God of War Ghost of Sparta PSP Review

God of War is a series that began as one game with no plans for sequels on the PlayStation 2. Its success spawned a trilogy that spanned two consoles and now two filler games on the PlayStation Portable (PSP). God of War Ghost of Sparta takes place right after the events of the original God of War game and before the events of God of War 2. Kratos is still haunted by visions of his past and learns that he has a brother Deimos who is trapped in the realm of death by the god of death, Thanatos. God of War Ghost of Sparta is a filler game that honestly adds absolutely nothing of value to the series and creates more holes in the plot than what it fills in. God of War 3 ended the trilogy with a bang at a time when the series was beginning to get stale with Kratos losing his powers at the beginning of each game and then regaining new ones that were so similar to the abilities he had in previous games that it seemed each new game was more of a revamp of the previous one rather than an actual new entry.

God of War Ghost of Sparta is a very short game, with players being able to complete the game in less than 6 hours on normal difficulty. The complex puzzles of previous games have been removed and the most a player does in terms of puzzle solving is move a block from one place to another to jump on top of to reach another area. Platforming is relatively easy, with a fixed camera pointing the player in the right direction at all times. Enemy fights are fairly easy, although there is a drawback in which enemies can grab Kratos and enter in a quick-time-event (QTE) of button mashing to escape being pummeled to death. The problem is that in higher difficulty levels, Kratos can be grabbed into a QTE and right after escaping, another enemy can force him into a QTE thus perpetuating a never ending cycle of QTEs and depleting health rather quickly. Boss battles in God of War Ghost of Sparta are few and far between. There are only three real boss battles and perhaps three or four mini boss battles. The game seems devoid of life considering the last PSP God of War Chains of Olympus was an excellent game.

God of War Ghost of Sparta was a boring game that I only recommend fans of the God of War series to rent rather than buy. Abilities are rehashed from previous games except one that throws a gravity ball at enemies and draws them in for major combos. Boss battles are mediocre and fairly easy. For those who love the sex mini games, Kratos delivers an orgy in his hometown of Sparta. The levels in Ghost of Sparta are extremely small and again, they are reused themes from previous games. God of War needs to either evolve into something fresh and new again or be relegated to the mediocrity that became of series like Devil May Cry. Do not waste your money on buying this game, it surely is not worthy of any praise whatsoever.