For the uninitiated, the story follows the incredibly charismatic anti-hero Kratos, a fallen Spartan God type hell-bent on revenge by the most visceral, blood splattered means possible. God Of War 2 charts his downfall as he is destroyed by the similarly revenge-driven Zeus, and finds himself demoted to the status of mere mortal. The gameplay tracks his quest to regain his godly powers, and exact glorious ultraviolent death on his enemies, including several recognisable beasts and characters from the rich and evocative tales of Ancient Greek mythology. To sum it all up though, imagine actually being part of a Ray Harryhausen flick, only with gore and evisceration levels that makes the likes of Gladiator look like In the Night Garden.

SCEA have taken all of the best elements from the first game, amplified them up to 11, and removed some of the sections that were criticised, such as marathon wall climbs, frustrating platform sections, and the infamously annoying sections in Hades. There have also been some new gameplay additions in the form of awesome flying sections atop the mighty Pegasus, new weaponry and magic, and a winning selection of new fatality moves to dismember your foes. And there are few games in existence that do “good bits” like God Of War. From the very start you are presented with a synapse-shattering boss battle against a huge Colossus that takes place in and around a war-torn city, and ultimately, inside the massive, magically powered war machine. As opening scenes go, it is the equivalent of an adrenaline shot to the chest, an assault on your senses that grabs you and won’t let go. Trust us when we say that once you have experienced this battle, you will not want to put the game down, unless you are clinically dead or insane.

And so it continues. The Pegasus sections, whilst on-rails and fairly limited in what you can actually do, are thrilling, as you ride the mythical beast into the stunning, cloud-lined skies, stopping occasionally to rip the wings off a Griffon or viciously assault something in some gravity-defying way. These sections may not be everyone's cup of tea but in truth they break up the on-foot shenanigans very nicely and fit perfectly with the rest of the game. There are other incredibly well thought-out bosses to deal with – from the creepy Sirens, a rabid take on Cerberus and a scare-tastic Cylops – the gang is all here. And each setpiece contains more thrills than most other pretenders can pack into a whole game.

The game is blessed with perhaps the finest graphics to have seen the light of day on Sony’s sophomore PlayStation, and despite a wee bit of screen tear and framerate worries, there can be no complaints in this department. Sure, the camera problems that ever-so-slightly dogged the first game are still present, but show us anyone for whom this is a deal breaker and we will show them the cold steel of our bestest disembowelment sword. If the cutscenes using the game engine look ace, and those that are rendered in FMV are a glorious epiphany – with some of them demonstrating some shocking, vivid goriness. Sonically you know what to expect – lots of clinking blades, enigmatic female voiceovers, throat-shredding rage from our boy Kratos, and booming Jason & The Argonauts bombast. Aesthetically, the game is a triumph.

Kratos is perhaps the most likeable violent psychopath in game history, a brooding, agile tangle of muscle, sinew and testosterone, he oozes charm and really makes you want to play on and see what adventures will befall him next. Controlling him is fluid and intuitive. Weapons-wise his trusty twin blades are back, and can be wielded using simple button presses to create some very impressive combos. There are numerous sub-weapons available too, some new – like a bow and arrow that employs a targeting system using the shoulder buttons – and all fit in well with the gameplay and can be switched in real time. The QTE scenes return from the first game; on-screen instructions will tell you to press a specific button to initiate an action. The better examples of these come during boss battles, or when you find that a particularly hard to beat enemy suddenly has a Circle icon floating above their head. This generally means that you can kill them in a brutal and outlandish fashion, and never before has calculated extreme violence been so satisfying. The Circle button is also used during standard combat to grab enemies, and this often results in some equally champion finishing manoeuvres, our favourite being when the wings are nonchalantly plucked from the annoying flying bat things as they buzz around your head. Magic is back and better than ever, with new elemental-based attacks, and the Rage meter allows you to set our hero ablaze and run amok amongst enemies in an extremely entertaining manner.

Red orbs are, as any roaming action games fan will tell you, the last gaming generation’s equivalent to the Little Black Dress. Generally comprised of the mortal souls of stricken enemies, they are collected by Kratos and used to level up his weapons and magic. Unoriginal they may be, it is still a thrill to reach the requisite number and earn some killer new abilities. Health and magic bars can be lengthened by collecting the feathers and Gorgon eyes that make a repeat appearance from our last adventure.

As well as dishing out the pain, Kratos is able to traverse his environments with distinction and moving him around is a pleasure. There are less of the tricky platform sections that marred the predecessor, and even the bits that do involve climbing are fun and broken up by being able to kill lots of people.

It isn’t all about the murdering and the monsters, mind. God Of War served up some head-scratching puzzle elements, and the sequel does the same, only better, adding some crafty new bits and bobs to get you thinking amidst the battle madness. Once you have found a certain artefact you can slow time in certain areas, for example. At no point do you feel cheated or the urge to shatter your controller; the puzzle sections are well-crafted, logical and fair. Plus they usually result in something cool.

There isn’t much else to say about this stupendous game. It is among the very best games to have graced the console, indeed it is among the best of this or any other generation. That it isn’t that much different conceptually to its prequel doesn’t matter; it has simply taken the formula and tweaked it to near perfection. You simply could not imagine the hardware taking Kratos any further, however without wishing to spoil it for anyone, the game's ending is nailed-on for a sequel. It boggles the mind thinking about what Cory Barlog and his team may achieve with the power available to them now. A classic.