God of War, the action adventure hack and slash punch everything in it's face with testosterone filled manliness series that's been around shedding virtual blood since it's first release on the Playstation 2. We once again join Kratos on his quest to find whatever the hell he's looking for this time.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Developer: Ready at Dawn Studios / Sony Computer Entertainment Santa Monica Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
Platform: Playstation Portable
Rating: M for Mature
Release: 11/2/2010
Ghost of Sparta is the sixth installment (including the PS3 remastered port God of War Collection) in the God of War series.
Graphics wise this is a huge notch up in comparison to the previous PSP God of War release which was God of War: Chains of Olympus. Taking notes from God of War III, Ghost of Sparta brings that same cinematic flair. Button inputs for the quick time events have also learned a lesson from God of War III with the buttons appearing on screen in the corresponding direction of it on the controller. This makes it easier to
Story:
Ghost of Sparta takes place in between God of War and God of War II wherein Kratos has dethroned Ares as the god of war and has now taken his place. While pondering on his thoughts, Kratos is haunted by visions of his mother and brother. Wondering what these visions mean, he sets off on another adventure but this time not for vengeance but in search of his brother Deimos.
A young Kratos sparring with his little brother
It was foretold that Olympus would fall not by the Titans, but by a marked warrior. Zeus thought this marked warrior to be Deimos, and sent Ares and Athena to take him. Kratos tries to stop Ares but is left with a scared right eye.
Gameplay:
God of War's core gameplay has never really changed over the years but it has been slowly refined with each iteration. Hitting the square button does light attacks, triangle for heavy attacks, circle for grab and cross for jumps. The L button let's Kratos guard and also sets up attack variants for his weapons. Most of his combos are the same but some have slightly changed but pretty much control the same. Having not played God of War III, I don't know if these new combos have been implemented on the PS3. Pressing both shoulder buttons and tilting the analog stick lets Kratos do a dodge roll.
Kratos does have new moves this time around. He has a move called the "Hyperion Charge" which is triggered by holding the L button then hitting circle. Kratos goes into this football player charge and tackles his opponent to the ground with a loud thud. When an enemy is downed by this move, you can continue to pummel your opponent by hitting either the square or circle buttons repeatedly.
As with every God of War game, Kratos learns some new magic moves and acquires new weapons. These are all mapped to the D-pad which is good considering the PSP's limited controls. Kratos earns three types of magic attacks this time around.
Pressing the Right button brings out the Eye of Atlantis with shoots a long ray of lightning.
Pressing the Left button uses the Scourge of Erinys which unleashes up to three dark orbs that suck out health from near by enemies.
Up unleashes the Horn of Boreas which Kratos spins and slams like a giant hammer, it damages and freezes surrounding enemies.
Hitting Down swaps out the regular Blades of Athena with the Arms of Sparta, a spear and a round shield similar to the equipment used by the Spartans in the movie 300. With the Arms of Sparta, Kratos can throw the spear to hit ranged opponents and walk while guarding with the shield.
Holding down the R button sets fire to the Blades of Athena, letting Kratos unleash powerful fire attacks with every swing.
Content Wise:
Even though this is a PSP game, this feels like a PS3 title. It's filled with extra content such as a challenge mode, galleries, extra costumes and something called The Temple of Zeus which holds unlock-able items that require blood orbs, and more blood orbs means another play through of the story mode or beating some challenges in the challenge mode.
God of War has always been a solid series for me, Gameplay isn't ground breaking because it's usually more of the same but the presentation and delivery of the story is always top notch. I wasn't that satisfied with the ending as much as I thought I'd be with everything being epic and then with the final battle being what it is. However it was still an exciting action and adrenalin fueled thrill ride. You may not like God of War for using the same formula over and over again but you got to admit, Kratos kicks all kinds of ass.
Score: 92/100
Screenshots provided by Gamespot
