Kratos and his two PSP titles have been remastered and ported over to the PS3. Does Kratos look good walking among the gods on the big screen, or should these games be left for the handheld? Read our review to find out.
The God of War franchise has not only set the bar for platforming action games, it actually created the bar. The franchise has always been a great story driven game, with great writers and directors, and all of the titles can be played without knowing any of the story from any of the other releases. The franchise started out in 2005 with the original God of War title and followed that up with God of War II on the PS2. These can now be played on the PS3 as well (check out our review of the God of War Collection).
For those of you that own a PSP, and own both of the God of War PSP titles, you already know how well developed both games are. Each game adds to the overall story and expands on the God of War universe, giving different insights into what has made Kratos the individual he is today.
In God of War: Chains of Olympus (released 2008) we are introduced to Kratos’ daughter Calliope, along with many other characters. We are shown how Kratos has had to make life altering decisions, while trying to save the world. Kratos must use his wits and his strength to battle enemies and solve puzzles as he travels along his journey.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta (released 2010) has Kratos searching for his brother Deimos who was kidnapped as a young boy. Kratos was told his brother was dead, but finds out that his brother still lives, but is imprisoned by the god of death, Thanatos. Once again Kratos must take the troubles of his world upon his shoulders and face bosses, puzzles, and a wide variety of enemies.
Each game, as a standalone PSP title, was released to rave reviews, and Chains of Olympus is still the highest rated PSP game to date on Metacritic.com with a 91. Ghost of Sparta fared almost as well and stands tall with a Metacritic score of 86. As PSP titles they are both clearly top notch. Did they make a nice transition over to the PS3? For the most part, yes.
Game play is classic God of War style (definitely not a bad thing). Hacking, slashing, kicking, and pounding your way through enemies is as fun as ever. Each title has quite a few unique weapons and both have Kratos’ signature weapon, the Blades of Chaos. Other weapons will be found along your journey, and all are upgradable.
The graphics for the game play look unbelievably good considering they were originally intended for the much smaller screen of the PSP. The animations and environments look almost as if both titles were developed for the PS3 platform. The graphics don’t quite equal God of War III, but all things considered, both of these titles look surprisingly great.
The story for both titles is often told through cut scenes, and this is where you can tell the games were originally on a smaller screen. Cut scenes are blurry and hard on the eyes, but luckily watching them isn’t as important as just listening to what’s being said. Subtitles can be enabled by pressing the square button, and these are easy to read even with the blurry videos (good thing for hard-of-hearing gamers).
The God of War Origins Collection does a fantastic job of bringing two titles to the PS3 that might not have been available to other gamers due to their lack of owning a PSP. Both titles were remastered and brought to life on the PS3 so that they almost look like they were designed for the PS3. Each game does have its own trophy set, complete with their own Platinum trophy.
If you have played these games before, then you know what’s in store. If you haven’t played these games before, then you are in for a real treat. Either way, two great games for less than the price of one (USD$39.99) means this shouldn’t be passed up. This belongs in everyone’s personal God of War collection.
If you own a PS3 and are a Kratos fan, there should be no question. Get this immediately.
