God of War: Chains of Olympus Preview

When Ready at Dawn’s Daxter hit the PSP, it set the bar for the system with great gameplay and some fantastic visuals. Now, Sony has handed the developer the reins to their hottest franchise in a long time, God of War. Considering the system shift, it can be assumed that PSP gamers might end up with little more than a shoddy port of a prior entry in the series. However, a recent demo showcased at Sony’s Gamer’s Day proved this to not be the case. The game is really showing its chops, easily rivaling the console versions in terms of content, graphics, and gameplay.

God of War: Chains of Olympus will be a brand new prequel to the series, taking place 10 years after the murder of Kratos’s family but before the events in the original God of War. The game’s storyline will not just be tacked on in terms of story, but will actually be an integral part to the story arc of the series. Elements from the series are explained in this prequel, as it will answer some questions posed in the PS2 games.

The gameplay will build upon and emulate the combat in the series. You’ll be able to perform the variety of combos that Kratos can in the PS2 versions, as well as the great fatalities and button sequences known to the series. The build at the show wasn’t playable, but the gameplay that was showcased showed an awful lot of promise and did a fine job of emulating the look and feel of the console versions.

Graphically, the game looked phenomenal for a PSP game, and nearly on par with the PS2 versions. There were a few polish issues in the preview build, but at this point, the game is well on its way to be one of the best-looking games on the PSP.

Not a lot was divulged on what is arguably the most anticipated PSP game around, but what was revealed looked great and seemed to play great as well. Chains of Olympus could definitely be a system-seller for Sony when it releases later this year.