Hidden sex games and no media uproar? Is this...progress?

man_in_gauze

good game, hated the thumbstick control though... wish i could mod the psp to have a ps2/3's control
being a console freak, shifting to a tiny psp's controller numbs by fingerprints :P

+ Watch video

JakEastside v3

I wish all sites would review like this. It's nice, cuts the bullshit and shows clearly what's hot and what's not about a game. And even better there's no 'score' for the game, which never really made sense anyway. That sort of thing just leads to stupid juvenile fanboy arguments.

Everybody says that there's no such thing as a perfect game, so why did everybody throw 10s at games like Halo and BioShock when they had flaws that were addressed?

-MoarPlz-

@supercrap: Actually, it's not. It was announced some time ago that there would not be a PS2 adaptation of the game. This is the best link I could find for it: [www.gamingtruth.com]

armchairnixon: wishes he had Xbox Live...

I saw the review for this in EGM, and thought, "yep, I need a PSP." So now I have one and I love this game.

armchairnixon: wishes he had Xbox Live...

@XGamerX: Crisis Core is an awesome game, I have already played some of the Japanese version, so yes, I think it will.

DeeBG

No "If the PSP only had completely perfect games" comments?

I don't like the 'QTE' in any game really. I understand the design reason, and it's a good reason -- however they get to be pretty horrible sometimes. Some parts of Heavenly Sword for example the animation is so fluid and so much going on I sometimes laid the controller down just to watch them and lost a battle or two the first time I got through the game. The QTE in the demo is pretty typical of the other GoW titles, so I don't know if you can really bash it as it's expected. I didn't have the problem mentioned, but I could see that happening. Even with console controllers it can be hard to get events like that properly if someone has a quirky pad.

Mongoosekun

Eh, I'll just wait for the PS2 version. You know its coming.

supercrap

Maybe I'll consider getting a PSP.

neoraul20

@Sega-man1993:

Sounds like me (sorry 3 posts)

cherrybomb

@rhugghed:

this i have yet 2 understand. if you guys played the other two then why bother playing this on "normal" when everyone should be playing this on hard rather unless you consider yourself a wimp & not up to the challange of beating the game on this setting the first time around. weak. Beating all 3 games on hard 1st time around is more fun rather than a speedrun.

cherrybomb

@KingDavid73:

u my friend, are weird.

cherrybomb

Wow, I'm surprised that GAME LENGTH is not one of the "Hated".

Cleared the game on Normal. And then Spartan mode (didn't try the God mode). Cleared Challenge of Hades in three seatings. Game is so short.

Still a GREAT game though. ;p

rhugghed

@fuchikoma

I appreciate you talking of the difficulty and how it can make you lose interest. It happens to me as well. I know many people are reluctant to talk of a game being to hard because it may make them look not 'hardcore' or something. I am someone that is not afraid at all to admit my less than awesome gaming skills. Yet, I love to game. I would put my collection of systems and games against anyone's - in terms of money spent and volume. However, this doesn't make anymore of a great gamer. I am average. I am strong at some games and blow at others. Anyway, back to the point. I will buy this game to experience what I can of it, but if what you say is the same for me, it will be another game I don't finish. Oh yeah, I keep nearly all my games even if I don't finish them - I don't sell them off or trade them. I am a gaming pack rat!!!

BTW, this is my first venture into the God of War realm so being a prequel it is cool I waited. After this I will likely attempt the PS2 ones (and likely add to my substantially long unfinished game list).

Sega-man1993

I like the review especially the thumbstick point yeah it was totally ARGHHHHHH! for me in some points. The save points were ok but they could be better placed definitely, I mean this is a PORTABLE game

*SPOILER*

were you referring to the save point before Charon's boat? I also failed to save with about 1/4 of my hp left and died but to my surprise it was actually part of the script lol

I would also say that this game lacks big monster boss battles like in the console versions. Fighting Hydras and all that were awesome

And its about 3-4 hours too short

KaliKOtt

@Brian Crecente: Nobody SAID the pros and cons have equal weight. I argue that at a glance, that's what they have. Also, no i'm not wrong, because i'm apparently an arrogant prick that don't care what people think ;P

@Mr.SithNinja: First of all i've been playing games for close to 20 years, i own every system since the NES (even the really crap ones) and my monthly games budget routinely makes my friends cry. I'm confused as to how this separates me from other gamers. I think the main discrepancy between your view and mine is that you think this new form of gamer with a specific vocabulary is actually a good thing, while i think it's clique-making and in some cases downright elitist, and it should be crushed like the social virus it is.

