This is a PSP Game?
Okay, I admit it. When I first heard about God of War coming to the PSP, I was excited and concerned at the same time. I knew Sony would put a tremendous effort into ensuring a quality title, but I wasn’t so sure the PSP would hold up to the standard that the two PS2 versions have set for the series. I was concerned about the controls, the visuals, the epic feel that permeates with the God of War games – how could all of that come together on the PSP?
Well, quite frankly, it does, and it does very well. From the opening title screen, I got goose bumps just looking that the menacing image of Kratos and hearing that wonderful theme song blaring out of the PSP speakers. Firing up the campaign, I discovered quick load times and quality graphics that not only looked good, but were very fluid. Brief tutorials throughout the opening of the game, similar to the other God of War games, explained the controls that turned out to be very natural and smooth, even without the second analog stick. To roll, for example, you simple press the left analog nub and L and R at the same time; it works very well; I would say the same for the rest of the controls, with the minor exception of weapon switching. You accomplish this with the d-pad, and my only minor complaint was the brief delay in response to a button press. Then again, this could have been as much from game design as anything; regardless, it’s a very minor point to make.
That said, you can hardly tell this is a PSP game. The presentation and control is sound and well done. It’s really unfortunate that as of now there are no plans to port this to the PS2; who knows, however, if this will remain the case as the release of God of War 3 draws slowly nearer.
Kratos’ Journey
As most of you know from the first God of War, Kratos is a heavily burdened man. With the accidental slaying of his family, he has sought little but relief from the nightmares within him, something only the Gods can free him of. Without trying to give away too much of the story for either of the two PS2 God of War games, suffice it to say that in Chains of Olympus, Kratos’ adventure takes place in between the stories of the first and second. In his quest to relieve himself of these terrible nightmares, Kratos is tasked by the Gods of Olympus to stop Morpheus, the Greek God of dreams. The story unfolds nicely, if a bit abruptly by the end, but some of the ideas Ready At Dawn implemented in displaying the character of Morpheus were intriguing. You will see their ideas visually, in terms of how the environments are changed by his presence and power, and in simple puzzles that Kratos must solve to advance. On that note, the puzzles in Chains of Olympus are standard fare for a God of War game, although fewer in number and, if memory serves, the easiest out of all three adventures thus far.
Combat in Chains of Olympus is a hoot. The ever-present Blades of Chaos return, and Zeus’ Gauntlets pack quite a punch. Kratos wields new magic powers too, including Effrit, who punishes with fire, the Light of Dawn, your primary range attack, and Charon’s Wrath, a powerful ability that drains the life of your foes by surrounding them in a green cloud. As usual you can upgrade these abilities and your weapons to increase damage and learn new moves;you can also increase your health and magic meters by finding Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers.
Enemies in Chains of Olympus are about as punishing as ever. I did play through this game just once so far, and on Hard mode, and it was quite a good challenge, but ultimately not nearly as hard as the console games. Kratos’ eight stages feature new and interesting bosses, one of my favorites being Charon, whom you fight on the boat that leads to the gates of Hades. He’s a tough old wretch, but tends to be predictable. Anyway, the standard formula that many games employ of entering an area, having the exits sealed off, and enemies spawning in is what you will find a lot of in Chains of Olympus, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I thought Ready At Dawn made every area of the game, even on Hard mode, fair, fun, challenging, and rewarding. That is, except for the final boss fight that will drive you crazy until you reach the checkpoint midway through it. This is due to a terrible design decision that forces you to watch a nearly forty second cutscene every time you die, which for me happened within twenty seconds a lot of times. I also would add that the save spots in Chains of Olympus are nicely positioned; they seem more frequent than the console games.
Like most of you, I was curious about how long Chains of Olympus was purported to be. I briefly perused some articles on the Internet claiming Chains of Olympus is just five or six hours in length, but I got more along the lines of twice that. Granted, I was playing on Hard mode and exploring every nook and crevice in the game world for secrets and for enjoyment. By the time the eight stages were complete, sure, I would have loved to have had a longer game; that goes for any game that I am thoroughly enjoying, but for a portable, Chains of Olympus does a great job of including just the right amount of content. Of course, there are also the Challenge of Hades mini-games that unlock various videos, artwork, and even a couple of alternate (although goofy) costumes for Kratos that you can attempt after completing the story.