G O D
O F
W A R
T W O
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zukalous(at)gameintestine(dot)com
THIS FAQ CAN ONLY BE POSTED ON THE FOLLOWING SITES:
www.gameintestine.com
www.gamefaqs.com
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_____________________________________________
| Contents |
PRE-GAME
Introduction ------------------------------ (x01)
About this guide -------------------------- (x02)
Hour by Hour review of FFXII -------------- (x03)
Themes ------------------------------------ (x04)
ACT I
Battle of Rhodes -------------------------- (x05)
BOSS: Colossus Fight Part 1 --- (x05a)
BOSS: Colossus Fight Part 2 --- (x05b)
Urn of Gaia ------------------- (x05c)
BOSS: Colossus Fight Part 3 --- (x05d)
PUZZLE: Colossus Pendulum Septum(x05e)
Escape from Hades ------------------------- (x06)
Flight of the Pegasus --------------------- (x07)
Lair of the Typhon ------------------------ (x08)
Typhon's Cavern --------------- (x08a)
Flight of the Pegasus II ------------------ (x09)
Temple of Lahkesis ------------------------ (x10)
The Steeds of Time ------------------------ (x11)
BOSS: Theseus ----------------- (x11a)
The Divine Pools -------------------------- (x12)
ACT II
Destiny's Atrium -------------------------- (x13)
PUZZLE: Placing Shield Statue - (x13a)
The Bog of the Forgotten ------------------ (x14)
BOSS: King of Barbarians ------ (x14a)
Temple of Euryale ------------------------- (x15)
The Ruins of the Forgotten ---------------- (x16)
PUZZLE: Corpse and Water ------ (x16a)
BOSS: Cerberus ---------------- (x16b)
Urn of Gorgons ---------------- (x16c)
Temple of Euryale ------------------------- (x17)
PUZZLE: Meat Press ------------ (x17a)
BOSS: Euryale ----------------- (x17b)
PUZZLE: Wetlands -------------- (x17c)
PUZZLE: Crushing Room --------- (x17d)
Destiny's Atrium, Again ------------------- (x18)
The Hall of Atropos ----------------------- (x19)
PUZZLE: Statues in Elevator --- (x19a)
The Hall of Atropos - Again --------------- (x20)
PUZZLE: Double Tree ----------- (x20a)
BOSS: Perseus ----------------- (x20b)
PUZZLE: Eye Beams ------------- (x20c)
URN OF OLYMPUS ---------------- (x20d)
Crossing of the Lowlands ------------------ (x21)
ACT III
Meeting Icarus ---------------------------- (x22)
Atlas ------------------------------------- (x23)
Golem fight on the Platform --- (x23a)
Urn of Promethius ------------- (x23b)
PUZZLE: Stacking Two Stones --- (x23c)
The Great Chasm - Part II ----------------- (x24)
The Palace of the Fates ------------------- (x25)
PUZZLE: Rotating Room --------- (x25a)
PUZZLE: Lowering the Gate ----- (x25b)
Auditorium of Lehkisis -------------------- (x26)
Garden of the Gods ------------------------ (x27)
PUZZLE: Sacrifice the Sirens -- (x27a)
PUZZLE: Moonlight and Mirror -- (x27b)
Auditorium of Atropos --------------------- (x28)
PUZZLE: Jumping Translator ---- (x28a)
PUZZLE: Steam Jet ------------- (x28b)
PUZZLE: Chain Elevator -------- (x28c)
The Phoenix Chamber ----------------------- (x29)
PUZZLE: Spike Room ------------ (x29a)
PUZZLE: The Phoenix Room ------ (x29b)
PUZZLE: Premature Elevation --- (x29c)
BOSS: Sea Monster ------------- (x29d)
ACT IV
Temple of the Fates ----------------------- (x30)
PUZZLE: Two Bells ------------- (x30a)
The Throne of Lahkesis -------------------- (x31)
BOSS: Lahkesis ---------------- (x31a)
BOSS: Atropos ----------------- (x31b)
BOSS: Lahkesis and Atropos ---- (x31c)
The Inner Sanctum ------------------------- (x32)
Loom Chamber ------------------------------ (x33)
PUZZLE: Floor 1 --------------- (x33a)
PUZZLE: Floor 2 --------------- (x33b)
PUZZLE: Floor 3 --------------- (x33c)
The Summit of Sacrifice ------------------- (x34)
_____________________________________________
| Introduction (x01) |
Sing to me, muse, and through me tell the story
of the man with the god complex.
It's not a complex about being a god, rather, it's a complex about NOT being
a god. Kratos tires of Olympus and the other gods tire of him. Zeus kills him
and Kratos spends the rest of the game not being a god. You see, Kratos is an
anti-hero. A regular video game hero kills all the bad guys and then talks to
some NPCs. On the other hand, an anti-hero kills all bad guys, then talks to
some NPCs and then kills those NPCs. It is a slight distinction but one that
deserves "anti-" in front of it. So, enjoy Kratos and his god hating, NPC
hating adventure. I don't know what he likes or what pushes him to continue
but maybe we can figure that out together. Please enjoy my guide. If you
really want to get the most out of it, head over to www.gameintestine.com for
diagrams, picures and more.
Love,
Zukalous
_____________________________________________
| About this guide (x02) |
This guide will take you through every level, cut scene, mythological
allusion, and pop culture reference that I can squeeze out of God of War 2. I
will also give you the location of every urn (check the table of contents for
to quick reference them). I don't cover every feather or gorgon eye because I
think it is a waste of your time to be a completionist - don't shoot for a
100% unlocked rating.
Also, if you are wondering, "how far am I?" I have included an hour by hour
breakdown of the game so that you can see how much game is remaining and how
good (or bad) the game will get. Check for the section right after this one
called "Hour by Hour review of GOW 2."
I have heard that my guides are quite readable and you may enjoy reading it
from top to bottom. Really, reading all of the guide could be fun. Anyway
enjoy.
_____________________________________________
| Hour by Hour review of GOW 2 (x03) |
The following is a graph of how entertaining GOW 2 is on an hour by hour
interval. The vertical line is the entertainment factor from 1-10. My rubric
is simple, if a portion of the game went by quickly and I enjoyed it, the
score is at least 5. If the time dragged, and I had to slog through it, at
best it could get a 5. The number of hours is listed along the bottom.
10|
9|
8| * * *
7|* * ** * * ***
6|* ***** ** * * ***
5|** ******** * ******
4|************ * *******
3|***********************
2|***********************
1|***********************
01234567891111111111222
0123456789012
_____________________________________________
| Themes (x04) |
- The Stealing of Essence - Zeus stole Kratos's Manhood. Insert whatever you
want to think about manhood: Mojo, Essence, Groove... See how he is dealing
with his loss and what he does to get it back.
- Architecture as Proxy - There are several characters in GOW 2 who do not
appear but Kratos can not always confront them. Statues and architectural
elements often are destroyed for his rage.
- Surprisingly NOT the theme of fate - Usually there is a big philosophical
about if we repeat the fates that we are dealt but not this game.
- Perpetuation of Vengeance - See how killing dad killing son keeps
repeating.
_____________________________________________
| Battle of Rhodes (x05) |
The scene opens with Kratos sitting on the throne demonstrating that he is
clearly not the god of "gender equality." Linda Hunt, headmaster of
Kindergarten Cop Elementary and international sex kitten, purrs the
exposition. "By defeating Aries, Kratos became the God of War." Kratos is
shunned by the gods but he doesn't care because he would rather hang out with
the Spartans anyway. Athena stops him and tells him "enough Kratos, with
every city you destroy the wrath of Olympus grows." But why should the gods
be mad at his fighting? He is the god of WAR. It's like complaining that
Hephaestus is always sooty.
Kratos then leaves Olympus via the same swan dive trick used to kick off GOW
1. He crash lands in the middle of Sparta's assault on Rhodes. Athena
counters his advancement by sending a hawk to animate the Colossus of Rhodes
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_of_Rhodes) and deflate Kratos. Thus
proving that it really does take an act of god to reduce Krato's colossal ego
down to human size.
The Colossus trudges across the little inlet and the water effects look nice
and sudsy. Kratos falls into a little palace atrium and the Colossus runs up
and gives a little looky-loo at Kratos. This 100-ton statue with a propensity
for voyeurism is your new enemy.
When you gain full control of Kratos, kill the multiple waves of gold-platted
soldiers. My favorite attack combo is to use the triangle button, shoot them
in the air and attack them while floating above the other soon-to-be-killed-
guards. When they are all defeated, three solders say "by the gods he has
killed them all" and then run off. Proceed to the gate, stand in front of the
small glint, and press R1 to power clean it.
Circle around this next hallway fighting off any guards that attack. When
you reach the end, the colossus reaches in and pats around like he is looking
for his lost glasses. He then grabs two guys who probably have second
thoughts about voting "aye" when the Rhoads's council said "Let's build a
huge bronze statue in front of our city-state!"
Jump through the new hole in the wall and run up the ladder. Jump out the
window to find the colossus again. He is patting around, smashing guys and
will swat at Kratos if he gets too close. But, his frequent uses of the hands
suggests a sensitive touch. If he wasn't destroyed by that earthquake in 224
BC he could have probably given the Statue of Liberty a pretty good rubdown.
She seems a bit tense and I bet she would enjoy that.
.............................................
: BOSS: Colossus Fight Part 1 (x05a) :
- Watch for the colossus' windups and move the right analog stick to dodge
his slap attack
- When his hand hits the ground it will sit there for a moment. Use this time
to attack it
- After several hits, he will pull it back and commence the attack again
- Repeat the above process and when you have hit the hand several more times,
the colossus' eyes will shut, he will pull back, and then rest his hand on
the building
At this time, jump up to the ballista. And press R1 to fire a rock at his
head. Then get into the ballista by press R1 to get in it and then tap O to
fling yourself on him. As soon as you hit him, follow the on screen button
presses to attack the giant in such a hyped-up fashion that it makes the
battles in Shadow of the Colossus seem about as much fun as reading a book.
After successfully punching out its eye, the Colossus flings Kratos's across
Rhoads, through a dome to create an impromptu oculus. When you regain control
of Kratos in the pool, don't swim down the tube yet. Swim back just a bit and
then hit X to surface. Climb out of the water and circle around the room to
find a row of protective screens. Attack the screens a lot to destroy them.
Behind the screen are two women who are kinda-naked. You see, Kratos really,
really loves these two kinda-naked women. He loves them so much, and so
equally, that he has to make a special type of love to them and he has to do
it to them at the same time. You will have to take my word for the loving,
because the camera shifts to a statue called Manneken Pis
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis). This is symbolic. The boy and
his penis stand in for Kratos and his penis. Are you following me on this
one? Furthermore, the boy's spurting, stands in for Kratos' spurting. It's
very crafty. Not since the train at the end or North by Northwest has coitus
been so thinly inferred. When you fill them up, red orbs appear which means
that this was their first time.
When ready, get back in the pool and dive down the underwater tunnel. Press
and hold R1 and then release it to bust through the grate. Surface and swim
right to the ladder that is leaning up against the burning town set-piece
featured in Pirates of the Caribbean the ride. Climb up and R1 the giant
lever. Move forward and R1 the sparkling hook to swing across the gap. Jump
up the two ledges to the grate at the top. Use R1 and circle again to get
through it.
Fight the guys in the next room and climb the ladder. The colossus gets fed
up with Kratos' annoying attacks and decides to put his foot down.
Unfortunately, it is right on Kratos. Rapidly tap circle to fling the
colossus across Rhoads. Continue to the left side of the room and hand-grab
your way up the wall. When you reach the top, the Colossus comes back and
Jesus H. Zeus does he looks bad. His bronze skin is really falling off fast
and judging by what is underneath, I am thinking that it is actually Tron Guy
underneath.
Jump down and get ready to confront the colossus once again.
.............................................
: BOSS: Colossus Fight Part 2 (x05b) :
- Stand just a bit to the right of his right hand.
- Don't stand too close to the right hand through because he will attack you
with his right fore-arm.
- When he rears back his left arm for a smash, double jump towards his right-
side. Quickly turn around and start attacking that left fist.
- If he pulls back both arms for a double fisted tantrum, use your magic by
pressing L2 and Kratos will yell stuff like "I am the God of War", "I will
make you suffer" or "Don't believe Ondore's Lies"
When Colossus has been knocked around enough, he will swing over to one of
the two corners and pout. Run over to his hand (indicated by the circle) and
press the circle button. Then, follow the context sensitive prompts to give
him some nasty Inigo Montoya cuts. After he has been cut, he will recenter
and you will need to repeat the set of attacks to get him to pout on the
other side and then cut his face again.
When the second set of slashes are committed, he grabs Kratos in his hand and
that's when the box art for the demo comes to fruition. Let me tell you I was
relieved to see this moment tie into the box cover because I was sure the
GOW2 just crayoned Kratos into the cover of an old Encyclopedia Brown
mystery. I even went down to my old elementary school library to do a little
investigating but couldn't find the book. It looks like the box art is a
totally original piece which I will call "Kratos and the Case of the
Blueberry Jelly Monster." I guess it makes more sense that the blue stuff
isn't jelly but actually an ectoplasm conjured by Athena. A little bit more
sense. Either way, you need to pump the L1 and L2 buttons to free his vice
grip.
Colossus throws Kratos through another dome (leaving two Wile E. Coyote holes
in the ceiling) and into a quaint little villa. Jump over the chariot and up
onto the balcony. Lift the gate and run through the hall. When you hear
someone yell something that sounds like "watch your bike", make a quick right
to avoid the archers. Make another right and fight off the approaching
guards.
After clearing that room, observe the light streaming through the open window
and that sexy dandruff particle effect. Move to the left corner of said room
to find a pedestal with a statue on top that is spread eagle. I mean an eagle
whose wings are spread. Check your watch because we reached our first
pressure plate in less than one hour. Drag the block over to the plate that
is in front of the gate. Hold R1 at the stone again but this time press and
hold X until Kratos stops his grunting, at which point you can release X to
fling it past the gate and onto the next trigger. But, Kratos is still locked
out. Position him on that first trigger and then flick the right control
stick to roll him past the gate before it closes. You should now have Kratos,
the eagle pedestal, and the second touch plate all together.
.............................................
: Urn of Gaia (x05c) :
Before you go through the next switch plate, pull the eagle to the right. The
camera will switch to the long hallway. Notice the three chests that are
sitting on a shelf high above the floor. Push the stone block right under
these chests. Attack the block to destroy the eagle. Jump up onto the block
and then double jump up to the chests. The middle one has the urn which will
multiply the red orbs by a factor of 10. You can only activate this on your
second play through though.
...END URN OF GAIA............................
Pull the statue back to the other hallway and onto the touch plate to open
the second gate. Run through it.
Send Kratos down the hallway, and makes a quick left. Someone yells out "Die
with Honor." This fight is easiest if you jump over the front line and attack
the archers first. With them down, go back to fight the foot soldiers. When
done, run ahead to a platform with a lever. Pull it with R1 and ride up to
the top. Run straight ahead towards the open window and the colossus looks
through. Strike his eye a few times and be glad that the colossus didn't
mistake this for a glory hole. He pulls the room down. Head to the end of the
balcony.
CUT SCENE:
The clouds start talking and saying that "I offer you the Blade of Olympus."
It is Zeus and he says that this sword won the war against the Titans. Zeus
tell Kratos to drain his Godly Powers into the sword and realize your full
potential.
At the edge of the balcony, climb up to the ledge on the right (ladder on
it). Then move right just a bit and double jump onto the grey hand ledge.
Shimmy to the right, them jump up onto the ledge above it. Button mash your
way through the next set of guards and continue through the door at the end
of the hallway.
Break through the glass window. Ahead is a series of narrow beams you will
need to tightrope across. However, there are guys below that will shoot you
off. Take care of them first. When they, and the archers above, are dead. Go
back to the right of the area and find the ladder. Climb up it so that you
can crawl across the beams again un-molested. Nimble to the right to reach
the save light and then climb the nearby ladder.
Jump down the hole with the chain and fight the guards. When done, lift gate
that is between the two orb chests. Run across the bridge before the colossus
can destroy it.
.............................................
: BOSS: Colossus Fight Part 3 (x05d) :
The colossus is at the end of a large, round platform. He grabs his left hand
because his left hand has fallen off. It is lying on the side of the
platform. Most importantly is the center of the platform which lies the Blade
of Olympus (sent by Zeus).
