God of War: Chains of Olympus, my first impression..

[warcrow]

God of War: Chains of Olympus

Developer: Ready at Dawn Studios
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Tech: Engine Proprietary "Ready At Dawn Engine" 2.0
Platform: PlayStation Portable
Release date: March 4, 2008
Genre(s): Hack and slash, Action-adventure
Mode: Single player
ESRB: M


Disclaimer: I'm currently 2-3 hours into the game. Some of my opinions may change once I've spent more time with the game.



Plot
The game is a prequel in the God of War that's set 10 years before the first game. Kratos has already been saved by Ares and it's assumed, by the game's narrative, that you know everything that's happened there.

So Kratos is now working on paying back some of his debt to the gods of Olympus and is heading off to Attica to help defend the city from the Persians. The game just takes off from there involving (at least so far for me) Athena, Morpheus, Charon, and Eos. I'm sure there is more, so I'll try to update on that later. But if you're a fan of the Greek mythos and the fiction here(as I am), you'll mostly enjoy what's being told here. It's on par with all the previous games in every aspect including voice talents, production and writing.




Graphics and Presentation
This game is absolutely stunning on my PSP (2000--the lite version). It is, by far, the most impressive graphical presentation I've seen on a handheld bar none. With never a hiccup, stutter or frame drop, the game provides super-responsive controls thanks to the efficient engine used here. The animations are also very much on par with what you've seen on the PS2 versions.

The first part of the game looks great (if you've played the demo, you know what I'm talking about here), but once you hit the city of Marathon (next stage) you'll be picking your jaw up off the floor. It looks and runs so well that I had one of those gaming moments where I was looking around at all the vistas, architecture, and designs a little more than I should have and ended up dying. Completely my fault, but who could help it.

I think it's neat to mention that once you get into the game, there is never a load screen. Well, ok there have been a few here and there but the "Loading.." text that popped up lasted (literally) less than 1 second without take me out of the game--just a slight pause that came across as a stutter and I was off to play. It's impressive and very much a welcome design.




Gameplay
It's God of War. What I mean by that is if you're a fan then you'll know exactly what you're getting to. I do have to admit I was hoping that they would have infused something new into this game, but I guess (Ready At Dawn) they didn?t want to mess with a proven formula here (right?).

One of my worries going into this game was that the jump from the DualShock2 controller to the PSP controls would be a big problem. With a missing analog stick for evasions and no L2/R2 buttons, it seems almost impossible for the game to replicate the experience of the past games. I'm pleased to say that Ready At Dawn did a fantastic job making the game work just as well as it should. Instead of using the D-pad to choose magic types, you hold down the right shoulder button and hit the (pre) assigned button. Dodging is done by holding down both shoulder buttons and pressing the analog stick in the direction you wish to jump. It works really well because you do not have to move your thumb around to dodge.

Puzzle elements are here again and seemed to be just on par with previous version of the game, with the most difficult ones stumping me for a minute or two.

There are additional weapons and magic that are surprisingly new with some being quite similar to past entries. I'll reserve explanation so that the experience of obtaining those and using them isn?t tainted--but they're pretty cool.



Media
- Animated gif of in-game cut scene, first boss (spoiler): http://i29.tinypic.com/2zp79yr.gif

- Picture of Kratos special edition PSP:
http://i211.photobucket.com/al...ocrastix/IMG_4137r.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/al...ocrastix/IMG_4139r.jpg

- In-game screens of first level, Attica:
http://i211.photobucket.com/al...uan2/screenshot026.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/al...uan2/screenshot042.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/al...uan2/screenshot046.jpg

- In-game screens of Marathon:
http://i211.photobucket.com/al...uan2/screenshot054.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/al...uan2/screenshot067.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/al...uan2/screenshot074.jpg

- Miscellaneous
http://i30.tinypic.com/2eukigx.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/16l0gt5.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/1624k5s.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/i20ck3.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/2vbpir7.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/2r2rja0.jpg

 

[Aikouka]

I thought it was alright, but the game felt a little sluggish to me and I was playing off the memory stick (faster loading/accessing) .

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
I thought it was alright, but the game felt a little sluggish to me and I was playing off the memory stick (faster loading/accessing) .

I'm curious--do you have an older PSP?

 

[ksaajasto]

very nice review. i was contemplating buying this game. you cemented my decision

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: ksaajasto
very nice review. i was contemplating buying this game. you cemented my decision

Nice!

I played some more last night, and I'm sure I'm nearing the end. I have all the weapons in the game with several of them maxed out. I'm about 5 hours into the game, so it does appear that it's going to be about a <6 game for me. I'm looking forward to seeing what unlocks here and how much replay value there is.

I'm still stunned by this game and how beautiful it looks on this little handheld device.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: warcrow
I'm curious--do you have an older PSP?

Yes, but I'm still playing off my memory stick, which could be faster than your pre-caching as well... my whole game is cached . It depends on the speed/latency differences between the on-board RAM vs the memory stick. I'd say the RAM is faster though. It may also just be my perception and that I expect it to be faster or that the game's pace is "slow." If I could do something to display FPS, that'd be much easier.

 

[mlm]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
I thought it was alright, but the game felt a little sluggish to me and I was playing off the memory stick (faster loading/accessing) .

Did you compress it? Apparently this is one of those games that will suffer if you do.

 

[Aikouka]

No.

 

[MarkW]

Its an awesome game. Just keep in mind that it is supposed to be on a handheld. So, its only about 6-7 hours short, depending on how good you are.

Even with its short length, its still one of the best action experiences i've had on a handheld. Amazing graphics and gameplay, classic God of War.

 

[Ackmed]

I enjoy the game so far, worth the $40 to me. Travel version of GoW, what else can you ask for.

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: Aikouka
I thought it was alright, but the game felt a little sluggish to me and I was playing off the memory stick (faster loading/accessing) .

I'm curious--do you have an older PSP?

Of course he does. Otherwise known as the "easy to pirate games" version.

Buy the game, support the devs. And dont gimme that bs about you own it, and just download it because its faster that way.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Ackmed
Buy the game, support the devs. And dont gimme that bs about you own it, and just download it because its faster that way.

But how will I fill my TBs of HDD space?

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: Aikouka

Originally posted by: Ackmed
Buy the game, support the devs. And dont gimme that bs about you own it, and just download it because its faster that way.

But how will I fill my TBs of HDD space?

porn

 

[mlm]

Originally posted by: Ackmed
Of course he does. Otherwise known as the "easy to pirate games" version.

Buy the game, support the devs. And dont gimme that bs about you own it, and just download it because its faster that way.

The slim version is just as easy to hack.

Ripping your games is a valid excuse for CFW. It cuts back considerably on power usage and usually alleviates loading times.

 

[warcrow]

Beat the game last night. Total play time was just under 6 hours for the main SP experience. Once beaten you unlock the Area Challenges (much like the past titles), concept art, a little video montage of the Ready At Dawn studio and its employees, God Mode (difficulty) and "Spud of War" (play as a potato?)

I have to say that the game is really a blast to play and that if you're a fan of the series--you'll love it. The fiction is well written and acted through and through (although Kratos does do a LOT of yelling here to the point of almost annoyance). It's a nice prequel ending that feeds right into the first game on the PS2.