Hands on with God of War: Chains of Olympus

Sony knows that handhelds aren't just for kids. Mashing on buttons to train little monsters might appeal to a youngster, but for the rest of us a bit of blood 'n' guts wouldn't hurt. Neither would decapitating undead soldiers or ripping the eye out of a cyclops' head or impaling a minotaur and watching its entrails stain the soil, for that matter.

Releasing the juvenile shackles on portable entertainment, God of War: Chains of Olympus promises to dish out some of the baddest, bloodiest action yet seen on a handheld.

It's easily the most anticipated game for PlayStation Portable this year, so when we were given the opportunity to get our hands on it at Sony Computer Entertainment Gamers' Day in San Diego, we jumped at the chance. Then we sliced its throat open. (Figuratively typing, of course.)

Chains of Olympus chronicles Kratos' struggle for redemption prior to the events of the original game on PlayStation 2. Having unwittingly murdered his family, Kratos pleads with the gods of Olympus only to find himself cast down in disdain.

Even though the game embarks on a new story, you'll find roots to the console titles. Creative director Cory Barlog explains: "Events in this game tie directly to those that occur in the two PlayStation 2 games."

Chains of Olympus opens with the Persian invasion of Attica, a historic event embellished upon to jive with Kratos' story. We watched the scene unfold in the short demonstration, noting the impressive level of detail.

"We're going to push PSP as much as possible," claims Barlog. Persian ships could be seen launching volleys of fire from the sea, leaving smoky trails in the sky while hordes of bloodthirsty Persian soldiers descended upon Kratos in a frenzy.

Dealing with these soldiers was easily the best part of the demonstration. Kratos made good use of Athena's Blades, slicing them up in a flurry of attacks. You'll start off with just the blades and unlock new abilities through the course of the game. Expect weapons and magic never before seen in the series.

After making short work of the soldiers, Kratos moved on to briefly battle a Cyclops that ended up getting munched on by a huge basilisk. The level ends with Kratos going one-on-one with the mythological beast in a button-mashing mini-game.

Crucially, moving from console to handheld doesn't appear to have sullied the spirit of combat. The game features a combat system largely mirroring the PlayStation 2 titles, albeit tweaked for portable play. Square serves up light attacks, while Triangle dishes out heavy attacks. You can grab enemies using the Circle button, then tap either Square or Triangle to beat them up.

More advanced moves require holding down the L trigger and pressing either Square or Triangle. Holding L alone enables you to block attacks, although not all can be deflected. For attacks that can't be shielded, holding down both L and R while moving the analog stick yields an evasive roll (a role assigned to the second analogue stick on the PS2 games).

Kratos can also jump via the X button, an important ability that obviously helps in solving simple platform challenges. That said, Chains of Olympus won't go heavy on the platform elements, but expect to bounce around the screen a bit. The focus is more on action, Barlog says, as it makes more sense given the portable factor.

Our only concern lies in whether Chains of Olympus will end up feeling like a console game crammed into a handheld – there is a difference in the requirements of the two platforms. The fantastic presentation and visceral action are certainly promising, but we'll have to wait and see if this translates into good portable play.

While its European debut is still currently unannounced, hopefully we're not too far off from the North American release expected this autumn. Click 'Track It!' to keep an eye open.