God of War: Chains of Olympus

God of War: Chains of Olympus

The God of War name has fast become synonymous with fierce, cinematic hack-and-slash gameplay, and, perhaps most of all, supreme technical achievement on the host console. Players would be forgiven for thinking that the previous game in the series, God of War 2, released late into the PlayStation 2’s life was in fact a next-generation game, so impressive were the visual glories therein.

So it is with Chains of Olympus, the first game in the series to squeeze onto the PSP, and one that doesn’t so much do the hardware proud as completely redefine what’s it’s able to achieve. Much like the skeletons and statues that serve as the game’s foes, Chains of Olympus brings the impossible to life, crowbarring yet another sprawling, majestic piece of classical mythological battling into the handheld.

While this is a brand new adventure for muscle-bound lead character Kratos it’s been crafted from a mixture of old and new assets. So the dramatic orchestral score is lifted from God of War 2 and the puzzles and level designs pulled from pieces of both previous games to makes something at once fresh and familiar. The story illuminates on past events underpinning the series and, in doing so, provides a rip-roaring experience.

The control scheme works wonderfully on the PSP with the triggers handling rolling and blocking in a slick and seamless manner. The inputs required to fell certain enemies, dodge falling columns and activate context specific actions translates beautifully. The game wheels between tight, close-up camera angles and huge, wide-angle shots where Kratos is but a tiny dot in an ocean of whirling action.

In this way the cinematic scope is transported pixel by pixel over to the handheld’s screen with a degree of success nobody could have predicted. The frame rate races along despite the scale of proceedings and, regular, useful save points ensure the game is well suited to play on the go.

Arguably the game pitches most of its surprises in the first half. The new enemies, weapon upgrades and visual set-pieces dry up towards the end of the experience, an understandable shame considering the sheer tempo and vim of the game’s early sections. Despite this Chains of Olympus is a Herculean achievement, an action game of a scope, vision and direction that few PSP games will ever match.

Despite the proliferation of such titles, handhelds rarely suit white-knuckle action games, the small screen size, constricted control layout and towering budgets required to make them suitably impressive too high a barrier for genuine success. Chains of Olympus is a game that boldly bucks the trend. It burns bright, fearsome and wonderful and, while it might not be an experience that maintains these achievements over the long haul, it still stands as the greatest accomplishment on the handheld thus far.

5 out of 5