"I fail to see where judging anything on the experience you get from it would be wrong."
You're absolutely right there, because i argue judging on the experience is what is important. The difference is i believe in judging the individual experience, or we wind up shoved up the arse of relativism where games turn into an arms race of presentation, and then we're back to square one.

Of course this is all my opinion, and i've been trying to stress that. And i KNOW it's a douchy thing to do, but it's still my feelings on the subject. Call me crazy but i believe most people are entitled to opine on the work of others; saying "you can't criticize my music because you don't make this kind of music" is backwards. If we didn't have this kind of simple insolence we're basically talking emperor's new clothes type scenarios, and hopefully that's not what we're after.

But as Crecente says, it's just the start. So i'll stop being a negative nancy and hope for the best :)

Sunjammer

@Spoony Bard: Yeah, find a new friend that can read an instruction manual for a game system and he might not complain about an easy to use feature like standby mode on the DS. It also might make you look a little less like you are intentionally spreading misinformation about things you obviously know nothing about.

Adam In Texas

God of war is very nice and interesting game. I like that very much and also will try it very soon. Internet is a good place to share information and meet friends. I recently found a nice web site called pubspa.com where you can meet friends who have same interest in beauty care, massage, wellness and spa treatment. You can also share blog, video, game, photos, etc with people from all over the world. Unlike other online dating sites where you have to pay membership fee, this site is totally free. I already made several interesting friends there.

Andyli1004

i've been playing through the game, and i have the same problem with the thumbstick. it's those giant tigers, where the kill moves require you to rotate the thumstick one way or the other. it registered less than half the time. drove me nuts.

montster

@Brian Crecente: Well hey, I think you're reviewing style is beautifully executed. Although I still like reviews that give numbers, especially when I just want to know if a game is generally good or not for reference at work (Best Buy), I love this review style for games I'd actually like to know something about (as opposed to, lets say, sports games or cookie cutter FPSs.) I don't have time to read reviews a lot of the time, especially when they are 3 pages long, so a simple split of what you liked and dislike does wonders; also, it is easier to contrast what you personally may or may not like, since it doesn't effect a score (like, for instance, I actually like the Subspace dealio in Smash Bros.)

Afore Notation

I didnt understand the thumbstick comment... I played the whole game in one sitting, and found the thumbstick sequences to be really forgiving. After I realized what the game liked as valid input, it was more about adjusting what I was doing than the psp having bad controls. I have a phatty, that make a dif?

Save point -- its a portable game, and the one thing I hate most is when I save a game, then have to put it down for a while and when I come back to it, I cannot for the life of me remember what I was supposed to do, or where I was in the story. I personally dont mind the repeated cutscene.

By far my favorite psp game. Must own for everyone.

Braham

The main negative that I agree with was the story. A key defining moment of Kratos' character is revealed in the last 20 minutes of the game and it feels too quick.

If the story focused on his DECISION rather than the outcome of what was to come, C.o.O. could have been the emotional tear-jerking equivalent of King Kong.

Kratos is not only a bad-ass but also an emotionally complex and disturbed character. The importance of his decisions in this game carry through to the sequels and are very cool to see play though...yet, for some reason, the decision you make as Kratos feels...tacked-on, disconnected...it feels unimportant, from an emotional game play connection, to an extent.

For those of you who can focus on the importance of story rather than "gameplay time", C.o.O. delivers better than the greatest Hollywood blockbuster...yet disappoints in the same exact way.

naughtyco

@Sunjammer: Remember this is just phase one. Also who said the pros and cons have equal weight? Also, you're wrong ;p

Brian Crecente

Mr. SithNinja is right.

So is Mr. Crecente; this review is spot-on.

eastx

@Sunjammer: You are very well spoken and seem to be educated but in this instance you come off as if you have no idea what the point of a game review is to actual gamers.

You call review points such as graphics, sound, game play, and replay value inane. As a gamer, those are extremely important things to know about before you buy a game. Graphics: Will this look good on my HDTV? Sound: Will the game make use of digital surround to make the game that much more enthralling? (With you being a composer I am shocked to see you miss the value of that one.) Replay value is also very important when considering a game purchase. Do I want to spend $60 on a game that I can plow through in less than 8 hours and have no interest in playing again? Knowing ahead of time that games like Mass Effect offer more than 40 hours of game play initially and other sub plots and story lines for using alternate characters as well is a major plus.

