Kratos is stunned: there isn’t a flock of identical zombies…

After the short and sweet opening cinema detailing the you-whomp-‘em-Persian-guards objective, you’ll become immediately aware that the tried and true hack-‘n-slash formula is in full, familiar force in Ready At Dawn’s God of War: Chains of Olympus. Fortunately, that means loads of enemies on screen to catch the business end of Kratos’ blades in the neck, eyeballs or frequently bisected torso. In true God of War fashion, Chains of Olympus flows at a smooth pace as players progress through mythological Greece as a tormented and violently angered, hopping from one legendary location to another.

Unfortunately, the amount of backtracking required to progress to a new setting limits the amount of scenic routes to about a half dozen. Puzzle solving on COO, while equally satisfying and tedious, requires hiking it through entire temples or caves, which are shockingly huge and completely devoid of load times. Navigating Kratos from one end of a city to another, through buildings, over bridges and vertically towards rooftops, is seamless and without framerate drops.

The scope of this game is as impressive as its art style and visual design. Epic views of a crumbling town, complete with a look-out of your future path, compliment the great character models and beautiful textures. Facial and combat animations are spot on, and the dialogue – while irritatingly pretentious – is well delivered throughout the entirety of Kratos’ six hour, vengeful adventure, which will requre you to do nothing but rapidly beat the hell out of your square button to succeed.

Oh, there they are.

The length of the game might seem too short, but the repetition of the square-square-square combat and overpowered magic attacks will have you thankful that it’s over when it is. The story is almost non-existent – perfect for those who just want to get their killin’ on – focusing exclusively on Kratos trying to, you guessed it, rid himself of his torturing memories in this prequel to the console predecessors.

Because this has no reference to the original games, anyone who’s been avoiding the franchise until now will be completely at a loss as to what’s going on, and the limited insight COO offers to fans is practically worthless, with a mere taste of satisfaction in the final moments of the game.

Until that point, you’ll be mashing away on the square and triangle button – with little deviation from square – to deal with the identical mass of undead baddies. It makes for boring action when you’re smacking the same action button repeatedly until everyone falls down, and when you consider the complete absence of enemy AI outside the monstrous enemies, it’s even less of a satisfying experience.

The complexity offered is in the magic, adding a press of the R button in sync with an attack as Kratos brings on the fury of flames in punching and throwing form, and holding L while attacking to make the angry fella spin in circles, making him an almost invincible death dealer in an already too-easy game.

Adding a Gauntlet as a secondary weapon is, for the most part, useless. Intuitively tied to the Down d-pad key, Zeus’ Gauntlet costs you limited attack range in exchange for an unnoticeable increase in attack damage and loss of speed. You’re best off if you stick to the Blades of Chaos, since the aforementioned square tapping will get the job done in no time.

If you want the job done even quicker, combat can be completely eliminated by the Circle/ grab move. The insta-kill shaves off seconds of time and mounds off effort. Without having to weaken soldiers down, you’ll avoid the need to execute enemies, which consists of tapping buttons at the correct time that rarely correlate to anything that’s happening on screen, save for the inaccurate analog-nub rotation for decapitation. It’s annoying to have beaten the snot out of a mini-boss, such as a Cyclops – of which there are too many, eliminating bigger bosses and, in turn, crazy-awesome memorable moments – or bigger-than-usual minotaur.

The Mini-Taurs [sic]. A quick press of Circle drives it home instantly.

Sound familiar? That’s because new enemies are nearly non-existent. I don’t know if they skipped town at the beginning when Attica is being burned by a gigantic Basilisk in the opening scene (one of the best fights in the series) but if you’re looking for anything resembling even a pallet swap, you’ll be disappointed to see the same sword wielding, helmet donned zombies eating your sword over and over.

Still, despite the lack of “holy crap, that was awesome” moments, God of War: Chains of Olympus is still fun. The combat never struck me as entertaining, but fans of the franchise will appreciate the similarity to the console versions, including the same controls and attacks, as well as an intuitive R+L+Move replacement for the right-analog-roll. This feels like a God of War game from front to back, inside and out. Epic battles may be scarce, but if you’re in to cutting up legions of faceless baddies in a batch of new, beautiful scenes, Chains of Olympus is absolutely worth your time. This probably won’t convert the haters – though it did kind of impress this one – it’s definitely one of the most impressive titles on PSP, with a ton of replay value if you feel the need to wreck more cow-men and single-eyed monsters. The ending pulls everything together in a pretty emotional set of decisions made by the loathing Kratos, but everything leading up to it is just more of the same.

But hey, if you’re in to that, this is the stuff from the heavens. If not, just hold Earth on your shoulders for all eternity – it’ll be more exciting.

[Rating: 7.5/10.0] 7.5/10

7.5/10

So you really want to play God of War on your PSP, huh? Maybe you don’t have the money to buy it, the parents cheaped out, or perhaps you’re just incredibly cheap. Lucky for you Nukoda and PGRevolution are here to hook you up like two topless and randy Greek vixens.

We’re giving away a free copy of God of War: Chains of Olympus because we liked it so much and want to spread the love. Our review copy was so good to us that we want it to share its gruesome, gritty Greek-God action with the readers and listeners of the Bmashers network. How do you get in?

Check it after the jump.

• Leave a comment below (make sure you’re e-mail address is tied to the comment so we can get a hold of you!)
• Visit the Forum Thread and comment
• E-mail us

It’s that easy. Follow these simple rules, make sure we can get a hold of you, and you’re a sure-shot in our random drawing! Anyone 17 and older can enter – sorry kids, this is an M rated game, and unfortunately we’re going to limit this contest to North America.

(Give us a break, EU! This is our first ever give-away. If you’re clever enough, maybe you can get one of your NA buds to hook you up.)

If you want to increase your chances, visit the forum after you leave a comment, then e-mail us to triple your odds of winning our random draw, but try to avoid leaving 40 comments and e-mail spamming us – that will cripple your chances (you’ll be disqualified). Get the entries in before the March 31st deadline and you’re gold!

Thanks guys, and good luck!

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with a preview build of FlatOut: Head On for the PSP. I have to say that I was genuinely impressed with how this racer is shaping up for it’s March 11th release date.

Racing games can basically be distilled down into two key types; the Arcade Racer and the Simulation. FlatOut thankfully has always accepted that it was the former and pushes that envelope. Any game with a driver high jump event as a challenge can’t be taking itself too seriously after all.

Head On is the latest in the series of games that started out on the previous console generation and most recently made an appearance on the Xbox 360 as FlatOut: Carnage. FlatOut: Head On was based on that 360 version and places heavy focus on its predecessor’s Carnage mode. Carnage is a perfect fit for the quick pick up and play gaming habits that us portable gamers tend to develop. Instead of trying to finish first in a race your goal is to cause as much damage as possible while running the race. Think of it as a cross between Burnout’s crash mode and a smash up derby and you’ll have a good idea what I’m talking about.

I personally loved the heck out of this mode and spent most of my time trying to bash, crash, flip and total everything in my path. It is indeed a perfect game to play after a long and stressful commute home.

When you finally need a break from the intense action in Carnage mode you can take on the game’s huge career mode. You start out with just enough cash to buy a clunker of a car, but by placing well in races, events, derbies and mini-games you earn cash that can be spent to soup up your ride or to buy a bigger and badder machine. This adds a level of depth to this title that will no doubt add hours upon hours of replayability. Even more so when you are a completionist like I am and simply must unlock and buy every car and upgrade in the game.

