God of War Walkthrough Written by Jarrod Leeth E-mail: dugan62us@yahoo.com The Aegean Sea -------------------------------------------------------------------- As soon as you begin a new game and select the difficulty level, a cutscene begins and you are introduced to Kratos, the character you will be controlling throughout the game. Once you gain control of Kratos, you will be on the bow of a ship. You must fight a large group of enemies (Legionnaires). Triangle is Heavy Attack, Square is your Normal Attack, X is Jump, and Circle allows you to grab enemies. If you press Triangle while holding an enemy, you can rip him in half. These opponents aren't tough, so use whatever attacks you wish and try to rack up big combos. Once all the enemies are gone, go to the metal grate and press R2 repeatedly to open it. Jump down. Hold R2 to open the nearby chest for Green Essence, which restores health, and then smash all of the barrels. Head down the hall on the right and break through the obstruction, and continue down the hall, destroying the beds on your left as you proceed. Eventually, you will encounter the Hydra Spawn. Boss: Hydra Spawn Difficulty: 1/5 All you really have to do is stand in the hallway you just emerged from until the creature uses it Double Bite attack, in which it will lunge forward twice, and then return to its original position. Quickly roll forward (using the Left Analog Stick) and use the Square Button to get in a few hits. Now roll back to the hallway and wait for it to lunge again. Keep this up until you see a button appear above its head. Press Circle, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle as they appear to slam the Hydra Spawn's head against the walls, thus defeating it. If you mess up, its health will regenerate, and you will have to wear it down again. After the battle, head forward and jump onto the beams. Tread carefully across them to the other side. Break the barrels here, and then exit left through the hole. The prisoner here doesn't want you to rescue him, so just ignore him and head up the stairs to find another chest. Now continue on to reach another obstruction. Smash through it and head out onto the deck. Here, you will find flying enemies and a handful of humans. The humans will drop green essence, and you aren't penalized for killing them, so feel free to do so. There are no special tactics needed for the flying enemies. Kratos doesn't need to jump in the air in order to hit them, so don't worry. Once they are all gone, another Hydra Spawn appears. Boss: Hydra Spawn Difficulty: 2/5 A little tougher, since you can't stand somewhere and completely avoid its attacks. No button combinations will appear here, either. This Spawn also has more attacks than the previous one. First of all, it will slam its head into the ground. There is a pattern to this: left, right, center. The first slam may hit you, but the other two can be avoided easily by simply staying on the creature's left side until the attack is finished. Secondly, it will grab Kratos and try to swallow him. Mash the Circle button when prompted and Kratos will slash his way out of the creature's mouth, leaving it stunned and vulnerable to at least a couple good combos. It will also use a swipe attack that can be avoided by pressing X twice to double jump (straight up rather than to the left or right). Lastly, if Kratos gets too far away, it will use a wind technique that pulls him towards it. Once it's defeated, open the two doors on the right, and open both chests. Now drop through the hole into the water. Swim along the path here until you reach a rope wall that you can climb. Take out the Legionnaires, and then cross the large beam until you reach a cross. Be sure to walk carefully, because if you fall off of these beams, then you die automatically. At the cross, head right to find a chest, and the head back to the cross and go left to reach the next ship. Walk forward and watch the cutscene. Open the chest for health if you need it, and then step into the glowing light and press R2 to save your game. Now drop down to the lower section of the ship. Use the crates here to avoid the arrows. You can block them by pressing L1. You can also kill the people crouching behind the crates for health if you need it. On the right side, you will see a small box. You need to push that to the other side. The arrows will most likely destroy it if you push it normally (by using R2), so it's better to use the Charge Kick (press R2 to grab the box, and then press and hold X then release it after a few seconds). Charge Kick to the right until it hits the side of the ship, and then Kick it forward towards the next crate. Position it between this crate and the next one on the left, and then hide behind either of the crates to draw the archers' fire to you. After they shoot one volley of arrows, they will pause for a few seconds, so use that brief moment to Kick the box to the next crate, and keep this up until the box is positioned between two of the pillars the archers are standing on. Use a double jump to grab onto the ropes, climb up, and then take out the archers. The chest has extra health, if you need it. Head down the hall and when you get back outside, you will hear a woman screaming on the other side of a locked door. Ignore her wailing and climb the ladder, and then start climbing the ropes. On your way up, you will be attacked by Legionnaires. You can toss them off with Circle or attack them normally with Square. You can also just press X to jump up the ropes and climb them faster. When you reach the top, head across the left beam to find a chest, and then head back to the center and grab the rope to slide down to the next area. Now bust open the three barricades. On the left is a chest with red essence, on the right is a chest with a GORGON EYE, five of which will increase your health. In the middle is a new passage. Head down it to trigger a cutscene. You now have POSEIDON'S RAGE. A large group of Legionnaires will appear. Take them out and head through the door. Use the save point on the left. Go right and open the chests to replenish health and magic, and then climb the ropes. Boss: Hydra Spawn x2 Difficulty: 1/5 You tackle these things individually. Stand in the bottom left or bottom right corner of the screen, near the stacked crates, and wait for the Spawn to attack. Once it does, move in, perform a combo, and then roll back into the corner. You might take a few hits from quick, random bites before you can roll away, but they don't do enough damage to make much of a difference. Once you have depleted the health of a Spawn, hop up the crates, and jump onto the large anchor device. It will fall on the Spawn and pin it to the floor. Once you have done this to both Spawns, you win the battle. Climb the ropes to the top and face the Hydra. Boss: Hydra Difficulty: 1/5 This large creature is even easier than the Spawns you fought earlier. It has two attacks. It will rear its head back and bite the platform you are standing on, and it will also roar, which will blow you off the platform and back onto the ropes, where you should remain until it has finished roaring. Then you can climb back up. To defeat it, stand in front of it to trigger its bite attack, then run back to where you were standing when you got off the ropes, and after it has sunk its teeth into the platform, run up to it and start hitting it with combos. After you have whittled off a portion of its health, the Circle Button icon will appear. Mash Circle to bash the Hydra's head into the pole in the center of the platform. Keep doing this until you break the pole, and then damage the Hydra some more until the icon appears again. Press Circle and hit it repeatedly to impale the Hydra on the broken pole, killing it. Head into its mouth and watch the scene. You get the CAPTAIN"S KEY. Head back out and climb up the crates on the right. There are two chests here. One of them contains another GORGON EYE. Slide down the rope and use the save point again. Now drop to the lower level in front of you and head back to the Captain's Quarters. The enemies that appear here might be infinite (I am not sure), but it is better just to avoid them altogether. Once you unlock the door to the Captain's Quarters, follow the path to the end to trigger a cutscene with ample amounts of nudity and gore. You are done with this level. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Athens Dock/Outside Area ----------------------------------------------------------------------- You begin in a bedroom. You can actually have sex with the women lying nearby by jumping onto the bed, approaching the women, and pressing Circle when it appears. Press the buttons that appear after that to optimize your experience, and earn some red essence. Once you are finished, leave the room head south until you reach a save point. Destroy the bags along the wall for red essence. Continue forward to find a ladder and two chests that will replenish your health and magic. Now climb the ladder. Outside, head south and cross the plank on the right. Kill the Demon Legionnaires here. Be sure to use L1 to block their attacks, or else they can reduce your health pretty quickly. Use magic if you are desperate. If the Circle Button appears over one of the Demon enemies, press it to grab them, and then do what you wish with either Square or Triangle. Once all enemies are dead, continue forward until you see an elevator. Before getting on, head through the crack on the right. Swim up to the ledge and jump up onto it. Head through the door and down the hallway, killing the enemies that appear. Open the chest you find for a PHOENIX FEATHER. Six of them will increase your magic meter. Head out and open the chest here for health. Climb over the crates and head to the elevator. Pull the lever with R2 to go up. Follow this path until you trigger a scene. Now you will face 3 Mini-Taurs. They aren't tough. Block or roll away to avoid damage, and hit them right after they use an attack. When the Circle button appears, press it to knock them down, and then press it rapidly until Kratos plunges his blades into the Mini-Taurs' throat. Killing them this way will net you some health. Once all of them are dead, keep following the path to find another elevator. Once you have ascended, you will have to face some mace-wielding giants. These things are slow, and will usually just throw their maces at you. You can double jump to avoid this, or roll backwards, or to the left and right. Use combos on them until the Circle button appears. Press it, and then press the other buttons that appear (this is random). When you do this correctly, Kratos jumps on the giants' heads and puts his blades right into their eyes sockets. Once you have defeated all of the giants, head to the back-right corner and open the chest for red essence. Head through the door that opened and follow the corridor until you reach a room with metal crates. Break the two wooden crates that you see. W hen you break the wooden crate in the upper-left corner, a doorway is revealed. Find the single metal crate in the lower-left, and use it to jump to the two stacked crates to the north (and a little to the right). Head to the right to find a ladder and chest with red essence. Climb the ladder and shimmy along the ledge to the next stack of crates. Drop down and then jump to grab the ropes on the next stack of crates. Climb onto this stack, and then jump to the stack left of the crates that are below the doorway. Now jump to the next stack on the left to find another chest with red essence. Now from here, you will a hole in the wall with two chests. You can double jump to it. Kratos will grab the edge. The chest on the left replenishes magic, the right chest has a third GORGON EYE. Now get back to the doorway you uncovered and head into the next room. You can break some things here for red essence. Approach the Power-Up to trigger a scene, and the appearance of Medusa. Boss: Medusa Difficulty: 2/5 Maybe she doesn't really count as a boss, but I will classify her as one anyway. She has two attacks. One is the Stone Gaze. Green light will shoot out of her eyes, and it can freeze you, but it must take awhile to work, because I stood in the light for several seconds and nothing happened. You can avoid this easily by rolling around the room. Next are her tail swipes. You can block these. If you haven't upgraded anything yet, I suggest you do so now. It isn't essential, but you might find things to be a little easier if you use your red essence to upgrade your weapon. Keep hitting Medusa until the Circle Button appears. Press it and then rotate the Left Analog Stick in the direction indicated by the arrow icon that appears. Once you have done it correctly, Kratos decapitates Medusa. You receive the MEDUSA GAZE. You must now use it to defeat the enemies that appear. Press L2 to aim Medusa's head, and then hold down Square until the enemies are turned to stone. Then, to shatter them as quickly as possible, use a Triangle attack. Once they are all dead, you can continue. Use the chest in this room to replenish magic if necessary. Head down the hallway and climb the ladder. You can avoid the enemies if you want to. Pull the lever you see here. In the next room, save your game. Nearby is a chest that replenishes health. Use the arrow device by getting behind it, pressing R2, and then pulling back on the Left Analog Stick. It will destroy the large door. Head down the hallway and take the first left. Drop down the hole with the ladder and take out the enemies. Open the chest for a GORGON EYE. The gate here can be raised, but it leads to an area you were in earlier, so ignore it and head back up the ladder. Go back into the room with the arrow device. Pull the lever again so that the device faces west. Use it to break down the wall and open the chest for a PHOENIX FEATHER. Now go back into the hallway past the wooden door and climb the ladder on the right. When you get outside, kill the enemies before climbing the small ladder on the left. It will lead you onto the wall. Climb up. When you reach the end of this wall, the game will tell you how to jump to the next wall. Keep jumping right from wall to wall until you reach the final wall, and then you can start heading down. The enemies that appear while you are climbing can be very annoying. I suggest tossing them of with the Circle Button, or, if there are multiple enemies, you can use your blades to hit more than one of them at a time. Keep pressing Square, and the enemies will eventually fall off. They may not die, however. Once you are on the last wall, climb down until you reach the ledge. Take out the enemy here, but be careful, because you might end up falling off the ledge, and you don't want that. Once the enemy has been taken care of, head to the end of the ledge to find a chest that replenishes health. Now, stand between the statue and the pillar behind it. Press R2 when prompted, and keep pressing it until Kratos kicks the statue over. You can now access a ladder. Drop down and climb that ladder. Here you will fight two Medusas. You will most likely get turned to stone here, and if you do, you need to use the Left Analog to break free. You really should upgrade your blades if you haven't already done so, since you will need to dispatch these creatures quickly. At least one of them. Remember, if you get turned to stone, and then get attacked, you will die instantly. Once the Medusas are gone, head to the left and open the chest to replenish health. Now go back to the right and climb the next ladder. Now you will fight a Medusa and some Mini-Taurs. I strongly urge you to use the MEDUSA GAZE here to kill the Taurs first, and then work on Medusa, because you don't want to be turned into stone here. Destroy the cracked pillars and use the platforms that remain to reach the higher level. Kill the enemies here and then use the arrow device. These enemies move too quickly for MEDUSA GAZE to be that effective (at least I think so), so beat them with the normal method: blocking and then pummeling them with Square attacks. Once the arrow device has been fired, get under the rope and then start shimmying down it. Enemies will come from both sides. You can usually stay ahead of the ones behind you. Press Square as quickly as possible to get rid of the ones in front of you. Keep going until you reach the end of the rope and then climb down the ladder. Open the chest to replenish health. Open the metal door up ahead. You should be in a familiar place. Return to the arrow device and use it to break down the wooden door at the far end of the hallway. Now defeat the Mini-Taurs. Again, I would suggest MEDUSA GAZE. Once they are gone, climb up the ladder to find two chests. Then head down to the ladder all the way to the bottom. When you reach the bridge, head to the center to trigger a scene. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Road to Athens ----------------------------------------------------------------------- You can break the flower pots here for some red essence. At the top of the stairs, you will see a scene. Head forward a little more to trigger another scene. Now use the save point on your right. You will notice that there are two paths. We'll go left first. Follow this path until an explosion blocks any further progress. Head left through the gate to battle the Hammer/Sword Mini-Taurs. These guys can pound the ground with their hammers to produce a shockwave, which can only be avoided by rolling to the left or right. Using MEDUSA GAZE on them is recommended for a quick victory, even though it takes quite a few hits to shatter them. As before, when the Circle button appears above them, press it, and then keep hitting it to ram your blades into their mouths. At the southern end of this room is a floor switch. You must use MEDUSA GAZE to freeze one of the Taurs when he is standing on the switch. Then you must get through the northern gate before the Taur recovers. There's a chest on the right that will constantly refill your magic until you get this right. You're now on the Village Road. You can break down the doors on the houses as you pass by them. The second house on the left has a chest with red essence. The fourth house on the left has a chest with a PHOENIX FEATHER. On the roof of the fourth house on the right is a chest with a GORGON EYE. The firth house on the right has an archer on the roof. Jump up there and kill him, and then smash through the door to find a chest with red essence. The firth house on the right has another chest with red essence. Keep moving forward, and look for a large house on your left with two doors and a red awning. Inside here you find another GORGON EYE and PHOENIX FEATHER. Enemies here include Medusas, Hammer and Sword Mini-Taurs, and Archers. Near the end of the road, you will find another double-doored house. Inside are two chests with red essence. Across from this house is a smaller house with another red essence chest. At the end of the road is a roadblock. Destroy it and then double jump to the rope you see hanging down. Press Circle to swing on the rope and jump to the next rope. Turn and face west and then swing toward the alcove and jump to it to find a chest with red essence. Now get back onto the rope and proceed forward. Keep following this path until you reach some stairs and then climb them to reach the Town Square. You'll have to fight some Cyclops enemies. Use combos on them and then roll away to avoid their club swings. When the Circle button appears above their head, press it and Kratos will put his blades into their eye, and yank on it. Do this two or three times to kill them. You will initially fight one, but after it falls, you will face two of them at once. The civilians running around here give you health if you kill them. Once everything's clear, look for three wooden doors on the left side. Break them open. Two of them hide chests with red essence. The third door has nothing behind it, but to the left of the building it's part of, you will find another red essence chest. Now go through the door that opened when you defeated the Cyclops. Follow this hallway until you reach a room with paintings on the wall. Smash through the paintings that are cracked and you will find two chests: one has a GORGON EYE and one has health. Head up the stairs following the woman. When you come to a gap, break through the large wooden door to find a room with more paintings. Behind the cracked one is a chest with red essence. There's also a small outside balcony area with a chest that switches between health and magic, so open it when it is green for health or blue for magic. Leave this room and jump over the gap. (Before jumping down, you can use the ladder on the left to reach a small courtyard with another magic/health replenishment chest). Once over the gap, approach the stairs for a cutscene. Once it is over, go up the stairs, and use the save point on the left. The chest to the left of the save point has a PHOENIX FEATHER. Now jump down to where the woman's body is and grab the KEY. It's time to go back up. On your way, you will encounter enemies with yellow shields. These shields can be broken by using Square, Square, Triangle. You will also encounter a couple of Medusas. Try to defeat the shielded enemies before tackling the Medusas. When you reach the gap, you'll begin to see archers, who are very easily dispatched. Continue on until you reach the save point. Jump to the right and use the KEY to unlock the grate, and then press R2 to open the grate. Jump down. The gate in front of you leads back out into the Town Square. Use the save point here and then follow the path until you reach another gate. Open it with R2 and climb the stairs to reach the Rooftops. Break all the pots and stuff for red essence, and then climb the vines on the right wall. When you can't climb any further, you'll have to hold the Left Analog Stick away from the wall, and then press X twice to jump to the next set of vines on the left. Move up and do this once more, and then, when you reach the top of these vines, jump left to land on a balcony with health and magic chests. Move through the doorway to trigger a scene, and you'll be introduced to the Wraith enemy. These things can cause some serious damage, and they move underground a lot. They will also spin around, too, but, you can block their attacks in both cases. Square attacks work well here, but you should try to grab them with Circle whenever you can (they are also susceptible to MEDUSA GAZE). Once you have grabbed a Wraith, press Circle when prompted and Kratos will perform a rather satisfying move that kills them instantly. You get more red essence this way, too. After fighting a few Wraiths, you will have to fight some undead soldiers. As stated before, when the Circle Button appears over one of them, press it and then press it again to stab them to death. Open the chest near the blocked door for health (and to the right of the blocked door behind a wooden barricade is a chest with a GORGON EYE), and then start heading up the stairs, killing the archers in your path. When you get to the top, you will be faced with a tough battle. Wraiths and two Mace Giants will assault you. The Mace Giants will show up one at a time, so that makes things a little more manageable. You should try to grab the Wraiths at every opportunity, so that you can kill them quickly (or try MEDUSA GAZE, since the Wraiths can be shattered with a single Triangle attack). Or just try to keep your distance and hit Square. You can block Wraith attacks, but the Mace Giants have to be dodged by either rolling or double jumping. The Mace Giants should be your first priority. When you wear them down, remember that you can press Circle when it appears to begin a random sequence of buttons that, when pressed correctly, will result in a successful kill. There's a chest that replenishes health, and you will probably have to use it. Trying to open it during the battle can be tricky, since you will more than likely get attacked while Kratos is trying to raise the lid. Once this fight is over, head back down the stairs. The door should be opened. If not, then some archers probably re-appeared. Outside, head south first and open the chest to get some red essence. Head north now to the broken bridge (there's a health chest on your right) and jump to the platform. Now jump to grab the vines on the side of the pillar in front of you. Head right, and head down when you can. Circle back around to the left and then jump to the ledge with the chest on it. Open the chest to find red essence. Smash through the door and head forward to fight some Wraiths. Once they are gone, proceed further and take out those archers in the outer area. Once they are dead, you can press R2 to knock down the wooden bridge on your left. Cross it and then jump back to the vines on the pillar. Head to the right side of the pillar and jump to the next pillar. Head to the right side of this pillar and jump across. Open the nearby chest for some red essence, and then continue on to find a magic/health chest. Go through the door by the chest and save your game in this room. Exit this room and head across the bridge. Once you cross the bridge, look to the left to find an arrow device. Push it through the open doorway in front of you and keep pushing it until you reach a room with a large wooden door and two metal doors on each side. The first door on the right just has some stuff you can break to get red essence. The second door on the right has a chest that replenishes health. The second door on the left has a few breakable things. The first door on the left has a lever. But before you use it, there are a couple of things you need to do. First, of course, is to defeat the enemies that appear. Once they are gone, push the arrow device onto the circular tile in front of the room with the lever. Once you've done that, operate the lever to rotate the arrow device. Now push it off the tile and pull the lever again. Now push the arrow device back onto the tile and pull the lever one last time. The device should be facing the wooden door. Line it up and use it to destroy the door. Head through the follow the path until you find another Power-Up. After the scene, you have ZEUS' FURY. Now, head back outside to the bridge. You will see four archers on the roof of the building. Use your newfound ability to take them out. Once you have done so, the door to your right will open up. In this room, there is a lot of breakable stuff. Smash through the cracked portion of the wall to find three chests. One replenishes magic; the other two contain a GORGON EYE and a PHOENIX FEATHER. Now leave this room and return to the save point. Climb the ladder on the left side of the room to reach the rooftops. Defeat the enemies that appear here. The flying creatures can be taken out very easily with ZEUS' FURY. Head to the right and climb the ladder to reach two chests. One has a GORGON EYE and the other replenishes either magic or health. Drop back down and proceed left to the next roof. There's another health/magic chest here. On the left you can see a rope. Jump to it and swing to the next rope, and then to an area with several chests. Use ZEUS' FURY to take out the archers in the distance, and then open all of these chests for lots of red essence. You can also refill magic and health. Go back across the ropes to the previous roof. Smash through an obstruction here and continue to the next roof. Kill the Mini-Taurs here and smash another barrier to the north. Jump here to grab onto some vines. Climb them and then open the chest to refill magic if necessary. Head up the ramp and press R2 near the shiny object to trigger a scene. Use ZEUS' FURY to kill this blubbering coward and move the lever, thus extending the bridge. If you keep heading right, you will reach a small wooden bridge that you can knock down. Use it if you need to go back for something. Cross the bridge and open the two chests in the next room for a PHOENIX FEATHER and a GORGON EYE. Follow the hallway, killing Wraiths, until you reach an elevator. Open the nearby chests for red essence, and then use the elevator to go down. