like Cyclops eyes can only be obtained by completing mini-games.
There are 7 new costumes with new abilities, and the costumes can be customized. Hacks of the God of War 2 Demo have revealed the costumes will be Kratos in a fish costume with hooks entitled "Cod of War", Kratos in armor made from the scales of the Hydra, A 'black' Kratos with a yellow tatoo, Kratos in his Spartan General Armor, Kratos in Hercules' costume, Kratos replaced with Athena, and the Ares armor from God of War.
There will be a new "Hall of the Titans" mode with 7 challenges, which is said to be very difficult, and includes a ranking system. There are bonuses for achieving the highest rank, however, the next level can be reached by achieving the lowest rank. There is a save feature in between rounds as well.
Another mode revealed is Arena of the Fates, in which the number and types of opponents can be customized. The experience points carry over to the main game. But, the Hall of the Titans must be achieved with Titan rank to play this.
New yellow orbs can be acquired from completing mini-games on enemies, they power up your meter used to stop time using the Amulet of the Fates.
There are more than twice the bosses here than in the first game, but only 3 or 4 of them are large and epic, such as the Colossus in the beginning of the game. The rest are fighting smaller enemies on 1 vs 1, against some of Greek Mythology's greatest heroes or villains.
Enemies
The cast of foes is said to be more than twice as large as the first game with many new enemies including skeletons, gryphons, and imps.
These enemies have been seen in various trailers, articles, and exclusives:
* Undead Legionnaires - Basic undead soldiers and archers are back from the first game.
* Cyclops - These creatures make their return from the original, and now have small imps which ride them; you can obtain Cyclops Eyes from completing a mini-game on them. When not armed, they can throw boars at you.
* Minotaurs - Regular Minotaurs are returning from the first game. You are still able to do the finisher from the last game to get health.
* Fat minotaurs- An uglier, beefier minotaur that breathes fire on it's own club. Kratos can use the club to impale the bull.
* Harpies - Harpies have been given a new look, appearing to be much larger and darker than they were in the original.
* Skeletons - Skeletons that rebuild themselves after being cut down.
* Cerberus - Cerberus is involved in a minigame in which Kratos must use three different devices to behead the creature. Cerberus pups are back as well.
* Wraiths - Wraiths are standard soldiers from the original with blades grafted onto their arms.
* Sirens - Sirens make their return from the original with the same attacks.
* Gorgons - Gorgons make their return from the original, but with the exception that now the gorgon freezing ray can petrify other gorgons, which was not possible in the first game.
* Soldiers of Rhodes - Human soldiers will fight Kratos in Rhodes; ask Zeus to guide them in their battles as they fight. They include archers too.
* Satyrs - Satyrs have returned from the original holding new spear-looking weapons as seen in the IGN Review.
* Gryphons - half eagle, half lion enemies fought on top of Pegasus. These can have warriors atop piloting them.
* Boars - a Cyclops can pick these up and throw them at Kratos.
* Imps - Freakish little creatures that can mount a Cyclops to give it more power.
* Hordes of the Barbarian King - Barbarian soldiers resurrected by the Barbarian King to help kill Kratos.
* Giant Moths - Large, flying insects that spew venom and webbing that can immobilize Kratos.
* Large Armored Mutant - seen in IGN Review, is shielded and uses a flaming flail to attack.
* New sirens/ Banshees - Can scream, temporarley stunning Kratos. If they do, you must shake the analog stick to recover.
* Hades Hands - arms that stretch out from rocks and crevices in the Underworld.
* Stymphalian birds - in the Preview on gametrailers.com, small orange birds are seen fighting Kratos, these are rumored to be Stymphalian birds.
Bosses
* Colossus of Rhodes - The first boss in the game. It has been brought to life by Athena by draining Kratos' Immortal power and giving it to the statue. This battle is fought through the entire level (ex: On top of buildings). During a couple of the minigames durring the battle, Kratos will jump onto the Colossus and scratch both of it's cheeks.
* Euryale - Medusa's sister, a much larger, heavier gorgon. Eruyale's Head is earned by ripping it off and used just like "Medusa's Gaze" from the original God of War. During the fight, when she gazes at you, you have to tap the circle button to stop it.
