It’s been over a year since I revisited the God Of War series. I played through the remasters of all three games and was impressed at the storyline, the gameplay and most of all, the anger. Just after, I began playing Ascension but lost interest as the story was just nonsense and the anger was been-there, done-that.
As the new title approaches, I find myself intrigued at the possibilities. It could be good! Combining the classic Kratos with a new tone, setting and scenario is really the only way to reboot the series IMO. The brutality of GOW III was about as far as a game could convey anger. But while the trilogy is done and over, I’ve only ever tinkered with the handheld adventures. The remastered PS3 versions were on sale this past week: both for $2. A buck per game? Let’s do this.
Tossing Chains Of Olympus on Spartan difficulty (hard mode), I went through a game that was very clearly designed for handhelds. Environments were reused and cut-scenes were particularly ugly. However, the gameplay was, for the most part, solid and the entire experience was rather pleasant. Barring some middle segments that dragged as you ran loops through areas and and end-game portion that felt like wave after wave of enemies – the overall game was quite good. The most noteworthy area lied in the later story. Spoilers incoming. The tale itself just seemed an excuse for another game, but Kratos’ plight towards the end regarding his daughter was notably mature. The choice between her and humanity was unfair and it gave depth to the fires that fueled the epic finale of the series.
Now with the first game out of the way, it’s time to start up the sequel which, I’ve heard, is even better. Not sure if I’ll try this one on Spartan difficulty or not!