I do agree that the score system (1-10) needs to go because too many "outside stresses" can factor into the final score, hence Gertzman-gate. I for one, find nothing wrong with the pro/con list in a game review. It is actually a benefit to be able to quickly scan the reviewers points and decide if it matters to me or not.

I don't believe a single review style should be applied to all forms of media. The experience that one gets from theatre or books is not the same as what you get from games. So why should the reviews take on the same character?

In my opinion I believe you completely missed the mark on the "experience card". I fail to see where judging anything on the experience you get from it would be wrong. To use what you say should be format of the way games should be reviewed as an example: Wouldn't you judge a writer or theatre actor on the emotional experience you received from their ability to convey the essence of the story? If an actor trips and falls flat on his face on stage or forgets his lines and distracts you from the "experience", would that not be the same as a jenky control system or poorly placed save spot? Should it not be judged on these things?

In my opinion as a gamer, I greatly appreciate the review format that has been used on this site. It's quick and to the point at the same time giving me a strong overview of the general feel of the game. I got what I wanted from it. If you are looking for something else, then I am sure that Google can find you something more to your liking.

Quite frankly, I find it extremely arrogant for someone to basicaly stroll into someone's place of business and call them out for not knowing what they are doing, especially when they work in a completely unrelated field. Oh and by the way... Anybody to prefaces their rants with the phrase "I hate to be a complete douche but..." or "No insult intended, but...." might as well be saying "I AM a complete douche and I am going to illustrate exactly why as I insult you."

The bottom line here is that all reviews are nothing more than one person's opinion. Who are we to judge the way they go about expressing it?

Mr.SithNinja

@taidan19: There have only been three God of War games so far compared to a million Marios and Zeldas and you are wondering why people call out Nintendo?

There is nothing wrong with rehashes if you ask me as long as the game is still fun to play after the 100th rehash....

sainraja

@DiabloTerrorGF: that is so true and both Triple A titles. it's too gamespot game GOW such a low score.

Sweet Tooth

@usfslacker: Funny, I beat both God of War CoO and Syphon Filter Logan's Shadow on one battery charge. It has plenty of battery life.

DiabloTerrorGF

@Brian Crecente: No insult intended, but experience don't necessarily mean awesome, and i'll stand by that in this case. I've been writing and releasing music for over a decade and i'm no David Bowie. Keep in mind that i've been following this site for quite some time and i'm obviously good with your writing otherwise; this isn't an attempt to insult you, so please don't take it that way. I'm actually kind of disappointed that you chose to bring up the experience card; it doesn't trumph anything.

I completely agree on your stance on reviews otherwise; scores can go die. However your current format effectively has a score system; number of pros versus number of cons, wether you like it or not those are going to be the values used for at a glance comparison. If you truly wanted to abolish scores, which have the sole purpose of allowing at-a-glance summaries, you'd avoid trying to summarize in the first place.

I'd like game reviews to take on the character of some book and theatre reviews, where actually reading the literature of the review is what lets you gauge for yourself. Anyone that has more than a cursory interest in games know they are too complex to weigh by inane stuff like "graphics", "sound", "gameplay" or other such Gamepro style idiocy. Thinking about such a complex beast being judged against some kind of imaginary binary standard makes my skin crawl.

A scoreless game review should rely on the reviewer's ability to convey his or her personal experience playing the game more than his or her ability to compare past experiences to the one currently in question.

In my lousy one-man opinion, game journalism need a solid step backwards into childlike naivitè, because at the core that's the element that enthralls us. I wish we'd go back to the time when what engine drove a game didn't matter worth a damn, total play time in hours weren't part of the scale, development costs weren't part of the common language and terms like "pacing" and "replay value" weren't invented yet.

Methinks this is why games have become so undecipherable to newcomers; the language is so damn specific and the scores rely on such arcane terms.

Bah this is turning into a rant. Sorry. But i stand by my opinion.

Sunjammer

while i agree that the unskippable cutscene thing could be annoying it only reall got me on the last boss, and to be honest it's a pretty short cutscene, running at about 10 to 15 seconds, and it does look pretty awesome.
personally have no trouble with the analogue, and i prefer the shoulder buttons for dodging.
if your gameplay is juddery it's because you're using a .cso file... a compressed iso: ie, priate. it runs fine from umd, and incidentally it also runs fine if it's in the uncompressed .iso format - but it's about 300 megs bigger.

qte's were made for god of war... they fit perfectly and add a little spice to the gameplay, the main issue with them is if they pop up unexpectedly, but if you're playing god of war you have to expect a qte.

great game. truly awesome. let's not forget it's 5 solid hours of gameplay... very little 'exploration' or 'dialogue' ... or grinding or anything. RAD done good imo.

oh and i like this new review system, far too many have some weird agenda, and because it's written in a 'matter of fact' way you're led to believe that a game might be bad or good just because a reviewer likes it or just wants people to quote him more.

comedy

Love the game, but waaaaaaaaay too short.

