God of War: Chains of Olympus
Parents say
Based on 7 reviews
Kids say
Based on 15 reviews
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this game is both violent and sexual. The violence makes up most of the game-play as you fight enemies using blades chained to your wrists. When you take on bigger boss characters, you can do even more to them such as smash their head in with a heavy chest or stab them in the face with a blade (note: with boss characters, the action plays out for you as you simply press the correct buttons at the right time). All the boss enemies you take on in this game are mythological creatures, such as giant beasts, but there are human victims, too. The game contains a sex scene (which is well documented on the web) involving a threesome with two almost naked topless women and lets players partake in the act -- off-camera -- by pressing specific buttons on the controller as you hear the sounds of the sexual act. The visual shown during this scene is of a candlestick holder shaped like a naked woman encircling a candle, which sits on a crate and shakes in time to the moans.
Community Reviews
Rated M for Mature
Report this review
Highly Inappropriate
Report this review
What’s It About?
Sony's GOD OF WAR: CHAINS OF OLYMPUS on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) is the prequel to the two earlier God of War games. Once again, you play as Kratos, a Spartan warrior, who battles mythological creatures with the aid of a double-bladed weapon chained to your wrists. Since Chains of Olympus takes place before the events in the first game, Kratos has not yet achieved the status of a god after defeating the powerful Ares. Instead he must venture into mysterious dark environments to fight mythological creatures. In true God of War style, Kratos faces off against huge boss fighters early on in the game -- in this case, a huge fire-breathing lizard-like creature that attacks him on an elevated outdoor terrace; you must duck, roll, and jump to avoid it's claws and bites; leap over its fiery breath; and whack him silly with your chained blades. Eventually you'll be prompted -- with specific buttons you need to press on the face of the PSP, such as triangle, circle or square -- to pull giant columns down on its head to render him unconscious. As you play through this linear game, you will direct Kratos as he attempts to save the ancient world by destroying vicious monsters.
Is It Any Good?
Take one gander at the graphics in Chains of Olympus and players might think they've booted up a console game. But this visually stunning, "Mature"-rated action-adventure hybrid is more than just eye-candy as the gameplay -- while on the short side -- is also extraordinarily good. Gamers will no doubt marvel at the size of the beasts you take on, how fluid the animation is, the slick "camera" angles, and the level of detail in both the characters and environments.
Puzzle-solving, however, is fairly basic, such as pushing or pulling crates and then jumping on them to reach high areas. Another issue is the relatively short gameplay at about 5 hours or so. The game can be played on easy ("Mortal"), normal ("Hero") or hard ("Spartan"), and if completed on any of these three difficulty settings you can access the very hard ("God") mode. Minor issues aside – namely, brevity, linearity, and puzzle simplicity -- God of War: Chains of Olympus is one of the most visceral and gratifying handheld games ever created, and one that pushes the PSP hardware to new heights. Just be aware this is a "Mature"-rated game with inappropriate content for players under 17 year of age.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether this game is as controversial as, say, Grand Theft Auto and its "Hot Coffee" controversy, because it contains a sex scene. Do you think sex scenes should be allowed in M-rated video games?
Game Details
- Platform: PSP
- Available online?: Not available online
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
- Release date: March 4, 2008
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- ESRB rating: M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content
- Last updated: November 4, 2015
Our Editors Recommend
-
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
Fast-paced intergalactic adventure for PSP fans.
-
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
An impishly charming version of Star Wars.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate