The God of War series is synonymous with breathtaking vistas, epic boss battles, and fast-action button mashing. To bring that sense of scale to the PSP seems like no easy task, but Ready At Dawn seems to be on the right track with God of War: Chains of Olympus.
You begin in the Battle of Atticus where a series of soldiers assault your character while an epic battle wages on in the background. It was impressive to see so much going on in the background while fighting so many enemies at the same time. You’ll see a fleet of ships waging war with the city in the background and it really is beautiful to look at. Too bad you’ll be too busy staying alive to really take it all in. Ready At Dawn really seem to be pushing the limits of the portable without any slowdown or loss of detail.
Those familiar with the series will find comfort that the combo system is still intact. The square button delivers the fastest blow, while the triangle deals the hardest. The circle button acts as the grab function or quick kill, which is actually cool to see as the camera zooms in closer to the action while you deliver your finishing move. Variations of the button presses bring up combos and add variety to the combat.
After clearing the first area you’ll come to your first boss battle which truly feels epic because of the inclusion of mini-games. The scene plays out with intensity as a giant breaks through a door and tries to crush you with its battle ram. By quickly pressing the X button you can push the battle ram off of you and send the giant stumbling back. Then a scene that reminded us “there’s always a bigger fish”, an even bigger giant creature comes out of nowhere and eats the first boss before turning its eyes on you. You really have to use the dodge functions by using the left or right bumpers and then perform another button mash mini-game to deal some serious hurt. What’s interesting, however, is that the boss doesn’t die and actually flees into the city where you’ll have to chase it down before it destroys it. If this is any indication how the rest of the game is going to play out then consider us sold.
We are pretty impressed with the direction God of War: Chains of Olympus is going. The epic scale, breathtaking graphics, and excellent sound round out what could possibly be the best PSP title released this year. We can say without hesitation that we’re looking forward to the final build.