There are several sure-fire ways to check for heroic DNA in a video game character. An addiction to wearing tank tops (the more torn the better). Crew cuts so kempt you could grate cheese on their craniums. But the one thing sewn into the heart of every true hero’s genetic makeup is an unwavering talent for saving the girl. Above: Not a hero (we’re assuming the racoon’s a chick)Sure, it might be a bit sexist, ... » Read More

3 Jul 2009

If video game characters were Pokemon

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Ever wondered what it would be like to have video game characters in your Pokemon party? Why choose boring old Bulbasaur when you can choose a beautiful Kasumi? Or a level 50 Sackboy? We've given 21 game characters the Pokemon treatment, with four moves to choose from and some evolutionary states too. Who would you choose? ... » Read More

9 Mar 2009

The Top 7... Naked flesh we didn't want to see

PS2 Feature | God of War II

The human form really is a beautiful thing – provided you spend 6 hours daily in the gym and exist solely on Ryvita. If not, it’s something to be covered up, ashamed of and never discussed. Sadly, many developers have no such qualms with nude, fleshy parts. They see games as the perfect forum to roll out a bit of man boob action and unappealing, exposed ass flesh.Got a strong stomach? The following collection of bloated ... » Read More

24 Feb 2009

Gaming's most murdered characters

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Some characters are just doomed to die in games. It seems the Nazis were born to wear sharp uniforms and chow down on your bullets like a tasty bratwurst. Cops are always destined to get blown up by your rocket launcher a day before retirement. And the sole purpose of videogame zombies is to have Piñata-style heads that explode with the slightest contact – just replace the tasty treats with festering bits of frontal ... » Read More

30 Jan 2009

The 10 manliest men in videogame history

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Spoiler alert! The following video and article contain explicit discussion of critical plot points from several popular games. Watch and read at your own risk. ... » Read More

20 Jun 2008

If game characters were old

PS2 Feature | God of War II

What happened to Snake? With those layered and textured wisps of oh-so-touchable hair, that Rambo-ninja headband, and a perfectly landscaped maze of lovable facial scruff, MGS 2 Snake was downright dreamy. Several years and one blond douchebag later and Snake is back with crow’s feet and the beginnings of a Geraldo Rivera 'stache. If anything is suited for sneaking, it’s the varicose veins crawling up the skin stuffs stretched over his legs. ... » Read More

4 Jun 2008

The most memorable minigames ever

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Even two console generations ago we stopped batting our eyelids if games contained other, smaller games within them. It didn’t even seem odd if whole games were made up of dozens of little ones. Nowadays we use minigame mechanisms to open doors, enact fancy stealth kills, slaughter bosses or open chests. Minigames are everywhere, be it shoving boulders in Conan, coercing peasants in Oblivion or doing anything at all in Thrillville or ... » Read More

21 Mar 2008

59 levels to play before you die: G - L

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Legions of exasperated gamers whined that Kratos' escape from the bowels of Hell - complete with rotating columns of bladey cartilage, platforms of bone and two huge towers of spinning blades - was 'stupid', 'cheap' or 'toohardIwantmymummy!' but we loved it. ... » Read More

14 Mar 2008

Gaming's hidden messages

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Subliminal messages? Hidden Easter Eggs? Or are you just looking for things that aren't really there? While the film world has the topless woman in The Rescuers or advertising has the suggestive image in a cube of ice in a coke ad, games have been just as controversial too. Now, some of these are a bit creepy (and naughty), so be warned... ... » Read More

28 Dec 2007

A year in breasts

PS2 Feature | God of War II

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20 Jul 2007

All the Write Moves

PS2 Feature | God of War II

In 1983 you, like us, would have played a Commodore 64. It was also the year you could have picked up a copy of 2000AD in the UK, to read it for Skizz written by a young Alan Moore. Twenty-five years later, the worlds of comics and games have definitively separated in terms of experience - so why do we see so many of our favorite comic creator names appearing in the credits of certain games? Rebellion bought 2000AD and Judge Dredd Magazine, Top Cow is half-owned by Eidos and Rockstars marketers ... » Read More

