God of War: Chains of Olympus PSP review

God of War: Chains of Olympus for PSPThe PlayStation Portable-exclusive God of War: Chains of Olympus is a prequel to the first installment of the franchise.

In this game you experience Kratos’ journey during the 10 years of servitude to the Gods of Olympus.

Can this portable rendition of its console brethren live up to the potential?

System: PSP
Genre: Hack and Slash, Action-Adventure, Platform, Puzzle
Release dates: March 4th 2008 (USA), March 27th 2008 (AUS), March 28th 2008 (EUR)
Players: 1
Save: 420KB minimum
Developer: Ready at Dawn
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Origin: America
Rating: M for Mature with Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content

God of War PSP screenshot

In God of War, Kratos, after being deceived into killing his wife and daughter, denounced his service to Ares. In order to seek absolution from his past sins, the Ghost of Sparta pledged himself as a champion to the Gods for the years to follow – these brutal crusades, in the name of Olympus, became legendary throughout the ancient world. In God of War: Chains of Olympus, Kratos will journey to lands that no mortal has ever walked upon.

With the world plunged in eternal darkness and the Gods rendered powerless, Kratos will face the most feared creatures of Greek Mythology (including Medusa, Cyclops, the Hydra and more), and ultimately be forced to choose between his own personal redemption and saving the ancient world from certain destruction.

God of War quick time event PSP screenshot
I think you know what’s about to happen here.

Chains of Olympus’ gameplay is the same as that in previous God of War games, namely it’s a third-person action adventure game that focuses on intense boss fights and gruesome and violent enemy death scenes through quick time events that you can execute to display a close up kill of the enemy.

This time Kratos is armed with a set of brand new combat moves, magics and weapons that compliment existing favorites. He still collects red orbs to power up his weapons and abilities. He also collects Gorgon eyeballs to increase his health and Phoenix feathers to increase his magic. God of War’s weapons include Kratos’s trademark Blades of Chaos, the weapon that was given to Kratos by Ares when Kratos agreed to serve him and the Gauntlet of Zeus, a magical gauntlet that allows Kratos to unleash devastating punches on his opponents. There is also a Sun Shield that Kratos picks that allows him to block most attacks, parry an attack that stun the opponent and also deflect projectiles back at enemies. Kratos also acquires magical spells throughout the game that helps him deal with the amount of enemies he faces. This includes the Efreet spell, which knocks out all nearby enemies, the Light of Dawn, which allows the player to throw balls of light, and Charon’s Wrath, which can inflict damage on several enemies.

You must lead the Spartan Warrior through foreboding environments, while unraveling story-driven box-based puzzles and battling creatures from the dark underworld. Packed with intense action, epic backdrops and set pieces, and a new captivating storyline. Developed from the outset as an original story, God of War: Chains of Olympus delivers highly detailed graphics, incredible animation detail and yet another adventure in the dark and brutal world of Greek mythology that fans of the God of War franchise have come to know and love.

Watch the God of War: Chains of Olympus launch trailer.

What are God of War: Chains of Olympus’ main features?

* Epic Gameplay on the PSP system: Keeping true to the God of War franchise, experience dramatic camera angles and epic set pieces, offering a never before seen experience on the PSP system.

* Mythological Odyssey: This story is set in a time before the events of God of War, where players will experience Kratos’ journey during the 10yrs of servitude to the Gods of Olympus.

* All New Combat Moves: Players can utilize new brutal combat moves along with their favorite combo attacks from the God of War franchise.

* Exploration: From the Gates of Hades to the Depths of Tartarus, the journey will take players through the dark and brutal world of Greek Mythology. Face-off against all new creatures from Greek Mythology and engage in epic boss battles.

* Puzzle Solving: As players explore the ancient world, prepare to navigate through a labyrinth of challenging puzzles inter-woven into the story.

* Critically-Acclaimed Franchise: Brought to you by two award-winning development teams, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Santa Monica Studios and Ready At Dawn Studios.

Watch some awesome God of War: Chains of Olympus gameplay footage of Kratos battling Cyclops.

As a conclusion let’s rate God of War: Chains of Olympus on its fun-basis.

FUN FACTOR – 10
The red PSP Slim God of War Entertainment Pack - RedThis is why you have, or should have, a PSP. God of War: Chains of Olympus is a stellar achievement that truly shows off the capabilities of PSP. If you’re a fan of the God of War series or even just the action-adventure genre, God of War: Chains of Olympus delivers an epic gameplay experience, boasting lots of magic spells and abilities, with fantastic story-telling to match. It’s a must-have title, you’ll be glued to your PSP screen from start to finish!

Graphics – 10
The graphics on this portable edition of the series are fantastic thanks to Sony releasing a new firmware upgrade that allows games to use the full 333Mhz processor on the PSP (instead of just 222Mhz). Improvements with the faster clock speed allowed God of War: Chains of Olympus to have more realistic blood effects, lighting effects and shadows as well as improved enemy intelligence. God of War’s story is told primarily through cool pre-rendered cutscenes, in-game engine events, and animated concept art. The old Greek art design of the mythical environments looks beautiful and match the story perfectly. It’s particularly impressive to see such varied and detailed levels knowing they only had the limited PSP screen size to work with. The game’s animations look wonderful and make every different combo transition from move to move seamlessly. No noticeable loading times either, even when you’re fighting multiple enemies onscreen while there’s more battles going down in the background, which you’ll mainly see in the first level.

Audio – 10
The music is nothing short of spectacular, it goes from soothing when there’s no action, to an epic orchestral soundtrack when the action’s going on. The soundtrack really fits the game perfectly. The voice acting is another strong suit, it’s convincing and always gripping. Kratos (T.C. Carson) and the story narrator (Linda Hunt) once again stand out above all. Sound effects like those of the weapons and background sounds are all effectively placing you in a violent, ancient Greece. You HAVE to play this game with headphones on to get the full aural experience.

Ingenuity – 9.5
The game’s controls remain mostly unchanged from the other God of War games, but because of the PSP’s reduced amount of buttons the game uses both shoulder buttons and the analog stick in order to dodge. God of War equips its hero with a pair of sword-like chain weapons that can grab enemies, perform multi-hit combos, and pull off a variety of different aerial and magic attacks. Slight platforming elements and an energy collection system have been incorporated as well. The action-heavy gameplay never lets down, feels epic and flows smoothly. Just because it’s a portable game, doesn’t mean it’s any less polished, it’s equal to its console brothers… which are also some of the best games ever made. As long as you don’t mind all the blood and gore, it’ll feel satisfying to control Kratos as the story of his history unfolds.

Replay Value – 7.5
Expect to play through the game in anywhere from five to eight hours. After finishing the game, it’s definitely exciting enough to warrant a replay for the action alone. But most of the replay value comes from The Challenge of Hades that offers unlockable bonus features like: Chains of Olympus concept art, new costumes for Kratos, and “Making Of” videos.