PART I
- Do not run over to the deifacted sword. You will have to wait until the
colossus is occupied before you can approach it
- If Colossus raises both arms above his head, double jump over the shockwave
- If Colossus rears back his bum arm, dodge the crawling fissures
- When the fissures appear, quickly run over to the right side of the
platform and pickup the hand that is lying there. Press R1 to fling it back
at the Colossus.
- When he is reeling from getting hit by the hand, run over and R1 the blade
in the middle of the platform. Kratos will drain all his red life into the
blade.
PART II
- Continue to avoid the sword until the Colossus is stunned
- Colossus resumes his two fisted pounds so double jump then attack his fist
just after Kratos lands
- Use your magic liberally against his hands because it will soon be drained
- After enough attacks he falls back stunned. At this time, run up to the
blade and Kratos will drain all of his blue magic into the blade
PART III
- Colossus returns to the two fisted attacks again, continue to attack his
fist
- When he is knocked back a third time, return to the blade and Kratos will
drain half of his green health into it.
- Finally, Kratos pulls out the blade that contains all of his "essence" and
use it against the colossus.
PART IV
- Colossus rests his arm on the side of the platform like he has had too much
to drink. "Pleasse bartender <<hiccup>> juss one more"
- Attack his forearm with just a quick hit. Keep your attacks down to one or
two combos because he will swing his other hand at you quickly and you will
need to jump out of the way.
- Colossus then does his best Samus impression and sweeps a beam of energy
out of his arm hole. Avoid it by double jumping out of the way the instant
you see his arm fire up
- After enough hits he gets an "O". Press it to continue to the next phase
Kratos grabs the sword and ventures into the Colossus. Have I expressed how
much I love games that have inner-body levels. Even though this is the inside
of an automaton, it still counts. Continue along the catwalks, fighting guys
and jumping over gaps until you see a split in the path with one side leading
to a large joint of blue infused supports. I see, the Colossus isn't acting
like an ass because he was under a god's spell, it turns out he just has a
herniated disk. Help him out by pressing R1 to pull the life energy right out
of what I think may be the the colossus's T12 vertebrae.
Continue back to the catwalk and move north to the mesh and climb it. Move
left along it to the next catwalk. At the end of it, double jump to grab onto
the rope above. Shimmy Kratos to the other side and continue along the path
to find the next blue herniated disk and slash at the rusted chains. When
they are gone, press R1 again to suck his life force.
Go back to the narrow pathway and take the left branch. Continue down this
pathway to the next mesh. Fight off the guards there. Then, run right up to
the circular wood structure and shimmy left around it. When blocked by a blue
beam, press R1 to drop and hand grab your way to the left. Jump back up, cut
the chains and R1 the blue joint. Jump over to the rope. Climb up it to the
next level.
.............................................
: PUZZLE: Colossus Pendulum Septum (x05e) :
Circle round past the inside of his nose. Climb the ladder, pull the nearby
lever and down comes a long metal rod. Is that a deviated septum? So besides
working on the Colossus' bad back, Kratos now has to double as an
Otolaryngologists? Jump down and hit the septum to set it in motion. It's a
pendulum! That doesn't make much sense. Unless the people of Rhodes built the
Colossus to be a giant, bronze Mickey Mouse Watch. The idea was probably
abandoned when they realized that at 6:30 it looks like the Colossus is
grabbing his nuts. Eitherway, with the pendulum moving, climb the ladder
again and pull the lever to raise it back up. Jump to the nearby rope and
inch along it following in the pendulum's shadow. By doing so, Kratos is
avoiding the eye beams.
...END Colossus Septum ......................
Follow the path around to another of the beam joints. Destroy it, and even
from the inside, it is clear that Colossus mouths "oh f*******ck!" Run around
and jump out of the mouth.
Cut Scene:
The Colossus' head is on fire and explodes. Kratos escapes the blast and then
lands on the platform below. He then (prematurely) gets on his soapbox and
starts yelling at anyone who will listen about something that seems to be
bothering him. The colossus seems as annoyed with Kratos's ranting/over-
acting as I am and slaps him. Kratos's sword flies out from his grasp (and
thus all of the mojo he infused in it). At that instant his god-armor falling
off. Which is a good thing because the armor kinda sucked. The black and gold
metal accents combined with the scarlet-red cloth made his suit look like it
was cobbled together from the decorative elements of a Chinese Super Buffet.
It probably even smells like a bucket of hot-lamp crab wontons. For a further
breakdown see
CUT SCENE:
That eagle that animated the Colossus flies down and turns into Zeus. Zeus
has a long white beard, long hair, and old features. He looks at best like
the god of 1960's drug gurus and at worse the god of hobos. Zeus says Kratos
must serve him and not these Spartans. He attacks Kratos. However, because
Kratos drained all of his strength into the sword he is so weak that it is a
winless battle. Let him wail on you and tap "O" to fruitlessly hold off a
stomach attack. Has the winless-final-boss/first-level mechanic become a
video game standard yet? It would be joining Super Metroid and Final Fantasy
among others.
Failing to hold off the sword plunging into his stomach, Zeus digs into
Kratos's bread basket. Zeus, referring to Kratos as his son, tells him that
he will never be the ruler of Olympus. Then, he sends out a shockwave of blue
fire and all of the Spartans are exterminated via Geometry Wars Genocide.
Kratos promises revenge.
Zeus sexily sashays off and Kratos dies a Smucker's-preserves-filled death.
As he dies, the arms of Hades pull him under and we get confirmation of what
we all suspected: hell looks exactly like a Korn concert (crowd surfing and
all).
Linda Hunt then plays her "power of narrator" card to change the story and
resurrect the protagonist. Kratos, still reeling from his body blow, has his
life flash before him (a little late considering that normally happens just
before you die). Here is a rapid fire transcription of his the flashes:
- Kratos shows an enemy soldier that a rock is quite a bit worse than a hard
place.
- The king of Barbarians attempts to kill him at which point Kratos prays to
Ares (the then god of war) to get him out of this certain death. As part of
the deal, Kratos must serve Ares forever and is fused with blades mounted on
chains.
- While using those chain-blades, Kratos kills a woman who happens to be his
wife
- Ares, the one with the red hair and widow's peak, does a pretty good Linda
Hunt impression
- Then, a naked concubine does and even better version
- Finally a young girl tops them all does a REALLY good version when she says
"this is not the end"
Kratos awakens and a huge face with a crispy, crunchy, tender, flaky, crust
introduces herself as the Earth Titan Gaia. She uses the Gravemind technique
of giving point blank exposition right to the (in stasis) protagonist. She
tells him that he is getting his life back so that he will help her and the
other titans defeat Zeus. She tells him that he must seek the Sisters of Fate
to regain his power first. The camera pans down and Kratos' stomach is
healed. Kratos then pulls himself out of the cop-a-feel depths of hell.
_____________________________________________
| Escape from Hades (x06) |
Climb up the wall, slashing at any and all hands. Move up and to the right
until you get to a gap. Jump across it and then up to the next section. Move
left then up towards the light above. The platform repairs itself like
Allstate is there. Use the save.
|| HOUR 1|| *****
Kratos emerges and the field is littered with fallen Spartan soldiers. Zeus
killed them all. Run over to each soldier and press R1. When you find the one
soldier that is still alive, Kratos tells him to go back to Sparta to give a
report of what happened here at Rhodes. At that moment, a Pegasus arrives to
pickup Kratos. A Pegasus? Really? In the pan-fantasy scale of mythological
beasts, Pegasus leans a little too far to the "pansy-ass" end of it. Kratos
is the f-ing God of War and he is stuck riding something that closely related
to the unicorn? For a diagram of this pansy to badass scale go to
gameintestine.com/guides/god-of-war-2/god-of-war-2-escape-from-hades.html
Kratos climbs aboard his flying pony and tries to force it to go back to
Olympus to fight Zeus. The Pegasus won't listen because Kratos is no longer a
god. Talk about embarrassing. Not only does he have to ride on a whimsically
fanciful creature but it won't even do what he says. Its like going to Hertz
Rent-a-car and the only thing left is a Ford Taurus that drifts left and has
its emergency flashers stuck on.
_____________________________________________
| Flight of the Pegasus (x07) |
Despite the Pegasus, this next part is impressively executed. Cory Barlog is
showing that he is a competent director and worthy successor to the
franchise. But, I wonder how much of his start in the video game industry
owes to the fact that his name is just one letter away from a Street Fighter
II character.
Attack each Griffin that attacks and after each one is hit enough, pres "O"
to jump aboard. Kratos will slash off their wings and then they will fall to
earth to become regular lions.
When all the Griffins are gone, a different beast will start dive bombing
Kratos. When that happens, press X just before it strikes Kratos/Pegasus.
Then, press square and tap circle to "choke the chicken" and pull off its
head.
When that is done, Kratos enters the jet stream and the lone enemy shoots
purple fireballs. The easiest way to avoid this is to hide in one of the
corners and when the screen pauses showing a purple orb, hit L1 or R1 to
dodge out of the way.
_____________________________________________
| Lair of the Typhon (x08) |
After flying through that area, the Pegasus brings Kratos to a cave and as is
the case with all video game caves, bats attack. In the back of the cave
hides a Titan who quickly stops Kratos's fly-through by trapping the Pegasus
with its hand and flinging Kratos into the cliff. Unable to move, the Pegasus
squeals. Gaia warns that if you have any hope of moving that Titan's hand,
Kratos will need more strength. But I bet if Kratos could just pull off the
titan's fingernail like Digger the Dermatophyte does, we could get to that
Pegasus out right away.
There is no button for that though, so continue on by jumping down the ledges
to the hallway on the right. Jump back up and continue left. There is a hand
ledge at the complete left. Using those hand grabs continue around to the
right. After fighting quite a few bad guys (circle works best on them) find
the ground and use the save.
|| 1:34||
Traverse through the snowy cave. If you can hear me writing through clenched
teeth it is because I hate, hate ice levels. In fact, I still can't sit
through the first 30 minutes of the Empire Strikes Back because it is
essentially a cinematic ice level. Same reason I haven't seen Ang Lee's The
Ice Storm. If the last part of this level is a large room with slippery ice
floors forcing Kratos to become a blade bearing Brian Boitano, I wont even
write up how to get through it. I'll just post a picture of a monkey ice
skating. And how, in the name of good science, does snow get INSIDE a cave?
When you reach the basket (it is on the right of screen, hanging over a
chasm) jump up and destroy it. Jump again to grab onto the rope and slide
down it. At the end of the next hall is the outline of a helmet. Run through
it and into the snowy outside. There is an elaborate scaffolding that is
packed with archers. They are totally pumped because someone is finally
invading their hill and so building this defensive structure in the middle of
nowhere doesn't feel so stupid anymore. Start by attacking the archer's
scaffolding. When the minotaur appear, hold them off but continue to focus on
the scaffolding and the archers. When everyone is killed (including those
archers), climb the hand grabs on the cliff face (the scaffolding obscured
it.) Slide down the chain and continue to the stone outcropping that looks
remarkably like an outstretched hand.
CUT SCENE:
A white and yellow bird is picking at a bound man. It rips at his stomach.
Kratos scares off the bird and the man instantly recognizes him as the God of
War. The chained and picked apart man explains that Zeus put him here because
he brought fire to the humans. He says "My only crime was helping mankind."
Actually, I think his punishment is fitting his crime. The sky darkens and
close-up of the man's torso. We see his intestines (Yay!) and then they get
covered up by a set of reality-TV-grade, six-pack abs. The man asks for
Kratos to free him from his torment.
Hit the human cuttle-bone a few times to release the chains and then slide
down the chain that is located between the hand's pinky/ring-finger. Let him
dangle there because you can do nothing for him now. Move around the fire and
then on down the lower path.
By the way, if you thought Prometheus's voice sounds familiar it is because
the actor, Alan Oppenheimer, has made more appearances on TV than the color
orange. His list of bit-parts include Bewitched, The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo, He-
Man, Hawaii Five-O and how I recognized him, The Never Ending Story. He
played Falkor the Luck Dragon. In case you are wondering Falkor is well into
the pansy-assed side of the mythological based scale.
When you reach the end of the cliff (there is a torch there), jump to the
hand grab surface. Descend into the canyon and then head right. When you get
to the bottom, use the save light.
|| Hour 2:15 || *****
Around the turn is a chest with a gorgon eye and another rock face for Kratos
to climb. When you get Kratos up to the top, enter the skull face. At the
cliff, swing across the chasm. If you want to unlock that gate, swinging down
the nearby rope and then swing back up to the platform again.
Attack the menagerie of bats and medusas. As you cross the bridge that is
straight ahead, a voice that sounds like it has a 3-pack a day habit says
"stay back servant of Zeus." Somehow I don't think Kratos has the savvy to
explain to him that he is here because he is prepping a coup d'etat against
Zeus. Save again.
|2:28 | *****
_____________________________________________
| Typhon's Cavern (x08a) |
Looking over the greater-cave-area area is Typhon. He looks like the
personifications of your radiator that car shops would use for newspaper
inserts advertising 30% off all fluid flushes.
The titan's two primary weapons are sitting and blowing. It is actually quite
effective because doing this knocks Kratos off this narrow cliff. So, you
will have to dash from shelter to shelter between exhales. Move to the left
and if you do end up getting blown off the path, quickly pull yourself up
with X and then flick the right control stick to roll to the next safe spot.
When Kratos rounds the top of the path, the titan yells "get out of my
sight." As you reach the top, there will be one wall that is very shiny and
has a crack in it. Attack it and the ice will break. Run up to it and press
R1 and then tap O and Kratos will dead-lift the pillar. It crashes across the
chasm. Run up the newly-created ice bridge and when you get to the end, hold
R1 to jump to the Titan and perform an impromptu Lasek procedure. The result
is Typhon's Bane which is a magical bow and arrow. Use it to shoot out
Typhon's other good eye. Typhon doesn't seem to enjoy this even though he was
kind of asking for it when he specifically said "get out of my sight."
Head back across the blow-me-down bridge and kill off the new set of
attackers. Use the new magic attack to shoot the archers that are across the
chasm. When they are all dead, the force field that was blocking your path
escape will disappear. Run to the right and use Typhon's Bane again to shoot
at the crate that is blocking the grapple hook. Press R1, and then release
with X to swing across. Attack all the newly fallen stones to get lots of red
orbs. Run back to the save spot. As you leave you can hear the titan yell out
"Don't forget to recharge your Freon and have your air filters changed
regularly."
|| 3 hr || ****
Head back to the snowy outdoors. Use the Bane again to destroy the crate and
swing to the other side. Jump down and shoot Prometheus back into the fire.
He roasts and starts walking on the bonfire (
http://www.slate.com/id/2162676)
Ladies and Gentle men: God of War. Where burning someone alive is the most
humane option available to you. Because of his good deed, Kratos receives the
fires that burned Prometheus: the Rage of the Titans.
I don't know if any of you have read any Greek Mythology but this game is
totally plagiarizing the stories from it. Big time. For instance, the story
of Prometheus is one of the biggest legends out there. The lead writer could
have a least tried to hide his script stealing by renaming Prometheus to
something like Romethius, or Promethilus, or Doug.
Either way, run back to the right and tryout the Rage of the Titans technique
on the next set of attackers. Jump up to the next platform and shoot out the
box. Get to the next platform using the rope. Then, circle around and there
is another chain to walk across. While on the chain, guys will attack. The
circle button works best against them. Continue left and jump back down. Open
the nearby chest to refill your Rage of the Titan power. Activate it by
clicking down on both the left and right stick and knock down that door.
Enter the helmet door to the cave.
Backtrack (ugh) through the rooms you came from not long ago. When you get
back to the titan's hand, try to ignore the pitiful cries of Pegasus (why
does it sound like swine?) If you attack any of the Titan's fingers your
titan power meter refills. When full, activate it and hit each finger. He
will raise them only while you are using your power. When all five are
raised, jump up to the spot where the thumb was to reclaim the Pegasus. Fly
it out of the ice den.
CUT SCENE:
As Kratos flees from the icy cave and out over the terrain below, Gaia
explains that the destination is the Island of Creation. It was created to
keep the Sisters of Fate in and everyone else out. This protection is
important because if we could all have free access to the three fates, we
could all perfect our past and become life-saving, ex-military, medical
doctors who run triathlons as a side gig. Just like that new Bachelor. Oh how
I want to punch Andrew Baldwin in his pretty face.
_____________________________________________
| Flight of the Pegasus II (x09) |
The island's air defenses kick in again and you will have to battle them.