They could have/should have put it on two UMDs for the retail price they set it at.

Booji-Boy

The only 2 things i did not like was the holding of the triggers for the dash/dodge and it was too short i remember the last GOW took me 12 hours on hard but it only took me around 4 hours to beat this one.

MURDERFACE

Good review! This game is my first choice after Crisis Core...if that game was out that is (even if it won't be good, yeah I'm a ff fanboy but everyone has their weak spots).

Therin

Seeing screens like this, along with the pretty much unchanged gameplay makes me wonder why Silent Hill 0rigins got so much hate :(

AnthraxJunkie

@taidan19:

The Legend of Zelda
Adventure of Link
A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Oracle of Ages
Oracle of Seasons
The Wind Waker
The Minish Cap
Twilight Princess
Phantom Hourglass.

BS-Zelda
Zelda Game and Watch
The Wand of Gamelon
The Faces of Evil
Zelda's Adventure
URA Zelda
Link's Awakening DX
Four Swords

And lets not bring up Pokemon…

No mistake though, i have no burning desire to play GoW2, and i wont pay much attention to GoW3 unless it does something incredible. I have also played most of the above so im not really complaining

Accordion

@Norellicus: Yeah, ALL cutscenes should be skippable, in case you are trying to replay the game on a second system. Since we aren't allowed to share gamesaves by law, they should make being able to skip cutscenes a law too. In addition, one should always be able to watch all the unlocked cutscenes in the start menu options. I hated in Lost Planet how you couldn't re-watch them, so when I got interrupted while watching one, I missed it. Then I had no idea what was going on in the story, and I would have had to beat a really hard boss that I was already trying to kill several times in order to watch it again. The cutscene was crucial too, they told what happened during the course of several years between levels. Black was the worst offender, with their super long and snooty blank intro that you couldn't skip. Yeah, screw that.

GOLD5

@Sunjammer: I'll only address one of your points. I've been writing reviews since the mid 90s, so I think it's more than my forte. I currently review games for the Rocky Mountain News, Variety and occasionally Wired Magazine. I've also written for a bunch of now defuct sites and zines as well as MSNBC.

The decision to run our own reviews was in part motivated by the observation that todays typical reviews seem more about satisfying the ego of the review's writer and the game's publisher than as a service to game players and, in a very small way, developers.

To summarize: Metacritic and site of its ilk are the hobgoblin of video games.

Brian Crecente

@gstaff:

I get severe hand cramps whenever I play it for more than an hour. The layout and the weight certainly adds to the torture.

@Brian Crecente:
Very spot-on review Brian. It's good somebody mentioned the QTE getting annoying when the thumstick/analog nub gets into play. It slips and doing quarter or whole circle motions aren't really its thing.

My first play through with it was already on Spartan. You can only imagine how many times I mashed the buttons to try and see if I can skip the final boss' cutscene.

It's also a bit weird that they'd only let you skip the scenes AFTER you beat the game.

Still, an excellent job by RAD. Makes you enthusiastic on what their next project is. Especially since we know it's for a console.

excaliburps

Other than hand cramps caused by the headphone jack being too close to the analog nub, i'm loving the game.

gstaff

^ I meant not that the SAVE is ill placed, its not, the cut scene should be skipable, end of.

MyLittlePwny

@Spoony Bard:

A save AFTER the big cut scene BEFORE a big boss battle? That happens WHEN? Thats right, it dosent, the point being the scene should be skipable, not that the cut scene is ill placed.

MyLittlePwny

I hate to be a complete douche but these reviews have, in my opinion, been a monumentally bad idea.

This effectively shifts Kotaku from a position where they're basically entitled to be FANBOYS and get away with it, and moved on into a realm where opinion matters in a whole different way.

I can only really speak for myself, but i come to Kotaku for free speech and varied video game news, sometimes biased even, as most of the really interesting reading has come from some of the regular commentors. Opinion pieces are welcome, but a structured, "complete" take on games is, frankly, not the staff's forte, and it shows. Kotaku as a blog gives me the notion that things are moving around in video games, and plunking down for some reviews is so backwards.

To be all meta on this, reviews are slices of past written in stone. It's bad feng shui for a site that otherwise swims on the surface.