Making an appearance Head On is of course the mini-games. The mini-games are probably the most recognizable parts of the FlatOut series, as it’s quite hard to forget the joy of launching your first hapless driver hundreds of feet through the air into a large net. Thankfully these mini-games are every bit as fun on the go as they were on the games’ bigger cousins. Your driver still flies out of the car flopping away with the ragdoll physics, and the landings are as bone-cruncingly satisfying as ever. Human bowling FTW.

You can’t have a racing title without multiplayer and Head On will include all the multiplayer options that you would expect. Unfortunately since this was a preview build I was not able to mess around with any of these. I’ll be sure to cover all of the multi-player modes in my review once the retail game hits.

I have to say that I am very impressed with how Six By Nine was able to squeeze all of the fun of the big console versions into my PSP. The graphics are gorgeous with particle effects and debris flying everywhere, and the controls are spot on.

FlatOut: Head On is shaping up to be a killer title for the PSP. If Six By Nine can keep things as quick and brutal as they are in this preview build, this will be a must own for any arcade racing fan with a PSP and a few spare months to waste. I’ve included some more screenshots and a preview trailer below.

Reblogged from our sister site Nukoda.com

With weapons-based combat titles such as Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden largely coming out of Japan, it was great to see a western touch on the genre when SCEA dropped God of War for the PS2 in 2005. The differences in these games were quite noticeable, most poignantly that God of War required less skill and encouraged heavy amounts of button mashing as opposed to learning combos, parries and evasion, as Japanese action games did.

Despite this, the game was a roaring success, and with the third iteration of the God of War franchise hitting PSP’s in early March, the series looks to be embracing its success.

God of War: Chains of Olympus, the third edition of the gruesome Greek gore-fest, is one of the most impressive handheld titles ever created.

Even critics of the game’s simplicity and ease will be converted at the immense technical capabilities that the game offers. While it still retains its square-square-square method of fighting, Chains of Olympus manages to be an impressive and fun button masher, and an absolutely incredible tribute to the console series.

Kratos, the franchise’s superstar hero, returns in his pasty-white, sword slashin’ glory. Controlling the buffed out Spartan feels tight on the PSP’s analog nub, and his attacks, found on the square and triangle buttons, are responsive and feel great.

Executing combinations is as simple as ever – mashing the square or triangle buttons randomly result in badass looking combos – and the right-stick roll is intuitively replaced by holding the R and L keys and nudging the left thumbstick, making for smooth beat-‘em-up action that most have come to expect from the God of War games.

Unfortunately, the painfully easy combat of the console game and brainless puzzles returns, and while this isn’t a technological error that halts the enjoyment of the game, being able to wreck hordes of identical Persian baddies with the tap of the circle button – grab-and-stab – or mashing the attack buttons makes the game incredibly straightforward. Crank puzzles are in full force, which was one of the more annoying portions of the first two games.

There’s nothing more infuriating than endlessly spawning soldiers whose sole goal is to poke Kratos in the ribs in order to make the poor guy restart his crank turning, or ballista pulling. Again, they’re easily dispatchable, but it’s a chore dealing with them.

… and more rapid-fire circle stomping.

To its credit, the bosses in the handheld title are equally as cool as its console cousin, but gamers who are bored by the tired quick-time-events (Tap circle to escape/stab/parry!) will find no love here. Kratos’ brutal method of taking out gigantic enemies has always been a highlight, but timing a random button press – or a series of them – is a less than exhilarating way to gouge the eyes out of a humongous, city burning Basilisk. Simple actions such as opening doors and crates correlate to mashing the circle key as well, and pounding your portable rapidly is going to make for one awkward bus ride, and a very uncomfortable gameplay experience.

The magnitude of Chains of Olympus is incredible. Levels are detailed, character animation is smooth and everything looks sharp. Minimal framerate slowdown and fluid combat make this a worthy and authentic God of War title, and even if the game is more of the same, its scope is astounding and it’s a technological wonder.

