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The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 2, 2008

System: Sony PSP
Publisher: Sony

Reviewer's rating: ***½

ESRB rating: Mature

Game type: Action/adventure

Kind of like: "Devil May Cry" series

Best feature: The Blades of Chaos are still among the all-time coolest video game weapons.

Worst feature: The action is entirely linear.

The bottom line: "God of War: Chains of Olympus" is one of those rare games that doesn't feel crudely diminished in its transition to the portable world. Everything you loved about the original PlayStation 2 hit and its sequel can be found here, too - blood-spattering combat and gratuitous nudity included.

Sure, the "God of War" formula is getting a tad predictable, but it's still a good formula.

It plays sort of like a platformer, albeit a gruesomely violent platformer. As Kratos - a vengeful servant of the Greek gods - you run, jump, climb and swim through levels, hacking and slashing your way through hordes of mythological beasts, collecting power orbs and solving puzzles. It would all be pretty routine stuff if the action weren't so ridiculously fun. Carving up enemies with Kratos' Blades of Chaos (basically, two flaming daggerlike blades attached to chains) never gets old, and the gradual learning curve (you unlock more sophisticated moves as you progress through the game) means it never devolves into mindless button-mashing.

The signature "God of War" finishing moves, which require a well-timed series of button presses, may have lost their novelty over the years, but they still get the adrenaline pumping in the heat of battle.

Rommie Johnson

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