My $.2 of bile. Please don't hate me, i just felt i had to say it eventually.

Sunjammer

@Norellicus: yeah, i agree...

one game that comes to mind as getting that right IMO was Advent Rising...

they had cutscenes, which were skippable, but it said "skip cutscene?" and then gave you the choice...
which is great because there's been many a time when i accidentally hit a button and then i'm dropped in the middle of a level and have no freakin' clue what i'm supposed to do :-P

mAaron

@MyLittlePwny: Dude. RTFM. That is EXACTLY what Crecente is saying. He wants to come in right AFTER the cutscene.

Why is this not more obvious?

Spoony Bard

@thambone: Are you playing off a memory stick? A lot of people are making that mistake... the game plays perfectly from UMD, but the streaming gets confused if you try to play off the stick, and ruins frame rate and gameplay.

Serves the stupid pirates right... :)

bellini

I love the new Reviews. No scores, no bitching among pedantic fanboys.

BigDanG

Five hours plus a bunch of challenges isn't too bad. It's in the lower reaches of what's acceptable, but it IS acceptable. Consider how much you pay to own a one-and-a-half hour movie, for instance, and 5-6 hours of recorded gametime (that's often more than that because when you reload a save after dying, most games don't count the played time between the save point and you dying) becomes just fine.
And though the "lack of innovation" complaint may be valid in the case of Ratchet & Clank, God of War etc., you've gotta keep in mind that these games ARE designed to be exactly what they are: Portable versions of their PS2 big brothers. And at least they made a new story and such to go along with it rather than simply trying to port the first game, and it didn't muck things up.
This is pretty much what the GBA did when it came out: It became a portable SNES. And much as that was lazy, I can't really complain about portable FF6 and Yoshi's Island. Nor should one complain about portable God of War and Ratchet & Clank.

MrPerson

I bought a PSP in January, partly because of the PS3 integration, and partly because of this title. I've played through the first three levels and I've got to say: Chains of Olympus truly is a portable PS2 game. The only thing that gives this game away as a PSP game is the screen size. Everything else is just as comfortable and smooth as it's console cousin, even the dodging.

PSP owners owe themselves this game.

crashlanding

@Unquiet Slumbers: You deserve a smack on the head for writing "they already did it", since Ready At Dawn had nothing to do with GOW2.

You bumbling idiot.

me, my yoke + i

@dabu: 5 hours for a portable title seems pretty decent to me.

SinistarX

I'm sorry, but for me to warrant buying this game is going to require a bit more than 5 hours of gameplay. Most of my DS games and my PSP games have singleplayer, that is fine and dandy, but true portable bliss comes in the form of multiplayer or challenge type modes kind of like Advance Wars.

Fuck that, 40 bucks for 5 hours of gameplay? Suck it.

painuser

I hate check-points right before unskippable cutscenes... They already did it in GOW2, before the last phase of the final battle. If you messed up the rather unforgiving QTE (which I did at least 3-4 times: either I was tired, or - more likely - I just plain suck), you had to go through 2 minutes of unwinnable fight/annoying ominous dialogue again.

Oh well, I'll see for myself soon enough. I've received my import copy, but I'm saving for a short trip I'm taking next month.

@ph15h: Nah, they won't, people will just download them, as usual... Have a looksy here - it's scary when you think that those numbers are taken from only one torrent website.

me, my yoke + i

the other sweet thing about this game is the Kratos action figure i got for free since i preordered the game! :p

in Canada too! oftentimes they just ...forget to send the goodies along to the canadian stores, but not this time! woot!!

joelface

Cut scenes are not that long anyway, and can be skipped after the first playthrough.

JonC

$40 for a game that you'll complete in 5 hrs seems wrong. I understand you can unlock some stuff and play through again, but the base playtime of 5hrs is ludicrously low imo.

dabu

@Accordion: I would love to, if only "twentieth" wasn't blatant hyperbole. Zelda and Metroid have not reached that number of sequels, and neither has Mario if you look at just his classic platformers. GoW has had three games in almost as many years. Until recently Metroid had that many in a decade plus.

taidan19

I don't think you can skip cutscenes the second time :S

Morphine16

yep, on my list of MANY games to pick up =(

too many games too little time, and money

Seiven

Are any of you guys experiencing slowdown with this game? For some reason the framerate is all choppy and it's really pissing me off. The gameplay is super fun, I just get motion sickness during some of the sequences where there are tons of enemies.

thambone

@Brian Crecente: Re: the unskippable cutscene, that gobsmacked me as well. I thought surely there must be a button or button combo that allows me to skip the damn lead-up to fighting [boss], but nothing worked.

