Review: God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)

In about the last year I've played God of War and its sequel God of War 2 to completion. The former is better with plot and the latter with combat, but both are well above average in both departments. With blood and nudity and a mythological soap opera, the God of War series strikes me as the modern male escapist fantasy equivalent of Burroughs's A Princess of Mars.

Last week the PSP received its own God of War game and I'm pleased to say that it recreates everything I loved about the PS2 games, including a decent story. Frankly, with external developer Ready at Dawn creating this prequel, I was concerned the plot would be second-rate. However, its proficiency at storytelling lags the original slightly while outdoing the sequel. This time we follow the adventures of Kratos, the superhuman servant of Ares, just prior to the events in the first God of War.

While Chains of Olympus succeeds at many things, I was most impressed by the pacing:

• The opening level presents the game's biggest boss (but not the toughest one).
• The third is full of puzzles.
• The fourth provides you with the truly enjoyable hit-reflection ability.
• The sixth takes you to a whole new setting, with several new enemies.
  
• The seventh introduces a new and immensely rewarding weapon.
  
• The eighth is a series of strenuous battles, a plot twist, a final battle, and a clever little conclusion that leads directly into the story of the original God of War.

I don't care how much people complain about the length of the game (which I completed in just over six hours), it's really packaged quite well. As for the length -- I don't want to spend more than six hours playing any handheld game, even over the course of several days.

Interestingly, my favorite moment in the game didn't involve combat or a puzzle. As you may know, heavy doors and objects are lifted in God of War by pounding the circle button repeatedly. Near the end of Chains of Olympus, Kratos has to commit a difficult act of personal sacrifice which is acted out through circle-button mashing. It's a simple variation on a common mechanic, yet I thought it was effective in conveying the emotional weight of the moment.

All around, I enjoyed God of War: Chains of Olympus a great deal -- both for its gameplay and its furthering the story of Kratos -- and I recommend it.

Labels: psp, reviews, sex, story, violence

--jvm at 20:41

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