Like "God of War", the game uses Santa Monica's Kinetica engine. Senior combat designer Derek Daniels said that for "God of War II", they were basing the magical attacks on elements (e.g., air and earth). He said the combat system was updated so that it flowed smoothly between attacks and switching between weapons and magic. He said that they were working for a similar balance of puzzle solving, exploration, and combat seen in the first game, and they used elements that worked in that game as a base for the overall balance. Unlike "God of War" where magic had a small role, Daniels said that for "God of War II", their goal was to make magic an integral part of the combat system and to make it more refined. Barlog said the game would feature new creatures and heroes from the mythology, and he wanted to put more boss battles in it. Commenting on multiplayer options, Barlog said that "there are possibilities for that but it is not something we are doing right now." He said that he felt that "God of War" is a single-player experience, and although multiplayer "would be cool," it did not appeal to him to work on. As for a PlayStation Portable (PSP) installment, he said that he thought it "would be freaking awesome," but not something he had time to work on and it was Sony's decision whether or not to make a PSP installment.