God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)

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If gamers had the sensation they were playing on a high-definition machine with the gorgeous God of War II on the PlayStation 2, they may very well believe they're playing a TV-based console while hacking baddies in God of War: Chains of Olympus on the PlayStation Portable.

Sony Computer Entertainment America's Santa Monica Studios and Ready at Dawn Studios' stunning action-adventure hybrid for the PSP is easily the best-looking portable game to date, but it's not just about the eye candy -- the gameplay -- while on the short side -- is one sweet ride.

Unless you've never laid your hands on a past God of War game (and shame on you if that's the case), you play as Kratos, a Spartan warrior who battles mythological creatures with the aid of a double-bladed weapon chained to his wrists, all the while navigating through bizarre locations littered with fatal traps and challenging puzzles.

Chains of Olympus serves as a prequel to the first game, therefore it's before Kratos achieves the status of a god after defeating the powerful Ares. At this point in time, however, Kratos has been saved by Ares, and the tale begins seaside in Attica, where Kratos helps defend the city against relentless Persian forces. Those who've spent time with the playable demo have already seen this opening sequence. Much of the fun for fans of the series is to unravel the epic story in between the vicious fight sequences against soldiers and mythological beasts, so we don't want to spoil too much in this review.

In true God of War style, Kratos faces off against huge boss fighters early on in the game -- in this case, a huge, fire-breathing lizard-like creature that attacks him on an elevated outdoor terrace; you must duck, roll and jump to avoid its claws and bites, leap over its fiery breath, and whack him silly with your chained blades. Eventually you'll be prompted -- with specific buttons you need to press on the face of the PSP, such as triangle, circle or square -- to pull giant columns down on his head to render him unconscious. Gamers will no doubt marvel at the size of the beasts you take on, how fluid the animation is, the slick camera angles and the level of detail in both the characters and environments.

Speaking of the button layout, not only does Chains of Olympus look like a console game, it controls like one, too. The PSP's analog stick effectively moves Kratos around the 3-D environments -- be it running, climbing or swimming -- and also aids in puzzle-solving and boss battles via on-screen commands to turn the stick in a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion. The face buttons and two shoulder buttons, which are used primarily during attack sequences, also feel like a console's controller. They can be used for special moves and to create combos, such as holding the right shoulder button and pressing either triangle, square or circle to execute a special magic attack in which Kratos bangs on the ground with a giant fist and creates a red shock blast to affect nearby enemies. If Kratos' blades are upgraded, he can also pull off some impressive mid-air moves including fast spins (that moves his chains like helicopter blades), air grabs and vertical attacks.

This control scheme might sound like déjà vu to fans of the first two God of War games -- and yes, it's nearly identical -- but I'd argue this is a good thing, as players of the previous games will be able to immediately understand how to play Chains of Olympus. Plus, the God of War console versions are among those rare games with flawless controls, so if it ain't broke... The only exception is the missing right analog stick, used to rotate the camera around, but the game handles this fairly well for you automatically.