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Who says size matters: Chains of Olympus is every bit as good as its big console siblings!
Kratos takes a moment to contemplate the nature of existence. Just kidding: he's just taking a breather before he goes and beats up some more bad guys.
Although it is an amazing piece of portable hardware, the Sony PSP has played second fiddle to the Nintendo DS Lite for a long time now. While Nintendo was moving ridiculous amounts of hardware and software, the Sony PSP was in constant catch-up mode.
But Sony's handheld has gained some serious ground in recent months. The library of titles has steadily expanded and now includes some bona fide hits. The slick new redesign was also a big boost and also worth considering is the fact that expanded functionality like Skype integration is now starting to see the light of day. There's no doubt that the PSP has a lot of momentum going right now and it's only going to increase with the release of God of War: Chains of Olympus.
One of Sony's most valued franchises, God of War is without a doubt an important cog in the PS3 machine and as you are about to see, some would argue that it is the most important weapon in Sony's arsenal. Releasing Chains of Olympus on the PSP was a brilliant strategic move on Sony's part: it's the perfect bridge between the first two titles and the new-gen God of War 3 and a potent reminder of the impact that Kratos can have on the gaming landscape.
Although it's been shrunken down to fit the small screen of the PSP, Chains of Olympus features the same epic feel of its big console siblings. It's a thrilling experience that acts as the perfect appetizer to whet our appetites for the inevitable release of God of War 3 on the PS3. But don't think for a second that Chains of Olympus is just a side dish. If Chains of Olympus were the only title in the franchise, it would still stand on its own merits. And regardless of the fact that it sits in the shadows of its big console cousins, it is still, in the eyes of Reviews Editor Tae K. Kim, who was lucky enough to review the game, the best PSP game yet.
So click through to the next page and see what all the fuss is about. Then keep clicking because we'll also be posting tons of screenshots and videos as well. March 4th can't get here soon enough, can it?
Even though it's akin to sticking a stick into a hornet's nest, I'm going to make a pretty bold statement here: the God of War franchise is the most important franchise in Sony's arsenal. Sure, Metal Gear and Grand Theft Auto are both important pieces to the potential success of the PS3 but God of War 3 has the potential to be the defining PS3 title.
I formed this opinion the minute God of War 3 was confirmed for the PS3 and it was recently bolstered by Chains of Olympus, a fantastic prequel that does a bang up job of fleshing out the Kratos mythos. Even though it appears on the handheld PSP, it's just as epic as the big console versions and it's a great teaser of what's to come.
Once Upon A Time
Making a prequel is usually a dicey proposition--heck, even well established storytellers like George Lucas struggle with them--so I was a little worried when I first booted up Chains of Olympus and saw the logo for a company that I had never heard of. Who the heck was Ready At Dawn? Did Sony really pick some no name upstart to do a God of War?
I decided to do a little digging and all of my fears were quickly dispelled: developer Ready At Dawn is comprised of former Naughty Dog and Blizzard employees and are also working on the Wii port of Capcom's Okami as well. That's a fairly impressive pedigree and if companies like Sony and Capcom are willing to hand the keys to two critically acclaimed franchises over to these guys then they must know what they're doing.
As the old saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, and from the very get-go, Chains of Olympus lives up to the high bar set by its two big console siblings. Taking place before the events of the first God of War, Chains follows Kratos as he sets out on his day job, namely doing the dirty work of the Gods. At this point, the trademark bitterness that he displays to Zeus and his merry gang hasn't yet solidified into the all-consuming lump of anger that it was at the end of God of War 2; it's there but it's still at a slow simmer. As the game progresses, Kratos gets embroiled in a plot to undo the world and of course, it's up to him to save the day.
This is what Lasik surgery looked like in ancient Greece
As if this towering minotaur wasn't bad enough, those archers in the distance will harass you constantly
Boom goes the dynamite: flip your foes up into the air and immediately grab them for an unbeatable combination attack
Get A Grip
I don't want to spoil any secrets so I won't discuss the plot in detail but it follows the classic God of War formula. People get in Kratos' way, he cuts them down and moves on without so much as a backwards glance. The plot does have some genuinely poignant moments, however, including one where Kratos has to make a very tough choice. Even though the outcome is obvious, it adds a nice layer of texture to Kratos' personality.
The devs also did a great job with the controls: the lack of a second analog stick could have been problematic but it's not. The basics are still in place and felt immediately familiar. You move with the analog stick and jump with the X button; light attacks are mapped to Square, heavy attacks to Triangle and you grab with the Circle button. You block by holding down the left shoulder button; this also unleashes special attacks that you gain as you level up your weapons. The Right Shoulder button is used to activate your magic, such as the Light of Dawn--long distance weapon--and the Ifreet--short-range area of effect fire magic.
