God of War: Ghost of Sparta

The God of War series ended pretty definitively with God of War 3 for the PS3. But was there any doubt after the success of the series that we’d be returning to the franchise in one form or another? In this case it’s a return to the franchise, except smaller and more portable on the PSP with God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

Since God of War 3 was the logical end of Kraos’s journey, Ghost of Sparta takes place between God of War 1 and 2, effectively making it God of War 1.5. This time around, Kratos is haunted by visions of his brother (whose existence has been hinted at by the other games) and sets off on a journey (or killing spree depending on how you look at it) to find him. Whereas all of the previous God of War games had stories that added to the overall mythos of the franchise, Ghost of Sparta’s story feels like a self-contained side-story with no real impact on the franchise as a whole. To make a TV analogy, it feels like the episode of Lost where you learn where Jack got his tattoos. Oddly enough, if you ever wondered where Kratos got his tattoos, you’ll find out in this game.

The core gameplay is still the same as it is in every game in the series, although still satisfying. But you can tell that Ghost of Sparta has taken a lot of lessons from the gameplay design of God of War 3. The quick time events that have been prevalent throughout the games have been modified to fit the God of War 3 style, with the prompts on the periphery of the screen. This works better on the PSP’s small screen than playing God of War 3 on a potentially larger screen. (Unless of course you were playing GOW3 on a 19 inch television... in which case, what’s the point?) Also carried over from the third installment is the ability to rush and tackle enemies from across the screen. It’s not nearly as satisfying on the PSP version since the hardware isn’t as powerful as a console and is only able to display a few enemies at a time, so you don’t get the visceral feeling of knocking down a dozen enemies or more at a time.

The gameplay length of Ghost of Sparta is comparable to most of the other installments in the series. But unlike most of the other games, I wasn’t compelled to play through this one a second time. To extend the length of the game, there are a few extra modes included. Challenge of the Gods returns but although there are more of them (some of them need to be unlocked but more on that later) they’re easier than they appear to be. Combat arena also returns where you can fight enemies of your choosing. The last new mode is Temple of Zeus, which, at first glance, is just a mode where you run around and spend your red orbs to unlock bonus materials and extra challenges in the other modes. But there is a little surprise at the end of the Temple of Zeus, which ends up shedding a little light on the game’s story. It’s completely optional, but fans of the series will probably enjoy the surprise.

It’s hard to not feel a little disappointed with Ghost of Sparta given the high watermark of God of War 3. But the tried and true gameplay of God of War hasn’t changed all that much since the series first launched in 2005 and the same is true for this newest PSP iteration. It’s still a solid game, although it falls short of the epicness that its console counterparts brought to the series.

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