Yeah, this one is definitely looking to be shorter, though I don't mind that so much given that I replay these games quite a bit (I've gone through the first about 2 and a half times, and I'm on my 2nd run through the 2nd game right now). The game is definitely impressive. Graphics are amazing, gameplay is spot on, sound is fantastic. The big problem is it really seems to lack in the storytelling so far. Which doesn't kill the game, as the sets are still impressive, everything is huge and great fun to just look at, and the monsters are fun to fight, but it definitely doesn't quite hold up to its PS2 counterparts. But for a portable offering assembled by a team not responsible for the originals, it's pretty fantastic. And while the game is short, this is the kind of thing you go back and beat on super-hard mode, and there's all the Challenge of Hades stuff which you can try your luck with. The unlockables seem pretty robust for a PSP game (costumes, concept art, videos on a couple different subjects)
Anyway, if this was God of War 3 and it was $60, that would suck ass. But as it stands, it really isn't that bad for $40. A bit more to it would have been nice, but I don't think I'm going to feel dissatisfied at the end of the day.
EDIT - My opinion has improved as I've gone on. The game isn't perfect, and there are some small areas where it doesn't completely mirror the other games. Reading an interview, I learned that this is probably because Ready at Dawn created everything from scratch. Even though they basically just copied a lot of stuff, due to their development process they still built it themselves. So that leaves some things that are just a bit off, but I think at least a few were intentional. None of it makes much difference in the long run, but there are still a few things. Like it's much, much easier to rack up high hit counts in this game. The counter just doesn't stop as easily as it does in the other games. There's enough extra time between hits that you can combo all day compared to GoW2. And the way Kratos runs is weird. It actually bugs me a little. Instead of this really strong, rigid stride like in the other games, in this one he seems to carry his arms more loosely, so they kind of flop a bit when he runs. It's not that noticeable but it strikes me as odd. It just doesn't seem to match the rest of his movements, which are all very similar to what was on the PS2 games, and it seems like it would better fit a cute character from like Kingdom Hearts or something.
But yeah, like I said, my opinion is better now. The puzzle solving is a little shallow, but there have still been a couple pretty fun/cool things to do that were satisfying to accomplish. There were a couple parts where it wasn't all that clear what you were supposed to do, or there was a jump you had to make which was too easy to fail to the point where you thought you were doing something wrong, or a thing you had to break down that didn't give you any feedback that it was breakable, but those things have been few. The storytelling is also a little weak compared to the other games, but it's gotten better as things have gone on. What the game does right I think makes up for the small weaknesses.
The environments are a huge part of what's great. They're gigantic, gorgeous, and really pretty different from what you saw in the PS2 games despite the similarities required due to theme. Graphics are gorgeous in general. They seem easily up to par with the PS2 in most areas, and combined with the high artistry it just looks stunning. The game is plenty hard if you're playing on hard mode, so it's no slouch for challenge. Not quite as punishing as GoW2 could be, but it's still got its tough spots. But I think what helps it the most is there's just a lot of shit here that's... well, just cool. I think GoW2 lacked some of that due to the focus on the titans. I don't find the titans cool. I mean, it was neat to run around some of them, and they're a fun part of the story and such, but they're just these big mountainous things that are kind of boring. So while GoW2 had tons of jaw-dropping moments, some fun appearances by unexpected mythological figures, some of the best boss fights ever, and is still one of my most favorite games, it just didn't quite have the "cool" factor in the same way that Chains of Olympus does (and the original game did, to a degree).
Anyway, I'm just rambling at this point. This is an incoherent mess. Suffice it to say that I've had fun with it and will most likely start it over as soon as I finish it.
