God of War: Chains of Olympus
Preview
The best action on the small screen?
by Eroteme
previewed on PSP
The Gods spare no mercy!
How do you condense one of the most exciting video game franchises of all time, its enigmatic and violent anti-hero and intuitive, brutal combat system into a cohesive and enjoyable UMD? Ready at Dawn Studios, with the help of God of War creators Santa Monica Studios, might have it figured out. The PSP-savvy will recognize that Ready at Dawn was responsible for another high-quality spin-off, Daxter. If that game was any sign, the potential and desire to make a quality product is definitely there. Who could expect less from Kratos?
God of War: Chains of Olympus focuses on Kratos’ most violent and brutal days, days spent after being deceived by Ares and accidentally slaying his own family. The Ghost of Sparta turns his back on the God of War, opting instead to lend his efforts to the gods of Olympus. Promised amnesty for the sins of murdering his family, Kratos carries out the will of the gods. This ten-year period of time explained in Chains of Olympus will likely flesh out Kratos’ involvement with all of the characters found in the later games.
There Will Be Blood
A demo disc circulated retail stores across America months ago, giving almost all PSP owners a chance to play the game in advance. The demo was pretty exciting, offering about ten to fifteen minutes of action. It started on the rooftop of a building near the Attica shoreline, with a Persian fleet ruthlessly pressing forward and into the city. Kratos had to fight off groups of Persian soldiers, a basilisk mini-boss, and the Persian King before acquiring Efreet magic and pushing forward into the city. There weren’t a lot of different areas in the short demo, but there was enough going on to give a good sense of where God of War: Chains of Olympus stands among other handheld action games. For example, the Persian attack on Attica results in constant fire on the city, so there are explosions and fiery balls of death raining at all times. Kratos runs into a Cyclops, but a basilisk quickly takes care of that problem by erupting through a wall and eating the beast in a quick chomp.
Ready at Dawn really looks to have their hands held firmly onto this game, and they seem to have created a mastered, smaller version of the fighting system that made God of War so exciting. There will be familiar attacks and moves that were featured in God of War and God of War II, as well as new ones. Kratos is certainly not limited in his brutal repertoire - as I mentioned, you could obtain Efreet magic in the demo, which unleashed a powerful ground-area attack. There will surely be several more magic attacks, and also sure to make an appearance are different weapons - in fact, aside from Kratos’ Blades of Chaos, a lance can be spotted in gameplay videos. Other items from previous games will make an appearance; for example, the Golden Fleece that helped with counterattacks in God of War II will be replaced with a similar object in Chains of Olympus.
Here comes the butcher
Kratos’ fighting system remains intact, and so do the controls that made it so easy to use in the previous incarnations. In fact, the face buttons perform exactly the same. Big differences come from the triggers. Kratos can still block almost any attack if the player holds the left trigger, but he can’t roll unless both triggers are held and a direction is pressed. Holding just the right trigger brings up the magic menu. Using the different trigger combinations really isn’t very difficult; it just doesn’t feel as natural and smooth to evade attacks with Kratos’ roll.
Also other familiar God of War mechanics will return, and some were used in the demo disc. Although there weren’t any challenging puzzles to think about in the demo, Kratos did have to spin a handle to open a door, then run under the door before it closed again. He also had to use a few objects in the environment (like a large wagon used to bash a door open) to continue through the level. Of course, in God of War tradition, you still have to mash the crap out of the circle button to open a big door! During both the basilisk and Persian King bosses, button prompts appear that must be entered correctly - again, familiar territory. Of course, deathblows are incredibly gruesome and satisfying - beating the Persian King in the demo results in Kratos smashing his head through a treasure chest.
Although God of War: Chains of Olympus is a handheld game, it really doesn’t seem to be limited to a lot of restraints. Ready at Dawn is shaping up one of the best action games ever to play on a handheld device, and Chains of Olympus should be taken as seriously as the mighty Kratos. Beware the wrath of the gods on March 4th!
