"What's the story this time around?
GoWII picks up exactly where the original left off. Kratos has killed Ares and has become the new God of War, far more ruthless than Ares ever was. But he soon finds out what life among the petty Olympians is like, as it seems that some of the gods aren't too happy a mere mortal has ascended to their ranks and it isn't long before Kratos is killed and stripped of all his godly powers. After escaping death once again, he sets off to find the only beings capable of controlling the Olympians - the Moriae, or the Three Sister of Fate. They hold power and sway over the life of every living thing, and are the only hope of Kratos doing what no mortal has ever done before - changing his fate. The journey won't be easy though, as Kratos must literally journey to the ends of the earth to find the Temple of the Fates.
And so far, that's all that's been confirmed.
I heard David Jaffe isn't in charge of GoWII! Is this true?
Yes and no. Jaffe isn't directly in charge of the sequel, as he's currently working on a PSP game entitled HL. The new man in charge this time around is Cory Barlog, who also worked on GoW. That said, Barlog has gone on record stating that he uses Jaffe as a sounding board to bounce ideas off of, so even though he's not directly in charge, Jaffe still holds a lot of sway over what makes it into GoWII.
What weapon is Kratos using?
As far as anyone knows, the Blades of Athena. I don't know for sure though, so if anyone can confirm or deny this, please do.
Will there be more bosses?
Yes there will be. In one interview, Barlog said that of all the complaints he'd heard about GoW, the lack of bosses was one of the main ones. So this time around, not only will there be more bosses, they will also be better designed. As of right now, three bosses have been confirmed, but there are also a few probables.
The ones we know for sure are Icarus, Euryale (Medusa's sister), and the Barbarian King – the same one whose head Kratos lopped off in GoW as soon as he received the Blades of Chaos. From this screenshot, looks like that beheading didn’t sit so well with our barbarian friend.
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Another creature we've seen is the minotaur-like creature made of rocks that Kratos is seen fighting in several of the gameplay movies. If I had to guess, I'd say that's more of a mini-boss, but I could be wrong.
Barlog has also said that throughout the game Kratos will encounter classic heroes, such as Achilles, and will fight them for some unique possession. How many heroes there will be, or who they even are hasn't been confirmed. However, in one of the gameplay videos, Kratos encounters Jason, the man who went assembled the Argonauts and went searching for the Golden Fleece in Greek mythology.
What magic does Kratos get?
Though I'm sure there will be more magics than what are listed here, these are the only ones confirmed so far.
Icarus Wings - Exactly what they sound like. You may remember that in one of the unlockable videos in GoW, the Icarus Wings were shown in a deleted level. Well this time around they made it in! You have to fight Icarus in order to get them, which should prove a very interesting boss fight if he takes to the sky. The Icarus Wings allow Kratos to hover for short periods of time, and can be worked into combos.
Ice - I'm not sure what this is, but it reminds me of a shotgun blast. In several of the trailers and gameplay movies, Kratos is shown blasting enemies with what appears to be ice. With quite a punch behind each shot, this should be useful for pushing enemies off of cliffs or into other quick death areas.
Bow and arrow - This is used to (I guess) take the place of Zeus' Fury. Much like ZF, this uses up a lot of magic very quickly, but it is a pretty powerful ranged weapon. It also opens up some pretty unique juggling possibilities and is one of the weapons you can switch to on the fly. The final verdict will have to wait until the game comes out I guess.
Wind - This seems like a very cool weapon. It essentially shoots out miniature tornadoes that shred enemies to bits. Once you upgrade it, the tornadoes get more and more powerful, until you can literally tear enemies to bits.
The Golden Fleece - I'm not sure if this technically qualifies as magic, but it is a very cool addition. This is how Kratos earns his counter-attack ability, but this time he can also parry beam attacks, such as Medusa's Gaze. Anyone who's seen the footage from the demo has seen the part where the game requires you to use the Fleece to stone and smash 5 Gorgons. Ah, sweet revenge.
As far as magics from GoW are concerned, I'm not sure if any of them are returning. I've heard rumors of PR coming back, but that wind weapon makes me think otherwise. We'll just have to wait and see on this one.
Where can I find all these videos you keep mentioning?
I'm sure there are multiple sites where you can find these videos, but GameTrailers.com has a large collection of GoWII media, including demo footage, a few interviews with Jaffe and Barlog, and more.
What else is new?
he biggest new addition right now is the aerial combat. At certain points in the game Kratos will get to mount Pegasus and take to the skies in order to continue his journey. Needless to say, he'll encounter some enemies along the way who will try to stop him, and that's where the aerial combat comes into play. Not a whole lot's known about it, but one very cool sequence has Kratos leaping off of Pegasus onto a Griffin, brutally dispatching off its rider, then slashing the wings off the Griffin before plummeting down to earth. While Barlog has said there won't be a tremendous amount of aerial combat, it's still something to keep an eye on.
The combat's also been improved. There are more enemies this time around, and a whole bunch of new ways to dispatch them. Once grabbed, O, X, [], and /\ become four different ways to brutally kill an opponent. The mini-games have been redesigned too, and they're just as brutal as ever, including eviscerating a boar and ripping off a bladed arm and sticking it through someone's skull.
Speaking of Cyclopes, they have a new ally in GoWII. Strange, Imp-like creatures can summon Cyclopes to their aid, then hop on back of the Cyclops and control him. Kratos has to first dismount the Imp before fighting the Cyclops, because with a rider they become even more deadly than they already are.
Kratos can also now use the Blades to swing across chasms, much like in Bionic Commando and Rygar.
The harpoon move has also been improved. It looks like now you can control the direction the enemy is thrown in, allowing you to buy yourself some time by stunning the nearest enemy.
Will there be a demo?
I don't know for sure, but I'd be very surprised if there wasn't. After all, a lot of sights have already gotten their hands on a demo, so it only makes sense to release one to the public.
The demo footage takes place about halfway through the game, and, much like GoW's demo, ends right before a boss fight. Shucks.
Is there going to be a GoW movie?
Yes, though we don't know when. All I know is that the rights to a movie have been bought, but as far as I know, no actors have been named and no director has been chosen.
Is Kratos' brother going to be in this one?
I don't know. It doesn't seem very likely though, given the story behind the new game, but I suppose anything's possible. If I had to guess though, I'd say no.
One character that is returning is Athena, and she'll once again play an important role in Kratos' adventure. I can't imagine Kratos being too willing to trust her though, especially after the Olympians have him killed, so this should be an interesting relationship.
And for anyone who's wondering, the narrator from GoW is also back for the sequel.
Why is this shipping for PS2 and not PS3?
Simply put: money. While there are undoubtedly people out there would buy a PS3 simply for GoWII, those people are not a majority. With the PS2, the game already has a solid fanbase that isn't required to buy next-gen hardware. But don't worry: GoWIII (assuming there is one) will be on the PS3."
