God of War: Ghost of Sparta is an
action-adventure
hack and slash
video game developed by
Ready at Dawn and published by
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It was first released for the
PlayStation Portable (PSP)
handheld console on November 2, 2010. The game is the sixth installment in the
God of War series and the fourth chronologically. 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. 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. (
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