Thank goodness for the mid-battle checkpoint, or my PSP would have wound up in pieces on the floor. Though I found the latter part of the battle a lot easier than the first part before the checkpoint.

Z-Word

@Brian Crecente:

WHAT? You rather it not be there and have to start from even FARTHER BACK when you die!? I think you're blaming the save point when you should be blaming the unskipable CUT SCENE.

MyLittlePwny

I got one of those replacement thumbsticks for my PSP. That's the best thing I ever did. It helps out so much having an actual large thumbstick.

Hamsnibit

just waiting for the ps3 sequel next march :):)

steliosco

This, Crisis Core and Portable Ops. 3 exclusive games that might bring the PSP back into favor.

ph15h

/Agree

Great review! I have really enjoyed the game so far.

-EDGE-

dammit, another reason for me to get a psp! argh! but i'll be spending my monies on that toys r' us deal this weekend. eventually, eventually... i'll get it

kw4k

why cant all portable games be this good!

Fluffy22

I've finished both Ps2 games and finished this one in 6 hours. Great game, but the story was rather disjointed. I had some minor issues with enemies who would just stand there and do nothing. Nonetheless, best PSP game out there.

PSP controls > PS2 for God of War - I hated evading with the second analog stick. Kudos to Ready at Dawn for making PSP controls work.

inkedgamer

Damn. i just went and picked up a DS month or two back, and i already had to jump on the PSP bandwagon. This one, MGS: PO+, Silent Hill, Crisis Core, there's a lotta games i want out/coming soon.

TheIrishNinja

This sounds amazing but...only 5 hours of the main storyline? ):

Furious_Liver

I've never played any of the other God of War games, to my shame, but I've been playing this on my housemates PSP and at times he's had to order me to give it back, it's just a ridiculous amount of fun, and just gobsmacking to be playing it on a PSP.

Cheebahawk

@7ucky: the thumbstick IS annoying as hell on quicktime events. Especially since you take damage if you unsuccessfully time it.

DigiMish

I downloaded the demo and my hands hurt from playing. Other than that, the game was simply amazing. The God of War series rocks.

DigitalHero

This is another of those PSP games that totally justifies owning one. Apart from the PS3 connectivity, a few games get played on the PSP - not because there aren't that many good ones, just the time I have to game on my PSP is limited and I have to spend it playing awesome quality titles like this. Little GoW on da PSP. Shit is baaaaallin.

iToke

"The Thumbstick: There are a number of big monster, quick time event kills in which you have to do timed swirls with the thumbstick and often it just doesn't register. There's nothing as annoying as failing in a boss battle or creature fight because of the hardware."

@Brian Crecente: Come on, Crescente... Don't blame it on the controls :D

7ucky

Unskippable cutscenes are really bad. It's cool the first time, but not the next 50. Alternatively, skipping cutscenes with a simple button press isn't the greatest either. I accidently skipped a climactic Halo 3 cutscene and had no way of seeing it again without restarting the level.
@liquid_kore: That's the best option. Easily skip cutscenes, whilst making it very hard to do accidentally. Still, all cutscenes should be skippable after the first viewing.

I recently started playing Elite Beat Agents again, and had been stuck on the last song on Hard mode. Without easy cutscene skipping AND the DS sleep mode, I would have been too frustrated to beat it.

Bluecell

@SquirrelPhister:
I did that too. I beat the dragon (?) and wandered on a ways but there was nowhere to save even though I had to quit, so I put it away and never got my own copy. I'm loving this version though. It you hate quick time events though this is not for you. I play lots of rhythm games so I know my X, /\, [], O inside out and eat them up.

@usfslacker:
db9 is right. It's not a DS - the battery won't die if you put it to sleep overnight. Actually on a PSP sleep is about as good as off and should last at least a week. Playtime I'm not sure of because my battery is 3 years old and starting go go bad on me (as all 3 year old Li-Ion batteries do...) but I can get at least 3-4 hours of playtime from this game with it on one charge. Kind of weak, but it's usually about 15 min between save points and even if the battery dies it just goes to sleep and holds on to where I was until I get it to a charger.

fuchikoma

@Norellicus: I think it was more the "unskippable cutscene" part of that quote that you somehow missed that caused the complaint.

NPlace

@Spoony Bard: The DS has a sleep mode, just close the lid. Your game will pause and the power light will fade in/out green.

