Review

Platform: PSP
Developer: Ready At Dawn Studios
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America

Reviewed by Mikey Dowling on 2.27.2008

Review Rating: 9/10

User Rating: 8.5/10

The most important statement that this review can hold is a nod to the talent of the employees at Ready At Dawn Studios. They have taken a huge Sony first-party console game, and have crafted one of (if not the) best handheld experiences ever. God of War: Chains of Olympus is as faithful to its console brethren as any fan of the franchise could have hoped for, while offering a unique experience and not just being a simple port of one of the two previously released games.

God of War: CoO takes place before the first God of War game. Kratos is in servitude to the gods and is looking for freedom from his past. You start the game by defending the city of Attica from the oncoming Persian army and their very own basilisk. Think the battle at Rhodes from God of War II, and you'll get an idea of how the level plays out. From there, the story takes off with you going on a journey to save Helios -- the god of the sun -- who has apparently fallen, along with his chariot, from the sky. Along the way you'll encounter various faces from Greek mythology, while also seeing how some things were set up for the later portions of Kratos' journey.

In terms of gameplay God of War: CoO hits the GoW formula right on target, offering a control scheme that works perfectly on the PSP even with the lack of two additional buttons and another analog stick. How to do you use magic? Hold R and hit the corresponding magic button (triangle, circle, or square), and there you have it. How do you do the ever-critical dodge maneuver? Hold both L and R while hitting the analog stick in the direction you want to go. It works well and is highly responsive. After the first half-an-hour of the game, everything will become second nature. Even weapon switching is done with ease by just pressing down on the d-pad. When you think of how close the d-pad and the analog stick are on the PSP, you can imagine how easy this is to do without detracting from the action.

Speaking of action, there will be a lot of it. This isn't a bad thing mind you, but some of the more adventure oriented moments from the console versions of GoW are a bit missed. The puzzles are few and far between and only one of them really has you thinking what you need to do to get your desired outcome. It seems that Ready At Dawn wanted to focus on having people explore the more brutal side of Kratos rather than him pushing statues around and the like. In a way it makes sense, since it does seem a little out of character for Kratos to tear through hordes of enemies only to stop and make sure a box is in the right place.

One aspect Ready At Dawn definitely didn't let off on was the graphics. Easily the best-looking game on the PSP (so very sorry Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops), God of War: Chains of Olympus looks like it was taken right from a PS2 build of the game and put in the palms of your hands. Ready At Dawn was able to up the processor speed of the PSP to 333MHz, and the added boost really shows. Textures are vibrant. Animations are fluid. Floors have reflections. It's truly easy to forget that you're playing a handheld (unless your battery dies right in the middle of the game's longest puzzle, then you remember and curse the skies).

The apparent chaos effect of the graphics being so great is that the narrative is a bit short. Although a good story that is compelling from start to finish, it's over far too quickly (just under 5 hours on normal). Though, this is made up for with a bevy of challenges to go through and of course the prerequisite God mode which in turns unlocks all of the game's extras. So although a short experience, there is a load of replayability that will keep you coming back for more. Especially considering how fun the main game is.

If you have a PSP and are a fan of the God of War series: You need this game.

If you have a PSP and are looking for a new game to play: You need this game.

If you've never played a God of War game in your life, and are unsure about it: Don't worry. You'll love this game.

Boxart

Media

5.1.2007 - Trailer