Now here's where it gets interesting: in order to dodge, you have to hold down both shoulder buttons and flick the analog stick in the direction you want to go. It might sound like a complicated mess on paper but trust me, the control scheme works with nary a hitch. I didn't miss the second analog stick at all, which is something I don't often say about PSP games.
Old School
Gameplay-wise, nothing much has changed either. You still run around and beat the beejezus out of enemies and then meet up with the occasional boss fight. You collect red orbs to power up your weapons and abilities and collect Phoenix feathers and Gorgon eyeballs to increase your magic and health, respectively. The same annoying box puzzles are still present but there aren't as many as before; you also aren't subjected to that lame tightrope dance much either, which is a good thing all around.
Of course, you still do a fair share of running around and backtracking as you unlock one doohickey which lets you unlock another gizmo which finally lets you open that damn door that's been blocking your progress; the game is also brutally linear: you're constantly running from point A to point B, stopping to administer the occasional beatdown.
I also noticed that the enemies weren't as varied as before, probably due to the limitations of the PSP hardware; this also means that there aren't as many neat-o fatality animations either. And the smaller screen cuts into some of the game's graphical prowess, which is still impressive for a PSP game. We also hooked up a Slim to an HDTV and on the big screen, Chains is probably a notch below God of War 2, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.
Scaling Mount Olympus
If I had to place Chains of Olympus in the pantheon of titles released so far, I'd place it third behind God of War 2 and the original but only because the first two titles were so amazing. Chains is a worthy addition to the franchise. While I want nothing more than to continue on with Kratos' journey towards the top of Mount Olympus and his final battle with Zeus, I was more than happy to take a short detour along the way and spend time with what I consider to be the best PSP title I've ever played. I suggest you do the same.
Some enemies, like this dual-wielding goat man, can block your attacks, so vary up your tactics accordingly
When you're surrounded by enemies, try to juggle one in the air with attacks; the others will leave you alone until you're done
NOTA : 4.7 / 5
http://n4g.com/psp/News-113079.aspx
a gamepro parece que gostou do jogo :P
dizendo que o jogo tem a mesma sensação de épico do seu irmão da PS2, e serve de um aperitivo perfeito para o que vem ai em god of war 3 na PS3.
mas não pensem que é apenas um titulo qualquer, se não existissem mais nenhum gods of war, este titulo merecia o mesmo titulo por ser tão bom.
e é o melhor jogo de PSP até agora. (dizem eles :p )
Although it is an amazing piece of portable hardware, the Sony PSP has played second fiddle to the Nintendo DS Lite for a long time now. While Nintendo was moving ridiculous amounts of hardware and software, the Sony PSP was in constant catch-up mode.
But Sony's handheld has gained some serious ground in recent months. The library of titles has steadily expanded and now includes some bona fide hits. The slick new redesign was also a big boost and also worth considering is the fact that expanded functionality like Skype integration is now starting to see the light of day. There's no doubt that the PSP has a lot of momentum going right now and it's only going to increase with the release of God of War: Chains of Olympus.
One of Sony's most valued franchises, God of War is without a doubt an important cog in the PS3 machine and as you are about to see, some would argue that it is the most important weapon in Sony's arsenal. Releasing Chains of Olympus on the PSP was a brilliant strategic move on Sony's part: it's the perfect bridge between the first two titles and the new-gen God of War 3 and a potent reminder of the impact that Kratos can have on the gaming landscape.
Although it's been shrunken down to fit the small screen of the PSP, Chains of Olympus features the same epic feel of its big console siblings. It's a thrilling experience that acts as the perfect appetizer to whet our appetites for the inevitable release of God of War 3 on the PS3. But don't think for a second that Chains of Olympus is just a side dish. If Chains of Olympus were the only title in the franchise, it would still stand on its own merits. And regardless of the fact that it sits in the shadows of its big console cousins, it is still, in the eyes of Reviews Editor Tae K. Kim, who was lucky enough to review the game, the best PSP game yet.
So click through to the next page and see what all the fuss is about. Then keep clicking because we'll also be posting tons of screenshots and videos as well. March 4th can't get here soon enough, can it?
Even though it's akin to sticking a stick into a hornet's nest, I'm going to make a pretty bold statement here: the God of War franchise is the most important franchise in Sony's arsenal. Sure, Metal Gear and Grand Theft Auto are both important pieces to the potential success of the PS3 but God of War 3 has the potential to be the defining PS3 title.