Longest I've ever gone with it like that was 3 days, without a hitch.

Norellicus

@lordofsword: If you constantly keep dying on the same part, after about 5 deaths, the game will slowly replenish your health with each death until it gets to around 90%. This feature alone saves your ass on God Mode.

DigiMish

@Pombar: But if I've played all the way through a game and have since started over on a new save file, I want to have the option to skip scenes that I know are unnecessary. Usually, the type of flag you're talking about is only transient within a given save file.

Norellicus

I definitely love this game. The PSP is quickly becoming my portable PS2. :)

sascha23

@emag: Does it? A friend of mine was complaining that it doesn't the other day.

If it does, great! I'll go smack aforementioned friend in the head. :)

Spoony Bard

@Brian Crecente: but it also means that if you keep one save file, you have the option to go back to get health chests, red orbs or whatever. if you save after the cutscene, you're forced to go straight into the boss fight which would be impossible if you saved with 10% health.

lordofsword

@Pombar:

Ha, thats part of the complaint about having the save before the cutscene, the save area is also the last checkpoint, so when you die you revert back to before you saw the cutscene. I must have watched it nearly a hundred times!

@usfslacker:

First, the PSP is …a Portable Playstation. It was created with the ability to feature home console quality games in mind. The Sleep function is also perfect for pausing the gameplay at any time, using the absolute minimal battery power, and then being able to jump back into the game exactly where you left off.

@taidan19:

While i do agree to some extent, perhaps more emphasis should be put on "done for the third time" as opposed to twentieth.

Having only played the original God of War and this PSP version, im a little tired of the gamplay, but the presentation is far beyond most other titles.

Accordion

Excellent game, nuff said.

I agree, the cinemas are the pain when you have to fight a difficult boss.

It's like me right now, stuck in God mode in the last boss and I have to watch the cinema all over again.

Dumad

@MasterOfPastures:

United States Military Overseas, the base i live in is in italy, but its technically american soil.

mentalboy11

@Spoony Bard: What, like closing the DS doesn't put it in sleep mode?

emag

@Brian Crecente: the cutscenes are actually skipable when you play the game a second time :)

DigiMish

@Norellicus: The easy solution is surely to make the cut-scenes unskippable first time around, then skippable every time after that? Seriously, more developers need to remember that after our 80th try within the space of half an hour, no matter how good their cutscenes are, they're things we'll want to skip at that point.

Pombar

The console manufacturers should really create a rule that all cutscenes should be able to be paused, and then the user should also be able to skip the cutscene from the pause menu. (Looking at you Metal Gear!)

liquid_kore

I really liked this game and normally I'm not into brawlers with hundreds of guys. This game is really more about areas with specific battles though, and they mix it up nicely.

I do have two big complaints so far that make it look bad:
1. You can leap 10 feet in the air, but you can't leap over a 6 inch rock because debris has infinitely high invisible forcefields around it. In Tartarus, this gets REALLY obvious when the mighty Kratos can't step over rubble that an 80 year old with a broken hip could clear.
2. They really seem to like giving you a brutal battle, THEN a savage fight harder than the bosses, THEN a big empty dead end puzzle room that takes forever to get out of, all without a save point, so if your batteries die or you want to play something else, you have to go through hell just to get back to the boring spot where there's nothing (except one non-obvious thing) to do.

Other than that, it's awesome. If I beat this, I'm totally going back to play the first two. I may stall out on this one though because the difficulty curve goes straight up. I was marching through the whole game but now that I've hit Tartarus I have to redo every fight a dozen times just to continue. If it stays that brutal, there's just no fun to be had...

fuchikoma

@jackal888:
by marks i mean praise and or acclaim, calm down.

XGamerX

Quick-time events in GOW are awesome!

True they aren't so good in other games but this "QTE=fail" trend of late is getting silly.

Astrofox

@db9: I agree. This is probably the BEST feature of the PSP.

I got through Final Fantasy Tactics: WOTL without exiting once to the menu, by just flipping it on and off.

NO one else does this. Certainly, Nintendon't.

Spoony Bard

@usfslacker: Do people realize how well the sleep mode works on the PSP? I've put my PSP to sleep playing Jeanne D'ark for DAYS and came back and jumped right back into a battle. PSP Tip; USE SLEEP MODE.

db9

@KingDavid73: In Soviet Russia, God of War really doesn't like YOU!

db9

Interesting way to make the review. I like the format...force the person to read, but not too much. I like it. I might have to try that format on myself...though I still think the number system is still workable. Good review though!

