Get ready to dig that PSP out of your closet, because ReadyAtDawn has crafted an excellent God of War game for your shiny handheld. When I first loaded up the game, I was blown away by the phenomenal graphics--Chains of Olympus looks just as amazing as its PS2 incarnations. The game includes massive bosses and hordes of enemies, but still manages to run without a hitch. There is no slowdown to be seen, and the character animations are impressive to say the least. There is occasionally minor clipping if you perform a button pressing sequence while near a wall, but this issue is so minute that it hardly affects your gameplay experience.
Besides the impressive visuals, Chains of Olympus also contains amazing gameplay. The controls have been modified to play on the small screen—now you perform a roll, by holding the two shoulder buttons, while moving the analogue stick, but for the most part the controls remain familiar. Like the previous games, there are a variety of combination attacks for each weapon, in addition to magic spells. The combat never gets old, because as you upgrade your weapons, you learn new abilities and it is broken up by the occasional puzzle. The boss fights are one of the most enjoyable parts of the game—none are extremely difficult, but you have to be quick and alter your strategies to defeat them.
Not only does Chains of Olympus have enjoyable gameplay, but it also tells an epic tale. It continues Kratos’ fate of servitude to the gods as he journeys to rid his mind of the memories that haunt him because of the atrocities he committed, which you learn about in the first God of War. This is an epic tale that action game fans and mythology buffs won’t want to miss.