Game Review: God of War: Chains of Olympus
Andrew Scagnelli
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: Opinion
"God of War: Chains of Olympus" is a new character-action game by Ready at Dawn Studios exclusively for the PlayStation Portable. The game came out to a decent amount of buzz, at least for a PSP game. The buzz is definitely warranted, due to some great design decisions, a brisk pace and ingenuity forced by the limitations of the PSP.
Ready at Dawn advertises GoW:CoO as a full-on prequel, rather than a watered-down handheld version, and in this vision does a great job fulfilling on their potential. Standing against the other PSP games to date, CoO is probably the best-looking, on even ground with titles like Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and the Syphon Filter games. Even better, CoO compares favorably against the PlayStation 2 based previous games in the series, something previously unheard of in the portable space.
Looking beyond the shine of the graphics, CoO works as a console game and as a portable game. In order to make the game playable on a portable console, Ready at Dawn made sure the save points were spread out reasonably, usually ten or twenty minutes apart. Crates that refill magic and health are usually placed just before and after major fights, sporadically through the levels, and typically around save points, to minimize frustration. The limitations of the system were even thought through, with the system taking advantage of the natural resting position of a player's thumbs and index fingers. Dodging, which on the console versions was handled with the right stick, is implemented as pulling both triggers while pushing on the analog stick, a move that feels more urgent than using the second stick, while still leaving the right thumb free for attacks with the face buttons.
The only major issue with the game is its length. On my first play-through, I completed the game in just over four and a half hours on the "Hero" default difficulty. The adventure mode can be replayed on any of four difficulty levels, either with a powered-up character, or starting again from scratch. Additionally, there are five unlockable challenges, as well as a few bonus costumes, videos and concept art for those looking to stretch out their money's worth. Ultimately, the full $39.99 retail price feels a bit steep for such a short title, but your mileage may vary depending on the difficulty, which can take up to ten hours to complete.
Taken by itself, CoO is an amazing example of the PSP's technical capabilities. Based on post-release interviews with Ready at Dawn, the hardware could have been pushed even further than what was used, if only developers would take the device seriously. As it stands now, CoO is the best-looking and most-polished game for the PSP, and well deserves a place in your collection, even if only as a bargain-bin purchase.
Final Score: 4.5/5
Ready at Dawn advertises GoW:CoO as a full-on prequel, rather than a watered-down handheld version, and in this vision does a great job fulfilling on their potential. Standing against the other PSP games to date, CoO is probably the best-looking, on even ground with titles like Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops and the Syphon Filter games. Even better, CoO compares favorably against the PlayStation 2 based previous games in the series, something previously unheard of in the portable space.
Looking beyond the shine of the graphics, CoO works as a console game and as a portable game. In order to make the game playable on a portable console, Ready at Dawn made sure the save points were spread out reasonably, usually ten or twenty minutes apart. Crates that refill magic and health are usually placed just before and after major fights, sporadically through the levels, and typically around save points, to minimize frustration. The limitations of the system were even thought through, with the system taking advantage of the natural resting position of a player's thumbs and index fingers. Dodging, which on the console versions was handled with the right stick, is implemented as pulling both triggers while pushing on the analog stick, a move that feels more urgent than using the second stick, while still leaving the right thumb free for attacks with the face buttons.
The only major issue with the game is its length. On my first play-through, I completed the game in just over four and a half hours on the "Hero" default difficulty. The adventure mode can be replayed on any of four difficulty levels, either with a powered-up character, or starting again from scratch. Additionally, there are five unlockable challenges, as well as a few bonus costumes, videos and concept art for those looking to stretch out their money's worth. Ultimately, the full $39.99 retail price feels a bit steep for such a short title, but your mileage may vary depending on the difficulty, which can take up to ten hours to complete.
Taken by itself, CoO is an amazing example of the PSP's technical capabilities. Based on post-release interviews with Ready at Dawn, the hardware could have been pushed even further than what was used, if only developers would take the device seriously. As it stands now, CoO is the best-looking and most-polished game for the PSP, and well deserves a place in your collection, even if only as a bargain-bin purchase.
Final Score: 4.5/5