* Dark Cerberus - In a recent gameplay video, we see Kratos fighting a monstrous Cerberus. When this beast is hurt, it eats dead bodies in the area to gain health. May only be a sub boss.
* Icarus - Kratos will fight Icarus for the use of his wings (Kratos rips his wings off).
* The Barbarian King - Fought and defeated Kratos in his days as a Spartan Commander (and led Kratos to making his deal with Ares). The Hammer of Souls is earned by defeating him. At first he is riding his horse and a button sequence must be pressed so Kratos can follow him. Kratos kills his horse and several undead minions summoned by him before stealing his weapon and smashing him several times with it to destroy him.
* A human with a green scroll.
* A human with a shield and a slingshot. Seems to be the owner of the cap of invisibility, as during the fight against Kratos he turns invisible. Possible identity: Perseus.
* Theseus- The famous greek hero carries an ice spear. Can summon ice pillars from the ground. During the fight summons Frost Minotaurs to his aid.
* The four Titans Kronos, Atlas, Prometheus and Typhon
* The Sisters of Fate - the Moirae, they are Clotho, Atropos, and Lachesis.
* Zeus (possible)
Weapons, magic, and relics
Weapons
* Blades of Athena: Given to Kratos by the goddess Athena. Much of the combo moves from the original have carried over. The Cyclone of Chaos maneuver is still the same (as seen in the video "Stabby" on IGN as the first move that Kratos makes), while a similar move displays Kratos spinning both blades on the same side, instead of one on each side.
There are many more new moves with this weapon, as opposed to it having the same move set as the Blades of Chaos from the first game. At the beginning the Blades are at maximum power with the complete move set, but after being cast down to Hades they are reduced to the lowest level, and have to be upgraded by collecting red orbs (obtained by defeating enemies).
* The Hammer of Souls: This hammer comes from the Barbarian King and can summon the dead souls of Hades; Has the spell "Army of Hades," incorporated into it.
* Spear of Destiny: Giant purple spear seen in the IGN video review. Seems to be able to change length.
* Blade of Olympus: Giant sword sent to Kratos by Zeus, Kratos will have to sacrifice his remaining godly power, red orbs and the Poseidon's Rage spell to power it up. The sword absorbs enemies power when you kill them with it.
Video from GameTrailers has shown the following Moves:
Divine Absolution- L1+Square
Divine Retribution- L1+Triangle
Divine Retribution (Air)- L1
Magic
* Poseidon's Rage: Kratos starts out with this magic, and the level one spell appears to be more powerful than the starting spell in the first game. The Wrath of Poseidon, the attack where Kratos spins around, returns at level two. Earned in the first game from Poseidon. It is only available during the first level, when Kratos finds himself in the underworld, he no longer has any magic.
* Typhon's Bane: Level one shoots out supernatural wind arrows; level two shoots out a charged shot in the form of a whirlwind which will send multiple enemies skywards; level three will shoot out a massive tornado. This tornado is not an arrow-shot but an actual tornado which rips and tears enemies to pieces.
* Kronos' Fury: A new thunder magic from Kronos which lets Kratos place thunderbolts that will essentially tie-down enemies and shock them.
* Euryale's Head: The new 'Medusa's Gaze', it transforms enemies into stone as in the original but it weilds new attacks and features. Earned by defeating Euryale.
* Atlas Quake: The last magic has been confirmed to be an earth spell which will shoot boulders at enemies at level one. Level two creates earthquakes and, at level three, fissures that enemies fall into.
* Rage of the Titans: Similar to the "Rage of the Gods" attack in the original God of War, Kratos is covered in flames and inflicts massive damage toward enemies. Unlike the Rage of the Gods power in the first game, Kratos is able to use it without having to get the Rage of the Titans meter filled.
Relics
* Amulet of the Fates: Slows down time for a certain amount of time when in range of a fate statue.
* Wings of Icarus: Allows Kratos to glide.
* Golden Fleece: Allows the reflection of projectiles and reduction of some % of melee attacks
Critical reception
* IGN.com — 9.7 out of 10
* 1UP.com — 9.5 out of 10
* Gaming Trend — 9.4 out of 10
* Game Informer — 9.75 out of 10
* GameZone — 9.5 out of 10
* Gamespy — 5 out of 5
* Metacritic — 96 out of 100
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_of_War_II