God of War II

The obvious question for fans is, where does Kratos go from here, now that he's a god? He goes where every other powered-up videogame character does at the start of a new adventure: square one. As God of War II opens, you'll get to play as godly Kratos for a little while, but don't get used to it. Before long, something terrible happens that leaves him stripped of his powers and technically dead, and his only chance for salvation is to visit the Fates and convince them to change his destiny.

The Sisters aren't easy to get an audience with, either, so Kratos will have to contend with an army of creatures that range from stunted, Cyclops-riding satyrs to mammoth Titans so huge that entire levels are built around their bodies.

Because a powered-down ex-god isn't quite going to cut it against odds like that, the game grants Kratos new, upgradeable powers and weapons almost constantly. Some of these - like the new hammer and spear Kratos will get to lug around - are unremarkable, while others - like the artifacts that enable him to slow time, toss back projectiles or even fly - are a lot of fun.

Then there are the new spells Kratos will earn, which enable him to do stuff like chain together bursts of foe-stunning lightning, or stomp the ground to start an earthquake - complete with a storm of red-hot boulders, once it's upgraded. You'll be able to easily access all these powers on the fly, which is great, because you'll need to whip them out frequently, whether it's to stun a boss or just slow down a giant rock-crusher so that you can run through it.