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Oracle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow the corridor until you come to a bridge. Start crossing it to trigger a scene. Once it's over, tread carefully across the beam to the other side. In case you are wondering, you are above the Town Square, and if you fall off, you can use a ladder to get back up here. Use the save point. Head up the stairs and follow the path, defeating enemies as you go. Watch for a cracked section in the wall. Smash through it to find a chest with red essence. Head up the next set of stairs. Open the chests to refill health and magic, and then cross the bridge to trigger a scene. You now have to fight Medusas and Harpies. These Harpies can divebomb you, so watch for the fiery circle to appear on the ground, and stay away from it. ZEUS' FURY works extremely well against these foes. If you run low on magic, kill the Medusas by decapitating them to refill your magic meter. Once all enemies have been taken of, the blocked passages are opened, and another cutscene occurs. Climb the stairs and open the chests to the left and right to find a PHOENIX FEATHER and a GORGON EYE. You can also find a save point nearby. Now enter the temple. In the first room, there's a magic/health chest on the left, near a gate. Open the gate, but don't go through it yet. Run to the north end of the room and pull out the two statues. Behind each is a magic/health chest. You must use these statues to block the holes in the wall that the Harpies are pouring out of. Until you do, they are infinite. Once both holes have been blocked, pick off any remaining Harpies. Now, while facing the gate, hop onto the ledge to your right to find a chest with a GORGON EYE. There's another ledge on the other side of the entrance to this room with a chest containing red essence. Now go through the gate and up the stairs. When you get to the top of the stairs, you will find yourself above the room you where you had to move the statues. You'll have to cross the beams to the other side. Head left until you reach a corner and then move north. Jump to the ledge on the left and break the window to reveal a chest with a GORGON EYE. Now get back on the beams and keep going until you reach the area with the save point. There's a chest nearby that refills health. Now head left and follow this hallway to the end, killing the weak enemies as you go. Once outside, you will trigger a scene. The goal is to reach the Oracle, who is dangling from a rope. Move the statues to the left of the pillared structured, so they sit between it and the fountain. Now get on top of the structure and jump to the statues, and then to where the vines are. Start climbing them to trigger a scene. You have about 70 seconds to reach the Oracle. Move left until you arrive at the spinning wheels. These will take up most of your time. Wait until they stop rotating, and then jump to the next set of vines. Once you are past the wheels, keep climbing until you see a rope. Then jump to it. Now swing to the platform and make your way across the beams. You can double jump once you're about halfway across to save some time. Now use the ropes to reach the large statue. Approach the rope the Oracle is on to trigger a scene. Behind that is a small building with a chest sitting in top of it. Open that chest for some red essence. Position the statues to the right of the structure with the four pillars. You should be able to figure out what we're doing. We are going to get those two chests on the cliff ledge. Get on top of the pillared structure by using the roof of the smaller building behind it, and then jump on top of the statues, and then to the ledge and open the chests for red essence. You might have to reposition the statues several times before you can do this, but it isn't too hard. Now, drop down from the ledge and move south, staying close to the wall. You will see two cracked walls. Destroy them to find a chest with a GORGON EYE and some red essence. With this done, you can now save the Oracle, who has spent most of this time complaining. Move the statues to the left of the pillared structured, so they sit between it and the fountain. Now get on top of the structure and jump to the statues, and then to where the vines are. Start climbing them to trigger a scene. You have about 70 seconds to reach the Oracle. Move left until you arrive at the spinning wheels. These will take up most of your time. Wait until they stop rotating, and then jump to the next set of vines. Once you are past the wheels, keep climbing until you see a rope. Then jump to it. Now swing to the platform and make your way across the beams. You can double jump once you're about halfway across to save some time. Now use the ropes to reach the large statue. Approach the rope the Oracle is on to trigger a scene. When it's over head through the door and follow the hallway until you are back outside. Use the save point. Now you can choose from two paths. The one behind the save point leads to a cliff, where you find a strange emblem. There is a chest to the right of this emblem that has a PHOENIX FEATHER. Head back down to the save point. Cross the long sword-shaped path and descend the spiral stairs. At the bottom is a chest with another PHOENIX FEATHER. Ahead are the Sewers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Athens Sewers ----------------------------------------------------------------------- On either side of you are two health/magic chests. Continue forward to encounter a load of Demon soldiers. Take them out, and then climb the ladder to the ledge where the archers and take them out. These archers are more powerful than the ones you fought previously, but not by much. You can use ZEUS' FURY to kill them from a distance if you wish. On this ledge is another health/magic chest, as well as a red essence chest on the left end of the ledge. Climb down and continue forward to a metal barrier. Jump on top of it and proceed further. Minotaurs (the ones with swords and hammers) show up here. If you have upgraded your blades to at least level 3, then you can use Triangle attacks to take them down quickly. Or you can just use MEDUSA GAZE and then shatter them once they are frozen. There's a health/magic chest on the right. Continue on and you will find two more health/magic chests, and another two chests with red essence at the end. Jump up and prepare for another large group of enemies. First come a couple of Cyclops. Hit them with Square Button attacks, and be sure to roll away from them when they swing their clubs. Once they are gone, Minotaurs and Demon soldiers show up, as do some archers on the ledge to the right. Climb up there and take them out first. Then you can focus on the rest of the enemies. Up ahead is another ledge with archers. Take them out and open the chest up here for more red essence. Continue to follow the sewers. When you reach the metal barrier, jump on top of it, and climb the ladder. Take advantage of the chest here if you need to, and then go up the spiral stairs. At the top is a lever. When pulled, more spiral stairs appear. Take them to exit back out into a previous area. Head up the stairs and use the save point. Now take the right path. At the end of this path is a huge door. Head through it (turn to the right and open the chest for GORGON EYE) to reach the Desert of Lost Souls. There is a health/magic chest to, which you should use if necessary. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Desert of Lost Souls ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Head into the desert to trigger a scene. Your goal here is to find and destroy the 3 Sirens. To find the first one, you are going to need to locate the temple. Head east from the statue, hugging the lower wall until you reach a corner. Now head northwest. The singing should intensify as you near some grass. The temple is just north of here. You might even be able to see it. You'll find another health/magic chest, and to the left of this chest is the first Siren. She is quite fast, and her only attack involves throwing blue balls of energy at you. You should use ZEUS' FURY to take her down, since you don't have to be close to her in order to cause damage. Once you have hit her enough times, the Circle button will appear over her head. Get close to her and press it and watch as Kratos snaps her neck. You now have to find the other two. One of my only complaints with this game is that it doesn't provide you with a map of the areas you explore. Up until now, they have been pretty linear, but that's not the case here. There are about 7 or 8 chests to be found in the Desert, and all of them contain red essence, so you can ignore them if you want. Some are found to the east and west of the temple. To find the other Sirens, head south from the temple, and you should spot some ruins (they actually look more like a performance stage or something). Head south from these ruins (some chests can be found along the way), and you will hear some singing. Now you just have to pinpoint the location of the Siren. If the singing fades, turn around and go back the same way you came until it picks up again, and go in a different direction. Eventually, you should spot the Siren. Once you attack her, two Minotaurs will appear. Again, use ZEUS' FURY to take out the Siren, and just try to avoid the Minotaurs until she is defeated. Now, return to the ruins. The last Siren is north of them. You might even see her floating around as you head towards the ruins. Again, two Minotaurs will appear. If you are out of magic power, just try to hit the Siren with Square attacks until the Circle Button icon appears. Once the last Siren is defeated, the temple door will open. Head back there now and use the save point inside. There are two chests nearby that restore magic and health. Now go down the stairs on the left. Below you is a giant conveyor belt. Drop down and open the metal door on the left. There are spikes on the right end that you need to stay away from. Pull out the block and push it to the left end. There is a health/magic chest behind the block. As you are pushing it, you will be attacked by Demon soldiers. Of course, they will prevent you from pushing the block, so you need to defeat them. While fighting them, the block will approach the spikes, and if it touches them, it will be destroyed. But don't worry, because it will regenerate. The best way to do this is to use a Charge Kick to knock the block a good distance, and then push it up against the northern wall. It will press against the columns along the wall, and won't go anywhere while you take care of those annoying enemies. Once you have dispatched a group of enemies, pull the block back towards the center of the belt and Charge Kick again. When enemies show up, put it along the northern wall again. Repeat this until it is at the left end of the belt. Use it to reach the ledge and then open the metal door. Follow the corridor until you reach a large horn. Use R2 to blow into it and make a path through the sand. Follow this path to reach the next horn, and be sure to use the chests on the left and right to refill magic and health. Before you can use the next horn, you must defeat a large group of Sirens. There are a dozen or more, but they are not that hard. Use ZEUS' FURY as much as you can, and then Triangle attacks the rest of the time. Always be ready to grab them when the Circle Button icon appears. Once they are gone, use the horn and watch the scene. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Pandora's Temple ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Save your game and then cross the bridge. There are health/magic chests on the left and right sides of the main door. Head down the sloping path on the left and follow it to the end. Grab onto the handle and pull the wall out all the way. When you let go, it will start to retract, so quickly jump to the top. Once you do, you'll trigger a scene. There's another health/magic chest here. Drop down to where the main door is, and you will have to fight some new Cyclops enemies. They haven't changed that much, only that it takes more hits to wear them down. ZEUS' FURY can work extremely well here, since you can keep your distance and not have to worry about being hit by their clubs. Once they are all dead, climb the stairs. At the top, open the chests to the left and right to find a GORGON EYE and PHOENIX FEATHER. Now grab the lever and rotate it 360 degrees to open the door. In this room, you will have to fight some Wraiths and Archers. You should know by now how to defeat them. Once they are gone, examine the large eye in the wall at the back of the room and the door will open once all the characters have lit up. Now enter the Rings of Pandora. Head down and keep going until you find an open doorway. Go through here to find a corridor with spike crushers. Once they smash together and begin to separate, use the Right Analog Stick to roll forward and make sure you get through in time. In the next room, you'll find a save point. Kill the Archers here and then open both chests for magic or health as well as some red essence. Now pull the lever you see in the wall alcove. This lowers a lever in the previous room. Head back there (the spike crushers have been deactivated) and rotate this lever until you see a red Power-Up. Walk up to it and trigger a cutscene. Afterwards, you receive the BLADE OF ARTEMIS. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Challenge of Atlas ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Head down the hall and use the save point along the way. When you appear in the next room, you will get to try out your new weapon on some undead soldiers. Needless to say it hacks right through them. There is a magic/health chest here, and you will most likely have to use it very soon. Once you have defeated the undead soldiers, some Gorgons appear. These are tougher than the Medusas you have fought up to now. They are quicker and more aggressive. Remember to block their tail swipes and roll around to stay away from their Stone Gaze. The Artemis Blade works well against them and so does ZEUS' FURY. When the Circle Button icon appears, you can press it and then rotate the Left Analog Stick in the directions indicated to decapitate them. There are some broken stairs here that you can use to get up to the second level. Use them during the fight if you need a breather. I found this battle to be really hard. Once the Gorgons are dead, ignore the stairs and head through the door next to the magic/health chest. Defeat more Gorgons here and then head into the room on the left and take out the Archers there. Now go back and grab that stack of wood (or rocks) that you passed earlier. Push it into the room where the archers were. You will see a button on the ground in the center. Step on it to activate a spinning door on the north side of the room. Take the object as close as you can to this door, and then Charge Kick it to the south so that it lands on the button. Then quickly dash through the door as it spins around. If you fail, you will have to pull the object off the button and then Charge Kick onto the button again. Once you are through, battle the enemies (they are armored demon soldiers and you should use the Artemis Blade). Open the three chests here for health and magic refills, as well as red essence. Now climb the ladder. There is a beam going west that leads to the MASK OF ZEUS. The beam going south will allow you to jump to two alcoves containing chests with red essence. Grab the MASK and drop down to the lower floor. Place the MASK in the door in the lower-left corner. Now return to the room with the broken stairs, and climb onto them. There is a magic chest here. Also you will have to fight some more Demon soldiers, and take out Archers in the background with ZEUS' FURY. Once this is finished, head across the beams to where the Archers were. On your right is a chest with a GORGON EYE. Pull the lever here to lower a weight. Grab onto the rope and slide down. Grab the next rope here and start shimmying across. As you do so, Demon soldiers will come at you from both sides. This time, they will grab onto your feet, and you will have to toggle the Left Analog Stick back and forth (as indicated onscreen) to shake them off before they pull you to your death. You can also kick with the Square Button or use the Triangle Button to attack with the Blades of Chaos. When you reach the other side, you will find some health and magic chests, as well as the MASK OF HADES. Now, a large device will start moving slowly towards you from the left. If you go right, you'll find the path blocked. You have to defeat an incredible number of enemies in order to proceed. POESIDON'S RAGE works well here, as does simply equipping the Artemis Blade and pressing Square as rapidly as you can. You can also press L1 and Square for a helpful attack, or jump into the air and press Triangle. Once all enemies are gone, you can access a couple of chests with health and magic refills. Now jump back to the rope you used to get down here and climb back up. Return to the door where you placed the MASK OF ZEUS and insert the MASK OF HADES. The door will now be opened. Descend the stairs and use the save point at the end of the hall. Climb the ladder to the left. You'll find yourself in a room filled with saw blades. Ignore the levers and head for the door on the right. There's a health chest here if you need it. Break through wall ahead and defeat the enemies. Now get on the conveyor belt and ride to the end, avoiding the spike crushers. Again, you should use the Right Analog Stick to roll forward past them as soon as they have collided and begin to separate. When you reach the end, head left and go up the stairs and cross the bridge, killing the Harpies in your way. Around the center of the bridge, you will notice a gap. You can jump to the rocky area in the background and open chests on your left and right for a GORGON EYE and a PHOENIX FEATHER. Now return to the bridge and continue to cross it. On your left is a health/magic chest. Now approach the wall and begin your climb. As you are climbing, you will have to deal with Harpies and Demon Soldiers. You can press Circle to toss the Demon soldiers off the wall. There are also two chests with red essence on ledges. When you get to the end, you will find a lever and a health/magic chest. Pull the lever to lower a chain that lets you get back to where you started. In the next room, you will have to fight a large group of enemies in a relatively short period of time or else the floor will fall out from under you. There are the Demon soldiers with the yellow shields as well as Sirens. Remember to use Square, Square, Triangle to break the shields. Let the enemies surround you and then use POSEIDON'S RAGE to devastate them. This is quickest way I know of to defeat them before your time runs out. When the Sirens are the only ones left standing, you can hack at them with the Artemis Blade, or use ZEUS' FURY. When all enemies have been dispatched, grab the HANDLE OF ATLAS and return back outside. Slide down the chain and use the save point. Now it's back to the saw blade room. There are two levers here. Pull them both to open the door on the north side of the room. You must do this quickly, because the door won't stay open for long. Head through the door and walk slowly along the wall. Lift up the door and head into the next room. Defeat the enemies here. You will have to fight some Minotaurs, and they seem to be tougher than ones you have previously fought. Use the Artemis Blade against them for pretty fast results, or just use MEDUSA'S GAZE and then shatter them with Triangle attacks. Now, approach the lever to the north and insert the ATLAS HANDLE. Rotate this lever until the ball is on Atlas' back. Now head through the opening on the right and go up the stairs. Kill the Demon soldiers on your way. When you get to the top, take care of the Archers, and then open the chest on the left for a PHOENIX FEATHER. Now continue to the right and you will see a lever. To the left of this lever is a chest with red essence (other 
walkthroughs say that this chest has a GORGON EYE, but it had red 
essence when I opened it).  To the south of the lever are some small 
alcoves in the wall that have more red essence chests.  Pull the lever 
and watch the scene.  Drop down and head through the newly opened door.  
On your left is another red essence chest.  Approach the large coffin 
and pull the lid off of it.  Now jump on top of it and press R2 
repeatedly until you receive the ARCHITECT'S SON'S HEAD.  The coffin 
will slide back, revealing a hole.  Drop into it and use the 
magic/health chest if necessary.  Continue down this darkened passage 
until you trigger a cutscene.  Once you pass through the door at the 
end, you will back in a familiar room.  Save your game.  Head through 
the corridor with the spike crushers and defeat the enemies that 
appear.  Once they are gone, exit back into the Rings of Pandora and 
use the ARCHITECT'S SON'S HEAD to open the door the door across from 
you.  

