This prequel tells the story of Kratos battling a horde of Persian Soldiers, to the time he must save the world from the god of dreams, Morpheus. But Kratos grows more and more desperate to remove his nightmares of his past deeds, despite serving the gods of Olympus for a decade.
Plot. Ten years has passed since Kratos began his service to the Gods of Olympus, he is sent to the city of Attica to defend it from an invasion of the Persian Army. After successfully killing the Persian King, and their pet monster, the basilisk, Kratos observes the sun fall from the sky, plunging the world into absolute darkness. He fights his way through the city of Marathon and witnesses the black fog of Morpheus, the god of dreams, who covered the world in darkness, and he also hears a haunting flute melody, reminding him of his deceased daughter, Calliope. His task is to find the sun god Helios, who was captured by the Titan Atlas.
Health and Magic upgrades - Gorgon Eyes and Phoenix Feathers respectively - reappear in addition to normal Health and magic-giving chests. The game is a third-person action game containing quick-time events, box-based puzzles, and boss fights.
Concept. Kratos begins in this 300-like battle against the invading Persian army in the city of Attica, defeating the King, and the basilisk. Then you must fight your way to the city of Marathon when Morpheus plunges the world in darkness. Then players must pass various trials at the Temple of Helios, River Styx, Tartarus, and even in the pits of the Underworld to fight both Atlas, and Persephone.
Development. Ready at Dawn Studios provided the idea of a God of War game for the PSP to SCEA's Santa Monica Studios, and in 2007 Ready At Dawn posted a teaser trailer for an upcoming PSP title with the words "Coming Soon", using a God of War font.
Design. The game's graphics are similar to that of PS2 since it's a PSP of course. But there are some CGI cinematics at some moments of the game. Dana Jan is the lead designer of the game, while Ru Weerasuriya is the director of the game. The game's graphics are very well done, even without David Jaffe who designed the first two games and directed the first one. The camera system was modified to cater to the fixed cinematic camera for God of War gameplay, and the lighting system was reworked to aid in presenting realistic graphics.
Tips and Strategies. Upgrading your weapons can be done by absorbing large quantities of red orbs. When you upgrade weapons and magic, you unlock cool new combos and attacks. Whenever you're fighting stronger enemies or bosses, by the time they're weak, press the circle button as indicated above them, and perform techniques as you press the correct buttons displayed on the screen, and enjoy the whole show of how Kratos kicks major ass. Just like in the first two games.
Rantings. I still hate the harpies and gorgons as usual. But some of the things I do not like about this game is like in the previous two, you enter this room that is inescapable for a while until you defeat a number of enemies, in which sometimes will make you throw a fit, especially when playing at a harder difficulty.
Good Aspects. The prequel storyline was a great telling of what happens before God of War 1, Ghost of Sparta, God of War 2 and 3. The character of Kratos still amazes me and many other gamers with his deep, dark, and grim storyline which makes him a real bad ass. This game has a lot of good qualities in terms of gameplay, art direction, graphics, music, and so on. My favorite magic attack has to be the Efreet, because it makes things easier when you seem to be greatly outnumbered by the enemy.
Overall. For those who have a PSP, you can buy this game on your local Gamestop, or you can download this at the PlayStation Network by redeeming your PSN card of either $20 or $50. This is one of the best games of PSP in 2008, and my final score for this game is a 9 out of 10