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God of War: Chains of Olympus for PlayStation Portable
God of War: Chains of Olympus for PlayStation Portable follows Kratos during his service to the gods of Olympus. When the world falls into darkness, the Spartan warrior travels through besieged cities, temples and the underworld. You swing the Blades of Chaos around you, launch enemies into the air and link light and heavy attacks into combinations. The camera chooses its own position, letting you concentrate on the movements of Kratos and his opponents during combat.
Blocking and dodging matter when several monsters attack at once. You can finish weakened large enemies by following the displayed button prompts. Red orbs upgrade weapons and magic; other orbs restore your health or magical power. Between battles, you climb walls, jump across chasms and solve environmental puzzles. Sometimes you must move an object or operate a mechanism to proceed while enemies continue to harass you.
You play this action adventure alone, without local wireless matches or online cooperative play. Magical attacks help break up groups but consume a limited supply of power. Searching chests and side paths also reveals Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers, which can increase your maximum health and magic. The game thus combines direct combat with searching and careful movement. The story contains bloody violence and adult themes; the European release has an age rating of 18.
Region and language
Our PlayStation Portable games are European editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
You receive the physical UMD edition. You need a PSP with a UMD drive to play it; a PSP Go cannot play this disc.
Manual
God of War: Chains of Olympus for PlayStation Portable includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of God of War: Chains of Olympus
God of War began on PlayStation 2 in 2005, followed by God of War II in 2007. For the first PSP installment, Sony's Santa Monica Studio worked with Ready at Dawn, which had previously made Daxter for the same handheld. Chains of Olympus arrived in 2008, launching in North America on March 4. Ready at Dawn built a new story around Kratos rather than transferring an existing PlayStation 2 campaign.
The events take place during the ten years Kratos served the Olympian gods, before the original God of War. This allowed the handheld installment to explore his loss and guilt without repeating the endings of the earlier console games. The developers retained the combination of chained weapons, large battles and puzzles. Dodging used both shoulder buttons together with the analog stick: the PSP lacked a second analog stick like the PlayStation 2 controller.
During development, Santa Monica confirmed that the game would use the higher PSP processor speed that had been unlocked. This was part of the technical work to bring the familiar presentation to a smaller device. Ready at Dawn returned to Kratos in 2010 with the separate PSP game Ghost of Sparta. Chains of Olympus also received a Platinum reissue. That name identifies the budget release range; the game offered remains the original PSP installment, not a later HD adaptation.
Similar games for PlayStation Portable
God of War: Ghost of Sparta on PSP offers the same combination of chained weapons, fixed camera angles and battles against mythological monsters. Its story follows Kratos after he becomes the god of war and delves further into his family. Chains of Olympus instead takes place during his earlier service to Olympus. Ghost of Sparta adds the Arms of Sparta, a spear and shield, among other weapons; that equipment is not part of Chains of Olympus.
Prince of Persia: Revelations on PSP also combines sword fighting with climbing and puzzles. The prince runs along walls more often and uses time powers to undo a failed jump. Chains of Olympus places greater emphasis on groups of enemies, sweeping attacks with chained weapons and large monsters. Both require well-timed movement, but Revelations also has you explore the same island fortress in different eras, making you reconsider your routes.
Daxter is another PSP adventure from Ready at Dawn, with three-dimensional environments and a separate story for a familiar character. You follow the orange ottsel as he tries to free Jak. Platforming and comic characters take precedence over violent battles. Chains of Olympus uses much darker Greek mythology, larger confrontations and weapons that you strengthen with collected orbs.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary on PSP also has you climb through ancient structures, investigate mechanisms and fight dangerous opponents. Lara uses pistols and a grappling hook, among other equipment; reading a room and finding a climbing route take considerable attention. Chains of Olympus intersperses its puzzles with more close-range combat. Kratos' chained weapons and finishing moves give these confrontations a different rhythm from Lara's exploration of tombs.
MediEvil: Resurrection on PSP also combines weapon combat with a supernatural world. The undead Sir Daniel Fortesque travels through Gallowmere to stop the sorcerer Zarok. Macabre humor and a clumsy hero give the adventure a lighter tone than Kratos' struggle with the gods. Chains of Olympus builds its action around attack combinations and dramatic finishing moves; MediEvil shapes its fantasy world mainly through varied weapons and comic characters.
