God of War, the epic action adventure title published by Sony, was heralded by the press and public as a masterpiece of game development and production. GoW incorporated elements of Greek mythology, stunning graphics, a great storyline, memorable characters, fantastic combat action, satisfying puzzles, plus enough intrigue and game exploits to satisfy even the most difficult to please. God of War, in short, was a tremendous hit.
After the initial release of GoW, speculation immediately began about the making of a sequel to the successful title. While the demand for another God of War game was high among the gaming community, some wondered if it was even possible to produce another tour de force such as the first one. As they say, it was a tough act to follow.
While walking through the PS2 section of E3, I was expecting a big production by Sony to showcase GoW 2. Visions of flashing lights, models attired in elaborate costumes, product giveaways, and colorful posters adorning the walls came to mind. But I had evidently missed something, as I couldn,t find the exhibit anywhere. But off to the corner of my eye, I noticed a crowd of people sequestered in the rear of the exhibit room.
I meandered over to the group and found eight kiosks, each one with a gamer intently involved in gameplay. Not only that, a substantial crowd was gathered behind the players. I elbowed my way through the crowd to see what all the fuss was all about and saw a rather modest sign posted above the game stations: God of War 2.
And that, more than anything, demonstrates the power and attraction of this franchise. So, just how good was the demo?
One of the signature characteristics of the first God of War game were its excellent graphics. The demo at E3 was slightly better graphically than the original. In one of the battle segments, Kratos is engaged in fighting against an enormous rock creature. The graphical rendering of the monster proved to be not only life-like but quite fluid, as the enemy attempted to ram our hero into the ground. Kratos retaliated with a volley of multiple hits from his blades, which offered some great pyrotechnics.
The music orchestration in the game is full and rich as with the previous game, and definitely adds to the intensity level of the title. Sound effects are spot on as the fury of Kratos, attacks is leveled against bosses and adversaries.
In many cases, it is often difficult to gauge a game,s merit solely on the gameplay of a short demo. But in the case of God of War 2, not only has Sony accomplished this, they may have exceeded the high standards of their first offering. If anyone doubts this, ask the crowd that was standing four deep to get a chance to play the God of War 2 demo.
Get ready for some extreme awesomeness, because Kratos is coming again.
