If gamers had the sensation they were playing on a high-definition machine with the gorgeous God of War II on the PlayStation 2, they may very well believe they?re playing a TV-based console while hacking baddies in God of War: Chains of Olympus on the PlayStation Portable.

Sony Computer Entertainment America?s Santa Monica Studios and Ready at Dawn Studios? stunning action-adventure hybrid for the PSP is easily the best-looking portable game to date, but it?s not just about the eye candy -- the gameplay -- while on the short side -- is one sweet ride.

Unless you?ve never laid your hands on a past God of War game (and shame on you if that's the case), you play as Kratos, a Spartan warrior who battles mythological creatures with the aid of a double-bladed weapon chained to his wrists, all the while navigating through bizarre locations littered with fatal traps and challenging puzzles.

Chains of Olympus serves as a prequel to the first game, therefore it?s before Kratos achieves the status of a god after defeating the powerful Ares. At this point in time, however, Kratos has been saved by Ares, and the tale begins seaside in Attica, where Kratos helps defend the city against relentless Persian forces. Those who?ve spent time with the playable demo have already seen this opening sequence. Much of the fun for fans of the series is to unravel the epic story in between the vicious fight sequences against soldiers and mythological beasts, so we don?t want to spoil too much in this review.

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 its 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 his head to render him unconscious. 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.

Speaking of the button layout, not only does Chains of Olympus look like a console game, it controls like one, too. The PSP?s analog stick effectively moves Kratos around the 3-D environments -- be it running, climbing or swimming -- and also aids in puzzle-solving and boss battles via on-screen commands to turn the stick in a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion. The face buttons and two shoulder buttons, which are used primarily during attack sequences, also feel like a console?s controller. They can be used for special moves and to create combos, such as holding the right shoulder button and pressing either triangle, square or circle to execute a special magic attack in which Kratos bangs on the ground with a giant fist and creates a red shock blast to affect nearby enemies. If Kratos? blades are upgraded, he can also pull off some impressive mid-air moves including fast spins (that moves his chains like helicopter blades), air grabs and vertical attacks.

This control scheme might sound like d?j? vu to fans of the first two God of War games -- and yes, it?s nearly identical -- but I?d argue this is a good thing, as players of the previous games will be able to immediately understand how to play Chains of Olympus. Plus, the God of War console versions are among those rare games with flawless controls, so if it ain?t broke? The only exception is the missing right analog stick, used to rotate the camera around, but the game handles this fairly well for you automatically.

To replenish your magic, blue orbs can be collected from fallen enemies or found in blue chests. Green orbs, on the other hand, go towards your health meter, while red orbs can be collected, and then in an RPG-like fashion, used as points to upgrade Kratos? power or magic abilities.

Special items can also be collected and used to increase Kratos? power. For example, if you find five Gorgon Eyes you can increase Kratos? overall health meter, allowing him to sustain more damage. Similarly, five Phoenix Feathers can be collected to increase Kratos? magic meter bar. Again, this is similar to previous God of War games, and frankly, gamers would likely be disappointed if the PSP version lacked these familiar features.

Puzzle-solving is fairly basic, so imagine Zelda-like environmental challenges, such as pushing or pulling crates and then jumping on them to reach high areas. The puzzles are very simple and don?t require much thought, unfortunately, and this is one area in which I would?ve preferred something meatier. In other words, players will rarely -- if ever -- stare at the screen, not knowing where to go (or what to do) next. When in doubt, walk up to an item, and if you see the context-sensitive circle button you?ll know you need to press it (sometimes in a rapid fashion when opening a heavy door or the jaws of a creature) to get to the next area in this linear adventure.

Another issue is the relatively short gameplay at about five 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. No, the developers didn?t take any risks in introducing a new look, control scheme or gameplay mechanics, but what they?ve been able to pull off in a handheld is equally impressive: The story, graphics, music, control and combat play are all top-notch, resulting in an incredibly immersive and addictive console-like mobile gaming experience you won?t soon forget. Kudos to Ready at Dawn Studios for an extraordinary job well done. Let?s just say we can?t wait to see what God of War goodness is cooking for the PlayStation 3.

This review was based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.