Ru Weerasuriya, one of Ready at Dawn Studios' founders, was introduced by Cory Barlog during this week's Gamers Day. Weerasuriya explained why it was that a development team that had just hit a grand slam with Daxter for the PSP, decided not to make a sequel.

He said the entire team was fascinated with God of War and decided to pitch a PSP version to SCEA. Not surprisingly, SCEA liked the idea. The PSP game takes place before the events of the original God of War in those ten years following the murder of Kratos' family and the storyline is very much tied to the other two games.

The PSP version, Weerasuriya promises, will have solid graphics that match up with the PS2 games, lots of puzzles and plenty of new places to explore.

Later on, after the presentations were all over, I had a chance to talk to Weerasuriya about the game. He said he's pretty happy with the way it's shaping up. He also said that Daxter 2 for the PSP is most certainly not out of the question.

From what I saw of Chains of Olympus (they weren't letting us play it), the game has the same look and feel of the PS2 games, which is, I would guess, exactly what most of us want.

Hit the jump for the presser and a play video. Brian Crecente

God of War : Chains of Olympus
FACT SHEET

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Developer: Ready At Dawn Studios
Platform: PSP (PlayStation Portable) handheld entertainment system
Genre: Action-Adventure
Players: Single-player
Launch Date: Holiday 2007
ESRB Rating: "RP" for Rating Pending

OVERVIEW
In 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment America's Santa Monica Studios introduced
God of War , which many publications considered the best videogame of 2005 with over a dozen "Game of the Year Awards." Then in Spring 2007, the original award-winning development team introduced God of War II, the second chapter of this sprawling odyssey that went on to receive critical acclaim and with a 94% rating on GameRankings, supported with the following review scores from leading gaming media outlets: IGN - 9.7, GameSpy - 5/5, 1up - 9.5/10, Gamezone - 9.5/10, GameInformer - 9.75/10, and GamePro - 5/5, and spurred more than one million retail orders prior to launch.

Now, from the creative team that brought you the Daxter on the PSP (PlayStation Portable) handheld entertainment system, Santa Ana-based Ready At Dawn Studios and Sony Computer Entertainment America's Santa Monica Studios bring you God of War : Chains of Olympus for the PSP system. Developed from the outset as an original story, God of War: Chains of Olympus delivers highly detailed graphics, incredible animation detail and yet another adventure in the dark and brutal world of Greek mythology that fans of the God of War franchise have come to know and love.

STORYLINE
In God of War, Kratos, after being deceived into killing his wife and daughter, denounced his service to Ares. In order to seek absolution from his past sins, the Ghost of Sparta pledged himself as a champion to the Gods for the years to follow - these brutal crusades, in the name of
Olympus, became legendary throughout the ancient world.

In God of War: Chains of Olympus, Kratos will journey to lands that no mortal has ever walked upon. With the world plunged in eternal darkness and the Gods rendered powerless, Kratos will face the most feared creatures of Greek Mythology, and ultimately be forced to choose between his own personal redemption and saving the ancient world from certain destruction.

KEY FEATURES
Epic Gameplay on the PSP system: Keeping true to the God of War franchise, experience dramatic camera angles and epic set pieces, offering a never before seen experience on the PSP system.

Mythological Odyssey: This story is set in a time before the events of God of War, where players will experience Kratos' journey during the 10yrs of servitude to the Gods of Olympus.

All New Combat Moves: Players can utilize new brutal combat moves along with their favorite combo attacks from the God of War franchise.

Exploration: From the Gates of Hades to the Depths of Tartarus, the journey will take players through the dark and brutal world of Greek Mythology. Face-off against all new creatures from Greek Mythology and engage in epic boss battles.

Puzzle Solving: As players explore the ancient world, prepare to navigate through a labyrinth of challenging puzzles inter-woven into the story.

Critically-Acclaimed Franchise: Brought to you by two award-winning development teams, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Santa Monica Studios and Ready At Dawn Studios.

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