God of WarMoves on Up to PSP

Praise to the roman gods for this masterful return of our epic hero Kratos. God of War: Chains of Olympus developed by Ready at Dawn Studios has appeared and it is glorious. An enormous fan of the first two titles I had mixed feelings upon hearing of the plans to release a game for the PSP. Luckily, for me and for all other fans of the series or quite simply action games in general this orchestration of glory is incredible.

Immediately upon starting up the game you will notice the look. The graphics are nothing short of amazing. Personally, I had serious worries regarding the look on the PSP. However, upon watching the game begin and your fist scenes of combat you will feel right back at home starring at the detail on your 1080 HD Flat screen on your comfortable couch. Marveling at the graphics, this game will truly allow you to appreciate what the PSP can do.

The story follows before that of the previous two tiles, picking up with Kratos before the previous events. The Island of Rhodes website revealed that God of War: Chains of Olympus is a prequel to the God of War series. According to GameSpot, "It chronicles the various adventures of Kratos throughout the ten years he spent in servitude of the Gods (hence the game's name which implies a bond between the series' protagonist and the deities of Olympus) preceding the events of God of War." The music and sound elements of the game maintain the same epic yet driving intensity fans have come to expect. Again, despite the small screen, the heroic atmosphere is still felt with the combination of the sound and the impressive visuals.

Marveling again at the PSP's capability, all one has to due is witness the actual game play. The effects are an epic combination of brutality and beauty. Not only that, but the controls flow so smoothly. Having played both of the previous console versions of God of War, I can easily say that the controls feel great. Combat and movement flows through the controls of the PSP, as you unleash combo after combo with I dare say at least as much control as with the dual shock controller for PS2. The battles look and feel as they did on the console and flow with the same ease and impressive speed. Puzzles of course play a heavy role in the game, as you must use your various abilities and intelligence to progress through game. While, often inventive and challenging, the puzzles (as puzzles often are) due tend to get a tad repetitive, but do overall maintain their entertainment value.

The boss battles, as I would expect from a God of War title, show themselves to be both fun intuitive as usual. Overall, the enemies you face throughout normal game play are nothing surprising, usually just copies or imitations of other enemies in other reincarnations of the series. The only flaw, so far as I'm concerning, is the game time. Purposely taking my time, I took maybe 10 hours. Perfect for a transcontinental flight maybe not quite as great for a diehard fan looking for the next saga in the God of War series, God of War: Chains of Olympus is still an amazing game. Essentially, the game is everything on the PS2 on the PSP. If you loved the originals you will love this prequel. Essentially, if you own a PSP you need this game. The amazing graphics and visuals alone are enough to sell the game and the system itself, as everything appears incredibly rendered and show off the power of the very system itself.

Visuals and sound: 10
Gameplay: 10
Originality: 8
Control: 10
Gametime/Replay value: 7

Overall: 9 Highly recommended