God of War: Chains of Olympus/Gameplay

Blade Icon
The Blade Icon contains two separate meters: Health and Magic.

Health Meter
The Health Meter is filled by collecting Green Health Orbs from fallen enemies or glowing green chests. The only way to increase your health meter is to collect five Gorgon Eyes.

Magic Meter
The Magic Meter is filled by collecting Blue Magic Orbs from fallen enemies or glowing blue chests.The only way to increase your Magic Meter is to collect five Phoenix Feathers.

Power Up Meter
The Power Up Meter shows how many Red Power Up Orbs are in Kratos's possession. Red Orbs are used to power up Kratos's Weapons and Magic. The Power Up Meter is located right under the blade icon containing the Health and Magic Meters.

Pause Menu
Pressing psx: Select during a game pauses the game and opens the Pause Menu. From this menu, you can scroll through several options using the directional buttons. Press psx: X to choose a particular option and psx: C to return to the previous menu. Select Continue to continue your game. Select Options to show or hide Subtitles and Hints, adjust game volume, and view game Controls. Selecting Restart at Last Checkpoint will return Kratos to the last saved area, while Quit Game allows you to quit and return to the Title Menu.

Power Up Menu
Pressing psx: Start during gameplay pauses the game and gives you access to the Menu Screens (Upgrade, Moves, and Inventory). Use psx: L1 and psx: R1 to scroll between the screens, and press the psx: Neutral Lstick or psx: Up Dpad and psx: Down Dpad to highlight an option.

Upgrade
Kratos will acquire new Items and Magic abilities, which then can be upgraded by using the Power Up Orbs he's collected. Select an Item or Magic to be powered up and then psx: X Hold to upgrade. ' 'For a list of required Orbs please view the Weapons and Magic page.''

Moves
Displays all of the current combos and moves that have been unlocked and are available to Kratos. As Kratos gains new magic and abilities, the Move list will grow substantially.

Items
Throughout his journey, Kratos acquires Items that aid him in the battlefield. Descriptions of these Items and their purpose can be found here.

Orbs
Orbs come in three different colors: Red, Green and Blue - each serving a distinct purpose. Red Orbs are power up orbs, which can be used to upgrade Weapons and Magic abilities. Green Orbs are Health Orbs and will refill Kratos's Health Meter. Blue Orbs are Magic Orbs and refill Kratos's Magic Meter. Orbs are collected by killing enemies, destroying environmental objects, and opening chests.

Chests
Throughout his quest, Kratos often finds chests-some of which are cleverly hidden within the environment. These chests hold useful items and orbs. To open a chest, stand in front of it and psx: C Hold (Hold down Circle).

Save Alter
Any time Kratos comes across a glowing pillar of light, step into the light and press psx: C to save your progress.

Gorgon Eyes
Found inside hidden chests, Kratos can collect five Gorgon Eyes to increase his Health Meter by one level.

Phoenix Feathers
Found inside hidden chests, Kratos can collect five Phoenix Feathers to increase his Magic Meter by one level.

Difficulty Level
When you initally play the game, three difficulty levels are available for playthrough: Mortal (Easy), Hero (Normal), and Spartan (Hard). However, if you beat the game on any of these difficulty levels, then a fourth and decidedly more brutal difficulty becomes available for play. The God (Very Hard) difficulty level is only to be attempted by true Spartans and hopeful fools. Any victor of such deserves a seat amongst the Gods of Olympus themselves. Additionally, every time you beat the game on a particular difficulty level, you will have an option of playing through again either on the same difficulty or lower difficulty levels with all of Kratos's magic and weapons, along with their power level, intact from their last game. You would be asked if you would like to start a new game with your previous data. Select yes to start with all of Kratos's weapons and magic or no to start a new game armed with only tthe Blades of Chaos at level one.