This will play out much like the first Pegasus fight.
- Use the Pegasus and your L1, L2 buttons to dodge the next set of bird
attackers
- Use L2 and "[]" to shoot at them
- Attack them with your blades, press "O" as needed to jump aboard and kill
them
- When the boss bird comes attack it
- After enough attacks it will slip into the jet stream. Dodge out of its
way when if fires the purple fireballs
- After enough dodging, Kratos will jump aboard the nearby Griffin and enter
into a button pressing sequence
While Kratos freefalls get ready for a button press prompt in order to swing
over to the cliff face.
_____________________________________________
| Temple of Lahkesis (x10) |
Having survived the crash landing, Kratos is left clinging perilously to the
side of a precipice. Climb up and around the grip-wall to the upper deck. On
that deck is a giant statue head that is looking off to the sea. Head to the
left side of the balcony to get some treasures and to the right to find a
save.
|| Hour 3:27 || *****
From the save, climb the nearby Mega Man ladder to reach the next platform.
Fight off the attackers and then head left to the next ladder. At the top
are some ravaging dogs. When defeated, go to the right and kill all the
skeletons; well, not kill them, but attack them so they are even more dead
than they were before you got there. Further to the right and in front of the
chests is a dead body. Pick it up with R1.
Take it to the left and drop it next to the lever so that Kratos can have his
hands free to pull it. The lift will descend. The surrounding terrain is
quite beautiful and I think that may be Fireball Island down there. Pick up
the body again and drop it on the pressure plate. Just in front of the plate
is a lever. Drag that lever along the track and quickly run through the next
two doors before they fall again.
Continue down the next corridor. The music is unnecessarily moan-y and
sorrowful. I think this place is quite pretty and the music should match it.
I am think...ing....samba. Kick down the drawbridge.
CUT SCENE:
Kratos looks off into the sky and yells for Gaia. Considering she is the
Earth Titan, he should really be yelling down at the ground to talk to her.
He questions why she helps him and she launches into voiceover. Cronos (who
has a happy trail that is more like a happy super highway) was told that his
children would rise up against him. To head off this prophesy, Cronos ate his
babies. However, Zeus's mother (who should be commended for surviving a
conception that was initiated by Cronos) used a decoy and gave her child
away. Gaia raised Zeus. While her actions were well intentioned, Zeus grew up
and turned his hatred for Cronos against all titans. Now, the titans are
having to deal with a zealous Zeus. So, Gaia is helping Kratos so that he
will also help them deal with him. Kratos seems to be ok with being a
complete tool for the titans (seems a little out of character for him.)
Go back a little bit from edge of the bridge and shuffle left along the path
on the left. It will crumble so flick the left stick and double jump across.
At the dead end, jump across the broken barrier.
In the next room, kill all the dogs then go the upper right corner of the
room and destroy the four statues. Behind one of them is a moveable stone.
Kratos need a step up to get to the next area so drag that stone to the left.
Pull Kratos up to the next platform, fight the dogs, and then save.
|| 4:10 || ******
Head left and out from under the porch and slide your way down the hand
rails. Head up the ladder between the two chests and up along the roof.
Destroy the shiny arch. Catching a motif here... shinny = destructible. Much
better than having a big red arrow to telegraph it. Continue out past this
overhang (it is like that gaudy sky walk they are building over the Grand
Canyon
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0410/p20s01-litr.html). Continue across
it and fight off the dogs. Shoot the archers across the gap with your bow and
then double jump across. Jump up to the next level, work your way past the
guys and over to the lever that lowers Kratos into the next room.
In the shinny floor room, fight off the woman with the half open bodice. I
can only hope that with the universal popularity of this game, eye-patch-
blouses become the new fashion statement. Attack these peek-a-boo fiends
until they get that circle over their head to have Kratos rape hug them. I am
a little uncomfortable with that. They scream and the wall crumbles. Do this
four times to get through. Save at the spot on the other side of the door.
Run down the massive, massive chains that lead to the equally massive horses.
This scene is fondling the brain cells that contain my fond memories of Super
Mario 3's Big World.
_____________________________________________
| The Steeds of Time (x11) |
When you get closer to the horses, claw your way up to the pedestal that is
located at the back of one of the steeds. Find the nearby lever to lower the
chain that will let Kratos swing to the other one.
CUT SCENE:
A large man is busily closing a large door. His name is Theseus and he is the
head bouncer for The Fates. Now that I mention it, "The Fates" would be a
pretty good name for a club (mental note recorded). The bouncer tells Kratos
that he is serving in the name of Zeus; giving Kratos one more reason to kill
Theseus. He then goes on to insult Kratos's manhood and challenges him to a
fight.
.............................................
: BOSS: Theseus (x11a) :
Part I:
- Wait for him to attack and save your magic until I tell you to
- Watch for his blades to glow blue - it is a sign he is about to swing
- Continue to dodge until he is done swinging, then attack
- After enough hits, he will stab at Kratos and you flip him on his own sword
with a quick turn of the control stick
- Once you have done this, his swords will remain glowing
- When that happens, you can attack him more often, but still try to play
defensively
- Watch out for the blue spikes that he summons
Part II:
- When he jumps up above the door, flick the right stick to avoid his arrows
- Now use the bow to shoot him
- If you are out of magic, get some more by fighting off the many minotaur he
creates
- After he is shot enough, he will fall.
- Follow the key cues to pull him down then "American History X" his face on
the door
...END: Theseus..............................
In the newly unlocked room, run up to a book (which, FYI, have not yet been
invented - they should have just used a scroll). The book tells you that the
giant horses were a bribe to the sisters so that someone else could try and
control their destiny. First the Trojans and now the fates, why do Greeks
think that gigantic horses make good gifts? I can't imagine what I would do
if someone left a massive equine in my front yard. Well, I mean, what I would
do after I got tired of climbing up on its back (in full Equus-style
nakedness) and then heralding the dawn by blowing into my goat-horned
trumpet. The fates didn't like the horse bribe either and would not grant the
briber their favors. It is reassuring that even in an ancient civilization,
Jack Abramoff wouldn't make it far. Run outside and up the ladder. Circle
around to the middle of the horse and then jump up onto the pedestal. Slide
down the rope and unlock the door. Use the brace you acquired and touch the
flaming pedestal.
CUT SCENE:
There is an effervescent rush of steam and then Frankenberry appears,
possibly to give us a nutritious breakfast. He speaks: "our destiny has
brought us together warrior" and "for the good of the Titans I, Cronos,
bestow what is left upon you." Ah, so it is that baby-eating titan Cronos. He
gives Kratos the Dr. Stanley Milgram treatment and as a result, Kratos can
now use Cronos's shock power against enemies.
|| 4:53 || *******
Continue up that long horse thingy that is long and connected to the horse.
Bear with me because all I know about horses is that they have four legs and
a long face.
When you reach the intersection there are four levers. You will have to turn
one of them and then quickly run to the corresponding colored mechanism that
is on the forehead of each horse. When you get to the right horse's
forehead, press R1 at the medallion to activate it. Repeat this on each
crank and on each horse in the following order:
- Green
- Red
- Yellow (When you grapple to the flying bat, Hold R1 and flick the control
stick to fling Kratos over the gap)
- Blue (use the same swing technique listed above)
These levers remove the black card things that go over horse's eyes to make
them blind. I think they are called "blind makers." When all four horses are
un-blinded, go back to the small platform that is located in the center of
them and R1 the giant latch to put Kratos into the driver's seat. Press R1
again to commence the horse whipping.
CUT SCENE:
The horses start to move and they pull on their chains. The camera pulls back
and the fortress we have been running around on for the last five hours is
just a smaller outcropping of a much larger island.
The horses keep pulling and the big island is hitched up. All this is
accomplished without someone standing out there waving furiously and saying
"ok now backup, backup, backup, 4 feet (hands far apart but closing), backup,
backup, (hands 2 inches apart) right, right there. You're good." The main </pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
island comes to rest and now Kratos can backtrack through the fortress and
explore the rest of this land.
With the island village locked and loaded, the music finally picks up from
that sappy world music. I love the drum beats. Go back to where you fought
Theseus and kill the guards who are there. Gaia purrs "go back to the
island." Do so and as you walk back on the chain be sure to ponder how much
better this game is because you don't have to control the camera. Look at
that long dramatic camera angle they provided you and consider how this could
only be accomplished because a designer planned for this moment to happen. I
like it.
_____________________________________________
| The Divine Pools (x12) |
Get off the chain, break the rocks, and climb up to reach the save. From
there, ascend the waterfalls and go left. Slide down the climbing wall and
proceed through the gate.
You enter a circular temple with a totally hot statue at the front who has
her two hands raised up to her face. I am pretty sure it is a temple, a
temple dedicated to worshiping foxy statues. But, before you can do anything
with the she-statue, you will need to get the right equipment. Jump down
either side of the bridge.
Look for the lever on the left side of the room and pull it. Next, go to the
very center of the room and move the giant planter that is the pool. Swim
through the hole that was underneath and break through the barrier by holding
then releasing R1. When you emerge from the water, Kratos will be behind the
grates at the other end of the room. Go to the green glowing statue and press
R1 to get an amulet that will allow you to slow time. It turns out the Matrix
didn't invent bullet time, it was created back in 500 BC.
Jump into the hole and swim back through to the other side. The amulet is
described as an object which "allows you to move swiftly through time while
all that is around you, slows." That sounds pretty much like college for me
(seriously those four years went by so fast). Go to the very back corner of
the room and find the pressure plate that will raise three pedestals. Press
R1 and L1 simultaneously to freeze time. Run to the pedestals. They fell
quite quickly before but now that you have the time-slowing amulet, you can
make it over and jump up on them.
When you reach the top floor of the temple, run to the back of the hall and
stand on the pressure plate. The foxy statue with the bright green prom
pimple will lower her arms to ground level. Stop time and run right into her
hands.
CUT SCENE:
The statues brings Kratos real close to her face and she rhymes using poetry-
101-tameter "None defy what the fates decree / That is the way must be." To
further dumb-down her point she clarifies "only death awaits you at the end
of your journey." And in a surprisingly valid point, Kratos responds "Death
is what started my journey."
The fate statue then emphasizes once more that he is destined to fail. Kratos
takes this about as well as a spoiled 5-year-old by blaming someone else for
his problems and then attacking the one who told him "no." The statue's face
breaks and then lists backwards.
Attack her head again and send it careening through the window. Follow that
head!
Through the window and in the little courtyard, fight the monsters. During
this time the statue head will nag and nag and nag with quotes such as "You
can not change your destiny mortal." Wow with all that nagging I wonder if
she is the fate, the fate marriage <<badum-CHING>>. When the monsters have
been destroyed, go over and attack the head until it disintegrates.
The next area is a small stone courtyard with a large stone head at the far
end of it. Its eyes shoot green lasers at two obelisks. From the green lasers
a force field expands to prevent Kratos from continuing to the forest.
_____________________________________________
| Destiny's Atrium (x13) |
Before you can solve the problem with the head and the force field, you will
need to fight off the monsters that attack. One is a huge hulking beast who
looks like what would happen if Boris Vallejo had designed Monsters Inc's
Mike Wazowski. That Cyclopes is accompanied by a few pigs. Focus your attack
the pigs first. The best way to deal with them is to hit X twice and then
press O to perform the pork loin removing animation that was in GOW2's
trailer (I was sold on this game by that one move)
(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwaUIShOM54). When the pigs are gone, focus
on the Cyclopes. It is best to save your Titan's Rage for the second wave of
Cyclopes.
When defeated, all the ladders are unlocked. There will also be a little
alcove with a demon door that spits out fireballs. Ignore the door, you can't
do anything with it yet. Instead, turn so that you are facing the giant
statue and climb the ladder on the north-left side of the room. At the top of
the ladder, grab the statue that is in the corner and pull it across the
balcony to the small indentation that is in front of the face's green eye.
When in place, the green beam is reflected back to her and it turns yellow.
Maybe she should shut that eye.
.............................................
: PUZZLE: Placing Second Shield Statue (x13a) :
Cross the bridge and descend to the small sunken area. The small step will
keep you from pulling the statue. Kratos can lift a whole friken ice pillar
but he can't bear-hug a statue and carry it like the Africa Stone over to the
big head? Well, because he can't, pull the lever to lower the wall. Drag the
statue onto that lowered wall and pull the lever again to raise statue. Jump
up and onto the wall grab the statue. Charge up a powerful kick by holding
the R1 and X buttons and then release both to kick the statue all the way
across the step. Jump back down and push the status along the bridge and into
the slot that is right next to the other statue. With both eye beams being
reflected back at the statue, the face explodes. Go back down into the atrium
and over to the newly unlocked save light:
...END Second Shield Statue..................
|| 6:13 HR || ******
_____________________________________________
| The Bog of the Forgotten (x14) |
With the magical force field gone, Kratos can proceed deeper into the Island
of Creation. It is a forested valley that looks like what would happen if
Thomas Kinkade painted The Forests of Hell.
CUT SCENE:
Gaia gives a little update. The sisters are hidden deep within the spire and
if Kratos can get to his thread he can go back to the time before Zeus killed
him. At that moment, a horseman comes ridding up behind him and tries to take
Kratos's head right off. Kratos throws his blades at the mounted attacker and
hitches a ride. Follow the on-screen prompts to proceed.
Kratos drops off the horse and comes to rest on a stone platform. The rider
circles around to finish him off. But, just before he does, the bearded rider
recognizes Kratos and introduces himself. He is the Barbarian King. The
catalyst for Kratos selling his soul to Ares in GOW 1. It turns out that
since his death, the Barbarian King has pulled himself out of the depths of
hell and is now ALSO seeking the Fates to turn back the clock to the battle
where Kratos killing him.
The Barbarian King (or BK) asks Kratos if he remembers him. Kratos says "I
will never forget that day." Cue flashback and it looks like Kratos has
already forgotten one key thing... that it wasn't day at all but actually
late dusk. But Kratos does recall BK shooting an arrow and making a guy's
head explode. And then he remembers swinging his blades and making the BK's
head explode.
When the flashback is over, BK says "this time, ghost of Sparta, I will have
your head."
.............................................
: BOSS: King of Barbarians (x14a) :
This next fight is like fighting a mounted Charles Manson. Except, instead of
his "family" of hippies he has a horde of zombie superintendents.
Part I
- Attack him at will until the orbs that encircle him disappear
- Use the bow and arrow too
- When the orbs are gone, circle around to climb up and kill the horse
Part II
- After dismounting, he surrounds himself with a series of gold lights.
Attack him to get rid of them
- Stripped bare, he summons his horde of Zombie Supers
- You can use magic liberally here because each zombie will give you blue
orbs to refill your magic
- Strike the boss with two-hit combos then flip out of the way to avoid his
counter attack
Part III
- Again, attack twice then roll away
- When beaten enough he will get a circle over his head, follow the on screen
prompts
...END King of Barbarians....................
When he is dead, use the nearby grapple hook to swing across the lava and
then run down the path.
_____________________________________________
| Temple of Euryale (x15) |
In contrast to the gleaming perfection and well tended architecture that was
the last area, this temple is a dump. I actually like it this way, what with
the vines and the nature taking over. But, I do question how historically
accurate all this is. It is Ancient Greece, did ruins even exist yet?
Traverse to the right and then around the temple to the save crystal. Go up
and across the lava. A guy is running from a pair of minotaur and calls out
for help. Dude you are asking the wrong guy. Kratos's idea of compassion is
throwing a suffering man into a bonfire.
Run to the edge of the land to the dead body with crows picking at it. Press
R1 to get Euryale's Key which is the Greek letter Phi. Run back around to the
front gate and to the path just to the left of it.
Attack the Jason and the Argonauts skeletons. God I love how they shatter.
Use the key on the gate (not the gold medusa gate, but the one that is
further to the left).
||6:40||
_____________________________________________
| The Ruins of the Forgotten (x16) |
Upon entering this area, a Cyclopes approaches and then from stage left runs
a little monster who climbs up on his back like he is a five year old at a
parade. If this were TV, we would be setting up for A) the classic ice cream
on the dad's head gag or B) the riskier bird craps on one/both of them gag.
But, because this is a video game, both of them will die.
When they are both in fact dead, a second wave attacks so kill them too. Run
over to the Peristyle (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peristyle). Once
underneath it, head for the far right corner. Pull out the large stone and
drag it to the far left corner as a counter balance. Go back to where you
pulled out the stone and O tap the gate open. Head down the halls and through
the door, clear out the enemies in this room with the large stone column in
the center. Destroy it and then use the newly exposed grappling hook to swing
like a Cirque Du Soleil performer up to the next platform.
