Reviewed by Darren Rackham GREEK mythology and the on-going battle of the gods has not really featured in many console games and could have been thought of as a tricky one to produce.

Sony, however, have themselves produced the ultimate console game based exactly on this theme. It is fantastic beyond the imagination and for the amount of time we PS2 owners have waited to find out what our machines can actually do, the wait is up.

Graphically, it is easily the best-looking game I have seen on my machine and it plays like an absolute dream. Forget any of the Onimusha or Devil May Crys which may have raised your adrenalin in the past, God of War sets a new standard in the genre. And I mean it.

You play as Kratos, a warrior employed by Zeus the god of war to help him in his mission to eliminate, pillage and take over the world. Zeus saves your life and you owe him yours, so the deal is struck that you will be his loyal servant as a near immortal.

However, inadvertantly, you end up killing your family in a massacre organised by Zeus. Kratos gets a bit upset by this, understandably vowing to take vengeance on his former leader.

This is where the game begins and you'll start your onslaught against the legions of evil armed with the blades of chaos - weapons bestowed upon you by Zeus. These are huge fire-spitting swords on chains welded into your arms.

You'll collect lots of souls along the way which you can use to enhance your powers. You'll also get Medusa's head and inherit the ability to turn your enemy into stone. You can then smash them to pieces with your blades. Be aware, though, you are also at risk of being turned to stone yourself.

The game is littered with all the characters from Greek mythology and you'll get to fight Hydra early on in a raging storm on the sea, the Minotaur will try to beat you skull in with an axe and Cerberus the three-headed dog will bar your way into Hell, otherwise known as the kingdom of Hades.

It truly is a fantastical adventure where you will fight your way from Athens to hell, to the deserts of despair to destroy the sirens and into Pandora's Castle.

This gigantic citadel is being carried across the desert on the back of an equally large condemned warrior, charged with the responsibility of carrying it around for eternity. It's here you'll have to battle harder than ever to find Pandora's Box - a mythical power-carrying trunk which is the only known weapon which could be used to destroy Zeus.

Although the game has a slight linear feel about it at times, you have the freedom to roam as you like and return to all the areas already visited in case you missed something.

The battle sequences are breath-taking with special attacks for each enemy adding spice to the mix. Certain moves on the directional stick will help you pull Medusa's head off, while a combination of button pushes will see you jump on the back of ogres before ramming your swords into their heads.

The sound is great with the clash of weapons pulling you into the battle arena like never before and the roar of some of the larger enemies is genuinely terrifying. The music is dramatic throughout and the visual effects phenomenal.

This really is the class one product the PS2 has been waiting for and it has taken a long time. This is the game, along with San Andreas, which belongs in everyone's collection and will be played to death (literally!) by everyone who owns it. An absolute must.

Overall: 5/5