With a long-running franchise like God of War, the challenge is always trying to find a way to keep things fresh without drifting so far away from the core that it pisses off your loyal fans (and they WILL let you know if something isn't right - just ask Ninja Theory or Valve).

God of War: Ghost of Sparta does right by the series, and should please fans. It's the same game, but rather than stamp out yet another Kratos adventure, Ready at Dawn has brought in a number of smaller improvements. It's small, incremental change, but the impact is noticeable.

Both the visuals and audio aim high and hit their intended target. Compared to Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta looks like a completely different game, at least when it comes to the details. As with everything, it's a nip here and a tuck there in places, but everything pops. I'd even be willing to place Ghost of Sparta's presentation above both PS2 games.

In short, Kratos's latest iteration looks and sounds incredible. I could say more, but why bother when "incredible" sums up everything.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta picks up on a loose end from God of War, as well as a short conversation with Poseidon. Dedicated players undoubtedly unlocked the special ending in God of War focusing on Kratos's brother. I think there was always a slight bit of speculation about how this would eventually play out (or, at least there was here at the site), but after three games, we were stumped. Ghost of Sparta answers that question and even shows exactly why Poseiden is more than a little peeved with Kratos. I won't spoil anything, but when its all done, Ghost of Sparta puts a bow on series and ties everything in nicely.

Gameplay sticks to the same tenets as previous games. A slash here, a stab there, and a few dismembered limbs... you get the idea. Ghost of Sparta doesn't try to reinvent the wheel; it just adds new treads and spinners.

As with Chains of Olympus, more focus is placed on combat than puzzles. This is a straight-out action game. A few puzzles pop up in each section, though slashing and stabbing usually play a part in the solution. Off the top of my head, I can't remember any really tricky puzzles, unless you consider figuring out the quickest way to take down a certain enemy a puzzle.

After the story, there's a series of unlockable challenges and the arena. Challenges place Kratos in difficult situations. In one, you need to open six chests, while in another, you bust through a giant box. Tasks are timed, plus you have to deal with increasingly aggressive enemies who will do everything they can to stop you. These are fun and support the underlying concepts that make God of War stand out amongst action games.

The Arena section is, for lack of a better explanation, a "debug mode" for combat. You set the enemy types, timer and difficulty. Next, you jump in and start fighting. It didn't hold my interest for long, though I do see some value in being able to set up a fight and hack away. If you count God of War as "stress relief," this is your mode.

Both extra modes feed into the Temple of Zeus, where you spend collected orbs on unlockable extras. I'm usually the type of player to chase every last item down, though the few items I unlocked didn't exactly push me to want to keep going. It's a personal value issue, not something "wrong" with the game.

The main adventure is, or at least seemed, slightly longer than Chains of Olympus. At the very least, you'll get a solid weekend of play out of the main story. There's a noticeable difference between difficulty settings. Normal plays differently than Hard; it's not just harder enemies and less life. Just getting through the first enemy encounter on Hard required a completely different strategy than on Normal. I even noticed some differences with Quick-Time Events (QTEs).

Challenges are, well... challenging. I'm talking full-on, "you might break your PSP in half," style challenge. As simple as the descriptions seem, each test tosses you to the wolves. I was only able to complete a handful, and that's after spending the better part of a morning working on them. They show how different God of War is compared to other action games; it's not about button-mashing your way through combos, but assessing each combat situation.

The biggest mechanical shift comes courtesy of the Spartan Spear and Shield. Kratos has always had some means of blocking attacks, though the spear/ shield combo brings the first real change to the dynamics of combat. You can block just about any attack and wait for your chance to strike. There's still an element of timing, though only if you want to toss a projectile back at an enemy. Blade combos are still your weapons of choice, though I found myself switching to the shield more often than I originally thought I would. It's a small change, but these are a running theme throughout the game.

Kratos's magic abilities are also different. Though not always the case, magic tends to act the same regardless of game. The lightning attack in one game was, at least fundamentally, the same attack as the previous game. God of War: Ghost of Sparta has its own lightning attack, though the new additions offer something different. My favorite produces black holes which suck nearby enemies into a pack. It's great when paired with blade combos.

Ghost of Sparta brings in a number of God of War 3's mechanics. QTEs now appear around the edge of the screen rather than in the middle. I wasn't incredibly happy with their implementation in the demo. However, I noticed button prompts are accompanied by white flashes in the retail version, so they stand out better and offer a bit of a "timer" indicating how long you have to press the button.

You can also augment damage with a fire attack. Similar to the shield, it doesn't seem like it does a whole lot, but it adds a lot to combat. It's the only way to destroy some enemies and comes into play in a variety of ways.

I've long considered Chains of Olympus one of the best PSP games available. God of War: Ghost of Sparta easily tops it. Although you could easily take a look at it and miss the changes, they're there - you just have to look.