In the next hallway, use your timing carefully to swing between the two
grapple hooks. Continue across the Bog of Eternal Stench to the three
columns and the guys on top of them who are shooting bombs at you. Attack the
columns on the left and right side to drop the guys. Then, move the large
central column by pressing R1 then R1 + L1 in quick succession. When the
remaining enemies have been dispensed, jump your way up to the platform and
continue around to a room with a large plant at the top and a touch plate in
the center.
.............................................
: PUZZLE: Corpse and Water (x16a) :
This next room is small and circular with alcoves at each of the cardinal
directions. In the alcove with the bars is a touch plate. The other side has
a body that would make a perfect touch plate weight. However, the bars in the
other alcove prevent Kratos from jumping over it with body in tow. If you
can't go over the gate you will have to go around it. So, go to the alcove
with the body and destroy the fake wall. Pick it up and set it in the water
so it can be whisked away. Quickly, run across to the half-gated alcove,
destroy the fake wall and wait for the corpse to circle around. Pick it up
and place it on the touch plate. Run over to the central pressure plate to
unlock the main gate. Run and roll to get through it.
...END Corpse and Water......................
||7:23|| - ******
In the next room we find the soldier from outside still alive and still
fending off a skeleton attack. Unfortunately, it is across a river of instant
death fluid. Your way across is on two floating platforms with a handle
attached. To work the flotillas, point the left control stick relative to
the position Kratos is in on the wheel. Keep rotating for as long as you can,
even when skeletons are attacking. Fight them off only when they are right
over you. When the wheel is as far as it can go, jump to the next one. Repeat
this same process for the other wheel.
Back on firm ground, the camera zooms over to a large rock that is shinny.
It is interactable. Attack the nearby rock and I was shocked to find the rock
attack me back.
Rock monster
- Destroy it by using basic attacks
- Step back when it starts swinging its arms
- While waiting for it to stop attacking, you should use magic to hurry the
fight along.
When you get near the shinny rock, you will be prompted to press R1 to pull
it down. When it collapses, run up to it and then over to the vine covered
wall. Proceed across it to the rope. When you drop down, you are on a cliff
face with a huge spinning wheel and a small black door nearby. By lifting
this door, you will find a pause-time statue that seems to have been placed
into storage. Use L1 and L2 to slow the wheel then run across it. On the
other side, you find a series of conveyer belts.
"Conveyer belts? In Ancient Greece?" you ask. Just ignore it. In return for
getting them the job, the Devil's covenant obligates all game designers to
include a conveyor belt in every game they make (regardless of its setting or
genre). Satan is a tricky one alright.
Proceed through the conveyor belts and break through the wooden wall that is
straight ahead. Jump to the next landing and you are surrounded by several
columns that are shaped like women. The architectural term for that is
Caryatid. They were used in then Pantheon and if you want to see some hot
Greek women holding up buildings I posted a few of them over at:
http://gameintestine.com/guides/god-of-war-2/the-ruins-of-the-forgotten.html
Destroy the central caryatid and reveal a block that must be pushed forward.
With the block out of the way, you can proceed to a new area that looks just
like the one we started with. In fact, it is the one we started with.
Push that block you just dropped into the Peristyle. As you push the stone to
the furthest edge, the whole building will list. Push the other stone box
towards the far end of the Peristyle and the camera-man indicates another
shiny-interactable object. Go to that shiny stylobate (the art world's term
for the steps of a temple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylobate) and tap "O"
to lift the ENTIRE thing. You know it is actions like these that make
archaeologists cringe. It wasn't natural decay that prevents us from learning
about the past, it was vandalistic dopes like Kratos destroying all these
artifacts. After it has been submerged in that rank fluid, run across this
stunning example of architecture to the climbing wall.
Use the hand grabs and work your way left. Destroy the dead tree, and jump
across to reach the other side. Run past the spinning gear building (you can
destroy it if you wish) and move left. Talk to the dying soldier and he tells
Kratos of the golden fleece and how Jason (of Argonaut fame) had it before he
was captured by the beast.
Up ahead, the doorway to this beast is blocked by a series of gears. Pick the
soldier up, carry him through the hallway and towards the nearby conveyer
belt. He's all "I'm not dead yet." I told you dude, don't ask for Kratos's
help, the skeletons would have been much nicer to you. His corpse mangles the
gears. So smashed alive eh? That's it? When Jaffe was directing, we had to
roast a guy alive. I am just saying this seems a bit tame. What were the
slicing pendulums too hard to program? Wouldn't a pot of burning oil or a
skinning alive machine have been a bit closer to Kratos's style.
The gears crumple but you still need to attack them to get through them. As
Kratos enters the dog's pen, they are chewing on a ragdoll or a corpse imbued
with ragdoll. The center head rips off the corpse's arm and lets it dangle
like a cigar. I hope he has it like that through the whole battle and then
when he whips his head around the arm punches Kratos. That would be worth the
price of the game right there. And damn if this dog isn't the buffest thing I
have ever seen. It has biceps that are bigger than my waist. Do dogs even
have biceps?
.............................................
: BOSS: Cerberus (x16b) :
- Keep the dog a chains length away from you at all times
- Fight him with a matador approach of dodging then attacking him.
- When the O appears over the beast's head, Kratos reaches deep in its mouth
to extract the arm.
...... END Cerberus .........................
Well it turns out that arm cigar was the golden fleece. It is a good thing
that Kratos got to the beast just after he ate it otherwise we would have to
wait around for 24 hours to get it back. Wearing it would be a lot less cool
too.
Run over and pull the nearby lever to activate a wall that spooges fireballs.
I may be joking that this looks like ejaculate but the word "semen" is Greek
in origin and literally means "fire-seed." The ancient Greeks believed that a
man's "fire-seed" would enter the woman and start a "fire" in her stomach.
Thus creating a child. I took classics in college and my professor took a
good chunk of the class to explain the meaning of fire-seed and its appears
in the Odyssey. Google "fire-seed" odyssey. I think it's a strange
coincidence that this wall's "fire-seeds" so closely matches the trajectory
of the real world fire-seed.
To get through, stand on the floor's burn-spot and wait for the next shot. At
the precise moment it hits Kratos, press L1 to reflect the ball back and
destroy the wall. When you make it through the door, fight off the medusas
and head down the path (this is where you first found that guy and sent him
through the grinder). Go back across the rock wall and jump to that building
you pushed into the lava. Yes, the camera angle for that jump is awful and
yes I died several times on that. Dear GOW2 team, when you build the Game of
the Year edition, swivel the camera angle around so we can see the gap
better.
.............................................
: Urn of Gorgons (x16c) :
When you are standing on the top of the temple you have a chance to go get
another Urn. The Urn of Gorgons. This one will allow you to hit enemies and
turn them to stone. Remember, this is for the next play through. If you want
it, take a left and go back through the level you already completed. Go back
to the conveyer belts with the petrifying beams. Stand in front of the beams
and press R1 to reflect them back at the walls. The wall will crumble and the
chest for the urn will be revealed.
...Urn of Gorgons............................
When you get back to the sunken temple, jump off of it and onto the bank
located on the right side. Follow the path around, jump across the small gap
and head back down again to the save.
|| 8:19 || ******
_____________________________________________
| Temple of Euryale (x17) |
Stand in front of the medusa door and hit L1 to reflect the beam back and
destroy it. Punch your way through. This is Euryale's lair and the game
claims that she is Medusa's sister. I don't know about this Euryale Vs Sony
Entertainment Mythology so I am going to consult a legitimate source here.
And wikipedia says..... TRUE! Eureyal really was in Greek mythology and
really is Medusa's sister. Way to do your homework GOW 2 team. Oh and for
extra credit, it turns out that Euryale is Typhon's daughter.
Once inside the temple, take a right and after the fight and descend down the
ladder. A voice taunts Kratos for the misery and killing of babies. Fight the
attackers that accost you. One of them is a minotaur and I really like the
kill sequence where you pull them down on their own flaming clubs. Genius.
Continue through the unlocked door.
A gate separates one side of the room from the other. A soldier who must be
all hopped up on crank runs up to the gate, calls Kratos the "ghost of
Sparta" and then grabs some more crank. Proceed to the elevator and lower it.
Fight off the bats. The other elevator does not function because of that
soldier's crank theft. So, run back to the elevator that you just descended
in on and raise it to a level where Kratos can jump across without hitting
his head on the grate above. Double jump across. Now that you are standing in
the broken elevator, jump up and grab the narrow ledges that are above him.
Continue to jump up to the ledges above it until you are at the top. Rid
yourself of the skeleton attacker and then use the save behind it.
||8:35|| ******
From the save go to the alcove on the left and climb the semi broken ladder.
Proceed to the left side of the room to find a grip wall. Climb up and across
ceiling. Crisscrossing across it are half a dozen blades. It would be another
century before people figured out that ceiling fans are much more effective
when they spin parallel to the ceiling. Until that day comes, you must
navigate past them without getting cut. Time your advance and if you need it,
press X to make Kratos dash.
.............................................
: PUZZLE: Meat Press (x17a) :
When you reach the other side of the room, press R1 to drop down. One side of
the room has a large meat press that blocks a lever that will let you proceed
to the next room. Here is how to get to that lever:
- Rotate the crank that is on the ledge to pull back the press.
- Run right in front of the spiked end of the press and then down the caged
hallway to the lever that was blocked when the press was fully extended.
- Pull it to lower the columns that barricaded the door.
- Run up to the door at the end of the cage and press R1 and tap "O" to
rapidly lift it.
...END Meat Press............................
When you reach the next room, you are welcomed by a drunken smoker's laugh.
Proceed to the book in the center of the room and in it is written "I am all
that remains, I know now that I will not reach the sisters." I am totally
writing that in the guestbook for the next wedding I go to. The joke is more
relevant if you are the last single guy among your group of friends or if one
of the girls that is getting married is of a clutch of sisters.
Then, when you least expect it, in flops Euryale. For all you out there who
complain that they don't put women with realistic bodies into games, here you
are. One steaming, pendulous pile of fleshy-ness compliments of Cory Barlog.
I hope you are happy.
.............................................
: BOSS: Euryale (x17b) :
Part I
- Don't use the Rage of the titans until I tell you to
- Watch her hands because she will form a red ball above her head just before
she shoots her paralyzing scream at you
- Use your magic a little, not more than half of the meter though
Part II
- Still hold off using titan power
- She shrieks "You will die, you killed my sister" and then coils up
seductively around one of the columns
- Hit her by jumping and attacking
- She will scream at the ground filling it with a red fog. Keep watching
because she will soon sweep the floor with an even darker red fog. When this
more intense fog hits you, press L1 to absorb the attack with the fleece
- If you are turned to stone, shake the left stick and then run as far away
from the ring of columns as you can because she will try to belly-flop on top
of you
- After hitting her enough, the circle prompt will appear above her head.
Rotate the stick quickly in order to pull the column down on her
- She will then climb up on a second column so repeat the above process to
bring it down on her again
- After being knocked from both columns she resumes the ground attack
Part III
- NOW is the time to use the rage of the titans. If you are aggressive
enough, you can kill her before your titan meter runs dry
- If not, use a defensive strategy where you only attack her after dodging
her series of attacks
- When she gets "O" over her head, play the context game. Kratos grabs her
and they have shirtless time together. I bet she consumes pallets of Zombie
Baklava
When she finally rolls over, Kratos decapitates her. Then he keeps her head.
The game calls it "The Head of Euryale." Wait a minute! That's not the head
of Euryale, Kratos just decapitated Ernest Borgnine
(
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000308/.) Either way, by selecting the head with
the directional pad you can turn your enemies to stone and then shatter them.
Before you can proceed to the next room, you will have to practice this
technique on five enemies.
||HR 8:45 || *******
Through the next gate is a series of rooms that are flooded with water. This
probably is Euryale's bath house. Those stone platforms are where she
breaches so her handlers can check her teeth and wash her dermal layer.
.............................................
: PUZZLE: Euryale's Castle: Wetlands (x17c) :
The goal of this puzzle is to raise all four of the columns, which have
grapple points on the tips. When all are raised, Kratos can swing his way
across to the gate on the other side of the area. Look for the colored jewels
that surround each column. Each room's color is unique.
White Crystal Room
- Use the rotating mechanism to lift the column until it locks into place.
- Swim across the water to the lever and pull it (the gate you opened is
under water and will start to shut automatically).
- Press L1 and the L2 buttons to slow time so that you have time to get
through the closing gate.
- Jump straight ahead, across the water and then dive in to swim through the
grate.
Yellow crystals
- In the next room, rotate the lever to raise another column
- Dive in and pull the underwater lever to open the nearby gate
- After pulling it, swim through and immediately hold R1 to get enough speed
to make it through the next gate before it closes
crystal
- Ascend and use the next rotating mechanism to raise a third column
- Dive back into the water and swim over to the next grating. It is
destructible, so hold R1 and burst through it.
Green crystals:
- Again, swim up, find the rotating mechanism, and turn it
- Jump to the small alcove on the left side. Pull the lever to raise the
gate
- Jump across the water to the hallway
- Turn on the first right (it is before you reach the ladder) and enter the
room that has a small stone nubbin in the middle. Run over to the statue and
start to rotate the lever that is in front of it. Kratos will be ambushed so
kill them attackers and then go back to raising the column.
- The column will slowly fall so hit R1 + L1 to slow time.
- Quickly, proceed back to the hallway and up the ladder.
- At the top of the white room, grapple over to the hook and release your
swing when Kratos is just at about level with the second statue.
- Proceed to swing from column to column.
- Hurry because that one column will fall and be inaccessible if you take too
long.
.............................................
: PUZZLE: Crushing Room (x17d) :
Go down the hallway and pull the lever and the floor starts to raise and the
roof doesn't. I would use the rest of this paragraph to rant about how
cliched the crushing-room gimmick is but this one is actually pretty fun and
has been updated a bit. When Kratos reaches the top and is about to be
crushed, he can push the floor back down again. The only escape is a door
that is at the front of the room. However, there is a gate blocking it and
that gate is slowly grinding open (thus the sparks). The gate will not open
by the time the floor meets ceiling. But, as stated, Kratos is strong enough
to get between the two and buy himself more time. Be sure to attack as many
of the dogs as possible so that you are able to push back on the roof
unmolested. After the second roof push-off, the grinding gate opens and you
can escape.
The next hallway has some narrow scaffolding. Kill all the bats that could
attack you and then slowly tight-rope your way to the gap. Jump to the right
wall and use the hand-hold. Shimmy over to the next side.
Head down the rocky, narrow, path to a pile of rubble. That rubble turns into
a balrog-esq enemy. Fight him out, and use some your Rage of the Titans if
you have it. When defeated, grapple to the other side and save
|| 9:23 || *****
This next area is a deep blue cave that is littered with bones. Thankfully,
bones are rarely just decoration. The creatures rise up. Now, I know the
whole videogame world is zombie obsessed, but I prefer killing skeletons to
killing zombies. I am not afraid to admit that either. My preference has
something to do with seeing the bones fly everywhere and having them fall
into that pile at the end of fights. Plus, skeletons usually scream and that
is much scarier than the moaning that zombies do. Wow, admitting you like
skeletons is coming out nerd closet (with has skeletons in it). So, which do
you prefer? Zombies or Skeletons?
Next, head through the door and up the spiral staircase to see proof that at
least one of the level designers has seen Hitchcock's Vertigo. Proceed up the
spiral staircase to reach... DESTINY'S ATRIUM! Remember how we were here and
we put those statues in front of her eyes and then the force field came
through. Great times, I feel older now.
_____________________________________________
| Destiny's Atrium, Again (x18) |
Now that Kratos is equipped with the fleece, he can make use of it to reflect
the fire-seeds back to that wall. Stand where the burn spot is and wait for
the fireball, as soon as it hits Kratos press R1 to shoot it right back. With
it destroyed, move to the right wall and shimmy your way inside the cave.
Jump to the opposing wall to find the cave passageway.
Descend through the caves and eventually emerge on a cliff side. Notice the
four horses on the horizon. This is backtracking done right. We weren't lead
back to the same spot via the same path. As a result, I don't feel like
designers are padding the game play. Furthermore, by showing the horses in
the background there, it makes the world seem more cohesive rather than a
simple chain of random levels.
Continue across the cliff face by fighting off archers, zombie skeletons, and
swinging on the grapple hooks.
