Ye Gods!

"Kratos’ bad-assed goodness – now on the go!"

I could try, but I still couldn’t come up with a flaw for the “God of War (GoW) game, expect this: they end. While we wait impatiently for God of War 3, we must content ourselves with God of War: Chains of Olympus (coO) on the PSP . . .

coO takes us to a time that predates the first God of War game, to establish further why kratos is so ticked off with the gods of Olympus. The madness begins when Morpheus, the god of dreams, kidnaps Helios, the Sun God, plunging the world into darkness. As he goes on his quest to bring light back to the world, Kratos will, once more, get acquainted with the innards of many beasties, from basilisks to Cyclopes to Minotaurs and floating suits of armour.

The action begins about five seconds after you select “New Game”, and stops at the last cutscene, so prepare for a really sore pair of thumbs. The control system had to change because the PSP doesn’t have the L2 and R2 buttons or the right analog stick. This takes about ten minutes to get used to. Kratos’ Blades of Athena are still the most fun weapons you get to use, but there’s also the Gauntlet of Hercules that does enough damage in a single blow to make you grin from ear to ear.

This title has everything you could possibly love about a GoW game – huge, beautiful environments, insane action, lots of blood, a sex minigame, more blood, a story befitting a high-budget B grade movie, puzzles that give you a “sense of accomplishment” 9even though a five-year old could accomplish them), a little more blood, and best of all – no annoying loading screens! For the best-looking game on the PSP yet, that’s saying a lot. So why am I not giving it a 10?

About seven hours into the game, when you’ve realized that you’re addicted and should go warn the world that you’re unavailable until further notice, coO ends, just when you are getting warmed up. Poof-Main Menu, Grr. You can satisfy with the challenges, but it’s just not the same Bah.