In this room there's a large cylinder rolling around.  Stand in the 
doorway and wait for it to pass.  Once it does, head south or north 
(doesn't matter since this room is circular) and look for a staircase.  
There are little alcoves that you can hide in if the cylinder gets too 
close.  Once you have climbed the stairs, you will be shown a ladder.  
The only way to reach it is by jumping on top of the cylinder and 
riding it to where the ladder is.  You need to move in the opposite 
direction while standing on the cylinder to avoid being thrown off.  
The ladder is on the right wall, so watch for it, and jump to it when 
it comes into view.  Once you are on the ladder, start climbing and you 
will see a scene.  Now climb all the way to the top.  There are four 
chests here.  Two contain red essence, the other two refill health and 
magic.  Use the save point, as well.   Now continue to reach the next 
challenge. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Challenge of Poseidon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Walk forward to the arena-like structure to trigger a scene.  You now 
have to fight a Cerberus and several Cerberus Cubs.  This fight can be 
very difficult.  There is only one magic/health chest, so keep that in 
mind.  The Artemis Blade causes a lot of damage, and you should spend 
most of your time hacking up the Cubs, because if they transform into 
real Cerberuses, then you'll have a very hard time staying alive.  
POSEIDON'S RAGE is excellent for taking out multiple Cubs at once, 
while also damaging the Cerberus.  I would suggest killing the Cubs 
until no more appear, and then focusing on the Cerberus itself.  Use 
MEDUSA'S GAZE to freeze the Cerberus and then shatter with an Artemis 
Blade Triangle attack.  Once all enemies are dead, continue out through 
the left.  Open the magic/health chest on the left if you need to, and 
then take down the Cyclops enemies that appear.  The Artemis Blade 
works well against them, too.  There's a moveable block near the chest 
that will protect you from the Archers up ahead.  I chose just to run 
up to them and start hacking away, since their arrows don't cause much 
damage anyway.  Continue to the end of the path and take out more 
Archers, as well as some Cerberus Cubs.  Once they are all dead, the 
red barrier disappears.  Enter the room and pull the lever.  The room 
will now begin to rotate.  The first four times it stops, you can get 
chests, all of which contain red essence.  You have only a few seconds 
to open them, though, or else a gate will close behind you and spikes 
pop out of the ground.  When the room stops for the fifth time, you can 
exit.  Head left and encounter a new type of Demon soldier.  Nothing 
much to mention here, just block their attacks and attack them until 
the Circle Button appears over their heads.  When you reach the edge 
(you'll see an enormous chain), you can grab onto some ledges.  Jump up 
to the top ledge and move to the right to find a chest with a MUSE KEY.  
Now get back on the ledge and head left.  Here you'll fight a trio of 
Minotaurs.  Once they are dead, follow the path to reach a save point, 
as well as health and magic chests.  Now move north past the save point 
and follow the path until you see some cages hanging above you.  
There's also a lever with no handle.  Drop down to the lower path and 
follow it up to another room.  Notice the health/magic chests to the 
left and right of the entrance to this room.  In here, pick up the 
handle on the right.  Now return to the previous lever and insert the 
handle you just found.  Turn the lever to lower a cage and trigger a 
scene.  Now push the occupied cage over the edge onto the lower path.  
Now start pushing it uphill.  When enemies appear, position the cage 
behind one of the pieces of broken stone so that it doesn't slide back 
down.  Keep doing this until you reach the room where you found the 
handle.  Push the cage onto the button in front of the lever.  Now pull 
the lever to fry the helpless soldier inside.  This will open the door 
up ahead.  Go through and pull out the TRIDENT, which allows you to 
breathe underwater.  Now use the save point.  Head into the water on 
the left and climb the ladder.  Open the chest for a PHOENIX FEATHER.  
Now head into the water on the right.  Climb the ladder here for a 
health chest.  Now drop back down into the water and head south to find 
a hole.  Dive into it and follow the path.  When you reach the cracked 
walls, press and hold R1 to dash through them.  On the other side, you 
will lots of Cerberus Cubs to kill.  Use POSEIDON'S RAGE, and then, 
once you have exhausted all of your magic power, just equip the Artemis 
Blade and press Square like there's no tomorrow.  On the left is a 
chest with red essence.  Open the door and pull the lever to reveal a 
path behind the Poseidon statue.  Return to that room and kill the two 
Cerberuses, as well as the super-annoying Harpies.  You can jump into 
the water to avoid attacks, and you can also do this if you feel 
overwhelmed.  Behind the Poseidon statue you will find some stone 
blocks.  Use those to reach the opening higher up.  Follow this path 
until you find some water, and then dive into it and start swimming 
through the ruins.  

