Chains of Olympus delivers almost everything you'd want from a God of War game on the PSP. It's reasonable to expect a few concessions when a series transitions from a console to a handheld, Chains of Olympus does make a few that are worth noting. The biggest issue the game has is that it does almost nothing new. Even the played-out sex minigame is back for another tryst. Granted, it's the same formula fans of the series have come to know and love, but it would have been nice for at least a few new gameplay ideas to be introduced. Instead, the game goes the other way and actually feels a little stripped-down in parts; there are fewer weapons, levels, and boss fights, though there are still plenty of quick button-pressing minigames--perhaps a few too many.
It's also rather short. As far as we can tell, we collected all but one of the hidden chests and still saw the ending credits in less than seven hours. You're left wanting more because the game is a blast, but it's still over far too quickly. One thing the developer didn't compromise is load times. Most areas stream instantaneously, and there are probably less than 60 seconds out of the entire game in which you're waiting for the next area to load.
Few PSP games can match Chains of Olympus from a visual standpoint, either technically or artistically. Simply maintaining a solid frame rate is impressive enough when you've got so many characters fighting onscreen at the same time, but when you toss in lighting and particle effects, moving backgrounds, and lots of blood, it's even more impressive. The cutscenes alternate between prerendered full-motion video, in-game engine, and concept art brought to life by a bit of animation and camera movement. All three types look fantastic. The levels are varied and expansive, but they don't quite have the same epic feel as in the previous games. This is partially because the first level is the only one that has a lot of action going on in the distance, but also because the PSP's screen is small. Likewise, Kratos is sometimes quite tiny and doesn't look particularly powerful when he's only two millimeters tall. Kratos doesn't always appear that small, though, and his movements and attacks are always nicely animated regardless of his stature. If you own a PSP slim and the proper cables, you can make the size issue irrelevant (as well as improve the brightness, which is often really dark) by playing on your television. The textures, which look just fine on the PSP, don't quite hold up on the big screen, but the rest of the game looks fantastic even when blown up several times on your TV.
Headphones are a must when playing Chains of Olympus; it sounds fantastic. T.C. Carson and Linda Hunt reprise their roles as Kratos and the narrator, respectively, and they once again deliver top-notch performances. The well-known God of War theme is also back, and the whole soundtrack fits the action perfectly. After all, it's hard not to feel like a total stud with timpani and horns bombastically urging you on.
Who's afraid of a man this big?
Like Grand Theft Auto and Syphon Filter before it, God of War successfully pulls off a console experience on a handheld. Some new ideas and a better mixture of puzzles, platforming, and bosses would have been divine, but Chains of Olympus is an excellent game that delivers most of what you've been praying for--more God of War.
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