God of War: Ghost of Sparta for PSP Reviews by Gamers

I've played every game in this series, from God of War 1 - 3, including the previous port to the PSP (Chains of Olympus).

This is the worst game of the series, but obviously, it's pretty high company it's trying to keep with.

The graphics are amazing. The music and gameplay are quite good. The story is sweetly revealing to a fan of the series.

The real problem with this game is how short the story mode is, and how much it feels like playing God of War 1 on a much smaller screen.

Maybe it was just how familiar I am with this series, but on my first playthrough it only took me 5 hours. I loved the levels in Sparta, but there was nothing unique or interesting about the rest of them. There was a long stretch of the game where the color scheme was drab and boring. At one point I was missing playing in Hades, normal my least favorite levels in these games, because at least in Hades there's a little color. The long levels in white-covered Snowy Mountains and gray/black Dark Caves got a little tiring.

But I'm nitpicking. This is a great game, one of the best on the platform. If you have a PSP, you owe it to yourself to play this game. It's really that simple.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta for the PSP is the latest (last?) entry in the God of War franchise. The story takes place between God of War 1 and 2 and centers around Kratos' journey to find the meaning of a vision that plagues his dreams.

Gameplay is just what you've come to expect from the series. It's raw action, bloody and brutal as ever. There are a couple of platforming segments, but not nearly as many as the earlier titles exhibit. The array of weaponry and magic at Kratos' disposal is varied and interesting, if a bit more limited than God of War 3. The context-sensitive violence is still over-the-top, and the adult-themed mini-game that all God of War veterans know is back again.

The graphics are nice in this incarnation of God of War, with smooth textures and great visuals. Load times can be a bit on the annoying side, however, as I had a couple of loading pauses interrupt me mid-jump. The various temples in the game, as well as the final areas look particularly good.

The music in the game is standard God of War fare, with choral tracks accompanying both the discoveries of new locals, as well as more frenetic beats playing along side the games more violent scenes. While the soundtrack is serviceable, the thought of "same ol' same ol'" does spring to mind.

There are several pieces of post-game content that will lengthen the main games 10-15 hour main storyline completion time to around double that length, with an arena mode, challenge mode, and a collection of purchasable unlockables via the new "Temple of Zeus" addition. There is also replayabilty, as some items found can oly be used on a second play through.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta is by no means able to stand toe-to-toe with it's big brother God of War 3, but if you want to know what Kratos was up to during his hiatus between the first two titles, or if you just wonder "Why exactly IS he so darn angry at the Gods of Olympus?", then this game is one you should definitely pick up.