bit-tech Shopping: Sony God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)

Rating: 10

Time with product: 4 Months

Strengths: Fun combat system and upgrades, FMVs and voice overs

Weaknesses: Way too short

Summary: This is the first game I've ever played in the God of War series and so I came to it tabula rasa. Overall, I was very impressed and the experience has me wanting to try the previous games. First and foremost, I should mention that this is a game that might not be appropriate for kids. In addition to the very very liberal spraying of blood, guts, and gore, there is also a sex minigame. Nothing explicit is shown but the bumping and moaning pretty much make clear what's supposed to be happening.That being said, this is a truly excellent game when it comes to both its storyline and its combat system. The former is engaging and the use of cutscenes enhances the experience greatly. The latter is intuitive and there are many opportunities to gain additional weapons and attacks. The combat was so much fun that I was sort of disapointed there weren't just random monsters or enemies to kill. The boss fights are much like normal combat but in order to actually land the finishing blow, you need to engage in a sort of reaction speed game much like Dragon's Lair. A command will flash and you have only a certain amount of time to make the correct controller movement or button press. Fail and the boss gains back some health and you have to start again. Even I was able to do this after a few go's and I don't exactly have the best reaction speed in the world.My only real complaint about this game is the length. It's possible to run through the whole storyline in a few hours. It seemed almost wasteful to design a combat engine that was so much fun to play and then to not have enough opportunity to use it. I would have happily kept slaughtering monsters for days if the game had allowed it.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3 Days

Strengths: (1) An incredible action game (2) Some of the best PSP graphics yet (3) Controls well (4) Great presentation

Weaknesses: (1) Loses a bit of its greatness towards the end; the story seems somewhat anticlimatic when the main vilian is revealed (2) The puzzles are not very clever

Summary: A successful new chapter prequel in the God of War series, God of War: Chains of Olympus translates its console brethen's fast-paced action and awesome presentation almost perfectly to the PSP. What impresses most is how the gameplay and control has been brought over to the PSPs slightly lacking button configuration. The action and enemies may seem familiar, but this is an entirely new story in the God of War series and features all new levels. The depth of the storytelling surpasses most everything else on the PSP, however, it is not entirely up to par with the PS2 entries. The puzzles, too, are pretty much straight forward and uninteresting but they do the job of providing a slight change of pace in between the hectic battles. Overall, I believe this is the best PSP game available and a must-have for fans of the series, action games in general or anyone with a sense of adventure and a PSP.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3 Weeks

Strengths: graphics, gameplay

Weaknesses: stiff hands

Summary: I was really looking forward to this title and it hasn?t disappointed. The graphics and background music are excellent. For the most part, the control scheme is uncomplicated (other than the dashing using both shoulder buttons/analog nub). An excellent and fun title (haven?t finished it yet). My only issue that it?s a really button masher and I can only go about 30 minutes at a time before my hands get tired or stiffen up.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3

Strengths: great graphics, great story and new weapons

Weaknesses: need another analog stick

Summary: This is one of the best games made for the PSP. From the best selling series from the PS2. This games comes to the PSP, with amazing graphics, battle and extreme bosses. This game packs a punch for its extra contents. The battle controls need a bit modification due to some movements require another extra analog stick in the PSP. But overall the game is great, sadly the game is short. But the extra contents and unlockables make this even. I recommend this game for those God Of war fans and hardcore action gamers. You wont regret the purchase.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 3

Strengths: Graphics, Sound, Boss Battles, Cutscenes

Weaknesses: Pretty short, Some frustrating puzzles, Controls sometimes awkward

Summary: This is an epic game. The production value is excellent. Great graphics, solid voice acting, perfect music, and exciting cutscenes. I like the gameplay element in God of War where you press a combination of buttons or analog stick motions to finish off giant enemies and bosses. It works well here, though the analog part can sometimes be tricky. Save points are portioned really conveniently so that you can probably stop playing after 10-15 minutes. The game will not take too long to finish. It took me less than 7 hours but there are Challenges and other bonus things for replay value. The puzzles for the most part are simple and straightforward but there was 1 that took me awhile because I didn't know what the next step was (same with the last boss, took me awhile to figure out how to finish). There is occasional frame rate slowdown but nothing that hinders gameplay and considering the graphics and the level design, you can't really complain. I highly recommend this game, one of the best for the PSP.