God of War II (2007)
God of War II is a 2007 platform video game made by SCE Santa Monica Studio and Capcom.
Kratos now sits on the throne of Ares as the new God of War, and Zeus promptly strips him of that power. What follows is a continent-spanning act of revenge against the entire Olympian order, with Kratos cutting through Greek myth at the series' largest scale yet. God of War II improves on every dimension of the original: the combat is deeper, the set pieces are more spectacular, and the mythological roster grows to include titans, fates, and heroes whose stories the game treats with genuine weight. It remains one of the PlayStation 2's defining achievements.
Quick answers
What is God of War II about?
Kratos now sits on the throne of Ares as the new God of War, and Zeus promptly strips him of that power. What follows is a continent-spanning act of revenge against the entire Olympian order, with Kratos cutting through Greek myth at the series' largest scale yet. God of War II improves on every dimension of the original: the combat is deeper, the set pieces are more spectacular, and the mythological roster grows to include titans, fates, and heroes whose stories the game treats with genuine weight. It remains one of the PlayStation 2's defining achievements.
When was God of War II released?
God of War II was released on 13 March 2007.
Who made God of War II?
God of War II was made by SCE Santa Monica Studio, Capcom and Sony Computer Entertainment.
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Explore God of War II guides
God of War II in our writing
- Companion guide: Ancient Greece
- Companion guide: Giants & Titans
- Companion guide: Santa Monica Studio: God of War, from the Greek carnage to the Norse reinvention
A few thoughts on God of War II
The God of War comic God of War fills gaps between the games with lore that rewards anyone invested in Kratos's mythology. Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter matches the series' tone of a mortal warrior descending into the divine realm to settle accounts by force.
Vengeance stories where mortals go to war with their own gods
God of War II has Kratos stripped of his throne by Zeus and cutting through the Olympian order in answer, and that same charge of taking arms against divine betrayal runs through Saint Seiya: The Hades Chapter's knights storming the underworld, the Saint Seiya manga's constellation warriors, The Song of Achilles' hero bound to a fate he can't escape, and Gorin no Sho's code for facing impossible odds.
Metal built on the scale of gods and titans
God of War II widens its scope to titans and fates, and the operatic dread of Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind, Judas Priest's Painkiller, Savatage's The Spectre Within, King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King, and the orchestral sweep of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King soundtrack all reach for that same mythic, larger-than-life register.
Combat scaled up to fighting titans, gods, and giants
God of War II throws Kratos against colossi and titans at a scale the first game never attempted, the same appetite for oversized, punishing combat found in Mortal Kombat II's brutal spectacle, Skyrim's dragon fights, The Witcher 3's monster-hunting contracts, and 2018's God of War, which swaps Olympus for Midgard but keeps the sense that every enemy could crush you outright.