[PS2] God of War II: Divine Retribution

Zitat von Mr.Zylinder

schon auf dem weg zu dir? wo hast du das gekauft?

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As I said earlier, I haven't finished the game yet, but I have spent enough time to play through a couple of levels with that flaming Pegasus.

I was a little worried that these flying levels would stray too far from the heart of the game to be enjoyable, but I was wrong. Despite playing a bit like a shooter in parts, the levels still have that hack and slash, cinematic feel that makes this franchise so much fun to play.

While at its heart God of War II is very similar to God of War, that's a good thing. The team managed to stay true to the polished play of the original while finessing enough new ideas into the sequel to make it a worthy edition to a fantastic franchise.

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As was the case with the original game, God of War II ships with a very large amount of unlockable content and bonus materials. The Challenge of the Gods is back, though in much better form. Featuring seven challenges rather than ten, you're now able to save after each challenge so that you don't need to leave your system on for days or weeks at a time. Additionally, you'll be given a ranking when you complete each challenge, be it Mortal, God or Titan, based on bonus objectives, how much damage you took, the time you took to finish it and so forth. While you'll be able to advance after simply earning a Mortal ranking, you'll need to go back and claim Titan on everything for the highest rewards.

[...]God of War II may in fact be the best action game ever made. It outdoes the original God of War in every way, even if only by a tiny bit as the first was so good to begin with. It's an evolutionary step rather than a revolutionary leap, but it has basically perfected the formula that the original set up. If you own a PlayStation 2 (or PS3) and don't mind excessive amounts of blood, you absolutely must play this game. If you don't own a PS2, find someone who does and sit yourself down in front of their TV for 12 or so hours as you'll otherwise be missing out on one of gaming's most intense and engaging experiences available.

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Overall, God of War II is every bit as satisfying as its predecessor, and even eclipses it in some areas. The puzzles are even more devious than in the first, and I found myself recalling the brain busters of the original Soul Reaver more than once. The addition of the grappling hook functionality to Athena's Blades is a masterstroke, although you may not think so once you have to go through one of the numerous and terribly frustrating swinging puzzles that thankfully only crop up a handful of times. Surprisingly, the fixed camera system employed throughout this series hardly ever falls short of providing an amazingly cinematic gaming experience. While I typically frown on fixed cameras, God of War II manages to keep the camera stationary while always providing the best view of the action; a majestic feat worthy of the Gods themselves, no wonder Zeus is such a jealous jerk.

[...]Ultimately, the only real criticism that I have of God of War II is that it tends to get a little cheap in the final stages. I don't want to spoil anything by giving too much detail, but suffice it to say that some of the later levels ramp up their challenge by putting Kratos in situations that are maddeningly annoying to deal with. When you have to pull a crank through several rotations in order to lift a platform, but these little imp creatures won't give you five seconds without hurling a firebolt that knocks you to the ground (and steals every bit of progress you've made on pulling that pesky crank), you'll know what I'm talking about. Still, I can't fault the game for being difficult, no matter how cheap it seems to put Kratos in such a compromising position.