AN EPIC BATTLE IN PLAYSTATION 2 ARENA.

Byline: Redmond Carolipio

Staff Writer

By now, we all know lines from King Leonidas. There's "This is where we fight! This is where THEY DIE!" Or how about, "Tonight we dine in hell!"

That's the essence of playing "God of War II." You will feel like the baddest dude on Earth.

In perhaps the last epic game for the PS2, Sony has given us the gaming equivalent of the movie "300" -- a body of work that prods at the battle-hungry, rampaging beast in all of us, and then attempts to harness it with breathtaking imagery, epic confrontations and a true franchise character for the ages. It's a joyfully bloody romp through Greek mythology that turns into an unforgettable experience.

You re-assume the role of Kratos, the resurrected Spartan super-warrior who managed to kill Ares, the original God of War, and take his place on Mount Olympus.

As fans of the first game might remember, it was Ares who saved Kratos from certain death by granting him awesome powers, but also manipulating him into killing his own wife and child.

Kratos becomes cursed as a result, and he's forced to "wear" the ashes of his dead family (hence his ghostly white skin) and have nightmares about it for the rest of his life. Oh, and he has flaming swords with chains fused to his arms.

The sequel takes place after the fall of Ares, with Kratos flexing his power as the new God of War and practically decimating everything in sight on the mortal world. The other gods aren't happy about this, but Kratos could care less -- until he's stripped of his godly powers and becomes mortal.

Greek history primer

The first game was known for its treatment of huge landscapes, where the fixed camera would suddenly zoom out to show the sheer size of a temple entrance or the scene of a city being attacked. There were also visual interpretations of various Greek legends, like the Titans, the Sirens and Pandora's Box. However, those scenes and legends felt spread out, while the sequel is jam-packed with almost every bit of Greek mythos you can imagine.

In addition to the gods and Titans, you've got the Sisters of Fate, Pegasus, Icarus, The Steeds of Time and Atlas (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan) to name a few. Atlas is an entire level by himself -- at one point, Kratos is forced to fight his way back to the real world by climbing up and around Atlas. Few, if any, pure action games on the PS2 operate on that kind of scope.

Visually, the game is stunning. There's magnificent scene with the Steeds of Time where Kratos has to walk on a massive chain to get to his destination. Not only can you see the grooves in the chain, but also the sunlight shining off the steeds' armor plating, even as the camera zooms back to reveal the scene in its entirely.

More fighting

Speaking of boss battles, one of the knocks on the first game was that there weren't enough of them. That's not the case now -- not only is the game loaded with legendary fights, but each major enemy has to be beaten in stages or in specific ways that require some critical thinking.

The combat system is as simple as it was before, where a lot of square and triangle button-pressing is enough to get you through hordes of enemies. However, you'll also get a lot more timed button-press and stick-moving sequences to take out what used to be "lesser" creatures. This adds a lot more tension to the fight, but also leads to a lot more satisfaction.

'GOD OF WAR II' - Four stars

Platform: PlayStation 2.

Rated: M for Mature.

In a nutshell: All hail "God of War II."