You will see a Nyad.  You can press Circle and kiss her, causing her to 
disappear.  Dive down into the opening below her, and then head through 
the tunnel to the right.  You will reach a fork.  The picture (or 
whatever it is) that you see here can be destroyed with a dash.  Behind 
it is another Nyad.  Kiss her (I received a PHOENIX FEATHER) and then 
take the right path.  Ahead is an opening in the shape of a mouth.  
Dash into the room with R1, and continue to dash in order to avoid 
being killed by the spikes, blades and the other treacherous things you 
find here.  Make sure you hold in the R1 button as long as you can so 
that the dash will last longer.  Also, when you get near the end, you 
can most likely just swim normally and emerge safely from the room.  
Swim up when you have the chance and defeat the Demon Soldiers and 
Harpies to lower the forcefield surrounding the lever.  There are magic 
and health chests here, as well.  Pull the lever to open a gate.  Now 
return to the fork and head left this time.  Get out the water at the 
end and defeat the enemies.  The break through the wall at the top and 
smash all of the urns to reveal a chest with the second MUSE KEY.  

Return to the fork and head south.  You lowered the gate that was here 
before, so head north to the next path.  There's a save point up ahead.  
Use it, and then dash through the cracked wall to the left of the save 
point.  Kiss the Nyad, and then swim up to find a room with four 
chests, all of which have red essence.  Swim back down and back out to 
the save point.  Further along, you will see a large Poseidon statue.  
On the right is a small cracked wall.  Dash through it to find the 
final Nyad.  Kiss her and get a PHOENIX FEATHER.  Now get in front of 
the statue and swim down.  You'll see a chain.  Wait until a barrier 
passes by.  Swim into the hole and then dash to the left and press 
Square to descend into the safe zone.  Wait for the next barrier to 
pass overhead, and then swim up with Triangle.  Now dash twice to the 
left and then swim normally until you reach another safe zone.  After 
the next barrier passes, swim up and continue to the left until you 
reach a cage at the end.  Swim down and through the opening nearby.  
Follow the path until you reach a large room.  Swim up and use the save 
point on your left.  There's a health/magic chest nearby and another 
one on the right.  Also, you will have to fight some Minotaurs.  Once 
you defeat them, pull the lever and some pillars will rise.  Jump 
across them to the other side and open the two chests for some red 
essence.  Now drop back into the water and head back to the lever.  
Pull it again, but this time, drop into the water on the left, dive 
down, and swim to the last pillar.  There's a little room here.  Swim 
inside of it and when the pillar goes down, you will go with it.  
Follow the tunnel and when you reach the end of it, swim up and jump 
out of the water to find yourself back in the Rings of Pandora.  Use 
the save point, and then head back into the corridor with the immobile 
spike crushers.  Yellow shield enemies will attack you here.  You must 
defeat them to move on.  Back out in the circular room, head north or 
south until you find the lever you use to rotate this room.  Keep 
rotating the lever until you see a door.  Your MUSE KEYS will unlock 
this door.  Inside is the Chamber of the Gods.  There's a save point 
here, as well as two chests with red essence.  Stand on each of the 
glowing pedestals to receive a free magic upgrade, a free health 
upgrade, and a lot of red essence.  Now you can leave.  Go back to the 
room where the large rolling cylinder was.  

