Kratos already left a trail of blood on the PlayStation 2 with his previous two God of War endeavors. Early next month, he'll bring his maliciousness to the PlayStation Portable with Ready At Dawn's dazzling action epic Chains of Olympus. Sony was kind enough to provide GameDaily with an updated preview build, introducing a new level for Sparta's champion to rip into.

Following a battle with the Persian army that includes bringing down one mother of a basilisk (as seen in the previously released PSP demo), Kratos finds that his troubles are only just beginning. After yelling upwards to the Gods following his "easy" defeat of the basilisk, the sun suddenly comes flying out of the sky, bringing the land into darkness. Confused as to what's going on, Kratos ventures forth, only to find that Morpheus, the God of Dreams, has taken control of the city of Marathon, not to mention the temple of the powerful Helios.

In this new level, Kratos must tread carefully, as the Spartan warrior finds himself tormented by a strange, soothing melody. As he proceeds through this level, he encounters spiritual demon warriors, a rather large sabertooth tiger with glowing eyes, and serpents that temporarily stun Kratos by shrieking. He eventually reaches a temple, where he must work his way through moving platforms and fiery demons as he slowly reactivates the powers of Helios.

As always, the best way to take these creatures down is with brute force. The tiger requires evasive actions while continually striking at it. You can do this by holding down the left and right shoulder buttons and using the analog nub to roll away, then quickly striking the tiger multiple times. Soon thereafter, a circular icon appears over his head. With a few timely button presses, Kratos rips him to pieces.

The wily serpents not only attack you with shrieking, but also with quick tail whips. They're easily beaten with a few attacks, followed by a similar push-button game to stomp them into the ground. As for the warriors, a quick grab attack (the circle button), followed up by multiple strikes does the trick.

In addition, Kratos deals with fog. Don't laugh, this is a lethal fog, consuming anyone that walks into it. To cut through it, Kratos pushes lighted objects, such as a burning bale of hay or a torch into the mist. He'll have to deal with enemies along the way, including a few bothersome archers.

Ready At Dawn, the game's developer, has outdone itself with the gameplay. The balance between puzzle solving and action is on the money. One part of the opening stage requires Kratos to get through two doors. He can drag a crate over to a switch to open the first door, but the second switch needs a weighted object to activate it. A dead body will do the trick, but Kratos must first take care of an onslaught of soldiers. Another good example reverts back to the Cliffs of Marathon, with Kratos needing a lighted object to clear the fog as he also battles incoming enemies. It's finely tuned, just like the console God of War games.

Last but not least, we digg the upgradeable power-up system. Kratos picks this up midway through the first level, allowing him to gain new attacks by trading in a certain number of red orbs. Kratos also has a new demon summoning attack, activated by a combination of the right shoulder button and the triangle button. He summons a fiery demon to pound into the ground, harming all enemies around him. Its attacks aren't that spectacular on bosses (it almost had no effect on the gigantic basilisk), but they're quite lethal to everyone else.

Visually, God of War: Chains of Olympus looks spectacular. The haunted city of Marathon and Helios' temple are just as visually stunning as the opening Sparta stage, with intricate level design, bending pathways and smooth-moving fog effects. The lighting is also more evident in this stage, as indicated by the warm glow from the torches and light beams. The audio is outstanding too, from the haunting melody stuck in Kratos' head to the excellent sound effects.

Chains of Olympus arrives on store shelves in early March, and God of War fans should pick it up without hesitation. We'll be back with the review very soon.

Related Links

God of War: Chains of Olympus Game Guide

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