Buzz Mag - May - God of War: Chains of Olympus Review

God of War: Chains of Olympus - Review

Kratos, the fictional god of war. A Spartin captain who traded his soul for victory on the battlefield. A man tricked into murdering his own family by the very god who granted him victory. A man haunted by the nightmares of his past, only finding peace in the heat of battle.

SCE Santa Monica Studio’s God of War: Chains of Olympus (CoO) takes place ten years prior to the events of the first game, while Kratos is playing servant to the gods. The game begins in the city of Attica, Kratos has been tasked with defending the city from a Persian invasion. Here Kratos faces the nightmares unleashed by the Persian army. After the battle is over Kratos watches as the sun falls from the heavens and the world descends into darkness. Kratos then sets out on an adventure to get to the bottom of this eerie event. An adventure in which Kratos will be forced to face the demons of his past, battle the queen of the underworld and uncover a nefarious plot to destroy the pillar of everything he knows and once loved.

Just like the previous god of war the controls are spot on. Due to the limiting constraints of the PSP, many of the controls have been streamlined making the best of the PSP’s capabilities.
Buttons matching sequences also make a return. This is where the player is given the option to enter an animation where they must hit buttons in sequence with buttons displayed on the screen in order to pull of special moves. The button sequences can be a good break from the somewhat repetitive combat system.
Puzzles also play a large part in the games progression, the puzzles are usually intelligent and not overly challenging. But it is easy to get stuck on something that’s staring you in the face. However the sense of fulfillment is well, worth the frustration.

By far the most impressive thing about CoO is the graphical quality. Santa Monica Studio has paid close attention to the animation’s, resulting in the best animations you will find on the PSP, they are fluid, beautiful to look at and all done with no sacrifice to frame rate.

As well as great animations Santa Monica has pushed the PSP to the edge with texture rendering. The texture quality is remarkable, rivaling any console God of War game. However the texture quality and animations are all nothing if it where not for the amazing art direction. CoO stays true to the previous God of war Games, maintaining a breathtaking art style. Looking over ancient city skylines as mythical beasts stomp over the buildings and terrorise its inhabitance, makes you forget your playing a game at times.

Chains of Olympus isn’t without its problems. Despite the button matching sequences being a slight relief, the core combat can be repetitive and boring. Combined with, often walking into a room, the door locks behind you and the only way out is through a horde of bad guys, the game begins to feel more like a MMO grind at times than a action adventure. Also, due to the puzzles, back tracking is often required which can really hammer a nail right into the rhythm of the game.

God of War: Chains of Olympus is one of the best titles available for the PSP. The story is compelling, the controls are solid, the graphics are remarkable and the problems aren’t too much to worry about. If you where a fan of the previous games you should already own this game, if you own a PSP you should already own this game, if you don’t have a PSP, you should go buy one.

SCORE – 9

Luke Gardiner
luke@8bitgoons.com
psn: LukeyG