Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Developer: Ready At Dawn Studios
Released: 28th Mar 08
Platform: PSP

The unluckiest man in Greece since Stelios launched IcarusJet, returns with more murder in the Med'.

All the Harpy-slapping action we know and love is here, so fans of the series - such as my good self - will not be disappointed in how The Ghost of Sparta performs on PSP. In fact, the similarities with its PS2 forebears are such that it may be highly playable and great fun, but it doesn't progress the franchise over just giving you more myths to bust.

But the God of War is not invulnerable, and the Achilles Heel in Kratos's first mobile melee is not found in the excellent gameplay, it lurks in the Stygian recess we call the Save/Checkpoint system.

Too often you'll find the respawn checkpoint just before the laborious bit you've just waded through to get to the action that killed 

you, such as a bout of cliff climbing or 'Manic Minotaur' platforming. And as if that wasn't ball-burstingly annoying enough, chances are you'll have to sit through an unskippable cut-scene as well... every... bloody... time. Argh! Curse you Zeus (or should I say "Curse you Ready at Dawn Studios"?). Add in the indignity of having to wait for the doddery PSP to load said cut-scene-that-you-didn't-want-to-bollocking-watch-in-the-first-place, and you have a recipe for murdered hardware.

This ultimate inconvenience is frustrating enough in the main bleeding chunk of the game, but the difficulty level is such that chances are after three or four attempts you get past it (and never want to see that cut scene again). But frequently, this 'fun vacuum' happens just before the most challenging parts of the game. Then, it really pisses in the Feta.

This Hades-born trio of unskippable cut scenes, poorly thought out checkpoints and deadly bosses has got to me so much that I've not completed the game. I will likely never complete it - and this a game that when it's working is easily the best action fix you can get on PSP. It has come to a head with the final boss - at least I assume she's the final boss (she's a cheap 'take half your health in one hit' boss all the same). The current survival ratio is an average of 6 seconds of life to 60 seconds of loading and cut scene. Water-boarding would be less torturous.

The ultimate irony is that the cut-scenes are excellent... the first time. Epic visuals, great voice acting and a story that is engaging, emotive and educational (I didn't know Apollo was married to the goddess of the dawn, for example) make for A-grade entertainment. But after the twentieth forced watch of some gloating boss villain hamming it up like a good 'un, it's like Groundhog Day minus the sex. Just Needlenose Ned Riarson over and over and over and over... and over and... over... and over... and over. Blam! Thud