Head up the stairs in here.  Get in the water and dive into the hole.  
Follow it to the end.  In this new area, smash through the door on the 
right side and use the save point that you find.  Run to the end to 
find a ladder and two chests.  Climb the ladder and follow the path to 
reach your next challenge.  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Challenge of Hades
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note the health chests on the left and right sides of the stairs up 
ahead.  Head up the left side of the room.  Examine the door here and 
accept the challenge.  You will now have a tricky encounter. You will 
be introduced to the Centaurs.  They aren't that tough.  They will try 
to pound you like the Minotaurs, plus they shoot energy arrows at you.  
However, you have to defeat four of them while standing inside the blue 
rotating ring.  POSEIDON'S RAGE is really good for this, but a better 
method might be to try and get four of them to stand in the ring and 
then use MEDUSA'S GAZE to freeze them all, and then try to shatter them 
before they recover.  If you can't freeze them all, you can almost 
certainly freeze a couple of them.  If you run out of magic, you are 
left with only one option: to use your weapons and pound on them while 
trying to keep everything within the boundaries of the ring.  Once you 
have lit up this ring, another one appears.  Once it has been lit up, 
the door opens.  Above the door is a wooden platform.  Climb up onto it 
and break through the wall to reveal a chest with red essence.  Now go 
through the door. 

