Game | Life - God of War PSP: Really, Really Short

[warcrow]

Picture of PSP save game and completion time.

Here's my God of War: Chains of Olympus clear time. You can add on roughly another half an hour to this, as I played the first half of the game on a preview disc and then had to start again on the review code.

But even then, Chains of Olympus is still really short at just under five hours. I'd be a little more forgiving of this if the game was jam-packed full of holy-shit moments like previous God of War games, but it just isn't.

Yes, it's a very good game that perfectly replicates the feel of GoW's combat on the portable. But it's also hard to ignore that by the end of the game, any semblance of creative level design goes out the window, replaced with a never-ending gauntlet of big open rooms filled with enemies.

I'll write a full review closer to the game's March 4 release date, but for now: Know that it's firmly in the top tier of PSP products, but that it's also a bite-sized God of War in more ways than just the screen dimensions.

http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/02/god-of-war-psp.html


So roughly 5 hours? Daaaamnit! I'm such a big GoW fan and, although I'm sure it's going to be epicly amazing, I was hoping for more game time here. 🙁

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: warcrow
Picture of PSP save game and completion time.

Here's my God of War: Chains of Olympus clear time. You can add on roughly another half an hour to this, as I played the first half of the game on a preview disc and then had to start again on the review code.

But even then, Chains of Olympus is still really short at just under five hours. I'd be a little more forgiving of this if the game was jam-packed full of holy-shit moments like previous God of War games, but it just isn't.

Yes, it's a very good game that perfectly replicates the feel of GoW's combat on the portable. But it's also hard to ignore that by the end of the game, any semblance of creative level design goes out the window, replaced with a never-ending gauntlet of big open rooms filled with enemies.

I'll write a full review closer to the game's March 4 release date, but for now: Know that it's firmly in the top tier of PSP products, but that it's also a bite-sized God of War in more ways than just the screen dimensions.

http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/02/god-of-war-psp.html


So roughly 5 hours? Daaaamnit! I'm such a big GoW fan and, although I'm sure it's going to be epicly amazing, I was hoping for more game time here. 🙁

After the guy had nothing good to say about the game, I have to wonder if he'd consider it a top tier PSP game if it was a new IP.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: warcrow
Picture of PSP save game and completion time.

Here's my God of War: Chains of Olympus clear time. You can add on roughly another half an hour to this, as I played the first half of the game on a preview disc and then had to start again on the review code.

But even then, Chains of Olympus is still really short at just under five hours. I'd be a little more forgiving of this if the game was jam-packed full of holy-shit moments like previous God of War games, but it just isn't.

Yes, it's a very good game that perfectly replicates the feel of GoW's combat on the portable. But it's also hard to ignore that by the end of the game, any semblance of creative level design goes out the window, replaced with a never-ending gauntlet of big open rooms filled with enemies.

I'll write a full review closer to the game's March 4 release date, but for now: Know that it's firmly in the top tier of PSP products, but that it's also a bite-sized God of War in more ways than just the screen dimensions.

http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/02/god-of-war-psp.html


So roughly 5 hours? Daaaamnit! I'm such a big GoW fan and, although I'm sure it's going to be epicly amazing, I was hoping for more game time here. 🙁

After the guy had nothing good to say about the game, I have to wonder if he'd consider it a top tier PSP game if it was a new IP.

I think Game Informer gave it a 9 (not that their reviews hold too much weight), but I did play the demo and I was impressed with the visuals and thought the game played well.

We'll see. There is a small chance that I might be fortunate enough to get it a few days before the street date. If so, I'll definitely give my impressions.

 

[RaiderJ]

Depending on price, it might not be a bad deal. They should port GoW1 over to the PSP and have it as a value priced game or something.

 

[beat mania]

I don't want a 30 hour game on a PSP ... something that I can finish on a flight across Pacific/Atlantic would be just fine. Its a portable game for crying out loud.

 

[Ackmed]

Im getting it, demo was great. Im also willing to bet that finishing time is faster than most users time will be. You can run thru most any game if all you want to do is finish it in the fastest time. 5 hours is fine for me, 8 hours is about all I want out of a game of this nature. As mentioned above, its a PSP game...

