V
April 2007
God of War II entertains fans' fctOO&lOTT
m M ike G orgone _____
___
Staff Reporter
The term "glorious orgy
of blood and slaughter" is
only applicable in a few very
discrete times throughout the
course of history. The recent
arrival of "God of War II"
for the Playstation 2 is one of
those times.
I don't say the above
statement as a way of getting
you to avoid this game
though; the exact opposite
is true! "GoW II" is the
sequel to 2004's outrageously
successful "God of War"
which was hailed by several
publications; including IGN.
com, Playstation Magazine
and Electronic Gaming
Monthly, as one of the best
games released that year.
The game starts out
simply enough; you play
as Kratos, a Spartan soldier
who assumed position as the
new god of war after killing
Aris, the original god out of
Greek mythology, in the first
game. Within the first hour of
play you are betrayed by the
other gods and stripped of
your power.
Then you are chased
across an island by a colossus
which you dismantle by
tearing out its eyes and
ripping off its arm. Then
you suck out its life force
from the inside with a sword
given to you by Zeus. Then
you die, betrayed by the king
of the gods.
This doesn't stop our
main man Kratos, who then
fights his way out of hell.
Now let's rewind this article
a bit. If you notice, I said
that this is all within the
first hour of game play. Are
you slack-jawed yet? What
has just been covered isn't
even a fraction of the whole
game which continues on for
dozens of hours of solid play.
Everything that made the
original "God of War" great
has returned in the sequel:
vicious combat, outstanding
visuals and a list of bad
guys that spans the entire
breadth of Greek mythology.
Name any random creature
from Greek folklore and its
probably a killable enemy
in "God of War II." Sirens,
griffons, satyrs; even the
gods themselves are on
Kratos's hit-list. Each dies
in a spectacularly tight
combinations of button taps
and joystick rotations. Ever
wanted to tear off a zombie's
arms and then beat it to
death with its own arm? Just
look to "GoW II."
And those are just the
normal fights that are faced
regularly throughout the
several levels in "GoW II."
The boss battles, like the
colossus mentioned above,
are stunning in how they
combine difficult challenges j
to overcome with the most
satisfying victories to be
seen in any game to date.
That pesky adventurer
Theseus keeps whacking
Kratos with magical ice
bolts, but who's laughing
when his fight gives out as
the Spartan slams his head
in a door repeatedly, "Kill
Bill" style?
If, as you read this, you
notice that this game seems
to be a bit graphic, then
you'd be right. I didn't
say, "glorious orgy of blood
and slaughter" for nothing.
This game received an
"M " rating from the ESRB
(Entertainment Software
Ratings Board) for (and I
quote), "Blood and gore,
intense violence, nudity,
sexual themes and strong
language." Let's just say
that this game isn't for the
light of heart. There is a true
emphasis on the war part of
"God of War."
j
Kratos, the God of War, crushes the head of a zombie under his
mighty heel. God of War II may very well be the best game ever
made for the
PS2.
m m mmrnm
Screenshot courtesy of Google
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ I
In all likelihood you are
sitting in a classroom while
you read this, and if so, I
plead that you drop what
you're doing and run out to
get this game...now!
Only kidding. Don't
actually drop everything to
get "GoW II." Just get it as
soon as you can. That's how
amazingly good this game
is. Every single facet of it
is polished to an absolute
diamond-like quality. The
voice acting is spot-on with
popular actors such as
Harry Hamlin and Michael
Clarke Duncan lending their
powerful vocals as the fallen
hero, Perseus and the titan,
Atlas, respectively.
Unfortunately, if you don't
already own a Playstation
2, buying this game is a bit
u
were great," Weehunt said.
This is Weehunt’s third
year teaching math and she
loves it. She also actively
participates in track, coaching
students in high jump and
hurdles. During her free time
she enjoys yoga, playing
volleyball and running.She
is also looking forward to
moot with the release of all
the next generation consoles,
but I see it this way: find the
right deals, and you could
be sitting on one of greatest
games to be released in
2007 and one of the most
venerated consoles of this
decade for just under the
low, low price of $200. Not
a bad deal in this writer's
opinion.
PW»ylisT S potlight- Crystal Weehunt
C hris G arf i e l d ________
Staff Reporter
Seeing concerts on school
nights is no problem for
Crystal Weehunt, math
teacher, who frequently
attends shows throughout
the year.
"I just saw Snow Patrol a
couple weeks ago and they
getting married this summer.
Her choice of music is
alternative rock with a little
Justin Timberlake thrown
in there. She mostly likes
smaller, local bands such as
Climber, Band of Horses and
Matt Kearney. Her play list
is diverse and ranges from
Coldplay to Nelly Furtado.
¡Tunes
—
Weehunt
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