GOW is easily a top candidate for game of the year. This game is as solid as it gets. Eat your heart out 300.
My main gripes in the original game revolved around the repetitiveness of the battles and that the early boss fights seemed to me a bit "Cartoony". Fans of the original game will clearly see things differently and I respect their views but GOW 1 simply didn't hook me in the way a game rated a 9 average and above from what players think would. That isn't the same story here in GOW 2. It is quite simply a masterpiece to behold. I saw the Colossus of Rhodes fight scene in a clip from this site and I was amazed. When I actually got a chance to play myself, I was totally blown away and hooked. The cinematics are excellent and emmersed me into the story right away. Everything in the game is top notch and there are many flashbacks from the original which is tempting me play the original all over again just to see where some sub characters fit into this installment. GOW 2 makes use of the Greek mythos very well. In many ways the scope and depth of it is much deeper than the original since this one deals with the pantheon of gods and titans which are right up my alley. Many of the stories of these myths are acurately represented and I'm very happy for that. This is a very special game. Anyone who enjoys fantasy, history, puzzle solving and a great bloody revenge story should get his/her hands onthis gem. (That's alot of gamers!)