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: beat mania
I don't want a 30 hour game on a PSP ... something that I can finish on a flight across Pacific/Atlantic would be just fine. Its a portable game for crying out loud.

I'm the opposite... If I only played portable games occasionally, I'd want them to be short so I could finish them. But I play for an hour each day while I'm on the exercise bike in the gym. The new Advance Wars game lasted a few weeks, but I'm just about done and now I don't feel like exercising until I find a game that will kill the time again.

 

[Dumac]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: beat mania
I don't want a 30 hour game on a PSP ... something that I can finish on a flight across Pacific/Atlantic would be just fine. Its a portable game for crying out loud.

I'm the opposite... If I only played portable games occasionally, I'd want them to be short so I could finish them. But I play for an hour each day while I'm on the exercise bike in the gym. The new Advance Wars game lasted a few weeks, but I'm just about done and now I don't feel like exercising until I find a game that will kill the time again.

I'm with you there, which is why I'm loving Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness for the PSP. I've logged tons of hours into the thing. Soon I'll pick up Patapon as well.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Dumac

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: beat mania
I don't want a 30 hour game on a PSP ... something that I can finish on a flight across Pacific/Atlantic would be just fine. Its a portable game for crying out loud.

I'm the opposite... If I only played portable games occasionally, I'd want them to be short so I could finish them. But I play for an hour each day while I'm on the exercise bike in the gym. The new Advance Wars game lasted a few weeks, but I'm just about done and now I don't feel like exercising until I find a game that will kill the time again.

I'm with you there, which is why I'm loving Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness for the PSP. I've logged tons of hours into the thing. Soon I'll pick up Patapon as well.

What I really need is a game that I can play indefinitely. I think Civilization Revolution will do nicely. I have a feeling I'll be picking that up for the 360 and the DS. I just hope the touch screen controls aren't too difficult to use on a recumbent exercise bike.

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: beat mania
I don't want a 30 hour game on a PSP ... something that I can finish on a flight across Pacific/Atlantic would be just fine. Its a portable game for crying out loud.

I dont understand your point. Portable gaming should be a breif gaming experience, or what? What are you saying here?

I've played several epic RPGs on a handheld and it was an awesome experience. Also, Mark Kart DS is often played at my house when friends come over with their DSs--it's not epically long, but it's certainly applicable outside of a roadtrip.

 

[Thraxen]

Originally posted by: warcrow
I dont understand your point. Portable gaming should be a breif gaming experience, or what? What are you saying here?

I've played several epic RPGs on a handheld and it was an awesome experience. Also, Mark Kart DS is often played at my house when friends come over with their DSs--it's not epically long, but it's certainly applicable outside of a roadtrip.

But comparing to MK isn't really a valid comparison. It's a racer and definitely has a bunch of replay value basically by default. And RTS/Strategy and RPGs are fairly easy to extend length wise. The real question is... how does it compare to other adventure games on portables? Off hand, I can't think of any. I suppose you could count the Castlevania games on the DS. I'd have to check my completion times on those since it has been a while since I've played. Platformers are also similar to adventure games in that for a lot of people they are just a once or twice through type of games. I blew through New SMB pretty fast and it was also absurdly easy.

 

[Yreka]

This one is next in my Gamefly Queue..

 

[beat mania]

Originally posted by: warcrow

Originally posted by: beat mania
I don't want a 30 hour game on a PSP ... something that I can finish on a flight across Pacific/Atlantic would be just fine. Its a portable game for crying out loud.

I dont understand your point. Portable gaming should be a breif gaming experience, or what? What are you saying here?

Yes it should be brief.
Its an action game on a portable system. If I have to stop and recharge the PSP for a few hours in between plays, it breaks the momentum. If I have to be tethered to an AC outlet to finish the game, it defeats the purpose of a portable game.

Its okay for RPGs because they're slow paced, but I don't want action games lasting longer than the battery the system runs on.