_____________________________________________
| The Hall of Atropos (x19) |
Well, speaking of rehashing, in this next area we find yet another statue
shooting her eye beams at a wall to create a force field. Use the save light.
|| 9:43 || *******
But, before you can get to the eye statue, you will need to fight off several
wizards that are on crutches. Here are some tips for fighting them:
- Attack them lightly with short 3-move chains. This will allow you to
quickly escape if they shoot the green squiggles at you.
- Also, use magic because killing them will yield blue orbs.
- I suggest Cronos's rage because it will keep more than one of them occupied
while you attack another with your regular weapon.
When they are dispensed, head to the left-most corner of the room (just to
the left of the save light) and dead lift the door to get in.
In the next room, with its highly waxed floors, proceed to the left. The
force field doors close around Kratos and he is ambushed by all sorts of
minotaur and proto-Latin speaking priests. Focus on the priests first because
they will summon more minotaur if left alone. There will be several waves of
the chanting guys so keep at them. When they are done, focus on the
minotaur.
.............................................
: PUZZLE: Two Statues and an Elevator (x19a) :
When the room is clear, explore it. There are two sliding bronze statues and
one elevator. Your goal is to get Kratos up to the top of that ledge. The way
to get there is to get the two statues nearly on top of each other.
- Find the lift in the upper left corner of the room
- Place one of the statues on the lift
- Move the other statue just to the right of the lift but not on it
- Start turning the crank so the elevator goes all the way to the top
- Let go of the crank and quickly run over to the statue that is not on the
lift and push it under it so that the lift is jammed
- There should now be a statue sandwich that consists of statue, lift, statue
- Jump to the top of the bottom statue, then jump again to the statue that is
on the elevator, finally jump to the top floor
Run down the hallway but stop at the gate to see a man fighting a minotaur.
Climb up the stairs that are located to the left of the gate. At the top you
will be standing on the edge of platform that is overlooking a beautiful
Grecian sunset. I really want to visit Santorini now. The Tourism Board of
Greece should have kicked in some money for this game. Hey that could be the
future of in-game advertising: realistic settings that advertises for the
country. Think of the boost in Japanese travel the movie Lost In Translation
caused. It could work for games too.
Take the stairs that are located on the left side of the broken bridge. When
you reach the room at the bottom of the stairs, two Akira-eyed beasts attack.
Keep Kratos moving and attack quickly and you should have no problem
defeating them. Push out the stone that is at the left side of the room and
it will fall into ...
_____________________________________________
| The Hall of Atropos - Again (x20) |
When the stone falls into the main Hall of Atropos push it across the plaza.
Line it up under the ladder at the base of the arch. Jump up on the stone to
reach the ladder. A voice calls out for Kratos's help (The owner of that
voice must have a death wish) and then the voice tells him where he is (dude
you are so dead). Head left across the narrow bridge and through the door.
Fight the beasts in the next room and when done, jump up to the door and use
the save light.
|| 10:16 || ******
At the end of the balcony three grapple hooks fall. Target the lowest one and
swing over to the one on the side of the building. Go up and finally across
to the other side. There are soldiers waiting there for Kratos and they have
packed some of the best drumming theme music.
.............................................
: PUZZLE: Double Tree (x20a) :
At the very edge of the balcony is a small trigger (nestled among the roots).
Stand on it to extend a tangle of plants. Use the slow-time move and then run
across to a small island with two trees on it. Make a quick left (you should
still be in green pause-time) and continue across that bridge. Kill the
attackers and then press another trigger that will extend a third bridge.
Press L1+L2 again and run across the bridge to the two-tree island again and
then take a left to get to the next platform. Fight the bats and armored
zombies here and then stand on the trigger to extend another new bridge. Run
across to the two-tree island a third time and then take a left to the final
area.
Cut Scene:
Kratos enters a room with a pool and the door closes behind him. A man who
was in the water scolds Kratos because it was his only escape from this room.
In his frustration, the man explains he is seeking the sisters too. Jeeze,
who isn't after these girls. This is turning into a wild goose chase a la
It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world. Via monologue, the self-identified Perseus
ponders that this may be another test. As he talks he does the punctuated
stair walking and sweeping arm gesturing that is an unavoidable side-effect
of reciting anything Shakespeare-esq. He concludes that even if this is not a
test, he can "bathe (he jumps into the water at this word - very clever!) in
the glory of being the one who brought down the mighty Kratos." Perseus puts
on a golden helmet and then disappears.
By the way, the voice of Perseus is played by none other than Harry Hamlin
who you probably remember from such Lifetime Network fodder as Like Father,
Like Santa, L.A. Law: The Movie and 1-800-Missing. Or, if you have ever
turned on a television on a Saturday, Clash of the Titans. Harry Hamlin
played Perseus in the film version and now he is reprising his role in the
this game.
.............................................
: BOSS: Perseus (x20b) :
Part I:
- As I mentioned, Perseus is invisible so watch the surface of the water and
attack anything that looks like a shadow moving across the pool.
- Save your Rage of the Titans until the end (I will let you know)
- Attack him frequently with the Cyclone of Chaos ( L1 + [] )
- After quite a few hits Perseus will briefly appear with a circle over his
head. But, it is very briefly. If you hit him while he is in the open, he
will disappear again. So, start counting how many hits it takes, usually
around 8
- When you think you are nearing 8 hits, get real close to him because after
that 8th hit he will only stay stunned for a moment
- When visible, grab him with O to stop these shenanigans and stomp his
invisibility helmet
Part II
- Don't use your Rage of the Titans yet
- Now that he is visible, use Cronos's Rage and regular attacks to really
hurt him
- After enough hits he will get the "O" so grab him to impale him and then
break his sword
Part III
- Be ready to jiggle the left stick when he throws out his flash bangs
- Now is a good time to use Rage of the Titans
- When he is "O" stunned, follow the on-screen cues to kick him through a
wall and then onto the conveniently placed (for Kratos) meat hook.
Jump out the Perseus-sized doorway and jump to the chain. Slide down to the
bottom. If you press R1, you get a chance to see Perseus up close. Real
class SCEA.
|| 10:56 || ********
.............................................
: PUZZLE: Eye Beams (x20c) :
Run back to the stone that you placed in front of the half-ladder and climb
up. Continue to the right and jump over the shrubbery to a medusa like statue
that is half-sitting in a chair. "The statue seems to be missing its shield"
says R1. Attack it to destroy its base and bring it to eye level then press
R1 again. Kratos places Perseus's shield in the statue's hands really hard. I
mean Kratos, dude, there is no one watching, you don't have to be an over-
aggressive dickhead all the time. Grab the statue by its side and push it
over the nearby broken edge of the balcony. Jump down after it and push it
left to that small, yellow indentation. Go to the nearby lever and rotate
around it to raise the platform. The newly installed statue blocks just the
right green eye lasers. You will need to use the Golden Fleece to block the
other one. However, the platform only stays in place for a limited period of
time. So, pull the lever then quickly jump up to the ladder and get in front
of the other eye laser and press L1 to reflect the beam right back at the
statue. The face then exhibits video game rule #198 which states: "blocking
any form of energy beam can have one and only one result, immediate
explosion."
...END: Eye Beams............................
Jump back down and continue through the newly opened pathway. In about 3000
years Marcus Fenix will fight through these same hallways to put an end to
those damn Locusts. It looks the same now as will in 3000 years. You can tell
that it is abandoned because in the distance there are crowing birds.
Actually, I have to compliment the atmospherics here as it really is well
done.
If you take the path that is straight ahead there is a grate that closes the
moment you get in front of it. Behind that gate is one of the hidden urns, I
will tell you how to get there in a moment.
But until that time, work your way through the hallway and across the to a
balcony that's over looking the Amazon rainforest? Climb the vines on the
right wall and then pull the lever. Jump down to the open gate below.
Pull the spear of Destiny out of the gigantic blue bird and the weapon
testing fodder comes in. Fight them off with the spear. I found the combat to
be a bit slow and stiff. Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox implemented this same
weapon with more speed and acrobatics. When the beasts are all taken care of
continue on.
.............................................
: Urn of Olympus (x20d) :
The Urn of Olympus is at the beginning of the area behind that quick-shut
gate. You will need the pause-time to make it past it. However, because the
gate is so far away you will need to get the statue closer to the gate.
Because you can't push it through water, the closest point is the edge of the
first pool from the balcony. You will also need to turn the statue so that
she is facing across that pool.
To do this:
- go back to where the statue was in the corner.
- Pull her onto the turntable and rotate her so that when you drag her down
to the pool, she will be facing across it (It will takes some mental
gymnastics to figure out that orientation while she is still on the turn
table)
- Drag her down the ramp, around the corner and to the pools edge
- Swim across the pool and press R1 + L1 to start slow time
- Swing across the other pool
- Head around the next corner, jump across the touch page and under the
falling gate to reach the Urn.
- This urn entitles the bearer to unlimited magic (on the second playthrough)
...END URN...................................
With the urn in hand, run back to the statue and drag her all the way back to
the turntable portico. Rotate her around again so she is facing out to the
valley below and then push her to the edge.
Run down the stairs and take two rights to that bridge with the teeter-totter
segment. When you jump up and stand on one side, it tips to the level
position. Hold R1 and L1 to activate statue time and run across the bridge.
_____________________________________________
| Crossing of the Lowlands (x21) |
|| 11:28 || ******
Jump up to the next grapple hook which I think is attached to a sound system
because some chubby beats start. The columns crumble immediately and you will
have to be quick to proceed through. The timing will take some figuring out
on your part because there is no way that I can explain what you will have to
do. About the only tip I can give you is on the fourth hook. When Kratos is
swinging circularly, make about three rotations and release to spring to the
flat platform. Run to the edge of the island let it fall forward a bit before
jumping for the next grapple spot. The rest of the hooks will take you across
the chasm.
The next tunnel is also nice and jungle-y and I have to ask "is this game
really set in Greece." Maybe it actually takes place in Northern Mexico and
we just reached the tropical forests around the equator. Andd wikipedia
says.... Greece! Proceed through the dense JUNGLES of MEDITERRANEAN GREECE
and fight off the two sirens. I know they are evil witches or something but I
still feel bad for beating them up. I guess all the years of video games have
trained me to recognize anyone who is pretty as being good.
When you fight off the beasts continue through to find out why Icarus should
really be spelled Ick 'R us ...
_____________________________________________
| Meeting Icarus (x22) |
CUT SCENE:
Kratos runs across the decrepit bridge and then something even more decrepit
slithers up to the top. It is Icarus. And every time I think that it would be
great to live in the splendor and debauchery that was ancient Greece, I
remind myself that by age 40 most people would have looked like Icarus. He
tells us that only way to get across this great chasm is to use his wings.
Icarus, like everyone else in this game, is trying to reach the sisters of
fate. I think he is trying to go back in time to relive his 8-bit glory days.
Kratos threatens to take his wings and Icarus resists by climbing up and
roosting on his shoulders.
Then Icarus pulls Kratos off the side of the bridge and they go falling into
the chasm, punching all the way down. Follow the on-screen cues. When Kratos
and Icarus fall, keep hammering on the [] and O buttons and watch for the
random prompts.
When you beat him enough, Kratos steals the wings and glides softly away from
the bird man. Icarus falls through the hole and past Atlas. I had to laugh
because he does that aaaaaah...take a breath.....aaaaah thing. Then, the
earth opens up and Icarus falls through the Upper Mantel and I wonder if he
will reach the Outer Core or just stay in the Mantel Proper
_____________________________________________
| Atlas (x23) |
Thought you were going to make it across that chasm and on to the Fate's
temple and then on to the fates? Nope. You have been diverted into an off-
topic, sub-level that kinda sucks. You just got a bad case of game-
progression blue balls.
Either way, after Kratos' H.A.L.O. drop, he is standing atop one of the great
Titans: Atlas. Continue left from his eye to get the save light.
||11:50||
Go back to the nose and climb up his brow ridge. Continue around to the
dangling platforms which may be Atlas's straightened payots. This is also a
good time to practice Kratos's new wings. Descend from platform to platform
until you reach the last one which is a quite a ways down. From this last
platform, jump towards that big doorway. No wait. That is an enormously
inflamed pore. I know they don't make Biore strips that big but good lord man
at least get Gaia to take a look at that.
Head on into the pore and buckle up for the Game Intestine's favorite level
type: INNER SPACE! Take a moment and lets critique how this body-level
measures up to ones in the recent past. The walls have a good blood color
(Atlas seems to be getting the requisite amount of iron) and the slight
capillary texture is good too. I am a little disappointed with the actual
area design as there do not seem to be any recognizable organelles. When you
fight off the attackers you can have a clear view of the door. I think the
horns are a nice touch but the door lacks that clenched, muscular je ne sais
quoi that a real sphincter has.
Attack that door and pull back on the huge block that is there. Run around to
the back side of it (you wont be able to see Kratos) and pull it into the
next room. At this point you should be in the next room with the blockage
partially exposed. Jump up onto it and then up to the chest.
Proceed down into the next room for an example of excess stomach acid eroding
the lining of one's esophagus. Icarus-wing your way down to the platform in
the middle and prepare for a fight.
......................................................
: Golem fight on the Platform (x23a) :
Attack the beast while avoiding his attacks. After a while the platform
Kratos is fighting on will start to sink and the wall behind it will break
away. Go to the northernmost edge of the platform and float over to the wall.
The rock wall there has hand grips (it is white in color). When Kratos has a
firm grip, the beast will start throwing rocks at him. The best way to avoid
this is to jump left or right the moment the Golem lifts the rock over his
head.
When defeated, the golem leaves behind a large stone pile. You will need to
stand on this Golem-turd to get up to the doorway above. Push it as close as
you can to the opening then jump onto it and then double jump to the door.
You should be able to reach it without using your wings.
...END Golem fight....................................
Continue through the room with walls the texture of basketball leather. When
you emerge you can see Atlas's hand through the gaping hole. Wounds that
don't close are not a good sign. Jump to the left platform for a save and
some health.
||12:24||
Look to the right of the save platform and at the horns in the wall. Attack
them to release a (kidney?) stone. Jump on it and then when it gets stuck,
attack the horned outcropping that is blocking it. As it falls over the
side, jump to the grapple hook, swing and release, and then float over to the
nearby door.
Destroy the stone that is in the middle of the path and float over the new </pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
steam jet. As you hover over it you will gain enough lift to make it to the
next room.
This room is infested with those flying bat creatures. They are emerging from
their nests, which are shinny, meaning you can destroy them with enough
attacks. Go to each hive and attack them until all of them have been
destroyed. Jump up to the platform in the central edge of the room. Grab
onto the grip wall and follow it around to a platform with two chests. Turn
around and look for the white grip wall across the room. Flutter your way
over to it. And follow it around to destroy the shinny stalactite that is
blocking your way.
......................................................
: Urn of Promethius (x23b) :
Destroy every stalactite you see. One of these contains a secret entrance to
the Urn of Promethius. It will allow you (on your next play through) to have
unlimited rage of the titans.
..END URN.............................................
When you get back to the ceiling grips, drop down at the end of it and then
fly yourself around the little corner to the doorway. Grab the grip wall that
is on the left side of the door. Climb up it to the roof and proceed outside.
Follow this path around destroying any stalactites and attackers. It's like
Atlas has lice. Climb up into the space created after you destroyed the
second stalactite. Then, descend down the metal elevator and jump to the next
stretch of grip wall.
You are now back in the room where you released the titan's kidney stone.
Continue around and knock off any of those hooks in the ceiling. The camera
will pan over indicating a way out. Grip your way to the edge of the path
(past all the hooks) and drop down to the platform below. Jump towards that
steaming lesion and fly out the window.
Kratos is outside and that buttery fingered dawn is quite impressive. Fly to
each of the dangling hooks which could be Atlas's tzitzit. The second
platform will require you to kill off a few rounds of guys and then raise it
with the rotating lever. After that, descend to the slide rope and the save.
|| 12:49 ||
Ascend using the nearby grip wall. Proceed to the grapple hooks. The last
hook before jumping to the grip wall can be tricky. I found it is best NOT to
release at the apex of your swing. Rather, hit X while Kratos is still
swinging upwards. When you do grab a hold, climb to the top of the grip wall,
hold back on the left stick and press X twice because you will need to glide
to the platform behind you.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Stacking Two Stones (x23b) :
As you round the top you get to see Michael Chickliss in all his glory, or is
it Right Said Fred? Either way, continue to the really high cliff face. The
only way over it is to use the two nearby stones. The first goal is to get
the stone stacked. Push one stone to the side of the nearby ramp. Then, push
the other one up the ramp and then on top of the first stone that you parked
under it.
