In God of War II, Kratos attacks the island of Rhodes at the start of the game.
The opening places Kratos, now the new God of War, in a massive assault on Rhodes. He appears as a gigantic version of himself and leads Spartan forces against the city and its defenders. The sequence establishes that the Olympian gods distrust Kratos and sets up Zeus's betrayal.
Rhodes is a historically important Greek island in the southeastern Aegean Sea. In the game, its famous Colossus is brought into the action as a magical animated statue rather than being presented as a strictly historical monument. This helps explain why some players remember the opening as taking place at the Colossus itself, while the broader setting is the island of Rhodes.
After Zeus strips Kratos of his powers and kills him, Gaia rescues him from the Underworld. Kratos then begins his campaign against Olympus, making Rhodes the starting point for the game's central revenge story.