The year 2008 is starting out in spectacular fashion for Sony’s PlayStation Portable. Not long ago, the company released Patapon, an engaging platformer that combined elements of strategic gameplay with roleplaying and musical-rhythm based combat.

Now, on the heels of that wonderful title comes God of War: Chains of Olympus. Without a doubt, GoW: Chains of Olympus shows off the gaming capabilities of the PSP, rendering out a cinematic experience that may be a touch linear, and may have some repetition when it comes to the puzzles, but still is a rich and wonderful bit of entertainment.

For the uninformed, God of War is the story of a former Spartan general named Kratos. Through his own actions, Kratos is a tormented individual, ready to die, but the ancient gods of Greece have other plans for him and employ this brutish, and somewhat bloodthirsty, powerhouse to do their work. It is not always in synch with what Kratos wants, of course, but therein lay the classic elements of Greek tragedy. Kratos, the Ghost of Spartan, tool of the gods, is being used again, under the pretense that the gods will reward him by removing the nightmares that haunt not only his sleeping moments, but his waking ones as well.

And speaking of sleep, as with previous releases in the series, gods and titans make their presence felt, and this time, the threat comes in the form of Morpheus, the god of dreams. The first mission level takes place in Attica and is, more or less, the introduction to the control scheme. The Persians are attacking and using a variety of creatures with the boss being the basilisk. Of course, Kratos is sent to rid the city of this horror.

During the course of this level, players will find out how to string together combat combinations, collect the red orbs emitted from fallen enemies (which in turn can be spent to power up Kratos’ trademark chains), and use the button-matching/mashing finishing moves to dispatch opponents. However, while the window for matching the buttons is slim, gamers will find that they do not have to match the buttons to trigger the cinematic kill sequences (which can be a tad gory, but satisfying in some regards). You can just use the attacks and kill the foes the old-fashioned way – by beating them to bloody pulps.

(If you get the idea there is a fair amount of bloodshed in this game, you are right. There is also some nudity, as well.)

After the Attica sequence, Kratos turns to the heavens and spills a challenge to the gods. The answer he gets might not be what he truly wanted, but it is the key story arc in the game. The sun plummets from the sky and the world is cast into darkness. Helios, the legendary titan that was the personification of the sun (driving a chariot with fire steeds across the sky), has been knocked from his chariot and captured by Atlas. The world is cast into darkness and Morpheus is using the opportunity to induce a deep slumber upon the gods and take control of the world. Athena pleads with Kratos to rescue Helios and save the world.

Okay, like he had anything better to do with his time. But this sets Kratos on a journey through a remarkably rendered landscape that includes not only the temple of Helios, with amazing details and texturing, but even an underwater sequence. After finding the lance of Triton, Kratos is able to breathe underwater, thus allowing the players to see some of the more remarkable graphical nuances of the game. While playing there are a variety of chests that contain power-ups and such scattered throughout the levels. The same holds true for the underwater sequences, but opening the chests is usually preceded by the release of air pressure and bubbles. It is a small thing, but clearly demonstrates the attention to detail present in this game.

The game does feature a variety of new elements, from combat moves and combos to more demonic-like creatures drawn from mythology and more puzzles. The latter is not particularly strong, but you will encounter moments where you are standing and trying to figure out what needs to be done to advance to the next section of the game.

The game also has save points (or checkpoints) scattered throughout and progress can be saved – which is always a good idea.

The cut scenes are cinematic in nature but blend seamlessly with the in-game elements. When it comes to the graphics, GoW: Chains is arguably the best-looking PSP game to date. Not only are the environments, from the creeping fog of Morpheus to the fire sconces on the walls reflecting off the marble floors of the temple, stunning, but the animations are smooth. If there is one drawback to it all is that, at times, the game seems too grand for the PSP’s screen. But counter that with a noticeable lack of load times and you have a game that moves so fluidly you will find yourself drawn in and propelled along an engaging adventure path.

The camera is fixed, but as it is in follow mode and swings around to give an optimal view, it really does not detract from the gameplay elements.

And then there is the sound track to the game. Linda Hunt narrates the story and does a great job. The voice of Kratos is T.C. Carson (actor and producer), who gives the title character a real angry quality that almost sounds like the gruff Riddick voice (Vin Diesel) in Pitch Black. The musical score is also very good. This is a game that deserves stereo ear buds to listen to the richness rather than have the sound pumped through the PSP’s speaker system.

The game mechanics are simply to use. Players will not only have to use the standard hotkeys, but the left and right shoulder bumpers and the analog stick to execute some moves. While that may sound like a lot, it really is not. The control schemes are easy to understand and implement. And there are unlockables along the route and the Challenge of Hades will reward players with a nice array of items to choose from. The game also has three difficulty levels (from an easy mode where you can die, but not easily, to a hard mode where you can die easily), which should make it a challenge for players of any level and add to the replay (can you say more unlockables) as the difficulty level is bumped on subsequent attempts to play through the game.

Chains of Olympus is the prequel to the original God of War story, thus making is a valued part of the franchise. Because it was a God of War title, expectations were high for Chains of Olympus, but the Ready At Down Studios team, in association with SCEA, have done an exquisite job of releasing a game that is highly entertaining as well as a real treat for action gamers. The game is relatively short in length, but even that does not deter from the fact that what has been crafted here is an amazing achievement and a must-own for PSP adventure fans.

Originally from GameZone