Jump down and push the double stack as far to the edge of the next platform
as possible. Jump up to the platform and pull the top rock off of the double
stack. Now, maneuver that top stone to the edge of the really tall platform.
Jump up on the stone and then up to the top of the platform. When you reach
the top, open the chest and then move around to the grip wall.
...END Two Stones.....................................
After following the grip wall path around, the mountain opens up with a
large, red slit. Rocks fall from above and, if hit, Kratos will (predictably)
plunge to his death. Luckily the rocks fall in a quite predictable Left-
Right-Left-Right pattern. Jump from one side to the other to avoid them.
Also, you can climb a lot faster if hit the jump button. Use the slide button
to descend quickly down the next slit. And then follow the same rules as the
previous one for it.
After progressing through the rest of the hand grip path, you reach the very
top of Atlas's arm. A chain clamps his hand to the Earth. Attack the center
link and the chain falls off. Atlas's arm and shoulder kinda wrest under the
weight change and he does a little shrug causing me to wonder when Kratos
become Ayn Rand? (talk about an anti-hero).
CUT SCENE
The Atlas asks "who breaks my chains of torment" and then picks up Kratos. He
notices that Kratos is too strong to be a mortal but pH balanced to be a god.
Atlas starts to pinch Kratos and you may ask:
"Why he got his hand closed?"
To which I say
"Cracks in his palm. He's just watchin' the long arm o' the law."
Kratos yells that he no longer works for the gods and that he actually wants
to defeat them. Atlas inquires how and Kratos says with Bade of Olympus.
Mentioning this blade causes Atlas to flashback.
I paid real close attention to this scene because I was really curious how a
legion of titans (who stand as high as buildings, have biceps the size of
battleships, and in some cases, are equipped with multiple arms) could loose
to the gods. The only thing the gods have for them is the ability to shoot
cool looking specular effects.
So, according to Atlas the battle went as follows. The god Hades tethered one
of the titans with gold chains. Even though right next to the chained titan
was an even stronger titan with FOUR arms. Four totally ripped arms. The
titan just stands there and pounds the ground while his friend is chained.
Don't do that, that's dumb! Run up there and grab Hades and use your FOUR
arms to do that chest beating thing that Goro used on me every time I tried
to use Sub-Zero's freeze attack.
Somehow Hades ends up stunned and looses his grip on the chains freeing the
titan. But the titan who was released just sits there. Go attack Hades! Four-
arms, grab him! Then, get Cronos to use his eye lightning on the god while he
is being held down. Its called teamwork.
The gods have obviously figured how cooperation works because when Hades gets
Four-arms by the chains another god shocks him. Then, using some magic they
steal the titan's blue soul or life-force, or mojo or whatever it is. It
doesn't matter what was stolen because the Titans totally suck.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Zeus creates a weapon called the Blade of
Olympus. He says "I ban you to the deepest pits of Tantalus", raises the
deifacted sword above his head and a holy tornado forms. We get another
overview of the battlefield and see that the Titans are everywhere but just
standing around like it's high holiday. Come on. Team up titans and focus on
one god at a time.... Ahh forget it, I don't care. You guys lost this war
yourselves. Don't blame the gods when you half-assed your way through a war.
The flashback ends and we are back to Kratos sitting in Atlas's hand. Kratos
tells the titan that he no longer works for the gods and is instead
interested in killing them. However, he needs his help to reach the sisters.
Atlas can't get him there but he can get him across the Great Chasm.
When you regain control, practice the Atlas quake on the supplied monsters.
With Kratos' loyalty confirmed, Atlas puts him back up on Earth's surface.
_____________________________________________
| The Great Chasm - Part II (x24) |
||13:21|| - Atlas stage ****
After escaping from holy-heck for a second time, Kratos is now back on top of
the world. He is almost across the great chasm but still has to make a few
more jumps. I have to agree with the name of this Chasm though. Yes, the
chasm is Great (which better than good) but it could never be considered
something like "The Rad Chasm." Unless, of course, the Greeks build a sweet
jump that would allow someone to launch over it with dirt bikes.
But, because neither ramps nor dirt bikes have been invented yet it will
remain the Great Chasm. Furthermore, Kratos is forced to get across by
jumping and not via dirt bike. First jump to the set of rock columns that are
clustered ahead. The third and tallest one has hand grips. Climb up as high
as you can on it and then backwards jump to the column behind it. From there,
fly back to the hand grip column, but this time landing on top of it. Jump
and float for a graceful landing at the palace of the fates.
_____________________________________________
| The Palace of the Fates (x24) |
The palace is glaringly white and there are two huge statues holding up the
building. Their hands are turned in a bit awkwardly but generally look
awesome.
Under the ramp and on the right side is a lever. Pull it and the ramp
disappears and two attackers appear. One of them blows the warning horn.
Attack the horn blowers first because each time they blow the horn a Cyclopes
appears. Fight off all of the attackers and the force field above the center
door disappears.
However, the grate will keep you locked out. To remove this grate, go to the
right side of the door and find the small lever (there is chest right next to
it). Grab this lever and then pull it around the front of the palace to start
rotating the entire building. It will take several rotations to line up the
opening, so you will must let go of one handle and run to the next one before
the building slips back into its regular position. When the gate is correctly
lined up, the building will lock into place and you can run inside.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Rotating Room (x25a) :
Once you enter, the whole room will start spinning. For good measure, it also
has flying creatures, floor spikes, and a grinding sound. Your goal is to
stop the rotating by pulling a large stone block that will jam the inner
ring. That block is in an alcove that is just right-of-center. You will have
to wait for the stone room and the grates to line up correctly. Just watching
the open grate as it rotates around the room (don't bother trying to get into
those other rooms because you will have a chance to reach them when the room
stops moving). When the open spot finally lines up with the stone block
alcove, run up to the block (it has a spiral design on it), grab it and then
pull it towards the center. The whole machine stops and you can now get the
items hidden in the other alcoves. Be sure to grab the crank handle that is
located in one of them.
...END ROTATING PUZZLE................................
Continue through the room and take the left staircase (the other way is
blocked.)
CUT SCENE:
The camera pans across the plaza and up to a huge haystack that stands erect
above an island across the sea. At least I think it is a hay stack. It could
be a giant monument to Cousin It.
When you regain control of Kratos, explore this plaza. All of the various
doors, cranks, and levers are not accessible to you yet. The only thing that
you can do now is to head up the ladder and into the caged tower.
Inside the cage is one of those slow-time statues and a broken crank. Touch
the crank and Kratos will insert the piece that you picked up in the rotating
room. Rotate the device until it stops and as soon as you let it go, press R1
+ L1 to freeze time. Jump from the tower and float around to your right and
head for the balcony that was once blocked by flame jets.
||SAVE: 13:54 || ******
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Lowering the Gate (x25b) :
From the save, turn and enter the curving hallway. Run past the steam jet and
go to the lever that is at the dead end. Pulling the lever will lower a
nearby gate. However, the gate will rapidly return to its locked position so
you will have to hurry to get over it. To do this, stand over the steam vent,
double jump, open your Icarus wings, let the steam lift you, and then float
over the gate.
This will take several tries. The biggest factor is the amount of time you
spend on the steam vent. If you float to long, the gate will close before you
can make it over. If you don't float over it long enough, you won't have
enough height to make it over the gate.
...END: Lowering the Gate.............................
_____________________________________________
| Auditorium of Lehkisis (x26) |
Pass through several rooms and you will reach the auditorium. In the center
is a book that Kratos cannot decipher. Go find help by proceeding to the
right and across the bridge. Behind a grate is a man tied up and surrounded
by candles. Pick him up then notice that he is the one keeping the gate open.
You will have to find another weight to replace him. This weight supplement
is located in that darkened, red colored room that you passed through before
reaching the Auditorium. Run back there and then destroy the scaffolding that
is holding up a huge block. Drag that block all the way back to the tied-up
man.
After picking him up (he is a translator who can help with Kratos's reading
deficiency) you must protect him from an entire army of translation haters.
Save all of your magic and titan's rage powerups because you will need them
for the Auditorium where the attackers get much more aggressive.
When they are disposed of, go to the book and Kratos will command the
translator to read the text. It is written as follows:
"Hear me sisters who control the threads
Another search is for only what the sisters may give
As proof that he is worthy, accept this sacrifice of my blood"
Then Kratos then helps the translator to "sacrifice his blood" by smashing
his head upon the text. And Jeeeeeezus I hope Kratos never has kids because
homework hour would be harsh.
CUT SCENE
The wings of the structure open and the Translator's incredibly viscous blood
pours all over the book and down into the channels under the pedestal. It
looks like someone has been watching The Crow. A transparent red woman
appears and she is wearing a blouse with a plunged neckline (one that was at
one time plunging but has since reached its destination).
The woman in red is one of the fates and she commends Kratos on his
sacrifice. She then says that this was just one test required to reach the
Fates.
|| SAVE: 14:19|| ********
Open the nearby door to get the key of the Ram. With it Kratos can unlock the
door back in the central plaza. Follow the unlocked path around and then open
the door with the big ram on it.
At the next turn, Kratos is blocked in on either side by two rapidly closing
gates. A legion of monsters is thrown in for good measure. I was thinking of
explaining how to beat this next part by posting a video of a bunch of frogs
in a blender but I despise animal cruelty. As an alternative, here is how to
get past this using words:
- Start with rage of the titans and use your L1 attacks
- When that is spent, kill the remainders with magic
- Use the L1 + X a lot.
_____________________________________________
| Garden of the Gods (x27) |
In this statue garden an all-star cast of Gods is arranged under an array of
arches. Using the statues as proxy, the gods try to convince Kratos that Gaia
is lying to him about the god/titan conflict. Athena goes on to explain that
the Titans can't be trusted and that Zeus isn't that bad. Really, a few
talking statues is the God's best attempt to convince Kratos to stop his coup
d'etat? They are the gods. The gods of elements. Can't they do something like
bend the ocean around and have a wall of water yell at him? Performing this
ventriloquism trick on these crappy statues is ancient equivalent of leaving
a voicemail. And just like voicemails, no one listens to them.
Ignore the statues and run over to the nearby wall and get Kratos to start
the wall-hug shuffle. Move around the ledge to get to the save. This is
probably the GOW team being artsy and deep with the camera angles but I have
no idea why we are watching him shuffle like this. Save and then proceed to
the next room by climbing down the chain.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Sacrifice the Sirens (x27a) :
To unlock the next door, Kratos must kill three sirens using the flame
torches on either side of the room. Why do keep torturing these sirens, this
makes it the second time we have had to sacrifice them to unlock a door. To
start the battle, go to the top of the room and try to open the door. The
sirens will instantly start dropping down. Try to attack each siren a few
times untill she falls. Pull the lever that activates the closest flames.
When she gets up, hit her a few more times to knock her into the flames.
Repeat this until you get the requisite number of sacrifices.
...END Sacrificing the Sirens.........................
Jump into the bloody water that is in the center of the next room. Swim
through the bodies and spikes and then up to the next chamber.
The room is icy and the center of it is surrounded with alternating Omegas
and symbols that represent (when lined up correctly) the phases of the moon.
Get you drag on because this is, everyone's favorite, a light and mirror
puzzle. I wish I could line up every single light puzzle that I will ever
play and get them over with in one sitting and never have to be bothered by
them again.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Moonlight and Mirror (x27b) :
- Jump down and pull the lever that is next to the bird statue. The flames
that shoot out of its mouth will unlock a door
- Pull out the object behind the door, it is a giant mirror
- Run up to any part of the wall that is not covered in ice and climb up it
(they are grip walls)
- From the ceiling, attack all 8 of the ice crystals to let in the light
- Jump down and pull the mirror pedestal over to the light beam that is right
in front of the door you entered to get to this room.
- When in place, the mirror will reflect the light down into the sunken area
- Use the three levers, on the right side of the upper deck, line up the
disks so that the dark shape that represents a "new moon" is at the point
where the light beam is
- When correctly done, the light will be reflected off the moon shape and hit
the statue, melting the ice that surrounds it
- Find the crank that is on the back of the bird and rotate it to one of the
iced covered doors.
- Run around the bird and pull the fire lever to melt the ice on the target
door.
- Melt the ice that surrounds each door.
- The final door out of here has the handle at the bottom of it.
...END Moonlight an Mirror Puzzle.....................
The next room is a cylindrical one that is below ground level. The flying
creatures here will make it impossible to progress so you will need to climb
the walls and to get to the ceiling. From the ceiling, head around to the two
nests and destroy them both. Drop down and kill any remaining bugs. Start
turning the crank to lower a grappling hook. When it is low enough, hook onto
it and let the lift take you up to the top level.
The next circular room locks you in with two dog beasts. The trick with them
is to always kill the pups first because if they are left alone they will
grow into a mature beast that can also reproduce pups. Also, focus all your
attacks on one of the mature beasts at a time so that he will be killed off
as fast as possible. When everything is dead in the room, run towards the
gated off end and look for the small ladder on the left. Climb up for a save
spot.
|| Save 15:23 || *******
_____________________________________________
| Auditorium of Atropos (x28) |
Go through the gate, down the halls and when you reach the next gate, a man
tells Kratos that he was destined to be here and he won't let him "reach the
sisters." Then he dives off the side of the room. The room he was in is a lot
like the Auditorium of Lehkisis. And just like last time, you will need
someone to translate the book to proceed. So saving this suicidal translators
life is key. It's kinda ironic that Kratos will be changing the fate of this
one guy so that he can to change his own fate.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Jumping Translator (x28a) :
Kratos must go a few seconds back in time to catch the translator before he
falls
- Backtrack through the circular hall and pick up the pause statue that is
hidden in one of the alcoves
- Drag it around until it is right next to the gate
- Open the Gate
- Pull the statue under it so that it prevents the gate from closing
- Go through the mercury-like door that is located on the left hand side of
the auditorium. This will send Kratos back in time
- Press L1 R1 and slow time
- Run up and catch the translator before he falls
...END Jumping Translator.............................
Kratos drags the man over to the book and makes him read it.
"Hear me noble sisters who forge our destiny's /
another seeks an audience to change their fate /
As proof that he is worthy / (Kratos says "die with honor" here)
I give my blood to illuminate the way"
CUT SCENE:
Second verse, same as the first as the translator's head is smashed, Cousin
It island opens some more, and then the blood fills the channels of the crow.
Our Lady of Perpetual Wardrobe Malfunction appears again and she says that if
Kratos can find the ashes of the phoenix and resurrects it, he can reach the
temple of the fates.
Go over to the locked door and Kratos will rip off the Warrior's Skull. Press
R1 again to open the door. The camera pans up and examines the many layers of
this hall. The ceiling is coated in chads which are coincidentally, falling.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Steam Jet to the Ceiling (x28b) :
In order to get up to the ceiling you will need to float up there using the
steam jet. First, use the rotating lever to open the steam aperture. Float up
to the second floor and pull the lever there to boost the steam output. Jump
back down and rotate the stick again to reopen the aperture. Now that the
steam pressure has been increased, float all the way to the ceiling.
...END Steam Jet......................................
Continue along the roof grips and destroy the fluted column (term for any
column that has long lines that run down the length of it
http://www.ushistory.org/carpentershall/games/carpenter/fluted.htm). Drop
down when you reach the edge of the ceiling. Turn the crank to lower Kratos
to the next floor and fly across the chasm to get back to the palace lobby.
Fight off the four thugs that attack. When defeated, run across to the
warrior's door. Using the newly acquired key, Kratos unlocks the door.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Chain Elevator with Skeletons (x28c) :
Inside, hit the save and then proceed to the elevator.
- Move Kratos over to the large chain that runs down the center of it and tap
"O". With his super-human grip strength, Kratos will pull the elevator down.
- The ceiling (complete with spikes, natch) descends too and quite fast.
- Keep "O" tapping and don't even stop until the skeletons are actually
attacking Kratos.
- Fight off the first wave of them and then get back to the chain.
- The fastest way to grab it again is to stand right in front of it and start
your tapping.
- The escape door is on the north side of the room and will take a bit to get
there and will need to be dead lifted open.
- Before you start lifting though, make sure all skeletons are preoccupied
with an attack. I used Cronos's Rage on the last few and then rapidly opened
the door without killing them.
...END Chain Elevator.................................