Follow the hall until you reach the outside area.  Use the platform ear 
the door on the left side to reach the chests.  Two of them have red 
essence, one has a PHOENIX FEATHER.  Now lift up the door on the left 
side and go through.  Here you will see some shifting floors.  Make 
sure that you land on the floors and not in the lava.  Roll past the 
spears in the next hall.  When the gate lowers, get ready to navigate a 
maze.  There's a health chest nearby, so use it if necessary.  You MUST 
kill all the enemies in this maze so make sure that you keep that in 
mind.  At the first fork, head right. At the next fork, go left, and 
you will be in an open area.  Kill the Gorgon and Centaurs and then 
head up and open the chest for red essence.  Now follow the path to the 
right of the chest and kill the enemies.  Return to the previous fork 
and go straight, then go left (right for a health chest and some 
enemies). Turn the lever to go to the next level of the maze.  Push the 
block in the wall forward until it drops down.  Head across the path 
before it splits and open the two chests for red essence.  Now head 
back and go right at the fork.  Make another right and push the block 
forward until it drops down.  Defeat the enemies, use the chest if 
necessary, and then open the door down the hall on the left.  Don't 
forget those two Archers on the ledge.  You are back at a previous 
fork.  Go left this time.  There's a large crushing block in this room.  
Wait for it move up, and then jump on top of it.  Approach the door and 
kill the enemies that appear.  You now have only two more enemies to 
go.  Wait for the crusher to reset (on its third time) and quickly slip 
into the archway the crusher was blocking.  Kill the two enemies in 
here, and then get back out when you get the chance.  The door is now 
open.  Pass through and you will be back in the main hall.  Step on the 
button to raise the giant statue.  Drop down and dive into the water 
surrounding the statue.  Swim down the bottom and find the lever.  Pull 
it to make light come out of the statue's head.  Now jump out of the 
water and climb the ladder on the side of the statue.  Use the lever on 
the back of the statue's head and rotate the statue's head 180 degrees 
to light your path.  Drop down and use the save point at the base of 
the stairs.  Now enter the room at the top of the stairs.  

You have to avoid the flaming rocks here.  Running normally will 
suffice; you don't need to use the evade roll.  Speed is not really a 
factor anyway.  You can just weave to the left and right as the rocks 
come toward you, and you should always find an opening somewhere.  If 
you are having trouble, I don't know what to say, except to keep 
trying.  Your goal lies at the north end of the room, where you will 
notice a door between the slope.  In this room, defeat the enemies and 
open the chests for red essence and a PHENIX FEATHER.  Head back out.  
Get against the left wall and move south.  Open the third door you see.  
Follow the hall to the end and prepare for a fight.  Axe-wielding 
Minotaurs await you here.   I would suggest just using MEDUSA'S GAZE 
and then using the Artemis Blade to shatter them.  The reason I chose 
to do this is because if you try to kill them by pressing the Circle 
Button, you will most likely get thrown off unless you press it really, 
really fast.  After trying this a couple of times, I just decided to 
use MEDUSA'S GAZE.  Once the Minotaurs are gone, kill the Archers.  Now 
the forcefield should disappear.  Head up the stairs to the right and 
take out all of the enemies here.  Return to the previous room and head 
left now.  Make your way across the rope.  Use the Square Button to 
kick the enemies out of your way.  Drop down into the arena-like area 
and prepare for another battle.  Minotaurs and a load of weak Demon 
soldiers.  Use POSEIDON'S RAGE to clear out the Demon soldiers quickly, 
or just hack away at them with the Artemis Blade.  Once all enemies are 
gone, climb the ladder and jump to the ledge. 

This is another maze, though it is not as long as the one you navigated 
before.  Head straight at the first fork, and turn right at the second 
to find a chest with red essence.  Head back and go left.  Turn right 
at the next fork and use the save point.  Now head into the room to the 
left of the save point.  You will have to walk across a thin beam while 
avoiding some spinning blade mechanisms.  When one approaches, just 
double jump straight up to avoid it completely.  Head up at the first 
fork and right at the second.  On the platform, head across the beam to 
the right and open the chest for a PHOENIX FEATHER.  Back on the 
platform, head up and walk along the next beam.  Head left at the fork 
and open the chest for red essence.  Head back and go down this time.  
At the next fork, head right to find another red essence chest.  Now 
back to the fork and head up.  Wait for the arm of the spinning device 
that doesn't have any blades and then jump onto it and climb the 
ladders.  Walk across the beam here to reach another platform.  On the 
right is a red essence chest.  Open it and then slide down the rope on 
the left.  Climb down the ladder and follow the path to the next hall.  
Turn the wheel that you see and then head left and go down the stairs 
until you drop down into a room you were in before.  Head south and use 
the save point, then continue moving south until a gate closes behind 
you.  Approach the door to the north to trigger a scene, and the next 
boss fight (only the second one in the entire game).  

