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God of War: Ghost of Sparta

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    God of War: Ghost of Sparta

    Surprised there isn't already a first play thread for this (unless there is and it's staring me in the face). I got this as soon as it hit our PSN and have been playing bits of it ever since. I do love me some God of War and loved the last PSP outing, though I found it incredibly abrupt and that left me just a little bit unsatisfied.

    I don't yet know if this will be the same.

    But what I do know is that this looks absolutely amazing. On a screen this size, it's hard to see graphics getting all that much better to be honest. Seems more detailed than the last, smoother and with better rendering effects. It is, so far, a little monochrome with the opening having dull 'next-gen' grey-browns with bloom lighting and sections after being almost completely red. And, in parts, the look is very high-contrast, with the dark sections not really being all that suited to the small screen - there are places that are not all that easy to make out.

    Still, it does look amazing. A thing of beauty. The effects in particular are worth mention - with loads of fire and changes in the scenery happening in real time.

    I have noticed screen tearing, mostly in the cut scenes.

    And the sound is fantastic too. You know what you're getting if you've played any previous God of War and this is much the same, with some great rousing background tracks.

    So on to the game itself. It is more God of War. Set seemingly somewhere between the first and the second game, you are the God of War. An invincible killing machine? Not quite. Kratos never seems all that different, whether plain ol' Kratos or God. And I find myself wishing they had given him a cool god costume but they seem very unwilling to stray from his little skirt and tats. But he has his kick-ass blades and is as good as ever with them.

    It really is more of the same but incredibly polished. Familiar and yet challenging fights - the game seems to punish mistakes more than the previous one. Some great looking enemies, with some visual differences but, again, feeling familiar.

    Where the gameplay really works well and seems to be a bit more adventurous is in the climbing/leaping sections. Like God of War 3, there are sections where things are moving, whole rock faces sinking, while you have to leap, swing, climb. They're pretty exciting and work really well.

    As for the story, well, it's early days yet for me but I feel they're struggling. Opening with a vision, the story sends Kratos off on what seems to be little more than a wander. He keeps saying that he's looking for something (

    his brother

    ) but where, why, who, what, when is not really clear. It's something I'm pretty intolerant of in games lately and it's all too apparent here - I don't know why Kratos is going where he's going. I don't know where he's going. I'm only going forward because that's where the levels are taking me. I really have no sense of any motivation beyond that.

    For me, that's a problem.

    But, overall, an extremely polished, if familiar, God of War outing. Looks absolutely amazing - easily the best looking game on the PSP, pushing the handheld beyond the previous GoW game. Plays really well, put together really well and just generally oozes quality.

    #2
    Thanks for the impressions. I DL'd this for a rainy day and had a quick peek last night (too much to play right now to get stuck in) but you're right. Truly stunning looking handheld game.

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      #3
      Hoping this will feature a return of a big central temple like in GoW1. Will probably play this once I finish ZHP.

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        #4
        Played a good bit more. I reckon I'm probably not all that far from the end now, though it's fairly hard to tell. The game really is incredibly impressive and, as the game goes on, it does seem those moving/jumping sections are the highlights.

        There is also loads of variation in the locations. While large chunks of the game take place around one style of area, they are broken up with sections in completely different areas, so short it's odd they put so much effort into them and not use them more. Each place is clearly made with love, though the paths are very limited and only really open out for combat. I would have liked some really open areas to make your way around.

        What frustrates me greatly is the story. It is so poorly told. One key piece of information about who Kratos is looking for is held back for ages and then just sort of dropped in. We needed it at the start so we could at least give a crap. And even with that piece of information, where Kratos is going and why is a total mystery.

        So it feels like the whole story boils down to - Kratos goes for a walk. They totally should have called it God Of War: Kratos Goes For A Walk.

        Massive shame because the game is so well put together that I would love to have been immersed in it. Instead, it feels like pretty random walks and fights. Still, those random walks and fights are pretty great. The level of polish in the actual game is very impressive.

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          #5
          Love it.

          I first redeemed the GoW3 skin code, and loaded up GoW3. Went messing around with the skin. Then I started GoS on PSP. Its incredible, holds up well even next to GoW 3. Surely pushing the PSP to its limits. Played for a few hours straight as I couldn't stop.

          Short load times with UMD, no install... impressive.

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            #6
            What's the GoW3 skin code? What does that do?

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              #7
              Deimos playable in GoW 3. But its just a skin. Looks cool though.

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                #8
                Oh, that's pretty cool. Do I have that or was that just with the UMD version? I did get a bunch of stuff with the PSN version - probably best I check that before asking others I guess! Still, would be nice to have a reason to go back to GoW3.

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                  #9
                  Well I finished it this morning. It's short. I don't know if it's as short as the last PSP one but, importantly, it doesn't feel as abrupt and the end section is excellent, leading to a satisfying, if predictable, conclusion. Overall, a more satisfying experience.

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                    #10
                    I'm not sure the Deimos skin came with the EU download.

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                      #11
                      I'm stuck in Athena's place. There is this moveable broken statue (close to what seems to be an altar) and a by the fire seemingly weakened floor. Its right after the handful of thin ledges you have to balance over.

                      All I can do is go up on the right, but the door is closed. Can't do a thing with the statue it seems.

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                        #12
                        Is that door up a slope? If so, there is another way up.

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                          #13
                          Yeah, got it. Dunno what happened before as I jumped at the statue quite a few times without result.

                          EDIT: Much further in now and this game beats GoW 3 for me. Level design is better for sure, and areas seem better connected. Love the NFL move too. Gameplay is as good as it can get on the PSP. This might top MGS and BBS... game is cheaper, too.
                          Last edited by saturn-gamer; 07-11-2010, 20:04.

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                            #14
                            I'm playing this. Kratos is angry. The game has asked me to change to easy despite not having been killed in combat yet. It's God of War alright.

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Number45 View Post
                              Kratos is angry.
                              Kratos is always angry. He needs to just take a moment to chill. They should have a daisy chain minigame or something.

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