I formed this opinion the minute God of War 3 was confirmed for the PS3 and it was recently bolstered by Chains of Olympus, a fantastic prequel that does a bang up job of fleshing out the Kratos mythos. Even though it appears on the handheld PSP, it's just as epic as the big console versions and it's a great teaser of what's to come.
Once Upon A Time
Making a prequel is usually a dicey proposition--heck, even well established storytellers like George Lucas struggle with them--so I was a little worried when I first booted up Chains of Olympus and saw the logo for a company that I had never heard of. Who the heck was Ready At Dawn? Did Sony really pick some no name upstart to do a God of War?
I decided to do a little digging and all of my fears were quickly dispelled: developer Ready At Dawn is comprised of former Naughty Dog and Blizzard employees and are also working on the Wii port of Capcom's Okami as well. That's a fairly impressive pedigree and if companies like Sony and Capcom are willing to hand the keys to two critically acclaimed franchises over to these guys then they must know what they're doing.
As the old saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, and from the very get-go, Chains of Olympus lives up to the high bar set by its two big console siblings. Taking place before the events of the first God of War, Chains follows Kratos as he sets out on his day job, namely doing the dirty work of the Gods. At this point, the trademark bitterness that he displays to Zeus and his merry gang hasn't yet solidified into the all-consuming lump of anger that it was at the end of God of War 2; it's there but it's still at a slow simmer. As the game progresses, Kratos gets embroiled in a plot to undo the world and of course, it's up to him to save the day.
Get A Grip
I don't want to spoil any secrets so I won't discuss the plot in detail but it follows the classic God of War formula. People get in Kratos' way, he cuts them down and moves on without so much as a backwards glance. The plot does have some genuinely poignant moments, however, including one where Kratos has to make a very tough choice. Even though the outcome is obvious, it adds a nice layer of texture to Kratos' personality.
The devs also did a great job with the controls: the lack of a second analog stick could have been problematic but it's not. The basics are still in place and felt immediately familiar. You move with the analog stick and jump with the X button; light attacks are mapped to Square, heavy attacks to Triangle and you grab with the Circle button. You block by holding down the left shoulder button; this also unleashes special attacks that you gain as you level up your weapons. The Right Shoulder button is used to activate your magic, such as the Light of Dawn--long distance weapon--and the Ifreet--short-range area of effect fire magic.
Now here's where it gets interesting: in order to dodge, you have to hold down both shoulder buttons and flick the analog stick in the direction you want to go. It might sound like a complicated mess on paper but trust me, the control scheme works with nary a hitch. I didn't miss the second analog stick at all, which is something I don't often say about PSP games.
Old School
Gameplay-wise, nothing much has changed either. You still run around and beat the beejezus out of enemies and then meet up with the occasional boss fight. You collect red orbs to power up your weapons and abilities and collect Phoenix feathers and Gorgon eyeballs to increase your magic and health, respectively. The same annoying box puzzles are still present but there aren't as many as before; you also aren't subjected to that lame tightrope dance much either, which is a good thing all around.
Of course, you still do a fair share of running around and backtracking as you unlock one doohickey which lets you unlock another gizmo which finally lets you open that damn door that's been blocking your progress; the game is also brutally linear: you're constantly running from point A to point B, stopping to administer the occasional beatdown.
I also noticed that the enemies weren't as varied as before, probably due to the limitations of the PSP hardware; this also means that there aren't as many neat-o fatality animations either. And the smaller screen cuts into some of the game's graphical prowess, which is still impressive for a PSP game. We also hooked up a Slim to an HDTV and on the big screen, Chains is probably a notch below God of War 2, which is pretty amazing when you think about it.
Scaling Mount Olympus
If I had to place Chains of Olympus in the pantheon of titles released so far, I'd place it third behind God of War 2 and the original but only because the first two titles were so amazing. Chains is a worthy addition to the franchise. While I want nothing more than to continue on with Kratos' journey towards the top of Mount Olympus and his final battle with Zeus, I was more than happy to take a short detour along the way and spend time with what I consider to be the best PSP title I've ever played. I suggest you do the same.
NOTA : 4.7 / 5
http://n4g.com/psp/News-113079.aspx
a gamepro parece que gostou do jogo :P
dizendo que o jogo tem a mesma sensação de épico do seu irmão da PS2, e serve de um aperitivo perfeito para o que vem ai em god of war 3 na PS3.
mas não pensem que é apenas um titulo qualquer, se não existissem mais nenhum gods of war, este titulo merecia o mesmo titulo por ser tão bom.
e é o melhor jogo de PSP até agora. (dizem eles :p )
![[[Solid_Snake]]](/data/avatars/m/90/90851.jpg?1623672954){kind=avatar}
