God of War - Review

God of War: Chains of Olympus' story takes place before the first God of War game on the PlayStation 2, which is a little confusing because you find yourself trying to remember just what had and hadn't happened in Kratos' twisted life at the time of the first game. At this particular point in the God of War timeline, Kratos is a general whose sole purpose is to serve the gods of Olympus. During the course of Chains of Olympus, the gods' orders create a certain moral dilemma for Kratos, and he finds himself faced with the decision of whether or not to do the bidding of his gods or do what is best for him. The story doesn't play a prominent role here, but this is God of War, so all you really need to know is why Kratos is pissed off so you can go off and slaughter mythical creatures with reckless abandon.

The effortless feeling of control and combat has carried over extremely well; practically perfect, in fact. The combat is extremely responsive, and remains the one trait that assures a very satisfying and addictive experience. The mini-game boss kills are back in full swing, as are a number of other features. You can employ powers of various bosses that you defeat, simply by holding down the R shoulder and pressing Triangle.

You'll be able to upgrade your weapons by using all of the orbs you pick up throughout the game. With each upgrade comes added weapon strength, as well as new moves gained. In addition to upgrading your Blades of Chaos, you'll also be able to enhance various other things, such as your specific magic powers - again, which are acquired when defeating various bosses. On top of that, scattered around the game will be status enhancing items. There are a number of different items, all with their own unique enhancement - collect five of each and you'll be rewarded with increased health, magic, among other abilities.

Furthermore, most of the moves you're used to pulling off have made the transition into Chains of Olympus, but in addition to that, Ready at Dawn also took a creative initiative by adding a number of new moves for Kratos - and they are pretty awesome. In addition to that, as you play the game, you'll notice that the A.I. will fight between each other - so, in the beginning of the game, you'll actually see your fellow Spartans fighting against the enemy Persian army.

Of course, there are several extras available once you finish the game. You'll unlock concept art along with one bonus costume and video by finishing the game on the default difficulty. You can also go back and play through on the ultrahard god mode or try to complete the five tasks in the challenge of Hades, each of which quickly reveals the reason behind its name.

Chains of Olympus delivers almost everything you'd want from a God of War game on the PSP. It's reasonable to expect a few concessions when a series transitions from a console to a handheld, Chains of Olympus does make a few that are worth noting. The biggest issue the game has is that it does almost nothing new. Even the played-out sex minigame is back for another tryst. Granted, it's the same formula fans of the series have come to know and love, but it would have been nice for at least a few new gameplay ideas to be introduced. Instead, the game goes the other way and actually feels a little stripped-down in parts; there are fewer weapons, levels, and boss fights, though there are still plenty of quick button-pressing minigames--perhaps a few too many.

It's also rather short. As far as we can tell, we collected all but one of the hidden chests and still saw the ending credits in less than seven hours. You're left wanting more because the game is a blast, but it's still over far too quickly. One thing the developer didn't compromise is load times. Most areas stream instantaneously, and there are probably less than 60 seconds out of the entire game in which you're waiting for the next area to load.

Even though it's on the PSP, Chains of Olympus still features no shortage of absurdly gigantic monsters, which you'll each pulverize to their respective bloody deaths. Best of all, the framerate doesn't even seem to take the slightest hit. Plus, if you happen to own a PSP Slim, you can play this on your HDTV, and you'll still find yourself impressed by its visuals. Sony has found a developer that is truly harnessing the power of the PlayStation Portable.

The audio is executed every bit as well on the PSP as it was on the PS2. The voice actors behind the past two games, including Kratos, continue to shine in Chains of Olympus, and the delivery of each line is superbly done. Chains of Olympus still features the signature God of War orchestrated soundtrack, complete with war drums in the background that do a great job of keeping tensions high. The audio is fantastic stuff here, but did you expect anything less?

With Patapon and God of War: Chains of Olympus, the PSP is looking extremely nice this early on into 2008. And with Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII still on the way, things are going to get better. That said, there's no denying that God of War: Chains of Olympus is arguably the best PlayStation Portable game to date. There is simply nothing on the console that comes close to its polish, gameplay, and production values. To have a game as epic as God of War in the palm of your hands is absolute bliss. This game alone makes purchasing a PSP worthy - no fan of the series, or the action genre, should be without it.