Boss: Armored Minotaur
Difficulty: 2/5
This fight isn't particularly hard, but it does quite a bit of time.  
First of all, head to the ledge at the southern end of the room. You 
will stay here for most of the battle.  The boss will put its hands on 
the ledge and you can get right up in its face and attack it.  I 
suggest using the Artemis Blade to cause the most damage possible.  
After hitting him enough times, you'll stun him, and he will jump 
backward.  He will now come charging, and fire will come up from below, 
so double jump to avoid this.  Once you have stunned him five times, 
the next time you stun him, he will jump backwards as usual, but 
instead of rushing forward, he will roll into a ball.  The Circle 
Button appears above him.  Press it and Kratos will jump on top of him.  
Now you have to rotate the Left Analog Stick in the directions 
indicated.  Once you have done this successfully, Kratos will slam the 
boss's head into the ground, and he will stand motionless.  Head back 
to the southern ledge and pull the lever on the left to fire a burning 
log at him.  This cracks his armor.  Repeat everything you have just 
done and fire another log at him, and then, once you have done that, a 
piece of his armor will fall off every time you stun him.  Keep 
knocking his armor off until his health meter is completely revealed.  
Now you just whittle down his health.  A few notes about his attacks.  
(I'll assume you are facing the boss).  His left hand will turn into a 
fist and try to smash you.  You can simply roll to the right to avoid 
this.  His right hand will try to grab you.  When you see his right 
hand moving around, quickly roll to the right and you should avoid it.  
Trying to jump straight up into the air or trying to jump over the hand 
don't work that well.  This attack is really the most damaging, so if 
you can avoid this, you should be fine.  When almost all of his health 
has been depleted, he will stand dazed like he did previously.  This is 
your cue to pull the lever and bring this fight to an end.  

You can get through the large door in the north because of a crack in 
the bottom.  Climb the spiral stairs and use the save point.  Further 
on you will find three chests.  The two on the left have magic and red 
essence, while the one on the right has health.  Examine the book in 
the center and then pull the lid off the casket.  Jump on top of it and 
keep pressing R2 until another ARCHITECT'S SON'S HEAD.  Return to where 
you fought the Minotaur and look for the next (and last) Power-Up.  
Approach it to trigger a scene.  You will get ARMY OF HADES.  Use it to 
defeat the enemies that appear (Harpies and Demon soldiers).  If you 
run out of magic power, just use the Artemis Blade and its Square 
Button attacks.  Once the enemies are gone, head through the door that 
was blocked by Hades.  Swim through the water and you will resurface in 
the rolling cylinder room.  Look for the underwater door and press R2 
to insert the HEAD and lower the water.  Now comes a little puzzle.  
First of all, look for a lever against the wall, near a door.  Lift up 
this door and then rotate the lever that is inside the statue.  Keep 
rotating it until you are aligned with the door you just opened.  Now 
use the lever near the door and rotate it until you are aligned with 
the outer hall.  Head out there and use that lever to shift the final 
room into place.  You should now have a straight path from the cylinder 
room, to the outer hall, to the corridor with the spike crushers.  Head 
back into the room with the save point (beyond the spike crusher 
corridor).  There's a shiny handle in the back.  Grab onto it and push 
it until a beam of light appears.  If everything is aligned properly, 
then a cutscene should play.  Return to the middle and pull the lever 
to activate an elevator.  Leave the room and approach the bridge to 
trigger a scene.  You now have to fight three Pandora Guards.  They 
have long staff-like weapons and can take quite a bit of punishment, so 
I would suggest using MEDUSA'S GAZE on them to make this battle very 
short.  Now cross the bridge and watch another scene.  On the other 
side is a save point.  Read the book if you want, and then head up to 
enter the Cliffs of Madness. 


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cliffs of Madness
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
At the top, you will fight some Demon soldiers.  Kill them, and then 
use ZEUS' FURY to take out those Archers across the way.  On your left 
is a magic chest.  Head right and jump across the platforms.  You might 
want to kill the Archers on the platforms with ZEUS' FURY before doing 
this, however.  You will reach a rope.  Cross it and battle the enemies 
that are waiting for you.  Rotate the lever to raise the platform and 
when you get to the top, use the save point.  Climb the ladder you see 
here.  Follow the path until you see a cave opening.  Head left and 
kill all the enemies.  You will also find a chest with red essence.  
Now go through the cave.  You will have to fight two Pandora Guards.  
At the end, you will find a lever.  Before turning it, I would suggest 
using ZEUS' FURY to kill those ever-obnoxious Archers.  Turning the 
lever will connect your platform to the one the Archers were on.  
However, as soon as you let go, the platforms will move back to their 
original positions rather quickly, so turn the lever as far as you can 
and then release it.  This should give you enough time to jump to the 
other platform.  When you arrive outside, go to the left to find a 
magic/health chest.  Now jump onto the ledge on the right.  You'll have 
to fight three Minotaurs here.  Further ahead is a monument with places 
for you to insert the necklaces you will be getting before too long.  
On the right, behind the monument, is a chest with red essence.  Head 
through the cave to the left of the chest.  Jump into the water and 
when you emerge on the other side, you can break some walls behind the 
waterfall to find chests with LOTS of red essence.  Now swim back 
through to where the monument is.  Climb down the ladder on the left.  
Follow the path, killing Pandora Guards as you go, until you reach a 
rope.  Open the nearby chest for red essence, and then slide down.  
Enter the cave and kill the enemies that appear.  Now move to the left 
and you will find a puzzle.  

First of all, move the tiny block in front of the gate somewhere so 
that it is out of way. You don't need it at all.  On the upper-right is 
a block that looks sort of like a "5".  Pull it to the spot in the 
center of the room and then rotate the lever until this block resembles 
a "2".  Put it in the middle of the gate.  Now, on your left, you will 
see a block that looks like the letter T.  Place it on the center spot 
and rotate it until it is pointing east and west.  Now push it up to 
the gate and set it to the left of the previous block.  Now look for 
the block on the left that looks like a "7". Place it on the central 
spot and rotate it until it faces the opposite direction.  Put it on 
the far left side of the gate.  This should leave two empty spaces.  
There are two blocks left.  You should be able to tell where they go.  
The gate will lower and you can grab the HERA NECKLACE.  Leave the cave 
and use the save point.  Climb the ladder on the right.  Now head to 
the right until you get to the end and then start climbing the wall.  
You will have to deal with enemies as you go, but you should how to 
handle them by now.  All you have to do is head right across the walls, 
and when you reach the last wall on the right, climb down and you will 
drop near where the monument is.  However, before going right, you can 
actually climb up the walls to the very top, where there are some 
chests, as well as a lever on a ledge.  Pull it to lower a block with a 
rope attached to it.  Be sure to do this.  Now place the HERA NECKLACE 
in the left side of the monument.  Now return to the cave where you 
rotated the platforms and had to jump across quickly (there were some 
Archers and Pandora Guards there).  Pass through this cave and when you 
get outside, head left and climb the rope attached to the block.  Use 
the save point here and then enter the cave. 

