The Flame of Olympus II
Save your game and move into the open hallway. The hallway introduces you to a new enemy: a ghostly Siren. At first, they are immune to physical attacks, but use the head of Helios on them to draw out their corporeal form. Only then can Kratos' attacks have any effect on them. Spam the Hyperion Ram on these whiny broads and finish them off.
Loot the chest at the end of the hallway and run up the spiraling staircase. Through the gates is a large room with a strange mechanism. Before any attempts on cracking the secret of it, ride up the air vent on the left side to find a Phoenix Feather in one of the chests.
What you need to do here is reach the top platform with four spinning contraptions. Starting at the first one on the far right, spin it three times. Now moving from right to left, spin the next one three times also and leave the third one alone. Spin the last one once only. The design below starts to look like a sword. Now move to the PS3 button scheme in the center of the room below.
Press the buttons as they hit the stencil in the center correctly; sometimes you need to press two buttons at once. Once the puzzle is solved, a lever replaces the button scheme, so pull it to activate the elevator. In the middle of its descent, the elevator stops and enemies sporting heavy shields board the elevator. These guys can't be touched for now so stay on the defensive until a Gorgon joins the party. Terminate the Gorgon and use its petrifying gaze to "freeze" the other enemies, at which point they can be shattered into little bits and pieces. Repeat with the second group.
Hit up the crank in the center and slowly turn it. Head through the newly revealed hallway, battle it out with some Wraiths and descend the spiral staircase. Use the Helios' Head to uncover a hidden chest and empty it for a Gorgon Eye. Save here and prepare to face another god.
Boss Battle: Hercules
After much chatter, the next combatant is revealed: Kratos' brother, Hercules. This muscled brute relies heavily on sheer strength. At first, it will only just be Kratos and never ending clusters of normal baddies. Prove to Hercules that he needs to throw more than just a few wimps at Kratos for Hercules to finally don his Nemean Cestus and step into the ring. Unlike a past lengthy encounter with a certain God of the Underworld, Hercules possesses only a few albeit powerful tricks and uses them in high frequency.
Hercules swings in a one-two combo and finishes with a powerful ground slam that causes splash damage. The destructive force can send Kratos flying backward. This is especially bad if Kratos stands near a spiked wall, at which point the force of the blow embeds Kratos in the wall. Mash the appropriate buttons to rip free from the wall. The numerous lackeys running around with Hercules can be annoying, but Battering Ram is an effective and fast way of dealing with them.
Inflict enough damage to the big meathead while dodging his Cestus attacks until Hercules lets out an enraged roar and charges Kratos. Mash the Circle button to stay his ground and then shove Hercules into a spiked wall. The cornered Hercules gets his armored ripped out one-by-one when this happens, so this needs to be done two more times.
When enough damage is dealt, Hercules appeals to Hera for some emotional support. With Hercules clearly distracted, this presents a golden opportunity for retaliation, and Kratos wastes no time in acting on the impulse. Kratos claims the Nemean Cestus, leaving Hercules with nothing but pure brawn. Hercules doesn't mind, however, since he prefers it this way. He actually gets a little more dangerous now that he resorts more to grappling moves--ones that can fling Kratos clear across the arena and crush the wind out of him.
Utilize more evasive maneuvers and give it to him good with your new toys. Eventually, Hercules lifts up a chunk of the entire arena floor, and you will need to match the context buttons on-screen to drive Kratos back toward Hercules. Finish off this dumb brute and claim his Nemean Cestus for good.
Dive underwater to obtain Hercules' Shoulder Guard, then navigate through the tunnels to a small ambush. Here Kratos gains Nemean Roar and a regenerating magic meter for infinite use of the new magic attack. Clear them all out and turn the wheel to open the gate. The gate won't stay open for long, so quickly run under the gate.
