Reviews

For all the complaints that have been levelled at Sony in this current generation, we'd be foolish to forget the number of decent new franchises that the PS2 era brought to our attention. One such franchise was God of War, which at heart was little more than an old school hack and slash game, but provided enough action to keep players occupied and entertained.

The simplistic, but highly playable nature of the game makes it a perfect fit for the PSP, and as a result, Kratos' portable adventure proves to be one of the finer titles on offer for Sony's hand-held device.

Surprisingly, only a fool would bet against the little guy

If you've never played either of the two PSP iterations of the game, then fear not, as the actions of Chains of Olympus take place 10 years before the original game. Thusly, the action here serves as a prequel to the other two games, following Kratos as he battles for the Gods against the Persians and other enemies.

As you can imagine, you'll face numerous generic enemy types, all of whom can be dispatched at the hands of your powerful weapon and fist-based combos, controlled by the main four face buttons. Meanwhile, the shoulder buttons are on hand to deal with blocking strikes, or can act as modifiers for rolling out of the way of other shots.

Ah, the standard "hero overlooks burning city" shot.

When not involved in combat, you'll often find yourself looking for the means of accessing the next area of a level. Thankfully, you're usually given a clear clue by way of a shining mark on the relevant object. Upon approaching, a button prompt appears on-screen, letting you know whether you need to either tap the button, hold it down, or move an object into place with the control stick. One early iteration will see you turning a handle to open a door across the other side of the area, which you'll then need to sprint over to and roll underneath before it closes.

Naturally, as you progress, these puzzle-like moments will start to become trickier, and in a way, cleverer as well. They do provide an added element of depth, and a neat distraction from the on-going fighting sections as well.