Not nearly as good as its console counterparts, but GoW:CoO is still a pretty fun PSP game
GAMEPLAY - If you've played the other God of War games, there shouldn't be anything new here. In fact, it almost feels like the developers were trying to take the tricks and quirks about God of War 2 and combine them with the expansive dungeon of God of War 1 to make the best game of the series yet. Unfortunately that isn't the case. You get a lot of items and things that make you wonder how Kratos ever lost them before the original game takes place, and most of the spells are a combination of being pretty basic and pretty useless in most cases. Most of the monsters that make usual appearances in the series are here, but many of them are made to be very easy, and even the first boss is so easily toppled and uninspiring that you probably won't get much satisfaction from the combat. Still, this is the same format that God of War fans should love. Even though it feels very ho-hum compared to the other games in the series, it shouldn't be too disappointing for console gamers. - 7.5/10
STORY - The story here is actually pretty lousy, which is definitely a first for God of War. Although it is pretty understandable since this game takes place before the first game, and whatever story there is will probably end up being pretty predictable regardless. The fact remains, however, that there is nothing about this game that makes you want to continue on and see what happens next. It's pretty much just brainless button-mashing from beginning to end. - 6/10
GRAPHICS - The graphics are pretty top-notch for the PSP. My only real complaint is that nothing on the PSP feels "huge" in scope. The big monsters, the scenery...it never really feels like you're a tiny figure in the middle of it all. Still, this game looks great. Other than noticeable transitions between cinematics and gameplay graphics, there isn't much in the negative here. - 9/10
SOUND - The voice-acting, the sound effects, the music (even though some of it is recycled from God of War 2), it's all here, and it sounds great. Nothing mind-blowing, but it's what God of War fans know and love. - 9/10
LENGTH/REPLAY VALUE - Definitely not the longest installment in the series, which is kind of disappointing since there isn't much replay value here at all. I still go back and play the 3 console games on my PS3 from time to time because I love the stories, but I just don't see myself playing this again once it's over with. Nothing about it seems significant, nor does it ever feel exciting. - 6/10
BOTTOM LINE - God of War: Chains of Olympus is definitely not the best game that could be made with the God of War license, and frankly I think this is another game that only gets great reviews because of the name associated with it. This was one of the games I bought my PSP for because I love the console versions, but I should have stuck with those. If you're someone who's never played God of War before, this is a good place to start. Veterans of the series should avoid this one though. With God of War: Ghost of Sparta coming out later this year, I'm not so sure I'm excited for it. Being that the same designers who did this game are working on that one, I'm going to save my money until it drops in price after seeing what was presented with Chains of Olympus. - 7.5/10