13 Jun 2007

Top ten most breathtaking moments in God of War II

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Remember God of War II? It came out to glorious reviews and massive coverage, only to fade away like a fart in the wind. Shortly thereafter, the only GoW news was for the PSP and PS3 versions. Nuts to that; God of War II is here now and is begging to be played. No other game makes you feel consistently bad-ass by launching an assault on the gods. Read on to discover the brilliance. 1) Blowing up the Colossus' head Killing the Rhodes Colossus is an opening even more awe-inspiring than the Hydra ... » Read More

23 Mar 2007

God of War II: we ruin everything

PS2 Feature | God of War II

By now, you might have heard that several enterprising YouTubers have put up God of War II's ending for all the internet to see. Amateurs. If you're going to spoil a game, you should spoil it all the way - something we'll be doing over the course of this week, as we reveal God of War II's stunning, high-quality cutscenes one chapter at a time. You can access them all from this page, too; just click the tabs at left, which we'll be adding at a rate of one per ... » Read More

16 Mar 2007

A week of God of War II

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Not content with simply having been made a Greek deity at the end of his first adventure, psychotic bald murder machine Kratos is stomping back into stores this week in God of War II. And given how big and bloody the sequel is, a mere day or two of coverage seems to us like a puny way to mark its arrival. To celebrate our second chance to swing around a wicked pair of blades on chains and eviscerate hideous monsters in creative ways, GamesRadar is putting together an entire week of features ... » Read More

16 Mar 2007

God of War II week, day 5: the nudity

PS2 Feature | God of War II

We just wouldn't be GamesRadar if we didn't have something in our weeklong God of War II coverage for all the pervy lowest-common-denominator types out there. Luckily for us, it's not just Kratos that goes topless in this Grecian gorefest - its other characters aren't afraid to flash a little nipple, either. Not even during combat with a seething incarnation of rage who can break Doric columns in half with his bare hands. Unfortunately, while we had a really cool video cued up to show you, ... » Read More

15 Mar 2007

God of War II week, day 4: the bosses

PS2 Feature | God of War II

God of War II is tough, no question, but most of its battles - including those with bosses - can be won simply by mashing on the buttons and following the onscreen prompts. The game's toughest bosses, then, aren't necessarily the strongest, but the ones that actually force players to stop and think about how the giant monster in front of them relates to its environment, and how best to use that knowledge to kill it. You know, the ones that actually take strategy. Of course, some of you just ... » Read More

14 Mar 2007

God of War II week, day 3: goresplosion

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Are there any two words in the English language more beautiful than "arterial spray?" Kratos doesn't seem to think so. Over the course of God of War II, the Spartan murder machine continues his unending quest to raise the bar for videogame gore by killing everything he meets in brutal and horrific ways. Whether it's being quickly smashed to pieces against a concrete walkway or spectacularly strangled, gutted and bashed through a window at the same time, nobody who gets in Kratos' way gets off ... » Read More

13 Mar 2007

God of War II strategy guide

PS2 Feature | God of War II

1. The Basics: Weapons Athena's Blades Your primary weapon. These blades give you strength both up close and from a distance, and that's worth bearing in mind when fighting larger creatures. Square performs a quick horizontal attack, Triangle a hard vertical hit. Hold down triangle to flip your enemies skyward to continue your combos in midair. You can upgrade it up to a maximum level of five, and we strongly recommend you do that as soon as possible because it gives you a more powerful ... » Read More

12 Mar 2007

God of War II week, day 1: ancient history

PS2 Feature | God of War II

God of War II is about to arrive in stores, and youre probably champing at the bit to disembowel another army of Greek monsters by now. But before you delve into Kratos second neck-stomping adventure, we thought you might appreciate a quick refresher on what came before. (And well just put a big fat spoiler warning right here, so that you cant whine later about how we ruined the game for you.) Just ruining the ending wouldnt do the game justice, of course, so weve got much more than that in ... » Read More

16 Feb 2007

PS2 2K7

PS2 Feature | God of War II

Look around. You'd almost think companies were never going to release a PS2 game ever again. We're constantly being bombarded with images of the latest and greatest upcoming titles for the PS3, 360 and the Wii. One thing that's easy to forget in all the next-gen hype, though, is that there are over 100 million PS2s out there in the world. With those kinds of numbers, publishers would be crazy to quit cold turkey. As a matter of fact, there are still lots of PS2 titles coming - they're just not ... » Read More