All one could hope for is a faithful
God of War-lite out of
Chains of Olympus, which it fully delivers on. So much so that the only true surprise of the game is that it's one of the select few to accomplish such a seemingly capable feat (from the eyes of a consumer). In the vein of
Metroid [メトロイド] series, the
Grand Theft Auto series, and the
Castlevania [悪魔城ドラキュラ] series,
Chains of Olympus is a near excellent addition to a series that could hold up as a triple AAA release on the past generation's consoles, as well as a generation later on a handheld.
Ready at Dawn, developers of this side-story in the
GoW cannon, have once again, as they did on
Daxter, brought a PS2 mainstay onto the PSP with surprisingly little missing. The graphics look near PS2 quality, the production lives up to the series, and the fighting is as addictive as ever. The game truly is
GoW-lite, taking the best of both games and makes a much more tame pace and plot built around the always compelling gameplay of the series. The game is worth playing, if you found yourself going through either of the
God of War games a second time or have a desire to fill in backstory. I can't fault Ready at Dawn for not making a game as rich or exciting as the previous games, but there is a bigger problem that takes away from the experience.
The controls are horrid in this game and it's entirely the PSP's fault. I've always defended the system for having better graphics and being a better multimedia hub than the DS, but
Chains of Olympus is "exhibit A" on the detractor's side. It's tragic that Ready at Dawn created a faithful portable adaptation that I want to immerse myself in, but couldn't for more than an hour because how bad my fingers would hurt. To the game's credit, I fought against the pain, most of the time, because how addictive it is but found the problem to take much fun away overall. This largely has to do with the weight of the system and how hard it is to hold on to the triggers for hours. I own the original PSP model and I know the later models are lighter, so perhaps that addresses this issue. Either way, I'm going on my experience on my legit PSP system -- a valid point that many who play the game may share.
Despite not being as original as the previous games and having cumbersome controls,
Chains of Olympus is one of the best handheld experiences I've had in some time. If I played the game on consoles I would bump it up half a star, but, for better or worse, this is the handheld, high production action/adventure we've always wanted. I couldn't ask for much more without sounding unreasonable, so I accept the game for what it is. It doesn't have equal ground as its predecessors, but considering where it's coming from and who it's coming from -- in a way it does.