How Traveler’s Tales managed to fit all of this awesome on a UMD is a mystery, and even those who doubt the franchise will be impressed by the game, even if the combat is so easy it hurts, enemies are brain-dead to the point that they forget why they’re where they are, or the puzzles were created by the kids at the local daycare. It’s still wicked fun.

So while it fails to live up to the depth and skill progression of Japanese sword slashers, this really feels like a God of War game, so if that’s your bag, there’s nothing not to like.

God of War: Chains of Olympus is going to kick ass all over the place on March 4^th.

Reblogged from our sister site Nukoda.com

At the recent Destination Playstation event held by Sony in Arizona two new bundles were announced. The one announcement that peaked my interest was of course, the God of War PSP Entertainment Pack shipping in June. This bundle contains a new blood red PSP and a copy of the God of War: Chains of Olympus game (full package details below). I so want this bundle, but there is one odd thing about it. The bundle hits in June, but GoW:CoO hit the streets on March 4th!? If you can hold off on picking up God of War: Chains of Olympus until then you will be able to play it on this sweet new PSP, but if you wait you’ll end up with a second copy of the game. Also announced was a 80gb PS3 bundle shipping with MGS4 and a Dualshock 3.

Still cool, but I really don’t understand the method to Sony’s madness on this one. Package details follow from the official press release:

In June, a new PSP Entertainment Pack will be hitting stores, featuring the famous face of the Ghost of Sparta — Kratos. Here’s what you get in the bundle, which will be available for $199.99 (MSRP):

• Limited-Edition “Deep Red” PSP with Kratos silkscreened on the back
• God of War: Chains of Olympus
• Superbad on UMD video
• Voucher to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops from PLAYSTATION Store for free

God of War: Chains of Olympus still arrives for PSP on March 4, 2008

Reblogged from our sister site Nukoda.

At Sony’s Pre-E3 press conference Sony spent an unusual amount of time talking about our favorite little handheld, the PSP. Announced at the conference was a new version of the PSP (nicknamed the slim, but no official name was given). This new version of the PSP will be 19% slimmer and 33% lighter, but still have the gorgeous 4.3″ screen. This new version will have greater battery life due to new battery technologies, and feature video out!

During the conference Kaz Hirai demoed this video out and it looked pretty simple. To output your games, movies or images to your TV you just have to plug in the video cable to the headphone jack and hold down the display button for 5 seconds. This is a feature that we were all begging Sony for when UMD videos were still viable, sadly it took Sony this long to do it since the UMD video format is nearly dead.

Also announced were a pair of new coloured systems releasing as bundles. The first bundle contains the PSP, a 1GB memory stick, the game Daxter, and the UMD movie The Family Guy Frickin’ Sweet. This bundle will sell for $199 US. Chewbacca joined Jack Tretton on stage to show off the second bundle, The Star Wars Battlefront edition. This bundle will come with a sweet looking white PSP that has a nice Darth Vader image on the back, and will come with a copy of the exclusive PSP title Star Wars Battlefront Renegade Squadron. This bundle should drop in October for $199.

All in all I was underwhelmed with the new PSP. The new size and built in video-out is nice, but I was really hoping for built-in flash memory and a tie in to the Sony Online store. The rest of the great PSP game announcements at the show left me feeling better though.

A Take-Two representative reveals, “We continue to stand behind this extraordinary game. We believe in freedom of creative expression, as well as responsible marketing, both of which are essential to our business of making great entertainment.”

Lets just hope this game will be on our shelves soon.

Earlier this year we heard that Jackass would not only be a series and a film, but also a game. Skeptic’s said that it would never happen, but now new screenshot’s have been released, Jackass: The Game may be closer then we thought.

Jackass: The Game includes over 30 different stunts you can compete at. These include games such as Whack-a-Weeman and the famous Trolley Racing as you can see below:

Multiplayer has also been talked about and we hear that you can save your best replays to upload onto the internet for the whole world to see. Head to Head mode is the top favorite as you can challenge your friends but no Infrastructure mode has been heard yet.

