God of War: Chains of Olympus

God of War: Chains of Olympus is chronologically the second game in the God of War series and a prequel to the first game. Released on PSP in 2008, Chains of Olympus is a solid entry into the God of War franchise. The game contains the usual familiar hack-and-slash and other gameplay mechanics. Combos, quick time events, special weapons and abilities and the usual platforming and puzzles all play their usual roles in Chains of Olympus. I would argue that this is done more effectively than it was in God of War: Ascension. The story is good, but could be better. The game focuses on Kratos, after the events of God of War Ascension, still serving the gods of Olympus. When he witnesses the sun plummet from the sky and the world plunged into darkness, Kratos embarks on a quest to discover the meaning behind this event and the forces involved. Chains of Olympus takes the character to familiar and new places in the series, but the story is very quick and the game moves the pace along briskly. There are some reveals and some characters that are abruptly thrown into the final act of the game, but the story stays focused on Kratos and his own motivations for pursuing the truth behind the events in this game. The game does feel kind of tedious in how it goes about explaining some story elements that we have seen before in other God of War games. Nothing frustrates me more than when a creator/director/ writer feels the need to explain how a character did this or ended up in this scenario or why this happens. The voice acting is good, but the original music for the game is just bland and bad. The reused music from the other games in the series is good as usual. For a PSP game, that was remastered in 2011, this game is still good. I enjoy it, but it’s not a game that continues to bring me back to replay.

Rating- 4/5