Pull the lever you see here to open a gate.  Inside is a block.  You 
have to drag this block to the other side of the cave and use it to 
reach a ledge.  However, if you don't act quickly enough, spikes will 
come out of the floor and kill you.  You have more than enough time, so 
don't worry.  Use the Charge Kick as much as you can.  Once you are on 
the ledge, open the chest for a PHOENIX FEATHER and jump across the 
vines.  Climb up and grab the APHRODITE NECKLACE.  Now head back to the 
monument.  When both NECKLACES have been inserted, some platforms will 
start to move in and out.  Wait for them to extend fully, and then jump 
to grab hold.  At the top, jump back to reach two chests, and then jump 
across to the right.  Continue on and watch the scene.  Follow the path 
to the end and use the ropes to reach the other side.  Climb up the 
wall and activate the elevator by pulling the lever.  Follow the path 
to the Architect's Tomb.  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Architect's Tomb
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
You have to jump across some moving platforms while avoiding saw 
blades.  Once you make it to the other side, head right and lift up the 
gate with R2.  Follow this path to the outside area.  Here is a Cyclops 
and some Cerberus Cubs.  Make sure to focus on them first, because you 
don't want them to transform.  Use POSEIDON'S RAGE or even ARMY OF 
HADES if necessary.  There are three ladders here.  Climb the unbroken 
one on the left and open the chest for a PHOENIX FEATHER.  There's also 
a magic/health chest in case that battle wore you down.  Drop down and 
climb the middle ladder.  Use the lever here to position the crane so 
that the shadow of the block is above the cracked section of the floor.  
Walk out onto the arm of the crane and pull the lever at the end to 
drop the block and smash through the floor.  Now pull the lever again 
to bring the block back up.  Now position the block over the button and 
drop it again.  Leave it there.  Now jump down off of here and back 
down to the ground.  There's a statue on the left that you have to push 
down into the newly opened section of the floor.  As you are attempting 
to do this, you will be assaulted by Cyclops enemies.  Use MEDUSA'S 
GAZE to beat them quickly.  Once the statue is down the hole, push it 
onto the second button.  Now climb back out and head back across the 
platforms and saw blades to get to where you began this area.  Step on 
the last button and the door will open.  Now pass back over the 
platforms and head through the door.  It will close after a while, but 
you will have enough time to get to it.  In here, at the opposite end 
of the table, you will find another corpse that you can rip the head 
off of.  Do so and Kratos will automatically use it to open the next 
door.  In the next area, head to the right to find a save point and two 
chests with red essence.  Enter the building and go down the spiral 
stairs to reach a room with conveyor belts.  You must kill EVERY enemy 
that appears.  Take out the Archers first.  Use ZEUS' FURY if you want, 
or just equip the Artemis Blade and tear through them. Once all the 
Archers are gone, you must deal with the Harpies.  LOTS of Harpies.  I 
would switch back to the Blades of Chaos to deal with these nuisances.  
ARMY OF HADES helps, as well. Just mash Square while moving around to 
avoid contact with the spinning gears on the left and sides of the 
room.  Also, if you jump on the ledges where some of the Archers are, 
and stay there for awhile you will get hit by steam or something.  It 
kills you instantly.  When the barrier drops, enter the next room and 
examine the mural on the floor.  In the next room, pull the lever to 
reveal Pandora's Box.  Examine it.  When the elevator stops, pull the 
box out the temple's entrance.  This triggers a rather nasty and 
seemingly anti-climactic scene.  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Path of Hades
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Walk up the backbone and open the health chest on the right if you need 
it.  There's a save point here.  Leap across the platforms ahead.  Go 
north to find a red essence chest.  Head right to find a second red 
essence chest.  From this chest, head left to find the next ledge. 
Fight the Hell soldiers here.  They aren't much different from previous 
incarnations.  Continue up to the next ledge and kill more Hell 
soldiers.  Now you have to walk across the spinning blade pole.  If you 
get hit by one of the blades, you will fall to your death.  There is 
not much I ca tell you here.  Jump to the second platform on the right 
for a red essence chest.  At the end is another red essence chest, but 
an Archer spawns in front of it, and if you get hit with an arrow while 
standing on the pole, you are doomed.  Now head across the pole on the 
right and then go south for another red essence chest.  Don't forget 
about those Archers.  Head back to the very first pole.  Find the pole 
on the left. At its end, jump to the pole on the right, and head to the 
end of this pole to find two chests.  You will also be attacked by Hell 
Harpies.  Use the Blades of Chaos against them, and make sure to take 
them all out before continuing, because they can (and most likely will) 
attack you if you ignore them and try to head back over the poles.  Now 
jump to the ledge on the right and continue across the next pole.  
Follow this pole to the end.  More Harpies here.  In the next area is a 
save point (on the left) and a chest (on the right), which you will 
probably need to use.  Now you have to jump across some platforms as 
Archers fire arrows at you in the distance.  You can use ZEUS' FURY, 
but you will probably run out of magic power before all the Archers are 
dead.  If your magic bar is maxed out, though, you may be able to do 
it. I found it easier just to avoid the arrows and chop up the Archers 
with the Artemis Blade once I got to them.  Keep in mind that their 
arrows aren't that painful.  Now, here, you must defeat all of the 
enemies that appear on the ledges as you ascend them.  Archers and Hell 
Minotaurs.  You can use the Artemis Blade to get this done fairly 
quickly, but another good tactic is to switch to the Blades of Chaos 
and use them against the Minotaurs.  Not only will they cause damage, 
but they will push the Minotaurs back, in most cases enough to send 
them off the edge.  Once all enemies are gone, the barrier drops.  

Now comes something that is ridiculously frustrating.  You will a see a 
vertical rotating blade pole.  You have to climb this, obviously, and 
it isn't particularly easy.  About the only thing I can recommend is to 
ascend slowly, looking for gaps in the blades and maneuvering through 
them.  You will get pushed to the side as you climb, and it is very 
likely that you will get stuck here or in between blades when you get 
close to the top.  Needless to say, when you get hit, you fall all the 
way to the bottom.  One thing to keep in mind: when you reach the top 
of the pole and the coast is clear, press X to jump up to grab onto the 
top quickly and pull yourself up.  Kill the enemies and open the chest 
for red essence, and then continue right to find the second blade pole.  
This one can be trickier and more difficult than the last one, but the 
same tactics apply.  Once you get to the top of this pole, you will 
find a save point and two chests.  Cross the platforms.  On the right 
is a red essence chest.  The next ledge has Hell Pandora Guards, and 
you must keep killing them until all the platforms have risen.  There 
are chests nearby if you need them.  Now hop across the platforms, and 
be sure to get the chests on the left and right.  At the end, climb the 
rope to exit Hades. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Temple of the Oracle
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Use the save point.  Open the chests if you need to refill health or 
magic.  Head up the stairs.  Defeat the enemies that appear (Minotaur 
and Cyclops) to lower the barrier.  Exit to the left.  Head up the 
staircase and kill the enemies in your way.  In the large chamber up 
top, kill the Archers (using ZEUS' FURY) and then cross the rubble 
bridge.  There's a chest on the other side.  Head up the stairs on the 
left.  More enemies await you here.  Soon you will be in the area where 
you saved the Oracle.  Drop down to the lower area.  Use the save 
point.  Go through the door in the back to trigger a scene with the 
severely injured Oracle.  Open all the chests on your way to the end.  

Boss: Ares, 1st Phase
Difficulty: 4/5
This fight is actually pretty tough.  Ares is pretty quick and 
powerful, but what would expect from a god?  POSEIDON'S RAGE and ARMY 
OF HADES are very important here.  In fact, I would say they are 
essential.  If oyu have Athena's Blessing (the Blades of Chaos maxed 
out at Level 5), then you should be able to activate Rage of the Gods 
and have unlimited magic power as long as that effect lasts.  I would 
suggest using Rage of the Gods as soon as the battle starts, and then 
using either POSEIDON"S RAGE or ARMY OF HADES over and over again until 
Rage of the Gods ends.  You will still have a full magic bar, so 
unleash them again.  ARMY OF HADES is the more effective of the two 
spells, but POSEIDON'S RAGE is also extremely helpful.  In any sense, 
once you have activated ARMY OF HADES, you can pummel Ares with the 
Artemis Blade or the Blades of Chaos, whichever you prefer.  Ares will 
occasionally drop a lot of orbs after you damage him enough, and these 
orbs can restore a lot of health and magic.  Keep in mind that you can 
block most of Ares' attacks.  One attack to look out for is where Ares 
will jump into the air and throw flaming rocks at you.  Use the evade 
roll (Right Analog Stick) to avoid this.  Once you have whittled away 
most of his health, the Circle Button will appear over his head.  Get 
close and press the Circle Button to grab Ares.  Once you have done so, 
mash the Circle Button repeatedly until a new Button icon appears.  
IMMEDIATELY hit this button when it appears, and then press the other 
buttons in the sequence to finish off Ares.  If you screw up, you will 
have to do the sequence over again.  

2nd Phase: Defend Kratos' Family 
Difficulty: 4/5
This can be tough, as well.  You must protect Kratos' wife and child 
from clones of himself.  After defeating Ares, you should have gotten 
enough red essence to fully upgrade ARMY OF HADES. You should also max 
out the Artemis Blade if you haven't already done so.  Now, about the 
only way you can do this without much trouble is by activating Rage of 
the Gods and then using ARMY OF HADES.  Do this until you have 
exhausted your magic power, and if the clones are still coming at you, 
then just start mashing the Square Button while using the Artemis Blade 
and you should take the rest of them down pretty quickly.  As the 
battle proceeds, the structure you're in will start to break apart, and 
if you aren't careful, you can fall to your death.  Stay close to your 
family at all times.  Your attack won't hurt them.  Press Circle to 
transfer some of Kratos' health to his family, if theirs runs low.  

3rd Phase
Difficulty: 3/5
Easier than the first two, primarily because you can block EVERY one of 
Ares' attacks, except the one where the pillars come out of the ground.  
Roll to avoid being crushed them.  This attack is signaled when Ares 
disappears into the ground.  Other than that, if you just hold the L1 
button, you won't take any damage, unless you counter at the wrong 
time.  Wait for Ares to do an uppercut.  Once he does that, press 
Square (while still holding L1) to attack him quickly and not leave 
yourself open to damage.  When the Circle Button appears over him, 
press it to grab him, and then keep pressing it to perform a move that 
causes big damage and stuns Ares for a few seconds afterwards.  This is 
crucial to your success.  Also note that whenever you damage Ares, your 
health goes up, if he damages you, then his health goes up.  Once you 
defeat him, you will trigger a scene, and gain access to Mount Olympus.  
You will also get ATHENA'S BLADES.  

In the Mount Olympus throne room, you can destroy the statues of Ares 
and the Minotaur (this requires a lot of hits, possibly 70 or more) on 
the left and right to receive a hidden message (a phone number 1-888-
447-5594).  Approach the throne and sit down to complete the game and 
watch the ending sequence.