Overall, Jackass: The Game is getting more popular as gamers discover more abouts its concept. I hope this game is worth buying and not just a rent.

I’ve also been given access to some great exclusive EEE content including some screenshots and great desktop wallpapers which will be included below.

So what do all of you think of this game? I know that it’s been out since November in the US and will hit the UK soon. You can expect my full review soon if you are still on the fence about picking up this quirky puzzle game.

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The following games are scheduled to be released this week for the DS:

- Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy
- Lionel Trains: On Track
- Star Wars: Lethal Alliance

The following titles are scheduled to be released for the PSP:

- Blitz: Overtime
- Shrek Smash and Crash

You can watch for the following DS games being released this week:

- Brain Boost: Beta Wave
- Brain Boost: Gamma Wave
- Dogz
- March of the Penguins
- Monster Bomber
- Superman Returns: The Videogame
- Totally Spies! 2: Undercover

And on the PSP side of things:

- Hard Rock Casino (delayed from last week)
- Tony Hawk’s Project 8

With all of this momentum behind the Nintendo DS comes a ton of fantastic games to own. Games for the hardcore. Games for the grandparents. Games for the younger crowd. There’s a wide range of software for the system, and we’ve gone through this year’s releases and handpicked the games that will make any DS owner cheer this holiday season.

- Big Brain Academy
- Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day
- Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
- Clubhouse Games
- Elite Beat Agents
- Final Fantasy III
- New Super Mario Bros.
- Tetris DS
- Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam
- Yoshi’s Island DS

Unlike console gamers, who always find themselves stuck in front of those dastardly television sets, PSP owners benefit from the freedom to game wherever the hell they want. That’s right, they can enjoy the hottest games of the 2006 holiday season whenever and wherever they damn well please.

- Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
- Daxter
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- Killzone: Liberation
- LocoRoco
- Medal of Honor Heroes
- Mercury Meltdown
- Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
- Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
- Tekken: Dark Resurrection

We have yet another port coming to the PSP in early 2007. In this case though, it might not be a bad thing. I know, I know… we all love the original titles, but we have to have something to play inbetween the releases of the PSP-specific titles! Take-Two Interactive has plans to make Sid Meier’s Pirates! portable. There are going to be some new features added into the game, including new treasure hunts, widescreen display and four-player wireless multi-player.

We love the new possibilities from handheld systems like the PSP,” added Sid Meier, Director of Creative Development at developer Firaxis Games. “Pirates! for the PSP system allows players to shape the heroic life of a pirate while embracing the pirate’s way of life — always on the go!

The following games are out for the DS:

- Asphalt: Urban GT 2
- Bionicle Heroes
- Brain Boost: Beta Wave
- Brain Boost: Gamma Wave
- Charlotte’s Web
- Eragon
- Final Fantasy III
- Gunpey DS
- Happy Feet
- Monster Bomber
- My Frogger: Toy Trials
- Spider-Man: Battle for New York
- Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 2
- Tomb Raider: Legend
- Uno/Skip-Bo/Uno Freefall
- Winx Club: The Quest for the Codex
- Yoshi’s Island 2

Once you’re done picking up the collection of DS titles that tickle your fancy, move on over to the PSP section where you’ll be able to choose from the following newly released titles:

- Activision Hits Remixed
- EA Replay
- Eragon
- GitarooMan Lives!
- Gunpey-R
- Hammy Goes Nuts
- Hard Rock Casino
- Luxor: The Wrath of Set
- Metal Slug Anthology
- Mortal Kombat: Unchained
- NFL Street Volume 3
- Pimp My Ride
- Pocket Racers
- Platypus
- Rayman: Raving Rabbids
- Sega Genesis Collection
- Shrek Smash ‘n Crash
- Star Trek: Tactical Assault
- Thrillville
- Warhammer: Battle for Atluma
- Xiaolin Showdown
- Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Tag Force