A sequel better than the original, I think so.
God of War II takes place not to long after the events of the first with Kratos as the new God of War and still angry at the gods of Olympus for condeming him to his memories. Kratos is still blood thirsty for war and Athena warns him that the wrath of Olympus grows. As shortly find out in the beginning Kratos is betrayed and murdered by Zeus and falls into service of the Titans which are if you read up on Greek mythology are basically what were before the gods. The story sounds like it was ripped from a page in an epic Greek tale.
The gameplay is the most suprising adjustment in this part of the series because it basically has mini game after mini game against enemys and much more animations than before. Each boss battle feels really unique and not just thrown together. Every single battle is epic and could be the last. Probably the best improvement though is your sub-weapons are actually worth using unlike the Blade of Artemis in the last one. You can switch back and forth to string combos better together. Essentially the same gameplay is here but at the same time it takes the most fun parts of that and throws it in more often and even gives you some unexpected curve balls that don't make it seem repeative, especially when you don't see the same recycled enemies over and over.
The graphics grab as good as the first as in they are set on a huge scale. You go from small sewer kinds of catacombs to huge palaces. The character detail is also pushed to the limit in this version of the game and pushes the PS2 to its limit. You never see the same scenery either. You are constantly going into an area that is not in the least reminicent of the last one you were in. Everything shows off the ultimate power of the PS2. The sound and music always fit the mood of each scene as well. You feel like everytime you play that it just draws you in. When Kratos is angry you get angry with him, or if he is feeling lost you relate as well.