GoW brought a masterful mix of blood, brutality, and unbelievably badass boss fights. You wanted more? Here's more.
This game, much like it's predecessor, is simply one of those titles that blurs the line between "game" and "action movie." And not "action movie" in the sense of 15-minute non-interactive cut scenes sprinkled with sparse glimmers of actual gameplay; even when you're getting screwed to the wall by the Gods, it always feels like YOU are the one moving the story forward through your character's own actions. YOU are Kratos, and YOU will reshape the fates of mortals, Gods, and yourself...or die trying. Of course, even death is hardly enough to keep ol' Kratos down, who sometimes seems to exist by his own sheer rage alone. Seriously, this guy could use counseling or something. He's (not without reason) totally pissed-off for every moment of the game, which translates well into a feeling of intensity while you're wailing away on all sorts of fearsome mythological creatures.
Playing the first game is almost prerequisite to the experience; not just for continuity's sake, but also to help you better appreciate all the little tweaks and improvements to the sequel. You could certainly jump into GoW2 blind, thanks to it's brilliant learning curve, but why not get to know Kratos a little better first? You'll certainly recognize why the first game has come to be known as one of the finest action experiences on any platform, and the sense of personal triumph and tragedy is really emphasized when you follow the story through both games.
It's fair to say that GoW2 derives its greatest strengths from the groundwork laid by the first game, and ironically, this is also the sequel's greatest weakness. Don't be mistaken; this game is just as much fun to play as the last one, but for someone expecting more than just marginal improvements to the gameplay, the same-ness of the sequel is more than evident here. There are a few new sequences, such as high-altitude mounted combat, but everything else is just a continuation of what made the last game so great. And truth be told, that's really not a bad thing after a two-year drought of brand-new Kratos-y goodness.
What's not marginal in improvement, however, is the graphics. If you thought the first game squeezed out every last ounce of graphical processing power that the PS2 had to offer, prepare to reevaluate your opinion. It's even difficult to call GoW2 a "last-gen" game, since SCEA is evidently able to push the console beyond anyone's expectations once again. All the environments just feel EPIC in every sense of the word, and suspension of disbelief is simply second-nature. The wide-open spaces and sweeping vistas of the original game have all been cranked up to eleven, and every character model is lovingly rendered with fantastic texturing and very impressive particle effects. It almost makes the original look like it's slacking in the eye-candy department. The expertly-managed "hands-off" camera doesn't hurt, either; there is no fighting with your viewpoint as you're laying waste to the hordes of enemies you'll encounter en masse.
"Refined," "polished" and "brilliant" are probably my favorite adjectives to describe this shining gem of a game. As long as you haven't gotten tired of the mechanics of the original already (and how could you be so jaded and soulless?), this title stands on its own as the pinnacle of action gaming as we know it today. Buy it. Buy it now.