The next room is a long, lava filled hallway with an upper platform and a
rope running down the center of it. Jump up onto the rope and attack anyone
who comes near. When you get shot down by the archers on the upper platform,
jump towards them. Kratos will grab the ledge and you will need to shuffle
him to the right to reach a place where he can pull himself up. Kill
everything on this platform and when you need to get back down, jump and fly
of the ledge. In a design oversight, you can't hand grab your way back to the
bottom floor.
Walk over to the left side of the little platform to find a wall with hand
grips. Climb up it and then to the ceiling. When you reach the other side of
the room, drop and fight off all attackers.
This next area is a series of chambers that each have a large rotating spiked
turbine. Scattered among the turbines are steam jets. I don't know if I
totally buy the concept of this room, other than the concept of slowing me
down on my march towards the end of this game. Is this supposed to be some
sort of Geo-thermal turbine? And if so, why the spikes on the turbines? Maybe
those are scrubbers to reduce CO2 emissions. To get through this one, float
to the steam vent on the right. From there, float right and on to the next
rotating turbine. Find the next steam jet. When you land, proceed to the next
room.
_____________________________________________
| The Phoenix Chamber (x29) |
Pull the lever that is just ahead and jump to the platform that is on your
left. Then, just when I gave up questioning the relevance of the outlandish
traps in this game I am given a room that is tricked out with wall to wall,
rapid rise, floor spikes.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Spike Room :
PART I:
- Pull the lever to temporarily lower the spikes
- Run over to the center of the room to the body that is just hanging out at
the bar. When he is moved you will obtain the "Hail of Boreas."
- Run back to the doorway and wait for the spikes to shoot up again
PART II:
- Pull the spike lowering lever a second time and run to the left and break
the wall to reveal a time freeze statue
- Two attackers will jump down and you can dispense of them quickly if you
run back to the doorway and let the spikes take care of them
PART III:
- Drop the spikes a third time and run to the rotating lever that you got the
Boreas from
- Rotate it one and only one full rotation
- Press R1+L1 to stop time
- Run to the right and to the far end of the spike field, jump over the two
spike pits and then out to safety
...End Spike Room Puzzle..............................
The subsequent hallway is winding and leaking with lava. At the end is a long
room with a phoenix at the end of it. This phoenix sends out a periodic, room
clearing wave of fire that is so beautiful you may want to waste a few lives
just to see Kratos get burnt alive. Your mission is to open the gate at the
far end of the room and swing up to it to get out. However, the waves of
flames keep Kratos from reaching it unless you can get something to shield
him.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: The burning Phoenix Room (x29a) :
How to beat this room:
- On the left side of the entrance hallway is a large statue. Pull it out and
push it north through the room.
- As you work your way north you will be attacked so fight them back a little
but keep pushing the statue forward.
- Don't fight off the bats or the skeletons using your standard attacks.
Instead, use either Atlas's Earthquake or Cronos's Rage to hold them at bay
as you make progress.
- When you move the statue in front of the raised blocks, it will no longer
slide back. Consider these blocks checkpoints so you can catch your breath
and attack more enemies.
- An easy way to fight off the attackers is to park the statue in front of
one of the stone steps then lure the beasts all the way back to the entrance
hallway. The fire will be dispersed and you will have more room to dodge and
fight.
- When you get Kratos and the statue to the center of the room, pull the
lever to lower the step that is blocking your way.
- When you get the statue all the way up to the two touch pads, two more
skeleton guys will drop to attack you. Kill by luring them back to the
entrance of this room.
- If you ever need a refill on health/magic, run back to the hallway to find
two chests.
...END PHOENIX ROOM ..................................
When you get to the end of the room, grapple up to the balcony. Move the urn
that is up there to the side and step onto the central trigger. The elevator
descends into a lava-filled room.
Drag the Urn to the right and into the small indentation in the floor. Run
towards the lever that is in front of the phoenix head and pull it. This
lever sends in a crane to pick up the urn and drop it into the lava.
CUT SCENE:
The lava boils, even more than it normally does, and a huge phoenix emerges
from it. A geyser erupts sending the bird up to the plaza. That pot was full
of phoenix ashes and when Kratos cracked it into this lava skillet, the
Phoenix was "rising from the ashes."
Jump over to the save light and use it if you have to. Then, float off
towards the central ring of columns and onto the second ring of stairs. Run
up this spiral to the elevator that lifts Kratos back to the Palace's main
lobby.
|| 17:20 || ******
The phoenix is moaning as it is bathed in a geyser of lava. You can't free it
quite yet so go to the elevator that you came up in and look behind it for a
stone relief of an old man (a relief is a sculpture that is extends partially
into 3D space - like Lincoln's head on the Penny). Pacify the old man by
placing the Hail of Boreas in his mouth like a giant diamond pacifier.
Continue through the hall and past the chain to find a Gorgon Eye. Then,
climb the chain to get to the floor with the giant horn. Blow into it.
CUT SCENE:
The Ricola-esque echoes of the horn frees the Phoenix and in turn, do what
birds do best: destroy property value. I have a roost of pigeons in one of my
palm trees and they sh*t all over everything. But, instead of giant lava
turds, the phoenix causes his damage by knocking over stone statues and
pillars before roosting on a nearby burning pedestal.
Jump down from the horn and head straight to the two column bases. Climb onto
the shorter one and then jump over to the tall one on the left. Leap to the
nearby balcony and then open the door.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Premature Elevation (x29b) :
The room has one lever and one elevator. If you pull the lever the elevator
raises without you. That's fine because there are hand grips on that
elevator. Run up to it and use the grips to climb onto the ceiling. While
dangling, hack at the two sets of chains to reveal a red chest and then a
dragable stone column. Drop down and pull the lever to lower the elevator
again. Slide the stone column so that it is straddling the lower-left-hand-
side of the elevator and the room. Pull the lever and the column will jam the
elevator. Climb up and into the partially elevated elevator and then pull the
column back into the lift so that it is free to lift all the way up. Now that
Kratos, the column and the elevator are at the top floor, drag the column
under the bronze gate and jump on top of it. Jump and slash the chain that is
holding the gate up and it will eventually drop.
...END PREMATURE ELEVATION............................
Inside the next room, rotate the lever to erect the two columns that are back
out in the palace courtyard.
Proceed right to a crank and turn it until the gate blocking the door has
been moved. Proceed forward and all of a sudden it is shadow boxing between
Kratos and a silhouetted man. Please don't be a dark Kratos cliche, please
don't be a dark Kratos cliche...
The shadow figure says "I have come too far to fail." To best him, attack the
guy a few times, block, or jump over him. After enough hits, Kratos grabs the
figure and they go tumbling out the window.
CUT SCENE:
As he falls, Kratos jams his Blades of Chaos right through the attacker. This
would normally be a good thing except that the attacker is the kid that was
dispatched to defend Sparta. So that's innocent victim number two that Kratos
has Fragged (his first was his wife in GOW1). It's a good thing they don't
have guns yet because Kratos' aim is a bit, how do you say... generous.
Kratos then scolds the kid for abandoning his post. But if anyone should be
getting a lecture it should Kratos for his swing-first/questions later form
of martial arts. And to the kid's defense, he did go back to Sparta. But Zeus
went there too. And because Kratos was out trying to get his mojo back, Zeus
had free reign over the city-state. The god of lightning shot down buildings,
picked up towers and stomped on porticos. It actually looks like a lot of fun
to destroy an ancient city like that (hint, hint Mr. Barlog. A perfect
playable add in for GOW2: Game of the Year Edition). After Sparta was left in
smoldering ruins, the Spartan kid came here to the Island of Creation to meet
the fates and change the past for Sparta's benefit. But, the kid's quest was
cut short because of Kratos. He dies and Kratos yells out for Zeus.
Kratos starts a demi-god sized tantrum and a giant leviathan that I can only
describe as an unholy lovechild between Cthulhu and the Creature from the
Black Lagoon surfaces. He wraps his tentacles around the two columns.
While this is happening, the face buttons have been remapped as follows:
X=temper tantrum
[]=whine
O=bitch
/\=being a pussy.
Walk Kratos over to the monster and let the beast pick him up. I assume that
sea monsters have the same hallucinogenic skin that frogs do because Kratos
starts buggin' and passes out.
CUT SCENE:
When he opens his eyes, Kratos is standing in the middle of a wheat field or
on the back of an enormous dog. The colors are a bit muddy so I can't tell.
This dog/wheat field overlooks a burning city that I bet is Sparta. Up walks
Kratos's wife. <<Her musical theme is the Italian restaurant mandolin>>.
Kratos apologizes for accidentally slashing her to death but, it isn't even
his wife, it's Gaia talking through the wife.
Kratos totally pusses out and says "I can not defeat the gods." Gaia begs,
and then urges him to command the rest of the titans in a war to kill Zeus.
She warns that if he does give up, the gods will torture him for the rest of
his life and then when he dies, they will torture him in hell. <<Cue the
Kratos theme: bump-bump-bu-bu-bump>>. She then infuses him with the fires of
Sparta. You know if Kratos doesn't reclaim kill Zeus and reclaim his godly
powers he still has a lot of options available to him. For one, he would be a
natural choice for spokesman for Red Stripe Beer.
Kratos awakens in the Leviathan's grasp and that acid trip really restored
Kratos's desire to kill. Furthermore, the buttons are back to their rightful
attack positions.
......................................................
: BOSS: Sea Monster (x29d) :
PART I
- Attack the left set of tentacles until they inch up and reveal a touch
plate that opens the steam vent
- Considering Kratos is never one to leave a corpse to waste, grab the
Spartan's body and carry it over to the touch plate
- When the steam vent opens, run over to it and use Kratos's Icarus wings to
fly up to the monster's forehead
- Attack it with wild abandon
PART II
- After enough hits, the sea monster will jam its tentacle into the steam
vent.
- Run up to that tentacle and climb it
- Attack the large knob on that tentacle
- When the knob is destroyed, press circle to chop off the whole arm
PART III
- Repeat the corpse-on-trigger, steam vent float, and forehead attack
sequence.
- After enough hits he will jamb his right tentacle in the wall
- Run under the tentacle and jump up to grab it. Ceiling climb to the large
knob and attack it the same way you attacked the other one
PART IV:
- The beast eats Kratos's Spartan comrade and then swings its remaining
tentacles wildly
- Focus your attacks on the creature's left tentacle (on the right side of
the screen) and when the tentacles loose their grip, run over to the other
set of tentacles and attack them
- When it has lost both sides and is hanging on for dear echinoderm life,
pull the central lever and the monster deep throats the rapidly extending
bridge
...END SEA MONSTER....................................
Proceed across the bridge and up over the best's head. Run up to the Phoenix,
press the circle key and follow the on-screen cues. Kratos climbs aboard the
bird and I shutter to think what its flaming down feathers would do to
Kratos's bare thighs.
|| 18:22 || ******
_____________________________________________
| Temple of the Fates (x30) |
CUT SCENE:
The bird flies in and around the giant spire. When it reaches the top, Kratos
jumps off and lands into a large pool. This is the entrance to the Fate's
Temple and which is flooded with water and judging by the color, in desperate
need of a chlorine shock.
Swim over to the save and then jump to the statue head. From here, grapple up
to the platform above and to the green crystal. Destroy it and the lights
come on and all bell breaks loose.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Two Bells (x30a) :
On either side of the room is a bell. One has the face of Zeus and I want to
say that the other one is Cronos but my heart says that it is Gerald Ford.
The goal here is to ring both of these bells at the same time.
The first step is to go to the Gerald Ford bell and press R1+L1 to ring it
and then immediately press R1+L1 again to pause time. Quickly, grapple up to
the central pedestal. Press R1 to pull back the large hammer that will ring
the Zeus bell. The vibrations from both bells ringing cracks the statue's
face.
The face is cracked but you needs to do one more thing to get it fully
destroyed. Jump down into the water, swim over to the central pedestal and
look for a blue lever. Below that blue lever is a groove that is in the
circular hub. You need to alight the blue lever and that groove. To do this,
surface and rotate the blue lever so that it is positioned above the
underwater groove.
When those are aligned, dive to the very bottom of the pedestal and pull the
lever. This will raise the pedestal enough to interlock with the blue handle.
Now when you rotate the handle to rotate the entire hammer structure. It
works a lot like a clutch plate (see
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm)
Surface and when you rotate the blue lever it will spin the upper platform
too. Now, rotate this entire column so that the hammer is pointed right at
the face. Press R1 to pull back the hammer and then release it to smash right
through it.
__________________________________________________
| The Throne of Lahkesis (x31) |
CUT SCENE:
Kratos swings out to the platform and the fate that we saw in the two
Auditoriums is back and in the flesh. She floats down and I thought she was a
moth but is really just wearing a huge metal cape. In her hand is a crook. In
Greek mythology that stick would determine the length of a person's life
thread. (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moirae)
She looks at him and says "We've been expecting you." Get it? Because they
are the fates. Kratos says "out of my way." She then uses a lot of words to
say that no one can change their fates and that as the fates, they are the
most powerful creature in all of Greece. Kratos offers that he can control
his fate and she pretty much shoots him down right there by calling him on
the fact that Gaia has been lying to him all along. Kratos takes it the same
way he does most things, not well, and grabs her by the throat.
......................................................
: BOSS: Lahkesis (x31a) :
Part I
- Attack her as much as you can but be ready to roll away from her because
she attacks quickly
- When she shoots green fireballs, use the L1 gold fleece to block and fire
them back at her.
Part II
- Reflect the beam at her and you will volley the beam back and forth like
fighting Gannon in Zelda Ocarina of Time.
- When she fires a green electric beam at the floor, she is electrifying it
so jump up and grapple to the hooks that line the walls. Keep moving among
the hooks to avoid her additional attacks.
- When she finally gets an "O" over her head, follow the on-screen prompts to
destroy her.
...BOSS: LAHKESIS.....................................
CUT SCENE
Actually, I lied, you don't destroy her. She just calls in her sister Atropos
for some more fighting. Sometimes end bosses remind me of gratuitous encores
at concerts. Those moments you realize that the band really isn't that good
live and then when they fake pack-up and are off stage teasing the audience
to start chanting "encore" but you want to shout "No! Your guys are just
alright, that set was fine as is." Then you actually get mad when they come
back out. This boss is just like that. She does not need an encore.
But Lahkesis rises anyway and points her hook at Kratos and says "You do not
defy the fates Kratos. For we have woven the events of your life." Then a
black cloud circles the room and the other fate drags Kratos back to the
inlet where he battled Ares in God of War 1. There in the background you can
see Kratos and Ares battling it out and I just got Back to the Future II deja
vu. Atropos explains the rules: she is going to destroy this huge sword which
is bad news for Kratos because in GOW1 Kratos needs this sword to defeat
Ares. You need to stop Atropos from destroying this sword.
......................................................
: BOSS: Atropos (x31b) :
- Fight the skeletons that are on the sword until she approaches
- When she fires a green ball at you, quickly execute either an Atlas or a
Cronos magic attack to occupy the guys thus freeing yourself so that you can
push L1 and deflect the beam back at her.
- When she gets real close to the blade and casts a green beam on it, jump up
and start attacking her with your weapons.
- You can also use Typhon's Bane to shoot arrows at her.
- After attacking her enough, she gets real close to the blade and has a "O"
over her head. Grab her and follow the prompts.
...END ATROPOS........................................
CUT SCENE
You see the final scenes of GOW 1 (spoilers in the background if you have not
played it). GOW1 Kratos is about to get stabbed by Ares but because GOW2
Kratos saved the sword, GOW1 Kratos is able to grab it and used it to finish
off Ares. But who left their Malibu Atropos Doll lying on that sword? She
falls when Kratos grabs the sword and then she tries to fly back up and out
of this time period but is stuck there. It's not entirely clear how but
Kratos is able to get back to GOW2 time and back to the Temple of the Fates.
......................................................
: BOSS: Lahkesis and Atropos (x31c) :
PART I:
Kratos now has to fight both fates. Atropos will pop in through the mirror
and fire a few fireballs at you while Lahkesis will perform the same attacks
she used in the first fight.
- Attack Lahkesis using the same tactics used in Part I and Part II.
- When Atropos pops in, deflect her beams and keep attacking.
- After enough hits on the Lahkesis sister, Atropos will slump down into the
mirror stunned. Use L1 + R1 to slow time and attack the mirror bound sister
with everything you have. Magic, attacks, Titan Rage, everything. When you
hit her enough, the mirror cracks and she starts pounding on it. Keep
attacking the mirror to break it for good.
