I wonder if my editor would accept this as my entire review: "God of War is the best game on PS2, go buy it now." Probably not. So, for those of you that want specifics, read on and I will take through the experience of killing a god.

The story begins as Ares, the God of War, begins to destroy his sister's city, Athens. Lord Zeus, the King of Gods, has deemed that there shall be no open war on the steps of Mount Olympus, so Athena is forced to turn to Kratos, who was the General of Ares' armies, and whom you will control. As the general of the God of War's armies, Kratos was a brutal, unforgiving leader and conqueror. He committed such foul acts that, eventually, he turned his back on Ares and asked for Athena's patronage so that the gods may forgive him. After ten years of service, Athena offered him a path to forgiveness, to murder Ares, the God of War. So the story begins, and if it hasn't peaked your interest yet, play the game. It will.

In the last few months, there has been a visual revolution with the PS2. It's as if all of sudden the people at Sony said, "Hey, guys, our games don't have to look like crap." The one thing that has always made me play my Xbox over my PS2 is the fact the PS2's visuals haven't been any better than that of the Dreamcast. I am happy to say that God of War follows Sony's enlightened trend and it's absolutely stunning. Alas, they are stunning PS2 graphics, if you expect them to look as good as the Gamecube's Resident Evil 4 or a myriad of Xbox games, Sony's machines just can't do it. Character design and environments are among the PS2's best. Combat against several foes may see a little frame rate drop, but nothing serious.

God of War's heart and soul are its amazing combat and clever platforming. Combat is easy to get into and you will be destroying ogres, centaurs, and skeletons with a grace and power that most other games just can't compete with. But I do have one small qualm, if you aren't a fast button-masher, be prepared to get aggravated because there are times when pumping the X button is required. For most people, it isn't a problem but, for me, it was a regular pain in the ass. I beg you Sony, do something different in future titles; my digits will never be the same.

The platforming elements in God of War are varied and exciting, and with the games length being around ten hours you will never find it repetitive or annoying (as I did with Prince of Persia). There is also a strong element of puzzle solving that is difficult but not impossible and it really adds to an already rich and innovative game. This game just feels right. There are seamless transitions through all of the content, and although you may find yourself flustered at times, it only makes it worse that it is your fault when you overlook obvious solutions. While combat is fun and smooth, try to work on combos early because you will be rewarded for more brutal and lengthy attacks. During game play you will be aided in your task by the gods themselves who offer powers and weapons that will aid you in defeating your foes. This where the long combos come in handy, because you are rewarded with red orbs that you can use to power up your magic and weapon attacks.

The creatures you will face are taken directly from Greek mythology, but they are given a God of War makeover that makes them unique to the game. The bosses you face are few and far between but each battle is a rewarding experience.

There are many special features in God of War and they are all really interesting. It seems that this is just another time when the people at Sony took their time and did the game right. Probably the best special feature is the "Challenge of the Gods," where you are placed in a room and must defeat progressively harder foes. It is both challenging and fun but I didn't make it through. I was many a creatures' dinner in that terrible, terrible room. After beating the game you will be given the opportunity to play through the games 'God Mode', which also for me was just not happening. If you beat 'God Mode', I bow to you, King of Videogamedom. The fact that I did try to beat both modes really should say something to you though. It really takes a lot for me to want to play through a game twice and this game just drew me right back in.

It really is hard to say a lot about this game. It just doesn't leave anything to be desired. If you don't play God of War you are truly missing out. There just aren't any other experiences like it. This game has my early vote for "Game of the Year" (for all systems), but who knows what might happen with launch of the new Xbox 360.