Game Reviews

If you thought Kratos' adventures finished at the conclusion of God of War III, think again. Developer Ready At Dawn is taking another stab at the PlayStation franchise, pumping out a second PSP adventure titled God of War: Ghost of Sparta. The game was playable on the show floor at E3 2010, but we also managed to get a sneak peek at an extra section in the game behind closed doors for this first-look preview.

First up, Ghost of Sparta's storyline takes place between the events of the original game and God Of War II and sees Kratos heading to Atlantis. The demo starts off with Kratos fighting enemies on the deck, dispensing with them the only way he knows how--brutally. Ready At Dawn is aiming to replicate the huge, epic nature of other God of War game openings, and this was clear from this first scene, as you realize your ship is just one of hundreds being tossed around on turbulent seas. After disposing of his first set of foes, Kratos heads belowdecks, and we saw one of the game's new additions to the PSP series--a new running attack move called Hyperion Charge. By holding down L and pressing O, Kratos rushes at an opponent and can either take him down and pummel him on the ground or throw him at other foes. The move even has an air variant, which sees Kratos diving onto opponents mid-jump.

Back on deck, Kratos comes across a gigantic tentacle that had wrapped itself around the bow. At the end of this tentacle was a gaping mouth that would occasionally strike out, with Kratos having to loosen the tentacle's grip on the ship by attacking it. Eventually, a quick-time event is triggered, which ends with Kratos burying his blade deep in the tentacle's mouth