Pros * Chance to play the entire God of War series * Loaded with bonus features * Great Soundtrack Cons * Short games * More linear than other God of War titles * Hardly any puzzles
Console: PS3 Date Released: 11/17/09 Date Reviewed: 07/10/12 Reviewer: Reid The God of War Origins Collection contains Chains of Olympus, and the Ghost of Sparta, both released for the PSP handheld system, and are now ported to the PS3. I am reviewing the disc as a whole, since both games add up to about the same length as the main God of War titles. The grades this game gets will be my overall opinion of playing both games back to back as if they were one complete game. Seeing this in the stores, I always wondered if it were worth playing, and I thought this review would help make your decision, especially for people who do not have a PSP. Presentation : B Graphics / Animation / Sound The Chains of Olympus comes first in the timeline of the two, and overall in the series. It is presented on the left of the screen, indicating that it should be played first. It came out in 2008, and though seemingly every game looks great in a HD port, you can tell it is an early PSP game. It’s not that it looks bad necessarily, but it does have more sharp edges and boxy-looking circles. The Ghost of Sparta looks GREAT, and really it’s hard to tell that it was a port from a handheld. The edges are smooth and the scale of the game is much greater than Chains of Olympus. This is probably due to the fact that GoS came out later, 2010, but it is well done. Same goes for the animation, as there are fewer cut scenes in Chains of Olympus, and they seemed slightly fuzzy. In Ghost of Sparta the cut-scenes look better and are of higher quality. This is not to say Chains of Olympus doesn’t look good, but Ghost of Sparta looks better. The sound for both games is great. The voice cast is mostly the same, for the characters that recur in the entire series. The soundtrack is once again amazing, and really adds to the experience of battle and defining the highs and lows of the entire experience. Single Player : A
Game mechanics / Length / difficulty First of all, the controls of both games are spot on, but that is about all that is the same between them: Playing through Chains of Olympus, I noticed right away how linear it was. I would progress on a tiny street, and maybe stop to fight the one or two bad guys that showed up. Sometimes I would move a box to a switch, or break a pot to get a couple of red orbs. To be honest, the first hour of the game I was half asleep while playing…literally just going through the motions. Then something happened: I DIED. Then while replaying the same spot… I died AGAIN. Waking up and leaning forward I had to replay the same area a few times to beat it. It was at that point in the game, about an hour and a half in, that it started to pick up. That’s when I realized Chains of Olympus plays differently than the other titles. This game focuses on the fight mechanics, and not so much the puzzles or exploration as the other titles do. The main thing you will encounter in this game is small battle arena’s that keep filling and filling with enemies. The core game-play is to fight an almost endless barrage of bad guys, and keep your health meter at a semi-respectful level when your done. This is because unlike the other God of War titles, they don’t always reward you after the battle with a health chest. They actually will chain another arena right after that, almost in a literal battle of attrition style. The game does give you a ton of weapons and magic to use and upgrade, which adds a nice variety to the fighting. Playing other God of War titles, you will be used to this, but the weapons are different enough to keep your interest. The game is short, my game save was less than 5 hours. The game does get difficult, but if you pay attention and upgrade in a balanced fashion you won’t have too many problems. Chests filled with magic and health upgrades aren’t really hidden, so you shouldn’t have any problems at all with that. Playing through Ghost of Sparta was a totally different experience. I was IMMEDIATELY drawn in by the opening sequences and battles, which surprised me because I had little expectations held over from Chains of Olympus. This game plays as close to the other God of War titles as you can get, and most of the time I had to keep reminding myself that this was a PSP port. They did an excellent job in all the areas that you would come to expect playing the other God of War titles. The journey was much less linear, the chests for upgrades were pretty well hidden, and everything you did had a point to it. This was a return to form in making me feel hate, or sadness along with Kratos, as opposed to just going through the motions in Chains of Olympus. The story line is VERY cool, and different enough to make me glad they made this game, as I saw the most human side shown of Kratos than in any other God of War games. The weapons and magic you earn in this one are really fun to use. The coolest weapon in the game, in my opinion, is your shield and spear combo. This is really fun to use and a nice break from your blades…but most of all it fell within my stereotypical understanding of what a Spartan warrior would use. (Thanks 300). Ghost of Sparta has a much better balance than Chains of Olympus in all areas. It is not that difficult, and like the other title on the disc, isn’t really long. Close to six hours if your lucky. Multiplayer : –
Game mechanics / features / Online features There is no multiplayer for these games. Replay Value : A
Lasting appeal / Bonus Content / DLC The main thing these games have going for them in replay value is that they are short. This gave me more motivation to play again, because I knew there wasn’t too much to have to repeat, and I could use the fun alternate costumes and objects I found during my first play through. There is no DLC Chains of Olympus has the Challenge of Hades, which like the other God of War titles has you completing different challenges to unlock alternate costumes, bonus videos, and my favorite thing in all the God of War unlocks: Deleted levels! Ghost of Sparta has the Challenge of the Gods, which doesn’t unlock anything, but does give you a chance to earn more red orbs which you will want to use in the Temple of Zeus. This is another game mode that lets you cash in orbs and such to unlock the alternate costumes and videos. And by alternate costumes, I mean the coolest one I have ever seen: The Dairy Bastard. Yes, Kratos in a cow suit swinging milk jugs instead of his blades. Worth it.
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What it boils down to is this: If you are a fan of the God of War series, and want to play the entire saga, you should pick up this game, if only to at least play Ghost of Sparta. The games are short but fun. Chains of Olympus isn’t great, but Ghost of Sparta makes up for it, and you should play the God of War 1, 2, and 3 first. These games have great replay value, and putting them both on one disc makes it worth the pick up.
Overall : A
