This review contains spoilers
Man I really wish this one was longer. I think it's technically longer than Chains of Olympus, but it flew by so much faster, and that sucks because I find it quite a bit more fun.
Strangely enough, it seems like this game might have inspired the Norse games more than the rest of the Greek games did. An emphasis on Kratos's family, the ability to strengthen the blades by charging them with fire, and the final boss fight has Kratos fighting alongside his brother who will attack on his own, but will also use projectiles on your command. Maybe that's a stretch, but it was noticeable to me, I wonder if there was some inspiration here? The spear weapon allows you to throw infinite spears, too, I really wonder if it's just a coincidence that Ragnarok later had that?
The gameplay is quite a bit improved in this installment compared to Chains of Olympus. Fighting with the blades is relatively the same, but you can charge them with fire at will now, which will heat up enemies and cause them to burst after a few seconds. Although I still didn't use magical abilities very often, I found they were way, way more useful; the Eye of Atlantis is great for blasting an enemy with a shit ton of lightning, the Scourge of Erinys corrals enemies to wherever your control pad is pointed at (I think? It was a bit hard to tell) which makes hitting them a breeze - this was the magic I used the most -, and the Horn of Boreas can freeze nearby enemies. I didn't use the Horn outside of its tutorial (which I got a 200+ combo in lol), but it seems more useful than all the magic abilities in CoO. Finally, there's the second weapon of the game - which you thankfully get around halfway through the adventure rather than the witching hour - the Arms of Sparta, a Spartan spear and shield that I... didn't love using. It's got a strong projectile by throwing the spear (another than the Norse game later do) without using magic, but I found the range too limiting, a little too slow, and it felt like I was more exposed. I know a lot of people love this weapon, so perhaps I'm just missing something, but I preferred the blades when I didn't need a projectile.
I also gotta say that this game is kinda pretty. I didn't have a PSP growing up (and still don't, this is an emulator), so I'm not sure how good the games looked on hardware, but this game and CoO look great here - Chains of Olympus already looked good, but this one ups the value just a bit more.
As for the story, I think it's kind of a downgrade. Yes, Chains of Olympus had kind of a scattered mess of a story, but it was a pretty grandiose one, and the ending to it was great. Ghost of Sparta, meanwhile, is rather straightforward. Kratos learns his brother is still alive, so he goes off to find him. And then he does. And then they fight. And then they work together to kill Thanatos, but at the expense of Deimos's life. That's pretty much it. Deimos himself was boring, too. I thought he was going to have a more involved role, but you have a boss fight against him, and then fight with him, and that's it. He's characterized by being angry at Kratos for "letting him get taken," and then pretty immediately forgives him when Kratos saves him, then he dies. There's nothing there. Athena isn't in this game much either, and she has more depth (though I guess she is an established character, so maybe that's unfair). It's much less of an epic tale (epic in the unironic sense) than Chains of Olympus. It's more personable, but not interesting enough for me to care. Deimos wasn't a known character before this, afaik, and he's pretty much only mentioned once after this in an optional conversation in one of the Norse games.
All of that is to say, this game is better on the stuff I care more about, but floundered a bit on the rest. As I started out this review by saying, I wish this game was longer. Let us learn more about Deimos and his relationship with Kratos, especially as adults, let us fight with the two of them side by side more, and let us just experience the improved combat more. Yeah, I can replay the game obviously, but I still just wish there was more to it.
Anyway, I please ask that all of you refer to me the same way the narrator does Erinys: "Pain given form, evil given life."
Strangely enough, it seems like this game might have inspired the Norse games more than the rest of the Greek games did. An emphasis on Kratos's family, the ability to strengthen the blades by charging them with fire, and the final boss fight has Kratos fighting alongside his brother who will attack on his own, but will also use projectiles on your command. Maybe that's a stretch, but it was noticeable to me, I wonder if there was some inspiration here? The spear weapon allows you to throw infinite spears, too, I really wonder if it's just a coincidence that Ragnarok later had that?
The gameplay is quite a bit improved in this installment compared to Chains of Olympus. Fighting with the blades is relatively the same, but you can charge them with fire at will now, which will heat up enemies and cause them to burst after a few seconds. Although I still didn't use magical abilities very often, I found they were way, way more useful; the Eye of Atlantis is great for blasting an enemy with a shit ton of lightning, the Scourge of Erinys corrals enemies to wherever your control pad is pointed at (I think? It was a bit hard to tell) which makes hitting them a breeze - this was the magic I used the most -, and the Horn of Boreas can freeze nearby enemies. I didn't use the Horn outside of its tutorial (which I got a 200+ combo in lol), but it seems more useful than all the magic abilities in CoO. Finally, there's the second weapon of the game - which you thankfully get around halfway through the adventure rather than the witching hour - the Arms of Sparta, a Spartan spear and shield that I... didn't love using. It's got a strong projectile by throwing the spear (another than the Norse game later do) without using magic, but I found the range too limiting, a little too slow, and it felt like I was more exposed. I know a lot of people love this weapon, so perhaps I'm just missing something, but I preferred the blades when I didn't need a projectile.
I also gotta say that this game is kinda pretty. I didn't have a PSP growing up (and still don't, this is an emulator), so I'm not sure how good the games looked on hardware, but this game and CoO look great here - Chains of Olympus already looked good, but this one ups the value just a bit more.
As for the story, I think it's kind of a downgrade. Yes, Chains of Olympus had kind of a scattered mess of a story, but it was a pretty grandiose one, and the ending to it was great. Ghost of Sparta, meanwhile, is rather straightforward. Kratos learns his brother is still alive, so he goes off to find him. And then he does. And then they fight. And then they work together to kill Thanatos, but at the expense of Deimos's life. That's pretty much it. Deimos himself was boring, too. I thought he was going to have a more involved role, but you have a boss fight against him, and then fight with him, and that's it. He's characterized by being angry at Kratos for "letting him get taken," and then pretty immediately forgives him when Kratos saves him, then he dies. There's nothing there. Athena isn't in this game much either, and she has more depth (though I guess she is an established character, so maybe that's unfair). It's much less of an epic tale (epic in the unironic sense) than Chains of Olympus. It's more personable, but not interesting enough for me to care. Deimos wasn't a known character before this, afaik, and he's pretty much only mentioned once after this in an optional conversation in one of the Norse games.
All of that is to say, this game is better on the stuff I care more about, but floundered a bit on the rest. As I started out this review by saying, I wish this game was longer. Let us learn more about Deimos and his relationship with Kratos, especially as adults, let us fight with the two of them side by side more, and let us just experience the improved combat more. Yeah, I can replay the game obviously, but I still just wish there was more to it.
Anyway, I please ask that all of you refer to me the same way the narrator does Erinys: "Pain given form, evil given life."