PAX Prime 2010 – God of War Ghost of Sparta: Hands-on Impressions

God of War: Ghost of Sparta is the anticipated sequel to what is arguably the best game on the PSP, God of War: Chains of Olympus. Created by the same team that made the first game, Ghost of Sparta has momentum behind it as well, as it will be the second God of War game released this year, after the stellar God of War 3 on the PS3. Can it continue the incredible legacy of Kratos?

The demo I played on the show floor was tucked away in a corner of Sony’s massive booth. I almost missed it the first few times walking by their booth, but after noticing it, I quickly got my hands onto the game. I’m a huge fan of the entire franchise, so an opportunity to play the newest version of it was great. And as expected, I was not disappointed. The demo starts off onboard a ship, and the first thing I noticed was the water falling off Krato’s body. The level of visual fidelity, especially for a PSP game, was pretty amazing to witness. It is by far the most impressive-looking PSP game I’ve ever seen. The scale of the sequences in the game is also beyond anything else on the platform, rivaling things seen in the PS2 versions of the God of War games. This game seems to be pushing the PSP to its extreme limits, and we’re all benefitting from it.

The game played just as you imagine, with combat playing out just like every other entry, mainly handled by your Blades of Chaos. There was a new weapon in the demo, a sword and spear which felt much more defensive than any other weapon I’ve used in the series. There were also environmental puzzles sprinkled throughout the demo and an enormous multistage boss fight. Essentially, in this small chunk of the game, it hits all the bookmarks of a proper God of War game.

The only downside I saw is that the game hasn’t been released yet. I expected greatness with the team from Chains of Olympus giving us a bigger and better God of War game, and that’s exactly what I got a taste of. Ghost of Sparta looks to be one of the handheld highlights of the fall season. I will be there when it releases this November.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta releases on the PlayStation Portable on November 2nd, published by Sony Computer Entertainment and developed by Ready at Dawn Studios.