Jamez

@Brian Crecente: I always seem to lag on the comments, didn't see this follow-on. That's more a problem with the cutscene mechanics then :P

All cutscenes should be skippable (and to a lesser extent, pauseable), but they should do it via some confirmation menu; I don't want to accidentally skip a cutscene that I wanted to watch :(

Norellicus

While the technical achievement of this game should not be understated, I'm still amazed at the high praise heaped on what is the same game done for the third time.

When God of War rehashes "awesome gameplay" it is called a good thing. When Nintendo does something conservative with a famous franchise we call them out. I'm looking forward to the day when using the nigh-exact same movelist from your past games is not given a thumbs up.

taidan19

@Norellicus: emphasis on cut-scene, which isn't skipable btw.

Brian Crecente

One gripe about this title, as well as the PSP as a whole. Does Sony realize that this thing is a portable system at all? First it comes with the worst battery situation since the Game Gear, then we receive a generous amount of great CONSOLE games, but very few (if any) portable ones, and then they have the gall to actually make the damned thing hook up to the TV.

This game's problem is definitely the second one, as is most of the PSPs library. It is miserable to take on the go. Between save points and the PSPs sub par battery keeping me from being able to pause it and put it in my pocket, this game will be staying at home for me to play in the long bursts it demands (If I even get to it with Smash Bros. sitting there) while my DS travels pretty much everywhere with its VERY portable games.

Also, quick time events, and every game that has ever used them save for RE4, need to go straight to hell. Laziest game design I have ever seen. Nothing to take me out of a game than flashing PRESS X NOT TO DIE in my face.

usfslacker

I played the first God of War for about 2 and a half levels and had to put it down because I was really unimpressed. Maybe that's not fair, but everyone has built this up as one of the best action games ever, etc. I was really expecting something special, and it was just so ho-hum. Not that it was bad necessarily, but it certainly wasn't nearly as good as I had been led to believe.

I doubt I'd enjoy it anymore on a PSP. Those controls seem to be made specifically to thwart any attempt at playing an action game.

SquirrelPhister

@XGamerX: Look at that. That is why I love Kotaku's review system.
Red vs.Blue + No Score=The end of fanboys comparing games. GoW:CoO and Crisis Core are completly different games. Why should they get"the same marks"?

jackal888

"Save Points: There are a couple of unforgivable save points in the game. Why on earth would you put a save point right before the cut-scene that introduces an incredibly hard boss battle?"

Because people such as myself would smash their PSPs if they had to replay an entire huge section of baddies just to get back to this incredibly hard boss?

Norellicus

Jeez so freaking temting to get a PSP lately. But I cant get myself to do it. I already have so many games that I havent tried or beaten yet. No More Heroes, Condemned 2, Mass Effect, Uncharted, Smash Bros, replay HL2, ep1, ep2, portal for 360 cause I'm an acheivment whore... the list could just keep going but you all get the idea.

liquid_kore

I am waiting for the Red PSP bundle package. Perfect chance to upgrade from the phatty.

Mr.SithNinja

@Brian Crecente:

Ah, I see.

OGHowie

@mentalboy11: armed forces europe? What country is that? They speak english in "armed foces europe"?

MasterOfPastures

I don't really like God of war.

KingDavid73

Is the cutscene skippable? And it does pad out gameplay time in a bad way.

ban_hammer

This game makes the PSP a god.

cebukid

Yes, I think I remember having to go through that in the demo. Either that or it kept freezing.

Nevertheless, I'm excited to pick it up. It'll be my new business trip companion game!

Spoony Bard

I love this new review feature you guys have, it gets right to the point and I will actually read the review to see the pros and cons. Thanks Brian, I'll be getting this game in 3 days, so nice to know it's awesome.

goldwings

Will pick this up when I get the chance, along with the other two games. >_>

Magic Emperor Anima

No, not unless you want to watch the save scene EVERY, SINGLE, TIME, you have to replay it.

Brian Crecente

"Why on earth would you put a save point right before the cut-scene that introduces an incredibly hard boss battle?"

Isn't that a good thing?

Looking forward to playing the game.

OGHowie

Guess I'll be buying this one today

igpx407

Now I wish I had a PSP. :(

Fulgurator

good review wonder is crisis core will get the same marks?

XGamerX

i cant believe the game hasnt arrived in my local store yet...

(i live in armed forces europe)

mentalboy11

A stunning achievement for the PSP, I hope it's a sign of greater things to come, now that developers know the hardware.
For the first time ever, the PSP now gets more of my attentions than the DS.

Cruithne