- Repeat all the steps in part IV to destroy the other mirror.
PART II:
- When there is one mirror left, Lahkesis will guard the central mirror and
launch her attacks from there.
- When she sends out 6 beams, hang back so that they are spread out by the
time they reach you.
- When she is not launching the 6 beams, run up and attack her at point blank
range but watch her carefully and get ready to roll out of the way when she
raises her staff.
- When she is low on power she will have a circle on her head. Watch out
because there are about 6 key press that you will have to follow and they are
spaced out so far that you think it is the last one and then another will
come.
- When she finally gets stuck behind the mirror, destroy it and both of the
fates will be dealt with.
...END Lahkesis and Atropos..........................
I don't think they are dead I just think the fates are trapped forever.
_____________________________________________
| The Inner Sanctum (x32) |
Continue through the now broken mirror and use the save. Circle around the
rotunda. On the left side of the rotunda is a relief of Cronos and Zeus
fighting it out and it says "The all consuming struggle between the titans
and the Olympians rages on."
The second Relief depicts a single figure standing and the caption is
"A lone soul surveys the wake of carnage that surrounds him."
To the right is the third and final relief which says
"Three Travelers Heading to an Unknown Destiny"
Despite what you may hear on the forums, these are not about Jesus. I know
they are cryptic but this is all just the design team trying to sprinkle a
little mystery onto your 20 hours spent button smashing and zombie killing.
If the middle one is Jesus, why would it be chronologically out of order with
the relief that seems to alludes to the three wise men? Plus in the middle
one, you can't see the Jesus mullet or the Jesus sandals.
And no, Kratos is not Jesus and by killing the polytheistic gods. And no he
is NOT making room for monotheism. If anything he is just clearing out the
Greek gods to make room for the Roman Gods who are the same except that they
have Latin names. Gods such as Jupiter, Mars, and Pluto.
|| 19:28 || ********
Go back around this room and stand in the doorway. Run straight ahead and
jump up to the grey wall. There are hand grips here. Scurry around to the
door on the other side of the rotunda. If you want the chests on the left and
right side, jump and fly over to them.
When you proceed through the door, a large window overlooks the third fate
sitting in what looks like a huge hot tub. She says that "it is through my
threads that all life is born. You must not tamper with your destiny Kratos.
You will destroy everything."
Show her that you don't mean to destroy everything by... by destroying the
wall that is just ahead.
Continue right and as you descend around the ramp you enter into one of the
hardest parts of the entire game. Several waves of beasts will attack. Here
are some tips for this marathon battle.
- Don't be afraid to use your titan power on this first group because when
you decapitate the larger beasts, they give you yellow orbs which refill your
titan meter.
- Also, don't worry about saving your magic. Use it because many of the
monsters in these fights give up blue orbs.
- Use the green walls to your advantage. If you roll behind one just as it is
rising, you can often divide the attacking monsters allowing you to focus
your attacks on fewer enemies.
- When you reach the femme fatal mix of Medusas and Sirens, use your fleece
frequently to freeze some and keep from bricking yourself.
When you reach the bottom level and find the big blue fate gate, attack her
left claws and she will relinquish her grip. Then press on the crank and it
will slide open. Then, attack the left side and press R1 on the wheel to
release the door bar. Watch for an animation bug: Kratos will turn the crank
to the left but the wheel will turn to the right. When the bar has been moved
to the far end of the door, press R1 in the center of it to open it wide.
|| 20 :16 ||
_____________________________________________
| Loom Chamber (x33) |
If you were thinking that GOW2 had broken the boobies-per-game record with
the battle between Atropos and Lahkesis, hold on because this last boss is
here to ensure that no other game will knock GOW2 off its fun-bag pedestal.
Trust me, it's a freakin tit carrousel.
When you enter, Gaia explains that this third fate is responsible for weaving
all of the threads in an individual's life and that if Kratos can find his
thread he can change his own destiny.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Floor 1 (x33a) :
Proceed across the bridge and past the blade pendulums. Take a left at her
camel toe and run up the small flight of stairs. Attack that little hand she
has there and it will fall down like she slept on it all night. Run past her
arm and turn the crank to raise the door above. Attack her arm again and jump
up to that newly opened door.
Open the chest and then jump to the left of this alcove to reach a wall that
is covered in threads. Climb up to the ceiling and climb up and around her
body mass. Fight off the hand when she tries to feel you up. Fresh. Then, </pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
knock off the two bodies that have been smashed like bugs onto the windshield
of fate (wow, that sounds so poetic). Now that the bodies are gone, jump down
and rotate the lever to raise the glass. Get back to the staircase and jump
over to this newly available chest. Climb up the rope.
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Floor 2 (x33b) :
At the top she says "This hall was never meant for mortal hands." As the
camera pans around, you are probably thinking what I am: polymastia isn't all
its cracked up to be. In fact, it is usually pretty gross. The goal on this
floor is to get the urn that is located just counter-clockwise of the rope
into the one and only functioning hanging crane (it has two hands instead of
the other ones which only have one hand). Unfortunately, to get the urn over
there, you will have take the long way around. While you are performing this
sequence of events, try to get a breast count. I will offer my guess at the
end of the steps, see how different ours are.
- Start at the rope you used to reach this floor and move counter clockwise
around her.
- Attack that first hand until it falls limp
- Continue counter clockwise past the urn and to the caged off lever. Pull it
to open a trap door. Her limp hand falls in. Pull the lever again to shut it
in there
- Go back to the urn carriage and drag it counter-clockwise around the
platform. Look at the base of this platform and notice the blue jewels. If
you cross one, the urn carriage won't slide past it if it is let go
- Stop when you get to the next hand and attack it until it goes limp.
- Climb up the nearby rope and jump to the platform. Pull the lever and Bam!
Jesus hand.
- Get back to the urn carriage and pull it counter-clockwise to the next
hand. Attack it to make it go limp and then drag the cart past it.
- Pull the cart all the way to the dangling hand crane.
- When the carriage has been locked in place under it, step on the trigger to
raise the urn. The two handed crane will grab it and now you have control of
that sharp blade.
- Run back and attack that hand you passed before and drag the cart over to
it.
- If it is still limp, step on the trigger. Or, if it is alive again, attack
it. Either way the result is a second palm piercing.
- Climb up the rope that is holding the blade and jump to the platform just
to the left. Pull the lever and Kratos will be lifted to the top floor.
By the way, I counted 7 breasts. Disagree?
When you reach the third floor, you finally reach her face. It looks like
that illustrator for the Gnomes book, Wil Huygen, tried to draw the titular
character from "Throw Mama From The Train." This final fate, Clotho, scolds
that "you will never control your fate Kratos."
......................................................
: PUZZLE: Floor 3 (x33c) :
- If you need health at anytime during this fight, pull one of the two levers
that are in front of her and cannibalize the bodies that descend.
- You can't kill her just by attacking her. Instead you will need to move the
crane that is parked on the right side of the platform to a more appropriate
place.
- Unfortunately, two poor souls are trapped in the gears of fate (poetic
again!) and this wont let you rotate it around.
- Clear them out of there by climbing up the grip wall that is just to the
right of the green doorway. Swing over to the gears and attack them.
- Now that the crane is movable, you have to find the right place to position
it. Drag it to the third green jewel (counted from the right side).
- When you have it positioned, deaden both of her arms and pull the lever
that is now right in front of her. The pendulum blades will be pulled up will
be right in front of her.
- Deaden her right arm again and run up to the blade and rotate it 90
degrees.
- Before you swing the pendulum, make sure her arms are limp. However, the
arms seem more resilient so you will need to knock out one, freeze time and
then knock out the other one.
- Run up to the pendulum and pull it back as far as it will go and then
follow the on-screen prompts.
- The blade goes right through her head.
Note: I didn't tell you we were playing on this floor, but my count was two
tittys balls.
Run through either doorway and up the elevator. Head through the hallway and
the pool to the save light. Pull the lever that is right in front of the cage
and the platform around big-mama-time will switch into loom mode. Go back
down to her and find your line so that Kratos can hack his fate.
|| 20:49 || *******
On the platform, each of the wheels represents somebody's life and their
fate. Run up to each and press R1. If the one you picked is not Kratos's
line, the mirror above will appear shattered. Try each one and when you find
it, start tapping O to see a recap of Kratos's life on the Jumbo-tron of fate
("of fate" is the easy way to sound deep). By methodically inching through
his life like this, Kratos becomes history's first blogger. As he shuffles
through the line I can only make out the sea monster image, everything else
looks like Kratos's life was spent drunk and blury. Don't worry about trying
to see it because the wheel will stop automatically when it reaches the
position in time. An hourglass will appear in the upper-right corner of the
screen too. Freeze time then head up the elevator, through that hall, and to
the screen. This was also the area where you just saved. When you get to the
mirror, jump into it like it is Kratos 64.
CUT SCENE
Now You may be thinking "why doesn't Kratos just rewind time to go back to
the moment before he killed his wife and in doing so, remove the need to kill
Zeus?" I don't have a logical answer for that. But, I do know that if we did
that, GOW1 probably wouldn't exist and GOW2 definitely wouldn't exist. So
just ignore this plot hole because without the GOWs we would have spent all
this time reading.
But, because Kratos just went back a few clicks on the fate line, we return
to the beginning of GOW2. We come to the moment when Zeus first plunged the
sword into Kratos. Seeing it now I didn't realize how much Zeus wass really
sawing the Blade of Olympus into Kratos's stomach. So much so that if you
Photoshopped out the blade, Zeus would be doing an old man's version of the
Cabbage Patch. Kratos 2 appears and knocks him away from the BoO and picks it
up (at this time it is still infused with Kratos's Mojo). Rather than being
taken aback by the sudden re-appearance of Kratos, Zeus is only mildly
surprised. He then attributing this phenomenon to the Sisters of Fate (the
way explains it so matter-of-factly it seems like this is an every-day
thing.)
Zeus leaps right for Kratos and they go flying up to a rainy mountaintop.
Zeus dives down below the mountain and says "Now, I will show you the true
power of being a god." He reemerges and is real big and his hands glow
yellow.
_____________________________________________
| The Summit of Sacrifice (x34) |
So Zeus finally has Kratos and is ready for a one on one battle to settle
this affair. But, Zeus calls in his harem of sirens to work the fight for
him. Only occasionally does Zeus perform a fist pound and even then it is a
half assed attack. The most important tip for this fight is to learn how to
avoid that earthquake attack. Pay attention to him in the background and
practice the timing of when to jump so that you are in the air when the
ground is shaking.
PART I:
- The way to attack Zeus is to get the sirens to scream. Use your big magics
like Atlas Quake or Cronos's Rage to affect all the sirens at one time. When
a siren dies, she gives up magic so don't worry about using it up too much.
- Attack the Sirens enough so that they get an "O." Then, give them the
creapy hug and have them scream.
- Zeus will be affected by this scream and will try to punch Kratos.
- Before zeus does punch, go to the farthest edge of the circle and jump as
he is rearing back. Doing this will avoid the shockwave.
- When his punch lands, his hand will rest there for a moment. Attack it.
- Watch for him to raise both arms up like "I don't know" and then oo a
little laugh. The moment you hear the laugh, double jump and then fly your
way back to the ground to avoid the earthquake.
- After enough hits of this, he will get that "O" over his hand and press it
to get to the next part.
PART II
- To make this easy, keep casting Cronos's rage or Atlas magic attacks and
strike him with the sword while he is occupied by the magic. I beat him right
away and got an attack chain of 250+.
Otherwise:
- Play defensively. Roll away from his attacks and then when he is done with
his combo, attack him
- Use your Area magic quite liberally here because this is the hardest phase
- Block his lightning Attack
PART III
Zeus picks Kratos up and rips the sword right from his hand.
- Play this fight like you would Mike Tyson's punch out. Meaning, let him
swing two or three times, dodge both attacks, and then when he is stunned,
attack him two or three times.
- When Zeus gets the "O" over his head, grab him. The on-screen prompt is
easy: just start tapping O.
Zeus is stabbed through the gut in a stomach for a stomach replay of the
story's beginning. Zeus is then thrown across the area and comes to rest
under an excellent example of post and lintel construction. Run over to the
shinning spot and pick up a column and hit him in the back of the head with
it. You know, this area would make a pretty good place for a death-metal
concert.
PART IV:
Padding, I call padding. You will have to repeat the previous two parts of
this battle.
- Attack him with the sword like in part II
- Again, use the magic/attack combo here to make it easier
- I ran out of magic and used my Rage of the Titans here, it helped
PART V:
- He will again steal the sword from you.
- Still fight like it is Mike Tyson's Punch out
- The on-screen prompts are again to tap O.
When he is thrown for a second time, run over and hit the shiny thing to drop
a whole lintel on his head. Zeus jumps down and then he comes back big. He
shocks the ground so get ready to tap on O.
Kratos turns his back on Zeus and wants to totally bury the hatchet (or blade
in this instance.) Zeus wants to too. Only he wants to bury it in Kratos's
Carotid Artery. Zeus holds the blade above his head and says "your torment is
just beginning." He is right because here comes one of the most painful
button pressing sequence in the whole game. Plus, if you fail the button push
sequence, you will have to watch the whole cut scene again.
Here are some tips to get you through this.
- There will be five button pushes
- Then there will be a tap O sequence towards the end
CUT SCENE:
After inflicting some wicked stigmata and engaging in general grappling,
Kratos gets the better of Zeus and starts really sawing away at his stomach.
Athena comes running up telling him to stop. She says that she does not want
to fight but will do what it takes to save Olympus. At which point Zeus says
that "you have just started a war that you can not possibly win." He claims
victory because the fates have already said that he will. Kratos counters
this claim by swinging the BoO around but runs Athena through. That's miss
number three Kratos. Is Kratos cross eyed or does he just have horrible depth
perception? As Athena lies dying we switch into Pre-reneded mode and she
tells him that she is not defending Zeus but she is defending Olympus (there
is no difference between the two.) In her final gasps she reveals that Zeus
is Kratos's father and Kratos seems shocked to realize this. How many more
times do we have to go through this Oedipal, "I am your dad," rigmarole? I
actually assume that every tyrannical overlord is the father of the
protagonist until I hear otherwise. Besides, in the first cut scene Zeus
calls him son. I posted the video over at
http://gameintestine.com/guides/god-of-war-2/god-of-war-2-battle-of-
rhodes.html
Kratos starts in with a dualogue about how he will destroy all the gods on
Mount Olypus but it soon turns into a monologue because Athena dies. Kratos
looks into the camera and all I can think is how I really should be using
Chap Stick more often.
Kratos then quantum leaps back in time to the period when the titans were
waring the gods. He finds Gaia and lists off the positives: he has killed two
gods, has the Blade of Olympus and the gods are on the run. He pulls her into
his time by using a lighting effect and she relays that effect to the other
titans.
Back on Mount Olympus, Zeus is rallying the other gods for the coming war. At
the same time, Zeus's voice actor is trying to channel Patrick Stewart. Zeus
says the gods will prevail and then the camera pans up to a crumbling statue
of Zeus. Mount Olympus really starts to crumble and all the Gods scramble to
the cliffside to see the Titans making an assault.
The camera zooms in on Gaia and Kratos is hiding in her bush, I mean holding
onto her bush, rather, holding a bush. Kratos commands the titans on and in
turn starts a Cultural Revolution. And I mean that in the most revolutionary,
communist way possible. The Titans really are just stand-ins for the
proletariat. They work hard in the factories doing things like hold up the
Earth (Atlas), grow plants (Gaia), and make wind (Typhoon). They are also
oppressed and exploited by the bourgeoisie class (Zeus and the rest of the
gods). The revolution is also carried out by the lower-class rather than from
within. By overtaking the gods, the Titans seem to be promising a change of
power and a new form of rule. The bulbous Titans even look like the figures
from Soviet era Social Realism painting. Way to go kids, you just started a
Bolshevik-style overthrow of the government.
How do I think this revolution will play out? Not good. Ignoring the fact
that coups from the military branch rarely place human-rights as their big
issues, it is being lead by Kratos. Can you imagine him trying to head a
junta where the best example of him compromising is summarized by his quote
"If all those on Olympus would deny me my vengeance, then all of Olympus will
die." Furthermore, I am not so sure he really cares about the Titans. I
assume he is using them for their muscle and will forget them once his regime
is in place.
Oh ya, the game ended, and the background says "The End Begins."
Copyright 2007 Zukowski
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