God of War 2

Fix one, break one. Worth: $10
based on retail game, Playstation 2

First, the bad: the developers managed to avoid repeating GoW1's ridiculously non-fun platformer sequences, but they replaced it with an equally non-fun button-puzzle system. For any major action (like ripping someone's eye out) the player must press a randomized four-button sequence while Kratos gets to do the fun part: ripping someone's eye out. If this were the same button sequence every time I would have loved it. It would have just been a combo for "rip eye out". Because it's different every time, I'm torn from the game experience and forced to concentrate on the buttons on my controller. I press the buttons and Kratos does the ripping. Who's idea was this? How did this get off the whiteboard without being kiboshed as the counter-immersive train-wreck that it is? Why don't I get to do the ripping? I get to do everything else (slashing, jumping, running) because the controls for this are always the same. If it weren't for the good things about this game, I'd give it a Zero.

Speaking of the good things: the story, art direction, general gameplay, and music are all among the best I've ever played. The first fight is beyond epic. I was totally cranked (until the fakachta button-puzzles started) to feel like I was part of an expansive, mythology-changing story. The platformer sequences were much better, much more in line with my expectations from an action game (this isn't Tomb Raider, people).

As with all story-driven action games, there's no point in playing it twice. I can barely recommend this game, but it is worth it for the story and the cathartic gore-fests. Rent it or buy it cheap, grab a walkthrough, fly through it, then move on to a better game.

UPDATE: Sep 13, 2007
I've talked to some friends and game store guys about this game. When I go off about the button-puzzles they just give me blank stares like, "Gee, I thought those were cool." I still think they totally bit, but I may be the only one. If you've played this game, let me know what I'm missing here. They just felt so artificial, like "Look, you're playing a video game" instead of "Look, you're ripping someone's eye out!"