Because mythology is only half the battle!
Plotline:
As Kratos, the legendary "Ghost of Sparda", you're charged by the Gods to rescue the Sun-God Helios from the clutches of the Titan Atlus, lest the Gods be put into an eternal slumber, and the world shifts into everlasting darkness. All while conquering Kratos's inner-demons, passion for combat, and his absolute inability to find a snazzier costume. Come on man... A loincloth? What are we, here. Barbarians?
Review:
Alright. Lets start by stating that I'm not too huge on Hack & Slash. I like story in my games. I LOVE story in my games. Even if it's convulted, odd, supernatural stories involving Fire-Ghost Pyro's and Exploding Men covered in bees. Usually, I shy away from any game that has more "Press Square!" than "Speak to..." in it. This was an exception. I was going through my catalog of PSP games, when I came across this. I popped it in to give it a test, as I'd just reformatted my Memory Stick.
The game starts, the story sets up an attack by the Persian army, and BAM. Thrust into battle. I was a bit underwhelmed, until the first boss battle. See, combo's in the game are easy to manage. But they can also be abused. Even on Spartan Mode, I was finding it EXTREMELY easy to interrupt my enemies attacks, and even counter/parry, WITHOUT the skill in my repertoire. That's not to say that isn't nice though, since it's great to have the ability to adapt your own playstyle. Me? I go for cinematic kills, and trying to group enemies into combo-able little messes. It's fun to watch.
The first boss battle rolls around, and you're fighting a Basilisk. This thing is a beast. The pattern was easy to memorize, but the battle itself was what was great. You fight this thing on a bridge, and keep pushing it back with your attacks. Each time you push it back, it spouts a stream of fire you have to dodge. If dodged, you can continue to whail on it/block, and push it further back. Simple boss, but it IS the first boss of the game. After you push it back enough, that's where the real fun begins. It hops on the wall, and you have to make a bee-line for it's leg while it's spouting fireballs like an artillery cannon. Once you get close, you tap the "O" to initiate the most badass thing about this game, the context minigames. (Think Kingdom Hearts 2's Reaction Commands, if you're puzzled.)
I proceed to stab this thing's leg, shove my blades into it, hop off, and then I have to twirl the Analog Nub to YANK it from the wall. When it hits the ground, I then yank an entire chunk of the bridge down on to it's head. You repeat this process a few times, and the final context action occurs. It starts to charge a fireball in it's mouth, so you jump up it's arm, onto it's neck, swing your chain blades around it's neck, and have to start closing it's mouth before it can fire. If successful, it blows it's own head open, and the battle is over. It's these moments that truly make this game stand out. The interactivity in the actual cinematic destruction of a boss. There are some glorious moments. (IE: A sequence involving launching chains to contain a giant). However, there's a non-minigame portion of the final boss battle that seriously feels like a rip-off from the Zelda series. Those of you who've played both will know what I speak of.
The game itself suffers from one glaring issue, however. This game is, for all intents and purposes, a PS2 game on the PSP. As You know, the PSP is about a 3rd of the size of a standard PS2 controller. This, mixed with a button pressing intense game? Leads to your fingers cramping. A lot. I had to take 5 minute breaks every hour or so I played. That's the other glaring flaw. The game is too short. On the Spartan Difficulty, (Which is the second only to God.), I beat the game in under 5 hours. It's way too short. The game sucks you in so greatly with it's combat and story, that when the final battle happens, you're left feeling a bit confused as to if you're supposed to keep playing. It's slightly disappointing, as this would have made an amazing 10-15 hour game.
Next, the Graphics. Like I said. This is essentially a PS2 game on the PSP. The graphics reflect that flawlessly. The cutscenes are on par with Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core's, in area's. The in-game graphics actually EXCEED the former, in terms of smoothness. And the animations for Kratos' attacks are absolutely flawless. When he launches into a combo, all you can think to yourself is "OH SHI-", before he's turned the room into something that resembles the inside of a blender after a "Strawberry Smoothie" binge. One of the simpler combo's, "Rampage of Furies", is so ridiculously intense that you wanna scream like a little girl when you do it on accident, even if it means getting your ass handed to you in the process. We're talking "Super-intense Jump Roping in Middle School" awesome, here. And yes, that's a joke. The move is wicked, though. Graphics wise, there were only a few hiccups I encountered. A SEVERE slowdown in one fight near the end of the game, and some issues with enemies appearing without their "Blazing Hole" entrance showing as well. But these could have just been the PSP reacting to the stress of being played in one continuous burst.
Audio is a mixed bag. The sound effects are nice, and such. But as with most PSP games, the audio quality, expecially during cutscenes, is quite tinny without a pair of earbuds/headphones. Aside from that issue, the sound itself is pretty top notch. Voice acting is damn good quality, and the music is very good at setting the mood, without being to invasive. The best sounds come from Kratos' blades, however. The developers were smart to focus on the "Oh Hi, prepare to have your ass kicked." sound of his blades ringing out. From the chains clanking, to the swords making contact with other metal, his weapon sounds are top notch. Between God of War, and Crisis Core, there is no doubting that the quality of PSP games can be on par with a PS2-quality game.
Summary:
When it comes down to it, even with it's short play time, and ache-inducing controls, the game is absolutely a must-play for any PSP owner. The simple difficulty makes it accessible for most players, and even allows a certain amount of leniency in learning how to dodge/block. The story itself is great, mixing mythology with other influences, and even going so far as to introduce amazing artwork and realtime renditions of classic myths. The graphics are absolutely stunning for a handheld title, and can be considered some of the best this console has put out since it's release. The gameplay is solid, offers plenty of rewarding moments with the context sensitive actions, and the boss fights are absolutely amazing, even if the finale is a bit disappointing in terms of difficulty. The audio quality is absolutely top-notch with earphones, but can suffer from the standard "Tin-can" effect when without.
I highly recommend this game to anyone with a PSP, and the cash to toss out for this.
WTF?!:
- Alright. There's a weapon in the game called the "Gauntlet of Zeus"... Now, I loved this thing? But damn, if it didn't feel like a Hellboy rip-off. I mean, it flat out acts the exact same way. Breaks through just about anything, stops enemies in their tracks.. It's actually a bit overpowered, when fully upgraded.
- Persephone. Why are you SO damn easy!? You're the final boss! Why are you the polar opposite of Abaddon from Castlevania?! It's like... "OH HAI, I'LL COPY GANNON AND MAKE THIS EASY FOR YOU. =D"... Seriously. It's almost insulting to go through the game on the second hardest difficulty, and not even be challenged when it comes to killing the final boss.
Story
5
Gameplay
4
Graphics
5
Audio
4
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