| God of War: Ghost of Sparta | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Ready at Dawn[a][1] |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Director(s) | Dana Jan |
| Programmer(s) | Nicholas Baker Jesse Van Beurden |
| Writer(s) | Cory Barlog |
| Composer(s) | |
| Series | God of War |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation Portable |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, hack and slash |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
God of War: Ghost of Sparta is a 2010 action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Ready at Dawn and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable. It is the sixth installment in the God of War series, the fourth chronologically and the second to not be developed primarily by Santa Monica Studio. Loosely based on Greek mythology, Ghost of Sparta is set in ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, the God of War. Kratos is still haunted by the visions of his mortal past and decides to explore his origins. In Atlantis, he finds his mother Callisto, who claims that his brother Deimos is still alive. Kratos journeys to the Domain of Death to rescue his brother. After initial resentment from Deimos, the brothers team up to battle the God of Death, Thanatos, Deimos' captor.
The gameplay is similar to that of the previous installments, and focuses on combo-based combat, achieved through the player's main weapon—the Blades of Athena—and a secondary weapon acquired later in the game. It features quick time events that require the player to complete various game controller actions in a timed sequence to defeat stronger enemies and bosses. Up to three magical attacks and a power-enhancing ability can be used as alternative combat options. Ghost of Sparta also features puzzles and platforming elements. The combat system was updated with 25 percent more gameplay than its PSP predecessor, God of War: Chains of Olympus.
Ghost of Sparta received positive reviews from critics for its story, scope, and graphical illustration, though criticism was given for the general lack of gameplay innovation from its predecessor, Chains of Olympus. Several critics consider it to be the best-looking game on the PSP. Others have compared the overall game to those on the PlayStation 3 (PS3), and some have said that the graphics are better than those of the PlayStation 2 (PS2). Ghost of Sparta received several awards, including "Best Handheld Game", "Best PSP Game", and "PSP Game of Show" at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), "Best Handheld Game" at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, and "Portable Game of the Year" at the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.[2] By June 2012, it had sold almost 1.2 million copies worldwide, making it the nineteenth best-selling PlayStation Portable game of all time. Together with Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta was remastered and released on September 13, 2011, as part of the God of War: Origins Collection and the remastered version was re-released on August 28, 2012, as part of the God of War Saga, both for the PlayStation 3.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Santa Monica Studios (SMS) - God of War: Ghost of Sparta Game | PSP, PS3, PS Vita Game". Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
- ^ "God of War: Ghost of Sparta Detail". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 16, 2023.