AREEEEEEES!!

I played God of War: Chains of Olympus (title is so dope) for a couple of hours yesterday.

My verdict? Stunned is one word.

You know how sometimes you're playing a game that you thought was amazing when you first picked it up. Eventually, you get over the graphics unless you happen to pause to go get a drink, sit down and look at the screen and think to yourself, "This game is pretty." You then begin to play without really paying any attention to the graphics. This is especially true for a series. You expect Final Fantasy to look good, so it's no surprise when it does.

That's why, when I actually paused to pay attention to what was going in in GoW:CoO, I was so impressed. I'm playing a ps2 game on my psp. Seriously. I took for granted that I was playing this game on my psp because everything was represented almost as well as its ps2 counterpart. The music, the control, the feel of Cotton...err, Kratos...everything feels like it does on the ps2. Every little thing that makes GoW what it is is represented faitfully on the psp's beautiful screen. It's crazy, is what it is.

My one gripe is the QTE sequences that involve the analog nub. It's pretty difficult to get the same range of motion you get on a dual shock analog stick with the nub. I've gotten used to it, but not until I'd failed at some crucial times.

Speaking of QTEs, and this is coming from somebody that loves NG and owns DMC4, I don't get what all the bitching is about. It involves you in the sequences.

I'll take DMC4 for an example. Nero uses his devil arm to grab an opponent and dish out a devastating series of attacks. For the most part, you just watch and enjoy the dopeness. NG2 seems to have a similar feature with an opponent that has lost a limb. You press X (or Y or whatever) and Hayabusa destroys his opponent with a combo you watch for a second or two (or three or four).

In GoW, you're actually involved in these awesome sequences. There's the chance that you'll miss the timing of a button press, that you won't do it perfectly every time. That might not be the case (they're pretty easy to hit), but the chance is still there simply because of the fact that you have to interact with the scene. There's a sense of urgency involved because, if you miss, the enemy will be able to counter and you've missed a chance for precious health.

So, yeah...don't get the hate.

Anyway, it's great. I'll post more once I have beaten it. Apparently it's only like 5 hours or something like that. I said I'd do that with Lost Odyssey, but MS has seen fit to send me consoles that break...I'll get to that when I'm done with it.