God of War: Chains of Olympus Review

I just got my copy of God of War: Chains of Olympus for my Playstation Portable (PSP), and I'm thrilled! I had it on order from Gamestop for weeks, and got the call last night that it would be in this morning.

For those who aren't familiar with the God of War series, Chains of Olympus is a prequel to the original God of War game. The plotline of the series is a rough, pseudo-Greek philosophy: Kratos, a warrior, was tricked into killing his wife and daughter. And in order to absolve himself from his sins, Kratos embarks on a crusade to dispel evil within the darkest of lands, "places so dark that even the Gods have no power" in the name of Olympus.

It's violent, bloody, and brutal, but highly entertaining for anyone looking for a good blood and guts thrasher of a video game. And the best thing about it? There isn't much strategy to the game at all--it's straight brutal, bloody combat throughout most of the campaigns. Kratos runs through a town, kills everybody, and when everyone's dead he takes on the main boss. Just like the other games in the series, this one comes through for us gamers who are just after some quick, simple fun.

The game begins in the town of Attica, where you have to defend the city (with brute force, of course) against the invading Persians. And it's during this first campaign that you'll notice the graphics, which are incredible. Dare I say that the graphics in God of War: Chains of Olympus, a PSP title, are on par with Playstation 2 graphics? Maybe not as good as a PS2 title, but darn close. The graphics are absolutely amazing, with amazing detail on Kratos and the environment (notches on the rock, shadow patterns) and villains and everything else. It's the best PSP graphics I've ever seen; they're so good that I almost forgot I was playing a PSP--honestly.