God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Blog Post: Best Entry in the Series

Master Chiefs Son — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 01:49:00 GMT

God of War: Ghost of Sparta is by far the best entry in the God of War series. The graphics push the PSP to its limits, allowing for amazing cutscenes and the most intense storyline since the series ended. A must play for any GOW fan

Blog Post: A great game in its own right, it stands tall alongside its PS2/PS3 counterparts and delivers an incredible experience that should not be missed.

KvothetheBloodless — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 16:10:00 GMT

From the moment the original God of War was released, I fell in love with the series. Kratos is a gripping character, both in his back story and in how much of a complete *** he makes you feel like as you tear through hundreds of enemies throughout the game. I have played every single GoW title, but I admit I was apprehensive about playing such an incredible series on the PSP. I wasn't sure it could be done, or at least as well as the PS2 or PS3 games. I can say, with total satisfaction, that this game excels on all fronts and blows away all the misconceptions I had.

Ghost of Sparta takes place between the conclusion of God of War, when Kratos has killed Ares and gotten his revenge, but before God of War II. Still haunted by the visions of his past, Kratos seeks answers, even if that means fighting the Gods themselves to do so. Eventually he runs into his mother, who tells him that his brother, Deimos, is still alive. Full of rage and with a purpose once again, the game has you killing and solving puzzles along the way until you find his long lost brother once again.

Story-wise, Ghost of Sparta is very well done. I feel like it fits in very well, all things considered, and fills in the back story about his family that had been touched on, but never fully explained. Besides the tremendously fun gameplay, the story keeps you interested and never truly lets go, and the conclusion is very satisfying.

What had worried me most about playing a God of War title on the PSP was how the controls would work. I came away both surprised and happy with how well everything was converted, though it isn't without flaws. Ghost of Sparta plays somewhat similar to the console versions, with square being light slash, triangle being heavy slash, circle being grab and the X button being jump. The shoulder buttons make the experience somewhat more complicated though: you have to hold L and R to roll, but R by itself controls a flame upgrade that you receive early in the game, and L used for the different techniques he learns throughout the game. Magic is handled on the directional pad, though the down arrow switches to his alternate weapon (which, by the way, is probably the best alternate weapon in the series, both in importance and actual usage). It's a little complicated at first, and sometimes the game doesn't do exactly what you wanted, like not roll to dodge or not activate the flame ability when you need it, but overall it works admirably.

Graphically, there's no other way of saying it: Ghost of Sparta is gorgeous. This is quite possibly the best looking game on the PSP, and it stands proudly alongside God of War and God of War II. The character design is fantastic, the environments are beautiful as always, and the animations are top notch. You won't find a better looking game for the PSP, period.

Similarly, the sound design is also fantastic. The actors, as always, do a great job, and the music does a great job of drawing you into the action and keeping you pumped while the Blades of Athena slash through anyone that crosses their path. Truly stellar on this front.

And fortunately, there's plenty of reason to play again, with multiple difficulties, unlockable goodies for both the story mode and in the extras, such as artwork and, a staple in the series, the Challenge of the Gods. Difficult they are, but so satisfying when you finally complete them, this will keep you coming back until you finally finish it.

All in all, Ghost of Sparta is an excellent game. The story is rather short, and the controls aren't always the greatest, but those are small things in the grand scope of how amazing this game truly is. Rather than feeling like a cheap cash in on a hugely popular series, this game will remind you how awesome the God of War series is, and make you keep coming back for more.

Blog Post: It's One of the Better PSP games

Alex Beyer — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:40:00 GMT

In between using my psp as an emulator machine (since let's face it that is the best use for this device), I do stumble across a good game. I picked up the first "God of War" PSP entry and I loved it, but this even on it's hardest seemed a lot shorter and easier than it's previous entry. That was the only real problem, and this one didn't have the amazing gauntlet weapon that "Chains of Olympus" introduced. It was enjoyable, but too short and the replay value was lacking for me.

Blog Post: God of war getting a sexy GI score? Duh.

Tonie2000 — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:46:00 GMT

I love it, everything I need to chop some heads and spill some blood is in the PSP, the gameplay in GOW is so good, you wouldn't care about the fact that the PSP has only one analog stick.

Blog Post: Ghost Of Sparta Review: Kratos Delivers More Epic Handheld Action

Joe Juba — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 17:31:00 GMT

Ben Reeves — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:27:00 GMT

This is a God of War game for the PSP

File: God of War: Ghost of Sparta

Ben Reeves — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:27:00 GMT

This is a God of War game for the PSP