Review Corner

Review: God of War: Chains of Olympus

By sheese - March 1, 2009 - 16:24 e

Review for PSP – God of War: Chains of Olympus

God of War: Chains of Olympus is another of the swords-and-magic genre of video game, set loosely in the area near ancient Greece.  The main character is Kratos, a muscular and scarred former general known by the nickname Ghost of Sparta.  Kratos, haunted by his past, has dedicated his life to champion the cause of the gods in hopes they will reward him with peace of mind.  Said championing involves a great deal of mayhem with a pair of swords attached to metal chains.

No review of God of War could start any place other than the graphics, which are phenomenal.  Rich and detailed, few games even come close to matching the level of sophisticated graphics displayed by God of War.  Action is smooth, settings are precise and the entire effect is nearly a virtual reality experience.  The graphics make this as much a movie as a game.

The game play is both interesting and challenging.  God of War offers four difficulty settings, and the first-time player will likely need to set it on Mortal (Easy) in order to get through the game successfully.  On the God level (Very Hard) players will have to battle for every step.  Obstacles include swarms of minor enemies, a few major enemies providing worthwhile epic battles, and a great number of puzzles.  God of War typically makes a player reason out how to proceed to the next room or step, and these tricky progressions are perfectly balanced between obnoxiously impossible and too easy to be amusing.  Additionally, the player must accumulate red orbs won in battle or random destruction, in order to spend them on unlocking the newest magic and fighting maneuvers.

The biggest argument against games for PSP is that they are not capable of being as intricate and thrilling as a console game.  God of War goes a long way to disprove this notion.  The storyline is more than adequate for this genre of game, even extensive compared to many others.  The fighting provides plenty of button-mashing excitement.  Even experienced PSP aficionados will say they never expected such astounding graphics in a portable game system, full of vivid cut scenes which tell the backstory, and yet allow the player to skip ahead if he doesn’t care to watch.

The sole flaw in this game is that it’s too short.  Any adequate player can finish the entire game in around five hours.  That’s just enough game play to tantalize, not satisfy.  If it weren’t for this single blemish in an otherwise fantastic game, God of War: Chains of Olympus would rate five out of five stars.  As it is, with top-quality graphics and stellar play that holds up against any console-style video game, it gets a solid four out of five stars.

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